This One's for Karen

I found this video on the internet, courtesy of one of my co-workers, and thought I would share it with you. This video is for all the mom's out there that have spent too many hours everyday trying to help their children grow and become productive members of society.

Craig MS Christmas Concert - Jason's First Concert

Jason is playing the clarinet in the Craig Middle School band. The band had their Christmas concert at Abilene High School last night. This was Jason's first public concert. They played two songs: Little Drummer Boy and Jingle Bells.

Jonathan's Christmas Program

Jonathan participated in the church Christmas program. He was a wiseman and brought his gift of gold to the Christ Child. I asked him after the show how he felt about it. He said he was nervous "because all those people were looking at me." We just told him we were proud of him and that he did his job really well. Thought we would share that small moment with you.

Two Updates on Jason

It was a good night last night: no seizures. After the seizures Jason had Monday night, you worry that the event will repeat itself. That was especially good for us because Karen was sleeping around town again last night. That is, she was doing a sleep study at Hendrick Hospital to see if they can do anything about her troubling sleep habits.

Secondly, we received wonderful news yesterday. Jason has been nominated to attend the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington D.C. this coming spring. He was nominated by the teacher at his school that selects students from Craig based on his "scholastic merit, maturity and strength of character." This opportunity is not without its challenges, however. It costs almost $2000 for Jason to attend. We will be looking at our finances in the next few days to see if we can afford it. It looks like we may have to wait on the new flooring for the house. And, there is always the issue of Jason's seizures. Truth be he doesn't have them very often but the stress of a trip like this could be just the thing to set them off. One of the weeks available to him is the same week that I will be in Philadelphia for a conference. It would be very helpful if I could fly with him and at least be in the same part of the country.

We ask for your prayers for Jason as he continues to deal with these two very big issues in his life.

Another Bad Seizure Night

Karen and I had gone to bed and were awoken 30 minutes later to the sound of a thud and a gargling noise. We knew right away that it was Jason having one of his seizures. We entered his bedroom and found him lying on the floor between his bed and his dresser, twitching and struggling for air. We picked him up, put him on his bed, held him, talked to him and just made sure he couldn't hurt himself and that he could breath. That about all you can do in these situtations. Typically, thre is no danger from the actual seizure so you just try to keep him safe. In most cases, injury occurs when the child tries to get up and move around. They tend to lose control of their arms and legs so if they are standing up they can fall and hurt themselves.

This bout of rolandic seizure was surprising to me because it occurred so soon after Jason went to sleep. It was longer lasting than what we had been seeing recently and he lost the ability to move his right arm for several minutes. I would say the seizure episode lasted about 10 minutes but it does seem longer when you're in the middle of it. The inability to move his limb lasted another 10. We moved Jason carefully to our bed so we can keep our eye on him tonight. He seems to be resting now but Karen and I will not go to sleep for the next few hours.

MSY Airport Code

Do you ever wonder what the airport codes mean? For us folks here in Abilene, the airport code of ABI is pretty obvious. Did you know, however, that the airport code for New Orleans is MSY? Do you know why?

MSY is the three letter code designation of the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. On the last day of 1910, John Moisant, the first person to build and fly a plane with an all metal frame, and the first pilot to fly over the English Channel with a passenger and an animal, died of a broken neck after he was thrown out of his nose-diving aircraft at the current location of New Orleans’ major airport. Stock yards for cattle were later put on the land where Moisant met his fate. The owners wanted to honor John Moisant, so they called the stock yards the Moisant Stock Yards, or MSY for short.

Check out this website for more interesting examples.

Jason Receives Academic Award

Jason was selected by his teachers as one of the Academic Achievers for the 6th Grade a Craig Elementary. He was one of three boys and three girls chosen from the 6th grade. This is a picture of Jason with the principal of the school.

Jon downtown Abilene at Minter Park.

I had to take a video downtown to the Abilene Reporter News. Interestingly, the video is a story about auditions here in Abilene for ABC's Super Nanny television show. After I dropped off the video, Jon wanted to go see the waterfall at Minter Park. Here, he is walking along the brick wall in front of the waterfall.

Boo at the Zoo Video

I shot this video during the Boo at the Zoo Festival. Each year, the zoo at Abilene, Texas holds a festival and invite the city to come out, see the animals and trick or treat for Halloween.


