One more silver lining....

I just got my first Christmas present of the season!! A new kitchen range!! Thanks to Tim's parents, who graciously offered to buy it for us as our Christmas present for say...the next three years or so!! To make a long story short...our oven died...the temperature in the oven wouldn't go over about 275 degrees. Mom decided that with four kids and Thanksgiving coming up we needed an oven. Thanks Mom & Dad, we love it!!

I've decided that my goal for the new year (starting now) is to find the silver lining to every cloud...since I've had so many opportunities to do that lately I figure I'll be really good at it. For example, I've wanted to change out the tile in my bathrooms. I just don't like it, I never have, and I've wanted to change it. The problem is, I'm not sure if I can do it so it will look okay, and I can't really afford to have someone come out and do it for me. Well, I decided that since my closet doesn't have any carpet anymore, I'm going to lay tile in there. That way I can practice...it's a small space so it shouldn't take very long...and if it looks horrible, it's the floor of a closet and nobody will ever notice! See?? Silver lining.

I also had a really bad dream last night...I know it was a bad dream because I woke up crying and drenched in sweat...but I don't remember any of it...I'm sure that is a silver lining...I also know that to be dreaming something so vividly that it made me cry I had to be really deeply asleep, something that I haven't experienced since the accident...so that, too, is a silver lining.

What Silver Linings do you have in your life this year to be thankful for??

Every cloud has it's silver lining...

Due to the washer disaster (it looks might it just be a cracked hose so maybe it won't be so bad) I didn't have enough clothes clean. Between dinner and baths and chiropractor appointments I just couldn't make it over to my friend's house tonight to get any washed. So... at 9:30 tonight I headed out to Target to see if they had one more pair of the pants I bought a couple of weeks ago that I love...well, not only did they have a pair...they were on the clearance rack at half price!! I love a bargain!! I also picked up three v-neck long-sleeved t-shirts for half price!! All for less than I would have paid for the one pair of pants not on sale!! Whoo hoo!! (hey, it's the little things these days!!)

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming....

For those of you who own the Disney movie "Finding Nemo" and have not stopped to listen to the banter at the beginning while the movie is waiting for you to press play from the start menu you must, it's hilarious!! My life right now, on the other hand, is anything but.

I'm reminded on a daily basis to "just keep swimming, swimming, swimming..." (a famous quote from Dory in "Finding Nemo" in case you didn't know) Simply getting through the day sane is a challenge right now. Tim is, for the most part, recovering well...but he still can't do many of the things he has always done...like carrying S. to her own bed when she falls asleep in ours, or pulling wet carpet out of our closet after our washer springs a leak.

Yes, you "heard" that right. Yesterday afternoon I discovered a wet spot on the carpet in my bedroom closet. I promptly swore at the cat under my breath and sprayed it with Odoban and threw a towel on it. I came back later to finish the job and the spot was bigger....and it trailed from the back wall. I know, I know...those of you who know me are amazed I could SEE that it trailed from the back wall given the normal state of my closet floor but I COULD! So, being the wonderful mother that I am I roused my kids from their slumber (they had just gone to bed...they weren't really asleep) and made them clean out the closet (okay, they dumped it all into buckets that are still strewn around my living room)...it became abundantly clear as J. jumped up and down on the carpet and proclaimed it "cool" and "squishy" that we had a slightly larger problem on our hands. So...I pulled out the box cutter, cut the carpet across the doorway (thankfully it hadn't quite made it that far yet), and started pulling up wet carpet, and even wetter padding, and mopping up the remaining inch or two of water with any towel the kids could find and throw at me.

SIGH

I finally finished up and put two fans in the closet to dry out the remaining water and soggy floorboards and sat on the couch to veg in front of a DVD.

Guess what???

The DVD player is broken. It won't read any disc. I tried several. Possibly a dozen before I gave up.

Put one foot in front of the other...."just keep swimming, swimming, swimming...." BREATHE!!!

It's just been one of those weeks. Hopefully, next week will be better.

A Welcome Relief...

My back was REALLY bothering me this week (I wonder why?? I only helped lift a Rhino off my husband...) so I went to see my buddy Marcos. Marcos is THE BEST massage therapist I have ever been to, and I've been to quite a few. His work is more than a "nice" massage, although he'll do those too if you ask him. His work gets rid of that knot that you've had in your neck for 15 years and nobody else could even move. My hip has been out of whack ever since I tore the meniscus in my knee and I can actually move it!! That's saying something!

If you live in Arizona and you deal with pain, you really need to go see him...you won't be sorry.

