This sweet, innocent face...

almost lost his happy home last night. I love my animals. They are part of the family. But, I was truly ready to kill that cat. What did such a cute little guy do to earn my ire? Well, he decided to dig in my orchid plant. He dug down so far that he exposed the roots. He broke off the old stalks which I hadn't trimmed back because they still have pretty green leaves on them. Then, he decided to use the dirt he excavated as a litter box. And, before you ask or suggest it, his litter box was clean.

Once I caught Max, I beat his little ass. No, I didn't do permanent damage. I didn't even do temporary damage despite being strongly tempted to. I did however put his nose in the pot and wail his butt. He hasn't gone near the pot today. I am hopeful that he learned his lesson.

Oh yeah, I repotted the orchid and I think I've saved it. Max had better hope I saved it.

All Thumbs Review

I have just discovered the coolest review site. Its called All Thumbs Review and its run by Lori of Weebles Wobblog and Chicklet of Bloorb fame. They are two incredible ladies who have awesome taste in just about everything (is that enough shameless brown nosing?).

Seriously though, they review some really cool products...everything from salsa to soap. Not only do they review these great products but Chicklet also has a small primer about Etsy... how to navigate Etsy and how to set up your own Etsy store.

BTW ladies, that salsa you reviewed sounds delish and I think I may have to order some soon.

Why does this remind me so much of my boys?

Random Thoughts (including a King Street Players mini episode)

Infertility related question...if you were on progesterone, was it suppositories, oral, or progesterone in oil injections? The OB's office I went to while pregnant with Gabe prescribed suppositories. My current OB's office prescribes the oral form. Do you happen to know if one is considered more effective than the other?

Marty got his cast off yesterday. Woohooo! I am so glad he has that off. He would have been impossible if they had decided to leave it on. Vic said Marty was such a boy at his appointment yesterday. Casts get nasty and funky inside no matter how careful you are to keep them clean and dry. After they cut Marty's cast off, he grabbed it and stuck his nose in it and smelled. Vic looked at Marty and said, "Dude, you have a good looking female doctor taking care of you and you're acting like that?" Marty just laughed.

Speaking of boy behavior...Since Marty hadn't been able to clean his foot with the cast on, he got in the bath with Gabe last night so he could soak. Gabe was playing with a little squirt toy and managed to touch his private area with it. Marty said, "Eeew, now you're going to have to sterilize it." I asked him why it was any different than them sharing the water that touched EVERY part of their bodies. He said, "We're boys so it doesn't matter. But, you are a girl and you are touching it. Hahahahahaha." Marty has had the talk and fully understands the idea of reproduction. He's said before, "I like babies. I just don't like thinking about how they get here." I looked at him and just said, "How do you think you got here?" OMG...you should have seen the look on his face. He shriek, "Eeeeewwwwww...MOM! GROSS. The image you put in my head...EEEEWWWWWW!"

King Street Players Mini Episode (featuring the return of Evil Mom)
I recently decided that since we had enough freezer space, I was not going to buy canned veggies anymore. I would either buy fresh or frozen. So, the other week, I made dinner. We had burger patties with rice and gravy and green beans. The green beans were delicious. Here's how this whole transition went down with Joey...
J: "They look weird."
EM: "Thats how green beans are suppose to look. They are frozen..."
J: "Eeewwww...I HATE frozen."
EM: "Joey, I cooked them."
J (sounding disgruntled): "Oh...ok."
EM: "Just eat please."
Joey takes a tiny nibble of a single green bean.
J: "GROSS...when I bit into it, it crunched and was too juicy."
EM: "Thats how green beans are suppose to taste. Just eat 10 of them."
J (whining): "But I haaaaate them."
EM: "You will eat a *'No Thank You' portion. That is enough so you get some vitamins and nutrients but not so much that its torture. You will eat 10."
Much whining and complaining commence. It degenrates into crying along with whining due to Joey's extremely tired state.
EM: "If you keep whining, you will eat 15 instead of 10. If you don't eat it now, that will be your bed time snack. If you don't eat it at bed time, you will have it for breakfast. What are you going to do?"
J (sulkily): I guess I'll eat it now."
EM: "Oh, by the way, since you can't control yourself and are whining and fussing, you will go to bed early."

Once I got past the frustration of the situation, I found it all extremely funny. Hmmm, I think we'll have green beans for dinner tonight.

Some recent stitchy finishes...

I designed all three of these pieces. The first two are squares for a baby quilt. My friend Vicki just had her 8th child and these are for her quilt...





and this piece is for a Halloween exchange...

SHOW AND TELL: My Inspiration

This week I want to tell you the story of my parents marriage. I hope I grow up to be like them and I hope my marriage is at least as long as theirs has been.

Over 42 years ago, a young man and a young woman had a chance meeting over in Japan. The young woman was beautiful, blonde, and smart as a whip. The young man was smart, looked sharp in his uniform, and had a soft spot for strong women. The young woman had been bored in college so, when her father got order's from the Air Force to transfer to Japan, she decided to go with them. She enrolled in school, got hired to teach English to diplomats, and spent her spare time teaching lifeguarding classes to the military men on base. The young man was a navigator in the Air Force and his squadron made regular runs to Japan. One day, they had a longer layover than usual and he decided to stop by the pool on base. When he got to the pool, his attention was immediately drawn to this blonde woman who (in his words) was making fools of those airmen in the water. Yup, that was when my dad first saw my mom. 10 months later, they were married. During those 10 months, he was stationed in New Jersey and flew through Japan while she was living in Japan...so, they only saw each other a total of 14 whole or partial days. Next May, from the 22 through the 27, they will be celebrating their 42nd wedding anniversary. Of course, my dad, being the wonderful smart ass that he is, tell people that they are celebrating their 126 anniversary. Since they were both American citizens and the wedding was in Japan, they got married in a Japanese legal ceremony and an American legal ceremony (both on May 22, 1967) and then had a church wedding on May 27th. He just multiples the 42 years that they wil have spent together by 3.

Life hasn't always been perfect. They've had some really tough times. But, they have always loved each other with every fiber of their being. They have really shown me the meaning of the wedding vows "for better or for worse". I couldn't have asked for a better example to try and live up to.

Here they are almost 42 years ago...


and here they are today...


To see more wonderful SHOW AND TELL, check in with Miss Lollipop.

What if...

