Just a Beautiful Sunset

We were at church Wednesday evening having dinner, going to class and talking with friends. Karen taught her 2nd grade class. The boys went to their respective class. I was on guard duty. I put on one of the church walkie-talkies and monitor the grounds, parking lots and buildings. There were storms all around us but no rain on my head. This cloud formation due south of the church was just worth capturing and sharing. A cell phone camera can only do so much but I hope you get the idea.

A Football Day

Saturday was a perfect day. Not too hot or too cold. At the sake of sounding to "Three Bearish" it was just right. The boys were actually grounded from playing on the computer all weekend so they had to find other things to occupy themselves. As the day progressed, football became the activity of choice.

All the boys really like playing football but Joshua is especially fond of the sport. So, the boys put on their uniforms and played a full four quarters of football in the backyard. In fact, they had started their "football camp," as they called it, the night before. But Saturday morning, the real game began and went on for a few hours. There was even a break around noon for halftime and a round of Sunny-D. I can't really tell you who won the game but they had a really good time and worked up quite a sweat in the process.

We spent that evening at the ACU football game at Shotwell Stadium, across the street from the house. It was a perfect night. It was cool, a slight breeze. ACU won the game handedly against Eastern New Mexico University with a final score of 45-20. But, the real win may have been when Joshua came within a few feet of the ACU football team. You can't see Joshua's eyes in this picture because I missed the moment but they were as round as saucer plates. And the smile on his face was ear to ear. So I snapped this final picture of him looking at the team as they came out of the locker room for the second half.

We finished the day around 10:30 that night. The moral of the story: I guess we should ground the boys from the computer more often. They seem to find really good and interesting things to occupy themselves.

Karen and David in Florida

I, David, do solemly swear that I really am in Florida on business. I can't help it if the conference is taking place at one of the nicest hotels in the contiguous 50 states: The Westin Diplomat in Fort Lauderdale. This is a shot of the pool area at the hotel from the 18th floor balcony. The best part of all is that Karen was able to come with me. She needed some time away and we both wanted a little time together. The trip in was good (in aviation terms that means uneventful) and the hotel, as you can see, is very nice.
Karen will return to Abilene on Monday. I, on the other hand, will have to continue to suffer in this vacation purgatory until the end of the week. More later.

The Results of A Night at the Fair

After four hours of walking around in the dust, smelling cow and goat dung and spending $100 on tickets, food and games, here is the result. We ended up with a toy cartoon fish. Ironically, the boys and Karen named him "Ripoff." The name came from the $2 darts we bought at one of the game shacks. With that $5 (he gave us 3 darts for $5 instead of $6 -- Wow! What a guy!) we acquired Ripoff. So, the next time you come to the house be sure to say "Hi" to Ripoff, the newest member of the family.

Jason Writings - The Wooden Race

As I enter the building I stare at the track I greet my friends and head over to the officals table to enter my car in the PINEWOOD DERBY RACE. Soon after, the race begins and after 5 min of racing, its my turn.

I set my car up and race down to the end of the track to see who wins. In this race I’d be V.S. (see editor's note below) Hatus’s car. 3, 2, 1, and the cars were off. My car trailed and lost to Hatus’s car the 1st part of the round. But then my dad told me to put washers on my car to weigh it down. I tried it but, my car ended flying off the track and crashing. THUNK, CLANK, SSSS. I raced to my car to pick it up. But it was fine. After that my dad told me to tape the washers down. So I tried it. The judges called a re-run. 3, 2, 1, and there they down the track. But suprisingly my car WON! Then incredibly my car beat him to win the round!!!

After that for about 5 or 6 rounds against Hatus’s older brother Matheaus Then before the last race Matheaus accidently dropped his car. SMASH!!!! everyone rushed over to fix it and they did. Soon after, the final race began. The two cars went down the track but, the judges say, Matheaus car won. So I get second place But I was more proud then I’d ever been in my life.


*editor's note: the V.S. means 'versing,' which is Jason's way of saying 'versus' or 'competing against'. I've never heard this neologism until Jason used it. Kinda cool!

Hatus is a friend of Jason's at school whose parents are from somewhere in South America, although I can't remember where. Matheaus is actually Hatus' older brother.

Sometimes ya plan well and ...

We took Jason to a pediatric neurologist at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth today. This was a followup to the EEG we had done after his last pair of seizures. Along the road, oh say around Putnam, Jason decides he should have used the bathroom before we left. I, being the dad that I am, couldn't refuse the moment.

