Nearing the End of School

The fireflies have hatched … as have their mosquito cousins. Boy, are they vicious! If I could just get the rain to come on my schedule I could keep the grass cut.

BOOTING THE BOOT. Mom has dealt with some pain over the last week, but she is better. She even went to church this morning! One bit of good news is that the orthopedic surgeon has given her clearance to take off the boot. That makes getting around for her so much easier.

She also got good reports back from all the tests of tissue that was removed in surgery. The doctor feels like he got everything so no additional treatments are necessary. Now we need to just wait and see what healing brings.

ONE MORE WEEK OF CLASSES! All three kids are excited that the end of school is near. Just one more week of classes and they'll be able to put their books away for a couple of months.

The last few weeks of school brings many field trips. Nate has gotten to go off campus for lunch several times as a reward for his performance in several areas (e.g. how many books he's read). Jenna's English class went to see The Great Gatsby the other day. Friday Ben went on the annual Jr. Beta trip to Holiday World. Ben had a good time but I felt a little sorry for him. At the theme park the kids were grouped and assigned to a chaperone. Ben really wanted to ride a lot of rides but the majority of kids in his group preferred to spend their extra money on games in hopes of winning a stuffed animal or some other prize. He did get on several rides but not as many some of his buddies who were in other groups.

FARMER JEN. Jenna is serious about her garden. She planted it last week (I helped only a little). She's put out sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, sweet potatoes, green beans, cucumber, squash, cantaloupe, and watermelon. Ben wants carrots so that may go in this week. Now it's a matter of keeping the weeds and bugs under control and in a few months we should be seeing some of the fruits of her labor.

What's so funny is that Jenna is now noticing crops as we're driving places. She commented on how good one corn field looked just today. She's becoming a regular farmer.

GEOCACHING. If you have never heard of this it is a treasure hunting game played by thousands around the world. There are over two million caches scattered on every continent. With that many there may be one near you. We have one right next door.

To play the game all you need it a GPS (or a smart phone capable of locating itself) and access to a geocaching website to find where caches are located. Then you go hunting. The caches themselves range in size from a weatherproof box (e.g. an ammunition can or a food storage box) to the really small container (e.g. a pill bottle or a 35 mm film can). All caches have a log that you sign. Some have trinkets you can take as long as you put one of equal or greater value back.

I recently got an upgrade to an iPhone so the boys and I decided to try our hand at the game last weekend. We've found five within a few miles of the house. We took Mom out last Sunday for one of our forays. We were at the grocery store in Cross Plains looking for one cache. The boys were looking all over the parking lot with my phone when I looked around and spotted what appeared to be the most logical place to hide a cache. I got out, put my hands right on the little film can, and headed back to the van. The boys couldn't believe I found it without electronic aid. Nate has had so much fun he said he wants to spend one whole day this summer geocaching. I told him I'd be willing if he'd chip in on the gas.

Joe

Post-Op Report

I want to begin by thanking everyone who has prayed for Mom. Many of you called, texted, or sent an email which was very appreciated even if all I could say at the time was “thank you.” We have been stretched thin between caring for Mom at Vanderbilt and the kids here at home and I am only now having the time to sit down and write this up.

Mom’s surgery went well. When it was over the surgeon came out and told us there were no surprises and that everything looked like he had expected from the biopsy. While they were in surgery they had the tissue around the margins tested and that all came back clear. The only test we do not have results on yet is the bone pathology (those come back in a week). Overall he was really pleased and doesn’t feel that any additional treatment is necessary.

The procedure did take nine of Mom’s upper teeth starting with the four front teeth and stretching around to include all of the molars on the right side. Early on we were told there would not be enough bone left to support dental reconstruction or any type of denture, but after the surgery he sounded like that could still be a possibility. We’ll just have to wait until she heals to know for sure.

The one speed bump in all this is that during surgery Mom’s blood pressure dropped and heart enzymes spiked. They were on top of it so she was not in any danger, however, this brought a cardiologist into the picture and it sounds like a heart catheter is in her future in a couple of weeks.

For now all Mom has to do is sit back, drink smoothies, and heal. Judy has her fixed up with what looks like a year’s supply of soda straws so I’m thinking I just need to stop by the store and get her some drink umbrellas.

Joe

On the Eve of Surgery

Last week was beautiful, then a front moved in late Friday afternoon and changed the whole thing.

SURGERY TOMORROW. Mom is not looking forward to what has to be done tomorrow, but at the same time she is ready to have the sore spots in her mouth taken care of. She has told us the places feel like they are growing and that they are really sensitive to things like brushing her teeth or eating even mildly spicy food.

I will send out an update after her surgery. We appreciate your prayers.

EARLY BIRTHDAY. Mom’s birthday falls on Mother’s Day this year, but Derek and Amanda invited us over to their house last night to celebrate her birthday a week early. They treated us to a steak dinner and we all had a great time. Mom even played “Happy Birthday” to herself on their piano.

WET CAMPING. As I have already mentioned the weather changed drastically Friday. We went to highs in the 70s to highs in the low 50s with rain. Almost two inches of rain as a matter of fact. It all came in just as Troop 459 was heading out for the spring camporee and it was dreary all weekend long. They still had a good time though.

I didn’t make this campout. Nate and I were planning to go to the Cum and Family campout as Boxwell this weekend with others from his Webelo den but with the rain everyone decided to stay home.

I BRAGGED TOO SOON. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how Tagalong was taking care of our recently orphaned kittens. I was wondering at the time if I were singing his praises too soon. A day to two later he and all the kittens disappeared. We saw no sign of them for several days until Tagalong returned home…alone.

It’s a good thing Nate took pictures of them for the art fair. His picture won third place at school, but did not place at the county level.

Joe