FYI

Just so you know:



Getting accepted to law school




for the second time in two weeks







is pretty amazing,





and so is celebrating with your family!

Just so you know:

-My sweet son is now expecting an acceptance letter
on every Friday for the next six weeks!

-Steven has an appointment with Dr. V,
here in Tampa, in late March,
and he will begin to make decisions about surgery
to remove that nasty brainstem tumor then.

-We're being brave,
expecting the best,
living in hope,
and ordering graduation announcements
tomorrow!

The Summer of My Insanity

Short, sweet, and to the point.

1. Dale has an appointment with a cardiologist on June 19th to check the status of his newly "re-diagnosed" ventricular septal defect.

I'll be sure to attend that appointment with him, and I might ask the good doctor to check Dale's ears...since he says "what?" every time I talk to him!

2. David had a little accident in my car last week.
(I'd share pictures of my missing front end, but my computer had a little accident too.)

Does it frighten anyone else that he hopes to pay for his soon-to-be-exorbitant-car insurance by working at a little bunjee jumping kiosk at the mall?

Oh my!

3. Two bills for Steven and Dale's health issues arrived this week.

Oh my!
Exorbitance!
Again!

4. I am borrowing a nice, new car from my parents right now. I had to drive their old car one day last week...mine missing the front and all...and my dad told me, after I was already seated, belted and in gear, that the transmission was slipping.

I made it home safely by shifting into neutral above 30 m.p.h., coasting, and then shifting back into drive below 30 m.p.h.

Unfortunately that was a bit too much technology for me, and now my brain is slipping too.

5. My little girl is growing up!

Is that allowed?
Someone stop this insanity!

Bits and Pieces

Housekeeping

1. A winner for the YouTube contest has not yet been announced...as far as I know!
Keep watching Steven!

2. If you live far away, please eat vicariously Saturday morning and consider giving a donation by using the "firstgiving" button on the side of the blog.

3. If you live locally and haven't yet bought tickets...

4. T-shirts are here!

All the "flippers" and "servers" can now be duly attired on Saturday morning!

5. This week while I am finishing preparations for the breakfast, I will also be planning and celebrating a Mother's Day Tea with my class, cooking dinner three out of five nights, watching David play in the regional high school baseball tournement, laundering ten loads of dirt and grime, working, and beginning preparations for year-end conferences and festivities.

I hope I don't forget to buy groceries!

Have I mentioned that I'm a bit frazzled at times?

6. Steven scanned abdominally today. He drank his gazillion mL of contrast successfully and tolerated the scan like a pro.

I'm not sure when or how we'll get results.

The Glimpse

Because I am perfect, my house is always pristine, my husband and I never argue, and my children are wickedly smart future Olympians who always brush their teeth, I have NO shocking revelations to admit today.

In fact, just to let you know how perfectly perfect and wonderfully wonderful we are, I should tell you that...

This week our dog DID NOT eat another pair of pink slippers.
Not another pair!

We DID NOT take any signs!

My eleven year old daughter DID NOT just tell me that ice cream will soon be made with breast milk. She also DID NOT state that breast milk ice cream is a great idea because then we could save the lives of many cows. And I DID NOT smile and ask her if she really thinks that cows are killed for ice cream. And she DID NOT respond, in all seriousness, that cows are injured in the process, so it might be better to use breast milk.

My middle child DID NOT come up with 102 illicit ways to pass math this year.

Today two of my children DID NOT argue about the value of the life of an ant. They DID NOT beg me to offer a comment or decide who was correct, and I DID NOT succumb to their clandestine plan.

My husband DID NOT leave phone numbers and notes for me so that I could follow through with the one task that I asked him to do this week.

One task!

I DID NOT spend six dollars for five apples.

A child of mine DID NOT try to clip his toenails with scissors this week!

I DID NOT have to help with the assets, liabilities, debits and credits in an accounting assignment and the addition and subtraction of negative and positive integers on the same night...at the same time! And this DID NOT confuse my already perfectly addled brain!

My sweet boy DID NOT complain of a headache that has lasted for two days and wasn't relieved by over-the-counter pain medications.
Ouch and Oh dear!

