Prom 2008

If you can believe it, Zack's junior is quickly coming to a close. I am having a very difficult time wrapping my brain around that fact myself.



My son has grown up in the blink of an eye. (sniff! sniff!)


These pictures were taken in our yard this afternoon before the prom. (her prom -- he didn't want to go to his -- figured they would go to that one next year.

They actually met up with 3 additional couples (and two stag males) at their restaurant of choice after these pictures were taken.
I want your opinions on something. I hope I didn't make the wrong decision. Curious about your thoughts.

Arrie 's (Zack's girlfriend) parents have opened up their home to an all night fellowship for Zack, Arrie and their friends. Their plan after the prom is to run home, change into comfortable clothes and go bowling. After they're finished bowling they're headed to Arrie's house for some popcorn and movies. All of them plan on staying away all night, with Arrie's parents in the house. (Their house is only 1500 sq ft, and their bedroom is right off of the den).

They all are going to church in the morning in their prom attire.

Be honest...would you all be ok with your teen(s) given permission to do the aforementioned in this situation?

Why or why not?

I'm 39 today!

Happy birthday to me. This will be my last birthday in my 30's. Waaa! Where has the time gone? The answer is beyond me!

I was thinking about this the other day and realized how big a year 2009 will be for us. Huge milestones next year for sure! Our 20th anniversary, my 40th birthday, Zack turning 18, Zack graduating from high school, and (gulp!!) also beginning college!!

But...I guess I need to age gracefully, and just let it all sink in.

OMG -- I'll be 40 years old in 365 days!!!!!!!!

Catch up entry on what's up with Aaron

Aaron is definitely keeping us on our toes these days. First and foremost, he’s been struggling academically this semester, specifically in the subject of Math. Standardized testing is scheduled for week after next. All 5th graders are required to take and score a minimum for Reading and Math sections in order to be promoted, or be required to take summer study classes to retake the standardized test at the end of these courses. We are a little concerned that Aaron will not make the minimum score in Math.

We feel we are doing everything right. Examples: he’s been in after school tutoring for Math twice a week for the last six weeks. His brother (you know, our young mathematician) has been checking over his homework papers, and going over mistakes with him. Apparently, when it comes to testing, Aaron gets a mental block. He rushes through to get through due to frustration levels. The last report card Aaron received, he had a 79 in Math. Since then, I would guess to say that it has slipped down even further. My question is this…how could this be the same child as the honor roll student of last year? Different teacher? Perhaps. But from having an “A” in Math to the fear of failing this year? I just don’t get it. Any suggestions?

Aaron is still loving soccer. He has become the team’s 1st string goalie. The teammates look to Aaron very respectfully. These two things combined have definitely helped his confidence level on the field this year.

I can hardly believe that my youngest son will be in middle school this fall. *He* can hardly believe it either. He’s growing up way too fast!

P.S. Just as a clarification...the person (Robbie) that I mentioned in my last entry is Michael's sister. My sister is the one I'm flying out to visit with and attend her son's high school graduation. I think I confused some of you. Sorry! :)

Until next time!

Next up…

Zack’s college search, and the latest discovery that we've made about funding the same.

Continuing as promised...

The allergy troubles that I was having when I first put up the list of what's to come on my blog, for the most part (and I cross all things crossable here) has worked itself to a "better" mode. I no longer have continuous sinus drainage down the back of my throat. I'm not constantly sneezing. For the most part, the sore throats and headaches are staying away. The ENT specialist put me on an elixir of meds hoping it would soon do its magic. It looks that for now, it has begun to do so.

I have an appointment on May 1 for a follow-up with him. For now anyway, I can safely say that I can go in there with a good report. He had told me that if it wasn't a good bit better that he was probably going to discuss the next step with me -- which was of course, a tonsillectomy. He told me when I was in his office last that my tonsils have become "pitted" over time from numerous infections, and that THAT was why I was having continuous sore throats. The infection would never completely go away. It would then rear its ugly head once the antibiotics got out of my system.

Some of you may know that I have a sister who lives in Colorado near Springs. She and I are the closest of all our siblings. She called me one time last fall right after her son started his senior year of high school. She was very emotional and told me that she was dreading when her son graduated this spring, and the fact that she had no family around her for support made her even more sad. I told her then that if there was any way possible that I was going to be there for his graduation. Thanks to getting a nice sum back from our taxes this year, I'm flying to Colorado Springs in just over five weeks...all by myself! I say that because I feel the need to get away by myself for awhile. I've had to shoulder so much these past few months. I'll be leaving on May 15th, and returning on the 19th. This nephew is the brother of the neice that went on vacation with us last fall.

