Normal is just a setting on the dryer.......

Movin' on...

2010-08-03T15:44:00.002-05:00

Please stop by the blog I keep updated.
http://www.eufaulacottage.blogspot.com/

Blessings

In the blink of an eye.............

2009-08-16T11:19:00.000-05:00

In the blink of an eye.............
That saying is so fitting in most of our lives at any given time, but there are times when the importance and truth of that statement are thrown at us with such force. This happened for our family and friends on this past Wednesday evening. The following is my account of what happened first from my recollection of what was told to me at the scene and then for the next few days that followed.At 9:30 Randy and Conner pulled in the driveway from going to get a few school supplies that Conner needed for his classes. Conner came in, Randy didn't. There was a honk and then Randy leaving quickly, I asked Conner where Daddy was going and he thought to a fire. I told him he was probably right the way Randy hustled out of the driveway. I visited with the boys and then told them they needed to get in bed, Hannah was already sound asleep. Conner brushed his teeth and got in bed. Cooper was finishing something up in the kitchen and I was getting dressed for bed. Around 10pm or so the phone rang and the caller id showed that it was the asst. fire chief. I knew instantly he was not calling to me how much fun they were having at the fire. Nothing was going to make me answer that phone quickly, I just got up and started re-dressing. Cooper came in with the phone in his hand and asked if he should answer it, I said yes. I was told that Randy had fallen at the fire and that the helicopter had been called for him and that my ride was on her way. I told Cooper what I was told and let him know I would call him the instant I knew more and that if Conner woke up in the commotion to let him know what was going on and I would be in touch as soon as I could. I stood in the driveway for my ride with and called a dear friend and said something to the extent of, " Randy's been hurt at a fire, life flight is on it's way, I need you with my kids now." I stayed outwardly calm for the next 14 or so hours but inwardly I kept having to sit down, because I thought I would pass out numerous times, but I tried not to show any panic. My kids needed me to be calm when I reported to them, I needed to be calm so if these were my last moments with my husband I would remember them, the men working to save my husbands life didn't need to have to deal with hysterics from me and lastly I needed to let them know that I was so grateful for them being with him and doing so much for him. When I got to the hospital parking lot, the ambulance had just pulled in, as soon as I got out of the car I could hear Randy screaming. I don't remember if I opened the door to the ambulance or if it opened as I came up, I stepped up in the ambulance and saw his fellow firemen and the emt's trying to get him under control and hold him down so he wouldn't hurt himself more. I knew instantly that it was still Randy that was screaming, but that he was obviously hurt very bad. He did respond with a second or two of silence when I loudly called his name and told him he would be ok, just to let them help him. The EMT said he didn't think I needed to witness anymore and I told him that I would get out of their way so that they could do what they needed to do. At some point in the parking lot I think, I learned that Randy had been up with another fireman on a ladder between 12 and 14 feet in the air, he some how fell and on the way down his helmet came off and he landed on his head. I believe I was told that he went unresponsive and cpr was performed, but even once he started breathing again it was very erratic. I had several people coming up and offering support and it was very much appreciated, one man went and got my wedding ring off my nightstand; I had just taken it off to put lotion on before the phone rang, the same sweet young man gave me some pepcid, because I had just eaten a bedtime snack and that turned out to be a huge mistake. The helicopter arrived along with every law enforcement and firefighter in the area. They were taking care of their own and for that show of support and strength I will eternally be grateful and in awe. It took a while for them to get him stabilized in the ambulance and calm enough to transport. Randy was given a paralytic, pain medicine and anti-seizure meds, because of all this they had to bag him to breathe for him. The men who were not taking care of me, loaded him on the helicopter sometime around 10:45 or so. I was immediately escorted to a police car along with the chief and asst chief, and we were driven to Tulsa, we arrived shortly after the helicopter. I made notification phone calls on the drive up, and tried not to faint. It felt like a constant battle not to faint, that was the only feeling of stress I had; the blessing of comfort from the Holy Spirit is so strongly felt at a time like that. I truly believe that God sent his angels to catch my husband as he fell and to comfort my family until we could all be together again. The flight crew called me as soon as they got Randy in the hospital and let me know that they had arrived and that he was sent straight to CT. He was Ct'd from what I understand from head to toe. By the time we got to the hospital and to the private waiting area, the nurse came in as soon as we set down and let us know that he was in CT and they were checking everything, very shortly after the on call trauma Dr. came in and said there were absolutely no signs of anything