Boo at the Zoo from David Gibson on Vimeo.

Student of the Six Weeks 2008

Joshua and Jonathan both received the "Student of the Six Weeks" for the classes at school. A ceremony is held in honor of the students that receive this award. Here is a short video of the ceremony.

Old Whalen Kids

Everyone was in town a few months back so we thought it would be a good time to get everyone together for a picture before we all have to use a walker.

New ARN Video

Just wanted to share my latest work with the Abilene Reporter News. It pretty much speaks for itself as to the content. I'm also working on a video interview for another website. I'll send out that link once its completed.

Here is the link for the ARN video:

http://www.reporternews.com/videos/detail/talent-showcase/

A New Video Camera, Sound and Lighting System ... and some boys

I recently purchased a new video camera, the Canon XH-A1, microphone and lighting system to work on a project that I've had in my mind for several years now. I needed to test out the equipment and couldn't imagine a better subject matter than the boys.

Oh, ya, my other boys go to school too!

OK, so the first kid always gets a lion's share of the press and attention. I should know. I was third in line and always got the hand-me-downs and no lovin'. Alright, that's not true. I was the only boy and spoiled rotten and got everything I wanted.

Anyhow, back to the reason for this post. Jason got a video but I had to get a picture of Joshua and Jonathan at their desks. In my defense of doing more for Jason than the other two, if I had taken my video camera into Joshua's and Jonathan's classes, they would have been mortified. So, I'm sticking with the quick photo on my iPhone approach.

In case you're wondering, I didn't ASK Jason if I could bring my video camera to the middle school walk-through. And, I did notice I was the only parent with a video camera.

They are adorable sitting their desks. The boy sitting next to Joshua is his best pal these days, Colton Bontke.

Jason Goes to Middle School

As the old saying goes, "Its amazing how quickly time flies." Jason starts Middle School today. We visited the campus on Saturday and got a glimpse of what his life in Middle School will be like.

Bowling with the Boys ... and a friend

Joshua had one of his friends over to spend the night. To start the visit off right, we went to Whitewood Bowling lanes and tried our hand at becoming the next, great bowling sensation. Needless to say, the members of the PBA have little to fear from us.

Here's the vid ( as Jason likes to call them )

Floyd Goes Wild

It was an ordinary day in Abilene, just like it often is in small towns around America. The weather was warm and enjoyable. Family had stopped by for dinner. Everyone was having a good time. Then, it happened. The one things that no ordinary citizen of this small town would have expected: Floyd got wild.

It wasn't the normal kind of wild you might expect from most men. It was the kind that leads most of us to wonder who or what is really in control. How does a seemingly ordinary man suddenly shed all inhibitions and began acting like nobody has seen him act in a very long time?

The only answer can be ... Wii. It was Wii bowling to be exact. And life as we know it will never be the same. There's a sign post up ahead. It is The Twighlight Zone.

Jon-Jon and his friend swimming

Jon-Jon and his friend, Langston, took a few hours out today and went for a swim in the neighborhood pool. Dad is sitting on the sideline watching wishing I was at home sitting under the AC drinking at tall, cool glass of iced tea.

Big Bend Trial Run

Tomorrow morning, we will leave for a week's vacation in the Big Bend National Park. It will be a week full of hiking, good conversations and lots of beautiful scenery. Big Bend Chisos Basin where we will be staying has wonderful weather. The highs for the daytime temperature is in the lower 80's and the lows are around 65.

Even with these great temps, it's still best to wake up early in the morning and get an early start on your hike. In that regard, we thought we'd do a trial run this morning -- that is, we'd get everyone up early to practice getting an early start in the Big Bend.

Needless to say, Joshua didn't make it. He does like his sleep.

Ya'll enjoy the 100+ degree temps here in Abilene this week! ;-)

Boys Night Out

I took the boys up to ACU to run some energy off. They got thirsty and needed a drink so we stopped by the office breakroom and swilled water.

The Bird House in Cedar Gap. Flower on walking trail.

I always enjoy taking pictures of flowers when we go on hikes. I don't know what this one is called but I thought it was pretty.

Two Reasons I Don't Want to Move to DFW

Hey Brenda, This One's For You

James, Katrina and Kaylen Orend came to Abilene for a visit over the 4th of July weekend. Here's a video of a small part of the visit.