You know that butterflies in the stomach feeling you get when you are nervous and excited and scared and happy all at once. Well, that sensation has hit. I just got a call from my new OB/GYN office and Dr. BB has received the report from my consultation at the Duke clinic. This means everything is in place for us to start trying again. I will get my prescription for progesterone from Dr. BB next week (he's out of the office today) and then its just a matter of waiting a little for my next cycle to start.

The happy and excited feelings are tempered by the worries and doubts any IFer gets when we contemplate growing our family. I know the treatment worked last time. Gabe is living proof of that. But what if...

what if we do everything the same, I get pregnant, and I still lose the baby...

what if my body decides to throw me another curve and find yet another way to complicate things...

what if I fall on the wrong side of the odds (something I seem to do really well) and develop the nasty complications that can go along with lovenox injections this time...

what if pre-eclampsia or PIH rear their heads again...

what if my age is a factor this time...

what if, what if, what if...

what if my body cooperates this time (miracles do happen)...

what if everything goes according to plan and we add a beautiful baby to our family next year...

If I give into the fears of what if, I will be safe but I will always wonder about what could have been.

If I follow the dreams of what if, I might fall flat on my face or I might end up with the family I've always dreamt of.

I chose to follow the dreams.

My youngest is ROTTEN and way, way too smart.

Gabe was jumping off the couch and landing on the handle of his toy lawn mower. I told him not to do it because I wouldn't buy him a new one if he broke it. Gabe just laughed and said, "Grandma buy me a new one." I guess he's figured who the pushover is...LOL.

It appears the tendency to injure ankles is a family trait

My mom was walking in the woods near her house and she slipped going down an embankment. This happened late afternoon on Monday. Her ankle buckled and twisted underneath her. I talked to her yesterday and she had finally gone to the doctor. Her ankle was swollen and quite sore. It was bad enough that she realized she wouldn't be able to stand on it all day Tuesday to teach. That's probably the only reason she agreed to go to the doctor (for any of you who have wondered where my stubborn streak comes from, this is it). Luckily, my dad is a registered substitute teacher so he was able to go in and cover all her classes yesterday while she was at the doctor. When she called me Tuesday, they still hadn't completely ruled out a break. I guess they were waiting for the xrays to be read or something. She said if they decided it was broken, she would get a red cast to match Marty's.

We are all suppose to be going to the county fair down near my mom's house this weekend. I hope she pays attention to her ankle and doesn't push past its endurance limit.

I killed Chuck E Cheese today.

Aaah...Chuck E Cheese, the mouse children love and parents hate. Today, I made my small contribution towards the sanity of parents everywhere. I killed one of the evil minions the Head Cheese sends out to indoctrinate our kids. I decapitated Gabe's Chuck E. Cheese cup.


Before you jump to the conclusion that I was perpetuating Chuck's insidious grip on our young children, be assured I did not buy this cup. This cup was given to Gabe by a grandparent. For those of you wishing to have a similar mouse removal occur at your house, here's how you do it. After multiple washings, the plastic weakens. Make sure you "accidentally" send the cup hurtling down from a high perch. With a fall of sufficient height, decapitation is a foregone conclusion. Now, please enjoy this moving tribute to Chuck E Cheese...

Welcome to the home of the King Street Players

Today's drama production features the Drama King of Cary...


starring as the much beleaguered middle schooler (MBMS) and his mom...

starring as the eeeevil mother (EM). The scene opens with the phone ringing just as eeeevil mom was getting ready to walk son #2 to the bus stop.

EM: Hello
MBMS (in a pitiful voice): Mom...I just puked.
this child was fine this weekend, was fine this morning and ate a good breakfast
EM: What happened?
MBMS: I just got sick. I don't know what happened.
EM: Marty, you've missed too many days. You were out 5 days because of Grandpa's funeral and you were sick a couple of days. You can't miss anymore.
MBMS: But moooooom, I feel terrible. Please, please, please.
adlib much begging and pleading by MBMS and many refusals to budge by EM
EM: Don't you remember our talk when you were sick last time? If you miss too many more you will be beyond the limit missed for the semester. You said you understood.
MBMS: But Mom, I didn't know I would feel this bad this soon.
EM: You have to stay in school. But, I can bring you medicine.
MBMS: Can't we talk about it when you get here?
EM: No. There is nothing to talk about. If you don't have a fever, you have to stay at school. Your only options are me bringing you medicine or not bring you medicine.
MBMS: (huffily) Fine, I'll see you when you get here.

EM gathers the medicine and loads son #3 into the car.
EM arrives at the school and walks in the office to encounter much begging and pleading by MBMS. MBMS admittedly looks a bit peakish.

MBMS: Mom, I'm dying here. Can't I please come home?
EM: No dear. You can not come home.
again...adlib much begging and pleading by MBMS and many refusals to budge by EM
EM (to secretary): Do you have a thermometer?
EM: If you don't have a fever, you will stay in school.
fast forward a little bit, thermometer shows NO FEVER
EM: Ok...take your medicine and go back to class.
MBMS: You don't car about me. Come one mom, give me a break for once in my life.
EM: I do care...
MBMS: No you don't. You don't care. You don't love me. I'm dying here.
EM: If I didn't love you, I wouldn't put up with this.
EM: The discussion is over, you need to go back to class.
MBMS: Fine, I won't talk to you ever again.

After multiple repeats of the begging and many near bouts of tears, MBMS stomps off as best as he can while on cruches. EM drives home shaking her head and the screen fades to black.

This has been the most recent production of the King Street Players. Thanks for your interest. Check back in on a regular basis and we'll bring you many further episodes fill with teen-age angst, infuriating toddlers, and whiny 7 year olds.

SHOW AND TELL: our wedding

Welcome to this week's show and tell. I was thinking this week about how very lucky I am to be married to the wonderful man I have. So, I wanted to share our wedding pictures with you. This November will be our 14th anniversary. Not only did I get to marry the man of my dreams 14 years ago but I had the wedding of my dreams. It wasn't a large wedding but we

were surrounded by friends and family that we love. My dear friends Chris, Kristi, and Jennifer were my bridesmaids. Vic's dad was his best man and our friend's Mike and Dan were the other groomsmen. Even my Grandma was able to be there. I can't believe how young we all look. Hehe, my hubby says to tell you that the kids gave him the grey hair he has now.


Vic and his dad

Chris, Me, Kristi, Jennifer

Mike, Dan, Vic

my Mom, my Dad, Mike

my Grandma, Mike

at the altar

the wedding party

us today

I'm a geek.

