Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Annual Pumpkin Patch Trip

 Every fall we visit a pumpkin patch.  This year we went to Aplin Farms, which is always one of our favorites.  

We went a couple weeks ago and had a great time.  The weather was perfect. 

Hope you enjoy the pictures:




She LOVES being on Papa's shoulders

LOVE this picture Yana took.























Thursday, October 22, 2015

Our Rig Families Need Prayer.. Pacific Santa Ana

This past Tuesday I received a phone call about 4:20 P.M. (from my cousin's wife that is also an oilfield wife..... {us wives gotta stick together}) telling me that there had been an accident on the rig and all communications had been shut down.  

My heart sank.  Literally.  I was in tears, I was a nervous wreck, but the kids were with me so I was trying to be strong.  

  She told me who she was told had passed and although Kyle did not work directly with him, my heart still ached so badly for his family.  He was someone's son, husband, father, friend, etc.  And all though we knew there was a fatality, we did not know what kind of accident it was, if there were others injured, etc.  We couldn't contact our husbands and they couldn't contact us.  It was a rough hour of not knowing and honestly it felt like an eternity.

I called one of our good friends that is a Driller to ask him if we would have already been notified if something had of happened to our husbands and he said yes.  That gave me a slight sigh of relief, but none the less I was still worried about Kyle and his coworkers because I knew this tragedy was going to cause so much heartache with their rig family.  

I had last talked to Kyle Tuesday morning about 10:35 A.M..  We were talking and then it just stopped.  I honestly didn't think much about it because the internet on the rig goes in and out.  If the wind blows a certain way the phones may or may not work.... so worrying about what happened was no where close to my mind.  Turns out the accident happened about 10:00A.M.-10:15A.M.  (somewhere in there) and all communication was shut down.  

WE. WERE. ALL. WORRIED. ABOUT. OUR. HUSBANDS.

I had gotten a message about lunch Tuesday from another oilfield wife friend that asked if I had talked to Kyle.  I told her no.... that it had gone out.  I still didn't really think much about it.  And then when I got the phone call asking if I had talked to him I was starting to put pieces together and knew something must be up.  My cousin worked side by side with the guy that supposedly passed and was very close to him.  The oilfield is such a dangerous profession that any number of accidents could have happened and not knowing was awful.  If it was some type of explosion, then numerous people could have been harmed.  If it was a Blowout (where the rig blows up) then it would have surely already been on the news.... so we would have known already..... SOOO many things were going through our minds.  
Finally, at 5:23 I received a text from a fellow rig wife that let me know Kyle was OK.  She had heard from her husband and he said Kyle was good.  I was a little upset that she had heard from her husband and I had not heard from mine, but not long after I heard from him (words cannot express how thankful I was to hear from him).  He didn't realize they had turned the internet back on.  

Everything is still under investigation.  They completely shut the rig down Tuesday-_____ not sure when work will begin again.  He nor any of them are supposed to discuss what happened while everything is being investigated.  I do know it was his first day with his new position and he was not working side by side with my cousin.  Doesn't make the situation any lighter, because working side by side with anyone for almost 10 months and then losing them the way they lost him, will cause true heart ache for anyone.

I have read most all of the write ups about the accident on the Pacific Santa Ana since all of this has happened, but this was one of the better articles to me....


 I know I take for granted how dangerous Kyle's job is.  I just "expect" him to go to work and come home.  I mostly think about the accidents that can happen on the drive to and from work rather than how dangerous actually being on the rig is.  He said that it is like a funeral out there.  Everyone has been so quiet and have gotten much closer since the accident.  They haven't been able to work, so they are just hanging out, talking, staring, & thinking.  He said they were even talking about how much they take for granted how dangerous what they do is and how everything can change in a split second (no matter where you are).  He also said that no amount of meetings (and they have LOTS of meetings each hitch) can prepare you for something like this actually happening.  

Please pray for Sam's family and all of the guys that are on the rig.  This has really shaken them up.  When they are away from their own families, their Rig Family is all they have.  They form this special bond and truly are family.  I can hardly wait to put my arms around Kyle and give him the biggest hug ever.  I am so thankful he is okay, but I am so saddened that someone lost their life.  This is going to be a rough hitch to finish and prayer is going to be the only thing that we can do to help them out there.

