25th Reunion!

So... last weekend I went to my 25th high school reunion.
It was planned quickly and not as well attended as it should have been. We had over 370 in our class and only 50 or so showed up for this reunion. 25 years is a rather significant one, don't you think?

I know it could have been better if more time had gone into the planning. I think it kind of snuck up on people. The planning committee didn't even form until about 4 months before the date. Oh well... guess I should start today to plan for the 30th if I want it to be any better.

I did enjoy chatting with some of my friends from so long ago. I almost never see any of them even though quite a few live locally.

One local chief of police.
One future Senator from the State of South Carolina.
Quite a few former football players and one coach.
Lots of ladies who look just as good as they did 25 years ago.
Most of the men have lost quite a bit of hair.
A surprising number who are recently divorced or married for the second time.

I wonder if I had stayed here for college, would I still be more friendly with any of these folks. Once we left high school, I don't think I called more than a couple of them. Seems strange that the people you didn't think you could live without (while you were in school with them) quickly became history along with the school you used to go to.

I'd love to have more friends. I just don't seem to have the time...

Getting Better

edit: It appears that "stupid blogger" has caught up and posted all three of my attempts finally. They mostly say the same thing, but differently. I think I'll leave them all up since it shows how important this has become to me. Forgive the redundancy.



I have been getting emails concerning my friend, Tom's progress after his bypass surgery. Everything is going well. He is sitting up, eating (mostly jello), drinking and having conversations with family and friends. I'm so grateful for the Lord's protection and care for Tom. I pray also that the seeds of a faithful witness that were planted prior to the surgery will take root and bring him to faith in Jesus Christ.

During this time of waiting and praying, I have been considering my health (or lack thereof). I definitely need to get myself going in this area.

I will be seeing Tom in November when we are having an Auburn band alumni reunion. I have set a goal of losing one pound a week until that reunion. 12 pounds will put me well on my way to better health, and that can be part of the legacy of Tom's bypass surgery.

Pray for me, my friends. I've maintained the same weight (within a couple of pounds) for close to 5 years. I will need to increase my exercise and reduce my food intake. Neither of these items are options I look forward to, but I know it must be done if I want to live a long healthy life.

Good Progress

Blog post take two :-( Stupid blogger...


I'm so proud of my friend Tom. He is doing so well following his life alterating surgery. He's sitting up, eating (mostly jello), drinking fluids and carrying on conversations with family and friends. His recovery has made a great start.

Watching Tom go through this, I am reminded of my need to make some changes in my own lifestyle and habits. I have decided that I want to honor his efforts at improving his health by improving mine.

I will be going to Auburn for our band reunion in November. I am making it my goal to lose a pound per week from now until I go down. That's 12 pounds. Totally attainable.

Starting today...

Good Progress

My friend, Tom is doing amazingly well considering he had his chest cracked open less than 48 hours ago. He's sitting up, drinking and eating (lightly - mostly jello and stuff like that), having conversations with family and friends.

I wish I could be down there, but at least I'll get to see him in November. I'm real proud of the way he's come through this. So full of humor and drive to live. I hope to never experience what happened to him, so I need to start today to make some changes in my lifestyle and habits.

I'm going to try to lose a pound a week from now until I go down to Auburn for the band reunion. That way, I will be able to show Tom that he has inspired me to get more healthy. Not that it will make his recovery any easier, but it will honor him and his efforts.

So... that's 12 pounds I need to lose. Not at all unattainable. Pray for me!!

Relief!

Yesterday was the surgery for my friend. I called him in the morning to see how he was doing as they prepped him for the operation. He was in great spirits and we had a nice conversation.

He was supposed to go in around 10am. I got a note several hours later that said he was just getting in at 1pm. All that extra time without food... I know it's pretty standard to run late on surgery, but it sure would be better if the doctors could be more punctual. Not that I'm advocating rushing a surgery just to stay on schedule.

Got a phone call a few hours later that stated that my friend only had to have three bypasses instead of four. He came out earlier than expected and only spent the first night (last night) in ICU. This is great news!

I will give him a call later this morning once I find out what room they put him in.
His folks are there, so I should be able to find out stuff fairly easily.

Am I Getting THAT Old?!

Got the news a few days ago that one of my best friends is in the hospital. He is awaiting a quadruple bypass operation scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Let me back up a bit...

He recently celebrated his 42nd birthday and went for a check up the next day. I don't know if this was scheduled or if there were indications of a problem. He didn't have a heart attack, although after all his testing, I believe that to be a miracle. He had an MRI done and they found plaque deposits in the neighborhood of 4 times the normal amount. He then came back the next day and failed the stress test. Next step is the heart catheterization with possible stints or balloon angioplasty. Too much blockage discovered, so they decided to keep him in the hospital and schedule to crack him open as soon as they could. Which brings us up to today.

Good news today. The doctors discovered that the neck carotid arteries are not showing blockage. That means no need to pursue treatment for that.