I found The Geek Test online. Since I've always thought of myself as a bit of a geek, I decided to take the test and see what my official ranking is. According to the Geek Test, I am 35.10848% geek which designates me as a major geek.

Are you a geek? Take the test and tell me how you scored. Visit Innergeek and take the Geek Test.

McCain is a *political WUSS

This picture is from the Huffington Post

I can not believe this shit. Truly I can't. Yes, we are in a political crisis but you DO NOT suspend the democratic process to deal with the economy. I cold say a lot more on this but instead I'm going to point you to three items that say it the best. LH ripped McCain a new one in his post McCain is desperate and afraid. And Craig Ferguson seems to really get it...


And David Letterman has a brilliant take on it too...


*Please understand...there is much about McCain I admire. He sacrificed much for our country during his military service. There are even things I agree with him on. However, I do NOT like him as a politician.

6 Quirky (or just plain weird) Things About Me

I rarely do memes but I got tagged by flickrlovr and my kids *fried the few brain cells I have left so here goes...

THE RULES:

• Link to the person that tagged you
• Post the rules on your blog
• Share 6 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
• Tag 6 people at the end of your post by linking to their blog
• Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
• Let your tagger know when your entry is up

JUDGE AWAY...

1. It drives me crazy when someone doesn't completely erase a board (blackboard, dry erase, whatever). Its not that I mind if something is purposely left on a board. What bothers me is when someone erases in order to write or draw something new and they leave part of a letter or picture behind.
2. I am very laid back about most things but I hate it when my cross stitch bobbins are not wound neatly. I am so anal when I wind my bobbins of cross stitch floss that they look like they were wound by a machine. Having my bobbins of floss lay nice and flat and in order makes me happy.
3. I can NOT stand to have my bed covers loose and gathered around my feet. I want the sheet pulled fairly taut across my feet.
   
4. I have piles of shirts and shorts neatly folded on the glider in my room because I didn't take the time to put them away. I mean how ridiculous is that. It only takes a few minutes more to put them in the drawer...but I fold them perfectly.
   
5. I can handle a fair amount of chaos and mess but, when I reach my breaking point, I snap and I am totally fanatical about cleaning that room floor to ceiling.
   
6. When I have read or studied things, I can tell you whether an item is on the left page or right page. I can tell you the general spot on the page the info is on. But, I have been known to completely blank on the actual info.

I'm going to tag Velda, Henny, Rebel, Beautiful Mess, Katrina, and MiPa.

*my brain is so fried that I had to retype parts of this post two and three times to get the spelling correct

I heart the Duke Medicine OB/GYN clinic.

If I lived in Durham, they would be my doctors of choice. I went there for my referral today. Basically, my OB/GYN office here in Cary wanted me to have them review my records and the treatment I got during my last pregnancy and make recommendations as to the course of treatment if I get pregnant again.

I got there about 15 minutes before my appointment and was taken right back. Yes, you read that right...I DID NOT HAVE TO WAIT. The doc, Dr. B, who reviewed my records with me was really nice and courteous. Then, he was going to do a quick review of my case with the head doc, Dr. J, and she would brief me as to her recommendations. Well, Dr. J was running a little late (she was teaching a seminar) and Dr. B came back and apologized for the wait not once but twice.

Dr. J believes the same dosage of lovenox will be perfect but wants to add one baby aspirin a day beginning with the second trimester. She says that their is evidence that simply adding a baby aspirin a day helps protect against pre-eclampsia and blood pressure problems during pregnancy. She is also going to recommend monthly ultrasounds to check for growth rate and fetal health. And, I think she said she will recommend weekly appointments start at 32 weeks.

Then, while Dr. B was getting my check out papers, Dr. J herself (aka the head of the clinic) got me the clinic card with all the phone numbers and took me to meet the nurses they have on staff so I would know who I was talking to when I call in...WOW. Dr. B was going to hand me the check out papers but stopped himself and said, "You don't need these. You've already paid your co-pay. Let me take care of checking you out." Double Wow...talk about good customer service. I am so glad these are the high risk specialists we will be dealing with.

I think the current plan will be to wait one more cycle (just to make sure its regulated) and then start trying in earnest.

Marty's ankle is broken

Last Wednesday, he stepped wrong when he was running in PE. We thought he had sprained it because there was no bruising and only a little swelling. He could bear some weight on it but not much. We ended up taking him in to the doc on Saturday because we knew he would have to be out of PE this week and that meant we needed a doctor's note. At that point, the doc agreed it was sprained. The presentation just did not scream broken bone. Well, last night, he slipped on something on the bathroom floor and after that he couldn't bear any weight on it. Poor kiddo. It wasn't better this morning so we took him to the doctor. The xray showed he had one broken bone on the outside of the ankle. He now has a cast and a cast shoe on his foot. No PE or Tae Kwon Do until he recovers. Whee fun!

SHOW AND TELL: My Kids' Christening Outfit

When we were trying to get pregnant with my oldest son, I decided I wanted to make my baby's christening gown. I found a wonderful thread crochet pattern and set to work. This is the result...


Christening gown, hat and booties...crocheted in '96...worn by all three of my boys.


Close up of buttons and hat...I couldn't find buttons I liked so I bought the beads in the right color and made these buttons.


Close up of the front of the bodice and the booties.

I hope I get to use this one more time.

To see more wonderful SHOW AND TELL, check in with Miss Lollipop.

I have a confession to make...

For the past year and a half, I let my anger over things said to my husband stand in the way of my kids seeing their grandparents as much as they should.

To understand the situation, I have to give you a little background. The house we live in right now belongs to my MIL. We are renting to own from her. The house will be ours one day. We are truly blessed to have the opportunity to buy this house at such a wonderful price...and my in-laws are wonderful to have offered it to us. However, this has made my MIL feel like she can give us advice or be privy to knowledge about things that truly are not her business (mostly money issues). Some things happened about a year and a half ago and my MIL had my FIL lecture my hubby about work ethics, financial responsibility, and general nonsense for 2 hrs. My husband has one of the strongest work ethics of anyone I know. At one point in our marriage, he was working almost 7 days a week to make ends meet. My wonderful, responsible, hardworking hubby was treated like a child and it PISSED ME OFF. My hubby was also deeply hurt by this. Because of my anger at this situation and because of the way my hubby felt, we didn't visit my in-laws nearly as often as we should have. Over all, my in-laws were and are wonderful people but this issue was a sticking point for me. There were many times during that year and a half when I mention to my hubby that maybe we should visit them...but I never pushed it or followed through.

