DoJoNa

Ways to Be Cool!

2010-05-25T07:42:00.001-05:00

Someone sent me this pic online. Look at the very last entry down there on the bottom!

He, he, he - now you have the secret of the way to be 'cool!' I'm available, just give me a holler! :)

****GRIN****

40th Birthday Cards

2010-05-11T14:38:00.004-05:00

So, I really loved all the cards I received for my 40th birthday and wanted to post the 'ditties' written on them here so I can look back at them occasionally and get a good chuckle!

Enjoy!

--sp

"Over the Hill Driver's Car Kit"
When you get behind the wheel
It's important that everyone know:
you don't know where you're going
And your only speed is slow!

You're low on octane, high on gas
And you turn and stop at will.
you think you're an "experienced" driver,
Truth is, you're over the hill.

(Pretty appropriate considering my current job! Ha, ha, ha!)
(I think I got that kit from the Gallaghers.)

----------

Hey, 40 year-old!
You should be excited about your birthday!
In the dictionary, "Forty" is surrounded by words like...
Fabulous, Festive, Fruitful...

False Teeth, Flatulence, Funeral, hummmm...

Ahem...

Anyway, have a fun 40th Birthday!!!
(Very creative and hilarious!)
(Cantrells)

----------

To: Old Man Pester

Happy Birthday and Look on the bright side of being 40!

You've already had as much fun as 2 twenty-year-olds!!!

(OUCH - LOL)
(Gallaghers - who are both in their twenties. How ironic they find that card!)

----------

Another Year Older?
You're Lookin' Good!
You're Feelin' Good!

You apparently don't realize what's going on!
Oh well Happy Birthday!

(WAAAA HA, HA, HA!)
(Reutebuch)

----------

I made sure I didn't get a funny card for your birthday.

I know how easily people your age pee their pants!

(That one REALLY cracked me up!)
(Bremmers)

----------

You're "40!" Do something that brings back memories of your "WILD YOUTH!"

Play an album!

(LOL - I think I still have an album around here somewhere! **GRIN**)
(Piroks)

----------

A long, LONG time ago...

You were born! (It plays the music from the Star Wars theme!)

(Unfortunately, that one is SO very true! *Chuckle*)
(Ashmores - of course they were BOTH born before me - HA!!!)

----------

On your 40th birthday: you're not over the hill yet!

...but you're certainly high enough to get nosebleeds!

(Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!)
(Ottos)

----------

And here's a note a friend had pinned to her shirt...

You'd be out of breath, too!!!

(The guy just climbed a HUGE hill, ya know?!!)

(THAT ONE TOOK ME A SEC TO CATCH, BUT ONCE I CAUGHT ON I LAUGHED MYSELF SILLY!)
(Spicers)

----------

AND FINALLY, FROM MY 39 YEAR-OLD, MOST PRECIOUS WIFE...

To my Husband; I love you so much - you make me feel warm all over!

...and I'm sure I'll feel even warmer when I get near your birthday cake, what with that incredible wall of flame rising from the candles!

(That one is so very true, it's not even funny! Well it actually is! HA!)

THOSE ALL MADE ME LAUGH INCREDIBLY HARD! YEAH, IT'S GOOD TO BE 40, BECAUSE I'VE MADE SOME GOOD FRIENDS ALONG THE WAY - FRIENDS FOR ETERNITY!!!

:-)

Dogs Communicating

2010-05-09T07:54:00.001-05:00

This morning as I was headed to a 'pit stop' before coming down to the computer for a bit, I happened to glance out the window and had to stop and watch a bit.

Mocha, our dog, was standing about 5 feet from our back fence, facing towards where our neighbors have two dogs and she was barking her head off, and so were probably 90% of the canines in our neighborhood.

I was gonna go out and 'hush' the mutt, then I noticed her tail was sticking 'straight up' while she was barking. I've never noticed her doing that before. Plus it wasn't a 'snarly' bark, like I've heard her have occasionally when a 'stranger' is going by.

So I stood there and watched Mocha continue to bark, in that same position for a couple of minutes. Then the entire canine neighborhood went silent, Mocha dropped her 'flag pole' tail and trotted off to a different part of the yard.

Odd, I thought.

Then the scene from the movie 101 Dalmatians popped into my head where the dogs were all sending a message up the line as to where the puppies were.

I wonder if that's what the dogs in our neighborhood were doing this morning?

Hummmm???

**GRIN**

Faurty Has Awwived (Boston Accent There)

2010-05-09T07:30:00.002-05:00

So, I am now 40. Wow! Who'd have ever 'thunk' that I would make it to forty? No, not that I was ever an Evil Knievel type or the Druggie type or the Prison Bait type, it's just that 40 always seemed a long, LONG way off. When my folks turned 40 and I was just 14, I remember thinking to myself, "I'll never be that old!" Well now I am! I got a few more creaks and squeaks and a bit more weight on board than I really would like to have, but I have arrived at the 'top of the hill.' I plan to stay at the top for a while and take in the view before starting down the other side!

My wife and friends really surprised me Friday evening with a really fun Surprise party for my birthday - actually on my birthday. I didn't suspect a thing. In fact at one point I was really kinda bummed that nothing, apparently, was gonna happen. I didn't see a point in our schedule when something could either! So I was kinda grumpy occasionally. I mean 40 only comes around once! :)

So Doreen and the kids had work and school and I had a PT and Dr appointments. It was funny, in my Dr appointment for my 'annual physical' at one point my Dr was looking at the paperwork seemingly mighty confused. He kept flipping back and forth between pages. Finally he asked, "Today's your birthday right?" "Yup," I replied. "Today I turn forty." That cleared up everything, his nurse wrote my age down as '39' right above where it has my actual birth date, which by using a bit better math, puts me right at 40. His reply, as he closed the folder, "Well congratulations, that makes you the winner of a rectal exam!" Too funny!

After all that, I ran a couple of other errands and did a couple of things at home before Doreen and the girls got home and everyone scurried about getting stuff set for the weekend before we were going to head over to the Olive Garden for our Birthday meals. (Doreen's b-day is the very next day!) We ate and headed to DQ for dessert. (Of which Doreen decided to pass on, which did seem a bit odd, but she did eat her WHOLE plate of food and claimed to be stuffed.) Then off to the church for choir practice.

After choir practice I got delayed helping operate the PA for some Adventurer girls practice a song for Adventurer Investiture on Sat night. Then we headed off for Bible study at our friends house. I figured it was going to be a short 'meeting' cuz it was so late already... and when we walked up, I saw William, their son and started making all sorts of faces at him through the window then turned and walked through the door - and hanging right there were two 'black' balloons. "Oh" - went through my mind, "someone's being funny and giving me a hard time." Then I turned the corner and was met by a crowd of really good friends, all in black with black balloons and caution tape, and a good evening celebrating me making it to 40.

I loved visiting with everyone there! They are all awesome people and what I would consider to be the best friends a guy could have!

Tracy made two awesome cakes, one with a spinner on top that said, "Steve is older than..." and around the top of the cakes were labels like, "Dirt, King Tut, You, The Wheel, etc" Too funny! The other was a couple of tomb stones that said "RIP to Steve's youth." There was pizza, a veggie tray, drinks, chips and lots of fun conversation.

They had some HILARIOUS gag gifts for me!

It was just a lot of fun. I feel kinda bad for thinking 'nothing' was gonna happen! I should have known better! :)

Thanks y'all. Looking forward to hanging around all y'all for the next 40 years!!

Perfect Timing

2010-05-02T00:13:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to relate that no matter how hard we try, just let God's timing work.

A few weeks ago, we were on a camp out up in Chilhowee with our Sabbath School Class.

Since I'm a SS class leader, I was kind of in charge of the event.

I got a good study on "Nature" in the Bible for a worship on Sabbath. Just wasn't sure when I was going to present it. Typically, we do it right after breakfast, but I just wasn't motivated, plus the kids were playing together nicely and all the adults were able to just sit and converse!

A little later in the morning, I'm asked when we're gonna have worship and I say, whenever. So about 30 minutes later a couple more people ask, so we got everyone together and started singing a few songs.

Right then the rain, in the form of light sprinkle set it. We sang, prayed and did the Bible study on nature. And just the moment we had our closing prayer, 35 or so minutes later, the rain/sprinkle stopped!

Amazing, we stayed dry under the tarps we hung for just that sort of reason and it worked out in God's timing - I like to believe anway - just perfectly!!! :)

Mayday, Mayday, Mayday

2010-05-01T23:23:00.000-05:00

Today is May 1, 2010.

I am calling in a 'Mayday Emergency Alert.' In less that 6 days (since today's almost over) I turn 40. Not sure I'm ready for that HUGE number!

A Game of Dog & Chicken

2010-05-01T23:15:00.002-05:00

You've heard of a game of Cat & Mouse? Well, let me tell you about a new game of Dog & Chicken.

I was out mowing the backyard our lawn on Friday and our Dog, Mocha, and Chicken, Peepers were playing a hilarious game!

Mocha had been barking at me to throw the ball for her, so once when I went by it with the mower, I picked it up to throw it for her... and she was nowhere to be found. I couldn't see her anywhere. So I tossed the ball away and went on mowing around the backside of our shed.

That's where Peepers came 'running' by me at top speed, from the back of the yard. That was hilarious in itself, because chickens just run funny!

As I came on around the shed, I saw Peepers sneek (as well as a chicken can) up to Mocha's food dish and begin pecking at the dog food. Well, not two seconds later, Mocha comes streaking across the yard and runs up to Peepers, barking her head off. Peepers then takes off.

Not a couple of laps around the lawn later, I see this whole dance played out again!

After I finished I went to put Mocha back on the leash we keep her on while Peepers is free in the backyard and we're not physically present.

Peepers was 'hanging' out between the fence and Mocha's doghouse/food dish. As I was trying to get the leash on Mocha's collar, it was kinda hard because she kept twisting her head back and fourth to watch Peepers. I finally took a good grip of the collar and got Mocha's attention to get the leash attached and Peepers took that instant to RUN for the dog dish and got a couple of 'pecks' in before Mocha wrenched free of my grip - dog leash attached - and went to defend her dog-dish!

That was one of the most hilarious things I've seen in my life. I am hoping to someday catch party of that 'Dog & Chicken Game' on video to remember it and laugh at occasionally!!! :)

Average!

2010-04-20T01:13:00.003-05:00

So, the big "4-0" is quickly coming. Actually, it's roaring up like a Mack truck with me standing in the middle of the road. Only 2 1/2 weeks away.

Don't know if it's because I'm tired from driving all night at work and unloading all day, etc, but I woke up in the bunk of the truck this afternoon with memories and moments from as far back in my ALMOST 40 years came streaming into my consciousness.

I'm kinda feeling a bit melancholy about it all right now!

As I was driving last night, I was listening to some sports talk show host explaining the difference between the players in College Football vs the quality of the players in the NFL. They also hit on the NBA, Golf, MLB, etc. The difference is vast, except for a very few exceptional players that move up to the next level.

So I started thinking about my life and see that through it all, I've been a 'college' level player.

In elementary I struggled with my studies - always average grades - and connecting with my classmates. All too often, my favorite part of the day - recess - ended in a fight because I wanted to be the best at whatever we were doing, ie dodgeball or tag or whatever and was just the middle of the pack and I'd get caught or out and get frustrated. (Interesting, I'd never thought of it in those terms or that way before.)
One thing, during those years, I was always good at was rollerskating. I loved the regular rollerskating we'd do at the school gym on Saturday nights. Can't make a life/career out of that though! :)

I think Academy, my Senior year, was about the best. I was a class officer, made it on the Volleyball team, was constantly involved with stuff and that was about the best grades I'd gotten in my life. (Still, they were pretty average though.) My Sophomore year I was trying to 'fit in' and barely did that. My Junior year year I was focused on one other person and didn't get involved in much else. I did a few intramural sports - but really just filled a slot on the team.

In college, I was so busy working trying to pay for college that I just 'passed' my classes - well all but one. Ended up with a HUGE "F" in algebra. Had to take 'bone-head' math to be able to graduate. With that and 'courting' Doreen, nothing extra really, I just existed.

I've never really done anything to 'stand-out' in my career. Pretty much feel like I've just been a worker bee trying to get the quota of pollen into the hive to get by. Just about got fired from 3ABN for asking the question, "why" too often. The 3 years moving was enjoyable - but extremely rough. Loved my time at LTR, but that all changed. The place operated just fine after I left.

Guess, I got to thinking about this a bit because when I was out with my shoulder operation, my partner ran with another guy for those 5 months and before I left, I could pack a warehouse extremely neatly and keep up with my partner. Well, the fill in could do it faster and better than me and I feel like I can barely keep up now. All it is, is stacking boxes, but I feel like I'm just barely doing enough to get by.

