long day

This day started so well...Torie was even excited about going to the dr! We left in plenty of time, only to run into "construction" on the interstate. Except when I got to the "construction" they were only loading things into a truck! Torie spent the hour and a half waiting in the lobby coloring and playing with her markers. She did extremely well! I am so proud of her. The ENT, Dr Guady, was awesome. He confirmed my thoughts about Torie's pharyngeal flap. She will need surgery to correct it. We have to do a few things first, see the Vandy speech group, a scope to see her flap, and probably an MRI of her neck/throat to make sure her carotid(sp?) artery is not in the way. Then we can proceed to surgery. It will be a major surgery, with a full 6 weeks of recovery. So, if you have any liquid diets throw them at me-cause we will need them. Imagine having your tonsils removed to the extreme, with a mouth full of stitches. But without it, her speech can never improve because her flap cannot close. This is a step we must take to help Torie. We made a trip to the 1st floor to play with the choo choo trains after our visit. I always reward her good behavior with a play trip. The trains are too fun for me as much as her! We finally made it home a bit after 7 pm--8 hrs after we left. It sure was a long day. But one that we had to make. Torie has handled the day very well. We are both worn out and so ready for bed!

moving right along

wow, this summer is moving right along, isn't it? Torie's birthday is getting here quicker and quicker! Her party will be the 25th, invites will go out next weekend. Torie has even told me a few friends that she wants to invite, and of course that she wants a tinker bell cake. I have everything I need to make the cake and matching cup cakes! I love baking her cakes every year. As a matter of fact, I love everything about doing her birthday party. It is a celebration of life and survival in my eyes. While we do not go all out for her party, we do try to make it special her her. This year will be water fun and a cook out at our house. See you soon!

prayer

the strength of prayer is greater than anything else, we all know that. Right now a family friend is having a hard time with chemo and could really use your prayers. He has 3 young children along with some grown children and a very loving wife who could also use the strength of prayer right now.
on another note. prayers have been answered in our house lately. Torie is doing well, not as sick as often as she was last year. She is doing well in daycare too. She is talking almost non-stop about her birthday party next month. She keeps saying she wants a birthday hat with her name on it, and for everyone to sign happy birthday Victoria. lol. Summer vacation only has about 6 weeks left, then preschool starts. I know we will love being in the big kids class and seeing her teachers again. It looks like we have lots of changes coming!

29 years later....

and a 6th Degree Black Belt looks like this.

see all the white? that shows all the work that has been done since earning this Black Belt. Kinda odd how you start as a white belt wanting your Black Belt...but then when you earn your Black Belt, you want it to turn white like this!

Yes, Paul earned his 6th Degree Black Belt on June 17, 2010. He has totally earned this promotion. Pictured are Gary Steele, Paul and Mr Bill Taylor. Mr. Taylor came in from Murfreesboro to help do Paul's belt exam. Mr Taylor's schools are strictly traditional, so he gave Paul a great work out during the traditional karate portion of his exam!! I am very proud of Paul for all of his hard work and training.

determination

Determination at it's best! That is my nephew during is game last week. and in case you cannot read the caption, it says he won the race. Great job Alex!!
On the other side of determination is his big sister Kali who finished her school year with As for the entire year!!
Such great kids they are!!
Good Job to both of you!!

where has time gone?

Time has been going fast around here. I hit my 12 year mark of training martial arts. It has been a long journey filled with tons of hard work, lots of sweat, tears, some blood and a couple of broken bones...and a Fourth degree Black Belt. It is something that I use in my daily life, it's something that I know can use defend myself or others at any time, it's something that I can help others do and use as well.

I got my second call from preschool saying Torie hurt herself. This time, she was standing on the slide and fell off-head first into the mulch. Her poor face was scrapped and I really thought she was going to have a black eye. I felt bad that she scared her teachers. Luckily, Aunt Kim picked her for me and kept a close eye on her until I got off work.

She was not happy that I took her picture. She even told me to throw it away!

Torie also made it through her first year of preschool. She loved her teachers and we enjoyed her end of the year party at Rock Island. I wished I had taken my camera but I wasn't thinking too well!

At the beginning of the month I took some pics of Kacie and her boyfriend Sean. He is leaving soon for the National Guard, and we wish him all the best!!

On the other side of the pictures was the rising river. It was flooding in Nashville that weekend, and our river was quickly rising as well.

Needless to say, we didn't spend too much time on the greenway.

11 years!!

Can you guess what happened 11 years ago today?? I'll post pictures this weekend, but I will give you a hint-It's been one of the best journey's of my life!!! Let me know what you think!