I haven't posted to this thread 'til now, but I have been keeping the two of you in my thoughts. Just yesterday, I was wondering how you were doing. I'm so glad to hear the wonderful news!

Pam, thank you for the updates!! I am sooo glad that your husband is doing much better, it is truly a blessing.

That's excellent news!!!!!!! I'm so glad for you! Praise the Lord!


.....Kelly :)

This is wonderful news.

dear pam, belated "hoorays" for you and jon that he is home!! although i was away for 10 days, you were in my thoughts and prayers and will continue to be. lisa

My Holiday :( - Update
 

(I sent this to my email list as well...but several have asked recently how life was going after this year)

I don't even know how to write this....

I know I had been promising you all a great letter the last week or so...and up until Tuesday I thought I would be able to get away with that!

This are looking up, for the most part...ok, they were looking up until Tuesday(december 13).

Jon's health is good. His heart has damage to be expected, although when it FINALLY sunk in to him just how much damage, it shook him up a bit.

His job situation is FABULOUS at this point. He has been told he will be hired April 2006 by Wells Fargo. He has been working there as a contract to hire. He is working in data encryption and is really really loving the work. The pay is really nice and within a year (well maybe now 2) we will be back on our feet.

I love my job. The people I work with are terrific. The environment is fast and fun, without being stress filled. My boss is really about everything you would want in a direct report :). It is the situation I was looking to find.

Life was feeling pretty good for the most part, until Tuesday. The last couple months we have really been struggling with our son Erik. He was taking constant monitoring. Skipping school, outwardly defiant to us (but not to authorities) etc. He eventually landed in the alternative HS in the area for credit recovery for skipping. He had A'S! when he decided attendance should be optional :(. "School is stupid. School is a waste of time. I am going to drop out" was rapidly becoming his mantra. (yes yes classic signs of substance abuse...how could I have
missed it)

Trying to instill some tough love, I told him "you drop out and you move out". So Monday night he didn't come home. I called him Tuesday morning with the directive to get his butt on the curb so we could get him to school (we knew where he was staying). His response was "I moved out." RIGHT! I couldn't wait to fight with him there, as we had to be to work (conversation was at 7:00 am!).

When my middle school boys came home from school, the back door was broken open and it was apparent we have been the victim of a Breaking and Entering. Long story short, my oldest son and two of his new acquaintances broke into our house during the day and stole about $5000 worth of property. They took ALL our Christmas presents for this year (mostly xbox games as the boys are at that age). They took 12 of my husband's Beatles albums that were about 35 years old (worth big $$$), they took a bunch of dvds, a bass guitar shaped like Paul McCarney's (that was Jon's), FOUR MS XP Professional software packages (we had as eval copies, 2 MS FrontPage copies (all sealed) (cha- ching...can you say at least $3000) and another son's backpack.

It was devastating to know it was Erik who was part of this. He was not the mastermind...just the patsy. He claims his friends were being evicted, so they stole the stuff so his friend wouldn't be homeless.

The hardest of all of this (beside watching the stress on Jon...that
scared the hell out of me!) is there is no money in our budget to
replace any Christmas present. This has been a rough rough year for us, and we thought we had made it through. Darn it! My two youngest are really torn between being angered at their brother for ruining Christmas for our family and bewildered about what happens next.

Right now he is still in the juvenile detention facility facing a Class
D Felony (more than $1000 less than $10000 in property theft). He will be there until Wednesday (december 21), when we hope we can get him in a treatment program.

I know prayers can work....is it too much to ask for your prayers again?

Oh, my goodness. I just finished reading the updates in this thread and I really don't know what to say except bless your heart for all the stuff you've been through! I sincerely hope that the tough times are over and that the new year will turn out wonderfully for you.

Ditto the sympathy. How horrible. Reminds me of my mom's best friend's son (who is my brother's age, they were friends when they were kids). Her and her husband are great parents, but he just kept on getting in all kinds of trouble (for now, he's been keeping his nose clean). It was so heartbreaking for them- he stole their car, totalled it, trashed their house, they had to bail him out countless times.

I hope that the rest of the kids involved are being punished as well. I'm sure that was terrible for you to go through, but sometimes this sort of punishment is what it takes to get through to them. I don't think you mentioned how old he is... but he'd better be saying his prayers to thank God that he's under 18.

I can't imagine being a parent in this situation!

Re: My Holiday :( - Update
 

The way your year has been, quite easy to miss, I would think. I would probably have assumed the behavior was related to the stresses of the last year. Please don't beat yourself up over this.

Jon is there. I know it sounds sappy, but I can't think of a better Christmas present.

I can only imagine their conflicted feelings about their big brother.

Never too much to ask! All 5 of you will be in my prayers.

Re: My Holiday :( - Update
 

I'm sorry for all your troubles. If it makes you feel better, you wouldn't know what hot is without cold, black without white, and also happiness without sadness; so hopefully 2006 will be a happy year.

Sounds cheesy, but it's true.

-Rudey
--Have Erik sell organs and blood to pay for new gifts, and if that's not possible I'm sure your other kids will understand

Re: My Holiday :( - Update
 

You and your family are in my prayers.

(((((((((((((Pam))))))))))))))

I feel so terrible about the spiritual attack you're under! Please, never be afraid to ask for our prayers - your Greek Chat family will be standing in the gap for you! We genuinely care for you, and hope to see you through this, too!

*bighugs* to my fellow Hoosier. That's awful. : ( I am definitely keeping your family in my prayers.