Family Photo

This was taken at the hospital today. Doesn't Junie look happy?

Family Time

Jen was able to get in a lot of family time this weekend. My mom and Juniper spent all day yesterday with Jen and Bridger, and then today my mom, Junie, and I went back for a few hours. Jen seems to be doing really well. She walks on her own without any problems and carries on conversation normally. Her eye even seems to be getting a bit better. She does tire quickly though. A walk to the cafeteria is enough to wear her out. She is beginning to understand and appreciate the importance of her therapy, which is good.

Junie loves being with her mom and dad, even though it is hard for all of them when they have to part ways. Hopefully it won't be too long in the grand scheme of things before they are all back at home together. I sure loved having Junie and my mom here for a couple of days!

Family Update

My mom, Junie, and Abby the dog are staying with us this weekend and will be going back and forth to visit Jen. Last night Jen had many visitors- her Dad, Bridger, my mom, Junie, and their golden retriever were all able to spend the afternoon and evening with her. Yesterday afternoon Jen was able to go out to lunch with her dad and seemed to really enjoy the opportunity to get away from the hospital for a while. I haven't talked to Jen in a couple of days, but it sounds like she isn't quite as depressed about the expected long hospital stay as she was at first. She wants to be able to take care of Junie on her own, but knows that she needs all the rehab she can get first.

The above picture was taken last night. It is nice to see them all together again!

Update on Jen

Today Jen got an evaluation from her doctor and therapists and it looks like they want to Jen to complete a month of rehab at the hospital. She has already been in rehab for one week, so she is looking at three more weeks at Saint Al's. Bridger said she is pretty depressed, as she believed she may be released within the week. Now, looking at three more weeks of lots of therapy and being cooped up in her little room, she is feel pretty down, so please keep that in your prayers. The doctor says that she has a torn retina in her left eye and that it may heal itself. However, in the case that it doesn't, the doc thinks it could be corrected surgically. They will continue the physical, speech, and occupational therapy.

Bridger met with the prosecuting attorney yesterday. He found out that the man who ran the stop sign and hit Jen is only being charged with leaving the scene of the accident, which I think is absolutely absurd, but according to the prosecuting attorney, they aren't able to get him for anything else. Which means that he'll get a fine and maybe probation. Strange that someone can change others lives indefinitely, while their own life may go on as usual.

Bridger, Junie, my Mom, and even Abby, the golden retriever, are headed up this direction tomorrow to spend time with Jen. The doctors are allowing them to bring the dog in for therapy purposes. I'm sure Abby will be thrilled to see Jen again! Please pray for their safety as the drive back and forth this weekend.

Tuesday Update

Well, there isn't too much new info to update on. My mom chatted with Jen for an hour on the phone today and said she seems like Jen again, which is wonderful! Jen continues to feel restless and ready to leave, and I certainly don't blame her. The guys were meeting with lawyers today, but that's about all I know! I guess I don't know much! I wish I had more to update on....maybe tomorrow.

Junie, as you can see, is thriving. We can't get enough of her! I just love that last picture of her...wouldn't you just melt if she looked at you like that?

Junie Pics and Update

Yesterday Tyson and I spent some time with Jen and Bridger at the hospital. Jen seems to be remembering more and more each day. Last week she wasn't able to remember what Bridger does for a living, but yesterday she talked on about his work building houses. We're praying that her capacity to remember things continues to improve, and we're sure it will! Jen's left eye still has a blind spot, her eye lid droops, and her eye kind of floats, but not as bad as it was. Continue to pray that her eye will heal itself. She is acting like herself again, though, which is so reassuring. She is pretty restless and ready to leave the hospital, which is understandable.

As you can tell from the pictures, Junie continues to be the cutest little girl ever. By the way, she is wearing a pair of my pants....from a long time ago! Isn't she stylin'?

Hospital Visit

Tyson and I spent about an hour and a half visiting with Jen at the hospital this afternoon. We had a nice time chatting and laughing. Jen looks good- you can tell that her left eye is still recovering, but it was looking straight on today, rather than down at the floor as it had been earlier this week. Jen says she gets frustrated with some of the therapy, as she really doesn't understand what it is for. I think the therapy she has a hard time with is when they ask her word/sentence questions, probably more abstract things. I can't imagine how hard it would be to have the will, but not quite the ability to answer simple questions. She told us how frustrated she got when the therapist tried playing checkers with her (she called it scrabble, but we figured out it was actually checkers). Jen said she had never played checkers before and was frustrated because she didn't understand the rules.