And, now its too late. My FIL is gone and my children missed out on a lot of time they could have had with him. I'm not sure I can ever forgive myself for that.

"If you're not laughing, you're not living."

Carlos Mencia closes out his show with this saying. I think he is right. There is so much we can laugh about...and laughter gets us through the tough times. Laughing about a joke or something ridiculously silly my kids or husband have done can make a horrible day seem so much better. That is one of the things I love about my husband. He can always make me laugh.

What makes you laugh? Do you think laughter is therapeutic? Post some jokes, links to funny videos, funny pics...anything that can make you laugh. Anything goes...raunchy humor as well as silly or sophomoric knock knock jokes.

Come on people...make me laugh.


I'll start you out...

Top nine Olympic comments made by NBC sports commentators:

1. Weight-lifting commentator: 'This is Gregorieva from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning during her warm up and it was amazing.'

2. Dressage commentator: 'This is really a lovely horse and I speak from personal experience since I once mounted her mother.'

3. Paul Hamm, Gymnast: 'I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father.'

4. Boxing Analyst: 'Sure there have been injuries, and even some deaths in boxing, but none of them really that serious.'

5. Softball announcer: 'If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again.'

6. Basketball analyst: 'He dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn't like it. In fact you can see it all over their faces.'

7. At the rowing medal ceremony: 'Ah, isn't that nice, the wife of the IOC president is hugging the cox of the British crew.'

8. Soccer commentator: 'Julian Dicks is everywhere. It's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field.'

9. Tennis commentator: 'One of the reasons Andy is playing so well is that, before the final round, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them... Oh my God, what have I just said?'

2 boys and a duck...

My house is a very full and very busy house. We have 2 dogs, 2 cats, 3 fish, 2 boys, and a duck. Wait a minute! 2 boys and a duck?!?!?!? My regular readers are scratching their heads about now and wondering when I got a duck and what happened to my 3rd son. See folks, that is where you are making a mistake. You assume kids are always kids. You all know my sons Marty and Joey...


Now, I want to introduce you to my fuzzy yellow duck. Meet Ming-Ming duckling...


Most people looking at this picture would make the mistaken assumption that it was a picture of my son Gabe. But, alas it isn't so. Lately, his obsession with the Wonder Pets has lead to him going by the name Ming-Ming. It's quite amazing the things this little duckling can do. He chases cats, pretends to be a dog, collects tree sap for the marmosets (like Diego), and he does it all while he is covered with fluffy feathers. Unfortunately, Ming-Ming's wings don't seem to be designed for holding onto things so many things (including the tree sap bottle) have gone flying through the air. However, Ming-Ming's clumsiness is offset by his bravery with loud noises. Ming-Ming tolerates the loud engines of buses and lawn mowers very well.

I don't know how long Ming-Ming is here for but, until he decides his stay is over, I have 2 boys and a duck.

The Last "I Love You"

Yesterday, we went over to my mother-in-law's house for dinner and she had an amazing story to tell us.

My MIL collects Grinch Christmas decorations. A few years ago, she started collecting the Grinch ornaments made by Lenox. My father-in-law had bought most of them for her as presents and she had collected all except for one of them. I think she had planned on eventually getting the last decoration but it wouldn't have been this year. Last Monday, after the funeral, she arrived home to find a package had been delivered. Shortly before he went in the hospital, my FIL ordered the last Grinch decoration for my MIL. She came home from the funeral to receive her final present, her last "I Love You", from my FIL. She would have treasured the decoration no matter what circumstances she received it but getting it this way is just amazing. This is what she got...

SHOW AND TELL: a really cool duck...

This week's show and tell isn't anything deep and profound. In the pond behind my MIL's house (man does it feel weird saying that instead of the in-laws' house), there is a group of ducks that live there. There are some mallards that live there and their is a group of white ducks that live there. And, there is one extremely unique duck. This duck looks like a cross (and probably is) between the generic white duckies and the mallards. Since you rarely see different species coexisting that closely, I find it extremely interesting that this duck has never been ostracized from the mallards.

Two things that make me happy...

Someone from my church brought these lovely flowers by on Monday. They were the altar flowers from Sunday and someone decided we needed a show of support to help us get through my FIL's death. And, they are my favorite colors...purple and green!



I finished the Bat Mitzvah present for my friend Jen's daughter, Emily. Jen asked a group of us who are friends to help her put this together for Emily's special day. I finished it...YAY. And, hopefully (please God), it will get there today...only one day before the Bat Mitzvah. If you want to see close ups of the squares, check this link. The square design is a quilting pattern called the friendship square. Normally, the center of each pieced square would be the darker color but that is where I placed the cross stitch squares. I like it but, do you think a 13 yr old will like it?

9/11...the day our world changed forever...

Mention 9/11 and you’ll get a wide variety of reactions ranging from anger to stunned disbelief to wacked out conspiracy theorists. The one commonality you will find is that everyone can tell you where they were on that fateful day. I was sitting in my living room watching some kids program with my kids when the phone rang. It was my friend Pam from Kentucky. She didn’t say hi. She didn’t mention who it was. She just said, “TURN ON THE TV.” I could tell from her tone of voice that something was really wrong. Little did I know how much worse it would get. When Pam called me, the first plane had just hit the World Trade Center. At that point, everyone thought it was a tragic accident or a crazed individual acting alone. Certainly, no one was thinking terrorism.

We turned on the TV and were watching when the second plane hit. I looked at my husband in stunned disbelief. I remember watching as a thick, black column of smoke climbed higher and higher into that beautiful blue sky. I remember praying and saying, “Please dear God let the loss of life be minimal.” I remember watching all the police cars and fire trucks arriving and thinking, “I wonder how many of those brave men and women won’t go home tonight.”

As the fire grew bigger, the chances of the buildings staying up grew smaller. We were watching as the buildings started to collapse. I sat there crying because I knew we had lost all those firefighters and police officers who went running in when everyone else was running out. Those brave heroes didn’t stop to think they might not live through the day. They donned their gear and their only question was, “Where do you need me?” Those men who went into the World Trade center that day saved many lives by giving their lives that day. Please remember them.