broken or out of the ordinary. ( That's a God thing!) They then transported him up to the Neuro TraumaICU. We were told to go ahead a follow him up and as soon as he got settled they would let us go and see him. A few minutes later I went back to see him and the nurses took a brief history from me. After I got done with that and seeing him, I went back out to the waiting room so that the men who had seen way to much could go back and see him. As the night went on we were visited by other firemen and their wives. I stayed in the waiting room mainly, but would go back for a few minutes at a time, I also made sure that everyone that came up could see him, they needed to see him stabilized because they had seem him at the worst. I didn't spend very long at any one time in his room, I would go back frequently and give him a kiss and tell him I loved him. I knew that if I stayed in that room with him on the respirator and basically in what I think is referred to as a medically induced coma, the strength I had would not be enough to get me through what I needed to do, I was also at peace knowing that he was going to be o.k. It's not that I didn't realize how serious things were, I just had been blessed with peace that night and that helped keep the panic at bay. That peace does not come from with in, but from above. From the instant that I got in the patrol car, snatches of the following verse kept running through my mind: Matthew 6:27 ( although I had my mom look it up when she got there to find where it was) And which of you by being anxious can add a single second to his life? Then that would be followed by, "Cast all your cares on Him". I was not looking comfort in scriptures in my mind, I was just trying to put one foot in front of the other, I know that those scriptures were placed on my heart, because that is what I needed to know. Around 4am or so I convinced the men that were holding vigil with me that I was fine and that they needed to go home and rest and be with their families. I then went and got a pillow and blanket and laid on a couch in the waiting room. I dozed a couple of times, but mainly when I closed my eyes, my mind wouldn't hush. I went to see Randy several times through out the remainder of the evening and made sure I was awake to see him once last time before that break in visiting hours between 6am and 9am. I did sleep for about an hour from 6am to 7. Around 8 or so people started coming in to visit their loved ones, the clock seemed to start moving extremely slow. At 9 sharp I buzzed in to go see Randy, when I got in the room he was awake and breathing on his own, they had him sitting up in bed to keep the pressure off of his head. He doesn't remember anything until that point, he just kept saying how much he hurt and there was some panic in voice, because he didn't know what happened. I talked to him and calmed him down some what and told him what had happened, he asked me several times that day what had happened. He sat up in a chair for the rest of the day and was given pain meds and various other meds to help him. The men that had brought me the night before brought the kids to me around noon and our car to us, they were taken back home by a police officer who came to check on Randy. The kids and I all felt better once we saw each other and once they saw Daddy. The men who had seen him fall just a few hours earlier were very relieved to go in and talk with him. He was transported to a regular room right at the 24 hour point of the phone call I received. (THAT'S GOD!) Throughout the day I constantly had to try and get him to stop trying to do things, he was wanting to make phone calls to finish up some football things we were working on and to check in with work, etc. At one point I left the room to go eat and evidently he made lots of calls, he told work he would probably miss "tomorrow" but would be there Sunday, this was Thursday. He also sold 2 program ads, for the football program. I received a text from a friend, that said he doesn't do "nothing" very well. I finally was able to sneak the phone a way from him when the battery got low. On Friday his headache continued and his soreness, he also had several bouts of nausea; these were from the concussion which was the only major injury he suffered. It is a serious injury, but not as a bad as it could have been. We came home Saturday afternoon after they had waited long enough to know that their wouldn't be any swelling of the brain or anything else that would show up. As I left the hospital with Randy, I prayed how grateful I was to be leaving the hospital as a wife and not a widow. The inches/seconds that separated that line are very slim. We will now spend the next few weeks trying to get Randy to slow down and not do too much, it should be fun. So many hundreds of prayers went up for Randy throughout this whole ordeal, and we covet your continued prayers. I also ask that you remember the men and women that were with him that night and can't shake what happened. There is absolutely no blame, it was truly an accident. There is only undying gratitude to them for saving his life. Randy works by himself everyday climbing ladders and going up telephone poles, if this would have happened when he was by himself the outcome would have been very different. You always hear about the family of law enforcement and fire fighters, but until you see it or experience it for yourself when one of their own is down, you just can't imagine.
Our God is an Awesome God!
There are many more details and such, but so many have asked what happened hopefully this will help you understand more.

