Josie's Journey of Hope

2010-08-07T20:27:00.000-07:00

I can't believe school just about to start again. where did the summer go? Cami's going to be a (gulp) Senior. Taylor's hitting the Jr. High scene as a 7th grader. Josie gonna be in 3rd. Here's a few things that have happened this summer (starting with most recent events)....

We went out to watch the Craig Treinen Jazz Quartet play out at Shawnee Lake. The weather was miserable but the music was great. I took a shot of Josie and Taylor at the nearby fountain on our way out:

In early July we had another train wreck a couple miles from our house. Same spot as the previous wreck but no bridge collapse this time. i don't think i eer heard what caused it. This is a photo i stitched together showing the whole wreckage:

Luckily the rain stopped in time for a fireworks show:

Josie participated in cheer camp again this summer. She came away with a spirit stick and a trophy. She was adamant that she did NOT want to do camp this year. ya, right:

The highlight of the summer happened at 14,036 feet. Taylor and i (and his youth group) climbed Mt. Sherman near Leadville, Colorado:

in late April and Early May both our 'barn cats' gave birth to kittens. This white one is Josie's favorite. She was the runt but man is she fiesty! she's pouncing on her mother in this photo:

We were able to take a mini vacation to Great Wold Lodge near Kansas City. It was our first time. It was a great time for a reasonable cost. we started the trip with Josie getting strep throat (we stopped by the doctors office on our way out of town). i stayed with her in the hotel room the first night:

We also made a getaway to Legends Mall for Memorial Day. it sour second annual trip:

Cami went to Prom in May. She wanted to take a picture with Josie:

Sorry for the delay

2010-04-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

Geez, i'm never gonna find the time to update this site regularly i guess.

Josie was released from the hospital the day after surgery and has recovered well - save one issue. her face has a reaction to the tape or adhesive they use during surgery. this breakout typically goes away in a matter of days. it didn't this time. we tried some ointment to knock it out. it seemingly got better but is now broken out again and is a little different in appearance. as i write this blog, Tracy is on the way to the dermatologist with Josie today to get his opinion. (i'd like to say i'll update you as soon as i find something out - but let's be real - i fail at that over and over, ha!) [update: Josie's recent break out was actually a type of psoriasis that's temporary. it was in response to the original reaction she had to the tap/adhesive. The Derm Dr gave us some cream and the breakout is gone now.]

Let's see, how many other things have happened since my last blog? it feels like a ton. i've been working on refacing the kitchen cabinet doors for what seems to be more than a month now. that is finally done and now i need to tile the backsplash.

This is the before (i already had the doors off)

This is the after (or after, still in progress)

We (State workers) began our furloughs this month. two down and two to go. having just one a week is better on the paycheck, but when it comes to stuff like working on the house (which is all i do it seems) - i would just assume have all four of them in one week. i could get so much more done! but hey, with the way the State budget is looking for this next fiscal year, i may get that opportunity afterall - possible a number of those week-long opportunities.

Taylor has begun baseball. his first three games (in three consecutive days) are this Thursday thru Saturday! and the way the weather is shaping up, there is a good chance all three could get rained out! This is a new team for him this season, but with some of his old teammates. he is identified as one of the pitchers, and at least in practice has spent the other time in the area of short stop and third. he really loves this new coach. he's one i have admired (the way he coaches) since i first saw him back in Taylor's T-Ball days. so i'm pleased Taylor got on his team this year. Taylor is pitching well. He is pitching faster, but he has to watch the accuracy. though slower last year, his strike accuracy was at least 75%. His cousin Tyler has been his pitching coach. [Update: first game was rained out. Taylor pitched the first 4 innings of the second game and held the opponents to 1 run. Unfortunately we lost in the end. The Third game Taylor was warming up to pitch but the game was called on run rule (in our favor) before he could get in there.]

Last Saturday Tayolor participated in the Wright Flight Program. through achieving educational goals this year and testing, he got to take a ride in a one-engine plane (and halp fly it) out of Billard Airport. this year was the largest group the school's had. it is a great program for the kids. unfortunately, it's one that is facing the budget chopping block. that's unfortunate.

Taylor with his pilot

Taylor snapped this of our high school football and baseball fields.

And for Cami - poor Cami. earlier last week she managed to break her nose by self-inflicted contact with her own knee. ya, that's right. i'm still fighting the urge to believe there's a larger story with that, ha! but anyway, she had surgery this morning to fix it (her nose was crooked and making it hard to breathe through it). the surgery went fast and her nose looks great! and it appears she will get the outer splint off just in time for prom.

and for Tracy and I? that's one of those areas easy to neglect and before you know it, it's been months since you had a date night. i think the last time we went out, officially was the Nebraska weekend in over Valentine's Day for John and Stasi Eldredge's book tour. Regardless of how hectic it is around the house and how full our plates are, we (I) really need to make 'away time' a priority for us. aside from that we are doing well - oh, and besides the sinus infection Tracy's dealing with right now. my back's been killing me from all the work and little rest. maybe all the expected rain days will be God's way of letting me slow down - if i'll let myself! [Update: this photo i took on Valentines Day as we make a pit stop on the way home from Nebraska.]

okay, HOPEFULLY, i'll get some pictures pasted in here for you as well in the near future. if there isn't any when you're reading this, just check back. [i finally got pictures added, and only a few days after the post - wow!]

Surgery Day Two

2010-03-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

Josie got discharged around noon Saturday. We got home and Josie settled in just in time to watch K-State get knocked out of the championship run. :(

Josie is doing well - although she's spent about every waking hour playing the new game she got for her DS. She's been itching quite a bit and we found out Sunday that she's allergic to one of her medications so we got that changed later in the afternoon. We'll keep her home from school for a couple days. The doc doesn't want her participating in gym for 4-6 weeks! and no backpack! we may have to find her one on wheels again - but it's so close to the end of the school now... we may try to work something else out.

thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

Surgery Day One

2010-03-26T13:55:00.001-07:00

Last night Tracy and I took Josie and her best friend to Chuck-E-Cheese for some fun before the surgery.

I stayed up watching the AWESOME, double overtime, K-State win over Xavier last night. I didn't get to bed til around 11:45, then had to get up at 3:00 to get ready for the drive to the hospital. This photo is of Josie and I in the waiting aread. Then I dressed up in the white jumpsuite with booties, hat and mask to carry Josie to the operating room. i hold her while she's goes under. Last time i got a little too close to Josie's face and started feeling the effects of the anesthesia - whoops!

Here's Josie after she started waking up; holding the new kitty Grandma Wanda got her in the giftshop. nice purple color, eh?

Surgery went well. i took her back at 8:00AM, they actually started about 8:30 and finished about 10:00. We have such awesome doctors. During this surgery a plastic surgeon (Dr. Jiang) sewed in that extra layer of skin underneath hers and just over the titanium rods where they rub against the skin. the original plan was just to do the left side (where the rod sticks out the most), but did both sides because, "well, she was already 'open' and one sheet [of cadaver skin] costs $1800 [as he made a shape the size of a bread slice with his hands]." just doing one side would have wasted half the sheet of skin. this new layer gives Josie four layers of skin and an extra surface for the rod to slide under. ithought that was really cool of him. then we start talking about the follow up appt and he's looking at his phone (the calendar i assume). he asks me for my cell number and a few seconds later says, "i jsut texted you my [personal] cell number" if anything should come up with Josie. man, i am a Dr. Jiang fan!! he's awesome.

Hopefully we'll get discharged tomorrow morning. oh, we did get a private room. they had 60 surgeries scheduled today and they cautioned everybody that doubling up in rooms could be a possibility. phew. i hope tomorrow's update is sent to you from home. :)

The Inventer and Bubble Girl

2010-01-12T08:43:00.001-08:00

Josie learned to blow a bubble last week! she was pretty excited!

Taylor modified an old RC vehicle so that Josie had a vehicle her barbies could ride in...

Josie dressed herself plenty warm to go outside with me while i shoved the drive this weekend.

Josie likes Dad's cool hat...

2nd Grade Musical

2009-12-23T10:16:00.000-08:00

Josie had her musical Monday night. it was about a 'Mrs. Scrooge' type teacher. cute. and no, josie isn't on a lower step that her peers to the right and left. :(

The last month

2009-12-21T10:23:00.000-08:00

I think the last thing i posted about was getting knocked out of the State football playoffs. that was disappointing but hey, the two teams that knocked off the number 1 and 2 seeds (us and Conway Springs) were the ones who ended up playing for the state title. and the team that beat out #1 is who ended up taking the championship. that seems fitting to me.

what else has been happening? SNOW!! there could certainly be more but i've enjoyed what we've gotten so far since Winter hasn't even officially started.

my home office is FINALLY complete!! okay, there's still some decorating to do but the 'remodel' is complete and it's functional.

we did the annual breakfast and tree-finding the day ofter Thanksgiving. though, for the second year we've found our 'real' tree at Home Depot. if our local farms could grow better trees, we'd go back to hunting one down ourselves. but i do love the Frasier Fur we got again.

That weekend Taylor and i built a house for the kitties at Josie's request as she was worried about them getting cold.

Taylor and Josie built their own snowmen with the 2nd snowfall of the season.

We were driving to town (Silver lake) from the house a couple nights ago and the car in front of us hit a deer - just south of NW 46th and Hoch Rd. i saw the deer come from the right and thought the driver might have enough time to stop. he wasn't going too fast cause he clipped the deer's hind end with the front drivers side bumper, sending the deer into a tail spin in the other lane - still very much alive and kicking around but unable to get up. the Sheriff likely arrived a short time later to 'take care of it'. Josie was worried about the deer and was not told of what lay ahead for it.

as i seem to write so many other times, i know there are likely things i have left out (forgotten). if they come to me, i'll post them. there is one other change; Josie's next rib surgery that was scheduled for February 19 had to be pushed back another week due to the Dr's travel schedule. it is now scheduled for February 26.

