New Years Resolutions

#1 Do not agree to puppy sit for a week within days of baby's due date.

#2 Give my immediate family more kisses

#3 Save money in a savings account

#4 Update our OS so I can post pictures of the growing family

#5 Lose at least 10 lbs (I like to be able to check things off my list and this one should be pretty easy so long as I don't have the baby today, tomorrow, Saturday or Sunday.)

#6 Be able to do addition in my head more quickly

#7 Print and label more pictures

#8 Join a church

#9 Accessorize

#10 Finish a book (not by Doctor Seuss) in a timely manner


I'll post the rest as I come up with them. 2007 is going to be great!

Fun facts about being Great with child

On Thursday, I will be 36 weeks pregnant. I wonder how many weeks Mary was when she gave birth to little baby Jesus. Maybe Jesus was born around the same time our baby will. Mary and I have this in common: we both are/were likely deliver early (she because of her likely young age, and I for having had a delivery within 18 months).

At my doctors visit today, I told the nurse I didn't want to know how much weight I had gained because I didn't want to feel guilty for eating fudge or other Christmas foods. She asked if I wanted to know if I had lost any weight. I thought she was kidding so I said sure, cause then I could know how many extra cookies I could eat. She said, "OK, well you lost half a pound. It's probably from holiday stress so I wouldn't worry about it."

Worry about it? The baby is growing fine so that was music to my ears.
Bring on the holiday cheer!

For Hire

I burned my index finger, part of my middle finger and thumb on my left hand. My index finger currently only has a partial print. If anyone has any crimes they need committing, let me know and I'll quote you a price because I'm pretty sure I could get away with it.

Update on divinity

It's gone. But I'll make some more. Here's a few more important updates.

There's a huge pile of Christmas cookies in the kitchen that need to be decorated. I could sure use some help...

Silas has really started to enjoy reading books. Since I'm not up for too many fun and games on the floor, he likes to bring me books to read to him. This morning, we've read a book about dump trucks three times. He is better at walking all the time and has now mastered going down the stairs. The other day we went to Target AND Walmart. At Target SIlas was really shy when people talked to him, but at Walmart, he yelled at everyone in the produce dept and in the check out line.

Yesterday was the last day of my Bible study for the semester. THe speaker was one of the singers of "point of grace". She's been one of three ladies leading music the whole time and I never knew she was once famous. Point of Grace broke up in 2004.

A group of pirahnnas and deskeletanize a cow in 8 minutes. I learned this over Thanksgiving vacation with the Fankhausers (this is pre-divinity post, I know). We really had a great time them though there's some question as to the TRUE story behind the Arkansas Hacksaw Massacre. The only fact is this: Matt had the hacksaw in his hand when Joel's thumb started bleeding profusely during the initial stages of cutting off the bottom of the Christmas tree.

Master of Divinity

I finished 45 out of 60 hours towards my master of arts in cross-cultural ministries before I became a mom. But it took only one painstaking hour to make divinity. It's light and delicious, almost like a home made marshmellow. If you hurry over, you can have a piece before it's all gone.

If you've been waiting on the edge of your seat...

to know what happened with Sprint, the wait is over! Sprint will credit our account for the correct amount of the alleged rebate. Sprint remains on our list of folks we like to do business with, but we reccomend being the first person in the LIttle Rock store when it opens at 9am. I guess most people are their most fresh first thing in the morning.

In the sad news, poor Silas is ill. First he got an ear infection. Then he had digestive problems. Now we add to that Croup. All you naturalists would be appalled at the number of prescription meds he's taking. All you medical enthusiasts who care about geeky stuff like that, email me and I'll tell you the list.

Oh, let's end on a happy note. Mom, Dad and I worked at Nana's long and hard (well, they worked long and hard, I was just there, mostly. You know- for morale. Nothing like a sick baby to boost morale.) and the house is nearly empty. Goodwill got 3 huge loads of stuff and Arkansas Hospice will be getting some nice furniture soon.

But the lucky winner of the most stuff is the City of Little Rock Solid Waste Division. Stay tuned for a summary of the trash and treasures.

Walking, Sprint, and Marathons

Silas has thankfully decided that walking is more efficient than crawling. I'm so happy to have a son who values efficiency as much as I do. Now we can quickly have toys, laundry, pens and papers spread about the room. You don't hear me complaining, though. Since this new development, several major joint and muscle pains that I thought were just pregnancy related have nearly disappeared! I don't think it has anything to do with the toys and such. I think it's because I'm not carrying him. But I'm not the doctor in this family, so I can't say for sure.

