July and August Update

It seems that we have forgotten about our blog! It is in desperate need of updating.

To tie up a loose end...

Our duck eggs never hatched. In fact, mama abandoned them and we went from 14 down to 4 in two days. When there was only one left I nestled it in a towel and attempted to incubate it in a box in my bedroom. After one day I started to smell it. It is unfortunate and disappointing, but such is animal life.

Collier is doing very well at ALERT. So far they have done High Angle Rescue, Sawyer, Firefighting, Wilderness Survival. High Angle and Sawyer pictures have been posed on the ALERT Training Blog. Collier joined the mens chorus so he is busy traveling around their local area singing. The group recently joined a 100 man choir in providing vocals for a Sean Hannity event in Tyler. We haven't heard from Collier in the last week and we suspect that they were finally given a deployment. This has been a quiet year in the way of natural disasters so any deployment-worthy opportunity is a blessing for the Academy.

This brings us to two prayer requests. Collier informed us that Captain George Pendergast, his commanding officer's father, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He asked us to keep the Captain in our prayers. He also requested that we pray for the financial stability of ALERT. There are only a handful of men signed up for the fall Basic Training which puts everyone in a financial bind. They are desperately trying to stay afloat. We are actively looking for ways to help through spreading the word about the ministry and gathering information on how to advertise for them. They can use any little bit of support that we can give.

I have been very busy getting acquainted with my new sewing machine. I have taken on many projects with virtually no instruction. Thankfully I haven't messed anything up yet. We'll see how long that lasts. You can take a look at an online gallery of my projects to date HERE. There are many more projects that I have completed that are not posed there because I am vigorously working on Christmas gifts for this year. I wouldn't want to spoil any surprises! After the holidays I will be able to add many more pictures.

As you may know, we are currently house-hunting. We are not ready to move yet, but we do want to be aware of what is available in both the rental and sale market so we can take advantage of a good deal when we find one. Moving would be a blessing to us in so many ways! Mainly it would get us out of the condo and into a larger space that is more convenient to Dad's work. Please remember us in your prayers while we look, wait, and discern what we should do and when.

On August 25th I will begin classes at the Florida School of Traditional Midwifery. I am very excited and so ready to finally do something! I will be keeping a record of my journey to midwifery on my business web site, Heritage Birthing Ministries. The Lord blessed me with three other local students that I can carpool with and the business director of the school has opened her home for us to stay on Wednesday nights. This will be a great help as it eases the burden of paying for lodging and allows me to be constantly surrounded by other women rather than be by myself in the heart of party-town Gainesville.

Papa had a significant fall today, which puts him on the downhill slope for a while. He was much more steady for about five weeks, but our allowance of him being at all independent came to a screeching halt today. He is in a great deal of pain, but we don't believe that there is anything we can do for him other than provide pain medication. He fell in the bathroom and knocked his back against a wall corner. He has a large bruise, but his spine doesn't seem to be hurting. Even if he does have one broken rib, the treatment is rest at home. For now we don't want to go to the hospital. He should recover in time with care at home.

Dad is still plugging away at work, though it is becoming increasingly stressful. The command recently changed and Dad likes the new Captain. We are praying that the new command can make some headway in the area of re-classifying Dad's job as an O4 position. It is currently an O3 position which does not look good to his superiors, however Dad took this job anyway because it was the only one that would transfer us to Jacksonville. Unfortunately the command doesn't place any value in honoring parents, therefore they can only judge Dad based on the fact that he took a job below his rank.

During the weekend before school begins we are going to be able to take a little trip down to Miami. Collier will be down on the coast taking the two week rescue diving course. We found out that we could drive down there and take him to dinner. We are so excited about seeing Collier during ERT. I think that all of us are enjoying this phase much more than Basic Training!

We hope that this finds our dear friends well and enjoying the summer season!

Love to All,

Chelsey for the McGehee's