The Razorback's New Toy

Hello all,

His name is The Razorback, and he is a craigslist bartering addict. He loves to trade stuff. He traded a Mercedes Benz for an ugly, horrible, terrible truck which we nicknamed the Beast. He traded a laptop for a fiberglass boat. He has now traded the beast for a motorcyle. A 1979 Honda Goldwing to be exact. He is very excited about this trade. You ask, does he have a motorcycle license? Of course not! Has he ever driven a motorcycle? Yes, but not since 1988--just 20 years ago!

His mom is having a small coronary attack-- she has threatened his life if he has a wreck. She is also trying to get a promise of Madgette never plopping her rear end on it. Madgette will not be on it anytime soon. That much I can promise. I am a little to scared of it to let my baby get on it. Plus, the Razorback has told her he has to be 150% comfortable with driving it before he will even entertain the idea of riding her around the block.

I used a cane to get myself out the front door so I could get a look at it. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. Check it out for yourself, then leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Laid Up

Those of you who have known me for a while will not be suprised-- I have hurt myself. I wish I had a great story of great entertainment to explain what I have done. My chirporactor says it is a several mini-traumas that have gotten to me and Tuesday was the final straw. So here is the story of all the dumb things I have done to get myself in this shape.
1. Took a HUGE fall in Gallery Furniture in August. Landed on my right leg and rear end.
2. Carrying/moving boxes in my new classroom
3. Loading a small desk in the Yukon by myself (as well as a headboard and footboard)
4. Last straw- putting away the christmas yard decorations.

I was carrying a tub of lights across the front yard to the shed in back when all of a sudden my lower back began to hurt. I put the tub down and called for Richard because I could not stand up straight. He assisted me into the house, and we waited to see if it would get better. Needless to say, it did not get better. I spent the night awake in the recliner. First thing the next morning we called the best chiropractor in the entire state of TX- Dr. Bruce Guillory. He got me an appointment for later in the day and we went to see him. He asked some questions, looked at my hips/legs and showed The Razorback how out of place my hips were. When he placed his hands on my hips, his right hand was at least 6 inches higher than his left hand. My hips are majorly off kilter. Then he gave his diagnosis- it is an SI joint injury. He started treatment by hooking me up to 4 electrodes for about 20 minutes, then followed that with an ultrasound, and finally he did a very small adjustment (it was small because nothing wanted to move!). He sent me home with directions to put ice on it for 30 minutes every hour.

I also had directions to meet him at his office today so he could do another treatment even though he is normally closed on Wednesdays. (Did I mention he is the best chiropractor in TX?) Anyway, he says it will probably be at least a week before I am fully able to walk correctly and function again. I told him I m supposed to go back to work on Monday, ane he told me we would see- he could write me an excuse for work. I told him I did not want to take time off- I wanted to be fixed. He looked at me with all the tolerance a Doctor can muster, and told me that he would see me 2 more times before Monday and we would do everything we could.

So while you are praying for our little gal pal Phebs, lift up a prayer that I will be able to walk again soon without looking like a cripple and that I will be able to return to work on Monday as scheduled.

Prayer Please

I have a very good friend who could use a little prayer right now. My friend Tree, her husband, and her baby Phoebe can use all the prayer you can offer up. They are preparing physically and mentally for Phoebe to have heart surgery tomorrow. This baby is 6 months old (should only be 3 but was born early) and is lovely and very special to all of us. She cannot eat after midnight tonight, and her surgery is not until 3pm tomorrow afternoon. This will be a rough morning-those of you with children can understand. You want them to stop crying and not feel the hunger, but you know you are doing it for their own good.

Both sets of grandparents are in town to give moral support, run errands, and be helpful. I know Tree is very thankful, as are all her friends. Her friends like Momma Pug and I will back off for a couple of days and just help through prayer, then when all the family has gone home we will be there for our friend.

Please just pray for strength for them mentally and physically, for the doctors who will perform the operation, and all the other hands and lives that will touch theirs tomorrow.

We love you Phoebe!

One of Those Nights

Do you ever just have one of those nights when you can't go to sleep even though you know you have an appointment the next morning?
I have been so bad tonight that I just decided to pester The Razorback so he couldn't go to sleep either. Now we have both gotten out of bed and back on the internet. What is wrong with us? I know my alarm is set to go off in 6 hours, but I cannot make myself go to sleep! So I will sit here and surf the world wide web, perhaps read a bit and then make another attempt at going to bed.

Night, Night!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

Today has been a very joyful day for our family. Madgette woke up about 7:00 ready to see what Santa had delivered. She woke everyone up, and just about had a heart attack because her daddy made her wait until he could get the webcam set up before he would let her come in. We wanted to let all the Razorbacks family in Arkansas see our Chrsitmas morning. We also wanted to be able to see theirs. It was a lot of fun, except the girls kept forgetting they needed to be in front of the webcam so the other family could see them. So we could hear all the little kids talking, but not see them. It was funny!