Oh -- one more thing. Robbie got a great report from the Mayo Clinic last week. She is currently cancer free! She has to endure 4 chemo treatments as a precautionary measure only. To say that she is excited is a huge understatement. You may remember that when she was diagnosed last June that the one thing she asked for was to see her son graduate high school. Now here we are six weeks away from his graduation.

All I can say is I am so glad that our family is finally getting some good news again!

Until next time!

Next up...

- A catch up entry on what Aaron has been up to lately.

Our (delayed) anniversary plans

As some of you may have already read in a previous entry, Michael and I just celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary on March 25. Due mostly to financial constraints we opted not to do anything special together besides having dinner out until we can better afford it.

Then I remembered a dear friend’s wedding that’s happening in Savannah on May 3rd. I had an aa-ha! moment and suggested to Michael that we make this our anniversary trip. I thought that we could spend two nights away to begin with. Then I looked at my calendar and realized that Zack has the SAT exam on the morning of the 3rd. I didn’t think it a good idea to allow him to spend the night away before an uber-important exam such as this. So, we decided to wait and leave town at dawn that day. We have worked it out that he will be picked up and taken to the testing site by his girlfriend, who will then return to the house with Aaron until the testing is complete. (He has a vehicle, yes, but doesn’t have his regular license yet. We are working on him getting them. Just not quite there yet.) She has also agreed to pick him up. They'll all have lunch together, and then take Zack to where he will be spending the evening and night. She and Aaron will spend the night at our house. Works out perfectly for us.

It’s a mere three hour drive to Savannah, and the wedding is at 4:00 in the afternoon, so we’ll have sufficient time to site see, enjoy lunch together, get checked into our hotel, and get ready for the ceremony. The wedding reception will be a sit down affair at the famous chef Paula Deen’s Restaurant, (http://www.ladyandsons.com/) which means the only money we’ll need is for fuel, lunch, and any souvenirs that we may want – oh, and a wedding gift for the happy couple of course! I’m so excited I can hardly stand it! The best part of this trip? Michael was able to use the last of his Hilton honor points to reserve a top notch hotel spot for us. Buffet style breakfast included!

All in perfect timing, no?

Until next time!

Next up --
- This never ending allergy crap!!
- Tonsillectomy in my future?

- My future trip to Colorado Springs...alone; May 15 - 19

Michael's recovery progress report...another surgery ahead?

Michael had an orthopedic appt on Monday, and it looks like, at least for now, that surgery is not on the horizon. His physical therapists have been documenting that stiffness and/or scar tissue is impeding progress. After several tests last week they told him that they were sending his doctor(s) notes to describe what was going on. The flexibility in his foot has stopped increasing. Stiffness is an understatement…I think the word they used was “frozen”. The doctor told us way back when that this may happen, and “may” require surgery. For now, the doctor is modifying the therapy treatment, to focus specifically on his gait. He thinks that Michael is favoring the foot so much that the flexing isn’t happening mainly because of habitual “compensating”. Does all that make sense? He’ll begin that therapy on Friday.

In the meantime, the doctor has scheduled an MRI for his shoulder. He has had shoulder pain since a couple of days after the accident, and even mentioned to the doctors this fact. They were more worried about his foot and leg (rightfully so) at that time, and casually mentioned to him that they would put off tests of the shoulder until a time that he wasn’t going to have to rely on that shoulder for mobility. (Remember, he used a walker exclusively for 4 months post-accident, and obviously had to rely on use of both arms).

Michael mentioned to the doctor once again this past Monday that his shoulder was still bothering him and was anxious to get something done about the pain he was continuing to have. The MRI will be done later in the month. I’ll keep you updated on the results.

Until next time.

Next up --
- Anniversary trip; May 3 - 4

Of posts to come...

Just so that I have something to help me remember, as well as to keep my reader(s)? coming back, I wanted to put a list here of different subjects about what I want to blog.

- Michael's recovery progress report
- Another surgery ahead?

- Anniversary trip; May 3 - 4

- This never ending allergy crap!!
- Tonsillectomy in my future?

