From the Message Bin

"To a young heart, everything is fun" (Charles Dickens).

-J

As Promised...

Here are some pictures of J.T. in his karate uniform. He is excited about it and doing well. This is his prepare-to-fight stance. He covers his face for protection. This is the pose I told him to do so that we could see him in his uniform.

He said this is what he will look like if he wins a fight. We will see.

-J

From the Message Bin

"If you long to know the mind of God, you must first learn to use your own" (Dowell Flatt).

-J

Hospital Girl

This past weekend, Kaylee had been running a fever. We thought she was sick but it passed and she resumed life going to school on Monday. On Tuesday evening, we went to put her to bed and noticed a wound on her heel. Shawna called the doctor Wednesday morning and we set up an appointment for Thursday afternoon. Shawna took her. This started a whirlwind of activity.

The doctor wanted her to go the hospital to have a magnetic resonance image (MRI) on her foot. He suspected it was a bone infection which would explain the fever earlier in the week. He also wanted to work her into surgery to clean out the infection in the wound. So, off to the hospital we go (went). J.T. wants you to know that he had to miss karate class and soccer practice. Actually, soccer practice got cancelled due to the weather.

They did the MRI late last night and she had the surgery early this morning. The surgery went well. The infection had not spread to the bone yet but it was a good thing we caught it when we did. If it was a bone infection, it would require a lot longer in the hospital (about a week) and six to eight weeks of antibiotics. As it stands, we will be here till Sunday for antibiotics intravenously and then go home with some oral antibiotics.

It is amazing how your schedule can change all at once. We are thankful everything is as good as it is.

-J&JT

From the Message Bin

"A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials" (Unknown).

-J

Kaylee's Doctor's Appointment

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. It went well. I have been having some trouble with falling and being tired alot. So, my parents decided that my shunt needed to be checked out. So, they got me an appointment with Dr. E. She checked my shunt and did a CT scan on me. She said nothing is wrong with my shunt. It looks great. But she still does not know what is happening to make me fall or be tired. My falling could be my new brace, growth spurts, or it could be me being too much of a risk taker with my steps (according to my mom). The tiredness is really the concern. So we have an appointment with my pediatrician on the 21st for a general checkup to see if everything is okay. We'll keep you updated with the results. Until then...

-S & K

Soccer, Again

Last night, J.T. had his first soccer practice of the season. He is getting agressive, really good at aiming his kicks, and even playfully sassy with his team. There is a young lady on his team named Lacey. He called her shoelacey all evening. I think he is finally getting comfortable with playing.

He has moved to the bigger field so he was thoroughly worn out when practice was over. The team is growing up and playing well together. It promises to be a great season.

Pictures to come.

-J

From the Message Bin

"The Bible never suffers from neglect. It is those who neglect that suffer" (Unknown).

-J

Only My Son...

Last night we were on our way home and had our famiy devotional. We sang a little bit, went over our memory verses, and, in our usual style, concluded with a prayer. J.T. asked each person who they wanted to pray for and then began leading the prayer. It went something like this:

"Dear Lord in Heaven,

Thank you for the great day. Please be with me as I enter into double digits..."

ONLY. MY. SON.

-J

A Decade of Joy

Well, it hasn't all been joy but our son is 10 years old today! We enoyed a night at Incredibile Pizza last night and his friend stayed the night. He likes the fact that he played a game and won 1000 tickets (oh, and Dad played the same game and won four). He got a new Universtiy of Tennessee sleeping oufit and enjoyed it very much. I know uncle Russ and Uncle Chris will enjoy it as well. He is a great kid.

He has been such a blessing to our lives.

-J