In the days that followed the attack and the building collapse, I was selfishly glad that my husband was recovering from knee surgery. If he hadn’t been recovering from surgery, he would likely have been one of the firefighters who volunteered to help with the recovery efforts. It may have been selfish but I didn’t want him to become another statistic of 9/11. My heart went out to the families who lost people on 9/11 but I certainly didn’t want to join them.

Remember the bravery of the policemen and firefighters who died on 9/11. Remember the people who forced the plane down in the field instead of letting the terrorist crash it into a building. Even if you don’t support the war, recognize and honor the conviction of our men and women who are fighting for our freedom. Don’t let this day and the loss of life be pointless.

Stand up for our rights. Stand up for our freedom. Don’t sit silently and let our rights be trampled upon by our government or by others.

Stand for something and remember 9/11.



To read a series of 48 incredible posts about 9/11, go visit Bridges. There will be a new 100 word post every half hour today.

The promised Gabe story (+ a little)...

Life finally feels like it is starting to get back to normal (whatever that may be). The viewing and the funeral were really tough. Even little Gabe seemed to figure some of it out. There was a family viewing on Saturday, and, when Gabe saw him, he said, "Grandpa’s sleeping." I figured the best response was to say, “Yes, Grandpa is sleeping and he has gone to be with God now.” Well, the next day at the public viewing, Gabe was outside with my sister. All of a sudden he grabbed her hand and said, “I HAVE to go see my Grandpa.” When they came back into the funeral home, he grabbed my best friend and said, “Come on Aunt Jennifer. We have to go see my Grandpa.” He was very insistent. When they got up to the front of the viewing line, he stood there with a very serious look on his face. My sister said you could just see the wheels turning in his head. He finally said, in a kind of sad voice, “My Grandpa’s still sleeping.” My mom had joined them at this point and told him, “Yes, Grandpa is with God right now.” He kept looking and rubbed his face a bit. Then Gabe looked at my sister and said (in a sad voice), “Aunt Becky, I HAVE to go home now.” Up until then, he had been quite happily running around and playing with everyone. I guess, even though he doesn’t fully understand, he figured out something was really wrong. It nearly broke my heart when my mom told me about it. The hardest part for me was when my MIL bent over to give my FIL one last kiss. She kissed his forehead and his cheek and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. You could see her body shaking while she cried as she did this. Then, she turned to my hubby and asked him to take FIL's glasses off. She bent down and gently kissed each eyelid and then had my hubby replace his glasses. She said that was their nightly ritual and she needed to do it one last time. It was so beautiful, tender, and absolutely heartbreaking. Theirs was a true love story.

My older two boys have done a remarkable job dealing with everything but they both completely lost it at the funeral (I think we all did). Joey just sobbed and sobbed. And Marty cried a bit but, his tough moment was at the gravesite. When they were lowering the casket, he knelt behind my MIL, buried his head in her shoulder, and sobbed his heart out. It was so hard not being able to make it all better for them. Vic and I both have been relieved to make it through the services. I think we both lost it when the military honor guard handed my MIL the flag and the brass from the 21 gun salute. It still doesn’t seem quite real.

And the winners are....

Stacie of Heeeeere Storkey, Storkey! and Murgdan of Conceive This!. Thats right, there are two winners. Both my older boys wanted to draw a name from the bag and, in a moment of weakness, I let them do it. I want to thank these lovely ladies for stopping by, reading, and commenting.

The funeral is today.

Here is a copy of his obit...

Mr. Sigifredo Cruz-Vega, 72, passed away on Tuesday, September 2, 2008 at Duke University Medical Center. Mr. Cruz was born on January 18, 1936 in Puerto Rico to the late Vicente Laguna and Ramona Vega. Mr. Cruz served in the National Guard and the U.S. Army, with thirty years of service to his country. He served in the Field Artillery and retired at the rank of Command Sergeant Major in 1980. Mr. Cruz’s last assignment was as the Regular Army Advisor to the North Carolina National Guard. Some of the commendations and decorations earned during a long illustrious career include the Bronze Star Medal (2nd award) with V Device (Valor), Air Medal, Purple Heart (2nd award), Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and the Meritorious Service Medal. Upon retiring from the military, Mr. Cruz worked for twenty-one years at Bristol Myers as a Processing Mechanic Supervisor in Morrisville, NC. Mr. Cruz was a charter member of the Genesis United Methodist Church in Cary.

In addition to his wife, Ruth N. Cruz, he is survived by five sons and their spouses, Sig and Linda of Concord, Ric and Mae of Knightdale, Victor and Kristin of Cary, Manuel and Lisa of Charlotte, and Jose of Cary; two daughters and spouses, Marta and Felipe Maldonado of Miami, FL and Ruth and Ray Nichols of Raleigh; grandchildren: Pachence Johnson, Melissa, Corey, Victor Martin, Joseph Sigifredo and Gabriel; great grandchildren: Travis Johnson, Cameron Johnson and Aleysha Johnson. Mr. Cruz is survived by three siblings, Gladys Torres, Maria Antonia Laguna and Angel Laguna.

A Worship Service celebrating his life will be held on Monday, September 8 at 11:00 am at Genesis United Methodist Church, 850 High House Road, Cary. Interment with military honors will follow at Wake Memorial Park in Cary.

Visitation will be from 3-5 p.m. on Sunday, September 7, 2008 at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 200 S.E. Maynard Road, Cary.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 8300 Health Park, Suite 10, Raleigh, NC 27615.

If you click on this link, this takes you to the page at the funeral home and on the right hand side of the page there is a link that says movie. The funeral home used pics from all through dad's life to make a wonderful video tribute.

I have a fabulous story about Gabe relating to all this but I need to go start getting ready. I will have to type it out later.

SHOW AND TELL: 200th Post Giveaway

My crafts were my sanity saver during our battle against secondary infertility and they are my sanity saver as a parent. I love to create beautiful things. Sometimes I am inspired to work in floss, sometimes in fabric, sometimes in yarn. I love to make things for other people and so I want to make something for one of you to celebrate my 200th post. All you need to do to enter this drawing is post here. I will randomly select one of my commentors to receive a gift. The winner will get to select the type of item and I will work out the details. I do promise you will receive something but I'm not going to promise it will happen quickly...LOL. 3 kids and my various other responsibilities make a quick turn around impossible. The cut off for posting here to enter the contest is 9/8/08. Remember, this will be a real item. If you want to receive it, make sure I can contact you (don't comment anonymously). If you don't have a blog, put a comment here and send me an email via the link on my blog. Here are a few of the things I can make...