Here's his website:
http://www.abalancedbodyaz.com/

He has a Kudzu site with reviews and coupons!! http://arizona.kudzu.com/controller.jsp?An=0&Au=P_CompanyID&A=1387994

read and bookmark his blog: http://abalancedbody.blogspot.com/

Oh, and tell him I sent you!!!

Mr. Bojangles

Well, I have some good news finally!!



First, the techie guru from our high school came down to the elementary school and within a few seconds found my lost gradebook...now mind you, I did a search on every drive in the thing and it didn't appear for me...but I don't care!! It's found and I have my grades back!! Hallelujah!!

Next, Tim's surgery went really well...I am amazed that they missed this break the first time around...it looks pretty obvious to me but who am I?? I'll let you decide....


Can you see the triangle shaped piece just floating around in his finger??




They put two pins in it to set it. These pins will be removed, eventually, unlike the one in his leg which will set off the alarms in the airport for the rest of his life!!


And here is Mr.Stumpy McGimp himself. He looks pretty happy for a guy who just spent three days in the hospital after having his leg and hand crushed under a Rhino!!

Finally, I got to spend a good portion of my day today teaching tap dancing! I used to teach tap a LONG time ago when the kids were little. Today, our music teacher came to me and told me she had arranged for coverage of my class if I would come and teach tap to three of her classes today. I really, really enjoyed it...I miss our little dance academy and teaching in it!! I have not enjoyed my job that much in a very long time!



Wanna dance??

Like the Energizer Bunny....

It just keeps coming....
Today I went to school and found out that somehow over the weekend while they were switching over our server my gradebook was lost to cyberspace. It's gone...progress reports are due on Tuesday and I have no grades.

And the plates keep spinning............................................

Quick Update.....

Thank you for all the prayers and offers of help...it is truly amazing to me!

Tim is home from the hospital, very tired but recovering well. He is in a lot of pain if he doesn't take his meds (he tried to be a hero today and not take them) but does pretty well on them. We gave him a bath today for the first time and tomorrow he has a consult with a hand surgeon.

I am more tired than I ever thought was physically possible and still be standing. I ran innumerable errands yesterday only to get a flat tire and find out that I needed to get four new tires. I spent part of the evening at Sam's club when I would much rather have been sleeping. This morning my mil went out to find that my dh's car had a flat tire. Two more new tires. Tonight I went to switch out the laundry and my washer is leaking...there is water all over the floor. (sigh)))

In all of this I praise God because He has kept us safe. I did a google search on Rhino Rollover accidents and many of them end up with amputation of limbs or death. It could have been so much worse. My tire (which was down to 15psi) could have blown in the middle of the curvy part of I17 and I would have become part of the landscape. It could have been so much worse.

I don't understand this trial God is allowing in our lives. I only know that God is good...ALL the time...and He will work even this out for the good of them who are called according to his purpose.

In need of prayer....

My husband and daughter were in an accident this weekend on a Rhino (which is an off road vehicle kind of like a cross between a jeep and a golf cart) The vehicle flipped and my husband was pinned under the roll bars. His leg was broken and he lost part of a finger on his right hand. B was driving so while she's not physically hurt other than being very sore, mentally she's in anguish. Read on if you want details, but they are not for the squimish. If you decide to skip it just read the last paragraph. Thank you for your prayers for our family.

Tim came through surgery well. He had a pin put in his leg and they had to build the bone up some because he lost some bone when it was crushed under the roll bar. They had to amputate his right ring finger from the first joint up and the bone between the first and second joint is broken. They are optimistic that he will be able to adjust to the new length of his finger and even be able to relearn to touch type. The top 1/2 cm of his pinkie was also crushed but there was no skin loss and they feel that the bone will regrow on it's own. He also had an open skin wound on his leg (I thought from the compound fracture but the edge of the bone was intact so it must have been from something else) so the biggest concern right now and the reason he is still in the hospital is the risk of infection. They have him on IV antibiotics and will keep him either until late this evening or tomorrow morning.

B was driving the Rhino (it really wasn't her fault, Tim told her abruptly to turn left so she did it but too quickly and the thing rolled...she's an inexperienced driver and didn't know any better. He instinctively put out his arm and leg to break the fall and they ended up outside the vehicle. Thank God for the roll bars, even though they caused Tim's injury, without them I think all of them would have been killed) so she is pretty messed up in her head but she is doing better now that she is past the shock. She actually lifted the vehicle up far enough off her dad's leg that he could get a rock jammed under it to relieve the pressure. She's very sore and I'm going to try to get her into see my chiropractor today. She also lost her glasses in the crash and she is blind without them...We did have a pair at home but they are three years old and the prescription is slightly different than her current prescription. I am taking her to get glasses ordered today. After that I am dropping her off at my school to spend the day with my friend Lisa, who was her favorite teacher because I'm giving her the pain pills that we got and never used from HER ER visit two weeks ago and letting her have a day to hopefully recuperate and not have to lift too much.