Maybe it is because 40 is coming, but I really feel kinda blase about my life. I have a wonderful wife, but at times, feel like I'm barely a competent husband/lover. My girls are awesome, but even after waiting 7 years to start with kids, not sure I have the maturity to help them be good people. I blow my stack way too easily - even after going through a Love & Logic course 3 times.

I always thought I was a pretty good racquetball player, and for the last two seasons, I've always finished 6th or 7th out of 10 or 11. Middle of the pack average - and that's in B league. Not even with the really good players.

In helping to lead our SS and my Builders class for Adventurers, I put quite a bit into it, but can't help but feeling it's barely adequate.

Humm, maybe I just need a really good night of sleep or to get past this upcoming reminder of how old I'm getting, which by the way is just midlife! Maybe this is my crisis! :)

Report Cards - Spring Midterm

2010-04-20T01:09:00.003-05:00

Doreen and I had two very good Parent Teacher Conferences recently!

As much as I disliked school, I am so, SO, SOOO very thankful my girls seem to be enjoying it and doing very well!

All of Joelle's marks stayed satisfactory or went up this period! Yeahhh! The teacher wrote, "Joelle still has a bit of difficulty staying on task, but manages to get her work done! She is such fun to have in the classroom!"

Natalie's marks are all outstanding! No comment this quarter!

I love my girls! :)

Drama - Leave it to the Silver Screen

2010-04-20T01:06:00.000-05:00

It's interesting how 'Drama' finds its way into our lives. We've got two situations right now that are both filled with Major Drama.

So is this life imitating art, or art imitating life?

Either way, I wish both the situation at church and the 'other' one would just calm down and let everything get back to an even keel! :)

No more drama! :)

Coin Toss

2010-03-12T21:29:00.002-05:00

A friend this posted this on my Google Reader and I just loved it! It is SO true. So I wanted to share it with you!

Men are Just Happier People

2010-02-04T15:01:00.000-05:00

Yup, I can see why! Read this and see if you agree with it too! :)

What do you expect from such simple creatures?
Your last name stays put.
The garage is all yours.
Wedding plans take care of themselves.
Chocolate is just another snack.
You can be President.
You can never be pregnant.
You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park.
Car mechanics tell you the truth.
The world is your urinal.
You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.
You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
Same work, more pay.
Wrinkles add character.
Wedding dress $5000.
Tux rental-$100.
People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.
The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.
New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
One mood all the time.
Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
You know stuff about tanks.
A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
You can open all your own jars.
You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.
Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.
Three pairs of shoes are more than enough
You almost never have strap problems in public.
You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.
Everything on your face stays its original color.
The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
You only have to shave your face and neck.
You can play with toys all your life.
Your belly usually hides your big hips.
One wallet and one pair of shoes one color for all seasons.
You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
You can "do" your nails with a pocket knife.
You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache..
You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.
No wonder men are happier

Week vs Weak

2010-01-19T04:47:00.001-05:00

WITHOUT GOD... our week would be: Sinday, Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday, Thirstday, Fightday, Shatterday, Seven days without God - Makes one Weak!

Patience

2010-01-17T00:21:00.001-05:00

Got this from Doreen's Aunt Debbie, who's daughter is fighting cancer right now! It was so good, I wanted to share it and remember it!!!

PATIENCE

When you choose to be patient, you respond in a positive way to a negative situation. You are slow to anger. You choose to have a long fuse instead of a quick temper. Rather than being restless or demanding, love helps you settle down and begin extending mercy to those around you. Patience brings an internal calm during an external storm.

No one likes to be around an impatient person. It causes you to overreact in angry, foolish and regrettable ways. The irony of anger toward a wrongful action is that it spawns new wrongs of its own. ANGER almost never makes things better. In fact, it usually generates additional problems. But patience stops problems in their tracks. Patience is a deep breath. It clears the air. It stops foolishness from whipping its angry scorpion tail all over the room. It is a choice to control your emotions rather than allowing your emotions to control you and shows discretion instead of returning evil for evil.

Anger is usually caused when the strong desire for something is mixed with disappointment or grief. You don't get what you want and you start heating up inside. It is often an emotional reaction that flows out of our own selfishness, foolishness or evil motives.

Patience makes us wise. Patience stands in the doorway where anger is clawing to burst in. Patience will foster peace and quiet. Patience is where love meets wisdom.

Few of us do patience very well and none of us do it naturally.

Report Cards... 1st midterm & Semester

2010-01-16T17:42:00.002-05:00

I've had the girls report cards sitting on the desk to post the info on my page for way tooo long!

So here's the low-down on how my girls are doing in school.

1st Midterm '09/'10 year...

Joelle has a bubbly personality and is fun to have in the classroom. She's a good worker and would benefit for working more quickly. Every day she is showing more maturity and confidence.

We LOVE this report. Of course we kinda figured that she needs to focus a little better and work more efficiently - the SAME problem we're struggling with at home! :)

Natalie has leaped into her 1st grade year in a most outstanding way. She excels in all areas of curriculum. Natalie is self motivated and loves to explore and try new things. She is above grade level in her reading skills!

This is exactly the kind of report a parent likes to hear... my poor folks! **GRIN**

Semester Reports:

Joelle tries her best. She is often distracted, but will get back on task when reminded. She has a sweet, caring way about her that makes life happier for her classmates. She has some difficulty with consistency; sometimes excelling.

That is the epitome of my Joelle!!! :)

Joelle Iowa Test results has her in the 66th percentile. Hallelujah!!! It says, "Her overall achievement appears to be somewhat above average for 3rd grade." She needs a little work in Problem Solving and Data interpretation, but excels in Maps and Diagrams!

That is MOST awesome!

Natalie continues to excel in all content areas. She is very obedient and has such a positive attitude. She's a real joy to have in the classroom!

I'm so thankful to have to very good, precious little girls! I'm so proud of them!

Natalie Growing Up or The Golden Rule

2010-01-15T16:07:00.002-05:00

Recently we've had a couple of 'issues' with Natalie and her classmates at school - unfortunately. Thankfully, we were able to turn it into a chance to teach her to "Do unto others, what you would have them do unto you!"

She had an incident with a classmate at school who was lying to her, and Natalie slapped the classmate for lying! Oy! So we had a talk and told her that was completely unacceptable and it appeared that she understood.

A couple of weeks later, she got upset at a little boy and pushed him. Well, that was it. We gave her an opportunity to think of a punishment for herself to help remind her to keep her hands to herself, or we'd come up with one for her.

By the time the deadline to choose a punishment rolled around, she hadn't thought of anything, so Doreen and I had one locked, loaded and ready to go.

The next Sunday she had invitations to go to birthday parties of two classmates. We had planned to attend both, but because she chose to be mean to other people around her, she could not be around friends - especially at a fun event where she 'might' be mean to others. So she was only allowed to go to one party - the one that wasn't as near as fun as the other one.

She did NOT like that much at all. She was really looking forward to going to the one.

We think it's worked though. Since then - no problems! We're continuing to pray that she continues to think of the Golden Rule when she is around her friends and classmates!!!

An Exercise in Responsibility for Joelle! The Followup

2010-01-13T16:06:00.003-05:00

It was a rousing success.

Doreen said she checked on Joelle twice and both times she was up and getting bigtime stuff done!

That is absolutely amazing.

Now if we can just figure out how to get her focused ALL the time and get stuff done!

I am so proud of my girl!

An Exercise in Responsibility for Joelle!

2010-01-06T19:49:00.002-05:00

Backstory...

Last night Natalie got sick. She couldn't keep anything, ANYTHING down. She'd take a small drink of water and about 8 minutes later - it'd come back up. Doreen had to tear her bed apart to get it washed, but it has leaked down to the mattress, so we laid her on our bed. I went to sleep down in the spare bedroom - had to get up early for work.

In the morning, I find that our bed got up-chucked on too and had to be remade. Then Natalie started with diarrhea.

I headed to work and was at it for 3 hours, during the time I got a text message from Doreen that she was starting to get the same stuff. So we worked out a deal that I'd come get the kids and take them to school. (Carpooling) and then pick up Natalie and take her to the Pediatrician to get checked out cuz we were worried about dehydration.

Sure enough, the Dr said she was starting, "to dry up." They thought they may need to IV some fluids into her, but wanted to try a medicine called Zofran first, then observer her for 45 minutes while taking little drinks of Gatorade - Cherry Flavor - to see if she could keep it down.

About half way through, she was keeping everything down and kinda perking up a bit. Success was had! So he wrote a prescription for her and an order for clear fluids for the rest of the day and sent us on our way.

At home - Doreen rested, but continued to get worse, almost to the point where Natalie was. So they rested the remainder of the afternoon and I went back to work for a bit.

This evening Joelle and I did everything around the house. Then we made supper, then lunches for she and I for tomorrow and did the bedtime routine.

Natalie will be staying home from school for one more day - just to be sure not to share the bug, and Doreen will need to relax.

So I showed Joelle where all her stuff is for her lunch to be packed in the morning and make a list of what she can make for breakfast and then all the 'responsibilities' she needs to complete by 7:30a to be out front of the house to meet our friends to carpool to school.

It is going to be very interesting to see if she can focus and get up and get everything done and be ready to go!

I can't wait to see the outcome!!!

P.S. As of this writing, both Doreen and Natalie are resting easy, not feeling the best, but better than this afternoon!

Hang in There

2009-11-15T00:27:00.000-05:00

Got this from a friend on Facebook, (Thanks Kent T.) and I really enjoyed it so much I wanted to repost it here so I can read it again and again and remember the good moral in it!

Enjoy!

In the old days of the American West, ranchers would sometimes take a wild steed that they could not break, tie it to a burro, and turn the two loose. The steed would rear up on it hind legs, snorting with defiance, and off they would go out on to the range. Before long the bucking steed would disappear over the horizon, dragging the helpless burro behind.

Days would pass, but eventually the odd couple would reappear. The little burro would come first, with the submissive steed in tow.

What went on out on the range always brought the same result. The steed would buck and kick and pitch and pull, but the burro, willing or not, would hang on. Finally, the steed would become exhausted, and at the point the burro would take over and become the leader.

That’s the way it is in life. The winners hang on. They are determined and committed. They know that perseverance can bring you out on top.

Lack of perseverance is the reason most people fail in business, in politics, and in their personal lives. Success depends on staying power.

More Memories 20 Years Later

2009-11-06T05:19:00.000-05:00

I LOVE having digital cameras and pictures! It is so easy to spend time looking at them and enjoying them!

I was just looking back through some of my pics from my 20 year reunion from Campion Academy in Loveland, CO and wanted to share a few more with you - just for fun! :)

Shawnda, Christi, Shon, Marijane, Ronda.

Sharon, KoriAnna, Kevin (was in a construction accident the week before our reunion), Rob & Stephanie. Our 4 year seniors.

Michelle, Stephanie, KoriAnna, Terry & Mike

Alisha, Dena & Stuart

Duane, Tom & Carol

Heidi & Tammy

Kim, Brenda, me & Billy

Juli & Stephanie

Family Week

2009-11-04T05:04:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, the girls school closed down because of the flu bug going around having over 40% of the students out. Luckily I was home because of my surgery and some other 'Divine' coincidences happened. So we had some fun hang out a the Chattanooga Discovery Museum, where the girls learned how people live and deal with handicaps, such as being blind...

...or having to get around in a wheelchair!

The next day we spent at the Chattanooga Zoo, here's a big monkey with my two little monkies! :)

And my girls with a cute little goat in the petting zoo!

And the 'hoodie' family on a bench at the zoo! Good memories!

Corn Maze

2009-11-03T05:01:00.000-05:00

One of our Sabbath School socials this year was to go up to the Mayfield Dairy and have fun at their corn maze and activities. Here's my precious girls standing in front of an ear of corn made from milk gallon jugs! :)

No one got lost in the maze. They all made it out safely! :)

I hear the hayride was a blast! I didn't go because it was the Sunday after my surgery and I had no energy - but everyone had fun milking fake cows, seeing the actual dairy working and lots of other fun stuff they did, including dinner at Pizza Hut afterward! :)

7 Years and Counting!

2009-11-02T04:49:00.000-05:00

My Natalie (Center) just turned 7 years old this weekend! Wow, how time flies. I was just saying to a friend, it seems like she was born a very SHORT time ago! Now look at her with Joelle and friends from her class at Playworld Down Under, where she decided to have her party this year!

She wasn't allowed to have an Ice-Cream cake there, and she's not a big fan of 'cake' so requested chocolate chip and poppy-seed lemon muffins. (We had ice-cream at home with family Sat night! Yummy!)

Family watching the kids and having fun chatting. I SO wanted to go climb around the thing with the kiddos, but cuz of my recent shoulder surgery, I'm not allowed to climb around like a monkey! :(

Natalie's gotten big enough, it was time for her to get a new, bigger bike. She LOVED it very much and they had fun riding together this afternoon!