I sent Kyle this verse yesterday and though it is short, it is powerful:

He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.
Psalm 147:3
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Rig Worker Killed In Gulf Of Mexico Oil Rig Accident


October 22, 2015
A 34-year-old Hope man was killed Oct. 20 while working aboard an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana.
Sam Whitley, 34, of Hope, was killed in an incident Oct. 20 on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana.Sam Whitley was working aboard the Pacific Santa Ana, a ship owned by Pacific Drilling, at the time of the accident. The ship was about 200 miles off the coast of Lake Charles, La., and had just begun operations at the time of the accident, which occurred sometime around 10 a.m., according to Heidi Brown, Whitley's sister-in-law.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said in a statement that the Pacific Santa Ana drill ship was beginning drilling operations for Chevron at the time of the fatality. Brown said they had yet to break seawater.
Operations on the drill ship have been shut down, according to the BSEE statement. There were no other injuries reported and personnel remain on the ship. There was no reported pollution.
BSEE and U.S. Coast Guard inspectors traveled to the drill ship the afternoon of Oct. 20 to begin collecting evidence and taking statements. The incident will be investigated by both BSEE and the Coast Guard.
Brown said the family has not been given many details about what may have occurred, as an investigation is getting under way today.
"All they are telling us is an accident happened and he was fatally injured," Brown said.
Whitley, who began working on the ship in January, was previously a self-employed roofer.
His wife, Stacy Whitley, left for Louisiana the morning of Oct. 21 to learn more information. Brown said at this point officials will only confirm the cause of death, and no details of what happened are being released yet.
"You don't meet many people like Sam Whitley," Brown said, noting that he was a phenomenal husband, father, brother and friend.
Danielle Fagonde, principal at Hope Elementary School, where the Whitleys' three children are students, sent out a notice to the school community Oct. 21.
Pacific Santa Ana"It is with deep sorrow that I write to you today to let you know about a tragedy that happened in our school community yesterday..." Fagonde said in the email.
A guidance counselor is available at the school Oct. 21 to meet with students and staff as needed.
Several fundraisers are under way to aid the family. A gofundme site is being set up, as well as a meal train fundraiser where community members can sign up to help provide dinners to the family. To sign up, go to http://www.mealtrain.com/trains/vvlz6w
By Kim Lincoln
Source: KNOX Village Soup
- See more at: http://roughneckcity.com/roughneck-city/oilfieldnews/99/rig-worker-killed-in-gulf-of-mexico-oil-rig-accident#sthash.7a4Ptjbg.dpuf

Rig Worker Killed In Gulf Of Mexico Oil Rig Accident


October 22, 2015
A 34-year-old Hope man was killed Oct. 20 while working aboard an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana.
Sam Whitley, 34, of Hope, was killed in an incident Oct. 20 on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana.Sam Whitley was working aboard the Pacific Santa Ana, a ship owned by Pacific Drilling, at the time of the accident. The ship was about 200 miles off the coast of Lake Charles, La., and had just begun operations at the time of the accident, which occurred sometime around 10 a.m., according to Heidi Brown, Whitley's sister-in-law.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said in a statement that the Pacific Santa Ana drill ship was beginning drilling operations for Chevron at the time of the fatality. Brown said they had yet to break seawater.
Operations on the drill ship have been shut down, according to the BSEE statement. There were no other injuries reported and personnel remain on the ship. There was no reported pollution.
BSEE and U.S. Coast Guard inspectors traveled to the drill ship the afternoon of Oct. 20 to begin collecting evidence and taking statements. The incident will be investigated by both BSEE and the Coast Guard.
Brown said the family has not been given many details about what may have occurred, as an investigation is getting under way today.
"All they are telling us is an accident happened and he was fatally injured," Brown said.
Whitley, who began working on the ship in January, was previously a self-employed roofer.
His wife, Stacy Whitley, left for Louisiana the morning of Oct. 21 to learn more information. Brown said at this point officials will only confirm the cause of death, and no details of what happened are being released yet.
"You don't meet many people like Sam Whitley," Brown said, noting that he was a phenomenal husband, father, brother and friend.
Danielle Fagonde, principal at Hope Elementary School, where the Whitleys' three children are students, sent out a notice to the school community Oct. 21.
Pacific Santa Ana"It is with deep sorrow that I write to you today to let you know about a tragedy that happened in our school community yesterday..." Fagonde said in the email.
A guidance counselor is available at the school Oct. 21 to meet with students and staff as needed.
Several fundraisers are under way to aid the family. A gofundme site is being set up, as well as a meal train fundraiser where community members can sign up to help provide dinners to the family. To sign up, go to http://www.mealtrain.com/trains/vvlz6w
By Kim Lincoln
Source: KNOX Village Soup
- See more at: http://roughneckcity.com/roughneck-city/oilfieldnews/99/rig-worker-killed-in-gulf-of-mexico-oil-rig-accident#sthash.7a4Ptjbg.dpuf