Kitty Christmas

2009-12-20T14:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, so there is probably lots to update you one since i haven't posted in over a month. but i wanted to share a picture of what Josie and a friend just made outside. It's a Christmas tree for the kitties. they found the 'tree', made the tree stand (ice chunks), and the ornaments all by themselves. if i zoomed out, you'd see that the tree is right next to the house taylor and i made for them last month. i'll post those pics when i put a full 'update' out, since i think i only posted them to Facebook.

The streak ends here...

2009-11-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

Well, let's get the painful news out of the way first... the Silver Lake Eagles, for the first time in EIGHT straight years, are not playing the State championship football game. We lost last night (at home) in the 'sectional' game to Marysville. They wanted it more, after we beat them in the playoffs last year. Had we won, just one more team would stand between us and a ticket to the state game. Last night was our first loss of the season - as it's basically been these last years; undefeated season going into the playoffs. Oh well, I guess. On to other news...

Josie got her H1N1 shot last week. we'd like to get one for Taylor too when it's available.

Last Saturday our family met up with some friends of ours from church and went rappelling (decending a cliff or vertical surface by rope) at Echo Cliff near Dover, KS. The cliff stands about 75 feet above the water. It was the first time rappelling for us Martins and it was fun! Tracy didn't get to go cause she was behind the camera and video camera and watching Josie. We'll definitely get her up there next time.

This is Cami, her boyfriend Jared and Josie at the cliff.

Cami was the first to take the challenge! My good friend Greg was our 'guide'.

And Taylor was second.

I thought i'd be too scared, but i'm ready to go again!

Earlier this last week Taylor hurt his foot at recess. We took him in for x-rays and learned he fractured two long bones in his foot! one was on the growth plate so we had to see an orthopedic surgeon. But all is fine; crutches and a special shoe. It should heal in about a month and he can walk on it as he feels he can.

Josie was doing my nails the other night (Taylor resting his foot in the background)

One of Josie's many 'outfits' she makes up. This is the "pirate".

I have been working off and on (much more off than on) on my home office remodel. It is getting so very close to being done. It started last February. It's been gutted, rewired, sheetrocked, painted, custom bookshelf by a friend, new floor, and i just finished filling the nailholes on the crown moulding and baseboard i put on this week. I just need to sand those and touch up the paint and it - will - finally - be - done! I've been posting progress photos on my facebook page.

Well, at my current rate, i may not get another update out til December, so if not - have a fantastic, thankful, Thanksgiving!!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks in review:

Taylor's kickoff at the K-State stadium (when they played Manhattan's 6th grade team). He was playing this while i was on my way back from the men's boot camp weekend.

As soon as i got into town from the camp i met Josie at Lambert's Pumpkin Patch. Her sunday school group was meeting there to decorate pumpkins and play.

Taylor playing his sax at the 6th grade band concert.

I went to Cami's parent-teacher conferences (which her grades are AWESOME), and snapped this pic of one of her latest art projects. this sterling silver piece is going to be displayed the month of November at the Fairlawn Mall! go take a look. my blackberry picture doesn't do it justice. i don't know what the Asian writing means. probably something about her boyfriend, ha!

i took a photo of taylor after his last regular season game...

i don't know the reason for the 'sheepish' grin during taylor's 6th grade musical last week. he was looking at us.

took this of Josie this morning. she's finally gotten into talking on the phone. she looks like a natural, eh?

i need to start priming and painting the final trim for my office now. i should have started several hours ago. then it's off to trick or treating tonight. Here's Josie (Taylor didn't want his picture taken):

catching up again!

2009-10-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

our cat's just LOVE josie. this one's name is Halloween.

so much seems to have happened since my last post - which is what usually happens when i'm not on top of it.

Taylor won his second game. it was on the Silver Lake High School field (each team plays a game on their home turf during the season). and they won HUGE! 54-0, against a team that usually beats them every year. it was FANTASTIC! the weather was miserable: wind chill in the 20's and a few snow flakes here and there. but i recorded the game like i do each year on the home field. they scored four times in the second quarter. and i didn't get ANY of it! i had stopped the tape during a timeout to save the battery. but i forgot to hit record again when i started it.... the best quarter of the game and i don't get it on film... what an idiot.

we went to see josie's plastic surgeon. everything seems to look fine to him. her skin is thin on her back. what he'll do at the next surgery is place an extra layer of skin over the device, but under her natural skin. they'll use cadaver skin.

josie and taylor came down with a fever last saturday and a cough. taylor was okay by tuesday, but josie had to miss school. luckily monday was a holiday and they were off; one less missed day.

as i write this i'm rounding up and packing everything for the Men's Boot Camp i and three other guys are putting on this weekend (starts tomorrow): it's directly from the camps Bob and i went to up in Colorado a couple times. i'm psyched! i didn't get much sleep last night and i'll get even less tonight! i go to the church tnoight to pick up the A/V equipment. you can learn more about the ministry at www.wildmenks.com. i've also made a facebook fan page (Wildmen KS).

oh ya, i forgot about mentioning the Silver Lake Homecoming Parade last week. Taylor's 6th grade football team won first place for their float. That's two firsts and one second over the last three years. not to bad eh? here's a picture:

the float was complete with motorized turning wheels and smoke that came out of the stack. notice that the steam roller's rolling over the riley county player in front :)

OH, AND taylor got his braces off!! now he wears these tiny little clear retainers that cover just the first 4 teeth.... it aint like the retainers I had!

Got one in the W column (finally).

2009-09-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Taylor's team finally won a game! Today they beat the Twisters 6-0 in overtime. it was a good game. of course i didn't bring my camera. i was waiting til they play at the highschool. (each team plays a game at their home school - not at the SportZone. plus, taylor will be playing a game on the K-State field like he did last year. i won't get to see if cause i'll be at my men's conference.

tracy bought josie's halloween costume today cause the pickins were gettin slim. josie was so excited she came home, put it on, and did her makeup all herself. i didn't take a photo cause i didn't want to show everyone til halloween. she looked cute.

i'm still plugging away at the my Study. the special order doors came in (got one for the bathroom while i was at it) so i put the door on today, instead of painting. let's see, i was going to be done last weekend, then it was going to be this weekend... there is so little left to do; paint the ceiling, paint the walls, lay the laminate floor. okay, there some other odds and ends but still it's sooo close, yet so hard to stay motivated.

Catching up

2009-09-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

Not much to report lately i suppose. here's the latest:

We don't see Cami much since she has a job and a new boyfriend :).

Taylor's football team hasn't won a game yet; no proud moments to brag about. really.

Josie is getting more and more into having friends over to play. she's getting a few small psoriasis spots again so we're trying to stay on top of those.

i'm busy finishing my home office/study. i posted some progress pics on my Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144394&id=726045819

i'm also gearing up for the fall Wildmen KS men's retreat. the next 3 1/2 weeks will fly by.

www.wildmenks.com or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Topeka-KS/Wildmen-KS/118223766402?ref=ts

Tracy and i celebrated our 13-year-anniversary earlier this month. next month we both turn a year older.

i've actually been able to take several sunrise pictures lately. check out those and my sunsets at the links to the right.

Guess that's about it for now.

Misc Photos From Labor Day

2009-09-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

While everyone was still asleep, i jumped in the car to take a bunch of fog and wildflower snaps this morning. here are just a few. click on the panoramic stitch to view it larger.

(even so it's kind of small)

I wish these would fill the ditch in front of our house.

Taylor went fishing with his cousin today. appears it was a good day!

Josie would NOT touch them though we continually encouraged her too.

2009-08-31T14:00:00.000-07:00

Josie's ready for the gridiron...

Football has begun!

2009-08-31T11:09:00.000-07:00

Taylor's first football game was saturday - against our rivals, Rossville. And our showing was pretty embarassing. we got creamed 31-6. and our '6' came with less than a minute left in the game. i tried to speak some encourgament into Taylor at one point but it was fleeting i could tell.

But this is an issue that has plagued this group of boys since they began playing organized sports 4-5 years ago. for some reason this particular group of boys, in general, lack motivation and agression. every year, whether it's baseball or football, the result is the same. they seldom get fired up or just competative in general. there are glimmers of it every now and then.

it will be interesting to see what the next several years are like... will the competativeness and fire come once they start playing for the school and all the pride that goes along with that... or.... if we'll (Silver Lake Eagles) be in trouble once these boys are juniors and seniors. who knows.

There is one things i am extremely thankful for. Taylor has had a number of different coaches over the years, in different sports. and one thing i appreciate is everyone of those coaches taught them to play fair. they never embraced even a single opportunity for questionable tactic to get ahead. we played with integrity and that's worth everything (even all the losses). and the irony is that Silver Lake continually gets badmouthed that we cheat at sports - of course that's primarily in football. i think there's still rumors the boys use steroids... it's comical really. especially since we are consistently the smallest team out their in individual size.

As for this season that kicks off this Friday.... the Eagles has their work cut out for them. they are coming off a SEVEN STRAIGHT YEAR run for the state title. They lost some key star players this year. a few have questioned the ability to make it so State, over even have a 'winning' season. I'm hopeful of course. And good or bad, i'll keep you posted throughout the season!

Taylor's Football Schedule

2009-08-20T05:43:00.001-07:00

NKFL Tackle Football League- 6th Grade - Football - Sport Zone - Topeka, KS, Topeka, KS

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School Begins

2009-08-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

Taylor and Josie just started today. Cami started last week

Fun With Froggy

2009-08-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

The cats were having fun with their new found friend, Mr. Toad!

High Speed

2009-07-29T12:10:00.001-07:00

This is what the kids looked like most of the weekend after getting high speed internet last friday... man, 7 years of having dial-up; after having high speed back in Topeka. we thought this day would never come since we live so far out in the country!! Thank you Embarq, and thanks to our neigbor down the road who petitioned them to bring high speed out to us!! AND it's only $3 more than we were paying for dial-up!!!