The other kids were not in the vehicle, nor was I, so physically we are all okay but mentally the kids are pretty messed up. They had to watch me put their very bloody dad into the van and drive away, not knowing what would happen. We were about 20 miles off the freeway in a remote meadow off a dirt road. There was no cell phone reception until we got to the freeway. The nearest ER was an hour away so I called 911 from my cell phone in the car and we met the EMT's at a rest stop about a mile down the freeway. The stabilized him and took him the rest of the way to the hospital in Cottonwood. That is where he still is, which is about a two hour drive from my house. I stayed with him Saturday night and came home about 5am to get some sleep. I took the kids up yesterday so they could see he was okay. He was able to get up and walk with a walker (he can't use his right hand for crutches)...and we took him out in a wheelchair to sit on the patio for awhile.

Tim's mom is flying in tonight. She is a retired nurse so I will feel much more comfortable going back to work on Wednesday knowing she is here to take care of him. I just have to get through today. I should be able to bring him home tonight or tomorrow.

If you have read all the way to the end of my novel here, thank you, thank you for your prayers and all the support you have been to me always. You are a precious group of ladies. Life is a fragile thing. We were lucky. Make sure you always take time to kiss your babies and tell your husband you love him because you never know when the last time might be. We were very blessed that this wasn't his time because this could have been so much worse.

Love,
Sally

The Great Goldfish Drama!!

(or why you shouldn't let your kids play the games that give out penny goldfish as prizes!!)

Soooo...Friday night was our school's Harvest Festival. Each of the teachers had to create booth with a game or food or something. I was no exception. I was face painting and feeding chocolate to the many attendees of this great gathering. While I was so occupied my children were generally running amuck with their tickets.

One of the booths was a fishing booth.

They were giving out goldfish as prizes.

My son came to my booth proudly displaying his catch...to which I exclaimed rather loudly..."no, no more pets, no more!!" (We have a dog, two cats, and a mouse already...all of which came to us as hand me downs or orphans...)

Well, as a teacher I had to stay to the bitter end to clean up. So did my kids. Before I knew it my kids were the proud owners of not one...not two...but ELEVEN goldfish!!!!

SIGH!!!

We brought them home and put them in a large vase. I went to Wal-mart and bought goldfish food. I warned my kids that fish like this don't usually live very long.

The next morning we had our first porcelain funeral. We were down to ten.

Last night we lost seven more. Down to three.

Today, after school, two more had bit the dust. Down to one.

Tonight we had our final flushing...and I get my vase back.

My kids swear they loved them while they were with us...and they can't wait until next year so they can get some more fish....

I think next year I'll give away drumsets as prizes!!!

Be Part of the Solution!!!

My friend, Niki, and I were talking the other night and we were wondering when we became old enough that everyone around us seems to be diagnosed with cancer...

Is it our age or is it THIS age...an age of chemicals and hormones and who-knows-what in our food, water and the air around us?? Maybe it's just the fact that a diagnosis can be made sooner and more people are FIGHTING cancer instead of just dying before they even know they have it.

My grandfather had lung cancer.

My dad has battled prostrate & skin cancer.

A good friend of mine and my old boss, Lynne, battled skin cancer.

My MIL battled skin cancer.

I had a scare a month ago, where it was a possibility that I might have thyroid cancer.(It wasn't)

My aunt just underwent a masectomy for breast cancer. (She's doing well and recovering nicely!)

A good friend of mine just had to undergo a biopsy for possible breast cancer (it wasn't, thank God!!)

My best friend, Heather, just endured the most hellish year of her life, undergoing chemo to ward off sarcoma of her kidney. She almost died from the treatment three times. But without the treatment her chances of surviving were, well, slim.

I used to be able to sit by, donate a few dollars, and hope that "those" doctors and researchers would find a cure for cancer...you know, in a benevolent wishing for World Peace kind of way.

This past year it's gotten really personal. This isn't just about finding a cure for cancer...this is about finding a cure for my best friend, and my family, and my other friends, and the millions of mothers, fathers, children, and friends that not only hope for a cure but desperately need one if they are going to live to see another birthday...this is about being part of the solution.

My best friend is participating in the Relay for Life this year and I hope you will go support her...for me, for her, and for yourself. Because if you haven't been personally touched by cancer, it won't be long. Be part of the solution...go to this link,Heather's Relay for Life Page and help Heather exceed her goal in a way she could never imagine!!