I am Batman.

Chad is continuing to show great progress. He was able to eat some crackers and drink a bit of water. When the nurse asked him what his name was, he replied "Batman!" It makes me laugh that even through all that he's been through, he still has his typical humor intact.

The kids are aware that their daddy isn't feeling too good and that something happened inside his head. Both Avery and Canon weren't too concerned but Zion is older and could tell that it was more serious. When Wendy told Zion what had happened he said "Mom, I need you to do something for me. I need you to stay at the hospital and be with Daddy. He needs you. Don't worry about the other three kids, I will take care of them....!" I just love children and their thought processes. So pure and innocent!

That's all the update I have for now. The next week or so, it sounds like they are going to wait for the blood in his head to absorb enough so they can do an MRI. They will also be monitoring him closely to make sure that he doesn't have a spasm in his head which could cause some issues.

New update as of 7:30am Thursday: Wes was able to visit the hospital last night and he had a wonderful time visiting with Chad. He sat by his bedside for about 45 minutes and read Chad all of his Facebook and other well wishes from everyone. He is eating now. He is still on some pretty heavy pain medication that knocks him out about a minute after he gets it. They are hoping to be able to do an MRI this morning and see where the bleeding came from. I'll let you know what I hear. One of my wonderful friends is coming over this morning so that I can head up to the hospital for a while.

Please keep the prayers coming and ask God that it would be His will to give Chad a full recovery.

If you want to help out the family with meals or sack lunches, click here.

How you can help!

http://www.takethemameal.com

I just wanted to say on behalf of Chad and Wendy and the rest of the family how touched we are by the outpouring of love in the past day and a half! We have had so many prayers going up that I am reminded how wonderful it is to be part of a Christian community.

So many of you have asked how you can help. The kids are currently being taken care of by Wendy's dear friend Cassie. They are going to be staying there for the duration of Chad's stay in the hospital. One way that I think we can lift the load for Cassie is through meals. I have set up a meal sign up starting Monday, September 5. I have set it up for 2 different people to bring things each day because there will be 10 people to cook for! I don't know about you but when I make mass quantities of things, it usually ends up in mass disaster!! So, one person will be in charge of the main dish and the other person will be in charge of everything else (sides, veggies, desserts, etc).

You will sign up online and then deliver the meal to Cassie's home in Anderson. Once Chad gets home, then we will shift to bringing meals to the Cook's house.

How to sign up:

1. Go to www.takethemameal.com
2. Under Find a meal schedule, enter Cook for last name and chad as the password.
3. Sign up on a date (or two!) that is convenient for you to bring a meal.

***What if you can't cook you might ask??*** You can bless the family by providing sack lunches for the kids. They will need 3 lunches per day that school is in session. They enjoy lunchables, peanut butter and ham and cheese. They loves all types of chips and drinks as well!

Thank you so much for thinking about helping out. We can truly be Jesus' hands and feet to a family that means so much to all of us!! If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll answer it or email me at stacylcook@gmail.com.

Update: 8:45 am

Hi everyone,
I just got the latest update and it looks to be good news. The drs. were unable to find that Chad had a brain aneurysm, but instead think that he had a subarachnoid hemorrhage. For those of us who have no clue what that means, here's a link I found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subarachnoid_hematoma

So, it sounds like the bleeding has stopped in his brain so now they will need to wait for the body to absorb the blood and then they will be able to find out what the cause of this was. They are hoping to do an MRI today to get more of a clue.

As of right now, they are saying he will have to stay, lying flat, in the hospital for 7-10 days! If you know Chad at all, you know that he can't lay flat for more than 5 minutes unless he's sleeping, let alone for 7-10 days!!

The good news is that they will not have to do surgery as of now. The things they have to watch for now are swelling and infection. He is not out of the woods yet, but I would definitely say his condition seems a little less serious which is an answer to prayer!!

Wes said he's going to head home in a few hours. Thank you so much for all the prayers and words of encouragement. If you are interested in helping out Wendy as she figures out schedules, meals and other things while Chad's in the hospital, send me a message with your phone number and I will start a list and try to work on coordinating help for the family.