Freedom-what is it?

2009-07-06T11:38:00.001-05:00

This is copied from my Eufaula Cottage Blog

Today I got an email that really got me to thinking. The weblink to the video and website is http://www.donttearmedown.com/ It is about a simple war memorial erected in the middle of the desert many years ago by veterans. Now it seems that this memorial is offending someone who lives no where near the memorial. I know that freedom means that this person has a right to sue, but I have to ask. Is it truly freedom when your freedom takes away someone else's? Is the right of someone who might be offended if they ever drive out a remote road in the desert and happen upon this memorial more important than the people who erected the memorial so many years ago? Do we sometimes get so busy saying "Don't I have the right to....." That we forget that our "right to", isn't always the right thing. I have heard it said, I have a right to be angry! Yes, but do you have the right to yell about it and hurt someone else's feelings? I know that if any English teachers read this I am in trouble. It just makes me wonder, have we all taken our "rights" too far when fights break out every where over every thing?In case you wonder, I signed the petition and absolutely support our veterans at every turn. I didn't want to get up on my soap box and rant about my beliefs just questions about why can't different beliefs co-exist anymore? Why does it have to be my way or the highway, or the court room?

Puppies,Puppies,Puppies!

2009-05-08T21:02:00.001-05:00

Daddy Tex!
Baby Tex!

Conner, Tex and the puppies.

We moved their enclosure back into the garage because it started to sprinkle, but then it stopped just as suddenly as it started. Since Abby had just nursed them, this is how excited they were to be out of their enclosure. They will be 4 weeks old on Monday and ready to go to their new homes in 3 weeks.

2009-04-27T19:24:00.000-05:00

Look what was waiting for us when we got home! This tree is about 50 yards from our front door. This beautiful visitor visits several times a year that we see, probably many more, but always on the same tree. He/she waits patiently for a few minutes of snapshots and then is off to fish again.

Abby the Labby is a Mom!

2009-04-13T22:28:00.000-05:00

What does one yellow lab male plus one black lab female= 8 beautiful puppies! 1 chocolate, 3 black, 4 yellow. We lost one of the chocolate this evening sometime. This is her first litter as well as all of ours, it's very stressful and worrisome. Abby seems to be a very good, but tired momma.

Spring?!

2009-03-30T15:47:00.000-05:00

Well, it's hard to believe after the Friday evening and Saturday we had last week that it is spring. Temperatures in the low 30's with snow and rain mix. We just missed getting several inches of snow, it was about an hour north of us. Sunday on the other hand, was sunny with a high of 65?! What a difference a day makes.
Hannah had her 9th birthday on Saturday and it was quite a day! We went bowling with 10 of her friends with brave family, the list was about 25; but with the rain/snow mix coming down fast and furious, many wisely decided to stay put rather than venture out. She had lots of fun and Conner was a big help with the festivities. Cooper and Randy left out Saturday morning in that mess and went camping with scouts. I know, I think there is serious common sense issues there. They had about 4 inches of snow where they went and Cooper didn't have a tent, just a tarp made into a lean-to and a fire he had to stay awake all night and tend to; there is a reason it is not called Mom scouts! I am sure he learned some major life lesson, but I don't know that it wasn't something that couldn't have been learned in say 50+ weather??
I just had to update my profile, because of Hannah turning 9 and Conner turning 13 in February! My how time flies. They are good kids and I wouldn't trade them for the world. It is going by way to fast.
Well, that's all for now, hope this finds you all doing good and staying warm, I mean staying cool, I mean................. Well, staying comfortable.

2009-02-06T20:10:00.000-06:00

Here are some of Hannah's proof's from Studio 23 in McAlester, Ok. The bottom one is the one we ordered for our big picture. There are 18 all total of the proofs and not a bad one in the bunch. I definitely recommend them.

Ice Day 3

2009-01-29T11:11:00.000-06:00

Here is our third ice day. It is melting now, but I ventured out to try and take pictures again. I got all bundled up yesterday and took what looked to be awesome pictures, very artsy. Got inside and they were all BLACK!!! AAGGHH! The camera is still doing the same thing so I took my cell phone out to take a few. This is the ice from the driveway. It was several inches deep.

