Wednesday, February 28, 2007
What A Week!
As most of you know, I was in FL last week and then I met Jeremy in Savannah, GA for a little weekend getaway. It was very nice and I'll pictures will be below. It was so great being back in FL. I feel that it is my "comfort zone" there, and I think it's because I enjoyed living there so much after college. I got to see my auntie and if you're reading this, Auntie, thanks for letting me stay! I took one afternoon and drove to all the spots where Jeremy and I first met (at the beach), the place where we got married, our ugly little house that we first lived in....it was great just going down memory lane even though it wasn't that long ago. It just sometimes feels like it was many years ago but at the same time, it feels just like yesterday. Do you know what I mean?

Our little weekend in Savannah was so interesting. Everything is just so historical. I couldn't get over the houses there....most of them are very old and have many tales to tell I'm sure....if only walls could talk! We went on a ghost tour at night and it was the most interesting time. It was fun walking around the streets hearing the history and ghost tales that were linked to different buildings and areas. Our guide had lived his whole life in Savannah and his family were the fifth generation of Irish settlers to go there, so he definitely knew his stuff. Anyway, I'll leave some pictures for you to see now.

By the way, Bugsy wants you to know that she is feeling better. She has antibiotics in her system and is resting now. She didn't like the doctor putting the thermometer in her butt though, but she knows some things just have to be done! :)

River Street
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I absolutely adored this beautiful cathedral.
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The stain glass work was amazing! The picture doesn't give it justice.
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I couldn't remember what the significance of that bell was, but I'm sure it was something important! :)
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City Hall Dome
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The old graveyard we visited....aren't those trees so haunting?
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This one is for Jay! I know he'll appreciate it the most! Paula Deen's Restaurant!
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We were very lucky to get in, the place was packed but it was well worth it. The food was incredible!
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Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Don't Give Up On Me Just Yet
Hey Guys!

I know I've been gone for awhile but I promise to update you all soon. I've been having a sick kitty on my hands and have to take her to the vet again this morning, so I'll see you all soon. I promise! :)
posted by Gracey at Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - 4 comments
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Valentine's Day In Pictures...It Says It All
Table For Two At Gracey's Place
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Awww....Are Those For Me??
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Oh, You Shouldn't Have...Of Course You Should Have
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Pose For A Picture? Sure, Why Not!
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Who's That Cute Couple?
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All Dressed Up For An Evening At Home
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Can We Stop Taking Pictures & Eat Now??
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How About Just One More....
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*My Italian Wedding Pasta turned out very good and we had a wonderful night together, just the two of us with no one else around. It was great.

Even The Kitties Had A Romantic Evening Together...They Gave Each Other Baths
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Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Catching Up With Y'all
It's been quite sometime since I've been on here to blog about what is going on in my life. It's been hectic to say the least. Some type of virus going around so Jeremy and I were both down in the dumps these past two weeks--first him and then me. The joys of marriage is that you get to share each other's germs and if one gets sick, the other is bound to get it later.

Jeremy received his orders and we will be moving again in two months time. I'm pretty excited to be going to Texas again. I thought I would never say that because I didn't enjoy San Antonio last time, but we will be going to another prettier area so I'm happy with that. I'm looking forward to buying another house and getting settled down especially since this time we should be there for three years. The military could do whatever they wanted and move us again, but hopefully we will get to stay the full term this time. I'm not looking forward to the actual moving part because I hate having all of our stuff packed up again (which means some type of damage done to our furniture, it never fails to happen) and then living in a hotel with two cats for a number of days, but that is just how it is so when it comes to doing it I'll make it fun somehow.

Since today is Valentine's Day and I hate crowds I decided to cook Jeremy a special dinner and we would have a romantic evening at home. I have to get this apartment sparkling clean and prepare some of the food ahead of time this morning so I'll be a busy bee today. We had agreed not to buy each other gifts because really we don't need anything and Valentine's is a big excuse to waste money. I know I'm such a party pooper, but all I need is a nice evening with him and that would make me happy. But I saw last night that he broke our rule and I saw him wrapping something. That brat! He said that it wasn't expensive and it's something that he knows I would want so he couldn't help himself. I guess my gift to him will be the special dinner and I bought candles and some flowers to be the centerpiece of the table. He loves chocolate and if he could he would eat only dessert for dinner so I went to this gourmet bakery and bought an assortment of desserts so we could sample a bunch of stuff. It should be very good! I'm looking forward to that too. I just hope my Italian Wedding Pasta dinner turns out good. I have never tried this recipe before but it sure does sound good. I'll cross my fingers and say a little prayer that it turns out delicious.