Sprint has another customer service challenge before them if they want to keep us happy. As you probably know, we make an effort to point out business that meet or surpass our expectations. We also want to inform friends and family when a business falls short of their contract. Sprint may be riding the fence. They claim we are not eligible for a mail-in rebate... this is not the time to inform us we will not receive refunds we were promised.

I should also take the time to remind everyone that Mega-life Student Insurance, Entergy Arkansas, and TXU Energy should be avoided, if possible. Compass Bank is a great bank that everyone should use if they live in a city with a Compass Bank.

Finally, my sister says she's going to run a marathon early this spring. She's posed the question: is running a marathon more difficult than childbirth? I think that it probably is. But a better question is this: is childbirth more difficult if you gain an extra 10 lbs over the holidays?

Silas' Bad Day

And it's only 9:15am. Poor Silas.

He spit up milk on my robe.
I wouldn't let him play with my cell phone charger OR the laptop.
He fell down 2 stairs and bumped his head.
I didn't feed him his oatmeal fast enough.
To make up for it, I let him feed himself the last half of his applesauce, but he's green at using a spoon so he quickly swept the little bowl off the tray and onto the floor splattering blueberry applesauce for 4 feet of floor and up 2 feet of wall space.
Last but not least, I wouldn't let him go back to bed with his face, hands, arms and shirt covered in snot and breakfast.
Add to all that the discomfort of 3 new teeth coming in.

Yes, Silas is having a bad a day. And it's only 9:15am.

Home

I'm writing this post for me. There. You've been warned.

I lost a dear, dear friend this week. Since I moved to Little Rock, she called me a minimum of 3 times a week. At first I found this a little annoying, espcially since she never started out a conversation with, "Hi, Alice." or "Hey! It's me." or anything remotely related to what I would call a greeting. The first thing I would hear when I picked up the phone after I said hello would go something like this, "I need to know what day Andrea's coming," or "Alice, where did you get the receipe for that soup? I couldn't taste any chicken!" Or, sometimes it was simply, "Is Silas sleeping?" After a while, I quit thinking about it and I was able to tell her things I thought she would find interesting. I now treasure these phone calls as someone just wanting to know and caring about the details of my life. Few people can genuinely do that and I've found there's nothing our hearts long for more.

We ate dinner together one last time Saturday night. I never would have believed then that in 48 hours she should be gone. We had a great time. We talked about the Razorbacks playing, how she'd stayed up to watch the end of the World Series for the first time in years, how she was concerned about my social life, and how once at the same restaurant she ordered a pork chop that "was no more tender than the leather on my shoe". We left around 6 so she could get home for the Hogs. We hugged good-bye and exchanged I-love-you's. The Hogs won that night so I'm pretty sure she died happy.

I'm so happy that for her, death was not final. It's a matter of time before I can see her again. Until then, Nana, I sure do miss you.

Priscilla Alden Poteet
April 24, 1921-October 30, 2006

Oh, would that I could post pictures

You could see my ultimate creation: Joel as Honest Abe Lincoln for Halloween. We went to a Family Fall Festival with our friends, the Lumpkins and Joel won second place in the costume contest. We really had a great time with Silas "playing games" and winning us candy as well as hanging out with the Skywalkers and baby Yoda. The only bad part: someone called me and Silas nurses when we were clearly doctors.

In other news, today is Joel's day off and we have NO plans. Sorry. I guess that wasn't really news.

the bad news is...

Since we've replaced our hard drive, I have been unable to upload any pictures from our computer. I'll have to consult my blogger experts on how to upload photos from the internet and then you can see how we've all changed since late September.

Out with the Old

Our computer has been risen from the grave. We have a new, clean hard drive not clogged up with all those pesky iTunes songs we bought or pictures from this summer. Sad, yes. But we are grateful to have the miracle of the internet again.

Along with saying goodbye to the songs, we are also saying goodbye to the food network and ESPN. What will replace it? Reading books, playing games, enjoying the great outdoors and each other, when Joel's schedule allows.

We've also bid farewell to infant formula and welcomed the price of whole milk to nourish our TODDLER. That's right, no more crawling around here! Well, that's an exageration. For 5 whole steps last night, there was no crawling. We're hoping for more walking today but no rush.

