May 19: Softball collision. She complained briefly about her arm hurting.
May 20: Her best softball game of the season; no pain complaints.
May 29: Awoke to excruciating pain in right shoulder. Got Xrays that evening. Doc said probably not a fracture, but to get orthopedic's opinion.
May 30: Orthopedic Dr said it's fractured; come back in three weeks.
May 30 (later that day): We aren't convinced it's fractured, based on the original xray. Called for third opinion.
June 2: Third opinion, by Orthopedic specialist, was that it's not fractured. Throw away that figure-8 strap and sling. But, may be bone infection. Get blood work, bone scan, and MRI.
June 4: Blood drawn. Test results forwarded to Dr.
June 6: bone scan and MRI.
June 7: Dr. can't find anything wrong with her shoulder/collar bone. May be a pinched nerve. Come back in 30 days and check it again.
June 7 (later that day): Vicki locks her keys in the car. We're very relieved that's the biggest problem of the day (so far).
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
This Is Going To Get Me In Trouble
We have a weekly, local paper, called 'The Bay Times". In it there is a guy named Bill Evans who writes a weekly commentary that is almost always hilarious. Although I disagree, almost completely, with his politics, I have to admit I find him very funny. You ladies out there might not agree this week but, since he had me laughing out loud when I read this, I thought I'd share it.....I just read excerpts of this to Vicki, and she didn't seem to appreciate the humor the same way I do. Oh, and Kenzie's doing fine. She just had the dye injected for her bone scan, so they are going shopping at the mall while the dye circulates.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
WOW
Vicki's Blog expresses our excitement about Alex and his acceptance and exceptional placement in classes at his new high school. I just needed to add my praise for Alex,as well. Again, when we started homeschooling four years ago, Alex was entering 5th grade, testing at 3rd grade in math. Four years later, a private, Catholic school placement test places him in Honors Algebra 2. WOW.
God has led us through this journey, and all credit goes to Him. I never would have dreamed of doing this on my own, and I thank Him, and pray that He continues to carry us through this homeschool experience. He has answered my questions concerning the continuation of homeschool for the rest of the kids. Despite the many failings that result from our human weaknesses, with Him we will continue to be successful. We only need to 'bend' enough to do it His way.
God has led us through this journey, and all credit goes to Him. I never would have dreamed of doing this on my own, and I thank Him, and pray that He continues to carry us through this homeschool experience. He has answered my questions concerning the continuation of homeschool for the rest of the kids. Despite the many failings that result from our human weaknesses, with Him we will continue to be successful. We only need to 'bend' enough to do it His way.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
What Is A Conservative To Do?
I consider myself a very conservative person. Based on my religious and political views, I could even be called a "right-winger". Unfortunately, I live in arguably one of the most liberal states in the country, Maryland. Our current politcal leaders swept what little Republican resistence we had in the state capital, out of office last November: and they even campaigned on massive tax increases, stronger unions, huge increases in spending, and pro-abortion/pro-stem cell research platforms. It has not been a happy time for conservatives in this state.
That being said, what am I to do when, after almost ten years of battling my own Party on an issue (on the local level), I owe the positive resolution of said issue to the very folks that I oppose in so many other areas? We have been threatened by a development project so massive that one of its size has never been seen before in our state in the sensitive area called the "Critical Area", an area within 1000 feet of the Chesapeake Bay that is especially sensitive to environmental damage caused by over-development. Here is today's article in the Baltimore Sun, and a local tv news story. I wish I had more time for details, but time (unlike my wife's blessings) is not something I have in abundance lately.
Anyway, I've been thinking it's a very upside-down world around here. But I am very pleased with the result, so far.
That being said, what am I to do when, after almost ten years of battling my own Party on an issue (on the local level), I owe the positive resolution of said issue to the very folks that I oppose in so many other areas? We have been threatened by a development project so massive that one of its size has never been seen before in our state in the sensitive area called the "Critical Area", an area within 1000 feet of the Chesapeake Bay that is especially sensitive to environmental damage caused by over-development. Here is today's article in the Baltimore Sun, and a local tv news story. I wish I had more time for details, but time (unlike my wife's blessings) is not something I have in abundance lately.
Anyway, I've been thinking it's a very upside-down world around here. But I am very pleased with the result, so far.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
My Birthday Present
Kenzie had another softball tournament this weekend. I was the official scorekeeper, so I didn't get a chance to take many pictures. I did snap a few good ones, though. Here's one of her getting a hit on Saturday, and another of her sliding safely home.