Rig Worker Killed In Gulf Of Mexico Oil Rig Accident


October 22, 2015
A 34-year-old Hope man was killed Oct. 20 while working aboard an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana.
Sam Whitley, 34, of Hope, was killed in an incident Oct. 20 on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana.Sam Whitley was working aboard the Pacific Santa Ana, a ship owned by Pacific Drilling, at the time of the accident. The ship was about 200 miles off the coast of Lake Charles, La., and had just begun operations at the time of the accident, which occurred sometime around 10 a.m., according to Heidi Brown, Whitley's sister-in-law.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said in a statement that the Pacific Santa Ana drill ship was beginning drilling operations for Chevron at the time of the fatality. Brown said they had yet to break seawater.
Operations on the drill ship have been shut down, according to the BSEE statement. There were no other injuries reported and personnel remain on the ship. There was no reported pollution.
BSEE and U.S. Coast Guard inspectors traveled to the drill ship the afternoon of Oct. 20 to begin collecting evidence and taking statements. The incident will be investigated by both BSEE and the Coast Guard.
Brown said the family has not been given many details about what may have occurred, as an investigation is getting under way today.
"All they are telling us is an accident happened and he was fatally injured," Brown said.
Whitley, who began working on the ship in January, was previously a self-employed roofer.
His wife, Stacy Whitley, left for Louisiana the morning of Oct. 21 to learn more information. Brown said at this point officials will only confirm the cause of death, and no details of what happened are being released yet.
"You don't meet many people like Sam Whitley," Brown said, noting that he was a phenomenal husband, father, brother and friend.
Danielle Fagonde, principal at Hope Elementary School, where the Whitleys' three children are students, sent out a notice to the school community Oct. 21.
Pacific Santa Ana"It is with deep sorrow that I write to you today to let you know about a tragedy that happened in our school community yesterday..." Fagonde said in the email.
A guidance counselor is available at the school Oct. 21 to meet with students and staff as needed.
Several fundraisers are under way to aid the family. A gofundme site is being set up, as well as a meal train fundraiser where community members can sign up to help provide dinners to the family. To sign up, go to http://www.mealtrain.com/trains/vvlz6w
By Kim Lincoln
Source: KNOX Village Soup
- See more at: http://roughneckcity.com/roughneck-city/oilfieldnews/99/rig-worker-killed-in-gulf-of-mexico-oil-rig-accident#sthash.7a4Ptjbg.dpuf

Friday, October 16, 2015

Yet There is More....... Cancer

I am going to try to keep this post informative and not express how angry I am at this beast.  I'll save those emotions for my journal.

If y'all read this post that I wrote Sept 13th then you know that Mom was hospitalized in Dothan a month ago.  She had another bowel obstruction and they did a scan.  We were told in Dothan that they didn't see any type of new cancer on the scan.  Hallelujah.... right?  (Sadly they either didn't know what they were looking at or was afraid to say.  Dr. Huh saw the "scan report" and it said small node spots in abdomen, so we were kind of prepared for some of what we were going to find out).

Mom hasn't felt great since the hospital stay.  She has a good deal of constant stomach/side pain.  She was scheduled for chemo treatment this past Wednesday (10/14) and was going to try to wait out her pain until then.  Miraculously she did.  She really is such a strong woman!  Majority of you all that see her would never know how much pain she is in and what really goes on inside.  She puts on the prettiest smile and goes on about her day as normally as she can.  

If you read my post from yesterday then you know my kids have had strep/viral infection.  Karter ran fever last week for 4 days and today makes day 4 for Sophie.  With them being sick, Mom & I decided it was best that I stay home with the kids instead of going to her treatment Wednesday.  My Aunt Becky, Uncle Sonny, and I had planned to go because we knew Dr. Huh had planned to discuss the more in depth scan that they requested from Flowers Hospital.  As badly as I wanted to be there, I knew that with both of them going (& Mom) that surely they would relay all the information to me.  I am always so afraid that I will miss out on something with me not being there.  

When they got there, they pretty much immediately admitted her in UAB Hospital.  Her magnesium was really low, low electrolytes, and she needed blood.  For whatever reason they still had not received her full scan from Flower's Hospital so he decided to do his own.  

