Updates

A few updates before I close up for the night!

Ryan is home!  He is  still very weak and still needs prayer, but he is a miracle!  His life is truly a miracle and a testimony to God's Amazing Grace.  Thank you so much to all who have prayed!  We are hoping to get to see him soon!

I posted a few weeks back on Nathaniel's eye injury.  He is doing great now.  It took a week for swelling to go down, but when it did - his vision was back to normal!  We are so thankful.

Eli had a slight incident this past weekend (while I was gone) with a field mouse.  He caught it and then proceeded to attempt to feed it.  Needless to say, it didn't want his help and bit his little finger.  You will really have to ask Eli and Ron for the complete story, but he is fine and is still looking for the mouse.  He wants to make it his pet!  I would be happy with no urgent care visits for awhile :)

Many have asked about the boys and their new school.  They are doing well.  There have been some issues, but I think there would be "issues" anywhere.  We have been praying a lot - as a family and individually.  Praying for the Lord to go before them, praying for all 3 of them to have Boldness in their Faith!  I could give you specific prayer requests, but for now, we continue to appreciate your prayers as they wrap up their first 9 weeks of public school!

Miss Maddie had her annual cardiologist exam this week!  She looks so big on that table!

She talked to the doctor, a little.  She cooperated for the nurse during the EKG and  allowed the doctor to listen.  It was a pretty routine visit and everything seems to be the same as a year ago.  They will do another ECHO next year, but she is doing great!

We are missing Daddy this week!  Would you join us in praying that the second half of his week is productive and good?

Thank you for your concern and love for our family.

Update

I realize I haven't posted since Ron returned from Wilmore!  We have pretty much been non-stop since then.  The boys are on spring break this week and I had hoped for a little more "family" time, however spring break falling the week prior to Easter is hard, especially when Pastoring!

I hope to update a little of the last couple of weeks though, so stay tuned!

Catching Up

I have been silent on the blog front for a little over a week, not because there is nothing to blog about, but rather because life has been so busy with so much going on! It's hard to know where to even begin to catch up on all that is going on around here! We lost a beloved pet...got our 2nd 9 weeks of grades...got new glasses! All within the last week or so! Plus a lot more, but those are the highlights. I'll try to post pictures and more details before another round of exciting things happens around here :)

On Our Own!

Daddy left early this morning for Annual Conference.  It is all the way in Sullivan, Indiana this year.  He should be back in the night  Wednesday(well early morning on Thursday).  Ron drove an hour over to Ligonier where he met with 3 other pastors and traveled the remaining 6 hours. They are all staying in a cabin for the next 3 days and when I talked to Ron a little while ago he said they had arrived and discovered that the Lake near their cabin was named Chickapoo Lake!  I told him it sounded like a good blog title.
"4 Pastors stay at Lake Chickapoo"!    I'll settle for just mentioning it :)

We are on the move around here.  The  older 2 boys had a birthday party today at the bowling alley.  It was their first time to bowl and wouldn't you know it, Nathaniel beat everyone!  They both had a good time and although seem a little tired - they say  they aren't sore.  Daddy's final instructions were to be careful bowling and not get their arms worn out!

They have a game tonight.  So we are "resting" now and then we'll get ready to go some more!

Summer is here and we're not slowing down one bit...but we're having FUN!

To piggy back on Ron being gone, would you please keep him in your prayers?  He is in meetings even as I type for conference.  He is the Board of Ministry chair and with that comes a lot today.  Then just Saturday he got an email from London regarding his PhD and many things were a surprise and he has 2 weeks to get a lot of work done and then one more week to prepare for an interview.  Please just pray as his plate is very full right now.  The Lord knows all of this and the next few weeks are in His hands, so we move forward in Faithful Obedience!
Thank you for your prayers!

Team Work

It's been nearly 2 weeks since the first Chicken Pox symptoms. Ron has improved tremendously and we are so thankful! He is still weak and frustrated by his lack of strength and ability to do what he would like to - especially with things piling up!

We are all pitching in and helping as much as we can! The kids and I did some yard work on Saturday to help him out. It made him a little frustrated that we "had" to do it, but I think he was pleased to have it done.

