Day 90(40) Lets Pray No Surgery!

March 29: Yes folks, it is what it looks like, a broken thumb! Zach and I got up early so we could be one of the first at urgent care. We saw Dr. Lyons who is always great with the boys when we go there. He said there was still some dislocation so he fixed that and then the but came, he also has a small fracture. He said at least 4-6 wks out of baseball. When I asked him if he thought it would need surgery he would not say so that has me concerned. We see Dr. Klepper in the morning and then probably on to an orthopod. Pray for just a 4-6wk cast and no surgery.

Day 89(39) Lets Hope Its Not Broke

March 28th: Zach had a 4:oo game today in the nice, cold wind. During the 2nd inning Zach tagged a kid out at 3rd to make the 3rd out. After the play he took his glove off and showed the umpire. The umpired called the coaches over. At first I thought he got cleated, if only we were so lucky. The coach held up his hand and is left thumb was sticking way out the side in not a normal position, he had a dislocation. The coach got it put back into place. Zach was up to bat and went out to bat. The umpire couldn't believe it. He said Zach was tough. Unfortunately he couldn't grip the bat and had to bunt getting thrown out at 1st. That was all of his playing for the day. The 3rd base umpire told us he thought he was going to pass out when he saw Zach's thumb. We plan on getting an X-ray in the morning at urgent care. I will let you know.

Day 88(38) Winter Wonderland

March 27th: I know it is not a lot of snow but I will tell you one thing, its cold out there! Hayden's school playground. I forgot he was the snack master of his class today so I had to go get snacks and bring them to him.

My view as I sat at the red light at 4th and Frankford just after I left Wal-Mart picking up those wonderful snacks!

Day 87(37) Traffic Jam

March 26th: This picture does not do justice to the crazy traffic that one encounters at Zach's middle school. It is crazy and you have to watch out for them all because you never know what they are going to do.

Day 86(36) More Meds

March 25th: Zach originally went to the doctor on Monday but we had a repeat appearance on Wednesday. After an X-Ray of his sinuses it was determined that he had a continuing sinus infection and his antibiotic was changed. I believe he is feeling better.

Day 85(35) This Old House

March 24th: On one of our many trips to Walgreens this week i snapped this shot. This is the house that has sat at the intersection of 4th and Slide. I know it has an official name but no sleep last night so I am too tired to look it up(maybe Shallowbottom can help me with this). I've always known it as where the Rip Griffin offices were. However, thanks to growth and progress the house was sold to the highest bidder and had to be moved so that Slide Rd could be expanded to Loop 289. Looks like they were pretty close to moving it.

Day 84(34) Plug It Up

March 23rd: Sorry this pic is so blurry. What is it u ask. Ear wax which Zach used in his baseball game that night. Went to the doctor and had a sinus and ear infection. I think the wax help some but with the wind blowing 80mph Monday night don't know if anything would have helped.

Day 83(33) Water Gun Fights!

March 22nd: A lazy, warm Sunday afternoon. Zach was headed to his buddy's house to play XBox Live when Hayden asked him to hang around the house for a while and play water gun fights. Even though Zach really didn't want to he gave in and did. I even think he had some fun. Thanks Zach for being a good big brother. Even though you fight with each other all the time, it will be these times you remember the most. Zach getting his aim on.

Hayden circling around trying to stay away from Zach.

Hayden takes this battling very serious!

Day 82(32) Yummy!

March 21st: How good does this look? Shawn's homemade chicken fried rice. The bad thing? I was a loser today when I went to Wal-Mart and forgot to get some egg rolls. Oh well, I guess we will just have to suffer with just the rice. Darn the luck!

Day 81(31) Hayden Is A Believer

March 20th: My sweet Hayden. He is all about holidays. I don't think I have ever been around a kid that enjoys them all so much. He actually gets it. He understands everything about them that so many of us miss. He gets the being around family, the eating, the getting of gifts and the hunting the eggs but the thing that impresses me so much about him, is that he gets the Jesus part of it all and at such a young age. This kid is a true believer in every part of his being and he doesn't care what others think. If some one at school says something about his sweet Jesus, he lets them know about it. I don't know what this kid will choose as a profession one of these days, but all I know is that he will be spreading the Word to whoever will listen.

