Update 9:30 AM

 Kaden was just served breakfast along with the news of no surgery today.

Update Saturday 6am

 Possible wrist surgery today. 

This morning Kaden was told surgery Sunday, then a minute later they said not til Monday or Tuesday, then 10 minutes later, they said don’t eat anything because you’re going in today. So, maybe today?

He finally made it into a room a few hours ago. He’s thankful because it was actually able to be dark (the recovery area is always full light). 

He says the discomfort from the knee immobilizer against his skin is less today  

Praying for continued rest, that surgery would actually happen OR that they let him eat, pain management. 

Update 8:20pm

 Kaden is sitting up, eating, lots and feeling like he wants to be more in control of his situation. He actually said he doesn’t want anyone to stay with him tonight, but grandma is staying until they kick her out. His pain is still manageable. 

Yesterday morning, they repositioned both his wrists and casted them. Super painful to do the repositioning.

During surgery, they did something similar to his ankle. But the boot they put on was super tight, so today they removed it. 

He still has a ways to go.

Prayer request for pain relief for skin abrasions. 

Update Friday 3pm

 Kaden is still in the recovery area after surgery in the middle of the night. He is in and out of sleep and not actually needing a whole lot of pain meds. His attitude is good so far. Please pray that he doesn't get discouraged and that he can continue to have a good attitude as he spends time waiting and sitting still. 

 They don't have a "real room" for him yet. It doesn't look like any further surgery will be scheduled until at least Sunday. The surgery they did last night was a cleaning surgery and he will need an additional reconstructive surgery on that knee.

He finally got to eat and held a big meal and plans to eat again tonight. Grandparents are rotating shifts sitting with him now.

He’s feeling a bit of pain where the immobilizer touches his scraped up skin. Nurses have been good to try to add soft gauze to ease the pain.

Kaden’s road to recovery

We know that we have a loving God, who is sovereign, who cares for us, and who is very present in our lives. Though we may be surprised at things that come up in our day-to-day lives, He is not. On Thursday morning, just before 6am, Kaden was on his motorcycle on his way to work and was in an accident. Thankfully, he is alive. Thankfully, his head neck, spine and torso and all his internal organs look fine. Unfortunately, his extremities were injured. The patella on Kaden’s left knee was fractured badly. His left ankle is broken. His left wrist is broken. His right hand is broken. All of these require surgery which they hope to do as soon as an OR and surgeon are available.

On Thursday evening, around midnight, Kaden had his first surgery on the patella/knee. The surgeons were pleased with what they were able to accomplish. They were pleased that there were no missing fragments. Kaden is at UCI in orange. He is in good spirits. Kaden is blessed to have so many friends who are praying him through this difficult time. 

They wanted to do the surgery on his wrist and knee, at the same time, but were unable to do so. So, I think his wrist is the next priority, and after that surgery on his left ankle and his right hand. Again, we are so thankful that he is alive that he is cheerful that he is willing to trust in God’s plan even when that plan clearly differs from what we thought it was.

Please pray with us that Kaden would continue to be strong and rely on the Lord, that surgeries will be scheduled in the right timing, that he would continue to heal, that we would continue to be a light in a place where so many are in darkness and lacking hope. 

 Grubb Christmas Letter

2021 has flown by and we are so thankful, yet again, for all the good gifts the Lord has given this year.

2021 Milestones:

March                 Ky got her driver’s license

April                    Sy worked his first job as a certified referee

April                    Scott & Tara celebrated 21 years of marriage!

May 2021          J & K graduated high school/homeschool

July 2021            J moved to Colorado to attend USAFAPS & graduated from Basic Military Training

August 2021      K started college as an OFFICIAL college student

 

It’s been a few years since our last Christmas post. We are still living in Anaheim, CA in the home we moved into after our trip. When we moved in, our kids were in 5^th, 7^th, 9^th & 10^th grades. Now we have 2 high schoolers and 2 adults in college! That happened so fast!

Shortly after our last letter… in early 2018, my father Joe Thibodo passed away. He had an abdominal aneurysm in late January and though they were able to fix that, his body was not able to overcome other stresses and he passed away in early February. We are thankful that what could have been a sudden death was instead three weeks of time spent together considering the end of our time together on earth was close. We are so encouraged knowing we will see him again. When the hospital clergy came by to visit, he wrote, “I am a child of God.” He was confident of his status and we are so thankful. Still, the course of our lives was changed after that. Our family spent regular time with Grandpa Joe and we miss those times together. Several rooms in our home have a child-chosen photo of Grandpa displayed as we remember.

In early 2020, the Lord led us to a new church home and we have all thrived there. It is a blessing to follow the Lord’s leading, though painful at times, and bask in the blessing of being exactly where He would have you.

Scott is still running his IT business and it has grown significantly since we returned to California in 2017. Our plan was to be here for a year or two, but the Lord has made it clear we are to stay longer, so for now, we “bloom where we are planted”.

Tara is not teaching for our homeschool group this year, but remains busy teaching the kids at home. Last year, she taught Sy’s class and had the privilege of guiding the students through a mock trial at the end of the year that was quite an affair.