- My future trip to Colorado Springs...alone; May 15 - 19

- Catch up on what's up with Aaron blog entry

- Zack's College search

- Zack's 1st prom, April 26

- Zack's 1st car - finally purchased (the one we looked at way back when didn't work out for us)

Happy Anniversary, my love!

I want to say a BIG “Happy Anniversary” to my wonderful husband. Nineteen years ago today, I was walking down the aisle, at the arm of my dad, toward my life partner, my best friend.

I don’t tell Michael enough how much I appreciate him. We have been through many rough times through the years (these last 8 – ½ months notwithstanding!) but we can always count on each other for never-ending encouragement, love and support.

I love you Michael – more than words can ever say! This poem says so eloquently what doesn’t come so easy for me.

I Love You Because

I love you because of your sweet, gentle, ways;
So, slow to condemn, so quickly to praise.
Encouraging words, with a soft easy touch ...
Just some of the reasons why I love you so much.

I love you because you are honest and strong.
Right here, in my arms, is where you belong.
You hold me, console me, and you are my best friend.
I can't live without you, no need to pretend.

I love you because you light up my days,
Fill my heart and my soul with your sweet loving ways.
I love you because you never pretend.
And if I'm hardheaded, you always give in.

You're so easy to love, so hard to forget;
Faithful and true since the day that we met.
I could search the world over and still never find
A love like yours. You are one of a kind.

I love you because you are quick to forgive
Overlooking my faults each day that I live,
So slow to anger, so quick to respond
To my loving wishes; above and beyond.

Thank you for choosing me to be your wife!

Sickness, sickness, go away!!!

Here it is little more than a week after my last post, and unfortunately I have been sick at least half of those days.


Zack had a debate tournament this past weekend. We didn't get home until 2:00 on Sunday morning. He and his partner came in 4th place out of 30 other teams. The top 3 teams are going to Vegas this summer. Although he was very disappointed he didn't make 1st, 2nd or 3rd, he was excited that he made it as far as he did. It was a double elimination tournament, and the last debate of the night was his team's 2nd loss, thus knocking him out of 3rd place.


Overall -- that part of the weekend was good. All day Saturday my throat was feeling raw from sinus drainage, but wasn't feeling too terrible. It was the ride home where the symptoms of my previous malade reared their ugly heads. The sinus drainage and pressure, the dry cough, the sore throat and fever all were making me miserable. I spent the next two days in bed and went back to the doctor yesterday. I marched into the exam room (after spending 45 minutes in the waiting room -- apparently everyone else has been suffering from similar symptoms) and, after listening to my lungs, and examing my throat and ears told me that bronchitis was plaguing me again (still, I say!). So I'm currently on my third round of antibiotics and having to use an Albuterol inhaler four times a day. Doc said that my chest was very tight -- and this combo should do the trick of loosing up the mucous in my lungs. So, we shall see!!! I had to go back to work today, suffering through a blinding headache most of the day. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be feeling quite a bit better and can say I'm over the worst part of it.








Zack's girlfriend traveled with us on the 2 hour trip to the tournament. She had never been to any of his competitions, and was curious to know what Debate was all about. We gladly invited her along with us. It actually helped him pass the time way in between rounds.

The boys are out of school this week for winter break and are enjoying playing the Wii with different friends coming over different days. It helps pass the "boredom" away they say. Well that and they're staying out of their dad's hair as well. Win/win, right? :)

Zack is competing in another tournament this weekend. The top three teams of that trip will go to Appleton, Wisconsin for competitions on Memorial Day weekend. It's apparently a pretty big meet for the winners. We shall see. Wish him luck!!

Until next time...

Good news, and not so good news...

I know. It's been awhile, right? Well believe it or not, I am *just* getting over all that mess that I've been fighting for OVER THREE WEEKS. I ended up getting bronchitis, which actually turned into walking pneumonia. Three days of missed work, a chest x-ray, a round of antibiotics, as well as a shot in the hip, and a multitude of bills and pills later, I am finally on the mend, I think (fingers and everything else crossed!). Of course, not before each member of my family was stricken with something eerily similar. But, they too are all now on the mend -- thank God!

Now for the not so good news...