As with all posts of this nature, I have done my best to try and get the information right but sometimes it seems like it's the game of telephone!! :) So, forgive me if I get some details wrong!

Prayers for Chad Cook

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

As most of you probably know, Wes' older brother Chad went to the hospital with what they believed to be a brain aneurysm. He came home from his teaching job yesterday complaining of a severe headache and back ache and then began vomiting. Wendy could tell from the second she got home that something wasn't right. She took him to the ER where they told them that they had picked up a brain aneurysm and bleeding on the brain. He was taken from Anderson by ambulance to Methodist hospital in downtown Indianapolis.

When he arrived they did a CAT scan but then they didn't read it until morning. From what I have gleaned from different reports, the brain aneurysm is not showing up but there is still bleeding on the the brain. Chad is still in intense pain. They are going to be taking him to get an angioplasty this morning and then to get corrective surgery. That is all we know at this point.

For as much as Facebook can be a time-waster, I am humbled today by how quickly they were able to get the word out and for believers to start sending prayers up to God. Chad and Wendy are part of an incredible church family in Anderson that I know they will rally around them with all of the support and love they could ever want. Chad and Wendy have 4 kids so I'm pretty sure they are going to need all the support they can get!

Chad is also a part of a loving family who, I'm pretty sure, would give their lives for him. I don't know what Chad's future holds but I do know that God is faithful as the verse above says. He has shown his love to the Cook family in the past and I know He is with them right now. Wes has been there all night as has his sister Amy, brother Adrian, parents Lynn and Ragena and multiple friends and relatives. Wendy was holding was together remarkably well last night when I went up to the hospital.

Please keep them in your prayers by name: Chad, his wife Wendy, Zion, Avery, Canon, and Gisele. I will keep this blog updated with whatever I hear!

Ready for August to end

Wow, turning 30 has really slowed me down!! I have made exactly zero blog posts in the month of August until now. Maybe it's just birthday hangover. Yeah, I'm going to go with that. Well, let me catch you up on what we have been up to in the month of August:

Wonderful birthday: Wes took me out for dinner to Maggianos. Yes, we did have a coupon, but it was still romantic! And they have this deal that if you buy 1 of these certain entrees, they box up a second helping of it and send it home with you. It was lovely! We actually had so much that we were able to eat the leftovers as dinner with the kids later on. Then we went shopping at Babies R Us. I already know what you're going to say so save your breath....wow, we are party animals!! I know, I can't help it. I know how to have an awesome time.

Trip to California: Part of my 30th birthday was a special trip to California to rendevous with my two sisters and brother in law Gabe. Wes was the house-husband for 5 days while I lived it up with the girls. It was really fun and was a much needed break. Gabe and Lindsay pulled out all the stops, including taking us to Disney and Medevil Times (save your money!) all for free!! They have lots of friends in high places! Thanks to my wonderful husband for doing this for me. It was the best present ever!

The Summer break that never ends: I know there are some of you who are so sad to see summer break come to an end and to that I say: you obviously don't have a 4 year old. Just kidding. Okay, I'm not but I said that just so you wouldn't judge me. Seriously though, Preston wakes up in the morning and here's the conversation:

"What fun things are we going to do today? What's for breakfast? Can I have marshmallows for breakfast? Later, what will we have for lunch? You know I don't want fruit. No fruit for me. How soon after breakfast will you start lunch? Do I have to take a nap? I will not be tired so I defnitely don't need a nap? What will we do tonight when Dad gets home? Mom, where are you going? Mom? Mom? Mom? MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And this is just in the first 5 minutes he is awake. By the time Wes comes home, I have SQF (Severe Questioning Fatigue). He asks what's for dinner and I go ballistic. It's not pretty.

The Little ones Owen and Cam are enjoying themselves and seem to do well being at home. Cameron is almost sitting up on his own and loves being on his tummy so I don't think he will have too much trouble getting into crawling mode. Owen is talking up a storm. He has such a funny sense of humor and makes Wes, Preston and I laugh all the time. He relishes his "naughty persona."

Not much more to report on our end! Hope everyone's families are happy and healthy!

