David's Birthday

David's turned 36 this year. His birthday date was kind of cool. It was 10-10-10. It was a quiet birthday this year. We invited Jenny, Shane, and Aurora over for dinner and the party. Since David really is not a fan of cake, we had an ice cream cake. David got a lot of clothes from the girls and I. I think his favorite gifts by far was the small basketball hoop that hangs over a door from his parents and then a calendar from the girls and I that has a basketball hoop attached. The girls were really into David's birthday this year. They decorated the mirror for the party. And Naomi wrote a birthday list of what we needed to buy/do to celebrate David's birthday. It was very cute to see the girls get so excited for their Dad's special day. Here are just two of the pictures from that day.

If you look really close the present right up front Naomi wrapped

Blowing out the candles

Miracle

Miracles really do happen!! After trial and error and four medication changes, the doctor finally found the medication combination that works. David was given a new drug last Wednesday the 31st called Geodon. In just one day, the medicine had started to work. On Friday, the nurses commented on the dramatic difference they saw in him. I went to see him that day and I could tell he had improved. He has steadily improved since then. When I talked to his doctor yesterday, the doctor said David was ready to come home. So yes a miracle has happened and David is now home!!! I am so thankful that the doctor was able to find the right combination and I finally have my husband back. I am also very thankful for Heavenly Father. I truly know that His hand has been in all of this. I know He was with David as David struggled through his illness and his alternate reality. He was with the doctor as the doctor tried to find the right combination to bring David back to reality. And He was definitely with me and provided me the strength and comfort to survive this very difficult time. I also want to thank everyone in my ward and many of my friends for the help they gave to me during this time and for their prayers. I also want to thank both of our families for their words of encouragement. I know it was hard on both sets of parents that they could not be here to help during this time but their words of encouragement, prayers, and fasting was wonderful. I know David is still on the road to recovery but I am hoping and praying that we will have another good 7 years before another episode occurs.

In the hospital again

Last week was a very emotionally challenging week. The medication adjustments that David's doctor tried last week did not work fast enough so on Friday I had to have him admitted to the hospital again. Because I knew he would not go willingly to the hospital this time, I had to go downtown and fill out paperwork to get the court involved and have deputies pick him up and transport him to the hospital. That truly was one of the hardest things I had to do. However, it was necessary because he needs to be in the hospital so that he can get well again. I hope once the medication starts working he will realize why he is back in the hospital.

Prayers Needed

I would love to say that David's bipolar is doing better. However, the medicine the Dr. prescribed in the hospital is not working. David is in full blown mania again and it is looking very likely that I will have to him admitted to a psych hospital again. His mania this time is much worse. He cycles between being very angry and aggressive to just having lots of energy and feeling like he is on top of the world. I am very concerned for David and have been praying for him constantly. I would appreciate all the prayers that I can get at this time for David. I hope the medicine change that his Dr. did will kick in soon but I am not seeing any signs of it yet. I know the Lord is with David and I right now. I have already seen him answer one of my prayers and know that he will continue too.

Update on David

David came home on Tuesday. Although he is not up to full speed he is doing much better. The next few weeks are going to be an adjustment on David as his body gets used to the medication change and the increased dose of some of his medicine. I know we are not out of the woods yet but I know with the Lord's help, he will soon be 100% again. I want to thank everyone for their prayers and support. It has meant more than I can say to realize how many friends David and I really have.

David needs a son!!!

David wanted to watch the Celtics christmas game yesterday with the girls. He had this great idea for the girls to wear his Celtics shirts while he wore his brand new jacket. Kaylee was okay with it but Naomi DID NOT want to wear the shirt. Poor David!! The girls wore the shirts long enough for me to take the picture and that was it. At least, Naomi did cheer for the right team. Kaylee was cheering for the white team (the Orlando Magic) during the whole game. As you can see, David would really like a son to do guy stuff with him.

Lost No More

Being from such a small town in Arizona, David tends to get lost here in Houston. For David's new job he has to drive to clients homes all around Houston. We had discussed buying a GPS for David so he can find his clients homes. This morning sealed David's case for getting a GPS. Around 9 o'clock this morning I got a voicemail from David saying he was lost and could not find the clinic he was supposed to go to for more training today. By this time he was already a half hour late. Since I was in the middle of teaching, I couldn't help him and had him call my dad. Dad was over in that area so he helped David find the clinic. (Thanks Dad!) Getting a GPS now was not a maybe but a necessity. Tonight after dinner we went to Sam's and bought David a top of the line GPS so he will be lost no more. An added feature of the GPS that we bought is that it will tell David what streets he is approaching and it talks to him. On a funny note: the girls were with us when we bought the GPS and installed it in the car. Once it was installed on the windshield Kaylee started making requests for movies. She was pretty upset when we told her that it was not a DVD player! :o)

Guys Night

Our internet has been acting very strange lately so I have not posted in awhile. Here is some catchup for November/December. The day before Thanksgiving David and Shane went to a Rockets game. I sent the camera with them to take at least one picture so I could scrapbook it. This is what I got. The pictures of the actual game were better!!

Dyed in the wool True Green Celtics Fan

On November 4th, David and I went to the Rockets/Celtics game at the Toyota Center. (Thanks Shane for the awesome birthday present for David.) David was totally pumped up to see his favorite team play live at the Toyota Center even if he would be cheering against the home team. And of course David could not pass up the chance of dressing up in his Celtics gear. To balance it out, I wore David's T-Mac jersey. We really enjoyed the game. It was pretty close a time or two but at the end the Celtic's won 103-99. Poor David, he did not want to cheer too loud because he was surrounded by a sea of red. The first picture is of Kevin Garnet shooting a free throw. The other picture is of David but it did not turn out that well.