Otis update!

Hip! Hip! Hooray!--- kind of. On Halloween Otis went to the surgeons office and spent the day there. He had some xrays and some physical therapy to determine if his leg is healed. I picked him up after a day of Harvest parties, First Nicholas' then Caroline's. The official word is that his leg is healed! Wooo Hooo right? Well yes, except he still is not allowed to run, jump or slip on these nice new wood floors that are all over our house!! He doesn't have to live in his create anymore but with all of those lovely restrictions we are still putting him in there alot! Plus he is not officially released from the surgeons office until his 9 weeks of rehab are up. Is this CRAZY or what! I love that little fella!! Nick does too but he has said reciently that he should have gotten me a Kitchen Aide mixer for my anniversary present instead...........

Otis update, #2

Otis continues to heal well; in fact, he truly believes he is healed entirely and is totally DONE with the whole crate-resting thing. We're hanging on for dear life, trying to keep his knee surgery intact. There's no more money for another one!

Here are some snapshots of Otis in recovery, and his sutures:































Here's a slide show of some recent Otis pictures (before the knee surgery):

Otis update!

Otis had a check up on Friday and got a good report! The surgeon said that he couldn't be happier with his healing and after two more weeks of bed rest should be completely healed!! WOO HOO!!!! The hardest part in all of this (other that the cost) has been keeping Otis on bed rest and only using his leg a total of 10 min a day!! I'll keep ya posted!

NO MORE THURSDAYS

I have decided that I will no longer have Thursdays in my week. Thursday a week ago I was in the ER and then admitted because of awful abdominal pain....we found out yesterday that I have 2 ulcers. I have named one Nick and the other the children!!! Then on this past Thursday, my sweet little OTIS slipped in the kitchen (he was trying to get a treat from HAL) and chipped a part of his tibia. He had surgery yesterday and is in the pet hospital until Monday or Tuesday. It broke my heart to see my little fella in so much pain--his ears won't stand up he hurt so bad!! It has been so nuts around here. Nick said yesterday "I do have to go back to work sometime..." because he has been at the hospital and doctors apt with me and then at Vet visits with OTIS. I am ready for the calm..........if anyone knows how to get that let me know!! In all of this I have missed my brother and sister in laws birthdays-- so sorry guys!! We were thinking of you and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

The Hope Tigers

Nicholas is playing TACKLE FOOTBALL this year (I know, we're crazy). He's playing for the 3rd/4th grade team at Hope Presbyterian Church (our church doesn't have recreation ministries), and is having a ball.

He worked his way into a starting role, 1st team defensive tackle, pretty quickly. He is now the 1st team outside linebacker, 1st team offense (was right tight end, now left guard), 1st team kick-off, and 1st team kick-return.

Our scrawny little one lacks much in size and strength, but has a nose for the ball and squirts through gaps regularly. His team hasn't won a game yet, but Nicholas has had at least one sack in the first three games (last week, 1 & 1/2). Today, he was moved to linebacker, and had a touchdown-saving hit on a running back. Nicholas referred to it as his "Hard as Granite" hit, which is a promotion at the University of Memphis Football games. Here's a slideshow of photos from the first few games...

Things to do in the Emergency Room...

It was Karen's turn to experience the Emergency Room at Methodist Germantown Hospital...and she actually beat my record (see "Tales of the ER" in the May posts).

I was in the ER in May for nearly 12 hours; Karen and I checked into the ER Thursday afternoon 9/25 at about 4:30 PM. She had been seen in the clinic that morning for severe abdominal pain and nausea, and was given some meds and sent home. We were to go to the ER if she got much worse...and she did.

It's now 4:15 AM on Friday, 9/26, and she met my record from May, and will easily eclipse it...She will be admitted later this morning (as soon as a room is ready) for fluids and 24 observation. In the past 36 hours, Karen has kept down THREE sips of water...yes, just three. So, she won an overnight stay in the luxurious Methodist tower in Germantown, where she can see nearly the whole city from her window (there's not really a "city" to speak of, though there is a Pier 1 just down the block).

To occupy my time, I learned how to take photographs and manipulate them using Photoshop. Here are two photos taken from our backyard, and I've kept the subject (a pink rose, and a butterfly bush bloom) in color, and changed the background on both to black and white. Pretty fun! Besides, I was out of school work to do, but also very thankful for free wireless in the ER. They think of everything...

Before



















After



















Before















After

Caroline starts Kindergarten!

Have you ever had older folks tell you to "watch your kids closely, they'll grow up fast!" Well, our baby girl started Kindergarten this fall, and it seems that just yesterday she was coming home from the hospital...

She's a grown up trapped in her little five-year-old body, and she waltzed right in to her class, sat down, and started coloring...no problems! There was hardly a "bye Mom, bye Dad" for us, as we choked back tears...

Enjoy this slide show from Caroline's first day of Kindergarten...