Josh Says "Hello" to His Friend in Japan

Joshua has a friend that used to live in here in Abilene for a period of time and has returned to Japan, his homeland. This friend, David T, sent Josh a letter a few months back. Josh decided he wanted to say "Hi" to David T so I suggested a video greeting. Here is that greeting.



By the way, a big "Howdy" from the entire Gibson family to the Tsuneki's!

Indian Jones Movie

I took the boys to the new Indiana Jones movie today, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The highlight of the movie for me was watching the boys eat popcorn that was absolutely drenched in a "butter-like substance" and swill cokes. They were in heaven.

I'd give the movie 2.5 out of 5 stars. It followed the same trend I see in other action-adventure movies these days: trying to explain the great mysteries of life through the Roswell, NM incident in the 1950's. Yep, it all comes down to a bunch of long-headed, big-eyed, no-chested aliens. Its a theme I see again and again in movies these days. It would be nice to have a script that dared to do something different. Besides the recurring theme, there was the usual amount of excessive gore: big red ants crawling in a man's mouth to devour him. I never have gotten used to that kind of stuff. 'Bought scared Jon to death.

I think why I give it 2.5 stars and not less is that in the end its still kind of fun to watch, except the gore and the aliens.

My advice: wait for the DVD. It will be cheaper. And you can use the money to see something a little more interesting or original.

Parents of the Year Award - NOT!

The life of a parent is filled with ups and downs. Those "ups" are times when you have the patience of Job. The "down" times are when you don't. As parents, its hard to remember what its like to be a child and to overlook the things that caused our parents to call us out. In the end, you spend your quiet time wondering if you are doing the right things: balancing the memories of how a child feels with the reality that you have to create some sense of self-discipline in your child.

The other day, I had to drop by my oldest son's classroom at school to give him two bucks for an outing this coming week. On the way across the elementary campus, I saw my three sons' PE teacher and decided to walk over, say "Hi" and remind her that she only had to teach 500 kids for four more days. We had a nice conversation and I decided I had better move on and not distract her from her job any longer. As I turned to walk away, she called me back and said:

"I just want you to know that you have three of the best children I have ever taught. If all my students were as well behaved, I could teach all year long."

I was proud of my kids but had to confess to her that I feel like I've been to hard on them at times. She replied, "Well, you're doing something right. They always listen. They do what they're asked to do. They always show respect to me and the other kids."

I thanked her for the kind words and walked away right in the middle of one of those moments when a parent feels really proud.

I couldn't wait to tell Karen that evening. I knew she would be proud also. While we sat down for dinner, I told Karen about my conversation with the teacher. Jon-Jon listened, as did the other two. I hoped it would make them feel good about their own behavior and encourage them to continue. I finished talking. Jon-Jon looked around the table and added, "Well, I guess all that yelling works."

We all had a good laugh. I was a little embarassed. I guess this means the struggle as a parent will continue. I will continue to struggle with the "downs" and look for those little "ups." And maybe next time I am frustrated or surprised that my children are doing that thing that my parents finally "helped" me to stop doing, I'll remember that they are only children and that they really are good.

A Bit of Bad News For Us

We received a note from the school nurse a few weeks ago that she was concerned about Jason showing signs of Scoliosis, a curvature of the spine. She suggested we have him checked by his pediatrician.

We took Jason to Dr. Wiley's office yesterday. Dr. Wiley looked at him and had us go to Radiology for an x-ray. Dr. Wiley called us back today to inform us that Jason's spine is curved at 14 degrees. Anything at or above 10 degrees is considered problematic. He suggested we get Jason to Scottish Rite Children's Hospital in Dallas as soon as possible. Dr. Wiley's office is setting up the appointment for us today.

The good news in all of this is that it is better to find this issue earlier in a child's life and apparently before puberty. Having found it now in Jason gives us some less stringent therapies and may allow us to get his Scoliosis under control before it gets worse.

This is heart breaking for Karen and me. We're probably taking it worse that Jason will. The hard part for Jason is that it means more trips to more doctors and more medical things to do. Its hard for a 10-year-old boy to deal with everything he is dealing with.

My hope is that there is nothing here that will prevent him from doing some of the things he wants to do this summer, which includes playing soccer in the late Summer and early Fall.

Keep Jason in your thoughts and prayers in the coming days, weeks and months.

I'll add more to this story as things unfold.

Hamburger Anyone?