Finally, I am no longer in my mid-twenties. No worries though, the "late twenties" were ushered in with a bang. Five out of 9 Poteets (6 if you include me) were in LR to celebrate. I got a fantastic coffee maker that looks like the head of the alien from that historical sci-fi thriller "Alien," starring Sigourney Weaver and of course, the alien.

Lives on Hold

Our computer is broken so until sometime in October, there will be no posts on this blog site. If you really need to know what's going on with Silas or how we feel about service at the Sprint store in Little Rock, you'll have to call us. Home and cell numbers remain the same.

Abu Dhabi

This was Silas' new word yesterday. He said it over and over. I'm not sure if it had something to do with remembering what we lost this time 5 years ago or needing a vacation, or having developing a heart for those hurting in the UAE. Whatever the cause, I said a prayer for the families still grieving their loss of their loved ones in New York, a prayer for Joel and myself already in need of a vacation, and a prayer for the people of UAE.



We started the Great Celebration of September 15 on Saturday at the grown-up Fanks' house. Silas' attempt #1 at a birthday cupcake ended up with gagging but thought sticking his fingers in the icing and smearing it on the highchair tray was pretty serious fun.



Finally, to which of the following do you think this pair of glasses orginally belonged?

We know the truth...

But you'll have to call to find out the gender of our unborn child.

Fall Reviews

The following are ranked on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being that I highly reccomend this experience and 1 meaning I think you should avoid it at all costs.



PLACES TO VISIT
North Park Mall, Dallas TX: 8 points
Now that the new wing is finished, the mall goes in a full circle. The new wing features a food court for the common people, like Chic-fil-A and a more expensive version of Sbarro. Why do I like this mall so much? I can't think of any GOOD reason. Maybe because the majority of the stores are so full of silly fashion and coordinating silly fashion prices, it doesn't feel like reality.

Maumelle Park, Maumelle AR: 6 points normal, 2 points during Labor weekend
Joel and I agree this would be nice place to have a family reunion if you have an RV. Labor day weekend was too crowded and too noisy to be relaxing. Silas liked playing with the pebbles in the park though, and Lewis liked barking at the other dogs who had come to camp. It has a nice view of the river, but no good walking or hiking trails that we could find.

MOVIES
"Princess Mononoke" 10 points if you like Japanese animae, 1 point if you don't.
I can't say that I like Japanese animae. I tried though. I gave it an honest to goodness try. I just don't understand how getting stabbed enough times makes you turn into a demon-worm animal, nor can I follow along with the introduction and disappearance of characters (such as the Ape Tribe). It's rated PG-13 for violence and some language though I imagine if someone tried to make this into a real-people movie, it might have been rated R for all the arms that got cut off.

"Merlin's Apprentice" 1 point
This came on the Hallmark channel Saturday night. Tooooooo boring. Tooooooooo cheesy. Why did we suffer through it? We had no-bake cookies.

NON-CATEGORIZED ITEMS for the Fall Review
the No-Bake Cookies I made on Saturday: 10 points
The receipe called for brown sugar instead of white sugar. Joel and I ate the entire batch (minus a few we shared with the neighbors for letting us use their saw) within 24 hours. But with all the oatmeal we were getting, they couldn't have been THAT bad for us, right?



Silas: 10 points
Despite teething, he's really a sweet kid. Polite too. He says, "thank you" to everything, "good dog" to Lewis, and sings "dooby dooby dooby" to me while I'm doing the laundry.

Home from the Big D

Silas and I got back from Dallas last night. It was our most exteneded trip without Joel and we really missed him! We had a great time with friends and did a lot of things that we did while we lived in Dallas such as:

sit in traffic
eat tomato-basil soup at leMadeleine
browse Williams-Sonoma and window shop at North Park Mall
buy Tums at Super Walmart
enjoy God-given friendships at a mini-playgroup

The pictures are taken at Andrea's on our way back. We had a great time playing in the playroom with Abbie, Anabelle and Ava. Anabelle is very generous in making coffee and strawberry drinks. Stay tuned for a picture of Silas and friends at an icecream shop in Dallas...
We'll add a few more details about the trip then.

