The Howerter Family Homepage

Friday night Ryan, Sara, Jay , Katherine, John and I went to the new Osaka Steak and Sushi restaurant in town to celebrate Ryan’s birthday.  I did not realize that it was such a nice place.  I thought it was just going to be another locally owned restaurant, but I was pleasantly surprised.  You can either eat in the sushi bar or at the hibachi grill.  Sara made us reservations in the hibachi grill.  Each grill has 8 seats around the grill.  The chef puts on a little show while cooking everyone’s meal right in front of you. Most of you have proabably been to a place like this.  The food was wonderful and plentiful.  We got soup and salad before our meal and any appetizers or sushi that you ordered.  John ordered sushi, and Jay ordered calamari.  Then came the meal.  We got rice and noodles with each meal, and the noodles were fantastic.  I could have just eaten a pile of those and called it a night.  You also get veggies cooked on the grill plus your entree.  It was way more than you need, but, of course, I ate it all.  We will definitely be going back there.  If you do decide to go, I strongly suggest having reservations. 

John started back to work on Friday, but he only made it a couple of hours.  He was just too tired.  He went again yesterday, and he made it to 2:00.  Today he made it until 4:00, so he is getting stronger.  I am praying that he continues to get better and has no setbacks.  He goes next week for a follow up chest x-ray, so I will be happy to see the results for that.  Thanks everyone for your prayers while he has been sick.

We found out on Wednesday that John has pneumonia in both lungs.  He started feeling bad a week  ago Wednesday while he was out of town, and he felt bad for 2 days.  He felt fine Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning,  but Sunday afternoon, he started feeling achy.  He did not feel well all day Monday, and that evening he got a fever and felt awful.  Then, Tuesday night, he could not sleep at all due to serious back pain.  He thought he had pulled a muscle Monday night while coughing.  We went to the doctor and the chest x-ray showed pneumonia in both of his lungs.  They gave him 2 shots in the office which they don’t do very often.  He was pretty bad though, so the doctor thought it would be good to give him some strong antibiotics.  He continued to feel awful, and the pain in his back then spread throughout his chest.   Unfortunately, he could not find any comfortable position, so he was not able to sleep at all.  He continued to feel horrible and unable to sleep, and we went back to the doctor Friday morning.  The doctor told us that all that John was experiencing was normal for pneumonia, but he gave him 2 more shots and a shot to help with the pain.  He felt better that afternoon, and we were able to finally get ahead of the pain.  He was able to sleep more that night too, so that had to help.   Also, on Friday night, he had a slight allergic reaction to the antibiotic, which caused me a little concern/terror.  The doctor on call told us to stop taking the antibiotic (he had just taken one) and watch for trouble breathing or swelling throat.  I knew that if that happened, we were at least 30 minutes from the ER.  This caused me a “little” anxiety.  Of course, that did not happen, and he is now on a different antibiotic.  Saturday was a turning point, and the pain seemed to be almost gone.   He has felt much better, but he has now started coughing which is a little painful and tiring for him.  I believe that he is definitely on the road to recovery, but I think it is still a long road.  Thanks to all of our family and friends for praying for John and I.  It has been a long week. 

We went over to Ryan and Sara’s this evening for a bit because today is Ryan’s birthday.   John did not last too long because he was already tired from all the coughing he had done today.  Before we left, Ryan told the kids to come in and pray for Grandpa.  Lily came over to me and said, “pray for Papa.”  It was so sweet.  They all gathered around John with their hands on him, and Josiah prayed for Grandpa.  It was beautiful.  Thanks Ryan, Sara, Elijah, Josiah and Lily for praying for Grandpa!

Today has been a very nice day.  The sun has been out all day, and I have been hanging out with John all day.  We went to Big R and did some shopping, and then we had lunch at Cheddar’s.  We came home, took a nap and watched the Olympics.  John, Jay and Mike are outside now shooting guns, so they are happy.  John made chili for dinner, and I am sure that we will watch the Olympics again this evening.  I am so thankful for having this time with John since I know he will be leaving for Europe next weekend.   Then I am on my own.  Yuck.

John has been in Europe since last Wednesday    He is coming home this afternoon, and I am SOOO glad.  I hate it when he is gone.  I am such a baby.

