along the journey

While we were visitng my parents over the Thanksgiving holiday mom brought out boxes of old pictures that she had found while cleaning out a storage area. We had gone through and taken the ones I wanted to take, with the plan to scan them and share them. One set of pictures that are of particular interest are those of my back shortly after my last surgery, where the wound was left open, to heal from the inside out. While eating dinnner tonight, Caleb was going through a closet and found this particular set of pictures. This prompted me to go through the trouble of hooking up my very old scanner and getting it working. So I scanned the pics and have placed them online. Now for a warning….. IF YOU ARE AT ALL SQUEAMISH, DO NOT CLICK THIS LINK TO LOOK AT THESE PICTURES. Did you understand? DO NOT SEND ME HATE MAIL ABOUT THE CONTENTS OF THIS LINK, I HAVE WARNED YOU So, without further adieu…. very graphic open wound pictures here..

While looking for a cable to hook up my scanner, I found a box of pictures that we had put away when we moved here…. for lack of a better place to put them. While going through them we found a few of Amy that she wanted scanned, I went ahead and uploaded them too…. so these pictures are of Amy and her friend getting ready before a high-school dance.

And finally…. one of a spectacular moment in our lives-

Amy’s Baptism - February 16th, 2000

Amy and I are laying in bed, watching the closing scroll across the screen. A big dawg is laying at Amy’s feet, and Caleb is going through the drawers of our nightstand. It’s already a lazy Saturday, just the kind that I like.

Last night Amy and Caleb and I had dinner with a co-worker and his wife. We went to TGI Fridays and the service was absolutely horrible. We checked in at 6:45 and were told there was a 20 minute wait. We weren’t seated until 7:30 or so. We almost immediately orderd appetizers that didn’t arrive until after 8. At 8 I called for a manager, and just before he arrived our appetizers did as well. HE saied that he’d comp our appetizers and while we were still trying to eat our appetizers the entrees were brought to the table, and there was no room for them. Everyone loved their food, it was really good, except for my fries that seemed like they were the end of the batch, short crisp fries. I love the Jack Daniels sauce. We ordered a couple of slices of cheesecake to go, and after giving the server our credit card it took at least 15 minutes before he brought it back for us to sign. I was so frustrated. Caleb rode in Paulie’s Envoy on the way home…. Paulie told us that he took a wrong turn and Caleb told him. He had an excellent time.

After we got Caleb to bed I taught them how to play Carcassonne. Carcassone is the board game I got for Christmas. Amy and I play it, by ourselves, but playing it with four people makes it a completelyt different game. Much more strategy involved. Both Paulie and Val got the game pretty much right away, except for a few rules that I always forget until they apply during the game. Val won the first game by at least 20 points. We played a second game with the River expansion. I really like to play the River, but we should’ve played with it first because by about the halfway point, we were all too tired to really make any thoughtful decisions. THat game Paulie won, followed by Val, with Amy and I at the back.

I got Carcassonne because they say it’s a good intro to German Style board games, and both Paul and Val really enjoyed the game and couldn’t wait to try out some of the other expansions.

Today we only have a birthday party for Abigail, but nothing else. There is a little bit around the house that I want to do, but I’ll probably not get to it.

Testing
This is how I publish.

So we’re sitting here, flipping channels and decided to watch American Idol. I really think that the best part of the whole series is the begining, when they’re doing the initial auditions. They get in front of the judges and perform some crazy crap and then expect the judges to fall in love with them. It’s hilarious that they feel they need to explain their awfulness to them. And of course Fox makes these shows about people making fools of themselves, but it’s so much fun to laugh at these people. I wonder how many of them come on and make a big deal, hoping to get on tv.

We went today for an eye exam. I, honestly, can’t remember ever having an eye exam. So we went today…. taking advantage of my insurance. I left with glasses. I’ve never needed glasses before, so it’s a little strange. It’s a very light prescription, but it is a prescription. The hardest part I’m having is having a piece of glass sitting so close to my eyes. I can honestly say that everything is much clearer. I would never have realized that things were a little blurry… but I guess that’s what getting an eye exam is for. I don’t have to wear them all the time, just when I need to focus on something, computer screen, book, tv…. so almost all the time. I’ve been wearing them since I got them. I took them off for about 5 minutes while I was playing Nintendo but then decided that I was much more comfortable with them on.

Tonight we’re going to a Pampered Chef banquet in Lancaster. Should be a good time. Tomorrow, Amy is going out with Susan for lunch and then to a Stampin’ Out party. It’s gonna be Caleb and I. I’d love to do something other than come home and mess around. Maybe I’ll see if someone wants to hang out…. who knows.

So like any child does eventually, Caleb has become fascinated with his “private parts”. Like any responsible modern parents, we’ve decided to call his a penis. Caleb also knows that poopy comes from his “hiney”. Lately he’s been reaching between his legs past his penis and telling us that his “Highness” - I’m sure it’s a combination of penis and hiney, but it’s just so darn cute.

We took Caleb roller skating the other day. Our friend DJ’s at one of the skating rinks Christian Skate Night. So we showed up in support. They had those little fisher-price roller skates that have varying settings that prevent him from falling on his butt as easily if he had regular skates on. It was difficult for me, I hadn’t been on skates in at least 5 years, maybe 6. And then having to hold Caleb’s hand to help him from falling so much. By the end of the night he was surprising us at how well he was doing. He would run/skate much faster than Amy or I were comfortable letting him go. He wore himself out so much that he was happy to return the skates to the skate rental. Amy wants to get him into some sort of class, turn him into a pro-hockey player or something.

I have such excellent memories of going roller skating when I was young. My parents ran a group home in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. We’d go roller skating at least once a month… I remember my dad teaching me to skate backwards. I only hope that Caleb can have similar memories.

Well it’s been so long since I’ve written. Christmas was good. New Years was good. January 3rd was better. Me and a few co-workers got to attend the Ravens Playoff Game against the Tennessee Titans, courtesy of a large corporation that we’ve been working with. It was a great time, had good food, good beer, good times. Ravens lost. I lost my voice.