Vacation

Guess where we are?

Guess who we saw?

We're on vacation, deep in the mountains of West Virginia. We had to make a quick pit stop in a new town, Logan, located in the southern part of the state. As we were driving in we kept seeing signs for the Hatfield/McCoy trail. Well, if you've read Steven's story long enough, you know the association between the
McCoy family and VHL.

The McCoys are from Kentucky, and while we were close to the border, the roads were too miserable to make that trek. So instead we pulled out the AAA travel book and hunted down the family burial ground of the Hatfields, just 11 miles south of Logan and located on a fairly nice road. We also happened on the Hatfield museum...well, a collection of pictures and books stored in a rusty doorless trailer! The sweetest granddaughter of the original Papa Hatfield greeted us at the door and talked a bit about the famous feud. After a lengthy discussion about the area, the families and the history, I mentioned VHL and Steven. Ms. Hatfield told us that she was interviewed by a local news station after the story aired, and her response was classic.

"I told them everybody has a little bit of rage every now and then."

Love it!

And while Mary and I are gone, Steven's in charge of food. I bought enough groceries last Wednesday to make three really good and heaty meals, complete with recipes. I also picked up quite a bit of odds and ends, such as lunch meat, cheese, bread, fruit, cereal, and milk, to fill in the hunger when the major meals wouldn't do.

So far "the men" have had supper with Nuni and Pap and subs from a sub shop!

Oh my!

The Posts You'll Never Read

I truly only keep this blog updated for Steven. I want to record notes and thoughts of this unique journey for Steven, and I tend to edit myself before the words even begin to swirl around in my head.

Because...

One day, when news is bad or a medical procedure looms, Steven will be able to read about his determination and gather his strength.

One day, when he has questions, Steven will be able to chronologically review previous scans and surgeries and make educated decisions.

One day, possibly, this disease will make the news in a great way, and the world will be able to read about a young man's grace and courage. Maybe Steven will change a life.

One day, when he most needs it, Steven will be able to read about my determination to cure* him, and he will know how loved he is.

But somedays I feel like writing about other things. Things that drive me nuts. Things that make me laugh. Cute things. Things in this life that just aren't right. Things that have nothing to do with sweet Steven.

I won't write those stories, not today and not ever. Not here. I really feel that I have a purpose when I sit and stare at this keyboard, and I want to stay true to that purpose. But if I were to write about reality...headlines would look something like this:

"He Made Me Do It"
And Other Excuses a Dad Should Never Use

Peter Pan:
Alive and Well and Living in Brandon Florida

Three Loads a Day

What Do I Do
When the Children Grow Up?

My Vacation Plans:
Far, Far Away
And All by Myself

Convincing the IRS Man–
“Ididn’t Doit” and “It'snot Mine"”

Really Are Living in this House

Bills!
The Things They Never Teach You in College

Don't Forget to Wash Your Hands!
And Other Dirty Secrets from Our House

The Day Ol' Betsy Blew Up

I've Been Shown my Strength
Because He Wouldn't Stop Watching ESPN
To Help Me Pick Up 7 Baskets of Wet Laundry

(Yes, the dryer was broken.
No, it wasn't the Superbowl.
Yes, I truly was 8 months pregnant at the time.)

The Dog Ate What?

Flying Soccer Balls,
Crashing Baseballs

How to Replace a Broken Window

Dusty Bunnies and Sporadic Spiders:
Our Family Pets

Hospital Waiting Rooms
And the People Who Won't Wait

Put Some Clothes On!
Please!

Feisty Little Girls:
Even More Tales of Mary

(Because there are more...
so many more stories.)

Housetraining your dog
In Three Short Years

Who Taught the Boys to Aim?

The Man-Cold
A Sad, Sad Tale of a Very "Sick" Man
(Thanks Melanie!)


No stories tonight. Sorry. You can fill in the details!

March Madness

At the Zoo













I didn't go to the zoo. I'm not much interested in looking at animals, although we did see a super interesting sight once at the National Zoo involving the apes and a feeding pan.

Nana-the-Brave is the one who enjoys a day with all of the little animals.