Sabbath we went to the Michaels in Tellico Plains to their Church Plant, for Doreen and Larry to put on a musical church service with an organ, marimba and singing. It was VERY nice. After the service we headed back to the Michael's for lunch. Before we left, we swapped a Chicken that grew up to be a rooster they had given us earlier. (Too noisy in a subdivision neighborhood) and talked us into taking a couple of quail as well. Cute little things! Only, one of our chickens pecked one of the quail to death. So we'll have to keep 'em separate! How sad sin is! :(

On the way back home from the Michaels we were blessed to see this beautiful rainbow! Very, VERY beautiful!

What a FANTASTIC birthday weekend!!!

3rd Grade Play

2009-11-01T05:58:00.000-05:00

On a Sabbath, recently, Joelle's 3rd grade class did the children's story at church. The put on a little play about the life of Daniel. They all did so well. Joelle was picked to be King Darius. She brought her lines home and we ran through them over and over so she could do them well. All the kids did great! So cute and great memories!

Surgery Details & Recovery OR SLAP Tear Fixed!

2009-10-31T05:42:00.001-05:00

Oct 6 at 10a I had surgery to repair the torn cartilage in my right shoulder from a fall earlier in the year at work. Here I am being wheeled out of the hospital to the vehicle - obviously all bright eyed and bushy tailed! :) Making sure to bring my bag that has my footies in it I had to wear to surgery! Actually, the surgical table was very nice. I walked into the room and when I laid down on the table it was all toasty warm! Ahhhh! :)

This is what the Doctor saw when he first got inside. Where the bottom arrow is you can see the torn cartilage - it's kinda an upside down 'V.'

Here you can see the tear fixed, well at least you can see where the nice bow is he left all tied up in my arm! :)

Here's about 3 days post op with the dressing still over the surgical site. I was supposed to see him then, get the dressing removed and stitches pulled, but he came down with the flu. So I didn't see him for another 3 days! Boy that thing was getting itchy.

You can see two of the three sites he used to go into my shoulder laprascopically (don't think I spelled that correctly) to repair the damage. Love the design drawn on the top and the funky skin below the stitches where the tape from the dressing was. The front cut had 3 stitches and the side and back only had two. This is one week post op.

Here's the 'scars' almost 3 weeks post op. Thinking about getting a "Bronco" logo tattoo to cover it! **GRIN**

Here's the sling and pillow I had to wear for one week at all times and then to bed! What an uncomfortable thing! :)

Of course my precious girls wanted to try it on! Awwww - Joelle!

and Natalie giving it a go! :)

Cinderella at the Tivoli Theater

2009-10-30T06:29:00.000-05:00

The Tivoli Theater in Downtown had a local group put on the story of Cinderella. One of my father-in-law's voice students, Lisa, was the 'backup' for the Fairy Godmother and her son, Tyler, was in it as well. So Larry got us tickets!

Just had to take this pic of my Pumpkin standing next to a pumpkin.

The girls LOVED the story and it was fun to see them react to the different scenes! A great experience!

Adventurer Leadership Weekend

2009-10-29T06:35:00.000-05:00

The weekend after my reunion, I got to spend at Camp Cohutta Springs for an Adventurer Leadership weekend with my 'fellow' Adventurer Leaders at the Ooltewah SDA church. Here's a pic of me and Dale, the Busy Bee Counselor.

I slept there Friday night instead of driving the hour home and then back Sabbath AM. I was in cabin 8A. A nice place to sleep!

Of course, I always love camp/cafeteria food! Yummy!

We also learned some good ideas for our Adventurer clubs and families to help us all learn how to be better Christians. It was a weekend of LOTS of meetings, tons of information and good fellowship!!!

B-17 OR Build & Fly Award

2009-10-28T06:23:00.000-05:00

I had decided to teach my Adventurer group the Build & Fly Award. Then I found out that the following week a B-17 Flying Fortress was going to come spend a couple of days at the Collegedale airport. So I invited my Adventurer Builders and families to go with us to see it - just an extra exciting thing to do for the award!

For a buck each, we got to go tour the inside. Amazing how those men made those long trips in those very cold, very cramped quarters!

Photos of Joelle & Natalie in the nose of the plane where the Navigator and Nose Gunner sat.

Here's a pic of Doreen standing in the Radio room at the back of the Bomb Bay. Talk about antiquated equipment. And to think during WW2 this was top of the line technology! It's amazing we won! :)

Here I am coming into the Bomb Bay from the front. Look at that little 'isle' where the men had to walk across to get from one section to the other!

My little gunner, Joelle!

Natalie taking a try at being a side gunner too!

I just love this pic of us standing in front of the symbol of all the US Air Force planes at the time! Awesome Stuff!!!

Church Campout

2009-10-27T06:17:00.000-05:00

While I was in Colorado the last weekend in Sept for my 20th reunion, Doreen, cousin Teri and the girls went on the church campout at Harrison Bay. Part of the activities included the Induction of the Adventurer club, which was really nice, because the church would be able to witness it more than if it were just an extra Friday evening event.

They had some good time to sit around the fire and relax...

...they also were extremely thankful that everyone was in cabins and they had this big meeting/dining hall to hang out in when it was raining like crazy. They enjoyed singing, games, talking - a good weekend was had by all!

Although the kids still played outside quite a bit and some 'clean-up' was required before bedtime! :)

Third Cousins

2009-10-26T05:24:00.001-05:00

This weekend has been fun visiting with some of Doreen's cousins from Larry's side. Since it's fall break some of Teri's nieces came to visit. My girls just LOVED playing with Brianna & Sydney. And Brianna and Sydney are so good at giving my girls some attention, Joelle & Natalie are eating it up and just LOVE Brianna & Sydney. (Let's see if I can get this right... L to R - Brianna, Natalie, Doreen, Teri, Sydney & Joelle)

After brunch, they had some fun playing with a camera - enjoy! :) Sydney & Joelle

Sydney & Natalie

Brianna & Joelle

Brianna & Natalie

3rd Cousins. This is actually pretty special - Both Doreen and I don't remember being around 3rd cousins very much!

Sabbath Walk

2009-10-25T06:18:00.002-05:00

A while back we had rain, rain and MORE rain! One Sabbath afternoon, we decided to just get out. So with umbrellas in hand we headed out to the Wolftever Greenway in Collegedale for a short walk. The girls found a great rock on which to stand to pose for a pic!

This cool bench is along the greenway and my two very cute little girls!

We've got lots of Kutzu in the area and as we were walking along the girls were pointing it all out. Then we saw this tree with kutzu growing on it and Joelle pointed out in looks just like a Giraffe! Cool!

My precious Doreen and precious Joelle!

Me and my precious Natalie!

Sammy & Family

2009-10-24T06:21:00.000-05:00

While I was in Colorado for my reunion, my folks and sister Cynthia and family came over to see me, and to share my newest niece, Samantha, with me. She was about 2 weeks old and SO very precious! That was so very, VERY nice of them to come over the mountains to visit! I was so excited - yet tired from all the events around my Alumni weekend!

See - even little Sammy was tired, but with a little help, she was grinning ear to ear to see her Uncle Steve! :)

The Pitz family all scrunched together for a photo op, while we were waiting for breakfast at Cracker Barrel

Me and my folks. I always enjoy anytime I get with my family and even more so after the health scare we had with my dad earlier in the year. It was nice to visit, just for the sake of visiting!

Thanks y'all for going WAY out of your way to come visit me. That was so sweet and thoughtful and I'll always cherish that visit!!!

20 Years - Campion Academy Graduating Class of 1989

2009-10-24T06:13:00.002-05:00

The last weekend of September had me in an airplane flying to Colorado for the Reunion of my graduating class of 1989 from Campion Academy in Loveland, CO. I got into Denver early enough to get my rental car and to have a chance to see the hospital where I was born and the house where I spent some of my early years, and of course I HAD to stop by and walk around the New Mile High Stadium! Oh yeah! I hope to be able to see a game there someday!

Well, I finally broke myself away from Mile High and headed up to Loveland and to Campion Academy. As I was headed to the campus, I saw the beautiful Rocky Mountains in the background. They were calling to me. I almost blew off the whole weekend and went to spend it up there, but decided not to!

Back to the scene of the crime, 20 years later, Campion Academy.

The photo montage of all my classmates hanging in the hall of our old school. Boy we were a good looking, young group of kids then, big hair and all! :)

I've got so many pics, I don't know where or how to post them all. This one of Tammy Caldwell Smith (L) and Kim Carle Brown cracked me up. Most all of us blew off Friday night vespers and just talked, and then we stood outside the gym during the church service and did more talking. (These two were ready for their Sabbath afternoon naps.) but we couldn't stop.

We paused for lunch then headed over to the fellowship hall of the church for an afternoon get together and more talking. Here's a pic of me with with some cousins, also graduates of Campion Academy.

We took a number of group pics every time a bunch of us got together. It was fun! We had 41 or 42 of the 65 we graduated return. That's a pretty respectable return! :)

Of course we didn't end there, we headed out to a nice restaurant, where we had a whole room to ourselves, and did more talking - in between bites of food of course! Here's my roommate all three years at Campion Billy and his wife Paula.

Then, as I was leaving, I once again looked back, longingly, at the mountains. Can't wait until I get to spend some time in them again!

It's been a good 20 years. Everyone has changed so much, yet everyone still has stayed the same. My how time flies!!! :)

The Civil War Battle for Tunnel Hill Continues...

2009-10-23T06:17:00.003-05:00

For extra credit in one of Joelle's classes, we could go on a Sunday to Tunnel Hill, GA and see a re-enactment of a Civil War battle over that piece of property between the North and the South.

It was a main railroad crossing and very valuable. They still have the actual Tunnel that was blasted out the trains would roll through. It was cool walking through it!

This set of train wheels were at the end and I, of course, could not pass up this photo op!

Here's the regiment of Confederate re-enactment forces, that have to lose the battle every year! :) They put on a good show though

It was so cool seeing the way they fought. Lots of fun to watch, and the rain, which had been POOORING the whole time we were there, pretty much let up for the entire time they were 'fighting.' It was neat to watch!

Alien Invasion or Water Tank

2009-10-22T06:18:00.000-05:00

A while back, we had a salesman come give us a pitch on some stuff that we couldn't afford, so we had to kindly turn him down.

When he left, he pitched us one more thing, a blanket for our attic that is supposed to reflect the heat during the summer and trap it during the winter. Still we couldn't afford it.

But, because we listened to his pitch, we got a free 'Blanket' for our water heater, that is supposed to help save electricity over time.

So recently, Doreen and I installed it. Looks pretty good and I hope it works as good as it looks! :)

Horn Instruction

2009-10-22T06:11:00.000-05:00

Every Wednesday afternoon, you can find one little girl (Natalie) at the piano practicing and two 'girls' in Joelle's room for a 'Tooting' lesson. We found a good piano teacher for Natalie, but not Joelle, plus she can't start band for at least another year.

So, she's wanting to learn and Doreen's willing to take the time to teach her. They'll be playing the notes together so Joelle can learn how to find the right pitch and count each note and rest properly.

It's lots of fun to watch! :)

Marshmallow Taffy

2009-10-21T06:31:00.000-05:00

A couple of years ago, my sister, Cyndi, taught my girls how to make Marshmallow Taffy. Every time we have a fire, the girls want to make marshmallow taffy. So we let them recently.

It takes getting a marshmallow warm and then 'pulling' it until it becomes a taffy. It really works.

I haven't tried it cuz I'm not interested in getting my fingers all gicky and sticky like that, but the girls enjoy it!

Me, I'm in to roasting a good old marshmallow until it's fluffy and nice golden brown. Yummy!

Summer Softball Team

2009-10-20T06:07:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to include a pic of most of the guys I played softball with this past summer. Story It was a lot of fun. We won one game, but played for the team and time together. It was a great group of guys, and we had some pretty cool fans too! :)

Basketball Hoop

2009-10-19T06:15:00.001-05:00

Miss Kim, the principal of the kid's school, asked if I'd help put a basketball hoop up that was donated towards the end of last school year. "Sure" I replied. Except this summer was so busy, I never had a chance to get to it!

Once school started, I had a bit of extra free time and got out there and dug a hole about 3 feet deep and two foot wide for the the base.

Then I filled it with concrete and let it set for two weeks or so.

Then I recruited some help to assemble this mess. Someone misplaced the assembly instructions, so Doreen and I had to take all these parts and try to figure out how they all fit together. At one point, I went in and got the Assistant Pastor to come give us a hand, cuz we had put one part together wrong, but already had the pole mounted, so we triple teamed it to take the one screw out and put it back in the proper hole! It really wasn't too bad!

We were successful, thank the Lord! From what I hear the kids really, REALLY like playing basketball on this new hoop!

Very, VERY Cool!!!

