Update

I sent out an email, but maybe not everyone was included. Sorry!

Paige will have surgery Thursday to pin her broken shoulder. It has "significant displacement" which basically means the bones need to be pinned to be aligned properly. I was really worried about her growth plate, but the surgeon showed me that, while it was slightly impacted, it could have been much worse.

We had a really long day today, and Paige was exhausted by the time we arrived home. She is also in lots of pain.

Mom was able to go with us today. Thanks, Mom! Jason was coaching basketball, but he'll be able to go with us for the surgery.

****This will merit its own post at a later date, but Lane's Lego house arrived yesterday! He's on top of the world!!*****

Good night. I'm off to bed!

I Will Never, I Repeat NEVER....

....wish for "blog fodder" again! I was drawing a blank for a new post on our blog, when BAM! This afternoon's incident is more than I could have ever dreamed.

Where do I begin? Well, to make a long story short, the weather was pretty nice this afternoon. After arriving home from church and eating a quick lunch, Paige & I planned to go for a run (track season starts soon). Paige & Lane headed out to the tramp while I finished up dishes and started a load of laundry.

I was checking the 10-day forecast online when Paige came inside crying. She's one tough cookie and never cries, so something was wrong! She fell off the tramp and couldn't move her left arm because she landed on her shoulder. After about 2 minutes of debate, we all got on shoes and headed to the ER.

Initially, everyone thought she had just dislocated her shoulder. But, the doctor thought it wise to take some x-rays to rule out anything else. Paige got an IV and some morphine so that she could handle the x-rays. Turns out, she broke her humerous right at the top where it is a ball (I think I have that right). She landed straight on her left side when she went off the tramp, and apparently her shoulder took all of the impact. The ground won.

We are home now. Paige has a sling and some good drugs. We'll find out tomorrow morning what time we get to see an orthopaedic surgeon who will take pediatric patients. Sugery is not certain, but it sounds like shoulders are tricky things to fix.

Thank the Lord that she did not land on her head, thank the Lord that Jason and I were home, and thank the Lord that nothing else is injured. Pray for a restful night for Paige, and that we can get in to the doctor tomorrow.

We'll know more tomorrow about where we go from here!

A Teenager????

Paige & friends at the bowling alley.

How can it be?? I'm surely not old enough to have a teenage daughter! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, PAIGE!!

Paige's 13th birthday was last Saturday, February 16. She celebrated by inviting a couple of friends over. We went bowling (I won!), and the girls got to browse at Target for over an hour. We finished off the evening with dinner at Applebee's where I had a very excellent steak.

I wasn't sure what to get Paige for her birthday, so I ended up ordering some clothes from Hollister Co. Well, I think I am old enough to raise a teenage daughter! Let me tell you why. One of the items Paige liked online was this pair of shorts. I looked at them and thought, "Okay, these will work for a swimsuit cover up, she can wear them to the lake, sleep in them, etc."

When they arrived, I nearly needed CPR! I think the inseam could have only been a quarter inch long! AND Paige's legs are about a mile long. Yeah. Since this was the day before Paige's birthday, I wrapped them up anyway.

Turns out, they weren't as short as I originally thought, and they will work to wear over her swimsuit. BUT, all you mothers of daughters out there, take heed!! Paige is very modest, Thank you, Lord, but I know the day will come when she & I disagree about "appropriate" clothing!

About Hollister-if you've never been in the store, you need night vision goggles to see the clothing that is for sale. I'm not kidding. I think the walls must be painted black, and the lighting is very dim. Yep. Fun times for the ol' mom. Thank goodness Jason hasn't been in there. We'd never hear the end of it!

I'm baaaaack!

Hello, all! I keep thinking that I should update my blog, but have been too busy (or lazy) to do so! Here's a quick update on The Wells Family in Kansas:

Starting with the youngest first....
Lane is busy with being a 7-year-old boy! He lost a few more teeth and is still sporting a big hole in his grin. Unfortunately, it looks like he will follow in Paige's footsteps and will need braces in a few years.

Lane's biggest passion right now is his Lego collection. Guess what arrived in the mail at our house about two weeks after Christmas? That's right-a Lego catalog. Well, I must agree that there are some pretty cool Lego kits out there, but did we really need that temptation right after Christmas? NO!

But..... Lane counted his money, worked to earn some more, and ordered a house from the catalog. Every day after school, he would beg me to go home "right away" so that he could see if it had arrived. Every day....no Lego box. Finally, we received a letter saying that his house was backordered until April 22!!! Bummer! Lane was very disappointed, but he decided that he could wait that long.

Also, Lane has found a couple of good buddies at school and they spend their recess time looking for alien footprints and scanning the sky for "the mother ship." Don't ask.

Paige is finished with basketball. Her team ended with a record of 8-3. They lost their first game in the tournament, so that cut the season a little short. Now she is in quiz bowl and is looking forward to the track season (which will mean the start of cold, windy days and hot, windy days).
Good news: Paige gets her braces off near the end of March! Whoo hoo! She's excited!

Jason is still coaching girls' basketball. Their record stinks, but he feels that he is making progress with the girls. It's been tough. The coach (who started the season) is very, very ill and everyone is concerned about his health. His situation is extremely sad, and it's been hard on the school community, too.

