Dear Rob,
First let me say everything is okay and WOW. I can now breathe so I will tell you about our evening. Did I say everything is fine?
Michael has been interesting the last couple of days. I do not know what is going on. So this afternoon we were finishing math when Michael started telling me he could not concentrate. Finally I told him to go jump on the trampoline for 5 minutes. A couple of minutes later my phone rang. It was Michael; he was on the trampoline and screaming. I went running out there. He was face down on the trampoline screaming that he could not move. I talked to him for about 10 minutes wondering what to do. I finally decided it was more than anxiety (I do not know why I thought that since he has never had a anxiety attack before). So I called 911. The whole time I am trying to get shoes on the girls and get them outside. Trying to get the cat and dog locked in a room, make sure we are ready to run as soon as they get there. Trying to stay close to Michael as the cat sneaks out and I have to chase her, trying to stay close to Michael as the girls are now crying and worried. Trying to stay close to Michael as I hear sirens and then see a cat and a kitten is outside.
They come in and cut the netting to the trampoline and one gets on with him and cuts off his shirt. They did the whole scrape your foot and his foot did not move. He said he felt it but could not move his foot. Then I heard them say he had good reflexes. Faith got everyone shoes on and locked the doors. Then got everyone buckled in the van. As soon as they got him in the ambulance I went ahead and left because I know I could not follow them. We actually got to the hospital before them. They did a CT scan and said that it was clear. They said he has a closed head injury. She said that he could go home. There are lots of warning signs to watch for a brain bleed but they think he is okay. They said he just jolted his system which is why it hurt to move anything. He walked out of the hospital just fine.
I did ask the nurse if she thought this could have been a anxiety attack and she said NO. He is okay now and in bed. I will check on him every couple of hours throughout the night.
I love you babe, please know we are okay. Everyone handled it better than I would have thought. Roberta came to the house to set with the girls. I took the girls with me to the ER and then Kim picked them up and brought them home. Roberta even folded my laundry while I was gone.
They gave Michael a shirt to wear home. We are home now and everyone is in bed. I love you. I am going to lay down on the couch for a couple of hours.
I love you babe,
Pamela PETRIE

Dear Rob,
I love you, I miss you more than I can explain. We had a good day. I could not remember when church started so we got there at 8:50 and I am glad because it started at 9. There were not as many people there as I thought there would have been.
We came straight home and relaxed all day. I even took a nap for the second day in a row. Maybe 20 minutes but it felt good.
The biscuits I made yesterday turned out great. I am going to make some more tomorrow to freeze. Only five more days until I go home, I can’t believe it. It seems so weird to go home without you. It is honestly making me kind of sad.
Tonight I was watching you tube soldier songs and Grace climbed up next to me. We set here for a hour listening to music and me singing before she fell asleep. I set here for another 30 minutes just enjoying it. I miss when they just lay there and let you smell them and feel there breathe.
Hope has something to tell you, can you guess what it is?
Everyone is in bed and I think asleep. SHOOT, I just remembered I did not take a picture of the kids today.
I love you babe and hope you are enjoying all these pictures of the kittens.
Love you babe,
Pamela PETRIE

Dear Rob,
Thank you so much for being my husband. Emotionally I have been really good this week until tonight. I walked outside to look at the baby birds and decided to take a picture of your truck for you. I honestly stood there and touched the back of your truck for a few minutes. I do not know why, kind of silly. I guess I just know how much you love it and that made me feel closer to you.
I had a very busy day today. I made chocolate chip muffins and donut muffins and a cake (which did not turn out as pretty as I would have liked). I also made biscuits to freeze. I got the garage straightened out. The vacuum is working today but I can tell the power button is not working right.
I love you babe and hope your connection is better tomorrow.
I love you babe,
Pamela PETRIE

Dear Rob,
I have a new friend. It is a boy, he has gray hair and sometimes walks with a limp but I think I am in love. Of all the men in my life he is the first to jump up on the couch to be close to me. All of them jump off things but he will jump up for me. He is the first one to sleep on my chest. I think I am in love but please do not tell anyone. No worries he will not be in my bed tonight. You know how I enjoy sleeping alone.
We had a great day. I missed talking to you and hope I catch you on line tomorrow. We went to Roberta’s to pick up her steam cleaner. I feel like a new person after having adult conversation for a hour. It was wonderful. She sent the girls home with HUGE bucket of my little pony toys. The girls spent the afternoon playing in there room. I actually laid down for about 20 minutes this afternoon. Then when I got up we got the house straightened up. I got the living room and our bedroom vacuumed and now the vacuum will not turn on. Do you have any suggestions? I did get the living room and our bedroom steam cleaned. We will see how it looks in the morning.
I do not have any real plans tomorrow other than make a cake for a friend. Make a grocery list for our trip. I also need to dust but we will see if I get to it. Maybe I will just sew all day.
How was your day today? Did you make it to the gym? What did you have for lunch? Did you receive any mail?
Can I tell you something? This little gray kitten is in my lap and all the other ones are hidden. Can I tell you something else? He has crazy hair that stands up. Oh, and one more thing. I refuse to call him by any name because I do not want to love him. I untapped his legs today, he seems to be doing much better.
I love you babe and can not wait to talk to you.
I love you babe,
Pamela PETRIE

