Scarlet Fever

Grace did indeed have scarlet fever. We found out on Friday and she started antibiotics. That made a world of difference! She's feeling much better. Thank goodness. She's still got a little bit of a cold, but all in all, she's doing very well.

I've been looking for signs of the illness in Davis, but haven't seen any. Praise the Lord!

I am trying to think of any other news to tell you guys about. There really isn't any. Just staying busy with Jasen gone. I talked to him last Thursday and he was sick, too. I think it was going to the desert air and all the dust blowing around. That was the last time I will hear from him for a couple of weeks.

Speaking of Jasen, I would like to request your prayers. I think if his unit is going to deploy, we'll be hearing it officially in the next week. Would you please pray for the soldiers, spouses, and families of 4th Brigade? I am concerned about an announcement coming while the soldiers are gone. I know for me it will be devastating, but I worry more about younger spouses. Having a deployment order come down with your soldier at home is bad enough, but to hear it while they are gone will be very hard for some people. Especially for those who haven't done this before. Or maybe for those of us who have.

I feel a real responsibility to the spouses in Jasen's unit, too, to support them should anything be announced. Pray that I will know what to say, when to say it and to be compassionate when I lose my patience with some of the spouses. I had a call from a spouse in the middle of the night on Saturday and I am still not very happy about it. It was not something that warranted a call to me, thus my frustration. I handled it well at the time, but the more I think about it, the madder I get. So prayers for me are a must! There are some new spouses that will look to me for guidance and I don't know that I am prepared for that job.

Along those lines, pray for Jasen, too. His unit is made up mostly of senior guys; most of the soldiers in Jasen's command are of equal or greater rank to him. I think his company being so top-heavy makes it more likely that a newer soldier would fall through the cracks on something like this. Please pray for Jasen and Sean (his first sergeant who wants me to call him by name) and their leadership, particularly their leading younger/newer soldiers.

I ask for all the prayers knowing in the back of my mind that there is a chance they will not deploy. Pray for that most of all!