Hot Lunches

2009-10-19T06:06:00.001-05:00

Every Mon and Wed our school has it's "Hot Lunch" program. We paid for it last year, cuz it is SO nice to not have to make a lunch on those days and they really seem to enjoy the meals.

About the last 1/3 of last year, they dropped Wed's because the person doing it, could no longer volunteer to cover the meal. Our friends Mom was going to do Wed's this year and asked if we would be willing to help. Well, I'm home on Wednesday's, PLUS the meals you volunteer for, the kids get to eat free - I'm so there! So we've been helping out on Wednesdays, until the lady who did Monday's got a full time job, and we've put a little crew together to cover both days!

It's worked out so far, and it's actually lots of fun to do. The meals are pretty simple and we're getting it closer to 'down' pat on how much we need for each meal.

Deep Creek Tubing

2009-10-18T06:04:00.001-05:00

We planned a trip with some friends, Cheryl & Tracy and Bruce & Jen, to Bryson City, NC for a weekend of Tubing! What a fun weekend it was!

The temperature was just right for tubing. Not too hot and not too cold! The water was chilly, but after the initial 'shock' of cold, it felt great!

We did have one issue on the way down. We had to stop at a lock-smith and get a key made for the camper, that was left at home 2 1/2 hours back. With the price of gas, it was a better deal! :) The guy had us in, in less than 20 minutes.

The campground was so full, that we had one campsite for Friday night, then had to move on Sabbath to another site. No big deal - we just cranked the Pop up's top down and moved and popped it right back up. It worked out really nicely though, cuz Friday evening, we did have some rain and we were camped right next to a shelter so we could relax out of the rain. The next night was beautiful and we had a great view of the stars next to the campfire!

Tracy & Cheryl were extremely nice and let us all bunk in the pop up. The girls slept with Doreen and I on the king size bed, Bruce & Jen had the other end and Tracy & Cheryl took the couch/bed. We all were snug little bugs!

Friday after we arrived in camp, we went to get our tubes for the weekend. I'm pretending to be 'Tube man!' HA!

All 8 of us jammed into Tracy & Cheryl's 15 passenger van with 8 Tubes also packed in - tight to get us to the very top of the creek. That was fun!

Once we parked, we had about another mile or so to climb to the very tippy top!

Putting in, getting ready to do some serious floating! We did have another issue on our first short trip down. Doreen was expecting a phone call from a potential employer, so we decided to wrap her cell phone in a couple of zip lock bags so she could have it in her pocket in case they called. Well, that call never came, or we never got it cuz at some point in the trip, her phone fell out of her pocket and floated by itself down the river! Needless to say, Doreen's got a new cell phone now! **GRIN**

Group/tube shot!

Enjoying the fire at camp!

I still believe camp meals are ALWAYS the best! :)

Perfect Timing

2009-10-17T08:19:00.000-05:00

I am just about two weeks post op of my surgery - the SLAP tear in my shoulder. I'll post some pics of the surgery soon - I hope! :)

Anyway, the surgery happened about 2 1/2 weeks later than I was originally hoping it would happen. I was kinda grumpy about that, but it's been done.

Well, I went to pick the kids up from school on Monday, since I'm off - recuperating - and a sign is posted at the school, and the kids all came home with notes stating that school is going to be closed the rest of the week due to 40% of the students being out because of the flu and everyone's just passing it around.

Doreen had some temp work at a Dentist's office on Monday and Tuesday, so it's really good that I've been able to be home this week (read, thankful that my surgery happened when it did) while the kids were off school.

Then we had some other cool timing issues this week. Since we were all going to be home on Wed, Thur & Fri, we made some family plans.

It's been raining cats and dogs here lately, so we wanted a couple of indoor things to do.

So we decided to go to the Discovery Museum downtown on Wed (since we can get in free this week due to work helping to sponsor an exhibit), catch a matinee on Thur and go to the Zoo on Fri after the rain subsides.

Well, the Discovery museum is closed on Wed - so we flopped plans and it worked out MUCH better. We got into the theater to see "Up" on $1 Wednesdays, so we paid $4 instead of the $10 it would have cost us. Awesome.

It just all worked out so perfectly - what a cool blessing!!!

I'm thankful to have someone in heaven that is a much better and effective planner than I can ever hope to be!

I love seein a 'plan come together!' :)

Summer Sendoff OR Back to School

2009-10-16T18:57:00.004-05:00

Time to get back to school. Summer flew by so very fast!

The night before school, Natalie lost one of her front teeth. (Then within the next week she lost the second one - so as we approach the Christmas season and people ask her what she wants, I of course start singing the song... "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth. **GRIN**)

Of course, we had our traditional summer send off at an Ice Cream Joint. This year we chose Baskin Robin's 31 Flavors. Yummy! Our friends Bruce and Jen came with us as well as Larry and Sandra!

Here are my growing little girls. Natalie (L) is going to be in 1st Grade this year and Joelle will be a 3rd grader! Precious!

Still Catchin Up OR Family Visiting

2009-10-16T17:56:00.003-05:00

(L to R, Andrea, Judy & Doreen)We love it when we get to visit with family. This summer, Doreen's cousin, Andrea, who was in the process of moving from FL to WV stopped by for a visit.

That brought out other family living in the area as well! Larry's brother Kevin along with wife Judy, daughter Rachel and son Johnathan came for a visit.

Of course they broke out the instruments for a good ole Sabbath sing-a-long! Very nice!

Natalie riding cousin Jonathan as a bronco.

Joelle took her turn as well.
Lots of fun had by all!

5 Favorite NFL Teams

2009-09-10T19:54:00.003-05:00

We carpool with some friends in taking our kids to school. Their son, Nathan, loves to talk football with me. So as I was bringing everyone home from school last Wednesday, he asked me what my 5 favorite teams are.

Well, everyone one knows my number one team - easy. The two of the others came to me pretty quickly and the other two, I had to think about for a bit before I finally came up with the answer.

So I thought I'd post my top 5 NFL teams in honor of the 2009 NFL season kicking off tonight!

Drum roll please;

Here are my 5 Favorite NFL teams...

Number 1 - The Denver Broncos. They are from my home state. I have been a Bronco fan as long as I can remember. I've been to one Bronco home game game as an adult, they beat the Packers, and I think my folks took me to another as a kid! I also went to another Bronco game on the road, but you'll read about that in a moment! They have had 5 very disappointing superbowl losses in my time and two wonderful superbowl wins! I bleed Denver Bronco orange and blue!!!

Number 2 - The Cincinnati Bengals. We lived in Ohio for 2 years, and I loved a Bengals shirt I received one Christmas. They went to a superbowl one of the years we lived there and they got plowed over by the 49ers that season. Never been to a Bengals game, but visited the stadium once on a trip to Cincinnati for LifeTalk to an ASI convention.

Number 3 - Detroit Lions. This is a hard team to root for cuz they have been so bad for so very long. We lived in Michigan for 4 years and one Thanksgiving my dad took me to a Lions game. They beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27 to 3. What a FUN experience and memory. They also had one of the most awesome running backs of all times, Barry Sanders. He was phenomenal!

Number 4 - This is a regional pick because of where I currently reside. Atlanta is only two hours away. Atlanta has been bad for a while, but the new owner Arthur Blank has turned it into a class organization and it is getting better! Last year '08, I took Joelle with some friends and in-laws to see the Broncos play the Falcons in the Georgia Dome. Another FUN NFL experience! The Broncos ended up beating the Falcons 24 to 20. I have become a Falcon fan ever since!

Number 5 - Last but not least, the Tennessee Titans qualify as my 5th favorite NFL team. Mainly it's because I have lived in the state of TN for almost 10 years now. That and it's another quality run organization and the current coach, Jeff Fisher, is a quality guy. Hoping to get to a Titans game sometime here in the near future.

I'd be interested to hear your top 5 and why!

So there you have it, my 5 Favorite NFL Teams!!!

Unexpected Expenses

2009-08-29T08:58:00.001-05:00

Doreen and I try to follow a budget pretty closely. For the most part we have done extremely well with a budget. In fact, at the end of the school year, we were right on schedule and even had a bit extra to stash away.

Well, this summer has shredded our budget with extra expenses here and there that has made things kinda tight lately.

We were talking about it the other night and listed them all out.

Check this list out...

Car - Broken Window
Refrigerator - Temperature Gague
Toe - Broken with a trip to the ER
Computer - Quit functioning
School Uniforms - A change in the policy had us having to by Natalie a whole new wardrobe.
Joelle & My Allergies and the weekly shots we have to receive!
Garage Door - Broken Motor had to be replaced
CO Trip - Emergency trip to be with my sick dad

All these things are important and the cost of all of them have added up.

We'll get out of the hole though, hopefully sooner than later though! :)

Slap Lesion & Surgery

2009-08-27T22:50:00.003-05:00

This past January I fell on some ice while I was at work, twice. (Long Version of the story Here!)

I figured it was just sprained and hurt. So I saw the company PT and spent the next while working with him. Boy that helped and it got better, but never back to 100%. After one PT visit he tells me he thinks I have a Slap Lesion (tear) in the cartilage around the ball of my shoulder joint.

So I talk with the nurse and get an appointment scheduled. Sure enough, I have a slap lesion that is going to require surgery to get it repaired.

Oy vai! It's a pretty quick, outpatient surgery but requires lots of PT work afterwards. I'm going to be off driving a truck and unloading for the better part of 3 to 4 months. No sport for 5 months! Oh my word!

Well, here's some 'technical' details on what I've got.

Thanks for your prayers!

Slap Lesion
A SLAP tear stands for Superior Labrum, Anterior to Posterior. What this means is that the labrum is torn at the superior (top) of the glenoid. Typically, SLAP lesions are from about 10:00 – 2:00 if you were to visualize a clock face. The long head of the biceps tendon attaches in the glenoid as part of the labrum at roughly 12:00.

Symptoms of a SLAP Lesion
Generally, symptoms of a SLAP Lesion are subtle compared to those of instability. Pain with overhead activities, a ‘dead arm’ when throwing and occasionally some popping/clicking in the shoulder.

How does it occur?
One can develop a SLAP Lesion several ways. The most common is repetitive overhead arm motions with tension on the biceps or even a ‘peel back’ type mechanism. Falls on the outstretched arm can cause this injury as well.

Diagnosing SLAP Lesions
As with any injury, a thorough history and physical examination with x-ray is the first step. If it is felt necessary, an MRI may be ordered. It needs to be noted that in order for the MRI to be most effective as a diagnostic tool, contrast medium needs to be injected into the shoulder joint. In the MRI picture below, you see the shoulder if you were looking at it from the front. Inside the red circle, you will see where the labrum has “come off” the glenoid. The white that you see between the bone and the glenoid is that contrast medium. Dependant upon how many cuts (the individual pictures of those views on the MRI) that the superior labral tear is seen in, shows Dr. Lowe how much of the labrum is involved and how to best deal with the injury.

Surgical Intervention
If surgery is decided upon, these days the labral tear can be repaired through the arthroscope. First, the Dr will evaluate the shoulder while the patient is under anesthesia. Next he will look at all of the structures of the shoulder to asses the damage and how to best repair the injury. He will then proceed with the surgical repair of the superior labrum. This is usually accomplished arthroscopically using suture anchors. Suture Anchors are devices that are secured into the glenoid. They have sutures attached to them that allow the Dr. to secure the tissue back to bone.

Tear of superior labrum

Normal superior labrum.

Repair of superior labrum

Post-Op Rehabilitation
The rehabilitation following SLAP repair is just as important as the surgery itself. Typically following this procedure, the patient is in a sling with a wedge attached to keep the arm away from the side. This is to be worn at all times for the first month or longer following the procedure. Also following the surgery, the patient will begin formal physical therapy. Initially the therapy will consist of the therapist moving the shoulder for the patient. This is done to prevent the shoulder from becoming stiff, but done in such a way to protect the repair. After the appropriate period of time, the patient will then be allowed to come out of the sling and slowly begin doing more active work with the shoulder. Return to activities such as throwing and lifting weights is determined by the Dr. on a patient to patient basis.

Doesn't this all sound F U N? :)

OY VAI!!!

Rockets and Frisbees

2009-08-26T08:52:00.000-05:00

Our friends, the Gallaghers, gave Joelle a couple of model rockets for her birthday. She quickly put them together and then they hung around in her room for a couple of months.

So one afternoon, we went out and decided to shoot them off, something I'd not done in literally decades!!!

It took us a few minutes to get it set up properly and get everything figured out, but once we did - whoosh! 6 times we shot those rockets up. (3 times for each rocket.)

Man, that was so much fun. We're gonna get a couple more rockets and more engines and do it again soon!

After we finished with the rockets, we put them away and got out some frisbees and took part in an activity that was a first for all four of us, Frisbee Golf. It was fun. None of us did very well, but just being together, outside, walking around and chasing little frisbees together was a blast!!!