I told you I would

2009-07-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

it's just after midnight. i was in bed but felt the need to blog. today josie went to a birthday swim party. tonight tracy said this was the first time josie couldn't really keep up with her friends. they would all go to the deep end and josie doesn't yet swim well enough to follow. a few friends would come by and check on her, but tracy said josie was ready to go within the hour.

overall i do pretty good at not worrying about the future for josie or how she'll be accepted. so far everyone LOVES her in our town. and though i really don't think there'll be an issue with teasing or non-acceptance, part of my heart sinks to think about her not being able to do everything her friends can, and falling behind.

maybe i'm just feeling this after watching the movie, "Taken". i had seen it before but tracy and i watched it tonight. great movie. i want to be that kind of dad. near the end the daughter sobs with tears, telling her dad, almost in disbelief, "you came for me". and he replied, "i told you i would". he would stop at nothing to protect her. ya, i want to be that kind of dad. so, maybe i'm a little caught up in the father-daughter thing. the first time i saw the movie i thought of cami. but anyway, if i just laid in bed, i never would have went to sleep so here i am, getting it off my heart. maybe i can rest now.

Dermatology

2009-07-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

Tracy took Josie to the dermatologist yesterday for a check up following her surgery; to see about restarting her light therapy back up. BUT he says she looks so good that we don't need to continue! If she starts flaring up again (psoriasis) then we can call them. Great news!! so let's hope for no strep throat since that's what seems to set it off (it's a type of psoriasis that was originally contracted from strep).

Colorado Trip

2009-07-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

We got back from Colorado last night. I took about 380 pictures, so i'll just post a fiew here. We had a great time. the views at the cabin were amazing!

The kids standing on a huge boulder close to the cabin...

All of us on the same boulder...

This deer was walking in the yard as we pulled into the driveway...

One of the first beautiful views from the cabin...

The kids across the 'street' from the cabin. See the deer in the background?

The hot tub was quite enjoyable...

Another fantastic view from home base...

I drove Taylor and Cami to Pike's Peak summit... It was 50 at the top; 80's at bottom.

This squirrel was NOT happy about my presence. He was quite vocal about it too...

I could never get enough of this...

We went to Manitou Springs, Colorado Springs (Garden of the Gods, and Old Colorado Town), Pike's Peak, and the Royal Gorge and the evenings at the cabin. We roasted marshmallows in the fireplace the first night. It was just a great time. Colorado always speaks to my heart. Part of me wishes God would bring me (the family) there permanently. Josie did very well there. We were concerned about her breathing at such a high altitude. It didn't seem to phase her.

July 4th

2009-07-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Okay it's a little late in posting. We went to a co-worker/friend's house for the 4th this year. it was a great time. i took lots of photos of the fireworks, but i was too close to the action to get many that were framed in the picture well. this has got to be about the first year josie really enjoyed the fireworks. she's been quite afraid of the loud explosions in years past. She loved them this year. Taylor enjoyed running out to set alot of them off. a neighbor set off a sparkler bomb placed inside a stuffed animal. i've got it on video. it's pretty sweet - stuffing went everywhere! poor furry fella didn't stand a chance! i was at least 100 feet away and still felt the impact on my chest.

Josie is 'back to normal' - and has been for over a week. she still can't swim til this weekend. i can't believe we leave for Colorado in just 8 days!! it's still not fully planned yet! but we're all looking forward to it.

Post-Op Appointment

2009-07-01T11:01:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Children's Mercy for a check up and bandage removal. all is well. on her left side you can "read the serial numbers" - meaning her skin is very thin and the rod is quite visible (not that you can actually see the rod, but the thin skin is sucked toght around it so you can see the shape of the rod, etc.) we'll just have to keep a close watch on it; continue to try and fatten her up; and we'll need to bring a cushion with her to school for her chair back.

the next surgery has already been scheduled for February 19, 2010; 8 months from now. it will be just an expansion and we should leave the hospital the next day, or even the same day. there is talk of the next generation devices being 'self expanding'. maybe i mentioned this before. there would be no further surgeries needed once they were put in. there would be an exterior device (like a 'magic wand') that would wirelessly expand the devices.

Sticky Rides Again

2009-06-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Mr. Sticky (v2.0) is still stickin' around, like his predicessor v1.0, he seems to like the front door, although 1.0 liked to hang out on the transom window above the door. 2.0 likes hangin on the glass. last night he was sitting on the deadbolt lock when i opened the door to take a final shot of the storm from the front porch. he must have a relative; v2.0.1 that i also see on the back door sometimes.

Day Four - Home

2009-06-22T11:32:00.001-07:00

Playing the online game Toon Town this morning...

On the ride home with the make-shift sun visor...

We got released about 10:30 this AM. She slept great last night - ALL night. I was the dummy that stayed up til about 4:00AM searching a genealogy website. I then got up at 6:30 when the doc and students made their rounds. Taylor's got a late game tonight and i have to get up for a 6:00AM meeting tomorrow.... i have GOT to find time to nap this afternoon!!

Right now josie's on the couch watching iCarly. she's already less grouchy. being home does wonders.

I wish we would have gotten to spend more time with the new 'rib family' we met. This surgery just rocked josie's world unlike she's seen in YEARS. the next three surgeries will likely just be expansions which are a walk in the park, comparatively. Hopefully we can get scheduled with the other family next time. We'd also like to see our other family we met with josie's first surgery at CMH. it'll likely be another year before josie would have another surgery.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers over the last four days, and those who may have been praying before that.

Day Three

2009-06-21T20:01:00.001-07:00

last night was rough. tracy called me while i was on the way home to say josie has a fever. this isn't uncommon after a surgery like this, but she called again later to say josie's oxygen saturation level was dropping and she was having difficulty breathing. they were able to correct that. the rest of the night josie was getting up every hour to use the restroom.

she has been awake quite a bit today and we've begun making her walk to and from the bathroom. she's been quite angry all day (not cause of the walking). she's just had a significant attitude - true josie style.

she was taken off her IV meds. i brought her a happy meal when i came. she doesn't like the hospital food. she's covering her face in the picture cause she was mad and didn't want her picture taken.

they say we'll likely get out of here tomorrow morning. man, i hope so.

Day Two

2009-06-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

Not much to report today. minimal progress. she slept more than she was awake cause pain is still an issue, then the meds make her drowsy. she hasn't been out of bed yet. i imagine we'll have to start making her get up tomorrow. it DOES seem that it will be monday before we could get out of here. i hope not longer.

this has been the toughest recovery she's had since her initial implant surgeries when she was just 1 1/2 years old. Tracy will probably have a rough night tonight.

well, taylor i need to get headed home, there's a storm in coffee county heading ENE. it may still fall south of KC, but i don't want to be on the road. there's still a fair bit of rain in and around Topeka that's probably heading east too. continue your thought and prayers for josie (and tracy tonight).

Day One

2009-06-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

We all wait in holding...
Daddy is suited up to take Josie into the surgery room...

One of Josie's few awake moments today...

Today was different that expected (for us at least). we knew the plan going in, but just didn't realize it would result in having two large incisions - like the ones she got with the original implantation of the devices from the top of the back and around the shoulder blade and out to the side.

the doc tried a number of replacement rods but ended up reverting back to the old style/version of rod that she's had in. he was pleased with the result, as were we. on the downside, because the revision was a little more intensive, we will be staying here longer. we probably won't get released until Monday - which is a bummer.

Josie has slept most of the day due to the pain meds. but she's already tried sitting up once and told us she wanted a hamburger (unfortunately that's not on her allowed diet yet - maybe tomorrow). I am staying the night tonight.

We have met a new rib family tonight - well, just the mom so far. their daughter is the same age as josie and has the same disorder!! really cool (although that sounds weird to say). i'll sign off for the night.

TV Star(s) and MVP

2009-06-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

Last friday was Dreamnight at the Zoo - put on by the Capper Foundation (that's where Josie received physical therapy for a couple years as a toddler). One of our local news stations interviewed Tracy and showed a clip of Josie getting a 'tattoo' on her arm. here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqEX8zK-QFg

Then, last night Taylor's baseball team played for the championship in a tournement sponsored by a Topeka team but held in Silver Lake. The boys took second - but the winners (and host team, interestingly enough) were older and had a couple real fast pitchers. BUT Taylor pitched the first four innings and held the opponents to just ONE run! In fact, taylor pitched 13 innings of the four tournament games and allowed just two runs!! I'm very proud of him. He got to take the traveling trophy home first - i like to think - because he was the MVP.

Mr. Sticky's back!!

2009-06-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's probably not the same one. We'll call him version 2.0. And he was on the back door tonight when we got home. i don't imagine he'll hang out daily like the other frog did on our front porch.

Taylor's baseball tournament started tonight with a series of field competitions. pitching, fielding, base running and home run derby. The tournament is being held in Silver Lake which is great for us. we took home a trophy in three of the four events, including first place for the home run derby!

Josie's surgery is next friday! pre-op is wednesday. Her 'light therapy' has been reduced from three times a week to once a week now. she's got quite the tan, but her psoriasis is completely gone!!

Memorial Weekend

2009-05-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

Has it really been two weeks?! I am just too busy - and not busy with fun stuff!

A friend and co-worker gave us four tickets to see a KU and KSU baseball game in Lawrence. I took Taylor, my brother-in-law and nephew. KSU was ranked higher but got smoked. Taylor was all decked out in his purple. he was the only one on the KU side where we were sitting. i went to buy us all a hotdog and pop....TWENTY EIGHT BUCKS!!!! that would be about $12 at Taylor's ball game and they taste just as good. but Taylor had a great time and talked about it all the way to church the next day.

This Memorial weekend we were kid-free! Taylor and Josie with with my mom down to the family reunion in Oklahoma and Cami wasn't here due to work and , other stuff i guess. Last Friday night Taylor pitched the first two innings and did great. after that our pitching fell apart. he hit great too. at the end the coach made it a point to call out Taylor's name and praise him for pitching 'two good innings' (to make it clear no one else pitched well) and that if he weren't trying to get more kids in the pitched, he would have left him in longer.

But back to the weekend. Tracy and i drove to Lawrence and KC to check out the Re-Store (Habitat for Humanity in Lawrence) and the KC Architectural Salvage store. I'm trying to find a door for my home office. i want one to match the others in the house. of the 100's of doors they had they didn't have one in my size. i may have to custom order one. i'll check on line some more first.