There is a street out there somewhere between us and the lake.

2008-12-22T19:30:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas from the Sullivan's.

A little slower pace for a day.

2008-12-13T09:38:00.000-06:00

Hannah and I will be heading to Tulsa later today to go to the Nutcracker ballet. Two of her friends are in it this year. Right now, she and I are laying in bed eating donuts and watching a Christmas movie. Randy and the boys went to the men's breakfast and are doing manly things.
Things have been hectic around here but this morning is a bit of a lazy morning for us. School is getting crazy, the kids smell Christmas in the air. Randy hasn't been working overtime right now so he has been getting off at a good time. Right now the only extra curricular activity of the Sullivan kids is Hannah doing the American Legion Shooting Sports. She is improving each time with her BB gun. Cooper and Conner are working hard to get/keep their grades up. They both have a lot of school and homework and are working hard at it.
Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas.

2008-11-17T19:16:00.000-06:00

Well, it's the last week of school before Thanksgiving break. Things are starting to slow down around here. Hannah is finished with soccer for the season, she scored a goal in her last game along with not allowing any to be scored on her in the 1st half that she played goalie. She did however start shooting sports this last week. Middle school football is done for the season as well as the JV team, but Varsity is still playing. The Varsity team will be playing in the 2nd round of the playoffs this Saturday in Tulsa, so Cooper will be suiting up and heading up there. We will be heading up there to cheer them on.
We plan on going to Abilene for Thanksgiving unless football season continues, and then who knows what our schedule will be like.
Blessings

Halloween

2008-11-01T13:49:00.000-05:00

Notice the name tag.

Here are a few pictures of Hannah and a big Chicken on Halloween morning before we left for school!

2008-10-16T11:32:00.000-05:00

Busy Days

2008-09-27T11:21:00.000-05:00

What a busy time of year for us!

Randy is just coming off of service emergency which means he is no longer working 7 days a week.

I have been staying busy working as a Pre-K asst at the elementary, in addition to being mom and wife.

Cooper turned 16 on Wednesday. I can't believe it has been 16 years! He is a fine young Christian man.

Conner is staying busy with football, school and scouts.

Hannah is staying busy with soccer and school.

Hope this finds you all doing well.

Blessings

Football season is here!

2008-09-04T20:34:00.000-05:00

Cooper and Conner each had scrimmages this week and each saw play time. Conner is 2nd string but was able to play some, he was at the other end of the field so the pictures won't be great but trust me he is there. Conner is number 51 and Cooper is 2. Cooper is in the pictures in with white team vs. yellow team. We are white and he is the player closest to the camera. The top pictures are of Conner's game which was played an hour after Hurricane Gustav's debut in Eufaula. In the picture of the boys lined up, Conner is just in front and slightly right of number 7. Just trust me, he's there and he got a great block. Blessings to all.

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-01T17:35:00.001-05:00

Happy Labor Day!

Mom and Dad came down on Thursday and stayed through Sunday. We had a great visit. Cooper had a scrimmage on Friday night. Saturday we went for a swim and then went over to the Indian PowWow to watch for a while. The garments were beautiful. Today we went out on a boat and enjoyed a little bit of time just the 5 of us. We are staying super busy but are managing. Conner has his first football game on Tuesday night.

Here are some pictures that Mom and I took.

Happy Labor Day!

2008-07-31T20:22:00.000-05:00

..."may all who come behind us find us faithful, may the footprints that we leave, lead others to believe."

I just read this quote and it spoke to me. I hope it does the same for you.
I just found that they are lines from a song by Steve Green entitled "Find us Faithful."

Picture Descriptions

2008-07-27T14:26:00.000-05:00

The last picture is of Hannah on the way to the pageant the others are western wear and formal wear the next to last picture is post-pageant. I just call it Tiara's and T'shirts, kind of describes Hannah.
She got 2nd place in prettiest hair, 2nd place western wear and 2nd place formal wear.

Busy but blessed.