Another Story from Jason - History and Me

I thought it was time for another story from Jason. This one is near and dear to my heart since I enjoy reading and studying history so much myself. Well, enough about me. Here's Jason.


History and Me

The Alamo, the battle of San Jacinto, the Louisianna Purchase, what do these things remind you of HISTORY!!!! History is so interesting to me because.
Well, for starters, you never know what one person will do and how another will react. Second of all, you learn something new every time you read a bit of history. Also you learn about very important people like, Sam Houston, George Washington, and Davy Crockett. But then, you can lean about the culture and language of different from long ago. Say the Indian. As well you could learn about great things that happened to different people. Maybe for instance, the fight for Mexican independence, or the war for Texan independence. Plus, you could take a guess with the scientist about things like, how the Indians got to North America. But one more thing, everything you’ve done in the past is history What I’m trying to say is you don’t have to do something that will change the world forever to make history. History is being made every second that passes. So anyone can make history by just having a past.
Well that is pretty much it, history and all it’s aspects. If you want to learn more, you’ll have find out for yourself. But wait, one more thing, history never stops.

The Hard Side of the Trip to Austin

As Paul Harvey used to say, "Now, the rest of the story."

Jason had two seizures this weekend. I kept hoping we were out of line of fire on his health but this weekend showed we are not. The worst of it for us was Sunday night/Monday morning. We went to sleep in the hotel room around 11PM on Sunday night. Somewhere around 12:30AM or 1:00AM on Monday morning, Jason had another attack. It was the first time Karen and I have witnessed the seizure from the beginning to the end. The actual seizure lasted around 10 minutes (it just seemed like a long time to Karen and me). There's not much to do but keep Jason safe from himself. I put my arms around him and try to keep him from dropping off the bed or falling into something that could hurt him. According to the doctors, its important to not restrain someone having seizures like this. You just have to keep the safe. You are not supposed to put your fingers in their mouth. There is no risk of him swallowing his tongue. There is also little to no chance that he will stop breathing.

I think seeing this phase of the seizure scared Karen and me so we called 9-1-1. They responded to the hotel and recommended Jason be taken to the emergency room. Karen stayed in the hotel room with Joshua and Jonathan and I went with the EMT and Jason to the hospital. He was very sick to his stomach so it took awhile to get that settled down. The Emergency nurses and doctor worked with Jason for two or more hours. From 3:00AM until 4:00AM I gave him sips of Gatorade to get him re-hydrated.

We got back to the hotel sometime before 5:00AM. Both of us were completely exhausted. Karen was glad to see us again.

It was decided that we would take Jason to a pediatric neurologist associated with the hospital there in Austin. After a lengthy discussion with her, it was decided to put Jason on medication for his seizures. The doctor felt that his fatigue and some other factors pointed to the possibility that he was having seizures more often than we thought but they were just not as severe so he didn't always scream out loud. In other words, he was having milder seizures some nights that did not cause him as much pain so we never knew it.

Tonight's plan is for one of us to sleep in his room with him to see how well the medication helps with the seizures. If it works as planned, it should stop them completely after one or two doses.

Needless to say, after two nights of seizures in a row, we are all very tired and are praying the medicine with help. Jason needs sleep and mom needs some peace of mind. Being so close to this kind of issue makes you realize how fragile things are. How easily it can all slip away.

I'm really proud of the way Jason is dealing with all of this, the maturity he shows at the hospital and the nurses. I know Karen is too.

Next steps are to have another EEG done to check that dad-gummed rolandic area of the brain to make sure we are diagnosing the seizures correctly as Benign Rolandic Epilepsy. We have an appointment with his pediatrician tomorrow for the EEG. Then we will need to visit with the neurologist in Austin or switch to one in Fort Worth for a checkup in four to six weeks.

We'll keep you posted via this blog, email and phone calls.

Jon-Jon at the Cheesecake Factory

On the way out of town, we stopped at the Cheesecake Factory. We promised the boys a piece of the best cheesecake they will ever eat. Jon-Jon decided he wanted to eat like a hillbilly so I told him to tuck his napkin in the front of his shirt. Which he did! I think Josh was a little embarassed.

A Snack to the State Capital

Its been a long day (more about that later) so we decided to take a break while touring the State Capital Building.