Still, Jen is doing amazingly well. We can't believe how far she has come. One week ago she was in the ICU, unable to open her eyes or really talk. Today she was telling stories, Jen style, and laughing. We are so grateful to have her back, and we are certain that she will continue to heal and recover all those areas of the brain that are still healing! It is interesting to sort of 'see' how the brain can suffer such trauma and then begin to heal and/or rewire itself.

We'll be headed back up for a visit tomorrow. Bridger is going back to Boise tomorrow, as well as my parents with the June bug. We'll update more again later!

Friday Update

I talked to both my dad and Bridger today and received an update on Jen and Juniper. Jen continues to make progress. Bridger said the blind spot in her left eye is getting better. She is receiving a lot of therapy- physical, speech, and occupational. Bridger said she is doing really well with her physical and speech therapy, however it is evident that her brain is still recovering. Bridger mentioned that the occupational therapist (or maybe it was speech) reads sentences to Jen that have a particular word left out and she is supposed to be able to fill in the blank, but she has a hard time with that right now. Tyson mentioned that while he was visiting the other day they were working on metaphors with her, asking questions like, "What does it mean when someone says don't cry over spilled milk", and she took it literally at first and the therapist had to explain it to her. SO, continue to pray that her brain will keep healing and that those sort of things will right themselves. We're sure they will, as her progress so far has been amazing! It has been just over a week since the accident, and we are just so grateful that the Lord has brought her this far.

Also, please pray that Jen will have peace. From previous comments she has made it seems she may be worried that she won't be able to take care of Juniper as well as she would like. We know that she will fully be able to do that, and have seen her strength and will to get well. In fact, my dad mentioned today that Jen made the decision to have lots of therapy throughout the day in order to heal quicker and get out of the hospital sooner. We're thankful that the Lord has given her the strength to work so hard and have such a desire.

While I was talking to my dad today I could hear Junie just gabbing on and on in the background. Sounds like Junie! My parents are working strange work schedules right now in order for one of them to always be home with Junie. While they would never even think of complaining, I know that having a baby in their care full time has probably disrupted their lives. Please pray for them, that even though I know they cherish time with Junie, that they would be able to rest and accomplish what is needed at work.

Bridger drove back to Rupert this evening and plans on doing some work on our mom and dad's house tomorrow. He has been in the process of framing their new house, but of course that work was stalled due to the accident. He'll be headed back to Boise later this weekend. Pray for safe travels.

Please pray for Jen's dad, Ralph, as he will be traveling back to Boise from Hawaii tomorrow. He flew in right after the accident, but had to fly back to settle some work issues. Please pray that the Lord will grant him safe travels!

Well, I have lots and lots of prayer requests! Thanks to all of you who are reading this and praying for our family. God bless!

Daily Update

The good news just keeps coming, little by little, every day. The Lord has truly has His hand upon Jen, Juniper, and Bridger!

I may have mentioned this before, but Jen has been moved down to the rehab floor. It sounds like she is getting therapy every day. I talked to her again today, and she sounds wonderful! Her left eye, the one with the blind spot, has been sort of, lazy I guess you could say, but my mom said that today it was already looking better than yesterday. Yea!

Jen seemed to really enjoy her time with Junie this week. My parents just went home this evening, so Jen had a couple of days to snuggle her little girl. Junie was so relieved to see her mama. My mom said as soon as Jen took her, Junie snuggled right into Jen's shoulder. Jen had worried at one point that she wouldn't be able to take care of Junie as well as she did before the accident, but I think it has been proven in the past couple of days that she'll be just as great of a mama as before.

In fact, Junie slept through the night for the first time while getting to visit Jen. My mom said Junie's whole countenance changed when she was with her mama. Thankfully, she has started trying to crawl and move around again.

Finally, up until today, the doctors and therapists had been saying to expect that Jen would be in the hospital for about two months. However, today my mom said that now they're saying two weeks! After that Jen will do outpatient therapy. What a praise!