A proud mama moment...

My oldest son, Marty, was talking to me and asked me if I thought he would get a *girlfriend in middle school. After I fought back the urge to yell, "YOU'RE TOO YOUNG!" I told him, "I don't know. You might. So kids start having girl friends in middle school and some never find someone they like until they are older."

Marty then said, "I like pretty girls but I like nice girls better. So many pretty girls have attitudes and, if I had to pick, I would rather have a nice girlfriend."

This time I had to fight the urge to yell, "HALLELUJAH!" So many men never learn this lesson and my 11 yr old gets it. I hope he holds onto this attitude because he will have a much easier time with dating (when he is old enough).


*a girlfriend in middle school is just someone you might publically hold hands with.

There is something seriously wrong when...

you have to schedule a funeral around a tropical storm. Vic and his parents are originally from Puerto Rico. This means we have a lot of people coming from way out of town for this funeral. It also means that many of them are coming from an area that is having flights affected by the presence of Tropical Storm Hanna.

A lot of people couldn't get here until late last night or early today. That meant the earliest we could have had the viewing was this afternoon with the funeral tomorrow. But wait, same aforementioned Tropical Storm Hanna will be visiting the fine state of North Carolina tomorrow. Sooooo, the viewing had to be scheduled for Sunday afternoon (3 til 5) and the funeral is on Monday at 11 am.

I never thought we would have to schedule a funeral around a tropical storm's schedule.

Random thoughts on loss...

I knew losing one of our parents would be hard but I never realized just how hard it would be. My emotional and mental exhaustion is making me feel physically exhausted and I know Vic is even worse. My sense of time seems to be all skewed. It alternately seems like time is passing very quickly and that time is dragging.

I'm not in tears all the time but random thoughts and moments bring on the flood of tears quite easily. I was snuggling and singing to Gabe at bedtime and all of a sudden I was struck by the thought that any future child of ours would never get to be snuggled and held by his Grandpa Sig. The tears started and my voice broke and, it was all I could do to not totally lose it.

Marty and Joey seem to be doing ok but that's just whats on the surface. Joey is my laid back, mellow kid. He never gets upset about video games and he ended up in tears over one today. That was in addition to the total sobbing meltdowns he had this morning. Marty is holding it in but he has had his share of meltdowns. Even Gabe knows something is wrong. We were over at my in-laws house...strike that my mother-in-laws house last night and Gabe was fine. But today, when he heard me mention Grandpa, he asked "Where is he?" All I could do was say he's gone up to heaven to be with God. Gabe kept saying "But, where is he?" My little boy knew Grandpa was missing but just didn't understand why.

And, this whole situation reminds me how unprepared even the most meticulous person is for death and loss. My father-in-law planned for everything. He has the bank accounts set up as trusts because anything that isn't a trust and has his name on it has half the assets frozen until we can present the bank with a death certificate. He has the account that our rent/house payments go into and it automatically pays the taxes on both their house and the one we are renting to own. He has everything...every bill, every tax, every everything... taken care of except for the cost of the funeral. And, a funeral ain't cheap. Luckily, with the assets of the family, the funeral will be able to be paid for without it bankrupting anyone. Think about it folks, we may be young but life isn't a guarantee. If you know where you want to be laid to rest, contact a funeral home and prepay for the funeral. Costs will do nothing except go up and this will save your loved ones a lot of angst. Also, go ahead and buy your cemetery plot. Land (even in cemeteries) just gets more expensive.

Finally, on a lighter note, having kids warps your brain. Kids get obsessed with certain tv shows. Gabe's current obsession is The Wonder Pets. The theme song is insidiously catchy. Its the type that will run through your head for hours at a time. Vic told me he was there in the hospital with his mom and his siblings sitting with his dad's body and they were all in tears....and running through his head as the soundtrack to this moment was The Wonder Pets theme song...bwahahahahahahahahaha. I will NEVER let him forget that.

It broke my heart all over again...

I was talking to my mother-in-law and they are just leaving the hospital. She said she couldn't bear to leave while "my pop was still there." She always called him pop and she sounded so lost.

He's gone...Oh my God he's gone...

my father-in-law died this morning. Sigifredo Cruz-Vega was one of the finest men I know. He loved his family. He loved his country. And, many times, he lived through things he shouldn't have lived through. He was a highly decorated war veteran who thought so little of the politics of Washington that he turned down an appointment to the highest position an NCO can achieve...Sergeant Major of the Army...because that would mean serving at the Pentagon. He was a father to 7 children, all who are now outstanding men and women in their own right. But, most importantly, he was someone we loved and we will miss him desperately.

Go with God dad...we love you.

SHOW AND TELL: Cruz Family Reunion

This week, my show and tell is a video tribute to my father-in-law and that whole side of my family. About 1 week before my father-in-law went in for surgery, the entire family got together over at my in-laws house. Even the sister that lives down in Miami and her husband managed to make it up here for our get together. I got some wonderful pictures that day and, with a little combing through my files, I found many other wonderful pics taken over the last 2 1/2 years. The video is set to the song "Family Reunion" by The OJays. Its about 7 minutes long.


PS...Don't forget that I'll be holding a giveaway to celebrate my 200th post. That will happen sometime this week. Keep your eyes open!

Remembering...

I was reading a blog the other day and the author was recognizing the anniversary of her loss. I realized that without looking up the information, I couldn't tell you what the days of my losses were. I guess that is both good and bad.

Its good because that means I am no longer obsessing about my losses. Before I had Gabe, I could tell you the date of each of my 8 losses. I still miss those babies. I still wonder what they would have been like. But, I no longer think about it every minute of every day.

Not remembering the date of every loss is bad because that means I have so many of them that it is hard to remember. I also feel like I'm doing those little souls a disservice by not remembering those days. It seems like everyone else remembers their loss dates and I sometimes feel like I'm failing at something when I don't remember the dates.

I guess overall, its better that the dates of my losses aren't always on my mind. I would only have 5 months where I didn't have a loss I had to recognize. And, that's not how I want to live my life. I want to focus on the positive. I want to appreciate what I have. I refuse to spend my life mourning what I don't have.

It took a long time to get to this place. I'm glad I have reached it.

My children
9/10/94
Marty 2/20/97
12/8/99
Joey 11/15/00
11/4/02
2/12/03
4/15/03
11/24/03
6/17/04 (Eva)
1/13/05
Gabe 12/2/05

My life...

