Speed Racer

Today was Quinn's 1st Pine Wood Derby. He and Jim have been fashioning a raceable item out of a block of wood for the last 2 months. There was much cutting, sanding, painting, weighing, gluing and weighing again before the big day. He was insistent that it look just like Jim's Pine Wood Derby car from 1981. After loosing in the very 1st heat, he was able to muster out a 4th place overall finish out of 50 cars in the end. When asked what the best part of the day was, Quinn responded, "Winning the 2 races and next year I am going to make my car with metal topping!". Go figure.

Big Day

Today, it has been 5 months since I fell off my bike. Prior to the accident, I had decided I would not play my instrument anymore because of the problems it was causing with my jaw. This was a very hard decision and after playing for 25yrs. It was very much like a death for me. I was surprised at how sad I was about it. Once I fell off my bike, I was sure I would never play again but this time it wasn't my choice, it was decided for me and I didn't like. I talked to a few people who had some good suggestions on how to make playing not cause problems with my jaw SO once I got to the point in my occupational therapy where I could function with my arm on a daily basis I started looking towards playing again.

When I got my cast off mid-September, I could not flip my palm up at all and by December I had only made it slightly further. After 5 long months of a LOT of OT (including "the rack" pictured below) I finally had the courage to pick up my instrument and give it a try.  The VIDEO (click here)is the result. This is a big achievement for me and something I was not sure was possible.Maybe the accident forced me to realize that I do love playing my violin enough to find a way to make it work.

I am still not finished getting my arm back completely but I am getting closer everyday. I am hopeful that this instrument, which is so much of who I am, will help me along the way.

Christmas Joy

The picture at the bottom right says it all. Christmas Joy

Merry Christmas

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
As Quinn said today, "I guess what I wish for really does happen on Christmas... Magic!"
Hope all your wishes came true today.

Pet Adventures

The boys have a Saturday morning ritual these days, it is call Pet Adventures. They start asking on Monday if it is Saturday yet so they can play. The picture above shows their special pets that they have slept with all their lives and these 2 are the leaders of pet adventures. There is no telling where the pets and their other stuffed croneys will end up going on any given Saturday but they are always ready for adventure. Pets have been to Gnome, AK and dealt with the Malaria outbreak, the center of the earth, India, Medieval times to be knights and they have even been to space to repair the Hubbell Space Telescope.  I love this ritual for so many reasons. It is the one thing they have created together that they both love, it is one of the few times they act like the best friends they claim to be and it is a window into their imagination that is precious.

Corduroy Comes Home

At Nolan 's preschool they have a Corduroy bear that goes home with each child once each year. The children take Corduroy on "adventures", write about it in a book, draw a picture of their time with the bear and return him to school. Nolan's turn came on Friday and he was SO excited. Here is the "Adventures with Corduroy" that Nolan wrote about his time with the little brown bear this weekend.

"Corduroywent to my Grandma and Grandpa's farm with me. Me and Corduroy and Daddy watched the BB gun range. QUinn shot thee BB gun at the target. Then we went inside and watched "Before the Dinosaurs" and we played LEGOs , knights and army men. My Grandma read all the books in the bag to me and Corduroy. We even got to listen to a Star Wars tape. I am going to sleep with my pet and Corduroy and Corduroy is going to Advent time and light 2 candles. I fell in love with Corduroy and I am sad I have to take him back to school."

How sweet is that? 

A Thanksgiving in Texas

We made our annual pilgramage to my home town this week. Arlington, Texas is a place I could never live again but I love to visit and get that homey feeling every once in awhile, but never in August. In just a few short days I had the chance to catch up with an old friend , spend lots of time with my dad and test my metroplex driving skills. We went to the Ft. Worth Zoo, played football on Thanksgiving, watched football on Thanksgiving, went fishing, ate our catch and finished it up with a great trip to Six Flags.

The pictures tell the whole story, it was fabulous... and tiring. :)