They did her scan yesterday morning and had the results within a couple hours.  Sweet Dr. Huh called Mom from the airport to tell her the scan was worse than he thought.  Unfortunately, the chemo she was currently on was not working.  Not only was her CA125 up to 1500 (insert really sad face), but the scan showed a lot of  cancer throughout her abdomen that were like "popcorn size kernels". He was so very sorry to have to deliver that kind of news.  There is also a kink in her intestines that is caused from the cancer.  This is causing a lot of her stomach pain as well.  She will start a new chemo drug today called Taxol.  She will lose her hair again, but we would all much rather her be bald forever if that would mean keeping her here.  She will get Taxol weekly for 3 weeks and then have the 4th week off.  The 4 weeks will be considered 1 cycle.  She will have a total of 6 cycles with this drug.  He is also hoping that the new drug will fix the kink in her intestines. 

It seems to be a never ending process.  This cancer journey is getting harder and harder and harder.  Harder for her and harder for us to watch what she has to go through.  I wish so badly some days.... okay most every day..... that we could just go back a few years to when life was "normal".  I'll never understand God's plan this side of Heaven, and no matter how many times people tell us this is "God's plan.... just gotta trust Him" does not mean that makes it easy (and honestly it gets frustrating to hear & then I think..... Toyia.... how selfish..... think of what Jesus did on the cross for YOU.... how much he suffered... how God watched His own son suffer..... still doesn't make it any easier... I am only human).  This journey started February 2014... and has yet to stop or take a pause.  At first I was scared, then I was okay with it, then I was thankful because our family got closer than we had been in a long time, then scared again, and now I am just flat out mad.... angry....bitter....upset.....confused.....heart broken...... speechless.... etc.  

A good friend sent this verse to me this morning, 

When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it.  Aaron and Hur held his hands up.. one on one side, one on the other..so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
Exodus 17:12

She reminded me that she and so many others are there praying for Mom and our whole family.  We are tired and weak and Mom is trying hard to be so brave and strong, but the weight seems to be getting heavier and heavier.  All of the prayers that you all are doing are filling in the gaps from where we are feeling hopeless and angry.  Y'all are there holding our arms up just like Aaron and Hur held Moses' up and I couldn't thank y'all enough.   


Image result for cancer quotes
 This is exactly what Mom is doing right now. 

Image result for Ovarian cancer quotes
 Here are some pictures from this week with us facetiming with her and some she and my Aunt Becky sent...



Her getting blood

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Sick Babies

Sickness has made its way to The Colquett house once again.  

Karter was sick majority of last week. 

He just got in the truck one day and said he was really tired and couldn't eat that day.  When we got home, sure enough he had a fever. 
 I honestly thought a viral infection because he and S both had that a few months ago and there isn't anything you can do for it except alternate Tylenol/Motrin. 
This was the fever that I panicked with.  Unfortunately it was after the doctors offices closed, but thankfully Kyle's mom works at a doctors office and we were able to send pictures of his throat to her and she showed the doctor.  Looked like strep, so he got started on an antibiotic.
 Thankfully the antibiotic did help his throat, but he still continued to run fever....


 I took him to the doctor Friday.  All of the tests were negative at this point.  They did blood work and sure enough..... a viral infection. 

 By Saturday he was feeling MUCH better.  We were all amazed that neither of the girls had shown any signs of sickness........ 
 ......... and then.......

3 days after Karter last ran fever, Sophie started running fever.  

As soon as she opened the car door after school Tuesday she started bawling... saying her head hurt and she didn't eat all day (sure enough.... her entire lunch was still in her lunch box).  Her face was very flushed, so I knew what was happening.

 She fell asleep shortly after we got home and slept most of the afternoon.  She wouldn't eat any supper and if you know Sophie at all you know that is VERY ABNORMAL for her to not eat all day!  She eats anything at any time. 

Kyle, Karter, and Heidi were outside playing and after I got the kitchen cleaned up Soph and I went out too.  She just sat in my lap the whole time :(....

This was yesterday morning after the other 2 were at school.
 Yesterday she ran fever in the morning and then didn't until yesterday afternoon/early evening. 
 Poor thing ran fever all night and just moaned and groaned.  Thankfully she is drinking a good bit so she is staying hydrated.  She last had medicine at 6 this morning and so far the fever is gone.  Maybe it will stay gone!

PS: The worse part about them being sick is we can't be around Mom.  If she were to get it, it would be bad.  With that being said, she was admitted at UAB hospital yesterday.  A separate blog post to come about that.