There is so much going on lately that I don't really know where to start. Lots of stressors lately...at work as well as home. Michael is still unable to return to work at his job, and is now officially unemployed. They came and picked up ALL his company assets last week while I was sick at home. It wasn't an unpleasant experience, all things considering. His former boss was as wonderful as he could be. Told him he could reapply when he was able. But, in the same breath also told him that that the promoted position that he received over a year and half ago was being phased out! This news has all but put Michael under. Depression...and thus I have followed. I hate this! It has been just over six months since the accident, and we are still in limbo! He's still in some type of therapy 4 to 5 days a week. He's doing ALL he can to get better, and he's being punished for not being able to go back by the six month mark! Ugh!!

I have become unhappy at my job. Stuff I won't go into at this time (there is a coworker that reads me sometimes. I may talk to her about the circumstances at some point) but will plan on explaining here in detail sometime in the future. Suffice it to say that there is a lot of uneven ground going on. It's become a real chore to show up at work.

Aaron begins soccer practice this week. The one good thing about Michael still being home is the fact that HE will be able to do some of the transporting this spring to the sporting events, and let me have some downtime.

I don't know if any of you remember this or not. But annually, Michael's sister, Robbie and I are invited to an all female cousins' retreat (coincidentally, it's actually their mother's female cousins). February 23 & 24 will be the weekend for the event this year. This month makes 10 years since the death of Michael's mother, and we (Robbie, me and and all the cousins) plan on doing something really special in her memory. I'll let you know more details after I find out more of them. It's being kept hush hush for the moment. Bittersweet times for us, I'm sure, but I can't wait for some wonderful bonding time with them all.

Zack was chosen as first alternate to compete in the school Math competition this next week. The winner(s) could win some scholarship money, so we are very hopeful! ;)

Until next time..

Still fighting with this illness

Urgh! I swear I cannot get rid of this earache. I'm tired of being in pain. I've finished my antibiotics, and have since then called the drs office back to get some drops called into the pharmacy. I'm on the third day of that script, and I still have pains in my ear that feel as if someone is pushing a hot poker through the canal at times! If I'm still hurting tomorrow afternoon, I think I'll ask for another appt. He'll tire of seeing me soon and will want to figure out what's going on so he won't have to hear from me anymore. But something's gotta give -- that's for sure.

Zack is leaving to go on a three day trip tomorrow after school. The school Beta Club is having their annual state convention in Atlanta starting Friday morning, where he will be competing in the Quiz Bowl competition. Counting shopping/souvenir money, food, lodging, etc., it will put us back a pretty penny. But he was really looking forward to going, since back in October when we had to put a deposit down for the trip, so we really wanted to allow him to attend.

I signed Aaron up for soccer yesterday. I thought he might want to try baseball this year, but it's not to be, I guess. He took tennis camp in a summer enhancement course last year. He IS interested in beginning tennis lessons though. The teacher that taught the summer course teaches lessons to kids in the fall, spring, and summer. So, I'm curious to know what the cost will be. He's a professional tennis coach, so I hope it's not too outrageous!

Today marks five years since my mother passed away. I can hardly believe it's been half a decade. I'm giving blood this weekend in honor of this date. I really miss her, and wish I could still talk to her one on one.

Michael and I are going out with friends this weekend. Two other couples and we will be going out to eat at a Japanese steakhouse where they cook right in front of you! I'm excited; the big reason is we haven't done a lot of socializing since the accident. I'm looking forward to catching up with some of our friends again.

Enjoy the rest of your week. I will try my best to do that myself!

Sicknesses Abound

What started as a cold New Year's weekend, ended in a bad sinus infection this week. This past Wednesday, I woke up to my throat closing up and my ears feeling as though they were filled with fluid. Thursday found me in my doctor's office getting scripts for a sinus infection and the beginning of an ear infection. To top it all off?? Last Saturday I had a pedicure for the first time in two months -- which led to me getting a badly infected ingrown toenail by Thursday. I began soaking it in warm Epsom salt water two to three times a day. Today it's feeling a tad bit better, but looks horrible! I'm afraid I may have to call in a favor to Michael's uncle (who is a surgeon) to look at and drain for me before the weekend is over with. Ouch!!

Oh yeah, there's more --

Michael began saying last night that one of his ears was beginning to bother him. I put some ear drops in his ear, but told him he would probably need to get on an antibiotic to clear it up. He went to his men's breakfast this morning, so he must be feeling somewhat better. Time will only tell, I guess.

There is some good news that I can share in this post as well:

Michael's sister Robbie had major surgery Friday before last. To give you some background on it...