Eisenhower Interstate System

2009-08-25T08:20:00.000-05:00

I heard a podcast the other night that absolutely fascinated me. It's about the Eisenhower Interstate system.

Check out these numbers...

It is over 47,000 miles long!

The single longest section is I-90 from Boston, MA to Seattle, WA

The most used section is I-405 in California. Over 300,000 vehicles use it regularly!

The last section built was in 1992, I-70 through Glenwood Canyon in Colorado.

One of the widest sections is in Atlanta, GA at one point it has over 15 lanes.

Wow.

The really interesting part for us is that Doreen and I have been on all those different sections and probably traveled over most of the interestate system at one time or another.

Just some useless info for you day! :)

America's Pastime - Baseball!!

2009-08-23T08:14:00.000-05:00

It was time for the girls to experience America's Pastime - a real baseball game. We took them, with a bunch of friends, to the Chattanooga Lookouts. They're the AA farm team for the LA Dodgers.

The kids LOVED seeing the mascots, Looie, the taller Red Lookout and Blooie, the kid sized Blue Lookout! Oh my word, the LOVED Blooie and would holler every time they saw him.

Finally he walked around the concourse once, and the kids and I went down for a Photo OP! Oh my goodness, they were SO excited and couldn't stop talking about Blooie after we got back to our seats!

Of course we got some popcorn, peanuts and nachos while we were there. The whole thing is EXTREMELY reasonably priced and actually a lot of fun! We'll have to go to more games next season!

The Lookouts lost the game that night, but fun was had by all!!!

Home Camping

2009-08-23T08:10:00.000-05:00

This summer, we had a cool streak of weather come through for about two weeks. It was SO very nice.

Doreen had the great idea to let the girls 'Camp Out at Home.' (I was gone on one of my trips for work, or I probably would have joined them!

They put the whole tent up together, completely by themselves. (With a little guidance from Doreen.)

That night they got pillows, sleeping bags and flashlights and went to sleep out there. Awwwww!

My little girls are getting so big!!!

Tye Dyed

2009-08-22T08:06:00.000-05:00

The girls wanted to try their hands at Tye Dying some T-shirts this summer, so I found a kit on sale at a store and got us some shirts and away we went.

Of course we covered everything around so dye wouldn't get on anything else in the kitchen, including the cloths the girls were wearing before we started. It was really a lot of fun!

Here's the three of us wearing our finished products! The girls did great that their shirts look cute. Of course, for some reason, I've got a 'bulls-eye' target right on my big belly! Waaa ha, ha, ha!)

River Boating

2009-08-22T08:01:00.000-05:00

This summer we took the girls for a ride on the Southern Belle Riverboat. (This is the same boat we rode for our 15th anniversary a year ago.) They wanted to go so bad, so our friends, the Ashmores, got a deal on tickets and we all went together.

The Pesters posing outside the captains wheelhouse overlooking the river.

Everyone sitting on the bench behind the captain in the wheelhouse while he described to us how the boat operates. Very cool!

It was a nice, NICE trip! Then we ate at the Ghengis Grill afterwards. YUMMY!!!

Space Cadets in Huntsville Alabama

2009-08-21T07:53:00.000-05:00

This summer we took a trip with a bunch of friends to the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. That is a very COOL museum!

Lots of awesome space stuff to see and to and experience.

We're standing next to a model of a Saturn V rocket ship. The cool thing is they have a WHOLE building with a life size Saturn V rocket ship. You can see everything about it! AWESOME!

We had a delicious lunch in the shadow of one of the rockets standing outside the museum.

They have a couple of rides there, that come with your entrance fee. Oh we had fun riding this one multiple times! :)

Of course, for fun 5 adult guys squeezed into one of the space capsules for this photo op... (L to R, Tracy, me, Aaron)

... and they had to come get us out with a can opener! Waa aha, ha, ha!!! It was a very cool day! (L to R - Aaron, Bruce, Shannon)

Swimming Chickens

2009-08-21T07:51:00.000-05:00

We didn't do as much swimming this year as we did last summer. That was due to schedules and Doreen's broken toe and just so much other stuff going on.

When we did though, we loved it! The girls had a lot of fun doing this kinda stuff.

Aren't they just so CUTE?!!!!

Middle Earth

2009-08-20T19:45:00.002-05:00

One Sabbath afternoon we were trying to decide what to do when the girls reminded us it was the 1st Sabbath of the month and Southern's cave was open to explore. So we changed and headed on over and crawled in. (Doreen didn't go cuz that was right after she broke her toe. She and a friend waited in the park talking and reading their books.)

The girls were super adventurous this time going ALL over the place checking out all the cracks and crevices.

That water the girls are walking over on the board is deep, up to my chest level deep. And cold!! Burrrr!!! (I didn't go that deep, but waded in up to my knees.)

We came out a lot dirtier than we went in. (Bruce G, a friend went with us!)
We all had a ball!!!

Broken Toe Update

2009-08-20T19:44:00.001-05:00

Doreen's toe has healed nicely, the Dr says. But I just wanted to post a pic of the X-ray of her broken pinkie toe. OUCH! : )

Riverbend

2009-08-20T19:34:00.005-05:00

Every year Chattanooga holds a two week party called Riverbend. They bring in all sorts of musicial artists and booths and everything you can think of to have a HUGE block party!

One of the nights is Family night, where they don't sell any 'adult beverages.'

So we decideded to take the girls, for three reasons. #1 - We'd never been before and wanted to experience it. #2 - Stephen Curtis Chapman was performing and we really enjoy his music. #3 - We got in free through work! Can't be any better than that!

Here's our view of the stage and screen. It was a very nice night, once the sun went down, to enjoy the music!

Ran into our good friends, the Ashmores, while we were wandering around there before the concert.

The girls got to play on the playground for a bit, and Joelle loved this spinny thing!

Isn't Natalie cute in her baloon hat? :)

I bought the girls a couple of 'spritzer' fans and they were having a spritzer war here! They both won cuz they cooled each other down! :)

A Tale of Two Little Leaguers

2009-08-19T12:17:00.003-05:00

I started reading Rick Reilly years ago when I was subscribed to Sports Illustrated. He is an awesome author and has a very unique way of looking at and writing about the sports world and sometimes life in general!

Then my subscription ran out and occassionally I could get his work online. Recently he moved to work for ESPN and they post all his stuff online and I've been thoroughly enjoying his work, regularly, once again!

It truly bothers me when people are so selfish and thoughtless! Rick Reilly just posted an article about some people who embody this and no thoughts of anything else but themselves!

In this article though, he juxtaposes them to a young man who is someone who is truly classy!

I wanted to share this article from Rick Reilly and ESPN the Magazine! Enjoy!

--SP

----------

If you're looking for a way to kill Little League, you should call a woman named Jean Gonzalez of Staten Island, N.Y. I think she's found it.

A little more than five years ago her 12-year-old son, Martin, got a hit and the first-base coach waved him on to second. The problem was, Martin did not generally get many doubles. In fact, he'd never slid in a game before. So when he got to second, he slid clumsily, wrenching his knee, ripping his ACL and tearing his meniscus.

So what did his mom do?

She sued.

She sued the manager. She sued the first-base coach. She sued the local Little League. She sued Little League Baseball, Incorporated. She sued everybody but the kid who cuts the outfield.

She said the manager -- Leigh Bernstein -- hadn't taught Martin the proper way to slide. (The coach said he had.) She said the local Little League had the wrong kind of bases -- Soft Touch detachable bases. (But the bases were on Little League's approved list of bases. They detach when you hit them with too much force.) She said it was everybody's fault but Martin's.

And just over two weeks ago, she settled for $125,000.

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If you're looking for a way to feel good in this whacked world, you should call the Millers of Fullerton, Calif. I think they've found it.

Pamela Miller and her husband, Rolf, are the parents of Dieter, 12. This year, Dieter, a catcher, played in the first scrimmage of the season. While trying to tag a runner at home, he broke his arm. He was out of action for all but the end of the season.

And what did his parents do?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is just an opinion, but I think it would be wonderful if people like Jean Gonzalez and her attorney were tied to the next shuttle and fired into space.

Here's a coach who is volunteering his time to teach kids the dying game of baseball and what does he get for his trouble? A lawsuit hanging over his head for five years.

Here's the local Little League -- New Springville -- trying to do something fun for the kids, at zero profit and thousands of migraines, and what does it get for its efforts? A lawyer of its own and a tugboat of paperwork.

What if little Martin had been beaned? Would his mom have sued the kid who pitched it? The stitcher of the ball? Abner Doubleday?

I called Ms. Gonzalez but she never called back. I called her attorney, Alan Glassman, of Brooklyn. He had to put me on hold a lot. "Parents keep calling wanting me to represent their kid," he said.

Imagine that.

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So what did the Millers do when Dieter was hurt? They spoke with his coach, Tony Mannara, and asked "Is there anything Dieter can do to stay close with the team?"

Mannara thought about it and answered, "Well, he could keep score."

So Dieter went to scorekeeper's school and learned how. He showed up an hour early for every game this year -- in uniform -- and kept score, kept the pitch count and cheered his cast off. Heck, he even came to practices.

"I'd like to have my own Little League team someday," he says.

As of press time, his parents had no plans to sue.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is Little League supposed to do? It's already eliminated the on-deck circle for safety reasons. Maybe it should just eliminate the bases altogether? Hey, that was a pretty good hit. Ghost runner on second.

Coach Bernstein played Martin that day because Martin went out for the team. So what's the coach supposed to do, keep the kid on the bench all year? Ms. Gonzalez probably would've sued for that, too. Emotional cruelty, perhaps.

Anyway, it's finally over. Martin is 17 now and in high school. If you're his principal you better have F. Lee Bailey on retainer.

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And what did the Miller family get for being cool? What did Dieter get for not sulking, quitting, or detaching like a pop-up base?

He won The Little League Good Sport Award.

He and his family will soon take an all-expenses-paid trip to Williamsport, Pa. for next week's Little League World Series, where he'll be honored as the kid who found a way to keep helping the team even though he couldn't step on the field.

"Big D is a stand-up young man," Coach Mannara says. "He's a fan favorite, a kid you'd never hear a bad word about. He embodies the true spirit of Little League."

No, it's not $125,000.

It's better.

This IS My Father's World!!!

2009-08-14T09:21:00.000-05:00

Just recently at church we sang the hymn, This is My Father's World.

I've sung this song for years and always liked it, but as we were singing, the words really jumped out at me.

The last verse especially struck home.

Thought I'd share the words here and hope you are as blessed as I was!

This is my Father's world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world,
the birds their carols raise,
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker's praise.
This is my Father's world:
he shines in all that's fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world.
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet. (AMEN TO THAT RIGHT THERE!!!!)
This is my Father's world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

16 Years

2009-08-13T21:19:00.002-05:00

As of July 18, Doreen and I have been married 16 years. Wow! Time has just buzzed by! Just seemed like we started dating a couple of months ago, and now look we've been married 16 years, have two kids 6 & 8. Amazing!

I truly have been blessed!!!

Summer Softball

2009-08-11T20:57:00.003-05:00

A couple of months ago two guys in our church asked some of the men if they'd be interested in playing in the Collegedale Summer Adult Softball league. "Absolutely," was my reply!

So for the last few weeks, on Monday's and Tuesday's (with rainout games played on Thursday's) I've had a chance to do something I haven't done since Academy, play real softball on a real team!

Of course I've got 20 years of 'softball' rust I'm trying to whittle away at. Slowly and surely my game is starting to improve. It's been fun. I've pitched, played 3rd and tonight I played left center! Made 3 good catches and missed two, one of which I should have caught!

We've got real team shirts and caps. I'm #10. Our team hasn't won a game yet, as of tonight we're 0 for 8, but I don't care. I'm just trying to do the best I can.

Goo Ooltewah SDA Church Team, or better known as the Ooltewah Old Boys!!!

Summer Camp

2009-08-10T22:00:00.003-05:00

In June, Joelle got to spend a week at Cohutta Springs Camp. She had been looking forward to it since we told her a couple of years ago she could go when she turned 8. This was the summer she got to go.

Here she is with her counselor Eden.

It worked out that she got to go with two friends, Bethany and Savannah. They all had a blast!!!

We got there a little later on check-in day, so Joelle ended up with a bottom bunk, but she was alright with that. It was something to have her gone for a week, but she got to experience so many things. She bubbled about it for a couple of weeks after she got home. We'd be sitting at a meal and she'd say, "at camp.." and proceed to tell a story. Cute!

They caught a pic of her riding a bike one day at camp. She got to ride a pony and swim and jump on the blob and so much more!