Day 80(30) Lazy Day

March 19th: This is Zach having a lazy morning. I honestly can't say he has been doing much of this. He has actually been working this spring break. He babysat the next door neighbor last Saturday night making some good money and then the rest of the week he has been helping his buddy down the street, also named Zach, scrape paint as prep work for an exterior painting. I don't know how much he is raking in with that one. I have been proud of him going out and earning some of his own money. He is beginning to understand the value of the not so mighty dollar.

Day 79(29) The Big Juicy Ones

March 18th: Ok, because I am a nurse I feel I can say this, we are a unique breed and one of our favorite things are the big, juicy ones. Get your mind out of the gutter. We just really like those big, juicy veins to start IV's in. However, me myself enjoy the challenging IV start that others seem to shy away from. Nothing makes a nurse feel more confident in themselves then to start a challenging IV.

Day 78(28) The Name Game

March 17th: This is the lovely dry erase board at my work. To the left in the area you can't see are the names of our patients as well as their physicians. The area you see here are the names of me and my wonderful co-workers. Our names can appear anywhere from 3 to 6 times on this board depending on how many patients we have on our floor and how well we are staffed. We usually prefer the slow nights where our name only appears about 3 times but that has been wishful thinking lately!

Day 77(27) The Deuces

March 16th: On days I work sometimes I don't feel very creative and I don't really look for a photo to take and before I know it the day is gone. This is one of those days. As I was headed off to work I asked the hubby if he would take some pictures for me and I would pick one out. He wasn't up for that idea and suggested that I take the camera to work. Well, I wasn't up for that idea so I turn to my youngest and ask him to shoot some film for me. He is usually shooting pics anyway so why not. Well, believe it or not, he is usually very creative, but I guess last night was not one of those nights. This is the best one I could find with him flashing us some deuces. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers! Hayden being to cool for us.

Day 76(26) Getting Ready For The Opener

March 15th: Shawn and Zach finishing some extra baseball work before he has his opening game on the 23rd. Not having enough practices with the team so a little work needed on the side.

I'm sure that Zach was glad we were done. He understands that sometimes it takes some extra work even though he doesn't always like to do it at the time, he likes the results he gets in the game.

Day 75(25) Shawn's BAP's

March 14th: One of the many reasons I love this man, he LOVES to cook and as for me I only do it out of necessity. Shawn told me, "You know what I'm cooking?---BAPS". I know I had a confused look on my face when he said this. He then asked, "Do you know what BAPS are? Big A** Patties! LOL". Only Shawn.

And of course, he can't resist "hamming" it up for us. He can be so entertaining! I'm just glad he likes to cook!

Bill and Roger

The past few weeks Shawn and I have caught this program on the God Learning Channel. It is Bill and Roger ministries. These two guys are fellow South Plains/Panhandle guys. They are farmers/ranchers from the Vega area and are Worship leaders at the Barn Church in Hereford, TX.

I have found these guys very interesting and easy to listen to. I think why we like them so much is that they remind us of men we grew up around in our small, west Texas towns of our youth. I believe these guys have something going on and are headed in the right direction. If you have time check them out at www.billandroger.com . It will be worth your time.

My 365 picture is yet to come, cause I haven't even taken it yet. Uh-oh!!!

Day 74(24) Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away

March 13th: I have to say I am enjoying this rain. Although it is a little cold, I will take this rain all day and then some. I love the sound of rain against the roof-top. It is a little mesmerizing and I feel like I could watch some TV and then take an afternoon snooze before I pick up those crazy boys.

Day 73(23) 15 and Counting

March 12th: 15 years later we are still here. I had planned on getting a picture of Shawn and I together all day but it just never happened so I will make you guys suffer at looking at an old pic. Yes, we look very young and yes, I was once skinny. Maybe on of these days again( I know never this skinny again). We had a nice day but we plan on going out Saturday to Harrigans by ourselves. We will see if we get the chance!

Day 72(22) Man in the Moon

Time change, what can I say about it. I wish it would get left one way or the other but doesn't look like that would ever happen. Although I am not real excited about losing this hour of sleep(I will eventually adjust), I did see this beautiful site this morning as I took the boys to school, so I guess it is not all bad.

Day 71(21) Hayden and Homework

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My Hayden is such a trooper. Not really being our avid sportsman and not having practice of his own, he gets drug to most of Zach's practices and games. This is nothing new for him since he has pretty much been doing this since day 1. So, this is a common scene of him, in our backseat doing homework while we watch Zach do his thing. I hope Zach appreciates how accommodating his brother has been for him one of these days. In the future I hope Hayden finds something he really loves doing and Zach has to slow down and wait on Hayden some. I think it would really be good for both of them.