Santa brought Madison a bike, and Julie a new digital camera. They were equally excited about what the big man brought them. While this Christmas was smaller than usual, we had just as much fun- if not more- than usual. Julie got a makeup kit which is the third picture, Madgette got some new "Hannah Montana" sparkly high top sneakers, and they both got lots of other stuff and full stockings. The first picture on the page is Madgette all decked out in her safety gear ready to give a no training wheel bike a try. She was concerned about protecting her "skuulll" (say that aloud like school- that's how it sounded)

The second picture is The Razorback getting some great daddy time in with Madgette. He was helping her to set up her DS. You probably can't tell, but he is wearing a Christmas present from his mom. A t-shirt that says "You Know You're a Razorback When..." and it has 10 reasons on the back. (There is a reason he is called "The Razorback")

This evening we ate a little dressing, some ham, cranberry sauce, and rolls until we were all stuffed. Now everything is quiet as everyone is playing their own games, or doing their own hobbies. I am pretty sure Madgette has gone to Julie's room to play, and Julie is probably playing on her computer. The Razorback has gone outside to work on restoring his boat. All is calm... at least for a little while!

From our house to yours-- MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Afternoon Excitement

This morning was very rough at our home thanks to a disturbing phone call from Chase auto finance. However, the afternoon turned out to be much better. We were able to stop and see baby Phoebe. She was so cute- and VERY expressive with that face! You should have seen her poke her lower lip out before she was ready to cry. Madgette is quite dramatic, but she can't even poke her lip out that far! We can't wait to see her again.

Another source of delight was when we give Phoebe's mom a Christmas card of our family. She told us "I will have to move that other card out of the way to put this one by Momma Pug's card." I was so honored! To think that we could be placed next to the Christmas card of Momma Pug is just amazing.

Christmas Giving

As children we are all told "it is the thought that counts" and "it is better to give than receive."

I must say that I agree with some of that, but definitely not all of it. I totally agree that it is better to give than receive. I love to give gifts to others. I like to give "happies" to my friends and co-workers to let them know how valuable they are in my life, and how much I appreciate them. I love giving Christmas gifts and I try to make sure everyone gets something. Madgette and I even packed a cute tin full of goodies for her bus driver. Ms. K (bus driver) looks out for Madgette each and every morning and gets her to school safely- what could be more important? I wanted her to know that we appreciate her. You should have seen Madgette getting on that bus and giving Ms. K her goodies. Madgette even told her she would need to share them with her son. I was cracking up! Her bus driver just laughed and said "Awww, you mean I have to share?" which Madgette loved.

However, I do not always believe that it is "the thought that counts." Now if a person is doing all they can- then I definitely believe that the thought counts. It is the people who can do and don't that really bother me. Maybe I am always broke because if I see a person that needs something and I have any money I will give it to them, or help them out however I can. There are so many people in this world who are so blessed and give nothing to anyone else.

What really blows my mind is how those same people can fool people into thinking that they are so wonderful. How can people like that keep the reputation of a golden child? The only thing I can think is that it must somehow be inter-related with the story of the prodigal son. But in the story of the prodigal son, the son realizes that he has made a mistake and comes to ask forgiveness. The golden children that I am thinking of will never ask forgiveness, or even admit that they have been disrespectful and/or dishonest.

I guess I am done rambling for this evening. Wow- this really is not what I sat down to write, but it sure is what came out!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

This weekend has been a fun one to say the least. Yesterday was our family baking day. Madgette and Julie helped to make oreo balls and rice krispie treats. We also made haystacks and oyster cracker treats. As soon as I can get rid of this headache this morning we are going to make toffee, fudge, and caramels.
My friend Janet taught me how to make all this wonderful candy, and motivated me to want to make Christmas goodies each year. After doing "baking day" with her ust one year, I knew this was something I would need to do every year. I also knew it would be something I wanted to raise Madgette to do. Madgette kept asking why we were doing this- was there a party, was I taking it to school? My only answer was that it was Christmas time and it's something fun we do.

Madgette has her children's choir performance at church tonight. She is in the kindergarten choir and the pre-k and k choir will perform first, then the 1st-4th grade choir will perform. My girl has been asked to sing the first verse of "Away in a Manger" with the 1st-4th grade choir. I am so proud, my chest might explode!

Tuesday night she has her program at school and has been given one of the speaking parts. She is playing the role of the grandmother, and her teacher says she knows her parts, and the parts of all her friends. I know she will be great- she is such a dramatic child! (Does anyone have any idea where she gets that? I can't figure it out! lol)

So, we are having a great weekend and are looking forward to the week to come. I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!