We did some special things with Natalie while Joelle was gone. In fact, right after dropping the kids off, we went with some friend to Dairy Queen. Natalie was stoked about that. Finally put a smile back on her face. She wasn't too happy about not being able to go this year. We went to Chuck e Cheese one day, and swimming another and Doreen and Natalie had a girls lunch out and a movie afterwards. (Night at the Museum 2)

All in all it was a good experience for both girls! :)

Progress Reports

2009-08-09T11:56:00.002-05:00

In my efforts to catch up on my blogs, I'm getting our desk cleaned off! Cool! :)

In a pile on the desk I found the last report cards from last school year when Joelle finished 2nd grade and Natalie finished Kindergarten.

(I find these as they prepare to start school next week!) **GRIN**

Both girls are performing the skills they needed to complete each grade. That's cool.

Mrs R wrote of Joelle at the end of the year, "Joelle is ready for 3rd grade. I have really enjoyed being her teacher for two years."

Mrs P wrote on Natalie's report card, "Natalie has demonstrated high level Kindergarten skills. She is a quality student."

Now they're getting ready to start grades 1 & 3, I'm praying they continue with these positive trends in school!

SO Far Behind

2009-08-07T21:12:00.002-05:00

My oh my, oh my!

I just looked a the list of items that I need to be blogging about and realized I am so incredibly far behind!

Part of it is, I just haven't felt too inspired to write much lately. Don't know if it's the new work schedule, or cuz I kill too much time on Facebook or I've just been too lazy to do it and just procrastinated.

All I know is that I have been really, REALLY bad and not keeping up with it all! :(

I will try to do better - hopefully!

Part of the problem I know has been our computer.

Lately, I've been getting a 'not enough memory' error flashing up on my screen.

Turns out when I bought this computer, in 2002 it had an 80 gig hard drive partitioned into two different sections. C drive, 13 gig, held the operating system and all the programs and D drive, was just memory.

All my programs and the 'growth' of the operating system due to updates took that 13 gig all up and finally left me with 11k of memory. That ain't much.

So I got so frustrated we took the computer to a 'hospital' and our friend put in a much larger hard-drive for the OS & programming and the 'old' drive is now just for storage of pics, music and documents.

Ahhhh - plenty of space now do to be able to update my page here at regular speeds!

I'll try to do better updating! :)

Allergies

2009-07-22T07:33:00.003-05:00

This summer, we were over at some friends for a bonfire and Joelle went running, with the rest of the kids, through a big field of tall grass to get to a creek to play in. Oh she was having FUN! Then she came back, through the grass again, to jump on the trampoline. A few minutes later she came over to us and was crying and itching and had little welts all over her arms and face and neck and couldn't stop itching.

Luckily, our friends had some Benadryl and we threw Joelle into a cool shower. She eventually stopped feeling itch, stopped crying and felt better. That was majorly scary!

So we took her to an allergist to assess what the problem is.

(The Pic is of Joelle during her allergy test.)

The problem is, Joelle is related to my side of the family! I've been allergic to cats and all sorts of stuff over the years and just never done anything about it. So Doreen talked me into going to get allergy tested.

(That's my arm and the reaction I'm having to stuff.)

Turns out we're both extremely allergic to Grasses, cats, some trees, and I've got some weeds thrown in for good measure and a mold or two.

So we're both going weekly now to get allergy shots, for the next half a year, to start building up immunity to the stuff that causes us problems. It's a pain, but I'm praying it's worth it! Especially if we don't have to go through another outbreak like Joelle had.

1st Broken Bone - Ever

2009-06-30T14:26:00.003-05:00

This morning I got home from my trip at 5am. I Facebooked a little bit, then laid down on the guest bed until breakfast.

About 7:45 Joelle comes rushing downstairs and mumbles, "Daddy, come up stairs quick." I didn't really understand, then she finally spoke clearly, "Daddy, come up stairs - Mommy needs help."

So I jump out of bed and rush upstairs.

Doreen's standing in the tub, with a towel wrapped around her, hanging on to the wall, sucking air between her teeth like "That hurts!"

So I look down at where she's looking and I see this on her foot. Turns out she started to climb into the shower, but didn't completely clear her left foot and banged the pinkie toe on the side of the tub and she heard a 'pop.'

She thought, "ouch, that hurt, and went to get showering, then it really started to hurt and she looked down and saw this." Oy vai!

So we both quickly changed/dressed and wrapped her foot in ice, towels and an ace bandage. Dropped the kids off at my in-laws place, (I AM SOOOO Thankful for their help) and headed to an Emergency Room.

Once we got in there, she got a wheel chair ride, and a bed ride. All sorts of fun stuff to make up for the hurt of having to be there! :)

The nurses really liked the wrap on her foot. I'm pretty proud of that last sec work!

After a bit of waiting, then a visit from a nurse, a bit more waiting, another nurse, and then more waiting - we got transferred to X-ray for 3 shots of her foot.

Then the ER Doc came in and broke the news. It's completely broken and will eventually heal on 'it's own.

They gave her a refferal name of a Podiatrist Dr to look at it on Monday to see if it's all right or if anything else needed to be done.

Either way, it's a very, VERY eventful morning!

Wheeeew!

Funeral for a Chicken

2009-06-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

On the Sabbath that the Ashlocks were visiting, we let the kids go outside and play with the chickens a bit. When they came inside we let the chickens roam a bit for exercise and to get used to our yard and to just scratch and peck till their little hearts desire. Mocha and the chickens got along fabulously. We'd let them out together for about 3 weeks, the first two with close supervision and lots of Mocha training.

Well, when I went to put the chickens up for the night, I could only find Peepers in the roost. No sign of Tweedles. I grabbed my flashlight and found a lifeless Tweedles with Mocha not far away. I can't prove it, but I'm guessing that Mocha took Tweedles out.

I got super mad and then upset we'd have to tell Joelle in the morning.

Well, you can be assured that went over like a ton of bricks! Here's Joelle burying Tweedles.

By the way, we did learn our lesson. Mocha is now kept in a safe place away from the Chickens when they're roaming the yard.

Here's the other little mourners watching. (I had to run an errand not long after this and from what Doreen tells me, they had quite the drama with all three of them crying and very sad. We're extremely bummed about it, but it was a good time to explain evil and how things die in this life, but in Heaven nothing will ever get hurt again!)

Poor Joelle saying a final farewell to Tweedles. We were blessed by the distraction of heading to Summer camp that afternoon.

We talked with our friends and we'll be headed up there for another visit and we'll get Joelle Tweedles 2!

My Different Girls - Swimsuit Version

2009-06-27T06:56:00.000-05:00

While the girls were in swimming classes, they each needed an extra swimsuit. We happened to be in Sams looking around and they spotted suits there so we went to look.

It is AMAZING at how different my little girls are.

Joelle got a Speedo, green and blue and all sporty looking.

Natalie got a ruffly light blue suit with little pink things on it and it came with a matching cover.

I have two very precious girls and I love them for who they are, it just never ceases to amaze me how different they are!

Successful Suprise Party

2009-06-26T11:55:00.004-05:00

After Doreen got the news she'd passed all her exams and had become an offically registered Dental Hygienist, I wanted to have a little suprise party for her.

The plan was to have it at our friends house before Bible study, and so I contacted some friends to help and it wasn't gonna work that week, so we changed plans to the following week.

Well, Doreen saw a couple of texts on my cell phone that made her wonder what was up, but never asked any questions and when nothing happened, she forgot all about it.

So she was truly Suprised when we suprised her the following Friday evening with some good friends to tell her we're proud of her for all her hard work and study and for a job well done!

We had some good friends come celebrate with us.

More good friends and the Suprised girl herself!

Man, this gal knows how to party!

It was a lot of fun, yet stressful planning this thing.

For starters, choir was going to have a performance and she was planning on a practice on the Friday evening of the suprise party. So I just called the Choir director, my father-in-law and enlisted his help in discouraging that plan.

Secondly, she wanted to know if a friend was going to be available for an event, and I had just talked with that friend and knew her schedule, but couldn't say a word cuz Doreen would wonder why I was talking with this friend.

Lastly, Doreen was trying to plan an activity with some other friends, and I already talked with them and knew they weren't available, and so was trying to act all disinterested, you know to plan it some other time. Finally she found out they were 'busy' and we made other plans.

Boy, it's hard keeping info from people sometimes, but well worth it in the end! :)

Family From Afar

2009-06-25T21:24:00.004-05:00

Doreen's cousin, Ryan, and family live in Thailand. They're over here in the US for vacation and were passing through and so they spent two nights with us. We were SO excited to have some quality time with them!

Here's the lunch bunch sitting at their own table having a little party!

Here's the same precious group as we finished up a Sabbath afternoon walk on Collegedale's Greenway.

During the walk, we found some COOL water for the kids to splash around in and while there, they went 'a crawdad hunting - successfully too!

Sunday we went to Grandma M's place and she and Papa and Grandma had made a little scavenger hunt for the kiddos and they were all into that!

TREASURE!

It was sure really nice spending time with the Ashlock family. He's headed over to the Philippines soon to mentor 5 students from Thailand's Mission College as they present an evangelistic series as well as do one himself. 6 meetings going on at the same time. Pray for them and the success of their outreach!

Old & Fragile OR Super Swimmers

2009-06-24T13:01:00.002-05:00

Been a while since I've been to this site. Time to post again! Actually, I just need to get back into the habit. My trip schedule has changed at work and while I do enjoy my new schedule (IN on Sun Eve and SC on Wed Eve) it gives me the weekend free and then we fill those days up with stuff and don't get as much just free time as I had before. Oh well - the good and bad of any situation!

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago at the company picnic, I ran into two co-workers that both were 'gimpin' around the park.

The first is a lady, who is in the IT department, I play in the racquetball legue. The week previous, she had a game and twisted her knee badly. Turns out, she tore her MCL and the Minicisus (Not sure if I spelled that properly.) The second is a a truck driver, who snapped his ACl after getting a hit and running to second, right after crossing 1st base. OH MY! Both will be out a few weeks.

Those two events have me paranoid now. I LOVE playing racquetball and I'll be playing on in softball league this season. I stretch out before any activity, work or play and am trying to eat better and more healthfully.

I don't want to 'stop' doing stuff just cuz of the risk of injury, and I don't want to get injured cuz I get careless. Guess I'll just have to play and pray for the best!

Getting old really stinks!

Joelle and Natalie have finished swimming lesons this year. Joelle has become a very strong swimmer and has most all her strokes down pat, and just needs few pointers now and then.

Natalie, did all right, she didn't get the full concept of a swimming stroke or tow, but for her size and age, she did really well.

So their teacher passed them both into the next left. Next year, watch out Level 5 - here they come!!!

Top 10 Hymns for People Our Age

2009-06-12T11:28:00.003-05:00

A friend gave Doreen a birthday card with this info on it and I got a good chuckle out of it, so wanted to share it here!

Enjoy!

10 - It is well with my soul (But my back aches a lot.)
9 - Nobody knows the trouble I have seeing.
8 - Amazing Grace (considering my age)
7 - Just a slower walk with thee
6 - Count your many birthdays, name them one by one
5 - Go tell it on the mountain... and speak up
4 - Give me that old timer's religion
3 - Blessed insurance
2 - Guide me, o Thou great Jehovah (I've forgotten where I parked!)

and the top hymn for people our age is...

1 - Nearer, my God, to Thee!

Swimming Lessons OR Natural Human Fish

2009-06-07T06:08:00.001-05:00

Summer swimming lessons have returned. The girls are right smack dab in the middle of two weeks of swimming lessons - they're in a Level 4 group and doing quite well.

It's fun watching them learn the swimming strokes and how to execute them properly. They're like human fish in the water and are completely loving it! :)

Critter Complex Final Touches OR Critters Galore

2009-06-06T06:01:00.001-05:00

We had some final touches we needed to put on the Pester Critter Complex to make it complete - a personal touch if you will...

We added the names of each critter to their House/Roost. Now it is done!

They all have moved in and seem to be liking it a lot. Wheew! :)

We've had some visits with some interesting critters this week. We went over to a friends one evening for him to share his baby parakeets with the family. The girls were really excited about being able to hold baby birds. It was cute, until one started biting Natalie. She dropped it on the couch and wanted to hold the 'other one' that didn't bite. He, he, he

One morning, I went early to the gym to work out and on the way home, found this little guy/gal trying to get across the road, slowly. So I stopped and picked him/her up and took it home for the girls to get a close-up look of Mr/Mrs Turtle and enjoy his/her presense for a while. They did, then we turned it loose, back into the wild - away from busy roads.

Company Picnic or Completely Dizzy!

2009-06-05T21:11:00.003-05:00

The bakery holds it's annual company picnic at Lake Winnepesauka every year. (The local small amusement park) We didn't get to go last year cuz we were in Colorado on vacation, but we made it this year and had a ball!

We were blessed with overcast weather to keep it in the mid 70's with no rain and no sun to burn us up. A "PERFECT" day to spend and an amusement park!