This is our first vegetable from our garden, an onion. It may be small but I'm hoping it will taste good on a hamburger.

Jason's First Bonafide Haircut

At some point in one's life they get to choose their own hairstyle. My parents let me grow my hair longer when I was eight or nine years old. Much to my discomfort years later, the growing trend continued until I embarrassed myself around fourteen or fifteen years of age with an unsightly mop on my head that had not been seen since Cro-magnon man was hiding in caves. Be that as it may, I sported that hairstyle with much pride. It is only in hindsight that I cringe when I look at those pictures and have since vowed to destroy any and all evidence that my hair ever looked like that.

Now, its Jason's turn to make some personal decisions about his owm hairstyle. Captured here is his first haircut marking the beginning of his own journey of, hopefully, better hair decision making than his old man. His preference is for long bangs. We hate to see him hide his beautiful face but to some degree its his choice ... as long as he looks neat and his mom doesn't object too much.

By the way, he hates his bangs after the haircut. In my opinion, he looks very nice. And just in case you're wondering, I WILL NOT post a picture of my teenage hairstyle here.

Easter Weekend 2008

It's been a long and fun weekend for us here in Gibson-land. It started Thursday evening and will go through tomorrow since the boys are out of school on Monday for a teacher work day. Here is a synopsis of what has been going on over here. The video below is only one part of this busy weekend and I hope you enjoy it.

The party started with a visit to Fort Imagination on Wednesday evening. After playing hide-and-seek at the fort, the boys and I went to Sonic and grabbed a long, tall, cool drink. The boys got cokes (that's Texas coke, which is the generic term for a carbonated soft drink and has no relationship to the Coca Cola product) while I opted for the slush - cherry slush.

Thursday afternoon, the boys and I went to ACU and rode bikes along the jogging/riding track. It was very windy so we only made it one and a half times around or around 3 miles. After we rode bikes, we headed for a treat at one of our favorite destinations, Cajun Cones. My favorite is Fuzzy Navel. It was fun but very messy.

I was off work on Friday so I spent part of the day working on the house and part of the day shopping for new light fixtures. There was a quick game of soccer in the back yard Friday evening. The boys and I watched a Hootie and the Blowfish concert we recorded on the DVR. I discovered I was not a child of the 1990's music scene. I didn't recognize a single song they played except that one really famous one, whose name I don't know. Jason had many questions about what its like to be in a band. I answered the ones I thought I could. The others I just left to his imagination.

Saturday afternoon and evening was spent at Abilene State Park, hiking, playing and just getting away from it all. We had a great time. After a few hours of hiking, we stopped to have drinks and cookies and the boys and their mother played Freeze Tag and Mother May I? I am the wise one that stays behind the camera and doesn't have to do all the running. After we left the park, we went to Coronado's Camp and had a hamburger. They have really good burgers there. If you get a chance to stop in for a burger, I think you'll be glad you did.

Sunday was Easter, as you know. We didn't go to church anywhere but went to my parent's house for lunch and to Karen's Parent's house for dinner. Two big meals in one day! Way too much food.

Tomorrow, Monday, we will spend the morning around the house while Karen works for Mr. Young near Coronado's Camp. The boys and I will join her at his ranch after lunch.

So, there is our weekend. I hope you enjoy the video.

A Trip with Jason to Cook Children's Hospital

Karen, Jason and I took a trip to Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth this week for a checkup. The video you see here is something I put together to commemorate the trip. The result of the trip was very good. The doctor, Angel Hernandez, said that things looked very good with Jason. We are going to continue the current regimen and will have an MRI done in August.

Hope you enjoy the video.

Jon-Jon Receives "Student of Six Weeks" Award

As it goes every year, Jon-Jon received the award for being the top
student on his class the last six weeks. The selection is based on
his grades and his overall performance in his class. So, once again he
has proven himself worthy of the award. He is a great kid.

A Welcome to the Newest Member of the Family

We have a new member of the family: a black dog that is a mix of Spitz and Corgi, as far as anyone can tell. Her name is Diamond. That's what the boys named her. She is around five months old. Her and Junior get along really well. Even though Junior is older, she stands her ground with him very well.

PJ day at Taylor

Once each year, the school the boys attend has a special day they call "PJ Day" where the students wear their PJs to school, read books and basically have a good time. Today is PJ Day. Here's the boys in their best attire.