We also got a lot of housework done; planting flowers, cleaning out the basement, mowing the lawn, cutting down some limbs... exciting stuff. The kids called each night to check in. they'll be home tonight!

Ninja Warriors

2009-05-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

Taylor (and his dad) like watching this show called Ninja Warrior on one of the satelite channels. It's an obstacle course over in Japan that they televise. It's in Japanese so the subtitles are on the bottom. It's fun watching people wipe out and fall, really.

Anyway, i'm sure it was taylor's idea, but after watching it one afternoon this weekend, the next thing i know is taylor and josie have built an obstacle course around and through the swing set. it kept them busy for hours!

Surgery Schedule

2009-05-06T06:17:00.001-07:00

hey everyone,

sorry i have'nt updated sooner. Josie's surgery has been rescheduled to June 19. It was scheduled for May 22, but her doc was concerned that he'd be leaving town the next day and wouldn't be available if needed. if it was a straight forward expansion surgery it wouldn't be as concerning. but this is a 'revision' surgery. they will be replacing one rod with a longer one (and a newer generation/design too) and then replacing the rod they took out two years ago.

we are a little discouraged that it will be cutting into her summer, but it's best. her light therapy has been going great! her psoriasis is almost knocked out. but June the doc hopes it'll be completely wiped out.

Easter baby

2009-04-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's a little late now, but i had to post the special egg josie made for Easter. The egg itself had no special significance, but for some reason she treated it like a baby and kept it in one of her doll baby beds - in the fridge!! and she'd take it out to play with it, and put it back in.

Camera Ham

2009-04-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

It would appear that the surgery has been rescheduled to May 22. Josie's "light therapy" begins today. three days a week in a medical tanning bed for six weeks. the doc feels that will knock out the psoriasis completely (but not for good). at that point we'd decrease the amount of times she 'tans' over the period of several more months. at that point, hopefully the psoriasis would be in 'remission'. but at any point if she gets strep again, we're sure it'll flare back up. it's out of control right now so we're hoping for great results with the treatment.

taylor's ball season (games) starts in a couple weeks already. the difficulty is that he plays on different days of the week. i wish it were set days like "wednesdays and saturdays", but he could play one day a week or three. generally is about two. i hope he's successful at pitching again as it's the about the only position he likes.

cami, as i said before has been working. next weeks she's working about 4-5 evenings. i hope she finds time to get her school work done. i think she's liking it. this obviously means she's coming over less and less too - but that's part of the deal; growing up and having more responsibilities.

Oh, i almost forgot, at the dentist yesterday it was mentioned about Josie starting phase one of braces.... WHAT?! first off, we've JUST about paid off Taylor's. but secondly, i just can't picture josie with braces. she seems so young. granted, that's because she is physically so much smaller and looks about 2 years younger than she is. braces seem so "grown up" for her. so we'll take her into the Ortho to get his opinion. man, visualizing josie with braces is just weird!

Surgery Canceled

2009-03-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

hey everyone.

we found out yesterday we need to hold off on josie's surgery. her psoriasis is too extensive to risk anything (infection, etc), even if she doesn't have any spots directly on her incision sites. and we are fine with that. many of you may recall Josie's seccond rib surgery when she was hospitalized for about 5 weeks and had to have some of her small and large intestine removed? well, during the pre-op testing she had an elevated white blood cell count. but everything else checked out fine and there was no reason for caution... 5 days later in the PICU Josie almost died. so we are cool with not taking any chances.

so instead, josie will begin light therapy; kind of like a specialized tanning bed, in a couple weeks. they think with multiple treatments a week, they can knock out her psoriasis within 6 weeks. - not cured of it but remove it for hopefully many months. we will then plan to have her surgery after that first 6 week series. she will still need to go for treatments, less frequently afer that. we hope to keep it in remission as long as possible.

the next surgery will likely be near the end of May.

i've got so many picutres i could post. i'll have to sift through them and post a few from her birthday last weekend, etc.

Josie on youtube

2009-03-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

well i finally got around to posting the video i took on my digital camera of Josie playing the Wii. The picture is pretty dark most the time, but Josie's animations make up for it.... enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR5jWS8lPbU

Another beautiful trip

2009-03-17T13:09:00.001-07:00

Just a few shots of the mountains...

as i snowshoed up the mountain i began seeing these large cat tracks following along and inside the previous snowshoe tracks. it's most likely a mountain lion. the tracks were fresh enough that i didn't know if they were from that day or the day before. but you had the eerie sense that cat was stalking whoever left the tracks. i almost turned back. you can't tell from the photo but the paw print is about as large as my palm - without the claws - which also appear to be quite long. it looks smaller cause it's at least 6 inches down in the snow.

The weekend was amazing and restoring, but it was so good to come home to this...

(too bad Cami wasn't here too)

Prayer Requests

2009-03-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Bob and i leave for the drive to colorado tomorrow morning. pray for safe travel to and from, but most immediately, Bob called yesterday to tell me he's got the FLU! so pray for speeding healing for him, and that I don't catch it in the car ride!! We be at the Crooked Creek Ranch near Fraser, CO.

Pray for Josie's skin. her surgery is in 2 1/2 weeks and her psoriasis is rearing it's ugly head again. she can't have any spots on her incision sites or they can't do the surgery. we're doing the cremes but it's not clearing up fast enough. we'll be calling her dermatologist today or tomorrow for feedback.

Catching up

2009-03-05T11:32:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a month since my last post. i seems to be busy with tons of insignificant things. So, what 's been happening?

Just a reminder, Josie's next rib surgery is March 27! they are extending/replacing one rod and re-inserting a rod they took out at her last surgery (TWO years ago!). she will be getting the newest generation design that's thinner to help them not stick out as much. it should still be just a two day stay at CMH. Josie is quite opposed to it of course.

Taylor has begun baseball practice. He's with the same "eagles" team he's been with for three years now. we had planned to get him to a pitching coach but waited too long, now they're booked. he'll still be one of - if not the top pitcher we have. we just want a professional to evaluate his "side-arm" style; that it's not going to cause him problems.

Cami will be driving over tonight, alone, for the first time, in her new (to her) car. she aparently paid for most of it herself with savings. she is also, understandably trying hard to find a job. I hope that it doesn't interfere with her schoolwork. tonight she will be driving home, alone in the dark for the first time too. i'm sure she'll do great. our biggest concern is the deer out here in the country.

And, next Wednesday Bob and i leave for COLORADO again!! We are attending another retreat with John Eldredge and the Ransomed Heart Team. We are really hoping this 'advanced' camp will be an opportunity to discover what the Father has planned for our men's ministry www.wildmenks.com. We've seen some explosive interest in it and we have also already seen God thwarting some of our 'own' plans - the ones we made without consulting Him. The first one was having to cancel our last retreat we planned. and that retreat was going to fund the deposit for the upcoming october retreat (due by last week). we had decided about a month ago that we were going to quit "making" this ministry happen by our own effort - which meant we weren't going to fork over the deposit out of our own pocket. God would have to show up.... and He did! i spoke with the october retreat center yesterday and everything is fine. they'll still honor our dates! Awesome!

now, with all of the insignificancies distracting me, i need to get focused for next week and preparing my heart for what God wants to reveal. i could sure use your prayers.

Art imitates (predicts) reality

2009-02-05T12:43:00.000-08:00

Next Surgery!

2009-01-26T13:52:00.000-08:00

Just got the call. Josie's next rib surgery will be March 27.

Good News

2009-01-26T05:47:00.000-08:00

What a crazy weekend! Bob and I were at the Men Of Valor conference in Olathe KS. We had a vendor table for our ministry (above). We were received exceptionally well. Lots of men came by and talked with us. we were given several contacts for other retreat venues and offers to come to their church, etc. the guy next to us said he never would have guessed that we were the 'new guys on the block' (first time there with a brand new ministry). We also scored; thanks to Bob's connections, one of the prime real estate table locations!

That first evening i got a call back from Children's Mercy. Josie's nurse said everything was a go for scheduling Josie's next rib surgery - at any time. i told her i am slammed with stuff til the middle of March and to just schedule the surgery at any time after that. as a reminder to you, Josie will be getting one rod extended and the one they took out, replaced. they will use the VEPTR 2's; the newest model that's thinner and won't stick out as much as the older ones. We'll likely be in the hospital 2 days for this one. can you guys believe it's been TWO YEARS since her last rib surgery?!

Josie's Logic

2009-01-14T19:58:00.000-08:00

This is a shot of the moon early this AM before heading to work. Josie told Tracy that it looked like the moon was broken (because part of it was missing).

Josie has a knack for for dressing in very little then complaining that she's cold. tonight after work i told her sh could not wear shorts (as she normally does) cause she'll complain she is cold. this is the outfit she came up with to stay warm....

Plastic Surgeon Visit

2009-01-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

We saw the PS today at CMH. he thought the skin on her back looked good and would do fine for the next surgery. he wants to talk with josie's doc to get more info on what he plans to do (type of rod, where he's putting them). if it's a device that will put more pressure against the skin, or for a larger area (like using a hybrid device that goes from top of ribcage to bottom of spine), then we may have to consider ways to stretch the skin. best case would be to do it during the actual surgery, worst case would be those 'tissue expanders'. the saline balloons they put under the skin and slowing put more and more saline in to stretch the skin out. we hope to not go that route! hopefully within a week we'll hear back on the plan and when her next surgery will be.

ER trip

2008-12-23T19:10:00.000-08:00

Sunday night Josie was experiencing stabbing abdominal pains. the on-call nurse/doctor recommended we take her in since it was sudden onset. they tested her urine and took blood. she had an elevated white count so they then did a CT of her abdomen. she was on an IV drip for a few hours. in the end they couldn't find anything; possible bug that's going around. by the time we left her stomach wasn't feeling as bad. she's back to normal now. Cami is kind of uder the weather and Tracy is getting sick again.... hopefully Taylor and i can stay clear of it!

Well, not to abruptly switch gears but, Merry Christmas everyone!