Then yesterday I filled the pulpit at both of our churches. It was very nerve wracking, but Jesus really helped. If nothing else, it definitely gave me a new appreciation for all that Ron does for his Sermon preps and all that he goes through on Sunday's!

We were so thankful that Ron's mom was able to come for those couple of days! It was a treat for the kids and a blessing for me! I have great in-laws!

We are relaxing on this Labor Day and looking ahead to a very busy week of catch up!

Thank you to so many of you who have carried us in prayer during this past month of illness in our family. We hope and pray that it is all behind us!

Praise the Lord, even for small Improvement

Praise the Lord for continued improvement.

Ron's mom decided to leave yesterday after the kids got home from school. Ron was doing better and things seemed to be much more manageable on my end. Ron was able to sit at the table for supper and then sat all evening in his chair (he hadn't done that since Wednesday evening).

We are also praising the Lord for sleep. Ron finally slept through the night last night - Thank you Jesus! He slept well and when I returned from taking the kids to school this morning, he had gotten up and showered on his own and was eating breakfast, again at the table! He was weak though and was soon back to the chair.

He is still very weak, still has a lot of leg pain, but as I mentioned seems to be improving.

He got to the table again for lunch today which makes a full 3 meals in a row, we missed him around the table!

He is frustrated. It is hard for him to be down at all, but now that he is improving (even if only a little) he wants to get to all that needs to be done! Please pray for patients for him! Pray for peace and no frustration. Jesus knows all that needs done and in His time it will get accomplished! Pray that I can be an encouragement!

Thank you for praying for our family!

Chicken Pox

If you've ever heard that adults get chicken pox worse than kids, let me just say - It's True! My handsome hubby is proof!

On Wednesday of last week Ron was feeling pretty yucky. He had flu like symptoms and just over all felt yuck, additionally he had what appeared to be blisters in his mouth. Then Wednesday evening we noticed a small little blister on his wrist. He thought it was from his watch rubbing. By Thursday morning he couldn't get out of bed. He was very weak and extremely miserable. I got him an appointment and by the time he got dressed to go to the doctor, he had blisters all over his chest. The doctor confirmed the diagnosis and started him on an antiviral and a pain medication. We came home and he spent the day on the couch, feeling crappy.

He didn't sleep much at all on Thursday night and by Friday morning things had gotten much worse. He had blisters developing very rapidly but the worst was chest pain. He was complaining of some serious chest pain. I was concerned and called the doctor again. I wanted to make sure this was something normal. The doctor was also concerned and wanted to see him right away for an EKG. So back to the doctor we went!

The EKG was normal and it was determined that the blisters were not only in his mouth, but down his esophagus and in his stomach. Yuck!

So home again with different meds and advice that we will need to allow this nasty virus to run it's course.

The rest of the day Ron spent on the couch and even the night. I slept in the chair nearby as he was so weak. Needless to say, neither of us got much sleep. If he had improved at all on Friday, (and that's a big IF) by morning things were once again worse. This time he was unable to keep anything, including meds down. He couldn't stand without my help and was very unsteady when he did get up!

It was early Saturday morning, but I knew I couldn't get through the day without help. I called Ron's mom and asked if she was still willing to come. She got on the road right away. Then I called Cathy, a very good friend, and asked her for help. I needed to get the kids out of the house - Ron was complaining of a bad headache and they were not helping it at all. Cathy took the kids to her house and about 30 minutes later I took Ron to the ER. He still couldn't keep anything down and he was so weak.

We were taken back right away and the doctor order a chest x-ray, blood work and got him started in an IV with pain and nausea meds. Ron was really out of it and couldn't answer any questions they were asking - it was very scary! Before long the pain meds helped him relax and finally get some sleep and the fluids helped too. The doctor said he was very dehydrated. The chest x-ray was clear and proved there were no blisters in his lungs (thank the Lord), the blood work checked out OK too. We were at the hospital for several hours, but by the time we were going home Ron was much improved. He was able to talk in complete sentences to the doctor and although he couldn't walk all the way to the van, he was looking much better.

We got home, and got settled before his mom arrived and the kids came back too. Just in time for me to collapse!