The cancer that started in her colon (she had a resection done in June) spread to her liver. Two masses were found back in August/September time frame. The goal for the doctors was to treat her with agressive chemo strong enough so that those tumors would either disappear or would shrink enough that they could surgically remove them. After an MRI showed one mass disappearing altogether (thank GOD!), the other one was now small enough for surgical intervention. They began doing other tests to ensure that the disease hadn't spread elsewhere when they found a suspicious spot on her lung. They told her that if this spot was malignant, they couldn't and wouldn't do anything else for her. The "suspicious" spot on her lung turned out to be nothing else but scar tissue from several bouts of bronchitis over the last few years (thank GOD that was all it was!). We found out the good news the day before she was to host our entire family at her house for Christmas dinner. Fast forward to January 4, she underwent the liver surgery. They ended up removing 50% of her liver as well as the mass. The surgery went wonderfully, much better even than the doctor had hoped. He was able to do everything laparoscopically, but because of liver involvement in the cutting, it will take her months to fully recover. Did you know that the liver is the only human organ that eventually regenerates itself? I didn't either! That's just amazing to me! It will take close to a year to full regenerate. She was released from the hospital this past Thursday, where she is currently recovering with family in Jacksonville, who lives very close to the Mayo hospital there. Her goal is to be back home for her son's birthday, which is January 25. Shortly after that she will go through three more months of chemo to ensure that all the cancer is gone from her body. She is worried though about full recovery. Because the liver had already been attacked with cancer, then the removal of half of it, and now the chemo given to attack more (good as well as the bad) cells in her body, she is rightfully concerned that she won't bounce back to a healthy person. She is a very social, vivacious, loving person who I'm glad to call my sister. She loves her family with every fiber of her being. Her son graduates from high school the end of May. I'm sure she must be thinking a lot about the future right now. I would appreciate any prayers for her.

Then my sister, who lives in Alabama, had a benign tumor removed from her adrenal gland this past Tuesday. Although benign, it was causing her to have uncontrolled, dangerous blood pressure levels. I'm happy to report that she is back home recovering after a very scary few weeks for all of us.

Michael's recovery is going grand! He's beginning to walk with a cane now. He's been on a walker and/or wheelchair since the accident over five (!!) months ago. This is a huge step forward (pun not intended) for him. His hopes are to be back at work in 4 to 6 weeks. I pray that this happens, but I know that several things in the past have put this on hold. One being him having a staph infection on a place on his arm that he had to have surgically drained. It's definitely time for some good things to happen to us, no doubt!!

That brings me to this current paragraph. Our Christmas day was fabulous - and now the boys are back in school. Our life is beginning to turn to semi-normal, I guess. Zack's junior year is flying by -- and doing great. He has won first place trophies in debate tournaments more than once this school year. His grades are outstanding -- 2 AP classes this year have kept him to 2 B's and 4 A's for the first semester, with a current solid 3.75 overall GPA. We just received his PSAT scores that was taken back in October. His freshman year his score was a 1740 out of 2400, his sophomore year an 1850, and this year a 1960. If this trend continues, he'll have well over 2000 for his SAT scores to be taken in May this year. Hopefully, this will have schools from all over knocking on our door. ;) Aaron is doing well in school this year, too. 2 A's and 2 B's overall.

That just about catches you all up in what's going on in our life. I hope that 2008 brings each of you health and happiness!

Until next time -- take care of yourself. It is still flu season afterall! :)

In 2008 I will...

Love me for who I am. . .

Be the person that I want to be, not what others want me to be. . .

Show and tell those that I love exactly how I feel because we never know what tomorrow will bring. . .

Instead of trying to change myself to please others, I will only change myself to please ME. . .

Take more time to myself. I DO deserve a break once in awhile. . .

Live life to the fullest, love like I"ve never loved before, laugh more times than I will cry, and be happy with whatever God has in store for me. . .

This year, WILL be better than the last, but not as good as next!

Christmas parties, pics and more!

Not really too much to say right now, besides a very hectic ongoing schedule. We just wrapped up our churchwide Christmas program this past weekend, which went beautifully, I might add. With practices for Aaron almost daily though, I for one am glad for it to be over with. He was starting to become a little irritable (ok, a lot!).

The children's program and the handbell's program is Dec 16 and 19, respectively, and Aaron will be part of these two events as well. I think he has picked up the acting/drama bug. He is really enjoying himself this year!