Today, for my birthday, I asked her to give me an error free game and two base hits. I changed that to one hit, since they were only guaranteed one game (more, only if they won, which they didn't), and yesterday she only got one hit (she says two, but who was scorekeeper?) in three games and made a couple errors at first base (her first time ever playing there). Well, she accomplished the error free game easily enough, but I was getting worried about that hit request as they entered the fifth inning. That's when she got a double, and I got my birthday present.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
My Trip
I have been very derelict in my posting lately, I know. I wish I had more time for this because it has its therapeutic value. Hanging laundry is a good distraction, but it has its limits.
Vicki has been filling you in on most of the stuff that's been going on around here, and I can't really add much.
The Grand Canyon trip was great! Dad and I walked down the mule trail (Bright Angel Trail) on Monday. We walked 4.6 of the 6.1 miles (one way), and went down 3000 feet (from about 6800 ft. to about 3800 ft). The going down part was much easier than the going back up part, but I loved it. We were supposed to ride the mules down on Tuesday. My dad made, but I missed the maximum weight by about 6 pounds. I lost about 30 pounds for this trip, but it wasn't quite enough. Having walked the trail the previous day, I wasn't too upset about it. I walked about 8 miles of the Rim Trail instead.
Then we went to Zion National Park. This canyon, you could drive into, as well as hike several trails. We walked one on the easier trials because dad was feeling the effects of Monday's hike, and Tuesday's mule ride: two completely different sets of muscles, all strained in completely differently ways. We spent the night in Springdale, UT, where we had elk-burgers for dinner. Not the first time we've had elk burgers, but it was the first time we had elk burgers at a place that raises elk in their back yard (which got me thinking about what we could put next to our chickens in our own back yard). We were assured the elk on the premises were pets ONLY, and that the limping elk was not the source of our current, fresh, elk burger.
Next stop was Bryce Canyon, my personal favorite. I wish we had more than one day to spend there, but sometimes you just don't know what you're going to see until you get there. We spent a few hours hiking the rim of Bryce CanyonBryce Point to Inspiration Point (and back). Then we had to head back to Las Vegas for our flight home on Thursday.
I have to say, I don't see anything appealing about Las Vegas. We flew in and out of LV because of the cheap airline tickets. My dad loves the place. My mom totally loves the place. I was more than a little appalled at the place. Luckily, I was so tired from the week of canyon-hopping, I could tolerate the overnight stay until our flight out of there, but I could not find many redeeming qualities in that city. It's appropriate that it was built in one of the hottest places on earth.
Well, it was good to get home, even with Bekah's initial cold should. Now, I have to figure out how many elk will fit in our back yard.
Vicki has been filling you in on most of the stuff that's been going on around here, and I can't really add much.
The Grand Canyon trip was great! Dad and I walked down the mule trail (Bright Angel Trail) on Monday. We walked 4.6 of the 6.1 miles (one way), and went down 3000 feet (from about 6800 ft. to about 3800 ft). The going down part was much easier than the going back up part, but I loved it. We were supposed to ride the mules down on Tuesday. My dad made, but I missed the maximum weight by about 6 pounds. I lost about 30 pounds for this trip, but it wasn't quite enough. Having walked the trail the previous day, I wasn't too upset about it. I walked about 8 miles of the Rim Trail instead.
Then we went to Zion National Park. This canyon, you could drive into, as well as hike several trails. We walked one on the easier trials because dad was feeling the effects of Monday's hike, and Tuesday's mule ride: two completely different sets of muscles, all strained in completely differently ways. We spent the night in Springdale, UT, where we had elk-burgers for dinner. Not the first time we've had elk burgers, but it was the first time we had elk burgers at a place that raises elk in their back yard (which got me thinking about what we could put next to our chickens in our own back yard). We were assured the elk on the premises were pets ONLY, and that the limping elk was not the source of our current, fresh, elk burger.
Next stop was Bryce Canyon, my personal favorite. I wish we had more than one day to spend there, but sometimes you just don't know what you're going to see until you get there. We spent a few hours hiking the rim of Bryce CanyonBryce Point to Inspiration Point (and back). Then we had to head back to Las Vegas for our flight home on Thursday.
I have to say, I don't see anything appealing about Las Vegas. We flew in and out of LV because of the cheap airline tickets. My dad loves the place. My mom totally loves the place. I was more than a little appalled at the place. Luckily, I was so tired from the week of canyon-hopping, I could tolerate the overnight stay until our flight out of there, but I could not find many redeeming qualities in that city. It's appropriate that it was built in one of the hottest places on earth.
