Thanks Les...........I think!!!!

So I've been tagged! The deal is I have to list 7 random things about myself and then tag 7 other people. So here it goes......

1. I was born and raised in the GREAT state of Iowa
2. I said I would NEVER live in Kentucky and guess where I am living now!!!! (Never say never - something I strongly teach to my children)
3. I have 3 half-sisters who are older than me (1 I have met and 2 I do not know)
4. I love being a Mom (I'm not cut out to be a stay at home Mom and I have high admiration for those that can stay at home)
5. My best friend is more like a sister than a friend
6. I am right where God intended for me to be in my life (even with the latest trials)
7. Baby Copeland (born with Trisomy-18) whom I don't know or even know her family (found their blog through a friend of a friend) has taught me more in her short 8 days of life and touched mine more than she or her family can ever know. I know that one day I will get to thank Copeland myself!!

Now I have to tag 7 people.......I'm not sure that I know enough people to tag!

Also, here is a link to the blog about Copeland. I would ask for prayers for her family, as she died yesterday at 8 days old. Their family blog is an incredible testimony to a very strong faith. It touched me in a way that I cannot even begin to describe. It sure put what I am going through into perspective and doesn't make it seem nearly as bad.

Oh yeah, and thank goodness it is raining..........I am so happy and thankful for rain!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a great day everyone! Love you all!

Update on Tina's Appointment

Good Morning,

It is with a bit of a heavy heart that I write this post today. As you know yesterday was the appointment with the Neurologist. Well, we didn't quite get what we were expecting (not that I really knew what to expect). He said that I do have some nerve impairment in the left leg, in fact he could get no reflex from my ankle at all, and my knee response was less than what he had gotten in the right leg. He said that due to all the Staph-MRSA infections that I've had in the last 3 months, that he could not do surgery. He said that I was assured to get an infection just from the incision alone, since I seem to get them without even being cut or scratched. So, for the time being he has referred me to Rehab Therapy/Pain Management doctor. I don't care what they do, but I just want to be rid of the pain. I feel like I could even go back to work if I didn't have this ridiculous pain that makes even getting a shower difficult! So once again I am back in a holding pattern, waiting on the Neurologist to call with my appointment to the new doctor and all I hope is that it is not 4 weeks away! Please pray that they can see me this week yet. I would love to feel even the slightest relief from all this pain.

The Start of the Weekend

Good Saturday Morning,

Our weekend started at 7:00 AM to the blaring alarm clock, and another band competition. Today's competition is very close to home, right next door practically in Carroll County. Which makes the day a bit shorter for band, and a welcome relief as the temperatures today will be in the 90's once again. Band uniforms and 90 degree weather don't really go hand in hand! Russell has already left to take Darryl to the High School and help get them ready to go. Russell and Rachel will be getting ready to leave again at 11:00. He and Rachel have to pick-up the pizzas for the band (the Band Boosters always feed our kids lunch on competition day), and then go up and feed the kids, and then head for the competition. We perform at 2:30 today. It is killing me that I can't be in the "middle" of this exciting chaos! Instead Isaac and I will be at home. Isaac has to work on his room today, as he has managed to scatter Lego's, soldiers, train pieces and Lincoln logs all about his room, not to mention the numerous socks (no wonder he has so many mismatched socks)! He has to work on his room before the neighbor boy (also named Isaac, who is Rachel's age) can come over and play. I called to see if I could "hire" him to help with Isaac this afternoon, as it is really hard to try and keep up with him when the weather permits him to be outside. He has always been able to move faster than me, but now he really goes faster than me.

I continue to heal from the face infection and now am growing more apprehensive about Tuesday and the Neurology appointment. On Friday, Russell picked up the actual "films" of my MRI and the written report. I should have never read the report, now I am trying to figure out exactly what it says and what some of the information means.....please pray that all goes well on Tuesday.

I'll try to get another post out here tomorrow to let you know how we did at the competition, if I don't it is because I am not able to sit upright long enough to type a post.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

At Long Last Darryl's Band Pictures

Hi Everyone,


After a fashion, here are the pictures I took of Darryl on Saturday at the competition. I must admit it felt great getting "sprung" from the house for several hours (it was actually all day). Russell was so wonderful to me on Saturday. We had a rough way to go just to get to the entrance, and then he graciously took me over to where the band was getting ready so I could wish them all good luck and give my son a hug (this was the first time this season I was seeing their show). He then took me over and got me situated in the stands and returned to the band to do "Pit Crew" duty. Our band did a great job and improved their performance in comparison to the week before. Okay, now it is time for me to brag about our son!!! He made me so proud of him on Saturday watching him out on the field doing something he so dearly loves to do. He looks awesome on the field and know where he should be, when to get there, all the while playing withoug missing a beat. I know I am bragging, but he is one of the few out there that really looks outstanding! I was so proud to be able to say that is my son!



