Thank you for stopping at our Blog. Started several years ago, it is a quick way to catch up on the exciting things that have been going on with our family.
So you know I have an obsession with cacti of the Easter type and the Christmas type. I bought my mom and my sister plants several years ago, and they bloom faithfully. I got an Easter Cactus for our family five years ago IN BLOOM, and we have NEVER seen the darn thing bloom since. SO, this year we go ourselves a fully blooming Christmas Cactus. Lets see if this sucker will bloom next year! It sure looks pretty THIS year!
So the Christmas Cactus Blooms!
Nathan celebrates his birthday! A perfect day, really. XC skiing, nice amount of snow, a dinner at Red Lobster, and cake to boot. YIppee!
The Kid With a Staple in His Hand by Connor Spencer
Connor was a small young kid and not very smart. When he woke up he got dressed and went down stairs. And then he got a bowl of cereal. He took his medicine and then went upstairs to brush his teeth. When he was done brushing his teeth, he went to school. At school he wrote in his assignment note-book and put his Personal Journal in the basket. Connor went to put staples in a stapler. When he closed it, his thumb was too close to the stapler. He told his teacher and she told Connor’s friend to take him down to the office. The principal gave Connor an ice pack, then Connor waited for a while, but then Jack’s mom came in and told the principle she’d drive Connor down to the hospital. The principal called his mom. Jack’s mom took Connor, and Connor’s mom came out and then they went into the hospital. The checked in and waited for a little bit. Then the doctor came and called for him to come here. They went to the room and there were two doctors there. They got metal scissors and then got it out. Then Connor got an American flag ball.
If you read the Spencer Family Blog enough, you will become very learned on medical conditions and procedures. In the spring you learned about Connor’s Toxic Synovitis, and this week you can learn about the Pars Fracture. Trevor’s sore back from TaeKwanDo was more than a muscle strain. After and MRI and CT scan and the addition of a Back Brace, he was diagnosed with a bilateral pars fracture of the 5th lumbar vertebrae. The docs were a little puzzled, as they could see old and new injury. The final story is that sometime earlier (probably this fall in football) he sustained a pars fracture on the left side of his 5th lumbar vertebrae, and on Monday night he went ahead and fractured the right side of the vertebrae. He is now in this “rigid” girdle like thing, and quite uncomfortable. He frankly hates it and I have to nag him over and over to keep the darn thing on.
In other news, Kira has been accepted to the following colleges Coe, with a 17K renewable scholarship, Luther, with an 11K renewable scholarship, and Knox with two scholarships adding up to 14K. She also was accepted to the Iowa Honor’s program. Just got the apps in for Carleton, Macalester, Lawrence and St. Olaf. We won’t hear from those schools until later, however. We sure hope the scholarship offers accompany any acceptance letters from those schools!
Well that’s all for now folks. Better go check on the Trev and get him cinched up!
The November to Remember. The big news at our house is that Trevor has a girlfriend. She is a little red-haired girl and sweet as can be. Mom and dad approve. So far they just see each other in band and at the school dance they danced together. So cute!
Trevor is now nursing a strained back after sparring tonight at tae-kwan-do. Poor guy.
Connor is well, and he is looking forward to french-toast stick Friday.
Kira has been offered a nice scholarship at Coe, and is hoping to get like offers from the Minnesota/Wisconsin schools, but they will probably not be as prompt with their offers. The application deadline isn’t until Dec. 1, and notification of acceptance for those schools is after the first of the year, with award notifications coming much later.
Nathan is relaxing after his XC season and has been compiling data. I am continuing to revise and re-do my dissertation topic and this time the go-round seems to be better situated.
We are raking leaves almost daily, and are looking forward to Thanksgiving, and taking in some good movies. That is about all for now!
Rudy as the Devil he is.
Rudy as a Ballerina and he's not happy about it
Trevor as himself and Connor as the Grim reaper
Thursday, October 27, 2005
WHITE SOX WON! In honor of George, Linda's stepfather, we all salute the Chicago White Sox in their victory. We all know this is what George is doing up in heaven as he celebrates the news. George was a faithful fan and NEVER lost faith in his team.
Greetings from Springfield, MA. Well I wouldn’t recommend coming here for a vacation. I’m here to present at a conference. While the hotel is nice and it overlooks the Charles River, this is one heck of a depressed area. There are shops and shops that are empty, and the shops that are open, well if you like Duncan Donuts or Beauty Supplies, you are set. I’m supposed to get presents for the kids, but it is pretty slim pickings. I am also very surprised at the really blah style the people here have with regard to hair and clothes. This is astounding, because I am really not a fashion hound and cannot claim to have any “style” of my own, but wow, the people here have the maw-maw style down pat. Huge glasses, Maw maw jeans and everything. Astounding.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Kira dressed for Homecoming Dance
Lovely Ladies going to Homecoming, Sydney, Kira and Um
The first week of October ends and here is what we are up to. Linda submits her first chapter for the umpteenth time and is hoping that it is nearly a "go." Also the grant for work was submitted, and now the wait is on to see if her job will still be there come NEXT October. Connor insists he has been bumped around like a ping pong ball in his latest soccer game, but continues to like his new "competitive" league. He is making very good progress in school and has had EXCELLENT spelling test results so far. Trevor will have a winning season in Football. He is really a BMOC in Jr. High, getting elected to student council, making Jazz band, getting several A+s on his midterm report, having attend his first Jr. High dance, playing both offense and defense on Football, and getting nominated as a peer counselor. Kira is continuing to have a great XC season still varsity, having a PR in her last race for that course, and is going to the homecoming dance tonight. Today we drove to Waverly, IA to see a XC meet and to "meet" several college coaches. Great experience for her! Nathan is rolling along as well, and his Northwest JR. High kids will have thier state meet next Sat. Hope you all have a crisp and fun Autumn.
It is Not Halloween, it is HOMECOMING. Seniors are Super Heros.