Very Brief Family Update from 2014

Brittney:
She's 16 years old and a junior in high school. She gave up all her activities this year except competitive cheer, mostly because she didn't feel good enough. She finally had surgery to have her tonsils out on Fri Dec 26. She says she's dying. I think she doesn't tolerate pain well. We're probably both right. We did have to take her back to the hospital on Sun to have an IV because she was so dehydrated. They also gave her some morphine, which kept her happy for a while.


Riley:
He's 13 years old and a 7th grader at the middle school. He's playing percussion in band, singing in choir and playing baseball and football. He also loves playing video games on the Xbox and hanging out with his friends.


Taylor:
She's 12 years old and a 6th grader at the middle school. She's playing viola in the orchestra and loves helping with kids at church and anywhere else. She's also into makeup and socializing. She's my most helpful child, when she feels like it ;-)


Zeke:
He's 12 years old and a 6th grader at the middle school. He loves any activity with Special Olympics, especially basketball, track and swimming. He likes the Vikings and the Packers!!! He also loves socializing but we're working on teaching him what's socially appropriate. He still wears braces on his legs but walks and runs without any other assistance.


Anthony:
He's 9 years old and a 4th grader at the Intermediate School. He loves playing outside and had playing baseball this summer. He still struggles with authority, which makes coaching (and parenting) difficult but he's doing much better.


Sophia:
She turns 5 years old tomorrow and is in her last year of preschool. She likes stuffed animals, tiny toys and art projects. She is definitely strong willed, just like everyone in our family and tries to act like a teenager most of the time.


Steve:
He works at the bank and also part time for the Swiftel Center. He keeps busy finishing all the remodeling projects I start. In his little bit of spare time, he still loves watching any sports.


Me:
I don't remember most of the year and it seems like it was just Christmas 2013! I realized I needed to make a bit of a change when I heard a speaker talk about making a list of 50 things that bring you joy and I could only come up with three! Seriously!!! I get so busy making sure everyone else has what they need that I kind of forget about myself. Which apparently makes me grumpy. So now I continue to make a 'joy list' and make sure I do at least one thing on the list everyday, even if it's something as simple as snuggling with my dog or drinking a good cup of flavored coffee in solitude.
Two weeks ago, I had surgery on my knee. A few months ago, I torn my meniscus and the ortho doctor fixed it for me. It feels much better now but it's definitely slowed me down more than I'd like. At least I can finally drive again!!!


So if I haven't seen you lately, that's why. Not what you may have heard from Brittney.


When Brittney's doctor gave her the option of an earlier surgery date, I told her no, she would have to wait until the 26th because the 19th was too soon after my surgery and I wouldn't be able to help her because I'd still be incapacitated.


She's never been very good with vocabulary and proceeded to tell everyone she saw that her surgery date was the 26th because we couldn't both be incarcerated at the same time.


So now everyone thinks they haven't seen me around because I've been in jail! :-)