Successful Bipass

After a 10 hours of waiting in the ICU waiting room, we got word that Potts surgery was a success. They took him back at 10:30 this morning but could not get started right away as the surgeon had to work with the patient before Potts a little longer than he had though b/c the patient had serious complications. They did end up bipassing his 4 main arteries and they had to take the main vein out of his leg to use for the bipass. I am telling you what, I have learned so much in the past few days about this procedure and it truly is amazing. They had to cut open his chest, crack open his ribs to reach his heart, stop his heart and lungs, replace the arteries, then start his body back again to functioning on its own. His body went on what they call "bipass" which meant the machines were breathing for him and making everything work while his heart was taken out. It is crazy to me to think of the first man who ever thought to do this, but oh how thankful I am that they did. AND that it is just like an everyday procedure nowdays too. WOW!

Potts will have a 2 month recovery period were he will have to go to rehab, will not be able to drive, and will have to change his eating habits. He of course will be soar in his leg and chest where he was cut open. Please continue to pray for him through this healing process; for strength, endurance, patience and understanding as life for him will not be the same as it was before. Please also continue to pray for his blood pressure to regulate, as it has stayed high the last few weeks and is still now after surgery.

We do not overlook God's hand of protection on our family. We know that it was His timing and in His perfect plan that all of this has happened. We also know that God will be able to use this circumstance for His glory and we are thankful that He chose to use us. Potts is a faithful follower of Jesus and there is no doubt that He was holding his hand today.

Thank you again for everyone's prayers and words of encouragement. I am overwhelmed by the amount of love that I have felt from so many in the last several days.

Patience

It never ceases to amaze me how many different situations God uses to teach me patience. Right now He is teaching my whole family patience :)

JR, Phillip and I spent the whole day yesterday with Potts and Mimi at the hospital. They had told him on Tuesday that it would be surgery THAT day, then they changed it to Wednesday, and now it is for sure Friday.. they have him in the books ha! Potts is not in any pain or anything, they are just doing several tests before the surgery takes place to make sure they are all set before they go in. We have all learned that doctor's time is not real time!!! "We will be there first thing in the morning" turns into 3pm or later and Tuesday surgery turns into Friday :)

We are again thankful for his time of rest and that he can be monitored while he waits. Mimi is holding up well also, which is a good thing. They both keep telling us how glad they are that we are here, which of course means so much. We are all just waiting.... but very thankful that we can wait and do know what is going on with Pott's heart. We know that this did not catch God by surprise and are so grateful that He chose to reveal it to us the way that He did.

I sure love my Pottsey :)

Thank you ALL for your prayers, phone calls, emails and words of encouragement. We are so blessed to be loved by so many!

God's timing

Hey friends and family! It is about 9:30 and I am back at my mom's house now. JR and I arrived at the hospital at 5:00 and what a joy it was to see my Potts' smile when I walked in the door and you better believe I hugged him like I have never hugged before. He has had a long day no doubt but we are all so very thankful for God's perfect timing. He was scheduled for a heart catherization today (something he has had before) so they could check and see how things were going with his arteries. The cardiologist doctor found major blockage in all of his arteries and called in the surgeon. Once the surgeon got in to look at the test he also agreed that open heart surgery was definitely needed. Right now they are looking at a triple bipass surgery and possibly even doing one on all 4 of his main arteries to his heart. The doctors are going to converse again tomorrow and will set the surgery time then. It was orginally planned for today at 5, but once the 2nd doctor came in and saw the tests, he said he needed some clarification on some things before he felt comfortable going into surgery. Above all God is faithful and Potts is doing well. He of course has some anxiety about the surgery tomorrow so please just pray that his fears will be calmed. My Mimi is holding up well also, despite having bad news that she wasnt expecting to hear at her today about her soul mate. Good news is God's timing is always perfect, and in this instance if Potts had not been at the hospital today when he was, the doctors said he could have had a massive heart attack at any time.

I am so thankful that I was able to be here with him during this time. When I first heard the news today and they were uncertain of his exact condition, I really was so afraid that he was going to leave me. He and Mimi kept saying over and over how glad they were that we are home. I told them that everyone I knew from TN, NC, GA, etc was praying for them and they sincerly appreciate them all! I thank you as well and can honestly say that God used each of you to hold me today when my heart was hurting so badly. I love you all and will keep you updated! Keep praying for Potts, if you know him at all you know he is a fighter :) I know he has always been ready to go to heaven and meet Jesus, but I selfishly am just not ready to let go yet...

Prayer Request!