More First Foods

This is Silas' first (and hopefully last) meal at the Gurdon Truck and Auto Plaza, where we waited for the tire shop crew to finish eating their lunch. We had a flat tire on the highway so to commemorate it (and because it was lunchtime) we ate green beans, chicken fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and cottage cheese. The waitress even threw in a piece of cake and a roll.


On Joel's day off, we invited Silas to be a third wheel on our date. We ate at Leo's Greek Castle. Silas' first greek food included hummus, little bites of a pita and some meat from a gyro. He was thrilled with all of it, but not thrilled about the man who kept talking to him at the table across from us.


This is a picture of a post-call day sno cone party. Joel and I got my favorite flavor: sour cherry and coconut. Silas' first flavor of sno cone (pictured here) was snow flavored.

Diversions

We've had a lot going on here this week so buckle those seatbelts and get ready for all the news!

Since Joel posted about the national rock paper scissors tournament, the Bradleys (bring Sara with them) came through for a night on their way to visit Heath's family. Highlights: Ava was the happiest I've ever seen her, except for when Silas followed her on the stairs, touched her booster seat at dinner, or when Silas was being held by Andrea. It was exceptionally amusing. We all drank coffee, watched "King of Queens" and ate Nana's sticky buns. I was sad when they had to leave but comforted by the pajamas, dress and booster seat they left behind.

Then Mom Poteet came. We walked around the mall, went to Kohl's and then met Joel at the Dixie Cafe for dinner.

That night we watched what is, in my opinion, the best movie of the summer. "Everything is Illuminated" gets a 9.5 on my 10 point scale for movie ratings. Since I'm no good at writing movie reviews, I'll wait for you to watch it and then we'll discuss it in person.

So mom and Sara left yesterday. Silas and I took a good long afternoon nap. Joel came home and tried to make a bottle with coffee instead of formula (and it wasn't even decaf). And we watched "So you think you can Dance". Go Travis! Go Donyelle!

Finally, thank goodness for people like Mel Gibson who give us something to talk about other than firestrikes, gas prices, and all the murders in Little Rock.

rock, babies, scissors

In honor of the inaugural USA Rock, Papers, Scissors championship which ESPN felt the need to cover online 3 months after the event, i offer a picture of my baby being cute. and going with the "aggressive" rock...

Cheers and Jeers

Miracles happen every day. For example: the microwave oven is a miracle. It cooks things many times faster than the regular oven, or even toaster oven. And speaking of "faster", I would like to put in a bad word for Comcast Cable Internet services.

Much like our previous insurance companies (and maybe even out current insurance company) we were paying top dollar for a service we weren't receiving. We called to find out why two times. TWO times, I tell you. When I told comcast we were switching to DSL because we thought we would get a faster speed the lady assured me that there was something wrong with our service. That was what WE told the previous two customer service reps, one of which told us there was nothing wrong, and the other of which was just plain rude.

The rates of speed between our new DSL and the old cable internet isn't as dramatic as the cooking time difference in the conventional oven and our new microwave, but it really is remarkable. Shame on you, Comcast, for waiting until we cancel our "high speed" internet to offer professional customer service.

Here's a picture for you to ponder. It's my youngest sister, Rock Star Barbie Sara and my son, the Alien.

Because Benji Asked For It

update #1: the plumbing and electricity are fixed. with help from my good friend, jesse.

update #2: i've decided i'm not going to be a gastroenterologist, although hepatology is fun. organ donors are better livers, as they say... boo, boo for the horrible puns.

update #3: you became a cafe for lunch? well, that's convenient. i was just sharing with my fellow intern that i was the one who actually invented sliced bread. he didn't believe me. and i don't believe you.

update #4: silas cannot, to the best of our knowledge, regenerate foreheads.

update #5: at 14 weeks, we have our first photos of little fank #2. he/she is cute/translucent/grainy.

and update #6: i can't think of anything funny or important to say. (but you probably already figured that out, didn't you?)

It all broke

The light in the bathroom, the pipe behind the kitchen sink and wall, the telephone, a pie crust I made for dinner with Nana and Silas' forehead. We are learning so much about owning a house. And about having a crawler. Silas has the first of many marks of pulling up on the wrong thing. He has the smallest puncture wound from hitting his head dead on the corner of an entertainment center.

The flies left and have returned. I think they like the smell coming from the hole under the cabinet where the dishwasher should be. We found the picture dealio for the computer so I've attached a picture eating a biter biscuit. Mmmmm!