Hope all of you are doing well. I will be going on a little vacation starting Saturday by myself for a week while Jeremy is doing land navigation and survival training in the cold woods in the middle of nowhere. I feel for him but it's not stopping me from having fun! :) I'm going to drive down to FL to see my aunt and some friends. It's going to be a good time so you probably won't see me at all. I do apologize and will catch up again when I return.

There is another update in regards to Melanie. She has had a downward turn last night. She has pneumonia and a collapsed lung. It looks like she will be in the ICU longer than expected. The doctor doesn't see it as life threatening at this time and they will be pumping her with antibiotics to get rid of this infection. Keep praying for her please! She was doing so well and saying the funniest things, but it seems there are always ups and downs and threat of infections in these type of situations. Thanks so much for keeping her in your prayers! J.T., her husband, was one of my best buds in highschool and it's very hard to see him go through this. I know he feels hopeless seeing his beautiful wife lying there, but He is trusting in God every step of the way and I'm very proud of how brave he is being.

I'll talk with you all later! Happy Valentine's Day! What are you all doing for it?
Monday, February 12, 2007
Miracle After Miracle--Our God Is Good!
I am so happy to report that Melanie is becoming a little better each day. She still has a long road to go for complete recovery but with all the prayers from so many people, I know she will be able to get through this. J.T. wrote about how she is kind of responding now and the things she said just made me laugh. Below is what he wrote. Thank you, everyone, for praying for her and the family.

Written By J.T. On Sunday

In Melanie's own words today... 'its been a LOOONG day!' Little does she know its been over a week ;) shhh.... lets keep that a secret for now :D

Answered prayers are written all over this story, period. Mel was able to talk with us a bit today, but still very heavily medicated, so not completely all there just yet. However, she did have some typical Melanie statements... like when she realized she didn't have any shoes on. She asked where they were and mentioned that this was so embarassing :D When I told her that we were in a car accident, her next question was if we were going to get a new one(you have to understand she has been on me to get one lately).

The tough part is that you can tell she is afraid cause she isn't quite sure where she is or why she is there. But, we all know that there will be progress each day, and with each day we must continue to thank God for His love and His grace.

Speaking from this situation... when you experience a tragic event like this, your perspective on life changes. Some of the things that were important to you before, aren't quite so important any more. God has put us on this earth for a reason. I encourage you all to look down deep in your heart and soul to see what that reason might be... this is where prayer plays a necessary key.

Good night all... we love you.
posted by Gracey at Monday, February 12, 2007 - 4 comments
Friday, February 09, 2007
Update #3 -Melanie's Surgery
Written by J.T. today:

I am writing this update with a smile on my face :D... Dr. Trabizi just spoke with us and said that the surgery went very well and we have a very resilient girl... of course we already knew that :) First of all, God has been so good to us and we give Him the glory in it all.
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They put one screw in her pelvis to help with one of the breaks. She still has about 5-6 breaks however they are well aligned at this point and should heal over time. The doctor definitely was positive about the whole procedure. He said that cut on her back leg looked really good, the best it has, so they closed it up. Dr. Trabizi was very confident in the fact that Melanie should recover well from this surgery. At this point we don't know anything about the nerve damage or when they will take her off the ventilator, but we should be able to speak with the head Trauma doctor sometime today to get an update on what is next.
posted by Gracey at Friday, February 09, 2007 - 2 comments
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Update #2 on Melanie
Written by J.T. on Wednesday night:

I have said it so many times already... everyones support, prayers, and thoughts are very much appreciated. Its just amazing how God is using you all to encourage us as we continue to fight this battle. Waiting is probably the hardest part.
As I just got off the phone with the nurse, from checking up on my beautiful wife, she informed me that Melanie has responded a few times to her name this evening by fluttering her eyes and making some motions with her fingers. God continues to answer prayers each day... My heart breaks because I can almost see the day when I can hear her voice again...
It so happens that I am sitting and listening to Stan Whitmire as he plays It Is Well With My Soul... Lord you have given me the perfect song for this moment! I thank You so much!
To update you... this mornings minor surgery went well. They were able to close her tummy and clean out the wounds. After the surgery, her heart rate was a little above desirable(135), but has now come down to about 115, which is much better. She did have a bit of a temperature around 8pm or so, but after just speaking with the nurse, that has gone down as well.
Friday is still the date for the pelvic surgery... Dr. Trabrizi said that it could take an hour or it could take 6-7hours. If they are able to see inside her tummy without too much swelling, they should be able to finish within an hour. If not, they will do as much as they can and then sew her up and finish next week. He just feels that she isn't healthy enough to sit through a six hour surgery. Please pray that she continues to improve so they can move forward with the surgery on Friday, and get her on the road to recovery. She is our little angel...
Tomorrow I will update you folks again.
God bless you all,
J.T.
posted by Gracey at Thursday, February 08, 2007 - 3 comments
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Update On Melanie's Condition
Written by JT on Monday:

After a weekend filled with ups and downs, Melanie is stable, but remains in critical condition at the TICO unit. The doctors and nurses are providing her the best care possible. She has gone through 3 surgeries thus far, to remove her spleen, repair her femur(thigh), and explore to see what other injuries might exist. Her pelvis is broken in many places, and will be the next hurdle to overcome. However, this procedure will not happen for a few days as she needs to recover from the last few surgeries. The doctors don't have a date set yet for this surgery but this Friday is a possibility. Regardless we will keep you posted.

Melanie is completely sedated and has been since Friday, so she is non-responsive at this point. The doctors said she would be in too much pain if she were awake.

We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and support from all of you. Check this website for up-to-date information since we may not be able to answer all of your calls individually.

We welcome and appreciate all of your prayers.


Written by JT on Tuesday:


Wow... I am completely overwhelmed with the responses. I thank every one of you for your prayers, thoughts, and kind words. Things like this render me speechless, but please know that we love you all very much. Today was another step in the right direction. I literally just got off the phone with the doctor(11pm) who was calling to get consent for the minor surgery tomorrow. They are going to be washing out her tummy as well as the major cut on her hip to make sure everything is clean before they sew her stomach back up. The doctor said that she has been doing well enough for them to move forward with this procedure, so that is definitely a good thing. Another positive note, she hasn't been given any blood over the last 24hours.

After this surgery is complete, they will continue to monitor her heart rate, her blood pressure, as well as blood loss. Friday is still the tenative day that they will be performing the surgery to repair her multiple breaks/fractures in her pelvis. This will be about a 6-8 hour procedure, so these next few days are important as she needs to recover from this minor surgery tomorrow(7:30am PST), so she can be healthy enough for the major surgery.

God has really blessed us with some outstanding physicians... Dr. Tabrizi(orthopedic) and Dr. Cahill(head trauma surgeon) along with the other doctors that are assisting. We are so thankful for their efforts and care they have been giving Melanie. Most importantly, we have to give credit to the Great Physician as He is watching over her as well.

I will be sure to keep you posted tomorrow evening when we get back from the hospital. Thanks again for the prayers, love and support.
Monday, February 05, 2007
We Need Some Serious Praying!!!
I want to ask all of you who read this to stop for a moment and pray for some good friends of mine who were involved in a major car accident on Friday. Their names are J.T. and Melanie. Someone sideswiped them and they rolled over and hit a tree. Melanie is in the hospital and has been undergoing multiple surgeries and is fighting for her life. J.T. walked away with just a hurt foot, but a broken heart. They have been friends with my family for many years and we love them dearly. They are both Christians, so pray that God will heal her, and that God will use this "accident" as a means of grace to sanctify them and glorify the Lord!
posted by Gracey at Monday, February 05, 2007 - 10 comments
Gracey's Space
Name: Gracey
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About Me: Welcom to my site! This is a place for me to write from day to day or sometimes from week to week. It just depends what is happening in my life. Please stay as long as you'd like and hope to hear from you soon as well!
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