Only Josie

2008-12-16T19:32:00.000-08:00

Grandma Shirley came over last night to make Christmas cookies with the kids. They had fun. The above photo is one of Josie's cookies. She was giving him (snowman) 'rashes'. That's what the red spots are.

Tonight was Josie's First Grade Christmas Musical. She played the part of a ticket taker. The chair wasn't just for Josie to be seen over the "counter", other kids actually needed it too, ha! She did great of course!!

Drama Queen

2008-12-12T10:25:00.001-08:00

Josie was so tired this morning that she just couldn't seem to stay awake. so when we made her get off the couch to get ready to go, she preceeded to lay down on the kitchen floor. Poor baby. Life is rough when you can't get catered to 24/7.

As far as other updates, We took taylor to children's mercy yesterday to meet with a neurologist about his migraines he's had for some time and some head tics he's been displaying for the last couple months. She thinks a daily magnesium suppliment will help his migrains and for his tics, she assured us it was completely normal for kids at this age to develop quirkly little compulsive movements and they will pass.

Cami's back seems to be getting better - or at least not hurting as bad. she is trying to start dancing again, but her back is quickly speaking it's mind about the decision. She is struggling through some equally challenging 'teenage' drama. she has fully entered the "parents don't understand" phase that we all battled through. and it's been a troubling battle for us parents too (in regards to what cami is dealing with).

To end on a positive note, you may recall last February Bob and I got to go a men's retreat in Colorado. and from that has birthed a men's ministry we've begun. WELL, we just received confirmation that we've been selected to attend the "advanced" version of that camp - back in Colorado - this March. We are so totally freaking excited right now!! for more info on our ministry, please visit: http://www.wildmenks.com/

OH, and as a post script to the photo above. you'll notice, just to the left of josie's face is a black tube of chapstick. that girl is a chapstick JUNKIE! she puts it on all day. and she doesn't just put it on, she rubs it in each corner a number of times, then she makes a couple passes across her lips, then she makes two or three passes around her mouth, above and below her lips on the skin... it's quite entertaining to watch.

Traditions underway

2008-12-05T08:18:00.001-08:00

It's a little laate in posting, but our Christmas season starts off the Friday following Thanksgiving. As a family we go out and get our live Christmas tree. We usually go out for breakfast before hand too, but this year we opted to get pizza and bring it home for lunch as we decorate. We also usually go to a local tree farm in town, but they plan to 'close shop' in the near future - not planting any new trees, so the selection is quite sparse. But even if not, i've been wanting a Frazier Fur tree, and they don't grow in our neck of the States, so i knew it would have to be a pre-cut tree. The dark photo doesn't do it justice but it's a really good looking tree. we ar all quite pleased.

Early Christmas for Conway Springs.

2008-11-29T17:59:00.000-08:00

Conway didn't win the state championship, as much as WE lost it. we held the lead for more than 3 1/2 quarters. with FIVE minutes left in the game we were winning 14 - 6..... then we fumbled and they recovered. they scored on that drive, and the got the 2 point conversion. then i believe we fumbled again and they recovered it and got another quick score. with a 14-6 lead and five minutes on the clock, we end up losing 22 - 14. i didn't mention our multiple penalties in that last 5 minutes.

we were the better team for FORTY-THREE minutes of a forty-eight minute game. we even shut down their all-star, OSU bound running back to just one big yard play all game long, and in less than five minutes we give him 2 touchdowns. the more i write about it the more it sickens me. we should have one that game, but ..... nevermind.

2008-11-26T05:50:00.000-08:00

This is the new shirts/sweatshirts we are getting. Personally, i'd rather leave off the "2008 class 3A, etc." so it's not "dated". i mean, we've been in the state championship game the last 7-8 years in a row. nobody questions our 'fame' when it comes to football. but it is a cool design. we'll probably be leaving no later than 8 am on saturday to drive to Hutch for the game.

Silver Lake Eagles season video!

2008-11-24T10:14:00.000-08:00

well, it seems you can no longer directly embed YouTube video to Blogger, so here is the link to watch a video of the Eagles 2008 season against various teams.. the video quality is often poor, but still a great video from whoever posted it. please check it out and root us on Saturday November 29 as we battle for the State Championship against Conway Springs. We'll be there watching it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1BLl08eQGU

Headed to Hutch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

I was actually nervous throughout the day today thinking how tough the game was going to be tonight against Riverton..... and we KILLED THEM!!!!!!

So next Saturday, November 29 we drive down to Hutchinson for the 3A state championship game against Conway Springs. I am so fired up right now i probably won't sleep for a while!

Go Big Lake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Too Close For Comfort!!!

2008-11-15T14:09:00.000-08:00

What a game!!! Taylor and i drove up to Marysville for the 3A Sectional championship game. Marysville scored on us within 4 minutes, but missed the extra point. We didn't score til the second quarter (making the extra point). it began to mist heavily in the third quarter - so thick it looked like fog blowing in! We held them for the remainder of the game and won, 7-6!!!
check out the exciting details http://cjonline.com/stories/111508/pre_356233719.shtml

Next week we play Riverton. They are going to be every bit as tough as Marysville. they also beat gelena worse than we did. I know we can do it though! it's all lining up that we will probably be playing Garden Plain AGAIN for the state championship (third straight year). no offense to Conway Springs who plays them next week. that would be fine if they won too! we are 1 and 1 against Garden Plain for the state title. this would settle it with a best 2 out of 3 scenario, ha!

but one game at a time!!!! it'll be a fight til the end. send us your good vibes to defeat Riverton!

Big Lake rolls on!

2008-11-08T20:43:00.000-08:00

Just had to drop a note to say that Silver Lake continues their playoff drive as they shut out Galena tonight, 32-0. i've lost track of how many teams we've kept scoreless this season. Next week we play Marysville. Depending on our schedule, we (maybe just Taylor and I) will drive up to see that game. i think there are just two more games (including Marysville) before the State game in Hutch. I sure hope we'll be making the drive down there again this year. "Go Big Lake!!"

CMH Update

2008-11-07T08:08:00.000-08:00

Okay, here's the scoop from the doctor appt Tuesday:

Cami - The doc was pretty optomistic about Cami's condition and it quite confident that she doesn't need surgery and the bulging discs will heal on their own. He wasn't impressed (didn't think it was as significant) with the previous dr's degenerative disc diagnosis. She does seem to have it but very mild at this point and not contributing to her pain. He said several times that Cami presents as exceptionally well, compared to others with bulging discs - she can still move quite well. He has referred her on to a specialist in Integrative Pain Management to better manage her pain during the healing process. He suspects she may have a fair amount of depression that may be contributing to her perceiving the pain is much great than it is - NOT that she's faking - but we all know how attitude and emotion is a primary contributor to recovery and that being down and out intensifies the way you are feeling (that's all my words, not his). he thinks she will do quite well. Cami of course was not pleased with the answer. she wants surgery now to fix it. i feel bad for her.

Josie - another great report. he is going to set us up to see a plastic surgeon, just as a consult to make sure the skin on her back is doing well enough to endure the next surgery and have no issues with covering the device. as you may recall - at the last surgery he had to go back in later that day and remove the device he expanded cause it was stretching the skin too much. once we meet with the plastic surgeon and get the okay, we'll schedule surgery to replace her existing rod and put in a new rod (the one they took out). he will be using the newest generation rod design that's thinner/smaller so they'll have less trauma to the skin; they won't stick out as much. i'm sure we are looking at atleast january/february next year, and that's fine cause i set aside that surgery money through our employers flex spending account. it will save us about $300.

he is also confident that josie can continue to go long periods of time without surgeries - she still hasn't really grown into the expansions she's received previously. best case scenario is that she may only need a few more surgeries period by the time she completes puberty. that would be awesome! After this next surgery we will need to consider funding for future surgeries. we will deplete her medical fund after the next one. i don't know (economy wise) whether we can try and save money to pay for those, or if we'll need to put on another fundraiser.

okay, that's it for now!

The Ups and Downs

2008-11-02T11:15:00.000-08:00

Well, let's start with the up news (literally)...
Tracy did it! She went skydiving yesterday to celebrate turning 40 last month. She had a BLAST and is ready to do it again. A friend of ours jumped too and his feelings were the same.

Heading out to the plane.
A textbook landing

Getting a ride back to the hanger. The smile says it all!

Now, for the 'down' news. An MRI has confirmed that Cami has degenerative Disc Disease. We are going to take her to Children's Mercy because the specialists here have only offered 'pain management' and that there isn't any surgical option. How do you tell a 15 year old girl that the only relief she has to look forward to for the rest of her life is trying to manage the pain? And then, this specialist doesn't 'specialize' in Pediatrics. One of the management options he provided was to see a Rheumatologist and in the same breath told us that this specialist may not even see Cami because he doesn't deal much with pediatric patients either.... (So... why are you referring us then?!). The last time a Dr. told me nothing can be done was 7 years ago when the day Josie was born we were told she die within a year.

So we are going to CMH; maybe even to see Josie's Dr. I'd feel better to hear that there isn't anything that can be done from someone who actually specializes in pediatric spine issues. Cami is in pain every day, all day, and has been for months and has tried many of the 'management' options. i'll keep you posted.

A day at the pumpkin patch

2008-10-28T06:13:00.000-07:00

We went to "Gary's Berries" last Saturday. Taylor has been wanting to go through the corn maize they make every year. Josie wanted to pick out pumpkins. It was fun. It only took taylor and i 18 minutes to make it through the maize. the first year we were in there for over an hour.

Sunday afternoon, Josie was playing doctor again. She doesn't do it as much any more so i had to take a snapshot when i could... (the larger blue tub is full of all the medical equipment we've collected over the years - mainly IV tubing, pulmonary function tools, etc.)

Trying To Keep Up

2008-10-22T08:14:00.001-07:00

Once again, so much is going on and i haven't found time to keep the blog updated so i'll miss a lot of it.

Over the last couple weeks some of us have caught the stomach bug that's going around. first me, then tracy, now cami is home sick today. her's is much more flu-like though.

taylor's football season has come to a close. it seemed to last forever since they only won one game. there is still a scrimmage planned against rossville for this saturday, but taylor wants to miss it because...