J, 19, is currently attending the Air Force Academy Preparatory School. Since we lived on the road his 9^th grade year, he chose to do an extra year of high school to complete the homeschool program that we have been part of since 2009. During this time, he also took flying lessons, soloed for the first time, and has accumulated almost all the hours required for his private pilot license. The process of applying to the Air Force Academy was challenging! The most difficult part is getting a nomination from your Congressman or Senator and J was blessed to be nominated by our Congressman to both the Air Force and Naval Academies. Then he was accepted to both Preparatory schools and had to choose. With a goal of becoming a pilot, he chose Air Force. The AF now requires a 10-year service commitment for those they train as pilots, so J is looking at 5 years of school, then a year of pilot training, then 10 years of service. When he left, Sy said, “So, we won’t see J again until he is 35?” Thankfully, no. During the 5 years of school, he can come home at Thanksgiving and Christmas and 3 weeks in the summers. It is quite a commitment that he is taking on, and we are proud to support him in pursuing his dreams and thankful that the Lord continues to guide him and open doors.

K, 18, is currently attending Cypress College. He graduated high school in May after defending his senior thesis asserting the Old Testament is still necessary. He lives at home and continues to work at Kipe Molds, a silicon injection machine shop. Because K took college classes alongside his high school work, he chose to take a large load this semester in order to graduate. He is excited to finish his A.A. degree in Computer Information Systems, but will continue taking classes pursuing a B.A. in Communications. He continues to be successful making extra cash by buying and selling used items like guitars, cameras, and iPhones. He always has the latest gadgets and somehow turns a profit when he wants the next fun thing. He spends his (very little) spare time playing guitar (in a metal band or leading worship???) and taking photos & video for his growing photography business. Lately, the Lord seems to keep opening doors in photography. K has always had a good eye and is using it to shoot weddings, campaigns, family, landscape, and advertising. We are so thankful for the variety as it offers him the opportunity to explore and grow.

Ky, 16, is currently a junior in high school, but, like her brothers is taking a few college classes that interest her. Our Classical Conversations homeschool group did not have 11^th grade this year, so Ky drives herself 30 minutes to the Corona campus, braving the 91 freeway every week! In addition to the high school curriculum, she has opted to pursue Kinesiology at the local community college and this semester added a sign language class. Her hope is to get into equine-assisted therapy to help people while working with horses. She continues to work as a ranch-hand down the road, caring for “her horse” and all the animals. She is down to 3 days a week now, splitting duties with another gal, but that works out because she is pretty busy. All three kids at home continue to referee soccer on Saturdays and that has become quite an experience since all the parents at the field seem to have forgotten their manners during Covid. Ky has been really blessed by new friendships and connections at our new church and is truly blossoming in the youth group.

Sy, 14, is a freshman and is our lone child with the homeschool group we have done life with for 12 years. Without his siblings there, Sy is making his own way. He is also very popular in the youth group at church – people really like his enthusiastic and funny personality. Sy has followed in J’s footsteps and joined the local Civil Air Patrol squadron. There, too, with his older brother gone, he is finding his own way, promoting, and taking on leadership roles and responsibilities. He and Ky volunteer together every week tutoring elementary students at the local community center. All of these activities are stretching him and maturing him. He can no longer fly under the radar - all the time - as the baby of the family, but he still has a pretty care-free attitude. But he can tenaciously pursue things when he wants to. He recently decided he wanted a better lawnmower to complete his chores and he worked hard refereeing to save up and buy a brand new electric one on his own!

Piper, an 8-month-old Shepard/Lab, joined our family in August. She requires 4+miles of walking each day if we want her to stay out of trouble, so she is keeping our family fit!

 

Scott & I feel like we are definitely in a new stage of life with 2 adult children to encourage and 2 high schoolers in their final years of receiving most of their guidance and direction from us. We seek the Lord’s guidance daily as it can be quite an adventure and are grateful to have a direct line to the Creator of our universe (and our children) to receive wisdom. We are encouraged by Hebrews 4:16 which says: “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” As parents of teens who frequently reflect our giftings and our faults, it is a comfort to find mercy at the cross of Christ. We fully acknowledge that all that has happened in 2021 is by the hand of God in our lives. May you know Him and His love and His provision and His grace in your daily life as well!

Blessings to you… from the Grubb family, 2021

 

Congratulations Graduates!

Presenting the Class of 2021...

The first official graduates from our homeschool!

J plans to attend the United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School in Colorado Springs.

 

K plans to attend Cypress College.

Congratulations to both boys on their many accomplishments!

Academically, each of them finished Classical Conversations Challenge program for 7th-12th grades. The capstone of the program is the senior thesis which they write and defend before a panel. J defended the thesis "Leaders are built, not born." and K's thesis asserted that the Old Testament is still relevant. Beyond their high school studies, each of these young men chose to start taking college classes. K started with SCUBA and J started with Private Pilot Aviation, but they both pursued more academic classes once they got going and both will have enough credits to complete their A.A. later this year! What an accomplishment for the Grubb boys! Woohoo!

Outside of academics, J is pursuing aviation. He is working to finish his private pilots certificate through Civil Air Patrol, an organization he has enjoyed being a part of as it encourages leadership and service in addition to aviation. He plans to serve his country and fly. K is pursuing music, photography, videography, and using his creative giftings to bless others. He plays guitar for the youth worship band and in a metal band called Center Straight.

We pray the Lord's guidance for both boys as they venture into adulthood and His blessing as they follow His lead.