The Elephant in the Room

So. Notice anything different about my blog? You might be wondering if I have noticed anything different as I have yet to say anything about the fact that the design has been changed for the first time in about 3 years!

Well, I have definitely noticed and I LOVE it! I have to give some serious thanks to Jackie who tirelessly and patiently worked with me until I was completely satisfied with the finished product. Jackie has started a new blog design business called Memories By Design. I hope you will check out her site and maybe even hire her to redesign YOUR blog. I promise you won't be disappointed. She is a GEM! Thanks again, Jackie. I thoroughly enjoyed working with you.

And I'm tempted to leave this post at that because to try and catch you up on life as of late just seems too overwhelming.  It has truly been a crazy year for our family.  To sum it up, and I should really not say this without knocking on wood (hold on, I'll be right back)...I am the only person in my immediate family this year who has not had a head CT (among other expensive tests).  Yes, all three of my boys, including the oldest and largest one (who will remain nameless, but you all know who he is...okay, I'll just say it - RICH) have had injuries or accidents that have required a head CT.  Thanks be to God, all of the results came back normal. However, at this rate we are thinking about purchasing one (a CT machine) to keep in our home for future usage.  It really might be cheaper in the long run. 

In all seriousness, though, I have found myself wondering several times this year...what is up?  I usually go back to the conclusion that I must be doing something right or Satan would not be attacking so relentlessly.  Haven't figured out exactly what that right thing is yet, but I have a possibility or two.

Anywho...moving on to a lighter subject. Aside from Richie's eye injury and the passing of my Grandfather we have really had a good summer with activities including, but not limited to a trip to Florida (including Disney World, the beach, and celebrating Rich's parents' 50th anniversary), Tball, baseball, swimming, cooking out, etc.  And this week, my parents are here visiting with us!  We are going to hang out with them for a few days and then Rich and I are heading on a little outing BY OURSELVES to St. Louis.  After that we get to spend a few more days with my parents before they go home.  Thank you, Lord for these blessings!

I guess that is my little update in a nutshell.  I hope to post some pictures soon of our recent adventures, if I can ever muster the energy to download them...I know, it's pathetic. What can I say? Downloading pictures is a bit of an IHC for me.

In the Arms of Jesus

Yesterday, July 1st 2009, my Papaw Allen passed on into the arms of Jesus.



Papaw, you are dearly loved and missed...

Update on Richie

I apologize for not updating the blog before now regarding Richie's injury. I think a lot of you probably saw the updates I posted on Facebook, but Richie is doing just great! His eye has completely healed and according to the Opthamologist there will be no lasting damage to his eye or vision! We are so thankful to God for that! We really appreciate all of you who lifted us up in prayer during that time and sent us messages of encouragement. We definitely felt your prayers and believe that God was faithful to answer them!

We are heading out of town soon for a trip to Florida to see Rich's family and to celebrate his parent's 50th wedding anniversary! We are excited about that!

Pretty soon I'll have my new design up on the blog. Jackie and I are almost ready to unveil it!

Also, please forgive me for not getting around to read your blogs like I have done in the past. Ever since I started working part time, it seems like there are just not enough hours in the day. I try to get by as often as I can and I haven't forgotten about all my sweet blog friends!

Oh, one more thing, I ran another 5K with Rich last week and beat my first time by 6 minutes! I was so excited about that. I'm still running, but am taking a break from "races" for the time being.

I think that's all for now...over and out.

Richie's Eye Injury

I wanted to fill you in on the happenings of the last 18 hours or so. Last night Rich and I were playing tennis with friends and as Rich was serving the ball, Richie standing diagonally in front of him turned and the ball hit his eye.

I noticed shortly after that there was blood in the eye (where the iris is) and he was complaining that he could not see out of it. We went to the ER and they diagnosed him with Hyphema (bleeding in the anterior of the eye) and a corneal abrasion (which is very painful). They admitted him for observation and until the Opthamologist could see him in the morning. He had to be on bed rest and sleep upright so that the blood would not pool at the back of his eye causing more problems.

The Ophtamologist's report this morning was good. He said the blood in the eye was at 5% as opposed to 10% the night before. There was no damage to the back of the eye and the prognosis was good for a full recovery. He said at least 24 hours more of bed rest, a patch for the eye, drops, and medicine for the pain. We are to see him again tomorrow at 1:30pm to check the progress. He thought the abrasion should be healed by then and that (hopefully) the blood in the eye would be completely absorbed.

We were discharged from the hospital, but as soon as we got home he started complaining of his stomach hurting and threw up (we think this was from the medicine on a mostly empty stomach). He still seems to be in a lot of pain, is still struggling with nausea, and is having a hard time leaving the eye alone. We are also concerned the eye might be bleeding again...it is hard to tell by just looking.

Please continue to pray for him. Thanks to everyone for all the prayers, thoughts, and kind deeds. We are truly grateful!

My First 5K: Documented for Posterity

Guess what?

I ran my first 5K last week! This was truly an amazing feat for me. I have never been a runner. In fact, I was the girl in gym class who huffed and puffed around the track claiming that I couldn't run. I must admit the odds were and (still are) stacked against me. I don't have a "runner's body". There is nothing long and lean about me. I'm a mere 5'0" tall.

This all started with The Big D. I started running to amp up my weight loss efforts. Over a six month period I slowly and gradually worked myself up to a point where I could run a good amount of time without stopping. At that point, I decided to bite the bullet and sign up to run a 5K(3.1 miles) with my husband, Rich, and friend, Shelley.

I trained mostly with Rich who is not a mere 5'0" tall. He's a much more significant 6'0" tall. He was so sweet and helpful and ran right alongside me even though it was more difficult for him to run at a slower pace. He also helped me work through some of the mental stuff, which turned out to be a BIG part of the battle for me.

I didn't set any speed records, but I met my goal of running the entire distance (without stopping) and finishing in under 40 minutes. My official time was 38:22.5. And do you know what? I actually enjoyed it! I didn't enjoy all of the training, but I definitely enjoyed the race. In fact (now brace yourself for this one), I'm running another one in about two weeks! I'd like to satisfy my curiosity by seeing if I can run it a bit faster. After this one, I plan to take a break for awhile and not push quite so hard.

Anyway, that's a little bit about what has been going on with me. Thanks to all of you who have encouraged me and prayed for me along the way. It really meant so much to me!

Shelley and I (BR - before the race)

Rich and I (BR)

Shelley and I (AR - After the race)

Rich and I (AR)

Happy Mother's Day!

Rich and I miss our Moms (and families) on a daily basis, but there are days like today that make us miss them more than usual.. We both feel that we are where we belong, but being away from family is never easy. Our Moms and Dads miss out not only on the big days (like today) but also on the day to day moments of our lives. I don't always do a great job of keeping them up to date on what we are doing so I thought I would take this opportunity to share with them some our memories from the last year. We love you all so much. And our hearts miss you especially on days like today. Please know we consider ourselves very blessed to call you "Mother".

The Noticer: A Giveaway - The Winner!

Oops. I forgot to post the winner to the book giveaway yesterday. Seriously, the state of this blog is sad, sad, sad.

Anyway, I used Random.org to generate a number because writing out six whole slips of paper with your names on them seemed like a little too much work! Haha!

Anyway, without further ado...

The winner is

PAM!!!!!!!

Congratulations, Pam! I really loved your response by the way and can definitely relate! I'll send you an email so we can work out delivery! ;-)