On Thursday when Ron was diagnosed, we decided I would do my best to fill his shoes on Sunday at our churches. After our Friday night and Saturday, I knew there was no way I could be prepared! We have some wonderful lay leaders and speakers that were willing to step up at the very last minute! I'm so thankful for our church family!

Sunday morning I took the kids and after missing 3 weeks was finally able to return to church -it wasn't the same though with Ron missing. Frances (Ron's mom) stayed with him. There was small improvement on Sunday, but still not able to keep food down. He was still so weak. We wonder now if perhaps the reaction was due to all the medication. Ron isn't big on meds, so when he does take them he tends to react pretty strongly.

Then Monday again there was still small improvement. A lot of head, neck and shoulder pain, which made us wonder if there were more internal pox that were causing it. He still couldn't get comfortable to sleep much, but we slowly began to see him improve.

Today again was small improvement. Tonight he is complaining of some sharp pains in his leg (we'll wait to diagnosis that)! He is however off the couch and onto the chair tonight for the first time in 5 days, and even attempting to read the paper as I type this!

We are thankful for small improvements and thankful that although it has been a very hard, emotional and painful couple of days - Jesus has protected Ron from serious long term injuries! He will recover from this and we are thankful!

There are mixed diagnosis as to where Ron got the chicken pox. Some doctors say that I could have given it to him, from the shingles. Other doctors say it would be a first they have seen in their careers. We have heard of other cases of chicken pox going around right now (even though it is not the typical season), but will probably never really know whether it was coincidence or I am the first EVER to give my husband chicken pox! (Not somthing I am proud of)!

The kids seem to be clear so far. The older 2 have both had 2 immunizations and should be fine. The younger 2 have had 1 of 2, so they too should be OK. It is possible for any of them to get them, but not likely that it will be bad or perhpas even that we will know if they do!

We aren't sure why we have been under attack as far as our health is concerned, but we are very ready to be healthy and have all 6 of us healthy!

I'll keep you posted as we continue to heal in the Adkins Home!

Out from Under our Hole!

If you frequent the Adkins Family Blog, you know the past couple of weeks have been anything but normal around here! Life has been so insane and I'll be honest with you this is one momma who is ready for school to begin and the lack of routine of summer to be behind us! We need some normalcy back in this house!

Nine of the last 13 days has found one of our family members at the doctor. That's not the kind of normalcy I like! I thought last week was bad, but the chaos just continued to this past week.

I think, although I'm a little scared to say this, that we are now ALL on the road to recovery.


Miraculously enough Maddie has remained unscathed by any of this. She is healthy and energetic and full of life!

I just love this picture!

Daddy (aka Ron) has been relatively healthy too! He has had some allergies issues, but has not been the one making trips to the doctor! He was asked to do a funeral this past week with an unchurched family. We continue to be amazed how the Lord puts new people in our paths! Ron has been asked to do 17 funerals in the last 3 years. Although these are not easy to do, we sense the Lord using him in mighty ways to minister to families grieving and in many cases seeking so much more!

Nathaniel too seems to be doing pretty good. We took him to urgent care last weekend and it was a virus not pink eye! He improved relatively quickly and was back outside in no time! His yearly exam was this past week and he did great with that too! He and Ronnie are both 51 1/4 inches tall, but Nathaniel has 5 lbs on his big brother!

Ronnie went to his PT follow up appointment yesterday and got a great report. Brenda, his Physical therapist, said that she could already tell improvement and praised him on how well he's done his exercises. He is strengthening this legs and she could tell. She sent him home with some of the same and some new exercises and said she would like to see him in another 6 weeks to keep track of how he's doing!

Eli was our crazy man this week. He broke out Tuesday evening with a rash that according to books and grandparents appeared to be chicken pox! By morning it looked more like hives to me, but I thought we better check with the doctor. By Wednesday evening he was broke out everywhere and by Thursday morning he was beginning to improve. The doctor did blood work to try to determine what was going on and after several days of assuming I was one of very few (if any) parents who had ever given their children chicken pox - the doctors office called and said, "No Chicken pox, must be a virus"! Eli and his viruses! He's got to stop this. He is much better and hopefully we can keep him that way!