The only people in the park are employees and family. It's closed down to the public until after 6pm. It is AMAZING to look and see all those people and realize that it's just 'cookies' that support all those families. WOW!

Here Joelle and I are at the top of the Ferris Wheel waiting for them to finish unload/reload process so we could ride for a bit. You can't see it very good, but it is a very nice view of the area from up there.

Here's a shot of Natalie enjoying the carosel ride. Originally built in 1916, it still runs today and I love the music it plays while you ride!

Look in the back of the 1st car and front of the 2nd car and you'll see Doreen and the kids riding this mini-coaster. (I stayed off this one, it hurt my back last time we were there and required a Chiropractor visit not long after that ride! :) They all had fun though!!

They have a Lake there, and one of the rides you can do is paddle boats. So Doreen and I each got a girl and a boat each and did all the work paddling out on the lake and back. :)

Natalie and I rode the Tilt a Whirl. Joelle wanted to go down the nearby slide and did so while we got whipped around in that seat. Natalie would giggle every time we got whipped in to a fast circle! Fun times.

The last ride of the day, we did as a family - the log ride. What fun!

Doreen's test results - passed

2009-06-01T14:06:00.001-05:00

Doreen's test results - passed with flying colors!

Nashville Weekend

2009-05-31T18:35:00.004-05:00

Thursday afternoon we drove over to Nashville with Doreen's patient for her Clinical exam Friday morning. This is the last step she has to pass before she can get a license to become a Dental Hygienist. She's so close!

Anyway, we got checked into our motel, which was right across the street from the Stadium where the Tennessee Titans play. Very cool!

After relaxing a bit, we took the route Doreen would have to take to go to the school, just to make sure nothing funky was up, then headed to the Spaghetti Factory for supper! Yum Yum!

We were so stuffed from supper, we walked along the river a bit. Got to take a peek inside Fort Nashborough and got Joelle & Natalie to pose with these characters for a pic. Then back to the room and beddy bye for everyone!

Doreen and her patient were up 5ish for breakfast and off to Orientation at the testing site. The girls and I rolled over and went back to sleep for a bit. Then up and breakfast and then swimming in the Guitar pool. Very cool!

Then we changed and grabbed a Taxi, a first for the girls, for the Adventure Science Museum, which had EVERYTHING in it. They had a ball climbing, rolling, crawling and learning about all sorts of stuff.

Here the two of them learned they can use a lever and a combined 110 pounds can pick up a car! They loved that.

We spent some time being 'space cadets!' Here they are in front of Saturn. They even got to do some simulated moon walking.

After testing was all done, Doreen came and picked us up and we went back to the motel to chill a bit and share about each other's day. Doreen did well, but thinks that she could have done more, and is now waiting for Monday to find out if she passed or not. Anticipation! Then we headed to eat dinner at El Ray's mexican restaurant. We walked around the capital a bit just to walk off some of what we ate!

On Saturday, after sleeping in, we went to the Nashville Zoo!

Here's Doreen and the girls with a very cool elephant in the background...

...and me and the girls with a giraffe trying to get some leaves just out of reach!

A Meerkat doing some people watching! Too cute!

The girls and I bounced across this bridge in the jungle gym...

...and Doreen and the girls played spider girls crawling all over these multi-level, very cool, nets they have available to play on!

Finished for the day. After seeing all we could see, doing all we could do, we were bushed. We headed out of the zoo, had dinner with some friends and got home about 11:20 at night - thankful to have had some time to have some family fun!

Water Day

2009-05-29T22:00:00.003-05:00

The last day of school for the girls was 'a-wash' literally. It was a water day. They brought in stuff like this big inflatable slide that Joelle's going down here or...

...the inflatable slip-n-slide Natalie's zoomin' down to have a party to end a good year and kick off a fun summer break for the kiddos and teachers.

They had bags of popcorn...

...and cotton candy - yup, sugar 'em up before sending them back to the folks! **GRIN**

It was a fun time, had by all! :)

Critter Complex

2009-05-29T19:53:00.009-05:00

We needed to build a home for our dog and chickens outside to stay dry. So we decded to build a critter complex, dog house, chicken coop, chicken roost.

So this is the process for the beast we built. (Um, how do I attach this to that?)

Support posts, coop back and roost side wall.

Other side to the roost wall, with a cute little entrance.

Roost Ramp! Ain't it CUTE? :)

Dog house sides, coop sides and roost door.

Dog house roof, coop roof, coop door. (The girls did a very good job at helping us sand this thing down to get all the splinters out.)

Paint - barn red - appropriate, don't you think? (The girls really kicked in to help paint. Natalie did all three sides of the dog house and Joelle did the entire inside of the roost. Of course she used a LOT of paint repainting places she'd done before - but oh well. They worked hard!)

Super girl #1 - Joelle - Holding the complex up all by herself.

Super girl #2 - Natalie - Holding the complex up by herself.

The Critter Complex Transport company moving this beast to the backyard.

The 1st critter complex interior visitor.

Our critter's new home!

To Minnesota & Back OR Master Shelly

2009-05-22T06:41:00.000-05:00

Doreen, Joelle and Natalie are waiting for Larry & Sandra to pick 'em up to head 22 hours north of where they're sitting to visit Shelly (Doreen's Sister) and family in Minnesota for a few days and to attend Shelly's Mastters Graduation!

While up there, they went to an indoor water-slide park. Here's Randy with Colby and Natalie.

Carlie and Joelle just enjoyed a FUN ride down a slide.

Calvin takin the time to feed a few gulls!

Four little rope monkeys, Calvin, Carlie, Joelle & Colby.

Papa Otto and his 3 Granddaughters.

The clan practicing for special music at church Sabbath.

The Ottos.

The Masters Graduate, Shelly. Congratulations Sis-in-law! Proud of ya!

They all had a fun trip. Wish I could'a joined them, but wasn't able. Glad they could go and enjoy it!

Splitting Up

2009-05-21T20:33:00.004-05:00

Doreen and I went separate ways today. She went with Natalie and her Kindergarten class to a pool party and I went went Joelle on a field trip to the Discovery Museum and a Pumpkin Patch Playground. We all had a ball and just as much fun telling each other about it after we got back together.

Here's Joelle and the magically floating ball at the Discovery Museum.

Joelle shaking hands with a skeleton in a closet!

Our own personal monkey! :)

Natalie ready to dive into some fun!

New extreme sport, swimsuit scootering!

There is NOTHING better than a piece of cold watermelon a warm day before getting back in the swimming pool! :)

Kindergarten Graduation

2009-05-20T20:57:00.004-05:00

My little girl is growing up - that's good and that's baaad! :) She's getting to be no longer my little girl. (She'll always be my baby though, no matter how much she say's she's not a baby!!! **GRIN**)

Here's Natalie all dressed up just waiting for graduation.

Getting her diploma, and very proud to have done so! :)

The graduate and her family!

The proud parents and the graduate

Everyone enjoying good reception food afterwards!

It was very special!!!

My Birthday and the Day after

2009-05-08T20:31:00.003-05:00

Hey, as I write this I am now 39 years and 1 day old. Wheeew. Holding onto my thirties for another 364 days! **GRIN**

My Birthday day had a hitch in it's giddie-up. My family and in-laws all piled in the van and headed towards Minnesota to join Shelly in her Masters Degree in Nursing Graduation celebration. So we had breakfast together, I helped Doreen and the kiddos get loaded up and, abracadabra, they disappeared. A sad moment.

I moped around a bit got some packages ready to send, did a little Facebooking (which I just turned that word into a verb) then headed out to a golf course, after stopping at the post office to mail those packages then over to play 9 holes with my good friends Tracy A and Shannon C. We had a blast. Shannon was on a 'roll' with the golfing puns. When he missed a put cuz it didn't 'turn' he mentioned he couldn't get a break. He, he, he.

Then Tracy got us all doubled over with laughter once. He had retrieved a ball out of the water and found out it was no good, so he hit it towards the river through a stand of trees. We heard it carom off of some trees, he put his club back in his back and at that moment, the ball rolls out into the middle of the cart path. Oh that had us howling with laughter! The shocked look on his face was priceless!

After we finished we hit Qdoba for lunch. Yummy Taco Salad. Then Shannon had to get his kids from school, Tracy had a job to do and I headed over to the theater to get a ticket to the opening night of Star Trek. Only cuz I wanted to see a movie Doreen wasn't interested in and I wanted to see that one.

I have only been to one other opening/first showing of a movie. That was the Hunt for the Red October with Roger Cabansag. Excellent book - lame movie.

After I got the ticket, I stopped by a feed and seed store and picked up some Chicken Starter Feed for Tweedles and Peepers. That stuff is cheap! Good thing too! Gotta draw a plan to build a Chicken Coop/Dog house Duplex soon!

For the rest of the afternoon I piddled around on the computer, watching some back Shows, The Office, My name is Earl and NCIS. Ate supper and headed to watch Star Trek at 10p.

Good movie, went home and to bed!

Today, since I did NOTHING yesterday, I wanted to get some stuff done so it doesn't have to be done when the family returns.

So I woke up and called Doreen to wish her a happy B-day, and got started. I after breakfast and the rain started, so I couldn't weed-whack and mow. So I dusted, cleaned the bathrooms, vacuumed the whole house, swept and mopped, scanned some documents from my grandparents into the computer and sent some e-mail. I ate lunch while watching Law & Order, then out to mow and weed-whack. (The rain lasted only a hour or two.)

Then talked with Doreen on the phone, showered and off to a Bible study with friends.

A very FULL and busy day, but I got it all done!

Tired now, gonna go crash!!! :)

Dental Hygiene Written Board Results

2009-05-06T06:11:00.001-05:00

Doreen called me Monday morning from Chattanooga State, where she's taking her Dental Hygiene course. She said, "You can put anything over on me this time - I know my Dental Hygiene National Written Board Results!" She passed. In fact all 16 of this years graduating DH class passed. That is awesome!

Not only did they get 100% pass rate for the whole class which is very cool, this class got the highest scores of a class in the 32 year history of the program. Woaaaah!

Got a little back story for ya though to kinda explain her comment.

Back, back, way back in 1993, right after Doreen and I got married, she went to St Louis to take her written boards for Medical Technology, the Degree she graduated with from Southwestern. She had already found a job and was 'temporarily' working there until she received her results, which were due to arrive in 4 to 6 weeks to be officially a Medical Technologist in the clinic.

Well, I got her results in the mail and of course, as good a student and studier (is that a word?) she is, she passed with flying colors.

So I called her supervisor, I believe her name was Pat and told her and then told her not to tell Doreen. I showed up that afternoon and Pat calls us into her office. I can tell Doreen started to get nervous and Pat says, "Doreen we just got the results from your test back and we have an issue." I'm sitting behind Doreen trying not to grin too big or laugh, cuz Doreen's still as a rock, clinching her fists and kinda trying not to burst into tears I think.

Then Pat says, you passed we need to make you officially our lab supervisor. Of course Doreen lets out a HUGE sigh of relief, then turns on me - did you know? Yes, I'm the one who told Pat.

She was so relieved! Later on she kinda chided me about not telling her and putting her through all that, but I think it was pretty good.

So with this board result, I've was banned from getting the mail before her and she said in no uncertain terms that I was not to try and pull that kind of stunt again.

He, he, he, yea, once was enough.

Either way, I am sure proud of her for ALL she's done to pass Chattanooga State's Dental Hygiene program and her written boards. Now all she has to do is pass the national clinical boards in Nashville at the end of the month and she'll be a full fledge registered dental hygienist!

A Visit to the Michaels OR Chickies

2009-05-05T22:58:00.000-05:00

This past Friday evening we went to visit some friends we'd not seen in quite some time, the Michaels. We wanted to visit Little Ronnie too!

Here's Ronnie II with Ronnie III. What a proud Daddy.

Here's a shot of Ron I with Ronnie III, a proud Grandpa.

While we were there we got to see some new baby chicks the Michaels just had hatch. Joelle was in 7th heaven holding a chickie and Natalie seemed to really enjoy it too!

Natalie also had a lot of fun climbing around on a scaffold they had set up to pull the body of a car off a frame. She helped me have some hair too! :)

They suprised us and sent home a pair of chickies with us. So we made a temporary home for them in this box until I can actually build a little coop.

On the left is Joelle's and her name is Tweedles. The chickie on the right is Natalie and her name is Peepers. (She actually does peep a lot!)

This should be interesting! :)

It Doesn't Matter

2009-05-05T22:53:00.000-05:00

I was listening to my Sirius/XM satellite radio the other day on the Enlighten channel. It's basically Southern Gospel kinda music.

This song by a group called New Desire came on, and it just reminded me that no matter who we are, where we are, what we've done, Jesus is always there for us!