Now, as for me......I'm doing better with the infection on my face. We saw the ENT today for a follow-up and they were happy with how well it was healing. He has referred me to a specialist so they can try and figure out why I keep getting staph aureus and cellulits. Maybe someone will figure it out. The trip to the Neurologist is getting closer and I'm so thankful. I really am wanting relief for the back pain. Soon, very soon, I keep telling myself.

Well, it is time for me to go and lay down for a while so I can hopefully feel up to helping a little bit with dinner.

Friday Update

Good Evening All,

As I sit and write this I am on the mend, so we hope! I saw the ENT today and he removed the drain and said it will be a good week before I see any signs of healing. It is still infected and hopefully as the infection leaves my face, the wound will begin healing from the inside out. I am feeling a bit better about it, as the scar while deep, doesn't appear to be quite as big as we originally thought.

Tonight at dinner Rachel had the honor of saying the prayer and asked God to keep reminding me that I will still be beautiful no matter what! That is my girl.

Darryl tried out for the school play, and earned an understudy part. Of course, right now I'm not the worlds greatest Mom, so I couldn't even begin to tell you what the name of the play is or the part he has. He has been dropped off for the football game, so they can march at half-time. This is absolutely killing me!!!!!!!! I never miss a performance and thus far I haven't seen one. He competes tomorrow in Louisville, and hopefully I will get to to go, we have resorted to renting a wheelchair so that I can at least get out and do somethings until the Neurosurgeon appointment on the 25th. I am so looking forwarded to going to the competition. It is in Louisville and the weather is suppose to be pleasant. I will try to get some good pictures to post tomorrow night (most likely will happen on Sunday).

Rachel brought home her mid-term today, I must say we couldn't be more proud of her. Considering she is in advanced placement math and most of her other classes she has been placed in the higher levels here is her grade breakdown;

Science – 98.60%; A
Social Studies – 99.65%; A
Band – 100% - A
Exploratory – 98.37%; A
English – 99.30%; A
Reading – 99.25%; A
Math – 97.00%; A

We are so very proud of her! This is what she told us tonight, that her goal this year is to have 100% in each class. We however, keep telling her that A’s and B’s are a good thing. She is not happy with her math grade, I see absolutely nothing wrong with her mid-term and spent most of tonight, as did Russell saying that she doesn't have to be perfect, her grades are awesome.

Isaac on the other hand, has his good days at school and bad. Some days he acts like he doesn't care and then there are days that he is very much into doing the reading. It is the having to sit still and listen that is going to get him in the end.

Rachel and Isaac are with their dad this weekend, so it will seem very empty and quite around the house. We miss them when they are gone, but always hope that they have a great time with their dad!

Well, my back is telling me that after the car ride to Louisville today, working at my desk all day today, and if I want to go to the competition tomorrow, I need to get some rest, so I will sign off for now.

Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the weather!!!

Tina's Surgery Update

Just a quick note to let you all know that I came through surgery just fine.........in the last 3 days we have made 3 trips to Louisville to see the ENT doctor and have surgery. Tomorrow we get to make it 4 trips in 4 days and hope to get a few days break.

I'm not sure what it will look like when the bandage comes off, but right now I have huge white looking growth of gauze and a white neoprene bandage which is hiding the draining apparatus and the ugliness.

The good news (see I can always try and find something positive) is I didn't get sick from the anesthesia and some the pain medication I received after surgery for my face pain has helped make some of the back pain more tolerable, and something even more joyous - the nurse today got my IV on the first try. For those of you that don't know I have horrible veins (thanks Mom and Dad). I have learned over the years that I have this little mole on my left arm right on the inside of my elbow. My nurse and I decided today that while God might not of given great veins he at least gave me a landmark. She was so funny and said that may we just might start a praise celebration on pre-op! Thank you God for the landmark - as long as they take my word for it.

I will keep you all updated as I know something. Thanks for all the prayers - right now I need all the help I can get.

The kids are doing great and having a great week despite the drama I have thrown in.

Weekend in Review & Start of the Week

The weekend was full of many activities, on Friday night we had a home football, and whenever there is a home football game, the band marches during half time. So, off to the football game went Darryl (to march), Russell and Rachel (to help in the Pit by bringing out the equipment). Isaac and I stayed home and watched TV together. I am not functioning or moving well since I am still waiting to see the neurosurgeon about my back (that appointment is scheduled for 9/25). Then Saturday all 3 were off again, this time for our first competition.

The competition went fairly well, according to Russell and Rachel this was the best they had performed the show, we are doing Wicked. We took 1st in our division, but before everyone gets too excited, that was because we were the only 1A band to perform, the other 1A band dropped out. So, by 6:00 Russell and Rachel had returned home since we did not make finals.