My shingle pain is 100% better than last week and I am very grateful! Some of you have asked about the rash, it remains and I'm told by some could be as long as years before it's completely gone - who knows!

Then today I was diagnosed with both strep and an ear infection. Apparently my immune system is way down due to the shingles and that explains it. All I know is that I am ready for routine and not the kind that includes trips to the clinic!

We hope that things, not only on this blog, but in our crazy household will get back to "normal" soon! One thing I can't seem to get over is the fact that if we had moved this August, as planned - we had no plan for insurance. We would not have been covered for all of this.

Praise the Lord for His provision!

There is good to be found in all circumstances!

Lots to Do

We have a busy weekend coming up with LOTS of things planned. I can't wait to update you on all of it next week!

Until then, I wanted to say that my sister had her first doctor's appointment in the States this morning and things went well. According to my mom, Jo and Billy both like their doctor, who happens to be an MK and so understands them a little too! She doesn't need to see Jo again for 3 week, so everything is good!

Thank you for praying for my sis!

Adkins Adventures

The past few months have been a little crazy around the Adkins home. Ron's acceptance in March to the London School of Theology was just the beginning. Through prayer and seeking the Lord we decided to make the difficult decision to resign from our churches and move toward a ministry with the Francis Asbury Society in Wilmore. The weeks and months leading up to this past weekend have been extremely difficult for Ron and I. I wish that I could have documented all the ups and downs, highs and lows, prayers and answers. But much of it needed to be dealt with on a personal level. I wanted to explain now what is happening in our home and how we believe the Lord has been working all along.

On July 1st we were contacted and told by the D.S. of the United Methodist Church that there was a candidate to take our position and we would need to be out of the parsonage by July 31. Our original move date was June 30th and was extended to give more time for a replacement. Then we had been asked to go through July. Having heard nothing until July 1, we were beginning to wonder.

We spent the next several days packing, making phone calls to secure housing (we had begun this process, but had not found anything as of yet). For reasons we could not explain, each home we contacted someone on, we got the same answer, "sorry I just signed the papers on that house this morning", or "I rented that home yesterday". To say we were discouraged and frustrated would be an understatement. We continued to seek the Lord and trust that He was leading. We had begun this process with the goal of being obedient to Him no matter where it lead us and we weren't about to stop now!

This past weekend we traveled to Northeastern Ohio to spend a couple of days with Ron's parents and to speak at two churches. We were contacted by the D.S. of the UM churches we Pastor while we were there. Due to some very tragic circumstances the candidate that had been selected to begin the process of taking over here was unable to proceed. We were asked if we would be willing to remain on for another year.

We are willing! We are not sure what the specifics of all of that mean, but this is what we do know. Ron will begin his PhD work with LST on Oct. 1st. He will be meeting with our PPRC in the next couple of weeks to determine how the churches can help him to make this work. Perhaps a reduced load here to allow time for research. We are not sure of specifics. Ron will also continue to work with FAS. This 1 year period will allow us to be in deputation mode where we will continue to raise the support we need to make the move and adjustment to Wilmore in a year.

Some may look at this and say, "why did you ever resign from your churches?" Through our seeking we sensed that Lord leading us in that way. We wanted to be obedient to Him! We believe without any doubt that The Lord's hand has been with us throughout this process!

We also believe that He will continue to guide and lead us if we are faithful to seek Him.

Many of you have been praying for us and we are so thankful! If you are interested in getting a prayer card from our family or learning more about the ministry we are involved in through FAS, please let us know!

So...the Adkins Adventures continue! We continue on with Jesus and as my Grandma says, "When God is in your plans, plan BIG!"

Updates

We have spent the last 5 days with Ron's parents in Northeastern Ohio! We had a great time as we realized how badly we needed a break!

Our time there was filled with many things - that I will "report" on in the next few days. Like "Real" Baseball Games, Camping, Worship Services, Seeing Old Friends and Meeting New, Catching up with Ron's parents, Safety and Answers to Prayer!

I will update on all of these in the coming days, but for now please know that The Lord is Blessing the Adkins Family Beyond Measure and we are truly Thankful!