LID #6 - correction

It's our 6th month of waiting to get Emily!

One thing we are really excited about right now is the anticipation of the Olympics in Beijing, 8-8-08. We have always enjoyed watching the Olympics both summer and winter. When I see a commercial on TV with Morgan Freemon in the background I cry, does anyone else do that? Just the thought of how these athletes have worked incredibly hard to get to this stage is amazing. The profiles that they do on many of the American competitors always gets to me. The great thing though this year is the history they will be sharing of China. A few years ago one of my parents international student brought the mascots for Cheryl's kids. It's fun to think the time is finally here. My favorite competitions to watch are gymnastics (of course), swimming, diving, and track and field events. Maybe when we go to Beijing we will see where all these things took place.

family weekend

We have returned from a fun family weekend in the Texas panhandle. We started by visiting Steve's dad and brother in Lubbock. We enjoyed seeing their new place and catching up. We saw Dark Knight with Mike. We all liked it but didn't think it was quite as good as all the hype. I like Momma Mia much better :) Let's just say that one was more my speed.
We then headed to Amarillo to see Steve's sister and her family. It was great to see Kirby doing so well. We got to spend lots of great family time. On the way home we got some rain and could see if falling all around us, I just thought it was a cool sight.

The doctor says...

Steve went to see the neurosurgeon about his back. Steve has 2 degenerative disks in his lower back. They are pushing through the spinal cord hitting the nerve which is causing pain. The doctor gave us some things to think about. He is a surgeon so he told us about what type of surgery he would do including the fussing of bones and rods to go along, yikes! He also discussed some noninvasive procedures which is the direction we want to go for now. Steve is going to get a steroids shot from another doctor which will hopefully shrink the bulging disks. The doctor said is may work or may not, how's that for reassuring :) Steve's back did great on the cruise which was a blessing!! We are going to take it one day at a time and continue to pray for healing. He will probably not get the shot for a couple of weeks due to getting in with the doctor.

Back to Reality

We had an incredible vacation! The week spent cruising was the best. We had great weather, fun times, and a TON of pictures (over 1000 with all cameras combined!). I decided that I wouldn't bore you with too many pics but do one for each day. I am already working on my Shutterfly book so I am putting the many, many pictures to good use.

Enduring the muster drill. Ready for the next 7 days on board the Carnival Conquest.

Each "Sea Day" they had an afternoon tea time.
I enjoyed the slide :) Thought we could all get a little laugh off of this one.

Our first port was Jamaica. We headed to Dunn's River Falls, YIKES!!! I thought a tranquil climb up some rocks. Instead I got torrents of water rushing towards me while I tried to climb up slippery rocks. It was beautiful but I wish I could have enjoyed the beauty from the side. Steve made it all the way, I cheated and saved myself leaving the falls after climbing 2/3 of it. Can you find Steve, Jacob and Cheryl?Next stop was Grand Cayman. I think this was my favorite stop. It is such a beautiful island! We went to the turtle farm, the city of Hell, and stingray city. It was so fun feeding and touching the stingrays. The water was amazingly clear.

Our last port was Cozumel. We went snorkeling in the crystal blue waters and saw lots of cool fish. Aren't we glad for underwater cameras :)
Yes, we are singing Karaoke! Our song is I've got you babe by Sonny and Cher. We did the same song on our honeymoon. Most of the family got in on the act with We are Family. It was too fun!

The last day, yuck! We had a trip we will never forget. THANK YOU Mom and Dad for an amazing trip!

A Diagnosis

Well looks like Steve has a herniated disk and a bone spur. For someone who isn't sick very often and has never had surgery this is a bit daunting. We won't really know what's going to happen till he sees a neurosurgeon and that won't happen until we get back from the cruise. Steve's doctor has loaded him up with some pain meds and when he uses his crutches he does okay. The bone spur is the main problem right now as it is pressing into his nerve and causing lots of pain. We are hoping the sun and sand will bring some relief :)

Not better

How'd ya like to spend some time in this machine?!?

Last week I gave an update that said Steve was off crutches and feeling better. Well, I spoke too soon! After being off the crutches a few days the pain in his back/hip/leg area came back. He is back on the crutches full time. Tonight he had an MRI done, at 9:15pm go figure. I didn't know they did them so late. The MRI went well and Steve wasn't in too much pain during the procedure. He got to listen to his fav CD to help him relax. Hopefully the doctor will be able to read the test tomorrow and let Steve know what's going on. We hope to know something before the cruise but if not that's okay, we are taking the physical therapist with us :) (Thanks Rich!)

Wordless Wednesday

4 more days!

Sisters thinking alike

My sister and I were thinking alike this weekend.

We both showed up for the 4th of July picnic with our red shirts on and denim shorts.

At church this morning we ended up with the same color dresses
(it is hard to tell in the pictures)

So we may not look alike but we do think alike :)

Happy Birthday America!

Have a Fun and Safe 4th of July!

update

Good News! Steve is feeling much better and is off the crutches. After a restful weekend he is walking fine. He will continue to work with Rich to strengthen his leg but he is off the pain meds. Looks like he will be 100% for the cruise in 11 days :)

Another update... Kirby is home a getting better each day. He had by-pass surgery and the doctors also put in an internal defibrillator. He is home resting and getting stronger in order to return to work soon. Thank you so much for the many prayers!


Today was my last day of summer school and kids. I have to go in tomorrow to do parent conferences, oh fun! I am very happy to have some summer time off. Steve finishes next week so he is very excited as well. Since I have more time on my hands I have found a new obsession, Cruise Critic. It is my new favorite website and a must for anyone cruising. Between that and tripadvisor.com I have plenty to read :)