Hello everyone! This is Tabitha (Wolfe) Rue, friend of Lindsey and JR! Lindsey has asked me to do this post for her because she can't get to her computer right now. This morning the doctors found out that her Potts (her grandfather, Cathy's dad) has massive blockage in his heart. They are going to do emergency open heart surgery at 5pm today at Fort Sanders Regional in Knoxville. Lindsey says that she knows God is in total control and so does Potts. So please pray for Potts, his doctors and strength of family. They are very grateful that they found it when they did and are hoping for the best now that they know how bad it is and can treat it. She also wants to thank everyone in advance for their prayers and support. Potts is a fighter.

Please, please keep them all in your prayers. I will update as I get news from Lindsey. She and JR are driving to Knoxville from NC right now! Also pray for a safe trip for them.

Thank You!!

Bridal Shower

Last night we had a shower for our sweet friend Amanda. She is a fellow TN girl, attended Oak Ridge HS like my brother Mason, and is getting married in August. We had so much fun! Congrats Amanda.. we love you :)

Happy 1-6 Mason!

So weird that 16 years have already came and gone by SO fast! Today is Mason's 16th birthday and I really cannot believe it. This picture is hilarious as you will see I thought it was cool to wear iron on Christmas sweaters and cowboy hats... oh my my.. but I just had to show where my little brother was at all times when he was little --- ATTACHED to my hip :)

I am so proud of him and his 16 years so far here on earth. Even though he can be a teenager with his attitude every now and then, I would definitely say he is the sweetest teenage boy I know. He is such a cutie too.. and I of course have to brag :)

I think what I love the most is that I will always be his big sister (no matter if he towers over me at over 6 foot) and he still loves to hug and love on me, just like when he was a little boy :)

I love you Mason! And I am so very proud and honored to be your Sis!

Richmond's BIG 3-0

Last night we celebrated Richmond's 30th birthday at Firebirds Grill. It is hard to believe that he is so darn old ha.. just kidding good buddy! We had a wonderful time and love the Grahams :)

JR and I

Richmond and Chris

The Hutchinson's

The Adair's

JR and Scott (he forgot to bring his date ha!~ just kidding Scott we love you!)

The Kids

All the girls

Nate enjoying being fed dessert by the Birthday Boy :)

Happy Birthday Phil

Happy 25th birthday to our brother man Phillip! We sure do love this kid and are happy to be celebrating his life today. He brings so much joy and happiness to both our lives and we are so thankful for him. He is a man who searches after Jesus day in and day out.... AND has a heart of gold. For all of you single ladies out there... he is a Single man :) We like to give him a hard time about that since his other 2 brothers are now married, but in all reality I respect him so much as he has a true gift for singleness during this time of his life. Not saying he doesn't want to be married one day though ha... and I am looking for takers to be my sister-in-law but know I am a strict judge.. as ONLY the best will do for him ha!

We love ya Uncle Phil!!!

Todd Kiddos

JR and I had so much fun with our favorite kiddos over the weekend. We babysat for them on Friday while Jay and Christina enjoyed a date night for Mother's Day. There is never a dull moment for sure when we have them, but this time seemed to be extra enjoyable for us all. It was a beautiful day so we sat on the porch and watched Maisy show us her ballet moves before she got a hold of the camera and started snapping away (you will notice the pictures she took in the montage). Then we decided to go on a walk to the playground that is in our neighborhood. They have a stroller to hold all 3 of them now, but JR wanted to hold Isaac the ENTIRE TIME (yes he was a baby hog but I thought it was cute) so we really didnt need it. The girls had so much fun swinging, sliding, doing the teeter totter and hanging on the monkey bars. Isaac was just as sweet as can be too! Enjoy the pictures and videos :)

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Mother's Day

I really have no clue where I would be without the "Mothers" in my life. They are all such incredible women and there is no doubt that I am one lucky girl because God chose to bless my life with them. Thank you mom, Mimi, Sue, Mamaw and Reba for all the love, support and memories that you have given me along the way. I can only hope to be a mom like you one day :)

sister Rachel, me and my mom Cathy

Mimi and I (grandmother on Mom's side)

Sue and I (stepmom)

Mamaw Ann and I (grandmother on Dad's side)

JR's mom Reba and brother Phillip

My biking man

My Lance Armstrong

I am so proud of JR. Today he biked over 20 miles!!! He just got a new bike this week and has been very eager to ride it so this morning he got up early and took off. I think I sparked a flame in him when I said, "I will believe it when I see it." ha! He had been talking about how he was going to ride to our friends house in the next town over and I thought he was crazy. I feel a new hobby coming on :)

here is the new bike.. so fancy!!