2008-07-27T14:04:00.000-05:00

July has been a super busy month for us. Conner just got back from two weeks in Abilene to attend Mpulse camp at ACU. Cooper got back last weekend from Kadesh at ACU and has continued to have football every morning and now this past week and this coming week has band immediately after football. Hannah attended her first sleepover camp with the church here in Checotah. She had a blast. I have started a business with 3 friends named Rowdy Girls designs we had our first show this weekend and did really good. We specialize in all things girly. That has kept me very busy and work has kept Randy busy. Hannah was in the Little Miss Lake Eufaula pageant and had a lot of fun. I will post a picture or two of her on here, but be prepared, we hot rolled her hair and WOW, who knew she had that much. She definitely looked like a big girl.

School starts back up on August 7th for us and I start work on the 4th. The summer is pretty much over and I feel like it hasn't even begun. Oh well, that's the life of a busy family of 5.

I hope this finds you all doing well.

Blessings.

More great firework pics

2008-07-08T21:39:00.000-05:00

The kids with sparklers

2008-07-05T14:08:00.000-05:00

fireworks

2008-07-05T14:07:00.001-05:00

Happy 4th

2008-07-05T13:13:00.000-05:00

Happy Independence Day!
We had a fun day yesterday together as a family. Randy ended up not having to work, so for most of the day we worked on painting the kitchen, cabinets and all. We went outside around 9pm and set off some of our fireworks and then went across the street and set lakeside to watch the city's fireworks. What a beautiful sight they were. There were hundreds of boats out on the lake as far as the eye could see to watch them. Maybe someday we will do that, but it is more than a little crazy on the lake. We are going to go this evening to a fellow scout leader's house and have a BBQ and shoot of more fireworks lakeside. During the day today more painting and such. We are using left over paint from other jobs to save money. It should look nice and will be much better than the taupe nightmare that it was before.
What a blessing to live in a country where we are free to praise God in public and to pray to him. Let's all do what we can to keep it that way. Living in a small town now, it has been refreshing to see the lack of political correctness that is here, but our freedoms are taken away every day by those worried about political correct. As a sign on the road said last week, "Politically correct is biblicaly immoral". I have to say I agree with that. I'll get off my soap box and pray for our country.
As one of my favorite sign says, "America's fragile, Handle with Prayer."
Love to all.

Almost finished bathroom and pic

2008-06-13T13:57:00.000-05:00

Here is the almost done picture of the bathroom. I still haven't decided on towel bars and the mirrors aren't up over the two pedestal sinks. Some finishing work still to be done, but much better. Luckily this isn't scratch and sniff of the before pictures, the subfloor and wall studs were molded completely through and rotten!!! Much cleaner now. I still have to make the shower curtain and hang some decorations.

Fishing with Great Grandpa and Papa

2008-06-13T13:28:00.001-05:00

Bathroom Before and During

2008-06-13T12:55:00.001-05:00

Oops

2008-06-12T22:53:00.000-05:00

It has been brought to my attention that I said London and Georgia. It is London and Alabama. Oh well, I think people knew what I meant and if not there's the correction.
Welcome Baby Ellis Savage of ALABAMA! :) Check out the Five Savage blogspot at the bottom of the page for her new info.

Let's Get Started

2008-06-12T17:38:00.000-05:00

I have enjoyed reading posts from family members in Georgia and London, so I thought I would give it a try. It seems like a great way for friends and family to keep up with our latest happenings as long as I keep up the blog.
Summer is in full swing around here. This used to mean that we would stay up late and sleep in and generally goof off. Oh for those lazy days of summer past. Now a typical day begins with Randy getting up around 5:30am, he is a little off. Cooper getting up around 6:15 or so and they both head out the door before 7am to take Cooper to morning football. Conner, Hannah and myself get up around 7:30 or 7:45 depending on the snooze button that morning. They get ready for Beacon Summer Camp and we head out about 8:00 or so to drop them off. Cooper calls around 9:30am to pick him up from Football. Hannah has fast pitch softball games 1 or 2 nights a week in Muskogee about 35 minutes away. Summer camp's last week is next week and then there will be Boy Scout Camps, continuing football practices, softball games, church camps, etc. Are you starting to figure out the blog title??
We are in the process of buying the house we are renting and working on it in our spare time. We just had the bathroom remodeled and now we are broke but have a nice bathroom and not one with scary mold and CARPET! YUCK!!! I'll post pics of that soon. I start work full time in the fall for Eufaula Public Schools as a preschool teaching assistant. I am looking forward to it, but also a little apprehensive about having a full time job in addition to all of the other things that go on in our lives.
I hope this finds you all doing good and blessings to you.