Day 68, 69 and 70

Ok guys, I know you have been waiting on some pictures from me but I have been having some issues. Saturdays, Sunday's and Monday'spictures are on a video camera that also takes stills. Unfortunately, I cannot get them to download so I will continue to work on them. Be patient.

Day 67(17) Growing Up

March 6th: This picture was taken today as my eldest child was walking away to go do his job. He and a lot of other middle school boys got various jobs at the Tiger Relays today and tomorrow. Zach and his running buddy, Ryan (the #3 in the foreground) have the exciting job of setting starting blocks for all of the hurdle races. I was there to drop off some cash, bring his cap and get some sunscreen on that boy. He leaned in the car window for me to put the sunscreen on and kept saying "hurry up mom." I guess I should have given him a big smack on the lips and he really would have died.

I know this is all part of growing up for him. In some ways it makes me sad but in other ways it brings me joy to see this kid that used to be so unsure of himself socially, growing into a confident young man and socializing very easily with his peers.

Day 66(16) Sweet Tears

March 5: I am forgoing a picture of mine today in order to post this video. This is former President George HW Bush in a press conference after his wife, Barbara's open heart surgery. You hear the love in his voice for her. If only we can all be so lucky. This is truly one of the sweetest things I have ever seen. These are two of my favorite people. They have a true love for one another as well as a true love of Jesus.

Day 63(15) Give Me Your Eyes

March 4th: My view of traffic as I sit at the intersection of 4th Street and the West Loop. Even though Lubbock's traffic congestion is really not an issue, I will admit there are times that other drivers can push my buttons. I try not to get frustrated and I tell myself, "Get a grip Denise, Jesus would remain calm in this situation." That helps thinking that to myself and listening to Air 1 radio helps too. The song that was playing when I took this picture was Brandon Heaths' "Give Me Your Eyes". This is one of my favorite songs. It talks about seeing the world and the people in it through Jesus' eyes.


Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes

Look down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touch down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock Of confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere

Why have I never cared

Chorus
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me you heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what's underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work, He's buying time

Chorus

I’ve been here a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just move and pass me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong I need a second glance
Give me a second chance
To see the way you’ve seen the people all along

Chorus

Day 62(14) The Battle of the Tree

March 3rd: Shawn and I got a call from Hayden yesterday about 240. He says we need to come get him because he had had a battle with the biggest tree on the playground. LOL! What really happened is that he was walking with a group of friends and doing his usually chit chatting and had turned his head back to carry on the conversation as he continued walking right into a tree. How he managed to find one of only about 3 trees on the campus is beyond me. Leave it to our Hayden!

Day 61(13) Hiddy Ho, Good Neighbor

March 2nd: Shawn has today off for one of the 50(not really) State of Texas holidays he gets off. Honestly, this is one of his favorite days to have off, Texas Independence Day. He loves America, but I don't think it would bother him if Texas was its own country. So to celebrate he is getting to do fence repair! Just one of the many things he does to keep our house in good shape. Thanks Shawn for all you do for our family!

Somehow I don't think Wilson ever looked like this looking over Tim's fence on Home Improvement. Scary!

Day 60(12) They Finally Did It

March 1st: What is this you ask? Well around 3AM this morning I heard a lot of screeching, a thud and then the squealing of tires. I looked out my front window to see if I saw anything and waited to hear sirens of emergency vehicles but they never came. Don't think I am weird for not walking outside to see what was going on, you see unfortunately this is a common occurrence by our house. Our poor neighbor, Felix lives on the corner house where the road has a big curve to it. I can not tell you the number of times he has had cars run through his yard. He had his mailbox ran over so many times that he finally moved it to the other side of his house by us. The front orange cones sit where we had a fire hydrant. As many times as people have run through his yard they have managed to miss the fire hydrant. That was until the wee hours of this morning. The far orange cones is where the hydrant finally rested. I'm not sure how they managed to miss the white mustang in the driveway next door.

The final resting place for the poor fire hydrant. I guess the combination of not paying attention, a curve in the road and I'm sure some added cocktails contributed to the demise of our red and green friend. I bet the car or truck that hit it looks a lot worse. I'm sure my red friend here faired much better in the end.