We had to still get Rachel's friend, who was spending the night as everyone (but me) was going on a family event that had been planned for months and months. So Sunday was spent with my trying to rest and forget about the pain I feel pretty much any time I move.

But on top of the back pain on Friday my face started getting a bit swollen, nothing I thought to worry about, by Saturday is was pretty much the same, but on Sunday the whole right side of my face was swollen (I looked like a Chinese Wrinkle dog). I insisted that everyone go on and that I would be fine.

So, today meant a trip to the doctor to figure out what this stuff is on my face, was it an allergic reaction to the pain medication? If so, that would mean that I was now allergic to pain meds. Well, at least that was not it, and I could stay on my medication for my back pain. But what it meant was an urgent trip to the ENT doctor in Louisville and possible hospital admission. Thank goodness for Dr. Morris. I have an abscess that will have to be drained on Wednesday morning on an outpatient basis. I go back in the morning to see him to see if the new antibiotic and the antibiotic injection that I had to get at the ER tonight are working. I'm truly hoping for a miracle, that I will wake up in the morning and the swelling and everything will be gone (so Mary Poppins of me - but pretty unlikely). So now not only do I have pain in my back but I have major pain in my face which makes it hard to swallow and causes my ear to ache......please pray that the face pain goes away and the surgery on Wednesday is successful. I have to get rid of this infection before they will even think about doing something to my back. Thank goodness I have 2 weeks before I see the surgeon. I am glad now they could not move up my appointment.

Wednesday, Rachel tries out for the Middle School Chorus and I believe that sometime this week Darryl has try-outs for the play. He picked up his monologue last week and does a reading this week, getting information from a 14 year old can be challenging at best.

Well, I'm starting to hurt from sitting in this chair, so that is a sign that it is time for me to sign off....I'll try and post something on Wednesday night to let everyone know how I'm doing.

Have a great week!!!

P.S. There is a silver lining in all this, by the time I have the surgery on Wednesday, we will have met our high deductible for the year, so all other services through the end of June 2008 will be covered by insurance at 100%.....on that is something to smile about!!!! :)

The Beginning of the Week

Good Morning.....I am working from home this week and was taking a short break and thought I would post an update. We had a pretty uneventful weekend. I am somewhat slowed down right now with some back issues and just waiting on my appointment with the Neurosurgeon to see what the next steps are.

Darryl had a busy weekend, he marched at the football game Friday night, then on Saturday had a date with his girlfriend. We really like Amanda, she is a very polite and nice girl. Then on Sunday, he went and spent the night with one of his buddies and came home on Monday morning. He must not of gotten a lot of sleep, as he was pretty tired, as he was dragging!

Rachel and Isaac were to go to their Dad's for the weekend, but due to some issues at work for him, he needed to cancel. They will go in 2 weeks to see him and will then go for 2 weeks in a row. It is important to both their dad and I that they seem him as much as they can, so we try to make up the difference when schedules need changed. As you all know, kids are busy and sometimes their schedules are what dictates what happens not ours!

The kids got to swim most likely for one last time this weekend, it is getting close to time to close up the pool for the season. However, if the 90 plus degree weather stays for much longer, we will be able to leave it open for a while longer.

The hot weather has sure taken a toll on our yard, pond and garden. The pond is so low that we can let the dog get in and she has to go pretty far out to not touch bottom. I can't remember the last time Russell cut the grass (which by the way is an all day event since our yard is so big). Our garden was doing really well, we put out strawberries this year, but we picked the blooms off so the plants would grow and be bigger for next year. We have eggplant coming out of our ears. Russell says I can only buy one plant next year, not four! Our zucchini didn't really do anything this year nor did our watermelon. We were able to freeze 3 pints and 2 quarts of green beans, but even with watering, I don't think we will get much more from them even though there are blooms. We didn't get any fruit from our peach, pear or apple trees again this year. Just as they were blooming and budding out we had a hard frost, so that was the end of that.

Russell has been busy trying to build up the dam and overflow for the pond. It was something that was needed when we moved in, but due to the water level of the pond just couldn't work on it. Now, with it being so dry and the pond being so low, it is perfect timing for him to work on this. We are hoping to be able to begin stocking it next year with a few fish.

Well, better get back to working on my projects for work and making sure my team at work is doing okay. As of today, I received 2 additional direct reports, so I need to make sure they are doing alright with everything.

Hope everyone has a great day!