Bridger will be traveling back to Rupert this weekend to do a little work and to spend time with Juniper. Then he and my parents will be back up Sunday with Junie. Please pray for safe travels for our family while they are going back and forth between Rupert and Boise. And of course, continue to pray for healing, rest, and peace!

Thank you all for your prayers. While this has been, and continues to be, a difficult and complicated time in Bridger, Jen, and Junie's lives (and many others), it has also been a huge blessing to see the Lord working in this situation. He has blessed our family mightily, and we are all very thankful!

Wednesday Update

I just got off the phone with Jen! I had called Bridger to see how Junie's appointment went and how Jen was doing, and he passed the phone to her. We had a great conversation. Jen told me today is the first day she has really been able to grasp everything that happened, including all the details about Junie. She mentioned that before it all happened, she had thought that if something like this were to ever happen to her, she would just want to black out and not remember any of it. She said it is a huge praise that the Lord allowed her to sleep through the chaos and trauma, especially since she wouldn't have been able to be with Junie. She sounds great and it was awesome to hear how lucid she is!

Today Bridger took Junie up to see Jen, and I'll bet they were both relieved to see each other! Bridger said Junie's doctor appointment went really well. Their pediatrician said that had she (or he, can't remember) not known about the accident, she wouldn't have suspected a thing. Junie is definitely on the mend!

We just thank the Lord for his wonderful grace and mercy!

Update

Today's update:
Jen is still waking up and talking quite a bit, although as she tires out she tends to be less lucid. She is asking for Juniper a lot, which is excellent because it means her mama instinct has kicked in. She is able to get up and go for short, assisted walks. Bridger mentioned that she has a large blind spot in her left eye. The occupational therapist thought that if it doesn't correct itself on it's own, that they would be able to train her to compensate for it. But pray that the Lord may see fit to heal it! The word from the doctors and therapists is to expect a two month hospital stay, but of course, we're all praying that it will be shorter. My mom got to talk to Jen on the phone today, and she mentioned that she doesn't want to go hunting next weekend.....she thinks she'd better rest. Bless her heart!

Bridger is sounding better and better every day. He sounds so optimistic and peaceful. He was headed back to Rupert tonight to spend time with Junie and to be with her at her appointment tomorrow. Please continue to pray for him!

According to my dad, Junie has started to coo and chatter again! We are grateful that she is starting to seem like herself again. Still, my dad says that she doesn't like to be left alone at all, and she is still having trouble sleeping at night. Please pray that Junie may have peace and rest.

For those of you who are checking this blog, feel free to leave your thoughts and encouragements in the comments section. I'll be sure to pass them on to Bridger, Jen, and Junie. God bless!

My Bluegrass Family Coming To Town!

After spending a number of years entertaining the world, my bluegrass family is finally scheduled to perform in Idaho! All of our Idaho friends and family will finally get the opportunity to see first-hand what we have been bragging about for all of these years.

They will be playing the Nampa Civic Center on Thursday, Oct. 25th. Tickets are selling at a good rate, so if you want to go you had better think about purchasing your tickets soon. You can get them online at

http://www.nampaciviccenter.com/

at which point you will have to find and follow the appropriate links for 'Cherryholmes'. Stick with it and you will eventually get to the seat selection part. Happily, the Civic Center is a small enough venue that there aren't really any bad seats.

Check out the great family web site for more details about the band, CD's, T-shirts, and everything else that you may want to know about them. Can't wait!

Tyson

Jen and Junie Update

"But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head. I was crying out to the Lord with my voice, and He answered me from His holy mountain. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me." Psalm 3:3-5

The Lord has been such a shield around Jen and Juniper during this time! Jen is continuing to improve day by day. She went for a little walk yesterday and has continued to wake up and talk now and then. She is still talking coherently about Juniper, and was even able to tell the nurse what Junie's weight was the day she was born. Today Jen got to have a shower, and I can't even imagine how good that must have felt! Bridger said they worked the snarls out of her hair and she's now sporting some very cute pig tails. No one is sure how long Jen will be in the hospital; she is currently awaiting a room on the rehab floor. Continue to pray for her recovery!

Junie is having a hard time sleeping at night, poor little thing! She still has a bump on her head and I'm sure her little ribs are sore and uncomfortable. She has an appointment with the pediatrician on Wednesday, and I'll update more on her recovery then.

