God has not promised to keep us from life's storms but He will see us through them

Week of 8/30
This week started off a little rough. When we have a tough moment we pray together and ask God to guide us. He knows our hearts. We give thanks to Him for everything including our trials. We think the blueberry pancakes phase is over....Walter ate them every morning for 3 months straight! And many thanks to Aunt Kaite & Uncle Mark for their labor of love. They picked several pounds of wild blueberries in South Georgia just for Walters cravings! He loved every single one of them.. We have one bag left just in case it starts up again.

Sunday - Peggy & Walt Sr visit and bring a chicken dinner for us.
Monday - Mom gets Walter out of the house and takes him on a walk through the neighborhood. It was a gorgeous day outside. We go to dinner with Vicki for some mexican. And of course Walter needed something sweet afterwards so off to Dunkin Donuts for a bavarian cream. Of course, we couldn't stop at just one we had to get a dozen for the rest of the week ;)
Tuesday - My parents leave to spend time with James (brother) and to attend his pinning cermony as he received a promotion. We are very proud of him and pray that God will keep him safe overseas. Bernice (caretaker) comes for the day. Walter and I have a quiet night just the two of us. He says that is his favorite time of day when we are left alone. Such a casanova.
Wednesday - Peggy & Walt Sr, Pat Dodd, Lyn Taylor & Ben Romine come to visit this morning. They reminisce of when Walter was a youngster. Walter gets a few good laughs. Dinner with Joe (classmate at Life) and his wife Robyn at home with Chinese takeout. As you may begin to see a pattern, Walter has many favorite foods. Walter asks Joe about several classmates and the classes (he does not miss studying).
Thursday - Walter has an optometry appointment to fit him for glasses so he can see everyone AND ESPN better. Peter Faulkner (family friend of the Kings) was passing through Atlanta. He brought an Italian dinner and we all had a wonderful time fellowshipping.
Friday - We are off to the beach for a long weekend!!! We are ready to be away from Atlanta and have a relaxing few days with family in the hot sun. We went house hunting with Jordan (Jessica's sister) and Zach. We ate dinner at a small Korean restaurant that Walter and I like to stop by every time we go to Fort Walton.
Saturday - We try homemade sweet potato pancakes by Chef Zach for the first time and loved them! We headed to the outlets for the day to get a few things for the both of us. More soft grey t-shirts for Walter and a pit-stop to the icecream store. Walter was such a good sport (he hates shopping). Of course we had to make it up to him the following day....

Walter's Therapy Schedule

Physical, Occupational & Speech Therapy
Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday
2:00PM - 4:30PM

Your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God - 1 Cor. 2:5

Week of 8/23
Sunday - We returned to our Home Sweet Home after an emotional weekend. Glenna Orr & Elizabeth Jones both made wonderful cakes and Aunt Katie made yummy meals for us to bring back to Atlanta. We stopped in Macon at Zaxby's to eat dinner & met a sweet couple that prayed for Walter. It was a tear jerker. Knowing we have complete strangers on earth but our brothers and sisters in Christ praying for us is such an amazing feeling!
Monday - Walter is so excited that Football season is here! He says every Monday night going forward will be boys night which entails multiple football games with the guys and lots of unhealthy food. Kevin (neighbor) helped Walter create his own fantasy football team. He has Matt Ryan as his quarterback and is loving it. Walter is a huge Falcons fan.
Tuesday - Peggy & Walt Sr, Lyn & John Taylor visit and bring Chic fil a for everyone. Lyn also brought Walter his favorite icecream "Moose Tracks". Bobby (Jessica's dad) & friend Tim Himschoot come up for the week to do house repairs , such a blessing.
Today we receive word back from the doctors at Emory on Walter's CT scan from the previous week that there is no change. This is a good thing in that the swelling has not increased. The Dr's were concerned as Walter has been extremely emotional from situations that have caused him to stress which in turn gets his blood pressure up which is NOT good for him. We try to take a couple deep breaths and then say a short prayer together. It seems to calm him down and he ends up feeling much better.
Wednesday - Peggy & Walt Sr visit with Walter. We order Harry's pizza (one of Walter's favorite places to eat).
Thursday - Peggy & Walt Sr stop by and bring Walter blueberry crunch dessert.
Friday - Jiyoung (friend from school) stops by and gives Walter a massage.He thoroughly enjoyed it that he didn't want to eat dinner he was so relaxed! Peggy & Walt Sr. visit. Vicki & Elysse (neighbors) come to check on us. Jessica's brother James comes to visit for the weekend as he will be leaving in a couple weeks to go overseas for several months.
Saturday - Finally a day of relaxation from our hectic week (just the two of us). James cooks london broil for us for dinner, it was so good and a perfect way to end the day.