Yesterday for Father’s Day, we went to Jay and Katherine’s for dinner.  Ryan and the kids came too.  Sara is camping with her mom and aunts, so she was not there.  We had a wonderful time.  The pool was the perfect temperature, and we all got in.  The boys had fun with Grandpa while he chased them all over the pool or threw them up in the air for a splash and a laugh.  Lily watched the boys go off of the diving board, and then decided it was her turn.  She got up on the board, and Ryan put his hand on her chest.  She “jumped” in and laughed, squealed and giggled.  Then, the boys began telling us to watch them as they walked onto the board before their jump.  So, of course, the next time Lily went up on the board she yelled at all of us in her gibberish to watch her.  She then jumped off and screamed with delight.  We all laughed so hard!  It was great.  Katherine took video, so watch Jay’s website for it.  Thanks again Jay and Kat for having us!

I am so excited!  I finally get to go to Europe with John.  James and Noella are getting married on November 14, so I get to go to the wedding.  John will be over there working for a week, and then I will fly in on November 7.  We will spend the week sightseeing, and then go to the wedding on Saturday.  We will then head home on Sunday.  We will defiinitely go to Paris, but I don’t know if we will try to squeeze anything else in.  I am happy to see the sights in England and Paris!  I will be flying over by myself, but I don’t think that will be too bad.  I am pretty good at sleeping on airplanes, so I am hoping to sleep most of the trip.  John will be at Heathrow to meet me, so I won’t have to navigate anywhere by myself.  Thanks James for asking Noella to marry you!  Thanks John for taking me!  I love you.

Last week John killed his first turkey out at the farm.  He was so excited!  He called and told me the entire killing story.  He really enjoys telling people, so if you get a chance, ask him about it.  On Sunday, we fried the turkey at  our house.  I had decided that I was not even going to try it.  I don’t usually like things in the fryer, so I did not see any need to try a wild turkey for goodness sake.  Ryan, Sara, Elijah, Josiah, Lily, Jay, Katherine, Don, Wendy, Lauren and Chad were all there, and they all tried the turkey.  They kept ranting that it tasted just like “real” turkey, so I decided to try it.  It really did taste  good.  It had no gamey taste at all, which is what I was worried about.  I was truly surprised.  Another wildlife story from the Howerter’s.

It has been a while since I have posted, so I will catch up on things.  Both Elijah and I have had our birthdays.  Mine on November 5, and Elijah’s on November 7.  John was in Europe that week, so I missed him.  Mom came up on my birthday, and we spent the day together.  That evening we went to the Cracker Barrel with all the kids, and it was wonderful!  Thanks Mom, Ryan, Sara, Elijah, Josiah, Lily, Jay and Katherine for spending my birthday with me.

Elijah had his birthday at Kicks.  Four of his friends came and played video games with him, and three of them spent the night.  He had a great time.  Ryan and Sara were very brave having 5 boys over night.  Josiah spent the night with me and Grandma Nell, so at least they did not have to worry about him. 

Then next morning, Ryan cut his thumb while working on his roof.  It was pretty deep, so I had to take him to the ER.  The doctor thought he cut the tendone in half, so she stitched him up and sent him to the hand doctor the next day.  Luckily, he can move his thumb fairly easily, so the hand doctor did not open it up to do anything.  He has to wear a splint for 3 weeks, but it has not stopped him from going bow hunting.  He actually went that afternoon.  Luckily, it was his left hand, so it is not the hand he pulls the bow with.

This weekend is shotgun deer season, so the boys are all a twitter.  Zeke came over this morning, and they all are practicing at our house this afternoon.  They will head out quite early in the morning to be in their stands before sun-up.  Hopefully, they will all have a succesful season this year.  It is so wonderful to see John, Ryan, Jay and Zeke enjoying something so much together.   Male bonding!

John and I are in Orlando. He had a conference here this week, and, for my birthday present, he invited me to come along. His just asking me to go is gift enough! We flew down separately Sunday night, and we leave tomorrow (Thursday). He of course travels on the corporate jet, and I am flying Southwest. It is not so bad though. Mom took me to the airport in St. Louis, and John was waiting for me in Orlando. He will drop me off tomorrow, and Mom will pick me up. I have enjoyed myself even though I am by myself during the day. (You are never really alone at Disney.) I have slept in, read, laid in the sun, shopped and walked lots. We are staying at the Dolphin Resort which is at Disney, but not run by Disney. I can certainly tell. Our room smells musty, and it is certainly not geared toward family here. It is filled with dressed up businessmen and kind of stuffy. I have actually walked over to the Boardwalk, Yacht Club and Beach Club each day to be immersed in all things Disney. John and I toured a model vacation club home at Boardwalk, and when the gal said “Welcome Home”, it just made me feel so good. It is crazy, I know, but I swear it is true. We always make fun of their continually saying “Welcome Home” when we are here at vacation club, but I must miss it.

We head home tomorrow, but we are actually coming back down in a week with Mom and Zeke and Carol. It will be good to be back in Disney quality again!