"It Doesn't Matter Who You Are"

YOU’VE BEEN ON A LONG AND ROCKY ROAD
AT TIMES YOU FELT CHEATED TO HAVE TO BEAR THIS LOAD
WHILE OTHER’S WHO WOULD BARELY EVEN TRY
WOULD SPREAD THEIR WINGS LIKE EAGLES
AND SOAR INTO THE SKY

Chorus
IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO YOU ARE
IT DOESN’T MATTER WHERE YOU’VE BEEN
IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU’VE DONE
JESUS IS SOFTLY CALLING
BUT BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS
AND BECAUSE OF WHERE HE’S BEEN
BECAUSE OF WHAT HE’S DONE
YOU CAN START ALL OVER AGAIN

THIS GUILTY BURDEN YOU HAVE HAD TO BEAR
HAS MADE YOUR LIFE WEARY THOUGH OTHERS AREN’T AWARE
OF THE MOUNTAINS OF MISTAKES YOU TRY TO HIDE
WITH A SMILE ON YOUR FACE AND A BROKEN HEART INSIDE

Words and Music by Doug Clanton and Jeff Ferguson

Doreen's Dental Hygiene Pinning

2009-05-04T08:33:00.005-05:00

Doreen was wondering what to do when the kids got into school to help pay for the cost of their tuition. She thought about going back into her degree of Medical Technology, but decided she didn't want to do that again and deal with hospitals, weekend shifts, on call, holiday shifts and not working with patients. She decided to go back to school to become a Dental Hygientist. This past week was her pinning, the culumination of 2 years of pre-requisits and a two year DH program. We are SO proud of her for all she did while in the program.

She and her other 15 classmates worked so hard studying, learning the techniques and then plus being a wife, and mom on top of all that! This group is special, they worked hard and worked together so everyone could get through the program. In fact, Doreen just called me a few minutes ago to let me know she found out from her instructors that all 16 of them passed their written boards. That is exceptional!

Here's Doreen with Jana, Whitney, Cindy & Mellissa.

Here's a pic of Doreen, Whitney & Natalie. Everytime Doreen would tell a story with Whitney in it or about Whitney and would say her name - and there were a LOT of stories - Natalie would say, "Whitney, Whitney, Whitney, Whitney, Whitney, Whitney!" It was too precious!

Here's her family to help her celebrate the special occasion! (We had our good friends Kristine, Jen & Debbie there too. Thanks for coming y'all!)

Had to include a shot of these cookies that Doreen's cousin, Janelle, so lovingly made and sent to us for the celebration. We've scarfed them down! Got clean teeth in the process too!!!

Now Doreen takes her clinical boards the last weekend of May and we wait for the results of that test before she can start looking for a job. She cleared one big hurdle and has one final one to go before she is officially a registered Dental Hygientist! Congrats Dear!

An 8 Year Old???

2009-05-02T17:48:00.003-05:00

I cannot believe that my firstborn just turned 8!

Amazing how time flies. On Joelle's actual birthday, I was still in Colorado with my dad in the hospital. So Doreen had a special little thing at supper for Joelle and we postponed the 'celebration' until I returned. I got home and Wednesday, we celebrated by playing a couple her favorite games, Blurt and Pit!

Then we had the supper she requested, pigs-in-a-blanket, bar-b-q potato chips and a veggie plate. Bruce and Jen some good friends along with my in-laws, Larry and Sandra, joined us for the evening!

After supper we got to dig into her requsted Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake (with the word Narnia) on it along with some Turtle Tracks and Mint Chocolate Chip ice-cream.

She got some really neat gifts from a lego set, to a rocket kit and some precious shoes. What was the kicker though she had 3 presents to open. The first was some cables, the 2nd was a DVD/CD player and the final present to tie them all together was an Acer Mini Laptop! Ohhh she was exctied.

Now it was fun watching Natalie, cuz when we got her a desk she started asking for a laptop. Joelle already had Poppy and Grammy's old desktop computer. Well, when Joelle opened her gift, Natalie got real quiet and a serious look on her face. She was really trying to be happy for her sister, but you could just tell she really wanted one!

Then she got to open her gift. (This was the last year that she got a gift at Joelle's b-day.) It was an Acer Laptop as well - her face couldn't grin any wider! :)

All in all, it was a very, VERY good birthday!!!

My Girls...

2009-05-01T05:15:00.000-05:00

I've got sunshine
On a cloudy day.
When it's cold outside,
I've got the month of May.

Well, I guess you'll say
What can make me feel this way?
My girls. (My girls, my girls)
Talkin' 'bout my girls. (My girls)

I've got so much honey
The bees envy me.
I've got a sweeter song
Than the birds in the trees.

Well, I guess you'll say
What can make me feel this way?
My girls. (My girls, my girls)
Talkin' 'bout my girls. (My girls)

Ooooh, Hoooo.

Hey, hey, hey.
Hey, hey, hey.

I don't need no money,
Fortune or fame.
I've got all the riches, baby,
One man can claim.

Well, I guess you'll say
What can make me feel this way?
My girls. (My girls, my girls)
Talkin' 'bout my girls. (My girls)

Talkin' bout my girls.
I've got sushine on cloudy day
With my girls.
I've even got the month of May
With my girls.

20 Year Reunion - Part 1 - Texas (CTA) Edition

2009-04-30T06:54:00.003-05:00

The time has finally come - for our 20th High School reunions. Honestly, when I was in school, I never ever considered the fact that I'd be returning one day for my
20th reunion. My how time flies!

At the end of March (yeah - I'm running a bit behind here) Doreen and I flew to Texas for the weekend. My in-laws graciously agreed to take care of our kids so they didn't go batty being bored out of their little heads!!!

We got this cute little rental car out of the DFW airport to zip around in during our time there.

We chose to go down a day early to spend some time with my grandma, cuz we knew once the weekend hit, we were gonna have NO time to visit with her. Am I glad we did or what, cuz it was crazy - fun but crazy!

Friday evening we went to vespers. We got there on time and the place was practically empty, but people started trickling in and by the end of the program quite a few of Doreen's classmates were there and we all just stood around and talked and laughed and caught up. We were among the very last to leave!

Sabbath morning we went back to the school and had Sabbath School, then church (very little of the service was listened to by just about anybody) then a potluck, then a quick change and over to a classmates house to talk more, then up to Fort Worth for a dinner and more talking.

My goodness, I took lots of pictures, laughed a lot, talked a lot, stood alot! We were the last ones to leave the restaurant.

A few of us congregated at Russell's house for another hour or so, not wanting it all to end. Doreen and I ended up back at my Grandma's at about 1:30am. Wheeew. We crashed - up early - breakfast, some goodbyes and then back to the airport to get home!

What a FUN time. It went way to fast!

I can't wait for mine in Colorado the last weekend of Sept!!!

The Family - 2009

2009-04-29T12:48:00.002-05:00

Our church scheduled to have a new directory made, so that means pics! Here's an updated picture of the Steve & Doreen Pester family 2009!

Favorite Magazine Writer

2009-04-29T12:44:00.002-05:00

When I used to get Sports Illustrated, the first thing I would look at was the 3 or 4 awesome pictures in the front, then I'd flip to the last page and read Rick Reilly's work. I LOVE his outlook on life, sports and everything in between. When the subscription ran out, I missed reading his work.

Not to long ago he left SI and signed a contract with ESPN. Now every two weeks I'm able to once again read what he writes about and THROUGHLY enjoy it.

If I had to pic a favorite Magazine writer, hands down, it would be Rick Reilly!!!

Homeward Bound - Part Deux

2009-04-21T19:06:00.003-05:00

Just got an amazing text message from my mom. It simply said,

"Pop's going home tomorrow."

WOW - Wow - wow! I'm astonished.

This morning when I called him, he was all gung-ho. Ate ALL his breakfast. (Which had not yet done.) Then told me when the Physical Therapist came through he was gonna get a walker and get going around the hospital.

Almost sounded like a man posessed! **GRIN**

Well, he did just that. He ate all his lunch and supper and got up, with assistance and took a shower - which he said felt absolutely fabulous - and did some good exercising.

The Dr's checked him out and said he's in good enough shape to head home, not even to a rehab facility. I guess he's being allowed to go home, home and use a home health nurse to help him the rest of the way!

That is absolutely amazing!

All I can say is, "God is Good!"

Home Again

2009-04-21T01:32:00.003-05:00

After being with my Pop in a hospital all week I am SO very thankful to be home!

Can't wait to see my precious family in the morning and the cute little gifts I got for my girlieos! :)

Night all or rather an early Good morning!

Almost Home

2009-04-20T22:23:00.002-05:00

I'm glad to be back in the South closer to home than I've been in a week ATL, GA. 2hrs & 30 min & I'll be home! Yippee.

The Return

2009-04-20T19:45:00.002-05:00

I'm on the plane to fly home. It just hit me - I'm exhausted. Glad 2 have been here, but now am wore out! Gonna sleep good for the next 3 hours!

Sitting up with the Living

2009-04-20T15:13:00.003-05:00

So Pop and I are sitting up just chillin! Greg & Herb came by for a visit and we enjoyed chatting. Pop has snoozed a bit then woke up and joined the fun.

He had lunch and the nurses have been in and out, then the Occupational Therapist came in and started him on his exercises - getting him up and around.

This morning after sitting for about 25 min he started to slouch and not feel so good - so we put him back in the bed.

The Physical therapist came in right after that and he wasn't too nice to the suggestion of some exercises! :)

After lunch though, the OT came and he got up did a few strength testing things, then he walked around the bed and to the chair. He's been sitting up and looking and obviously feeling quite strong.

I am HAPPY 'bout that!

So I'm sitting up with the living and really happy to be! (I know that's an improper sentence, but Whoopeeee!!!!)

Long Road Ahead

2009-04-20T08:06:00.002-05:00

Well, Pop's doing great.

We did have a little 'event' last night.

He got up to use the portable 'throne' and while he was sitting there he started getting short of breath. When he got back up to climb back into the bed he got really light headed. So they ran and got a machine to measure his stats and his oxygen levels had dropped into the low 80's. They're supposed to be 90 or higher.

The short of it is, he's been in a hospital for just over 3 weeks and had very little exercise, if any. So, he's gotten kinda weak and his lungs are struggling to heal and the exertion was a bit much. Physical and Occupational Therapy are going to be here to day and give him an assessment and then tomorrow he'll begin a routine to helpfully strengthen his lungs and get mobile again.

The Dr just came by and said they'd read all the pathology reports and what they've decided he has is Acute Interstitial Lung Disease. Basically a swelling of the aeroli and a filling up of the empty spaces with 'gunk,' - the technical medical term. Hope we can find the background reason for why this stuff got introduced into his lungs!

Both of us slept well last night. They let him get some good sleep and hence got some good sleep myself! :) The guest bed in this room is MUCH more comfy than the one in the ICU. Almost wish I was sticking around a little longer now! :)

Gonna spend the last day here in Colorado with Pop and Mom, Aunt Evie & Judy and head to the airport about 4:30 to get ready to head home.

Today's Joelle's 8th birthday. Got up early and gave her a call. I sang "Happy Birthday" to her and could tell she got a huge grin on her face. I talked her for a min, then talked with Doreen for a sec as she was getting ready to go and hung up. A sec later my phone rang and it was the cute voice of Natalie saying, "Hi Daddy." Awwww - just made my heart melt. Can't wait to get home!

The room my Pop's now in has a nice window with a beautiful view of part of Denver and the mountains with snow on them. I like just sitting here looking out at the snow on them.

A nice view to have in my minds eye as I fly home on Frontier Airlines tonight!

Higher and Higher

2009-04-19T21:14:00.002-05:00

We've moved up in the world. From 2nd floor to 6th floor!

Dad's been eating good meals and breathing fine on his own and seems to be doing well. Mom said that this is the best he's looked in 6 weeks.

He actually stood up to get in a wheel chair to get wheeled up his new regular room. That was impressive. He got winded pretty quick though, but considering what he's been through, that was pretty good!

Went over to Cousin Jeannie's place this afternoon to grab some clean clothes and get myself cleaned too. Had a great time talking with Matt and helping to set up their new plasma screen TV.

When I got back to the hospital some friends from one or two days ago, Heather and Melinda and kiddos stopped by to visit and it was fun thinking about days ago and finding out what's happening with 'em today.

This evening Aunt Evie, Judy, Mom and I went down to the cafeteria and I finally got the whole story from mom, beginning to end. Wow - what a situation/experience!

Sure glad it's coming to an end!

Can't wait to get back to my family. I'm gonna miss Joelle's 8th birthday, but Doreen's going to do something small and special for her tomorrow then we'll have a a proper birthday for her.

But that's all getting ahead of myself. Time to get a little sleep then up and see Pop continue to improve, talk with the Dr and see if we can finally get full report on all the pathology reports that are floating out there in never-never land and grab a plane home.

Should be a full busy and hopefully very good day!!!