A word on church visiting: we are really appreciating things about Northwest Bible Church in Dallas that we didn't before. Like greeters at the door who don't assume you know where you're going, not be discouraged from taking our child into the worship service and singing songs that make sense. One really great thing happened on Sunday that hadn't happened at NBC though in a while: Silas was happy in the nursery (at the church where we were discouraged from taking him into the service)! He ate cheerios the whole time indicating that the nursery workers took care to follow my instructions for keeping a happy Silas.

A final word of happy things: it's been really nice to reaquaint with a few old friends who call LR home. I still enjoy the company of friends who go back as far as 4th grade. And Joel gets tomorrow off! HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!

Bad news for the Roly Pollies

I can't find our camera charger/downloader. If you've seen it since the move, please leave a comment.
In other bad news:
There are little flies here. Like the plague. They get in our water and cereal bowls.
Morningsickness is not wearing off.
All the shows on the Food Network today were reruns.
I started consolidating unpacked boxes today in the extra room. It's nearly full and I'm not done yet. I thought when we packed we didn't have that much stuff. Do boxes have babies?

And some coffee from Peet's

Here's a few things that might be worth blogging:

Silas started crawling 3 days ago. He's the cutest crawler ever. It's slow and seems like he's carefully calculating exactly where and how he should place his hands and knees.

Sabrina has been going outside to play.

Joel started orientation and we had what I thought was the best pulled pork bbq I've ever had at one of his "meet your interns" dinners.

We've been tearing down all the useless fences in the backyard. If any of you would like some free chain link fencing, come and get it.

I found that we have 5 jars of peanut butter. I knew it was an excessive amount, but I didn't realize how excessive.

We went to the great dance recital of 2006 and then Emily and I threw a cast party to remember with such games as "build something cool with dominoes" (congatuations to our first prize winner, Mom!) and Mafia and with such great hors d'ouvres as Thai chicken lettuce wraps, spinach and artichoke dip with baguette crutons, fresh shrimp cocktail, lemonade cakes and mocha puddings. The drinks were virgin stawberry daquiris and pina coladas. Maybe after the baby is born, we'll kick this party up a notch!

Finally, I'd like to promote Heath and Andrea's blog this week. They have posted several things that I enjoyed reading.

http://thebradleys.blogplot.com/

Back Online

The move is nearly complete. Internet is back. Here are the pictures long-awaited.
Presenting: Dr. Joel.
And finally, go Mavs!

Graduation

Today Joel becomes a doctor.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Look for photos soon...

Mocking Birds

This bird sat on the porch with Lewis and me while I packed up the closet. He didn't look very healthy. Also a group of mockingbirds have labeled Lewis an enemy of some sort. To the best of my knowledge he hasn't done anything to threaten them, nonetheless, they swoop down and peck at him.

Free Money

If all goes well at Walton's Market today, I will save $11.65 in coupons for things I would be buying even without a coupon.

URGENT!!!

Opinion Survey:

Can refried beans with lard be frozen?

A picture for pictures sake

This is at playgroup. The other 2 boys are Silas' best friends, JG (dark hair) and Quade (no hair). They're showing him how to stand up at the table. Not pictured is Silas' role model Andrew. He's 15 months and likes to throw things, just like the other 3 boys hope to do someday.

In other news, this apartment is a huge mess. 25000 points to whoever can guess what's happening over here. But it may not be what you think...

Happy Mothers' Day

Domino Effect

Silas learned to feed himself Cheerios! Here's more on this week:



Joel finished his last rotation yesterday. He now has 1 day of ACLS classes and 1 day of ACLS testing, and exit interview, graduation and our time at UTSouthwestern if finished.

I successfully organized one baby shower that I didn't get to attend and hosted another where I made prosciutto roasted figs stuffed with gorgonzola cheese.

Silas and I went to work, mailed some letters, cleaned the heck out of the kitchen, dining room, and living room, arranged flowers, picked up toys, rented a movie, wrote a get well note, had coffee with a friend, took everything out of the outside storage room, put everything back in the most organized fashion possible and scheduled a massage for next Tuesday.

I think I deserve it.

A happy birthday

Joel's birthday was April 17. I mean to post this back then but all of you pestered me so much about the house pictures, I had to put this off.