About Our Family

This is Rachel and Isaac at her 12th Birthday Party This is Darryl and Granny (Russel's Mom) at his 8th Grade Graduation

Russell and Tina met in late July of 2004 and were married January 19, 2006. They own a home in Bedford, KY. Russell is the youngest of 7 sibilings. 4 of his siblings (2 sisters - Pat and Brenda and 2 brothers - Hank and Brad) live in Northern Kentucky, 1 sister (Debbie) lives in Phoenix, AZ, and 1 sister (Darlene) lives around Miami, FL. Tina is the oldest of 2, and her sister still lives near her hometown in Iowa. We celebrated his Mom's 85th birthday this past May, and my Dad's 71st birthday. We were lucky enough a few weeks ago to be able to take a family picture with Mom Spencer and all of her children, Mom's daughter, Debbie and grandaughter, Dawn were in from Arizona and as well as daughter Darelene, from Florida. We also took photos of her with the daughter-in-laws (Peggy, Glenda and myself), grandchildren and great-grandchildren (as soon as I get them from my sister-in-law I will post some of them).

When we blended our families, I gained a son (Darry) and he gained a daughter (Rachel) and son (Isaac). We were also given an opportunity to add one additional child to the mix for 2 years, Brooke. She came to live with us in August of 2005, she is Darryl's half-sister by his mother. Brooke left in June of 2007 to go back and live with her mom. She taught us alot about giving, tolerance, and patience (something I'm still working on). Brooke was at times a challenge, but she was a very loveable child. Just has had a few too many bumps in the road that all of our love couldn't fix.

We decided early on that it was really important for one of us to be able to stay home with the children to help us blend. With that decision in mind, we (mostly Russell) was be able to figure out how to make our budget work on my salary. This was truly a blessing for us all. The goal is for Russell to go back to work/school once Isaac is in all day school. That happened this school year (2007-2008). He is looking for the right job to fit our situation, as the children are very busy, especially Darryl and Rachel.

Darryl just started high school and is in the 9th grade. He has awesome musical talent. He plays the oboe for concert band and the tenor saxaphone for marching band. He can pretty much pick up a piece of music and just play it! I am in so much awe of his talent. He has finally (we think anyway) gotten that grades are important for college. He had the opportunity this summer to attend Stephen Foster Band Camp at Eastern Kentucky University, for 2 weeks. He was home for about a week and then went to Puerto Rico on a Youth Group Mission trip with our church to work at an orphanage. We are beginning the marching band competition season and will be busy on Friday nights, as the band performs at half-time and then again on Saturday's for competitions. We won't have our Friday's or Saturday's back until after October. He is also going to be trying-out for the fall high school play.....I'll keep you posted on the outcome.

Rachel just started middle school and is in the 6th grade. She too is gifted with music, she has a wonderful voice. She is trying out for the middle school choir and also plays in the band. This is her first year in band as they don't start until 6th grade in Trimble County, and plays the flute. She received several awards during the 5th grade promotion ceremony, as well as achieving straight A's for the entire year. She also started playing basketball last year and seems to really like, at least enough to sign up during middle school orientation to play on the 6th grade team. She too was busy this summer, she attended basketball camp that was hosted by our high school basketball team and attend 4-H camp for a week, went to spend a week with Grandma Hattie in Cincinnati, our very good friend in Cincinnati, Leslie (and her husband Scott and 4 boys, who by the way think of Rachel as their sister, and she thinks of them as her brothers). She also spent several days with her Grandma and Papa Schwarz in Cincinnati and while she was there spending time with them did some really fun stuff with her Aunt Nancy and cousins (Molly and Pete). She will be traveling to Washington, DC this October for a week to attend a Leadership Forum sponsored by People to People.

Last, but no way least is Isaac, he in the first grade this year. He is the child who spends the majority of his day in constant motion. He loves to be outside playing and working on his John Deere tractor. He has a pedal tractor that has a scoop on it and can play on it for hours. Give him a shovel, rake, dirt and sand and he is one very happy little boy. He can pretend like no other child I have seen. He and his big brother can spend hours building with his legos.....they come up with some pretty awesome creations. Isaac didn't have near as an exciting of a summer, but did several things in his own right. He attend "Pep Week" at school and got to learn about running and making fun things to eat. He also spent several days with his Grandma and Papa Schwarz in Cincinnati and while he was there spending time with them did some really fun stuff with his Aunt Nancy and cousins (Molly and Pete). He also got to spend a week with Aunt Laura in Cincinnati and went to the Newport Aquarium while he was there, and got to spend 2 days at college (Aunt Laura is program chair at Cincinnati State). School for Isaac is something that he has to do. He doesn't mind it, but is in way too big of a hurry to get everything done.

Okay, now that I have about bored you to sleep, I will close for the evening, but will be back in the next couple of days to add something new. Stay tuned for our next adventure......

The Beginning of our Blog.......

Good Morning everyone......this is my first attempt at putting a blog together. I must admit that I stole this idea from my friend in Cincinnati, Leslie. I had been thinking about it, but never put my thoughts into action. So this morning after Russell and I had made and cleaned up from breakfast, I decided to put my thoughts into action. There will be many more posts, and I will probably come back today at some point and add more posts to get this thing started, but wanted to "test the waters" before getting to deep into this. I hope you all find this enjoyable and great way to stay in touch!