My friend Velda posted a picture of a word cloud she just made and it is so cool. I decided I had to go check it out at Wordle. I think I'm going to have to do this again...soon. BTW, the image I got was horizontal but I rotated it so I could keep the pic big enough so y'all could read the words.



PS...Silver...I have tried to comment on your blog but when it asks for me to enter the word verification, I do not see any letters to enter.

Need Blogger Help

I am trying to help a friend with her blog and its driving me INSANE. Her dashboard says

New posts - Edit posts - Settings - TEMPLATE - View blog instead of


New posts - Edit posts - Settings - LAYOUT - View blog like mine does.

I don't know what to do to fix that and can't add what we want to add unless I can change it. Can anyone help?

A little bit of everything...

Yesterday was the first day of school for my older boys. Marty wasn't too happy about having his picture taken but I insisted. He was also nervous about school because this would be his first year in middle school. He tried to tell me that he would be too old to have a back to school picture taken in the 7th grade but I just laughed. Joey, on the other hand, was more than happy to have his picture taken. Joey was also looking forward to this year at school. Luckily, both boys had a fantastic day. For those of you who know Marty, you realize what a HUGE thing that is. When he isn't around people he is close to and comfortable with, Marty comes across as the quiet, studious, smart one which has made him the target for a lot of teasing in the past. It was such a wonderful change of pace having him come home from school in a good mood.

All my boys had great summers. Gabe developed an obsession with the lawn mower.


Marty and Joey both improved their swimming ability greatly and ended the summer being able to enjoy the deep end of the pool.


And, Gabe being Gabe decided he could do everything his brothers could do.


I hope their school year is as wonderful as their summer was.

***BTW, I will be holding a give-away in celebration of my 200th post. Keep your eyes open.***

FIL update...pretty good news...

Well, the surgeon was pleased with the surgery. Like all oncology surgeons, he was unwilling to say he definitively got it all. However, he told my MIL that he is certain he got all that he could and he feels very positive about my FIL's outcome. Pretty damned good news. However, that news was tempered by the fact that they had a really hard time controlling his blood loss. Ultimately, they said my FIL lost probably 1/3 of his blood volume. That is pretty damned scary. Due to the volume of blood loss combined with his age, he is being listed in critical condition. His docs all feel confident that the blood loss will NOT ultimately hamper his recovery but it does mean he will be in the hospital until next Monday. One my FIL has recovered from surgery, he will have to undergo chemo to insure any stray cancer cells are eradicated.

I am so thankful we live where we do and he has had access to the outstanding medical care he has gotten. I am still very worried and "Please dear God let him survive" is continually running through my head.

Now, we have to figure out how much more to tell the boys. They know Grandpa had to have surgery because something was wrong with his liver. They also know that it was/is serious but his doctors expect him to do well. Since my FIL is going to undergo chemo and will have to deal with the aftereffects of it, my hubby and I agree we need to tell Marty and Joey more. We just don't know how much more it should be. Any suggestions?

My FIL went into surgery at about 7 this morning.

They expect the surgery to take between 4 and 5 hours and then there is the time to recover from anesthesia. Hopefully by late this afternoon, I will have some news. Please keep praying.

Blogs I love...

My dear friend Margaret surprised me with this award...



The rules of the award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on her/his blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve nominated.

Here are the terrific bloggers I give this award to:

1. Monnie
2. Carolyn
3. Rebel
4. Henny
5. Cecily
6. Mel
7. Tanyetta at both her blogs

How do I feel?!?!?!?

I am nervous, happy, scared, excited, and about 1000 other feelings I can't quite put words to. I have found a new OB/GYN office and we are officially getting ready to try for our last child. After getting all the ridiculous paperwork filled out, I was called back. All the nurses I met seemed really nice. No one came across as short tempered or bitchy. I really liked the nurse who worked directly with Dr. BB. Its a shame he is exclusively a GYN and I won't get to have her as my nurse if I manage to get pregnant again.

Dr. BB spent about 10 to 15 minutes talking about my past history with me and then gave me a general overview of the approach the docs at this office would like to take. He agreed that the course of action (progesterone and lovenox) would likely remain unchanged. However, he said since I am a new patient in their practice, they would get me a referral to a perinatalogist that they work with and that doc would review my records and sign off on the course of action. Then, Dr. BB made me laugh...not an oh my God thats funny laugh but a laugh of irony. He said, " If you are going to schedule a pregnancy, its better to go ahead and get the referal now. That way we won't be scrambling to make sure you have what you need." I let out a sharp bark of laughter and he gave me a look. I told him that the thought of "scheduling" a pregnancy after everything I've been through was to ridiculous to be believed. Luckily, he seemed to realize that he had just placed his foot firmly in his mouth and said, "All I meant is that since you are planning on trying instead of just letting things happen, we should go ahead and schedule your referal." I'm glad he realized how ridiculous it was to speak of scheduling a pregnancy to someone who has been through all the losses I've been through.

I think this office will be a good fit for me. I don't feel as comfortable there as I did at my old OB's office but I had 7+ years at the old office so I don't expect to immediately feel as at home in the new office. *Sigh* its just a shame that my old office is almost an hour and a half away.

So...to recap, new office, mirena iud out, referral being scheduled...guess now we just have to wait and see where things go from here.

The coining of a word...

For those of you who aren't married, I need to remind you that men find it funny to blame their flatulence on others...preferably children or four legged creatures who can't deny the passing of said gas. While you are dating or newly ensconced in a household together, men try to behave like civilized creatures. That all goes out the window when you've been married long enough to have a child or two.

Now, to set the scene...picture a bedroom (door closed) with a man stretched out on the bed and the woman exiting the bathroom after brushing her teeth before bed....

From the direction of the man...BRRRRRAAAAPPPPP...followed by a horrendous cloud of gas
Wife: Damn honey...that really stinks.
Hubby (in best Tim Taylor/Home Improvement voice):Uh...wasn't me?!?
Wife: Then who was it?
Hubby: It was Joely (our dog).
Wife: Um, dear, the door is closed and she isn't in here.
Hubby (still using Tim Taylor/Home Improvement voice): Oooh, I meant Joey. His butt was sticking out from under the covers and he let one rip. The fart wafted across the room, down to the floor and under our door.
Wife: The we would have only smelled it and not heard it.
Hubby (still using Tim Taylor/Home Improvement voice): Didn't you know he was *fartriloquist (blend of fart and ventriloquist)?
Wife: Bwahahahahahaha...I can NOT believe you said that!