Well, it was good to get home, even with Bekah's initial cold should. Now, I have to figure out how many elk will fit in our back yard.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Too Crazy
Life has been just too crazy lately to post here, but I had to get at least one in before April ended. Vicki has re-started her posts, although I have no idea how she finds time. I'm just doing this while the twins are working on a language arts workbook.
Quickly:
Chickens are laying eggs, about 7 or 8 a day. The young ones are getting big and should be laying by the middle of June. We still have 29 or 20 hens, but since one of our friends with chickens lost almost all of hers to some predator, I'll be giving about 10 or 12 to her in June.
Kenzie's travel softball team hasn't won a game yet, but they are getting much better. They are about a year or two younger than the teams they have been playing, and they just need experience. They all have tremendous skill that will come together once they've played together for a while.
I think we've pretty much settled on sending the twins to school next year. This has been just an awful year for me, with five students, a toddler, and a baby. My stress level has been through the roof, and I need a break. Second grade in public school shouldn't damage the twins too much. We can always pull them back out if things don't work any better than they have at home. Alex is still set on going to the Catholic high school. I hope I'm not wasting my money. He hasn't shown much more interest in his studies than he did over the winter; I hope the problem is me and our current teaching environment.
I leave for the Grand Canyon, with my dad, on Saturday. My goal was to get down, under 200 pounds, so I could meet the maximum weight for the mule ride into the canyon. Since January, by eating less and exercising a lot more, I lost over 20 pounds, but it may not be enough. I wasn't about to go on a "crash diet"; just wanted to change habits enough to reduce calorie intake and increase calorie-burning. I don't know how strict they about the weight limit. If they make you get on a scale, I won't be riding a mule (I figure there's plenty of other fun stuff to do out there), but at least I started a good downward trend that I hope to continue through the Summer.
I have a lot more running around to do this week, before I leave. We still have ballgames or softball practice every night. Alex has Confirmation rehearsal on Wed. night. He has a math placement test to take at SSPP on Thursday morning, and Confirmation that night. Somebody even has practice on Friday night. Then I'm off to my parent's house. Dad and I always leave on our trips early, so I spend the nights there, get up around 4:00 a.m., and head to BWI.
There's tons of stuff I haven't gotten around to posting here, and I can't say I'll ever get to it, but I hope to get some stuff on here when things calm down a bit; say around July, 2024.
Quickly:
Chickens are laying eggs, about 7 or 8 a day. The young ones are getting big and should be laying by the middle of June. We still have 29 or 20 hens, but since one of our friends with chickens lost almost all of hers to some predator, I'll be giving about 10 or 12 to her in June.
Kenzie's travel softball team hasn't won a game yet, but they are getting much better. They are about a year or two younger than the teams they have been playing, and they just need experience. They all have tremendous skill that will come together once they've played together for a while.
I think we've pretty much settled on sending the twins to school next year. This has been just an awful year for me, with five students, a toddler, and a baby. My stress level has been through the roof, and I need a break. Second grade in public school shouldn't damage the twins too much. We can always pull them back out if things don't work any better than they have at home. Alex is still set on going to the Catholic high school. I hope I'm not wasting my money. He hasn't shown much more interest in his studies than he did over the winter; I hope the problem is me and our current teaching environment.
I leave for the Grand Canyon, with my dad, on Saturday. My goal was to get down, under 200 pounds, so I could meet the maximum weight for the mule ride into the canyon. Since January, by eating less and exercising a lot more, I lost over 20 pounds, but it may not be enough. I wasn't about to go on a "crash diet"; just wanted to change habits enough to reduce calorie intake and increase calorie-burning. I don't know how strict they about the weight limit. If they make you get on a scale, I won't be riding a mule (I figure there's plenty of other fun stuff to do out there), but at least I started a good downward trend that I hope to continue through the Summer.
I have a lot more running around to do this week, before I leave. We still have ballgames or softball practice every night. Alex has Confirmation rehearsal on Wed. night. He has a math placement test to take at SSPP on Thursday morning, and Confirmation that night. Somebody even has practice on Friday night. Then I'm off to my parent's house. Dad and I always leave on our trips early, so I spend the nights there, get up around 4:00 a.m., and head to BWI.
There's tons of stuff I haven't gotten around to posting here, and I can't say I'll ever get to it, but I hope to get some stuff on here when things calm down a bit; say around July, 2024.
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