Happy birthday, Joel! Here are some things we love about you:

1. your hair
2. your great doctoring skills
3. you used to make noises like dinosaurs
4. you are a great loser at dominos, when you lose. And I really mean this as a compliment-
5. you don't wear your orange shirt with your red shorts anymore
6. you're trying to branch out in the music you listen to
7. you're a great dad
8. you're a thoughtful husband
9. you're one of the best dog owners I know
10. you empty the litter box
11. you try to drink a lot of water

I really could go on and on...really.
I'm glad you were born!

House

You're all invited to come visit. All of you.

Two things I can't wait to put in the house

Spring Growth

Spring break ended last night at midnight. Here's the list of last weeks activities:

Went camping at Albert Pike.
Survived "severe thunderstorms" in a tent with 2 babies.
Were trapped at our campsite because of a washed out road from the aforementioned "severe thunderstorms".
Spent the night in a suburban.
Finished the camping trip at #3 Northridge to avoid the following round of thunderstorms.
Celebrated birthdays at Nana's. Happy birthday to Nana, Katie, Mom Poteet and Joel.
Looked at houses.
Bought a house.
Got sick.(Silas and Alice)
Threw-up. (Silas only)
Had fevers. (Silas and Alice)
Bought a dress for the Utter/Ussery wedding. (Alice only)
Swinged on the tire swing.
Played Dr. Mario.
Went on an anniversary date to Bennigans for Death by Chocolate only they didn't actually have any death by chocolate. Or coke.
Watched "the Corpse Bride" since we got married FOUR YEARS AGO. I love you, Joel!
Drove home.

Spring Break makes you do crazy things

I made baby food. I carefully read about all the fruits and vegetables Silas can eat and then we all took a trip to Walton's Market. After two hours of cooking and freezing, NOT including cleanup, and calculating the cost of the food against the cost of canned babyfood per ounce, I think we saved about $2.

Joel did our taxes today. Silas is really raking in the big bucks for us. Looks like we'll be able to pay our rent in June after all!

This video was taken on our last real day of winter. Silas and I took a little trip to the Apple Store to make an appointment with the Genius. We always feel like real city people when we shop in that part of town. What do you think Silas is trying to tell us here? All I know is that he's not sad/mad.

Smocks and Sweater Vests

This is Silas' older (by one day) friend, Madeline. This photo represents a little of how maybe all of us were feeling on Match Day, just before the envelopes were opened.

The other picture is Silas' Cambodian gramma, Seong Kim Sao. Once a refugee from the Khmer Rouge, she has lived in Dallas over 20 years and has been a long time student of our East Dallas Language Center, where I teach once a week. She wants to know how to make bread pudding. Any suggestions for her?

And...

After some technical difficulties and some frustration due to blogspot's malfunctioning, we can announce to the world where we'll be.

It's Little Rock!

Some family members responded, not surprisingly, with better attitudes than others.


Of course, Sabrina would've had a bad attitude regardless of where we matched.

T(uberculosis) minus 1 day

And tomorrow's the day. Calm, calm yourself. Here's another soother. These are Silas' favorite toys: a barrel of elephants that Abbie gave him for Christmas. He especially likes it when the lid is off and he can pour them out on the floor and eat them. Also pictured is a rattle with a mirror on the top. Next to Silas is the toy that surpasses them all: Lewis. Silas' has never lost an oppotunity to try to put Lewis in his mouth. Dang that dog, though; he's too busy trying to get us tall people to throw his ball.

T minus 2 days...

I'm posting this picture to sooth your nerves because I know you're all so anxious to know where we're going. Here's something to fill your thoughts in the meantime. Silas is now eating squash, carrots, sweetpotatoes and applesauce. He's now eating 2 meals of solid food. He's sitting up almost well enough to play alone but the occasional topple is enough to keep that kindof play supervised. And finally, he cries after 3 minutes of tummy time now instead of 3 seconds. Oh, another thing- he thinks it's really fun to pretend cough.

What do Doc Holliday and Joel have in common?

Here we see Silas waiting to find out the answer. And for those of y'all who are wondering, it isn't that they both started off a career in medicine, only to have it cut short by TB. Nor is it that they are both gunslingers.

No, in fact, I am not contagious. And I don't have to drop out of medical school and become a professional gambler. Which is fortunate for me because I'm only mediocre at Texas Hold 'Em and less than mediocre with a gun. In Tombstone (an historically accurate movie if ever there's been one), Doc challenges Ike Clanton to a spelling bee in AZ. Yes, there is our similarity.