My office Christmas party was this past Saturday night. It was the first time since the accident that Michael and I had been able to have an adults only night. Even though he was using a walker, we're incredibly happy that he was able to attend. We had great fun, a night of rejuvenation, free food and fellowship; the few drinks I had helped round the evening off nicely. :)

I won't go into it right now, but Michael has a (different) job prospect that is waiting for him if he wants it. The employer wants him to come to work for him at any capacity he can after the first of the year, until he's 100% again. I'm not sure how that will work out though. Kind of concerning to me, actually. In this position, there will be no out of state (a 100 mile radius maximum) traveling. This will bring him home with us...on a regular basis. We're not sure if it's what God wants us; so we continue to pray about it. He is supposed to meet with him again by the beginning of next week. I'll give out more info when/if Michael makes the decision.

More later!

Je suis fini (with shopping, that is)!!

Our Thanksgiving meal went very nicely. My sister and her husband, and the four of us went out to a place in town to eat our turkey, and it was splendid. The best part? No clean up, and no leftovers for daaaayyys! :)

Black Friday had Michael and me up before the crack of dawn (3:45) and out the door by 4:15. Aunt Gail's $1,000 gift (can you believe the amount?!?) was well worth the early rise. Michael waited in line at one place while I waited in another. The one family gift (The W!!) we wanted to get this year was what we were hoping to get our hands on - and the demand for it was very high everywhere. I had no success where I was. Michael was #6 in line at the place he was waiting, but the store didn't open til 7:00. Come to find out...they had only 9 in the store, so we got what we were searching for! Yes, we waited in line over 2 hours to get it, but I think it will be well worth it.

I do have to look for Michael another gift -- a small one that he can open and be surprised about -- we were present with the gifts that we bought for each other. I have had my eye on some cookware for awhile, and finally found it on sale at K0hl's. He picked up some tools at Lowe's that he had been wanting, so we are through with each other's big gift. We also got Aaron a 2GB MP*3 player with case, charger, and armband for less than $50 on sale. A rubik's cube was also something we found for him that he'd been asking for, along with some Transformer type figurines. We picked up Zack a couple of shirts along with some Georgia Bullog lounge pants.

I found some jean's for the boys -- Goody's had all their denim on sale the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, including Duckhead, Polo, and Levi; so that is out of the way.

We'll be getting Zack's car for him sometime this week. We got a 1996 Mercury Sable with just under 100K miles on it, and runs wonderfully. What's not so wonderful is the insurance premiums--$1,100 for 6 months just to add him to our policy!! Can you say sticker shock!?! And that's with the good student and driver's education course discount!

I can hardly believe that Christmas is less than a month away. After the accident happened, the rest of the year has been a blur, and therefore, has passed at record speed. Michael's PT begins tomorrow-yay!

The month of December holds a very busy schedule for our family, with Church Christmas programs (x 3 - to include Aaron's handbell program), Christmas parties and (x 2, possibly 3). I hope we can get through it all without too much stress. :)

I'll close this entry for now, but look to post another entry before the week is up. Bye for now!

Shopping, Physical Therapy and Thanksgiving

First of all, I wanted to share details of my shopping venture this past Saturday. Although I had lots of fun just hanging out with friends all day, I didn't get done as much as I wanted to. Aside from a few things for the house (ornament, dishcloths and dishtowels), I was only able to find a (very) few Christmas gifts. The big need was finding the boys some jeans, which I haven't been able to find yet. I'm going out this week to the mall hoping I can get some good finds. We're not going to be getting Zack too much. We've spent nearly $1,000 on him since school began this year, with purchasing his class ring last month and the mandatory driving course that he just completed. Plus he'll be going on a big youth trip (to Niagra Falls and Canada) with the church next summer, so we'll be putting money away for that each month, so that we won't have to pull it out of the air come June.

I wanted to give an update on physical therapy as well. Michael is scheduled for his evaluation for PT on Wednesday. He will be going 3 x a week for 6 weeks, then be re-evaluated to see how the recovery effort is coming along. His foot is really beginning to look (half)-normal again, And that combined with beginning PT is helping us to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We just have to keep reminding ourselves how much worse it could have been.

I'm sad about Thanksgiving plans this year. In my thirty-eight years of living, I have always been surrounded by a house full of people for this holiday. This week, only my sister and brother-in-law will be joining us. I'm trying to be thankful (hello, it is Thanksgiving after all!), but I'm having a very difficult time about it for some reason. I guess I'm missing my folks this time of year as well.