Week of 8/16
This week was rather a quiet week. Walter continues to progress especially with his speech! He has so much to say and it can be quite hilarious at times. On Tuesday he received his Botox injections in his left arm, thanks to everyone's donations this was paid for by the trust. These injections help to relax the muscles so they can work that arm with a greater range of motion in therapy. Since his stroke Walter has not used the left arm and it has suffered atrophy and it has become very stiff. The Dr says the injections will take 3 days to have an effect, will reach its peak result by 3 weeks and can last up to 3 months.

8/15 - Sara Williams-Rich comes up from Quitman to teach us the Beckman oral motor exercises. She says this will tone the muscles on the left side of Walter's face and help with his speech. We are thankful for her service and for taking the time to come up here and help us. Thanks Sara!

Many Thanks

Thanks to everyone who organized, donated and participated in the golf tournament this past Saturday for Walter Jr. There is no way to know and properly thank all of those that were a part of making it a success, but in particular, we would like to thank Kim Goolsby, Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, Walter Romine Sr., John Romine, and the entire extended Romine family for their initiative in bringing the tournament to fruition. Everyone’s efforts to raise money for Walter's ongoing care is both humbling and appreciated. We hope that everyone had a wonderful time and we love you all. We give God all the glory for His continuous mercy and healing of Walter.



The current verse we say everyday with Walter for encouragement and motivation is Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Priceless Moments

I just wanted to share with everyone a funny story that happened last night over a wonderful Korean dinner by Jiyoung. We hope you enjoy it! Out of the blue at dinner Walter said "I'm a scary monster." My mom, Jiyoung and I said "What?" as we looked at each other puzzled. He said "I'm a scary monster." My mom replied "Walter, did you just say you were a scary monster?" Walter replied "Yeah." I could not hold my laughter in and my mom replied back "I'm scared if you are a monster." Walter said "You should be, rrraaarrrrrr." Then we all busted out laughing including Walter. We beleive when our neice Emma (2 1/2 yrs old who lives in Florida) calls Uncle Wally once or twice a week to tell him she prays to Jesus that he gets better, she misses him, loves him and when is he coming to see her is where he may be getting this from. She of course is prompted by her mom while on the phone to make sheep, bear, horse and other animal sounds. We really have no idea but it made our night and we got a great laugh. So now he knows it's funny so he called me at work today and says "It's the monster rrraaarrrrrr."

Golf Tournament This Saturday

Don't forget there is a golf tournament this weekend for Walter, details below. We hope to see you there!

Where: Kinderlou Golf Club, Valdosta, Georgia
When: Saturday, August 22, 2009, beginning at 1:00 PM. Please inform all team members to be at Kinderlou at 11:30 AM to view "Silent Auction" items in the Club House. There will be food available there for everyone.
Format: 4-man scramble, flighted by team handicap
Prizes: 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th places in each flight

You may obtain team entry and sponsorship forms from Kim Goolsby, Holiday Inn, 1805 West Hill Avenue, Valdosta, GA 31601; cell number: 229-292-5710; email address: kgoolsby@hivaldosta.com. Please make all checks payable to Walter Romine Medical Trust.

Encouraging words

Below are two verses Walter's great aunt Virginia Ann sent me the other day. She has been a huge supporter and always has encouraging words for the both of us. On our rough days it can make all the difference.

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9

But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ~ Philippians 4:6

Also, if you want to learn more about strokes there is a great magazine out there that is FREE, go to: http://www.stroke.org/ and sign up. They provide a lot of information for victims, caregivers, friends and families.