The Big 3-0

I'm almost 30. Yikes. I never thought I would make it to 30. I'm not really sure what I thought would happen to me, but I could never really picture what I would look like, who I would be married to, etc. when I was little. I think I just always thought I would stay young. The good thing is that I still feel young and I still look like I'm 13! I have heard that 30 is the new 20! Let's hope that is the case.

In honor of the 30 years I've been alive, I wanted to write 30 things that I love.

30 things I absolutely LOVE:

1. Spanx. These delightful undergarmets can take a jiggly stomach and make it look like a six pack with very little effort. They used to be called girdles, but now they have the super cool name Spanx so you don't have to feel like your grandma if you wear one. Now breathing while wearing spanx, that is another story.

2. Air conditioning. How we lived without air conditioning while growing up is still a mystery. We must have smelled so bad. Now I can't go outside for more than 5 minutes before I'm sweating and smell like a dead animal.

3. Minivans. I didn't want to transition to the "mom-o-mobile" but now that I have, I couldn't go back! So much more room for the kids to spill and make messes! It's like a second home to clean.

4. Dustbusters. When I was younger, it was one of our chores to vacuum the basement stairs with this handy little gadget. I didn't appreciate it then, but I do now! I now don't have to get out the giant vacuum to clean up little messes. And who knew you can vacuum up a whole bowl of spaghetti that has been thrown on the floor? I didn't but I'm sure glad I know that now!!

5. Dogs (other people's). I am not really a dog lover so it is convenient that I am also allergic. It gives me a great excuse to tell the kids why we can't have our own. But I LOVE watching my kids with other people's dogs. They get their dog fix and then I'm long gone when their dog eats their dining room table or barfs all over the floor. I have kids who can barf all over the floor...I don't need a dog to do that.

6. Hulu. I love this website where I can go and watch episodes that air on cable that I don't get to see. I can get my HGTV or Food Network groove on now whenever I want...for free!!

7. Facebook. I love to be able to spy on people without them knowing that I am spying! It satisfies a deep curiousity within me!

8. Old friends. This past year I connected with my best friend from childhood thanks to Facebook. It has been so fun to reconnect with her and to find out she has 3 boys just like me!! She is about to have her 4th baby though and this one is a girl. I hope I have as good of luck as she has!

9. New friends. I get really scared when I have to meet new people but when I click with someone new, I love that! In the past few years, we have gotten to meet a lot of great people who have become very close friends.

10. No more dating. It is such a relief to go from a dating couple to a married couple. No more showing off. Now, what you see is what you get. You go from sharing romantic dinners over candlelight to popping each other's zits or clipping each other's toenails. Why am I thankful for this you might ask? Because I get to do life with my best friend. A friend who has pledged to be with me for life. Someone who loves me for me.

11. Mom jeans. Mom jeans exist as proof to me that I am way cooler than my mom was at 30! Now if you see me sporting stonewash jeans clear up to my bellybutton, I give you permissions to call me a loser.

12. Fannypacks. See #11.

13. Authentic people. Whoa. I know I just got super serious after just saying that I am thankful for fannypacks. But I am so thankful for the people in my life who tell me like it is and aren't afraid to be themselves. Even when it's ugly. I would rather have 1 authentic friend than 100 surface friends. This is where true relationship takes place.

14. Sisters. Whether they are my sisters or sister in laws, I love the place that sisters have in my life. It's like having built in girlfriends you can hang out with when you are forced to celebrate Aunt Mildred's 100th birthday.

15. Brothers. I can't say something about sisters without saying something about brothers. Brothers are so fun to have around. They are like sisters without the drama!

16. Free stuff. I love getting good deals free at the store but I love it even more when people are getting rid of things and they give them to me! I have tried to start passing on the favor when I get rid of stuff too.

17. Dave Ramsey's Envelope system. I get a lot of flack from people who think I'm crazy or they think Dave Ramsey is sham but the proof is in the pudding. His envelope system has revolutionized our finances. By using all cash, I have stopped overspending about 75% of the time. Nothing I have tried has come even close to this.

18. Parents who have come before us. Since our parents have all been through this parenting phase, they can have an awesome perspective and some great advice to give. The kicker is that you have to be willing to accept the fact that they were good parents in order to appreciate the good advice.