If I don't post before the holiday, I hope everyone enjoys their time with family and friends. Stay safe!

Arrrrgggghh!!!

Hubby is at the doctor's office for a scheduled visit with the plastic surgeon as I type this, but the skin graft took a turn for the worse over the weekend. Over the last few bandage changes, we've noticed what appeared to be skin peeling off. Saturday night's change showed that most of the skin was just hanging loose around the edges of the wound. When I looked at it this morning, the hanging skin had turned black, so...not sure what that means, but he says he's not going to do another graft, and let it heal on its own. This may delay the physical therapy even further. We'll have to see what the surgeon says today. He also has an appt with the orthopaedic doctor tomorrow. Depending on what the doctor says today will depend on what the ortho doctor wants to do next.


I'm feeling very frustrated at the moment. We think we make 1 step forward, then we have to take 2 steps back. Michael is feeling very discouraged at the moment as well. Will update after the appt.


I'm going on a ladies Christmas shopping trip with our church this Saturday. For obvious reasons, at first I had decided not to even sign up to go. But I received a phone message from Michael's aunt Gail on Friday afternoon telling me that she wanted me to take a friend along, and enjoy the day. The message stated that she was going to give me some shopping money to shop for Christmas for my family. I was speechless! What a blessing this woman has been in our lives throughout the good times, and the bad!


Appt update:

Apparently, only about 30% of the graft took, so we'll have to take measures to prepare the exposed skin for healing on its own. The doctor told him that the ortho doctor can safely allow him to begin physical therapy. He was instructed to begin scrubbing it with soap and hot water every day to help promote healthy skin growth.

So...not as bad as we thought!

Calling all blog friends...remember me?

Hi all: Good grief -- has it really been over 10 months since I've last posted an entry? I'm sure some of you *still* remember me, right? ;)


We've had lots of goings on since my post way back in January, that's for sure! Some good, some tragic. I wanted to try to begin blogging again so that I could have a place to put my thoughts.


Firstly, in February, Zack went on his very first date!! As a matter of fact, nine months later they are still dating. Her name is Arrie (sounds like "sorry"); she goes to a rival school in town and is a whole year older than he (which also means she will be 18!! in December). They've known each other as friends from church for a couple of years; i.e., hung out with the same crowd. He finally got the nerve enough to ask her out and the rest is history. ;) She is such a sweet girl; very polite and well-mannered, and seems to have a good head on her shoulders. Dating Arrie has definitely helped Zack become grounded in a real way! He turned 16 in April, and is currently finishing up the newly 2007 mandated driver's education course. His goal is have his Class D license by Christmas. We need to log more supervised driving hours before he can actually go take the test.

Aaron played tackle football this year, and his team came in 3rd place overall. He loved every minute of the season, and is already looking forward to playing again next fall. He is still playing handbells at church, and has recently become a member of a 10-member children's choir ensemble at church. Never a dull moment for him!

In June, Michael celebrated his 40th birthday. Friends hosted a big swimming social with 20 of our friends and grilled out. We had a wonderful time together.


June also brought us some rather shocking news. Michael's sister was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. After undergoing a major reconstructive surgery at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL, she is currently in her 6th round of chemotherapy, and seems to be doing fairly well. She has kept her hair, and her spirits are wonderful. She's kept busy with attending her son's football games - where he plays the first string running back as a senior.


It was two months after his birthday that our family began the hellish journey of helping Michael recover from what could have been a fatal motorcycle accident. He broke his left leg and foot in multiple places, which included two compound fractures. His foot required a skin graft, which was done just two weeks ago. Thirteen weeks after the accident, we are still more than a week away from beginning physical therapy. Needless to say, you can imagine the financial and emotional strain this has put on our family. Michael is doing fairly well, and is very anxious to be able to get back to work. He has just been changed from a short term disability employee to a long term disability one, which means that he currently is unofficially a terminated employee. What this boils down to is after he is back to or near 100% and is released medically, he will need to reapply for his old job, or other similar jobs. This may even require applying for a job that would cause us to move away from our home. His boss(es) has/have assured him that he won't have any problems getting back into their employment. We can only pray that this happens. Since the accident though, his boss has moved elsewhere. This means that he'll have a new one to discuss position(s) with once he is ready to go to work.


I hope this post makes sense. My plans are to begin blogging again at least on a weekly basis. And if I can post more frequently than that, it'll be . I have missed blogging dearly!


I appreciate all the prayers you can muster for our current situation. Until next time.

