Opening Night

Last night's production of The Jungle Book was WONDERFUL!!! The kids did such a great job. Rachel had such enthusiasm on stage. Her facial expressions captured each moment. All the hard work paid off!! I was really proud last night!!! I sat glued to my seat and just beamed the entire time. I think I'm probably like most parents with eyes only watching their own child, but last night I was intrigued by everyone on stage.

Megan helped sell flowers.

Brooke and Hayden as the Prickly Pears!!

Steven and Arnab as Kaa.

Neeley as the baby wolf.

Anna (Bagheera) and Rachel (Baloo) on stage singing the opening song.

Day 6

Today is Day 6 of my father's hospital stay. A lot has happened since I wrote last. Monday morning he got another cat scan. It revealed the spot had increased in size and they would need to do surgery. Monday afternoon he went into surgery and has spent the last two nights in the ICU. The surgery went well. They drilled two holes in his skull to release the pressure. For the last two days he has had a tube coming out of his head that has been draining the extra blood/fluid from his head. This morning the doctor removed that tube. We are hoping he will go into a regular room by this afternoon. The visiting hours for the ICU are 9,1,5 and 9pm, and it's made it hard on us trying to see him every 4 hours. Once he's in a room, my mother can stay there with him. This morning, he was a little groggy. I know he's in a lot of pain and each day he should feel better. They said he could come home either Friday or Saturday. He can not go back to work for two weeks. I'm tired right now and I really don't feel like blogging. I know God has been watching over him and answered our prayers. I'm so thankful!
I'll try to write more later.

Not the best Rollar Coaster Ride!!

A whirlwind of events took place since yesterday. Yesterday my dad went to the doctor for a headache that he's had for almost 3 weeks. It started when he fell on the ice Jan 31st. Dad is not fond of doctors so he's put it off since. After a cat scan, they discovered bleeding in his brain. I'm not positive if it was old blood or still a small drip. (still to be determined) His doctor decided to air-lift him to the Med. It took the helicopter 15 minutes to get to Memphis. I arrived shortly after and they allowed me back in the trauma center. He was alert, coherent and his usual self. He did not look like a man who needed to be next to gun shot wounds or patients who were in car accidents. After almost 15 minutes, a chaplain took me to the waiting area. If you've never been to the MED, and I pray you never do, it's a complex maze. When someone tells you that your father has been air lifted, you immediately think the worse. When they also tell you they are sending him to the MED, more bad thoughts enter your mind. THE MED is a trauma center! I will later discover that the Baptist Hospital in Ripley sent him by Helicopter because one of their ambulances was already in Jackson, TN and they like to keep the other for standby. I will also later learn that the Med was chosen because Baptist East didn't have a bed available. This information will come much later. My dad stayed in the Neuro ICU overnight and was told that at 6am on Saturday morning he would have surgery. They explained they would drill two bolts into his head to relieve the pressure. At 5:30am the next morning, the nurse called to say she was ready to wheel him back. My mother had spent the night at my house so we hurried back down to the MED and arrived close to 6:30. We assumed he was in the Operating Room and went directly to the waiting room. Come to find out he was still waiting to go to the OR. The nurse called us back and by 7am Dr. Kimball came to talk to dad. He said that he did not think it was necessary to have surgery as of yet and instead wanted to watch him for a day. He explained that if they do surgery, there's a chance the fluid will return but if they don't have surgery, he still suffers from headaches and there's a possibility of seizures. Today has been a game of waiting. I found Dr. Kimball very unapproachable with no bedside manners. I guess whats more important is his knowledge of the brain and his steady hands. A doctor has not visited again today. He is now in a regular room. Dad was given pain medicine that made him nauseous. He threw up earlier but tonight has managed to eat. Hopefully tomorrow will be a new day with new doctors and new answers! I took some pictures of him when he was still in good spirits. We joked because he knew I'd put it all over facebook for the world to see.




My 80year old Granny with her 62 year old son. I guess even at this age, their still your baby.

Day Job

PHEW!!! What would the school systems do without parents? I mean REALLY? I'm not sure they could function. At our school, room moms take care of every single party. The Teachers are HANDS OFF!!! They instruct the parents but it's the parents who make it all come together. School Fundraiser- ALL PARENTS!! School play, ALL PARENTS!! (Except for the director) Costumes, set, publicity-all parents!!! Library DUTY-PARENTS. When my kids attended St. Mary's they had lunch duty. Again, it was parents who monitored the kids while the teachers enjoyed their lunch.
I already spend a fortune to send my kids to school. Imagine if the parents didn't help how much more I'd spend. I have friends whose children go to public schools and they too are constantly helping at the school. Anyway.... my reason for this post is because I wanted to share with you how hard I've been working the last few weeks on COSTUMES. Rachel is Baloo in the Jungle Book play next weekend and since I worked on costumes last year, I inherited this job title again. The pictures above are works in progress of an elephant and a monkey. Nine children are elephants and monkeys so I"ve been busying cutting out tummies, ears and pinning tails on the back of pants. I'm exhausted and have so much more work to do. Yesterday we had a dress rehearsal and with it came costume malfunctions. So either today or this weekend, I've got to add elastic to hats, trim to pants, and figure out how to add elephant ears to a helmet and headband. I can't finish this post in good faith and not mention Gina and Patty who have also helped. Thank heavens that Gina knows how to sew. Patty can stitch and I know how to use a hot glue gun!!!

Talent Show 2010

Another great Talent show!!! This year Megan performed a cheer with friends and Rachel sang solo a song by Selena Gomez. Bravo Bravo!!! Both girls did an excellent job and MOM & Dad were very proud. This is Megan's last year to perform since next year she will go to Middle School. I thought all the acts were great!! I applaud all the children who can get on stage and perform. Rachel doesn't have ANY nerves in her body which is why she has performed a solo act for the last 4 years. This year she even added a little movement to her song. American Idol here we come!!!

Happy 80th!!!

Saturday night we met at RYAN'S for my Granny's 80th birthday! It's rare that this side of the family gets together anymore. I love you Granny!!