19. That babies don't stay babies forever. I do not like infants. I just find the baby stage a little grating. This baby just sucks the life out of you (literally) by feeding constantly and then stealing sleep around every corner. And then they don't even say thank you or crack a smile. Ever. They just scream at your face. Talk about ungrateful. I'm just kidding, but honestly I love it when the baby hits about 4 months when they can start interacting; smiling and laughing.

20. Full nights sleep. Until you have a baby, you don't truly appreciate a full night sleep until it has been taken away from you. I love sleep and waking up in the middle of the night is not my idea of a great time. But once that baby starts sleeping through the night, a huge "ahhhh" comes out of my mouth whenever my head hits the pillow.

21. Cake. Yummmm.... I just love it. I love frosting as well, but not as much as I love the cake. It's just soooo good. Now if only it was good for you! Then I would eat it all day long.

22. Giving guilt trips. One good thing about getting up in the middle of the night is that it is the ultimate trump card. Because I have gotten up in the middle of the night while Wes has snoozed, later on I am able to use it as a weapon. "Who's going to give the kids a bath?" Well, I would but you see I didn't get a whole night sleep so I'm a little tired. If you want to wake up with the baby tommorow night, I would be more than happy to give the kids a bath." SILENCE. Yeah, that's what I thought.

23. Doing hard things. I love it when people do things that are almost impossible. I am so proud of my sister Lindsay for sticking to her guns and figuring out a career that she is passionate about. We were a little worried that she wouldn't, but she has and she has flourished. She is going to make a wonderful PA.

24. Doing hard things (part 2). I love that Mike and Mandy took the situation of them not being able to have their own children and turned it into a beautiful love story. They have changed the life of a little boy forever and I think it is so inspiring. You both are such wonderful parents.

25. Doing hard things (part 3). My sister Sara wins the award for "doing hard things." This last year has been the most difficult she has ever seen. She has just continued to push forward through the pain, even though it has been intense. She has been an inspiration to so many. I know she will find healing from here.

26. Charles T. Creech. (Chuck). My time with him was much shorter than I would have expected but during that time I was able to learn a lot from him. I learned how important it is to have a love for your country, even if you don't agree with everything that is going on within it. He was such a wonderful husband to my sister and will be missed by all of us, forever.

27. Cameron (Cammie-J) My littlest baby. You are such a bright spot in my life. I don't think it's an accident that you are my nicest baby. You are so quick to smile and snuggle. Every moment we have together is a moment to be cherished. You are my cutey.

28. Owen (Owie-B) My boy who still wants to be a baby. I just love you so much. Your

personality has flourished in the past few months and I love to see what a wonderful little boy you are becoming. You never cease to make me laugh like when Daddy yelled up to you and Preston in bed last night "Who wants a spanking?" because you both were being too loud and we heard a little voice say "ME!" Please be kind to Mommy when she starts potty training you this year.

29. Preston (Presty) It frightens me to see how fast you are growing. You don't need me as much anymore. You can now get your clothes on, your shoes on, go the bathroom by yourself and all sorts of other things. I love the conversations that we have. You have such wonderful questions and have such a tender heart. You truly care for others and I love to see that. As you begin school in the next year, I'm going to miss you so much.

30. Wes. I have now spent a total of 11 years knowing you. They have been the best 11 years of my life. You are the man I always hoped for. You are such a wonderful, encouraging, caring husband (although you could do the dishwasher more! ha) You make me laugh and are so fun to build dreams and a life with. I love you.

And as a tribute to the coming year, I have saved what I love the most for last.

31. God. This has been such a difficult year for our family with losing our aunt and then losing our brother Chuck. At some point in the process, you realize the only thing you can truly count on is that God is God and we are not. We don't understand His ways all of the time, but we know He loved us enough to save us and bring us to Heaven with Him. There is no greater love. I can get through all of the bad stuff because I know that I have a hope for my future which has nothing to do with earthly things. I have a hope of Heaven when the things of Earth fail me. I love that.

Look Familiar?

If only Owen were a girl, he would be as cute as me!! At least now we know he wasn't adopted.