Bridger was able to get the insurance info on the other driver and has submitted those numbers. The guy that hit Jen's car was driving his parent's car, and luckily they had insurance. Hopefully their insurance will cover much of the costs.

Please continue to pray for Bridger, that he may have rest, peace, and a clear mind during this difficult time.

Praise the Lord for his love and mercy!

Praise!

Tyson and I just got home from visiting Jen at the hospital. We were able to go in with her dad and visit (Bridger was on his way back from Rupert). She opened her eyes and recognized both Tyson and I, said our names, and told us she loved us. She asked why she was in the hospital, and her dad explained that she had been in a car accident. She asked if it was bad. Then she asked where Junie was, and told us how much she missed her! She also told us to tell Bridger that she loves him. It was so great to see her open her eyes, recognize people, and formulate questions. According to her parents, they are moving her down to the rehab floor tomorrow, and will start doing physical, speech, and occupational therapy. They said she may be in the hospital anywhere from two weeks to two months, depending on how her therapy goes. If she is doing well, they may even move her home and do outpatient therapy. Pray that she continues to heal!

Junie is still doing well, although she was up a lot last night crying and cranky. Pray that she continues to heal as well.

Finally, the guy who ran the stop sign and plowed into Jen's car turned himself in yesterday. He made sure he got a lawyer before turning himself in. He'll need it!

We are so grateful that Jen is showing such signs of improvement!

Another Quick Update

I just got off the phone with mom and have some more news.

My parents are definitely heading back to Rupert with Juniper tonight, and my brother is going with. His car is at my parents house and he needs a few things from his own home. He'll stay the night, then head back up to Boise tomorrow. Jen's parents will be staying with her tonight.

The neurosurgeon was in today and let Bridger know that they expect a 100% recovery, although it will take a long time to fully recover. They took out her IV today, so that she'll start asking for water and food on her own.

I'll update again when I have more information! We praise the Lord for all He has done!

Update

I talked to my mom this morning and got another update on Jen and Juniper. Tyson and I will not be going to Boise today, as we both have some catching up to do here in Mountain Home.

Jen is doing the same. She is no longer in ICU, but is in the Neuroscience section of the hospital. She is waking every now and then, but is really out of it and groggy. She doesn't open her eyes very often.

We are still so relieved that Junie was released from the hospital, but I think everyone is a little nervous too. Juniper had a hard time keeping her medicine down last night, and was finally able to keep a dose down around 9:00. Pray that she continues to keep the meds down, as the doctor said she would be okay as long as they stay ahead of the pain. It sounded like my parents may head back to Rupert with Junie today, as Bridger wanted to get her out of a hotel and settled in somewhere familiar. I'm not sure on that though, as plans have been very flexible and subject to frequent change in the past few days.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers during this trying time! Continue to pray for a full and speedy recover for both of our gals. God bless!

Jen and Junie Update

It has been a long couple of days, but we have praises. Jen was downgraded and moved out of the ICU today. She is now waking up a little every now and then. She is not very coherent and is on a lot of pain medication. Her worst injury is the brain trauma she suffered. It will still be some time before she totally heals from that.

Huge praise- Junie was released from the hospital today! She seems so happy to be snuggling on her daddy's shoulder again. She is still in pain, due to the fractured ribs but is medicated also. We are so grateful that she is with family again. My parents have a hotel room right next to the hospital Jen is in, so they are taking care of Junie while Bridger spends time at Jen's bedside.

Please continue to pray for their health and recovery, and praise Him for what He has already done!

Prayer, Please

Last night my brother's wife, Jen, and their 6 month old daughter, Juniper, were in a serious car accident in Twin Falls. Jen had to be extracted from the car. Both mother and daughter were flown to Boise on life flight. Jen is in the ICU at St. Alphonsus. Right now she is nonresponsive. She may have bleeding on the brain and brain swelling, as well as other unknown injuries. They will be doing some tests today. Juniper is in the PICU at St. Luke's in Boise. She has three fractured ribs, one lung is possibly punctured, and she has bleeding in the brain. My brother is torn between two hospitals, but we thank the Lord that they are only five minutes apart. He is holding up okay, but is quite shaken. Please keep Jen and Juniper in your prayers, that the Lord may heal them and protect them. Please pray for Bridger, that the Lord may provide him strength during this difficult time.