Tracy will be skydiving that day to celebrate her 40th birthday. we will go down to Osage, KS. her nephew, Keith and a co-worker of ours is going too. i'm perfectly fine watching from the ground.

this last saturday was the "Light The Night" cancer walk in topeka. the honorary person for this year's event was Hunter Treinen, Tracy's second cousin. he was featured on the radio ads, etc. it was a great event.

Cami will see a specialist about her back next week. they aren't going to send her to children's mercy afterall, yet. i'll let you know how the appointment goes (Oct. 27).

Josie gets her cast off November 3. she doesn't seem too bummed that she'll have to wear it on halloween.

then on november 5, we go to children's mercy to meet with josie's veptr doctor to see when the next rib surgery is going to be. we'll keep you posted on that as well.

oh, and the silver lake eagles remain undefeated!! there's a good chance we'll be heading to state game again, for the 8th (i think) straight year in a row! GO BIG LAKE!!!

K-STATE Stadium

2008-10-12T18:23:00.000-07:00

Taylor had a great time today playing at K-State. We lost, but he liked playing there all the same. The Wamego Red Raiders are really good for their age. they looked better than even the teams in our regular league. the last picture is Josie and one of her classmates.

some good some bad

2008-10-11T15:50:00.000-07:00

i took this photo of Taylor (24) after he made a fumble recovery. i didn't even realize it was him when i was taking the picture. this was our "home game" we play each season. each team in the league gets to play a game on their home field (we play all other games at the Sport Zone arena in Topeka). The first play of the game we threw a touchdown pass and continued to hold the 7-0 lead through amost a full three quarters.. then, well the bottom fell out and we lost 7-14. But taylor's name was called a number of times during the game for tackles, etc. it was great. unfortunately taylor's team is still winless. we were placed in the wrong league this year. sport zone thought we blew everyone out last year.... wrong silver lake team. we lost most of ours. but we didn't find out we were in the wrong league until half way through the season. i'm pretty sure we are done with the Sport Zone. it's just been one bad experience after another with them for three years now. i'll just leave it at that.

One thing that's exciting is that taylor's team will be playing Wamego tomorrow on the K-STATE field!!!! we'll be taking tons of video and pictures during thta game. i know it's going to be totally exciting for the kids.

Another great thing is Silver Lake (high school) just won the District Title last night against Riley County and remains undefeated this season!!!

To the bad news... We learned yesterday that Cami has two bulging discs in her lower back. not sure how she got them. the doctor in Topeka wants her to be seen at Children's Mercy in KC (where Josie goes for her surgeries). Surely Cami's dancing is going to be halted til further notice. she is not going to like that. i'll certainly post you after we meet wit the specialist there. that would be cool if it happened to be Josie's back doctor.

bedtime stories

2008-10-07T19:22:00.000-07:00

I took Josie in to see an orthopedic doctor (and long time friend) yesterday. Josie had a "buckle fracture" just above her wrist. As we waited in the casting room i began to talk with her about casts (that don't come off like her temporary one). ultimately it probably had less to do with my encouragement and more about her seeing that PINK was a color option. Couple that with the fact that she'd get the cast off before Halloween and she was all for it. and she especially liked that i suggested all her friends could sign it.

On the way back to school she talked about liking her cast. i told her everyone will think it's so cool, and she agreed, but replied with annoyance, "everyone's going to be following me all over!". Josie is keenly aware that everyone knows her and thinks she's the greatest - but she is quite clear about her displeasure with everyone giving her so much attention at times. kids will tell her hi in passing and Josie will turn to tracy or i and and say, "i don't even know who that is!".

Teeter Totter Topple

2008-10-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

We received a call yestderday afternoon from school that Josie fell at recess and hurt her arm - for which they cannot get her calmed down from. Our school doesn't currently have a full time nurse and she wasn't there at the time. Tracy went and picked her up. she complained of her arm hurting the remainder of the night and said she wanted to see the doctor. i took her in this morning for an x-ray and she indeed has a fracture near her wrist. We will see an orthopedist next week to see how to proceed.

Making history!!!

2008-10-03T19:40:00.001-07:00

Tonight, not only did Silver Lake remain undefeated by beating St. Mary's (also undefeated going into this game) with a score of 36-14, but our head coach C.J. Hamilton has just joined the ranks of the elite!

Tonight C.J. won his 300th game - all at Silver Lake. He joins only two other coaches in Kansas High School football HISTORY to obtain such status!! They passed out those yellow flyers in the last few minutes of the game for our whole side to hold up in his honor (and to wave at the very quiet St. Mary's fans and players).

WAY TO GO, BIG LAKE!!!!

Move over Mr. Sticky

2008-09-26T06:34:00.000-07:00

Well, i have to come to the realization that i've raised Mr. Sticky as much as i can. He's an adult now and comes and goes as he please. I have to trust i've instilled in him the right knowledge and morals and that he'll live those out. I haven't seen him in several days now.

But i have a new pet to write about - though i get the creepies just thinking about it. But, this morning as i leaned back in my chair at work and looked at the ceiling, i noticed a large brown spot in the flourescent light (i never turn those lights on cause one side of my office is windows). i couldn't make it out cause of the distortion in the plastic. I had a suspiction but went about my business. i looked back up a few moments later and the 'spot' had moved.

Well, the truth is, we have common pest here... cockroaches. but not like the ones that live at your house. these are about two inches long and and inch wide. one has obviously gotten in the light fixture and now can't get out. yes, i get the creepy shivers just thinking about this guy right over my head. but i don't really want to open the light and get him out either. so, for the time being, i give you...the African Gigantus Cockroachus Creepius, AKA Mr. Spot:

Subscribe to Josie's Blog!

2008-09-22T18:53:00.000-07:00

Click on the link to the right (and down a little bit) that says 'subscribe to Josie's blog'. it gives you a message whenever there's a new post on her site. that way you don't have to worry about missing any updates. Especially the ongoing adventures of Mr. Sticky. on the drop down menu it lists a number of 'feed readers' that will receive the message when her site is updated - so you'd have to already have access to that, like google and yahoo.

i think i'll put a subscription link on the other photograph pages i have too. they just put another one on the news a couple nights ago during the weather forcast. if you like seeing the pictures i regularly take (sunsets, sunrises, storms, etc). there are more sunsets than anything.

Mr. Sticky's Back!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-09-21T20:26:00.001-07:00

What wonderful news!!! I am so happy!

I was upstairs, ironing my clothes for tomorrow and Tracy comes up and says, nonchalantly, "the tree frog is back".... like it's no big deal!! This is reason to celebrate! I had to rush down stairs and see for myself - and then get the word out to you as fast as i could. I'm sure there were people out there praying for Mr. Sticky and I appreciate that so much.

Sweet Tooth

2008-09-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

I forgot to submit this yesterday, but, because Josie is so adorable and touches so many people...
just about every float that passed had kids yelling Josie's name and throwing her candy. The picture above is what Josie came home with. To put it in perspective, that bowl would hold at least a gallon of liquid.

Now for the sad news... Mr. Sticky has not yet returned. I fear the worst. On the door today is one of those very large black and yellow spiders. Mr. Scary pants spider probably chased Mr. Sticky off. I don't like spiders. We also seem to have an abundance of those lime green looking grasshoppers on the porch. I don't like them either. Farewell Mr. Sticky, farewell.

Homecoming '08 (It's hard to be humble)

2008-09-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today was Silver Lake's homecoming - and our football game was against none other than our rivals - the Rossville Bulldawgs. The media has coined the phrase, "War on 24" every time we play each other. (for those of you unfamiliar, '24' is the 2-lane highway that runs through each of our towns. we're just a few miles apart)

This is how to TP a house! Small town kids know how to do it right.

This is the 5th grade (Taylor's) football team float. They took 2nd place.

So, to the game. I had to leave at the end of the 1st quarter to drive half an hour to Cami's school and watch her perform at half time, then turn around and drive back to Silver Lake to catch the rest of the game. When i left, it was 13 - 0, Silver Lake. When i returned with 3 minutes still left in the 3rd quarter the score was 40 - 0! The announcer stated over the loud speaker, "According to league rules, the play clock will now run continuously for the remainder of the game." Must have been cause we were 40 points ahead. Silver Lake went on to score another touchdown with less than a minute left on the clock and still managed to kick the extra point with 3 seconds left.

Big Lake wins BIG tonight; 47 - 0!!! I'll enjoy watching the highlights on the news here shortly. It was also the "game of the week" so they'll replay it again this weekend i think.

As for Mr. Sticky, I don't see him on the window tonight. Hope he's alright. I haven't gone out to check on him. He may have gone to the game too. I imagine it would take him a long time to hop back 6 miles.

Mr. Sticky Fingers

2008-09-18T19:24:00.001-07:00

Mr. Sticky Fingers (Sticky, for short), that's my new name for him, was back at home base tonight. It's hard to see but the red circle in the photo is a small moth that is caught in a spider web. i appropriately identified the circle as "dinner". it's not going to end well for the moth....

Poor moth. i couldn't snap the picture fast enough to catch Sticky in action. The moth did put up a little fight, however brief it was.

I give you Mr. Sticky Fingers... pay no attention to the door that is in desperate need of repainting. Sticky doesn't seem to mind, so i'm okay with it too!

The Tree Frog Chronicles

2008-09-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

Mr. Frog is perservering. he has traveled from the middle of the right french door to the left side of the ledge of the transom window above the door. if he stays there he'll have a steady feast of bugs. i'll continue to bring you the status of his travels.

Back Attack is Back

2008-09-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

Josie always complains that she's cold in the morning. it's not cold, she's just difficult.

as for me, i've been dealing with my lower back for just over a week and a half now. usually when it goes out, it's fine in 3-4 days. we are on day 11. it has never been messed up for this long. i went to the chiropractor 6 days after the incident and had some very minor, brief relief. there is some relief in general. what was once a "9" on the pain scale is about a "6.5" now. i guess i should see my doctor but if it's muscular, that won't show up on x-rays. i started taking some muscle relaxers this morning that i had gotten last year for my back, but they're a year old and probably no good, however, they are making me quite drowsy. they haven't taken the pain away so now i'm just sore and ready to fall asleep.

there was no defining incident that messed my back up, but a combination of activities i think that just wore it out over the weekend of the men's retreat. it's deep in my lower spine; my sacrum. it feels like it's my hips.