"Oh daddy, you're so funny. And I'm really happy that you're not going to get me sick."

Someone must tell me why!!

A couple things frustratingly baffle me today. For one, Lewis likes to spread his toys out all over the house. If I put them away, he gets them right back out and places them in different rooms in different spots each time. Now he's started doing that with his food. Is he trying to establish territory? It's making a mess.

Second, Joel has the consuption. It's official. It's alive and kicking. The question is, is it contained?? Let's review all the wacky health issues Joel has had this year:

1. while having blood drawn, his median nerve was stabbed causing numbness and tingling all the way from his elbow to his thumb. Neurologist said it should be fine. But it still tingles...

2. our dermatologist church friend recommended that Joel have 2 moles removed because they were very suspicious looking. The pathologist reported that they were indeed dyplastic nevis (potential pre-melanomas). Student insurance doesn't cover suspicious looking mole removal unless they're maglignant, at which point, you'll probably die from them. Mega Life Student Insurance, consider this post an insult to you. How I wish I could be meaner.

3. Now, tuberculosis. Joel gets to take INH and vitamin B6 for 9 months, IF his chest x-ray is normal. Stay tuned to find out how insurance will screw us this time, not to mention if Joel is...

...contagious.

Just for the picture

And completely unrelated, the countdown to match day begins tomorrow. T minus one week, one day...

But now we're back

It's been a busy week. Full of preschool accounting (billing parents, that is- we don't actually teach accounting to the preschoolers at Northwest unless you include counting dots and butterflies), visiting Shreveporters, neurology, paying bills, and trying to be outside as much as possible. Here's a few highlights:
We went to a Luau on the last real winter day of Dallas.
Silas is sitting up more and spitting up less; he's also been pretty talkative these days saying things like "ttttttt" mixed in with some drool.
We taught Lewis to lie down on command.
Joel arguably got misdiagnosed as not having the consumption.
Sabrina almost escaped into the beautiful weather. I was tempted to just let her go. Isn't that what they say? When you love someone you gotta let them go?
The adult Fankhausers took us to Cafe Brazil, Dallas' best coffee bar in my opinion. I had some of the best black beans I've ever tasted.

Speaking of black beans...since we were so busy this week, last night Silas kindly cooked us Gallo Pinto (painted rooster)- a popular Costa Rican dish with black beans, rice and eggs. But no one bothered to clean up last night, so that's what I'm going to do now.

Not once, but twice

Several months ago, I had the privilege of meeting one of my favorite authors. Lillian Calles-Barger has written and largely influenced my thinking on womanhood and spirituality. She lives in Dallas and I always thought to myself that if I ever met her I would thank her for helping me better understand myself and the world at large. When I met her face to face, I couldn't think to say anything.

There are only a handful of writers that I feel have really had such an influence in my life that I would actually want to tell them so. Among them are the aforementioned Mrs. Barger, Paul (from the Bible- but he's dead), C.S. Lewis (but he's dead too) and Don Richardson.

Well, I met Don Richardson this Sunday. In fact, I was in the right place at the right time and was volunteered (by myself) to escort him and his wife to a lunch at our church, which also meant that I would be sitting at his table. No one has inspired a longing to reach the farthest ends of the earth like he has. I wanted to tell him that he had helped shape my plans for life, even before I met Joel, maybe even before I graduated from highschool. I wanted to tell him that he was a childhood hero. But all I could say was, "Hi! I'm Alice. I'm escorting y'all to the lunch." At least Joel was brave enough to get him to autograph his new book.

A little teary-eyed

Yesterday was Feb. 15, marking Silas' 5 month birthday. I had a moment last night when I was tucking him into bed. He was kicking his legs and reaching for me happily when I realized that at some point in the last month or so he had learned to control his hand and arm movement. I tried to remember the first time I sat down at the computer with him in my lap and he pulled things off the desk onto the floor. I couldn't.

A lot of "firsts" happen when I'm not paying attention. It isn't that I'm not there or watching Silas do them; rather I assume they're just a fluke. I think this happens because when I think about human growth and development seriously, I'm absolutely floored. It isn't just the first breath that's a miracle. Unlike my pregnancy, this is going by too quickly.
He's changing.
Joel and I are changing.
The Fankhauser story continues.