Tyson and I are headed back to Boise soon, after spending the entire night at each hospital. Our family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers!

Things that make you go hmmm...

Tonight Tyson asked, "Do you ever wonder why the cover of our road atlas has a picture of people kayaking on it?" Hmm....

Pecans in the Cemetery

A hat tip to our old friend Bob for sending us this cute story.

PECANS IN THE CEMETERY (A real old oldie ----- and Goodie)On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence. One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts. "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me,"said one boy. Several dropped and rolled down toward the fence. Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me." He just knew what it was. He jumped back on his bike and rode off. Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along."Come here quick," said the boy, "you won't believe what I heard! Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls."The man said, "Beat it kid, can't you see it's hard for me to walk." When the boy insisted though, the man hobbled slowly to the cemetery. Standing by the fence they heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me..."The old man whispered, "Boy, you've been tellin' me the truth. Let's see if we can see the Lord." Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord. At last they heard, "One for you, one for me. That's all. Now let's go get those nuts by the fence and we'll be done." They say the old man made it back to town a full 5 minutes ahead of the kid on the bike.

Dad's Birthday

Happy Birthday Dad!

Here are the runners up.........family joke, sorry!
Woohoo!
Dad's Muscle Man pose
Grandma and Junie........what a ham bone that little girl is!
Juniper loves hangin' with Aunt Sadie

I don't think Junie gets loved enough, do you?

Bridger is building Mom and Dad's new home. He is doing an amazing job, and I know it means a lot to them. We're proud of ya Bridge!

We all crawled up to the top floor to check out the view from the bedrooms. Pretty nice!

Saturday was my dad's birthday, so we drove to Rupert to celebrate. My parents are building a new home out on some property they've owned for quite a while. It has been fun to watch the progress. We were actually able to distinguish different rooms this time, as well as check out the second floor. What an amazing house it will be when it is all finished! Bridger is doing all the framing for them. He is doing a great job! The house has a lot of angles to it, and even I can tell it must be a challenging job. But he's obviously up for it! After checking out the house we went to dinner in town at a place called the Drift In (or is it Inn?). The Drift is located in a historic building around the town square that used to be a bank. They recently remodeled it to make it a rather nice dining room with great views of the historic square. I hope Dad had a nice birthday, even though he wasn't out hunting! It was great spending time with our family and celebrating one more year with my dad. I love you Dad! Sorry about the goofy photos!

Surprise Date

I know, when I update the blog I have a stream of posts. Oh well!

Last week I received a formal invitation for a date with my hubby. Tyson left the printed invitation inside the refrigerator, right where I would see it. The date was for Sunday night, at 7:30. So, on Sunday, I was banished to our room for two hours while he got things ready. I watched a movie, folded laundry, and got dressed up while I waited for him.

He is so creative! At 7:30 sharp he knocked on the bedroom door and escorted me to our living room, which he had turned into a whimsical dining setting. He had moved the living room furniture out of the way and had moved the dining room table in. Draped around the dining room table was a canopy of white twinkle lights, of the Christmas tree variety. Tyson had even found and purchased a DVD of a fireplace- it is a recording of a crackling fire with soft classical music playing in the background. With the atmosphere set he proceeded to serve me a homemade dinner of candied salmon, garlic rice, rolls, salad, wine, and a box of chocolates for dessert. After dinner we played a few rounds of scrabble. It was a perfect date and I am so blessed to have such a thoughtful and romantic husband!

Above is a picture of our 'dining out' experience!

Shopping Day

On Saturday my mom came up for a girls only shopping trip. We found some great Labor Day sales, including a cute pair of boots that we both picked up- Mom the black pair, and me the brown pair. Mom and I don't get out and do that very often, but we need to. I loved spending the day with you Mom! We definitely need to do that more often!

Moose Pictures

Moose has hit a serious chewing phase lately. He's been chewing my flowers, branches of the trees, and even the siding on the house. So last week Tyson bought the biggest bone he could find, in hopes that Moose would chew that instead. Luckily, he loves it! He's been spending much of his day chewing a bone almost as long as him. Yesterday he snuck into the house with it. How he finagled that huge bone through the doggy doors I'll never know.