Catching Up (again)

2008-09-12T06:19:00.000-07:00

Alright, it's been a couple weeks since i've posted. Last weekend the Men's retreat was excellent. Bob and I couldn't have really asked for a better outcome - especially since it was our first attemp. Men loved it and were excited about bringing a bunch of other men next year (though we hadn't express to them there was going to be a next year). So it was a clear sense of God's desire for us to keep moving forward with this stuff. Very exciting!! Below are two pictures from Living Water Ranch, where we were. The first is the "Jesus Hill" and the second is the view of Tuttle Creek from our cabin.

Yesterday the kids noticed a tree frog was hanging out on our front door. Last night about bedtime i noticed the little guy was still there, making his way up the window so i snapped a shot.

Friday

2008-08-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

Today i had a meeting in Abilene so i stopped through Chapman (town hit hard by a tornado in recent months). lots of active rebuilding which was great to see. i drove by several construction crews actively building. there were still several lots that just had the concrete foundation, many still damaged buildings and a few "brand new" houses that have been remodeled.

Tonight Josie performed her cheer routine at Silver Lake's SODA scrimmage. she talked of being nervous, but she sure looked like she was having a blast out there!!

Fireplace is done!

2008-08-18T06:01:00.001-07:00

BEFORE

AFTER

A friend of ours from church came over this last weekend and rebuilt (refaced) our fireplace. i love the structural desing of the original, but it was cracking all over and falling apart and we wouldn't have been able to 'preserve' it for use. So we gave our friend free reign to desing something else. this is what we got. it's a tumbled brick so it looks old with chips and scratches and looks like it's been there. it will also be a little lighter than what you see. that brick soaks up a ton of moisture from the mortar. what do you think? (i've just gotta put crown molding back up).

OH, and the first thing Josie asked as they were cleaning up and she was thuroughly inspecting the new structure.... she asked is Santa could still get down this one! our friend asured her that Santa was going to LOVE this one.

Partial good news!!

2008-08-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

The detective on our burglary case sent me a photo of a jewelry box matching Tracy's that shows a bunch of jewelry inside. the box looked just like hers but the jewelry was too fuzzy tell what they were. however, i happen to notice a small padlock that was partially visible and i asked him if it said "TSA" on the lock. it did! when seeing the padlock i remembered that i had our luggage padlocks in the jewelry box (no reason). the detective said, "that's good enough" to confiscate all the items. about an hour later tracy and i went to the sheriff's department to look at the jewelry. The jewelry box was Tracy's, but damaged. and few pieces of jewelry were identified as hers, including the gold locket with taylor and josie's picutres still in it! but the chain was gone. the other two pieces of jewelry were actually ones we DIDN'T have on the list (but not expensive either). and i got my luggage padlocks back!! ha! i didn't have those on the stolen property list either cause i didn't think of them til i saw the picture the detective sent us.

now for the less than great news, the owner's home that the property was found in is a long time ciminal in Topeka. but since so much time has passed since the burglary, he can only be charged with possession of stolen property. he was already in jail on a parole violation so our property is in addition to the legal trouble he's already in. but there were several other burglary case property items found in his home as well - one from about 3 years ago!

we are hoping this new info will help put Taylor at ease. he still will not go to sleep unless we are in his room (we sit just inside the door til he falls asleep).

our biggest prayer right now is that when the detective talks with the guy on Monday, that he'll confess to at least where the other jewelry is. we don't have any false hope in this - he is a 'seasoned criminal' and will likely not divulge any info at all. but that's what prayer's for, right?

and also prayer that this event will help ease taylor's fears. he said that was 'cool' when i called to tell him the good news.

First Day Of School

2008-08-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Josie's a first grader

Taylor's a fifth grader

Cami's a sophomore

Continued attacks

2008-08-11T15:19:00.001-07:00

Josie took it upon herself to make this collage of the pictures in her photo box. if you click on it, it enlarge it so you can see the individual photos.

The Enemy seems to be working overtime on the Martin Family - or just me personally. I know he doesn't want this men's retreat i am co-hosting in September to happen. It's a copy of the men's retreat Bob and I went to in Colorado last February.

Yerstday afternoon Josie woke from her nap with a 101.9 fever. By evening it was 103.9. She had massive tonsils and then she threw up. Taylor is still struggling with the break in and requires us to often lay with him at bedtime so he won't fall asleep at alone. i'm downstairs with Josie, Tracy's upstairs with Taylor and i get a call... It's Courtney saying she's on the way with Cami to the hospital, via abulance.

Cami was experiencing shortness of breath and a high heart rate. She later was throwing up at the hospital. i called a local nurse helpline to see if i needed to bring Josie to the doctor. i was torn about leaving to go be with Cami when Josie is also on the verge of needing medical attention. so i thought i'd check to see if i should just bring her in with me to the ER.... The decision was no so i headed off a little after 1:00am to see Cami. All her tests came out fine (with the exception of an elevated white count in her urine). So i left for home at 3:00am and getting in bed by 3:30; waking at 6:0o to go to work. i took the afternoon of to go back home and rest.

Tracy took Josie to the doctor today to find it's only viral.... nothing we can do, except to take off more work while she has this fever. I will most likely be staying home tomorrow with her.

That's it in a nutshell - so far. Cami is home and resting. i'll call and check on her in a little bit. she has to take off the next 48 hours of dance practice that started up today.

Well, Josie is asking me when i'm going to come color with her (i keep telling her when i'm done with this blog) - so i better go. i'll let you know of any new developments (like that the new combination of creams for her psoriasis may not be helping afterall).....

Home Invasion

2008-08-02T16:18:00.000-07:00

Most all of you know that our house was burglarized last thursday. I just finished installing a new, steel, door today. And a security system will be installed ASAP. it's sad it comes to this efore taking these kinds of precautions. plus, you just have this naivity that you're so far out in the country that your safe from stuff like this. Tracy learned yesterday that three other silver lake residents were burglarized too! must be the same person/group. taylor continues to be completely freaked out about it. tracy said he cried on the way home from football practice last night. he won't go anywhere by himself.

as for Josie.... i stayed home Friday to await the potential return of the thief (as there were MANY goods they did not take). no such luck. but the FIRST thing josie asked me when they got home was, "daddy, did he come back?" with a smile on her face. she was ready to hear about daddy getting the bad guy.

now we are just rying to compile a list of all the jewelry that was taken and rounding up other receipts. that's all for now.

Next Treatment

2008-07-30T13:41:00.001-07:00

We were just prescribed yet another combination of creams and oral medicine to hopefully knock out this rampant psoriasis Josie has going on.

Skin Problems

2008-07-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

Josie's breakouts have not gotten better. the majority of her back is covered in psoriasis and what appeared to be ring worm, but that was confirmed negative. it continues to itch like crazy and she's got spots on her arms, legs, and scalp. So the skin doc called today to say she wants to see Josie tomorrow morning to get this figured out. So we'll be heading off to CMH in the morning. i will post you when i get back to work (out home computer is down, permanently and we're awaiting the new one).

please be in prayer that the doctor(s) can figure out what this is and find a treatment that will remove it.

Dr. Campbell leaves SA

2008-07-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Earlier this year i posted about the passing of Dr. Melvin Smith; co-creator of the titanium rib implants that Josie has. It is now official that Dr. Robert Campbell; co-creator or the rib is leaving San Antonio (where this whole titanium rib journey started) to move onto another chapter in his life. i know he will be greatly missed there and wished well for his new endeavor in Philadelphia. Approximately 22 years ago Dr. Campbell was approached by Dr. Smith to come up with a device to help a single child in need. that meeting not only benefited one child but has grown to saving the lives of thousands of children WORLDWIDE who had no hope of surviving. Kid's like Josie, whose parents were told on the day of her birth that she would die in a year. I have pasted his letter to the rib families below. Farewell, Dr. Campbell.... continue your mission of hope.

Dear Titanium Rib Families,

It is with mixed emotions that I must announce that my family and I will be leaving San Antonio in mid-October, 2008. I have accepted a position at the Division of Orthopaedics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and will begin work at CHOP November 1st. I plan to build a multi-specialty center of excellence in Philadelphia which will specialize in advanced treatment and research of thoracic insufficiency syndrome with the titanium rib remaining the current standard of care.

It was a difficult decision to leave San Antonio after 22 years, but I am confident that the Thoracic Institute will continue in its mission to provide the best care possible with Dr. Walt Simmons as the new executive director with the continuing support of the administrative and physician staff.

Corey and I want to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who has supported us over the years. San Antonio has been a great place. We wish the best for the UT Health Science Center as well as the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital. I especially want to thank everyone at the Thoracic Institute, both past and present staff, for the wonderful job they have done. I will miss everyone.

Sincerely yours,

Robert M. Campbell, Jr., MD

Cheer Camp

2008-07-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

Josie started cheer camp yesterday and was awarded the coveted 'spirit stick'. each day this week the recipient is to decorate part of the stick that night. on the last day (Thursday) one participant will recieve it to keep. We put on the maroon and gold strips on the ends. It was actually one of Josie's pony tail holders that we cut in half and hot-glued on there. Josie is very excited about camp. maybe i'll figure out how to put a video of her on youtube when we record thursday's performance.

Psoriasis issues

2008-07-15T07:44:00.001-07:00

We took Josie to her skin doctor at Children's Mercy last week for a check up. It seems as though her psoriasis is getting much worse. The doctor feels part of it may actually be ring worm. they cultured it and will get results in about three weeks, but went ahead and gave us a prescription lotion to treat it. Well, it's not working, and is infact irritating her skin. so we've discontinued it and waiting to hear back for the doc on how to proceed.