I am now "coaching" junior high quiz bowl. I have lots of fun-I know I'm a nerd, but that's okay with me! So, on the nights that there isn't a basketball game, I usually have quiz bowl. We'll be lucky if we eat one meal a week at home this month! March will be much less hectic.
I did order My Utmost for His Highest and have started it. I honestly haven't devoted much time to it lately, so I'm not sure what I think yet.

I also attempted to begin training for a 10K or a Half-Marathon. I didn't commit, because I wasn't sure that I would have time for the training. I did really well the first two weeks and managed to run 6 miles in less time than was on my schedule. But (you knew this was coming), last week I didn't get my long run in. I don't want to give up yet, but I think that I might have to plan on some sort of race in the fall. We'll see. Maybe if I post this, then I'll feel more obligated to stick to my guns! I really need someone to run with. Any takers? Long runs are on Sundays. Come join me-it would be so much more fun with a partner! I'm not Speedy Gonzales or anything, so don't plan on winning any races.

Okay, so this turned into a long blog. Looking forward to your comments.......

Where has the time gone?

I was trying to come up with something interesting to post. As you can see from the title of this entry, I was not successful! Where has the time gone? Specifically 2008! I feel like the past two weeks have been a blur of school, appointments, basketball games, laundry, and windshield time! Not to worry, though. Tonight I arrived home at about 6:30 p.m., cleaned the basement, did one load of laundry, and watched some tv! It's been great!

Don't get me wrong, I like to do all of the things I do, I truly don't feel overcommitted right now, and I do get to spend quite a lot of time with my family. But I can't say that I've ever felt relaxed and unstressed (destressed?? not sure what prefix is correct) at any time over the last 16 days.

What to do about it? I don't know. Quit my job maybe? Nah, I would enjoy staying home for awhile, but I really like to get out into the community, not to mention the paycheck! I've been trying to go to bed earlier, I eat right, I exercise regularly, and I .....perhaps I've discovered my problem!

Before Christmas and the new year, I was devoted to spending time in God's word. Our church read through the New Testament as a congregation, and I kept up with the daily readings. Since we have completed the New Testament I've been reading my Bible only sporadically. In 2007, I didn't always get the reading in in the morning, but I would double up the next day and be back on track. In addition, I had fresh "food for thought" each day as I was on the treadmill, driving to another school district, or going about my day. I don't have that now, and I can see that I need it! Don't we all?

Here's where I need some help: any suggestions for a short daily devotion that requires Scripture reading in addition to a short message from the author? I'm talking 10-15 minutes max, people! I have to be realistic. :) All recommendations are appreciated! Thanks for your help.

News Flash!

Our lives just got a bit more hectic...Jason became the high school girls basketball coach as of about 5:00 p.m. Saturday! WOW! To put it succinctly, the former coach is unable to continue, and Jason is now the man. Jason is nervous, excited, stressed, and experiencing about every other emotion you can name. His first game as coach is not next week, Friday, or even Thursday. It's tomorrow! Yikes! We'll keep you posted.
Since Jason is Passionate (with a capital P) about basketball, he will hopefully be able to convey his love of the game to his girls! They have some major teambuilding to do. I don't think he slept at all Saturday night, but last night was much better after he held a team meeting, met with parents, and got to work with the girls for a while.


Paige had another game tonight. They played an excellent team with a seemingly endless bench. We lost, but Paige played her heart out. She ended up with 12 points and some work to do on freethrows. :) Paige's team has 7 players (sometimes 8), and degrees of talent and dedication vary, as with any 7th grade girls team! So, she plays again tomorrow and again on Thursday. What a week-and that's just basketball!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and it's back to the rat race!

Lane, Paige, & cousin Brooklynne in the aftermath of Christmas at Grandma Jeannie's.

Did everyone have a wonderful Christmas? I hope so! We were able to spend lots of time with extended family, and the kids had a great time playing with cousins.

We were able to travel to my sister's for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Jen & I went to Winfield to visit our grandmother and see our aunt & uncle. Grandmother lives in an assisted living facility, and she looked great! It had been over a year since I'd seen her. Last time I was there, she still lived at home. Anyway, this move has been a blessing, not just for grandmother,

but for my mom, her brother, and her sister.

New Year's Day we went to the Cosmosphere (which Jason loved), toured the museum, and then watched The Polar Express on Imax. That was fun! I had never seen the movie, only read the book. Jen & I discussed the fact that the entire movie was based on a picture book, so how could the movie possibly be a feature-length film? Well, it was, and it was a good one! Two thumbs up!

Well, this brings me to the end of my Christmas vacation from school. I love the time at home with my family, my coffee, and my books. What did I accomplish during my 13 days (weekends included!) of vacation time? Hmmmm....we fit in all of the time with family and friends, Jason and the kids went snowmobiling, we moved cattle, I did a lot of laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc.

HOWEVER, I did manage to read several books! So, in no particular order, I finished The Kite Runner, The Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, My Sister's Keeper and Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult, a couple of books for junior high students, and The Princess Bride. Out of all of those, I would recommend The Princess Bride! This was about my third time through, and it gets better every time I read it. If you've never read the book, go to your local library today and check it out. Then watch the movie (it's good, too). What's next on my reading list? A book about King Arthur and then two books my sister loaned me. Can't wait!!

Well, reality is calling to me. I need to go get ready for inservice. But my coffee....my books.....my coffee....my books.....