Dear Rob,
I love you, I do not know what is going on but I hardly have a voice. I think it is because I am beyond tired. I made the mistake of staying up until after midnight and then woke up at 6am. Hope came to our bed at some point. She told me this morning that it was okay because she did not torture me. I do not know what you call kicking me all night.
I got the tires rotated today. I was impressed they got done so quickly. He did say I had a tire that was almost flat. OOPs, I need to pay closer attention.
Guess what? When I was leaving to go shopping I asked Michael if he wanted shorts. He said no and then said “what will you give me if I wear shorts?” I said you get two things; first you will not die of heat exhaustion when we are at the park and second you will not look silly for being the only person in jeans on a 100 degree day. He said okay you can get me a couple of pairs. So I picked him up 2 pairs of shorts and brought them home. He tried them on and they were too small. So we instantly left and took them to exchange them. He tried 38’s and they fell off him. So he tried on 36’s and they fit great. Crazy I know.
I got the girls new tennis shoes today. Can you believe your nine year old little girl is wearing a size 8 woman’s shoe? I could not believe it.
I love you babe and can not wait to talk to you again.
Love you babe,
Pamela PETRIE

Dear Rob,
Can I just say that I love you? Thank you for loving me for my short comings. Thank you for being there for me when I need you or just want to vent.
We had a great day. How could it not be great when you are on line for more than a minute to talk to me? Michael’s doctor’s appointment went great. She said his blood work looked wonderful. She will see us again in a month. I think I was a little too harsh about her last month because she was very nice to us this time and did not even mind the girls being there. Honest, I think she was impressed that all four kids could be in her office at the same time.
You would have laughed at me this afternoon. We went to Hancock’s to get ribbon and then got lost going to Aldi’s. Am I right that in Germany they only took cash? I asked a strange man in the parking lot if they accepted credit cards. I know I could have just gone in and asked but I did not want to take everyone in if I did not need to. The kids would have stayed there all day putting quarters in the carts. I bought a seedless watermelon and am going to make candied watermelon with part of it.
I stopped at the thrift shop close to the house and found about 10 shirts for Faith and 2 for Hope. Michael bought the battle ship game. He must have beat Faith 10 times tonight; I did not play with him.
We straightened up when we got home and I got the laundry put away. Can I tell you I miss you more on days that laundry needs put away?
We are not going anywhere tomorrow and hope to get school done early so we can work on some projects done. I need to make sure we are getting ready for vacation soon. Anything special I can get for you when we are gone.
Okay, I have to admit what I did today. I was trying to find the post office to mail your box and I bet you can guess what happened. First, it sent me into a trailer park. Then I went in the same circle twice, that post office must have been invisible. So I gave up and thought I would go to the one close to our house. t I got turned around on the highway and ended up coming almost to our house. The kids thought I was nuts.
Guess what is scratching my feet right now? Your right, the kittens are. They have been in the livingroom all day. They are so cute, they are not climbing on things but they are trying. I am worried they are going to get stepped on.
I love you babe but I am going to get in bed. I will probably not sleep but I will tell you about that later. You will probably laugh. You always see the good in things and make me laugh.
I love you babe,
Pamela PETRIE

Dear Rob,
I love you and miss you. Do I even need to say that? We had a good day. We got school done. I re made mozzarella sticks that came out GREAT.
I did something new and exciting today but I am not going to tell you what it was but I will give you some clues:
1. I almost had to change my undies afterwards; I guess that is what having four kids does to you.
2. Neighbors could hear me squealing
3. The houses across the street from us was staring at me
4. My legs were beyond wobbly afterwards 5 I had so much fun and cannot wait to do it again.
Can you believe a year ago tonight you had your first surgery. It seems like so long ago one minute and the other minute I can remember it like it was yesterday. Thanks for forgiving me for not being so funny the first time I changed your packing.
Thank you so much for calling today, I cannot wait to talk to you tomorrow and tell you what I did so you can laugh. Can you believe I was outside today in a tank top and pajama pants. It was so worth it?
I love you babe,
Pamela PETRIE