And with that, a new word enters our lexicon!


*fartriloquist - noun - a person who performs or is skilled in fartriloquism. (coined by Vic Cruz on 8/18/08)

fartiloquism - noun - the art or practice of farting in such a manner that the sound of the fart does not appear to come from the farter but from another source.

Barren Bitches Book Brigade Tour #14: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

The current book being reviewed by the Barren Bitches Book Brigade is not one that inspires a neutral response. People tend to either really love Eat, Pray, Love or they really hate it. I fall into the "Love It" category. I really learned a lot about myself from this book. Among other things, Ms. Gilbert really got me to contemplate how I pray and what I pray for.

At the start of the book, the author states that she will not go into the details of her divorce. Could you accept this and move on to the rest of the book, or did this lack of explanation influence your opinion of the entire book?
Initially, I thought it would bother me to not know the details of her divorce since that was so obviously the start of this spiritual journey. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was better not to know about the divorce. If I had known the details, it would have influenced my opinion of her and, therefore, my opinion of the journey. Once I realized that, the nagging questions about why she divorced faded into the background.

Do you believe in reincarnation and that a soul chooses its lessons before each lifetime? Or do you believe it's all just random challenge? Do you believe you are doing a good job dealing with the cards you've been dealt? What do you think your challenges are trying to teach you about the big picture that other people might miss ...that you might have missed if your life didn't take these turns?
I do not believe everyone is reincarnated but I DO BELIEVE some people are reincarnated. I do believe that certain unresolved issues can cause a soul to return. I know one couple where the husband is fairly certain his soul has been here before. His wife teases him and says he kept coming back because he hadn’t found his soul mate… and that now that he has found her, he won’t have to keep coming back.

I think I am dealing fairly well with the curves life has thrown at me. I have clung to my faith and come out of my battle with secondary infertility even stronger than I went it. I by no means think I am doing a perfect job of learning the lessons God and life are trying to teach me but I am trying. My battles with SIF and the financial trials we have suffered through because of my husband’s career ending injury have taught me patience. They’ve taught me to be frugal (although I still dream big). They’ve taught me that my husband and I can face anything, can deal with anything as long as we stick together. They’ve taught me that I can plan all I want but sometimes God has a different agenda. I might not have learned those lessons had we not dealt with those trials.

In Elizabeth's journey, she meets several characters ... Richard (who calls her 'Groceries') and Ketut and Italy itself ... who see her 'from outside of the frame,' who offer her valuable, catalytic perspective and they help her to penetrate her misery. Who are the characters in your own life that have performed/perform this role for you? What have they helped you to understand? ... Sometimes perspective can come from a book, rather than a person IRL ... so if it was a book that gave you this gift, which one(s)?
Interestingly enough, the person “who offer [me a] valuable, catalytic perspective and help[ed me] to penetrate [my] misery dealing with our multiple miscarriages was someone I haven’t met. In fact, I don’t even know her name. The incomparable Getupgrrl of Chez Miscarriage was the first one that showed me that we could use humor to mitigate the pain of our losses. Grrl was my introduction to ALI (adoption, loss, infertility) blogging and I am forever thankful for that. I hope Grrl is enjoying every minute of every day with her son but I hope the message of how much we miss her reaches her.

Elizabeth Gilbert writes that "when you're lost in the woods, it sometimes takes you a while to realize you are lost. For the longest time you can convince yourself that you've just wandered a few feet off the path...then night falls again and again and you still have no idea where you are, and it's time to admit that you have bewildered yourself so far off path that you don't even know from which direction the sun rises anymore." Have you had a similar experience and if so, when did you come to realize you were lost and how did you find your way back?
I really do feel I went through a similar experience. I tend to be a glass half full kind of person. I know I have been blessed and am thankful for all I have. But, with each miscarriage, I found myself more and more depressed. Things I normally would have been excited about seemed more of an annoyance. After the loss of our Eva, I felt like I was being sucked down into a deep dark hole. I really felt like I would never escape from it. You know its bad when your parents offer to take you and your kids to Florida and Disney World and all you think of is what a hassle its going to be. That was the moment I finally realized I needed some help. My wonderful OB prescribed Lexapro for me and it was enough to help me shake off the depression. I was only on it a short time but it made a world of difference for me.

Hop along to another stop on this blog tour by visiting the main list at Stirrup Queens . You can also sign up for the next book on this online book club: Baby Trail by Sinead Moriarty (with author participation).

SHOW AND TELL: National Stitch in Public Day

September 3rd is National Stitch In Public Day. The Embroidery Guild of America's web site says "EGA invites stitchers of all ages and skill levels to join in a day of community crafting that will celebrate the traditions and trends of needlework, right right where they are. There's no cost - just an effort to encourage community among stitchers. Embroiders, quilters, knitters and who will shine a light on their crafts Sept. 3 by stitching together in public spaces such as coffee shops, parks, malls – anywhere they can be seen. Let EGA Headquarters know about your event so photos, stories and updates can be shared online. Contact Brad at bcape@egausa.org if your chapter or group of stitchers wants to organize an event. Call (502) 589-6956."

I plan on participating and I'm going to work on the Papillon Creations freebie "How Does Your Garden Grow". This freebie is being released monthly through their newsletter and (eek) I'm about 3 months behind.



Do you stitch? Are you going to participate?

My father-in-law does have cancer.

The biopsy came back positive. For some reason, they aren't clear on the type although it is located in the liver. There is one large-ish mass that does not appear to have spread at all. It is not in an area that interferes with the blood flow to the liver which is good. His surgery is scheduled for August 25th (its also the first day of school). They are hoping they can just take a wedge shaped piece of the liver and get all the tumor. If that is the scenario that happens, they estimate they will only have to take 20% of the liver. If the tumor has infiltrated further than they think and a wedge will not take care of removal, the amount of liver they have to take could approach 60%. My FIL is a big man (not fat, just big) and the docs worry that 40% may not be enough to handle body functions if they end up having to take the more radical approach to the surgery. His doctors are very positive abouta good outcome but, of course, can not guarantee anything.

Please pray for him...that the surgery goes well, that they can take care of the tumor and only remove a minimal amount of the liver, and that he recovers fully. He is a wonderful manand I want him around for a long time to come.