Happy New Year, and Happy birthday to my beloved mother!

2007 already? Wow...did 2006 just fly by at an incredibly crazy speed, or is it just me thinking this?

The past year brought about some wonderful changes to our lives, the first (February) was discovering what the concerns with Zack and his academics were, and finding the right medication to help Zack to succeed (incredibly so!) in school. Also last year, Dh got his much awaited and much deserved promotion in September. Last year also was a couple of near hits on having to pack up and move away from the hometown we've been in for 18 years. Thankfully, for now anyway, we are staying right where we are.

My hope is for 2007 to be an even better year for our family.

I'm having a pretty difficult time these days of being painfully aware that Zack's 2nd year of high school is already half over. Next year at this time, he'll begin to seriously consider what college he wants to attend, and begin taking graduation tests (in Georgia, they begin this process in their junior year).

Today would have been my mother's 67th birthday. How I miss her terribly so, especially at the tail end of the Christmas holidays. Happy birthday, Mom!

Merry Christmas!

Hi all! Hope you all are keeping your heads above water during this crazy busy time of the year. I am, if only barely! :)

Today is the last day of school for the boys until January 5...Zack has been cramming for finals over the past week or so, and very glad to be finishing up today. Aaron woke up today with a fever, cough, and a sore throat. Hopefully he will fill better before Saturday, because our plan for that day is to go to DH's brother's house in Atlanta for his family's Christmas gathering. If he's still sick, I'll probably end up staying home with him and sending Zack and his dad on. No sense in all of us missing out on the fun. I'll be calling the doctor's office this morning to see if they can fit him in today. He's with his dad right now, and I'll be relieving his caregiving after lunch today.

After today, I'm off work until Wednesday of next week -- yahoo!!! :) Since I've finished decorating, shopping and wrapping, I'll get to enjoy some downtime, instead of dealing with frustrated angry shoppers. Double yahoo!!
A friend and I were planning on taking Aaron and her son to see H*appy F*eet on Friday afternoon, but now that he's sick, that plan may be out the window. We'll have to play that by ear, I guess. I do plan on doing some baking (the W*eight W*atchers friendly kind -- down nearly 9 lbs now in 4 - 1/2 weeks, thank you!) and putting some goodies in the freezer. We've been invited to Christmas Eve lunch at a friend's house, which means that we'll probably be there until we leave for our church Christmas Eve candlelight service, which starts at 6:00. Last year it was a tough service for me, and by the end, I found myself bawling my eyes out, missing my parents dearly.

We're giving Zack our used laptop that we updated with new software for Christmas. He's been wanting one for awhile, and we figured that it will be used frequently, and he'll need to take one when he goes off to college in a couple of years (sniff, sniff). And, as much as he's on our desktop computer working on projects and reports, it can free up our computer more for the rest of us. :) Plus, my company offers an interest free computer loan to their employees with 25% down, so we will be taking advantage of that benefit at some point this next year. Besides the computer, we got him some clothes, and robe and slippers. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to add...Zack got his braces off about 3 weeks ago!! I'll have to find some before/after pictures to post (his school pictures this year were awesome, even though they were taken just before getting the braces off - so I need to scan one of them to post).

Aaron's big gift request this year was a scooter, so we got him one in his favorite color, blue. He's played with Zack's used one for a couple of years now, and *still* loves it so much, we thought he deserved (a new) one of his very own. We also purchased him some various X-box and Nintendo games that he had requested. We picked him up a new robe and slippers too, simply because he is growing so much, and nearly out of his current ones. He will be playing handbells at the end of both worship services on Christmas Eve. They will be playing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas!" from the balcony that's seen only from the foyer, as people are leaving the facilities.

DH is off all of next week, and plans to take the boys and visit his brother(s) for a couple of days. Speaking of DH, he told me that he didn't want me spending much on him, because of the "spending money" that was used in NY when he was there a couple of weeks ago. He had a fabulous time, and managed to see all the sites that he wished to see, but also managed to come home with blisters upon blisters on his poor feet. I did manage to pick up a couple of needed things for him to unwrap on Christmas morning, a gift from each of the boys, and one from me. He desperately needs some new shoes, but wants to wait until after the holidays to shop for them.

I pray that each of you have a wonderful, blessed Christmas and that you all have safe travels if you get on the roads. And remember what this season is truly about, the birth of God's holy son, Jesus Christ.