Still waiting on a few tests to come back, but looks like heart rate and blood pressure are fine.

Now he will just sit back and watch Discovery Channel for the next 24 hours in anticipation of the bypass surgery.

Tomorrow morning at @ 10am is when he goes under the knife. Please be praying for my friend! He is a really great guy, but does not know Jesus. He is Jewish by birth and not very religious. He has definitely heard the Gospel, though - another one of our mutual friends laid it all out there for him in an email yesterday.

Makes me think about my age and health. I don't feel old, but I'm sure my body feels like I've treated it in such a way to age it accordingly. My Dad was just over 50 when he had his first heart attack and bypass surgery. I'm not that old yet, but also not in as good a shape as my Dad was. Time to take a good hard look at what I need to do to correct some poor habits. Pray for me as I take up this health and fitness journey again.

Thanks guys! I know I put a lot up here today. Hope you take the time to read it all. Good stuff in three different posts.

Tough Weekend

Dropped our daughter off for college this past weekend.

Emotions were high as we left on the trip. We took one other daughter with us and that was all we could fit in the van! LOL! Not really, but she did take a LOT of stuff with her.

Suffice it to say that despite the disagreements that the kids have had over the years, they will all miss her. The younger ones are already asking when she will come home.

Our oldest came by to see her off as well. They have really grown close over the last couple of years and there were many tears shed as they said goodbye. I'm glad to see that. Close siblings has always been preached in our house. I'm grateful that the Lord has touched them in this way.

10 1/2 hours of driving and we were there. Time to unload and help her set up her room. The University had arranged to have student helpers there to assist. They were great and took most of the load in for us. More schools should do this for the incoming freshmen. Really helps them settle and say goodbye to the folks easier.

We moved the furniture around about 6 times until an arrangement was finally settled on. Hope they keep it for a little while. Fridge and microwave plugged in and going. Computer set up... need to buy a wifi card (add to the list). Forgot the mouse (add to list). Where's the surge/plug strip? (add to list)

We took a trip to the local Circuit City and the Office Depot and got the remaining items on the list. Then back to the dorm for an ice cream social with the parents support group.

Time for us to get ready to leave. Lots of pictures and hugs. Surprisingly no tears. And we were off on the trip home. That trip took us closer to 16 hours due to driver fatigue, but we got home safe and sound.

Wonder how her first day of college is going? Maybe I'll give her a call in a little while.

New Site Has Launched!

Photo credit: Mary Beth Chapman 2007























I know most of you are already aware of the launch of the new Steven Curtis Chapman website, but I wanted to highlight it here.

They really have put a lot of work into it and made it much better than before. I've been spending a lot of time there listening to songs and watching video. Really needed that time to help me get my focus back on the Lord and off of me...

Here's the link.

I'm really looking forward to going to this concert in November. Hoping to take a few people with me! Now to find out who and get the cash together to buy tickets.

Sold the Jeep!

Funny how just when I think it won't happen... it does.

There's a guy I work with that has committed to buy my Jeep. He expects his loan check to come through on Tuesday. The timing couldn't be better (I know... just like the Lord).

This won't take all the worry and concern away, but will definitely put a dent in the debt that I've been carrying this year.

Now I need to concentrate on prepping the new house to show. If we get a decent offer on it, I'll move a little north again. Gotta rethink the financial direction I'm taking my family. I need to move toward financial freedom rather than bondage.

More on all that later.

Solid Offer!

We received a solid offer on the house on the 31st. A family with 4 children. Husband has just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq. Incidentally, that was the deadline I had set before I pretty much gave up on selling the house... just like God, huh!?

Not sure if all the inspections and other details will go smoothly yet. Don't expect any issues, but you never know. I found out that the neighbors house had radon issues when it was sold 2 years ago and the owners had to put in a $2000 system before it could be sold. If that happens to me, I'll take it as a sign that we are to sell the "new" home and move back (I'll pay for the remediation for us, but not as a condition of sale). I'm thinking we could save a good bit of money if we went back to the old house, so I guess I'm looking for an excuse now. There's such finality in SOLD. I'm having letting go issues. ;-)

Went to prayer breakfast this morning and brought my oldest son. His first time there. He told me that he enjoyed it. I reminded him of the need for discretion concerning anything mentioned in prayer. I think he (now) has the maturity to handle some of the more sensitive issues. I really hope so anyway. He's SO ready to be considered a man. Not quite old enough, but SO close.

We followed the breakfast with a trip to the paintball store. He needed a new helmet and CO2 valve. $70 later... guess that takes care of birthday for 2007.
He had saved and bought the gun for himself and I was proud of him for that, so it wasn't really that painful. Plus, he's been waiting on ME to get the parts for the gun (for a few months now believe it or not!) and shown real patience. We fired about a hundred paintballs to test the gun out. Now to find the time to get together with his friends for some fun.

Gotta get going for work. I'll update later on the house situation as it progresses.