Tree Fort

2008-07-07T06:04:00.000-07:00

Taylor and i spent the weekend making the fort he's been wanting for several years. man, it was a lot of work and my body is so sore right now.

happy fourth!!!

2008-07-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

This delayed shot is taylor running around with a sparkler.

Unfortunately, i wasn't back far enough to catch the full explosion.

Ditto.

Wild Sleeper

2008-07-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

not sure how she stays in the bed. ACTUALLY, once or twice she has fallen out. the last time she didn't even wake up!

Taylor's the bomb!

2008-06-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

Taylor had his last regular season baseball game last night. He pitched the first three innings. he hasn't pitched 3 before, just 2. He threw 33 pitches TOTAL for all three innings, or an average of 11 pitches an inning. Only one batter got on base so we're talking he only threw, roughly 2-3 "balls" per inning, or no more than one per batter (average). He was a strike machine!!

AND he got the last out of the game to clinch the win. He was playing short stop and a grounder was hit right at him. The runner on second ran in front of Taylor just as the ball was getting there and we (mom and dad) thought for sure his view would be obscured an it would zing right past him... but NO! He snatched it up and threw it to first base to clinch the 4-1 win over the team they lost to twice before. (the one batter that hit off taylor was their only scoring run).

His post season tournament will start later this week. we ended up going 8 and 8. our first tournament game will be against the number 2 team... of course.

Josie has three more games then we'll be done for the summer.

Taylor will start golf lessons in a week. i know he's looking forward to that.

Cami went to dance camp two weekends ago (Emporia) and received a few ribbons. Her team won some awards as well. Tracy and i drove over there to see the performance.

Taylor's Braces

2008-06-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post a couple weeks ago that Taylor got his 'partial' braces on! Not sure why they're just partial. i understand the concept that if these do the trick he wouldn't need full braces. But let's be real, his teeth are jacked up. I'm not being mean, mine were too. And these partial braces have these super thin wires that constantly come out of the back bands, many times a day. So let's not waste time with this, just put em all on man! He has done very well with them so far, that's a plus.

I'm a cowgirl!!

2008-06-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

"I'm a cowgirl, take my picture, Daddy!!"

"Take another picture, with my horse..."

what boys and girls are made of...

2008-06-07T18:13:00.001-07:00

Tonight while Taylor enjoyed getting dirty planting flowers from Grandma Shirley....

Josie made a home for a caterpillar she found in the yard.....

(the final home, as i type this, is a ceramic dish with many more leaves and grass and a little bit of water)

Catching up again!

2008-06-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

once again, lots of things have been happening in the Martin household and dad is behind as usual, getting them posted. It's been so busy and right now i have a full-blown cold/bronchitis spell so on a 'miserable scale' i'm at about an 8. Here's what else has been going on:

5/27/08 - Josie found these "special" rocks in our driveway and told me to take a picture and put them on her website...

5/31/08 - Bob, myself and a couple guys from our Band Of Brothers (Wild at Heart) Bible Study ended our study with a campout at Living Water Ranch, just north of Manhattan. This is where we will be having our Wild at Heart Boot Camp in September. This is the view from atop the "Jesus" hill overlooking Tuttle Creek. You can't see well from the small photo but there is a bird that regularly sits on the left side of the cross.

6/5/08 - i finally get to start building my study/office!!! Taylor and i were scraping up all the linolium tile off the plywood (that covers the hardwood floors). Josie wanted to do whatever she could to help out. Here she is cooling us off with a handheld fan.

6/5/08 - A bird has made a massive nest above our back door. You can see the entry hole in the middle of it.

6/6/08 - Josie's shoe finally came in with the lift built into the sole. She walks really well with it. We thought it'd take some getting used to. that's a half inch lift. she'll need at least an inch before her hips really level out. she has immediately noticed that it looks different and bigger. we are trying to reassure her that it's not that noticeable. we need to get a couple more pairs made; one for gym class when school starts.

6/6/08 - last night was "Dreamnight at the Zoo" put on by the Capper Foundation for all their special needs kids. this is Josie's 3rd year going. she had a rain make up t-ball game that was scheduled for last night but she wanted to go here instead... good choice.

that's it for now. i am supposed to be ripping up the plywood flooring in the office today, but i feel so miserable it's hard to get motivated, but i can't get behind either. i want to finish the room by the end of summer. Taylor has a game this afternoon in the 90 degree weather. i imagine my miserable scale will be 10+.

Union Station

2008-05-26T15:54:00.001-07:00

We spent the day at Science City in the Union Station (Kansas City, MO) today. The kids had a blast running from place to place. as you can tell from the photo, Josie particularly liked the operating room.

We also went through the "Bodies Revealed" exibit. man was THAT cool! real 'cadavers' that have been peeled away and sliced, etc to reveal the inside of us. the kids thought it was really cool too. it took us about 40 minutes to puruse all the people and 'items'. had we not had the kids with us it would be the more typical 60-90 minutes to go through it and really see it all.

We also went to a planetarium show. i thought it was gowing to be more "grown up", but it was an animated type show on the mythology of a few constellations.

Badgers!

2008-05-23T04:36:00.000-07:00

yesterday i saw a real BADGER! not that they are uncommon or whatever in the Plains - but I'VE never seen one. but i was about 1.5 miles west of hiway 75 on NW 62nd street and one ran across the street toward the open pasture. it was really cool.

activity update

2008-05-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

I don't feel right about posting some 'fun' stuff when i've just posted about the tragic news about the Chapman family. Our computer has been down for a week and i've just now got the chance to post some pics and news about the kids...

Taylor is picking up the nickname "sidewinder" now since he pitches sidearm. the coaches would like for him to try pitching overhand (or whatever 'normal' is). he is just so accurate throwing sidearm but does not have much speed. he strikes most the batters out, but it would still be nice for him to build up more speed. We'll work on that over the winter i suppose. I think he is feeling much more confident with baseball. He's always loved playing and was 'good', but i think he's getting much more encouragement hearing praises from the coaches and other parents. i don't remember the last time he had an error and he knows he's one of the best all around players on the team and is the best pitcher we have. It's good to see his confidence in himself.

Josie and Taylor got to have a little fun over the weekend washing the car.

Today Taylor got his "partial braces" on. if this does the trick he won't have to wear a full set of braces top and bottom.

Cami will be starting driver's ed in a couple weeks. i've let her drive from time to time out in the country. she does quite well. however, quiet country roads are quite different from busy city streets. i know she'll do well.

Tragedy strikes the Chapman Home

2008-05-22T05:41:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know that Steven Curtis Chapman is my all time favorite artist, let alone, favorite Christian artist. I've learned this morning that tragedy struck their family through the death of their youngest daughter yesterday evening. i have pasted the artical below. Please, please, be in prayer for their family during this terrible event and ESPECIALLY their teenage son who was driving the vehicle that struck her.....

Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest child died Wednesday afternoon after being struck by a car driven by her teenage brother in the driveway of the family’s Williamson County home.

Maria, one of the Christian singer’s six children, was taken by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt Hospital, which confirmed the death, according to Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The 5-year-old was hit by an SUV driven by her teenage brother, she said. Police did not give the driver’s name. The teen was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser down the driveway of the rural home at about 5:30 p.m. and several children were playing in the area, McPherson said. He did not see Maria in the driveway before the vehicle struck her, she said. “It appears to be a terrible accident,’’ McPherson said.No charges are expected, she said. The accident was witnessed by two other children; the entire family was home at the time, McPherson said.

Singer/songwriter Chapman, who recently was inducted into Music City Walk of Fame, is one of contemporary Christian music’s most recognizable and most awarded names. He and his wife Mary Beth have long been supporters of international adoption, having brought three girls from China into their family. Maria was the youngest. The couple is so active in the cause that they formed an organization, Shaohannah’s Hope, to aid families wanting to adopt. With his latest music tour, which came through Nashville in November, Chapman started a campaign called “Change for Orphans”. He asked audience members at each stop to bring spare change to the concert, where it was counted and given to a local family to aid in their adoption process.

“I don’t know of anybody who loves his children more than he does and is so committed to the adoption concept, and to lose one, no matter what the circumstances, is heartbreaking beyond all comprehension,” said John Styll, president of the Nashville-based Gospel Music Association. “He talks about his kids all the time. That’s his life. His kids are more important to him than music, that’s for sure.” The tragedy was announced during Wednesday-night services at Harpeth Hills Church of Christ, which the family attends. Maria had just graduated from the church preschool. And word spread throughout the tight-knit Christian music community on Wednesday evening. Styll got the news not long after Maria’s death. “I’m confident I can speak for everyone in the community to say we will do everything we can to support this family, as we would do at any time, but especially at a time like this,” he said. Most of the Chapman family was at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital after the accident and could not be contacted. The long, gravel driveway leading to the home west of Franklin was blocked off by Williamson County sheriff’s deputies.

Move Over Mantle!

2008-05-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

There is a new number seven in town.

Josie had her first T-ball game tonight. her first at bat, first pitch and she NAILED it to third base (the coach pitches a few before puting the T up). i video'd it on our camera, but at 33Mb it's too big to put on this site. i took plenty of other pictures of course. She really did great and she was loving every minute of it. her face was priceless when she hit that first ball; mouth wide open in excitement - grinning ear to ear as she ran to first base. and in the field she was all business. while most other kids were busy playing in the dirt, sitting in the grass, looking at the other games, Josie stayed, just as you see her above. eyes focused on the play at hand. she fielded a number of balls too.

now, totally off the subject.... i took Josie today to see an orthopedist to get her shoe "elevated" - where they build up the sole of the shoe to compensate for her shorter leg. it'll be ready in about a week. i'll take a picture of Josie showing off her new shoes. we bought them today at the mall so she'd have a nice new pair to work with. We visted Kids Foot Locker. I think they are Reeboks. She had the same pair before but a different color.

Field Day 08

2008-05-09T19:21:00.000-07:00

I spent the day at Taylor's school for his end of the year Field Day.

Taylor received the Presidential Fitness Award this year for the second time. I remember getting this in gradeschool too. i think it just started back then. Was that a Reagan thing? i don't remember. Congrats Taylor!!!!