The Howerter Family Homepage

Saturday night John and I went to visit with some long-time friends that we had not seen in almost 20 years.  It was a reunion of our Sunday School class from our church in Decatur.   It was wonderful seeing Jerry and Deborah.  They left before we did, so it has been 20 years since we have seen them.  We had a great time visiting with everyone, and it was not long before we were all talking and laughing just like we used to when we all went to church together.  Thanks Bud and Amy for hosting!  It was a great party.

John and I spent last week in Las Vegas with Jeff and Judy to celebrate Jeff’s new job, and we had a great time.  The weather was warm and sunny, but cool in the evenings.  It was so nice to be able to walk around and enjoy the sun.  We saw Terry Fator, the ventriliquist that won America’s Got Talent last year.  It was a great show and a lot of fun.  We went to the Valley of Fire State Park which is beautiful.  These huge red rocks are just jutting out of the desert, and some have Indian etchings on them.  Very cool.   We drove by Lake Mead on the way out and headed back to Vegas to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop which is featured on the show Pawn Stars.  Jeff and Judy watch the show, and they got to see one of the guys at the store.  Then we went to Cafe Heidelburg which is a little German deli and diner in the older part of town.  Jeff and Judy ate there 12 years ago, so we looked it up.  It was delicious.  We also went down to the old strip and saw the Gold Nugget and the old, old casinos.  It was pretty cool, but I don’t think Iwould stay down there.  (Sorry Judy.)  We went to the Minus 5 bar near Mandalay Bay which is a bar made out of ice.  It is 5 degrees below 0 Celsius, and the bar, walls, glasses, signs are all made of ice.  We put on big coats and gloves and went in.  It was very “cool”.  We also did the ultimate in “supreme hogery”.  The hotels have buffets that you pay a daily price, and you can eat as much as you want the entire day!  I was mortified that we were doing it, and then they made us wear a wrist band the entire day!  I called it the “the mark of the glutton”.  It was great food, but we obviously ate more than we needed to.  All in all, it was a great trip, but we were glad to be home.  I missed the kids so much.  It is always nice to get back to see them.

Here I am watching the recorded Illini game with John, Jeff and Judy.  I checked the results and know that Illini goes into 2 overtimes but then loses.  I am enjoying watching their reactions while I know the outcome. 

We have had a nice time.  Jeff and Judy came over last night, and we had a nice dinner and then some Pinochle and Sequence.  The girls won at both!  This morning we went to Taylorville for breakfast at the Spring Garden (an old Burger King), and it was wonderful.  Then off to Big R for a walk around.  John and I did not buy anything which is a miracle.  We have just been relaxing since we got home.  Dinner and more cards are in our evening plans. 

An added bonus:  we booked a trip to Vegas for early April!  Yippee!

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.