7 new chocolate babies!

Last night we welcomed 7 new chocolate babies to our family. There are 6 girls and 1 boy :) Maddie is doing very well and all of the puppies are nice and healthy. This is Maddie's 3rd and FINAL litter... she has had enough babies for her lifetime ha! To see more pictures go to our Puppy Blog and pass along the word to your family and friends! They will be ready for new homes July 2nd!!!

Happy 89th Birthday Poppa!!!

Mr. Ed Foland, aka "Poppa", is my great-grandfather, and where I get my blue eyes :)
I am so happy to say he is celebrating his 89th birthday today!!! He is an incredible man who has been through so much in his life, and continues to inspire us all every day. We love you Pop!

One week later....

One week later after going back to my natural color... I am learning to cope ha! Let me just say that it was a very traumatic experience for me to have that drastic of a change, and I think I am just realizing that. I am still not "in love" with my hair like I was with the blonde, but it is growing on me. It is funny b/c now I find myself looking for different colors of clothes to wear b.c they look so much different with the brown :)

I definitely got some funny comments as I saw people for the first time as the "new me". Of course I see tons of people everyday at work and so once they came back in several would walk right past my office and ask the front desk where I was, because they didnt think it was me ha! I have deemed the nickname "brownie" now... and of course that is better than it could have been ha! My trip home this past weekend was very nerve racking to see how those closest to me were going to react. I think my Potts had the funniest comment about it, "Well you just look weird honey," he said :) My Mimi and mom both said that it looked like I had a wig on, but once they got used to it they liked it. *** Oh and I had not told ANYONE in my family about the change so none of them had any warning!!! My dad was so sweet, saying that it made him want to cry seeing me back to the natural, and James said he thought I was my sister. Rachel and I do look more alike now thats for sure... and thats a good thing :)

All and all, I am just pleased that I dont have orange hair anymore ha! I have decided to keep it just the way it is for now, but I am not making any promises that you wont see some sort of highlights in the future :) I still can look at these very pictures now and wonder who the heck that woman is hahaha!

Melissa and Cain's wedding

This past weekend our family drove down to Alabama to see my cousin Melissa get married. Melissa is my dad's first cousin, my second, but since we are much closer in age, her and I have been the ones to grow up together. I used to go down and stay at her farm house over the summers and we always had a great time together! I was always the "short blonde" and her the "tall brunette" ha. Now that we are older we dont get to see each other as often, which makes me sad, but it is always great to see my Alabama family.. even if they do pull against my vols :)

The happy couple

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Thanks to Tyler and Frank for adding sending me their pictures to add to my collection!
To view all of the pictures go to http://picasaweb.google.com/lindseychristen/MelissaAndCainSWedding

You can also download them from there if you wish :)

Spring Campus Cookout

We had our campus cookout on Monday to celebrate the end of the year. It is always so much fun to see so many people and enjoy a good burger! All of the kiddos definitely had fun with all of the blow up games too :)

first pic of us with me as a brownie :)

Kelsey and Natalie

my crafty friend and I (Jenny!)

the grillin crew

more games

Maisy going down the slide

Lily having LOTS of fun!

Good ole family time

I had a wonderful time visiting with my family this weekend. I had the chance to see a lot of people, so I was running here, there and everywhere. Friday night I stayed the night with JD. It was wonderful to get to catch up with her (and sorry no picture, i woke her up when I got in at 11 and lets just say we didnt look up to a picture ha). Saturday, Rachel and I went to see Jessica's new home... and it is BEAUTIFUL! It definitely made me feel all grown up since she now has a "mom" home ha.. love it Vancerelli and cant wait to stay in the guest room soon!

Saturday afternoon, Dad, Sue, Tyler and I traveled down to Alabama for my cousin Melissa's wedding (another post with pictures from that soon). Tyler and I had a good time on his MAC on the way home taking lots of funny pictures.....

almost cant see my hair it is so dark ha!

goofy face

we are on a roller coaster ha!

we are swimming with the fishies

just being silly

On Sunday I got to surprise my mom and Mimi with the new me! They were both very surprised and kept staring at me, saying that it looked like I had a wig on :) I gave them both their Mother's Day presents since I wont be seeing them next weekend. They liked them A LOT!

And just before heading home, I had a WONDERFUL dinner at the Cracker Barrel with Mimi, Potts, Poppa, Rachel and Tyler. Um um good :)