Monday, July 30, 2007

Finally.......a Surgery Date!

I don't know why I put an exclaimation point because I'm sure not excited. I guess it's because it has been a long, somewhat unexpected two month wait to get it scheduled and I'm happy to have a date. The surgery is scheduled for August 21st. It actually works out well because I get to celebrate our anniversary (10th) and my birthday (19th) before the surgery.

Reality starts to set in now that the plan is actually in motion. I'm not fearful, I just don't want to go through all of the hassle that comes along with it. I am still praying that God will allow it to heal before that surgery date arrives. But I also know that sometimes God works miracles through the hands of surgeons. God's in control. His plan is perfect. He will see this to the end.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Furry Friend


Sprockett......where does one begin trying to describe a cat like him? Some friends and family have even questioned his existence since he hides when most people come over. That meow.....how sweet it was when he was a kitten......how utterly annoying it can be on mornings you just want to sleep past 6:00 am and he demands to be fed so he can be back to sleep by 6:30 am. His favorite call in the middle of the night......urp, urp, Urp, Urp, URP, URP...YACK! The sweet sound signaling another gift of Sprockett's famous fur ball graciously left on the carpet. I know Janay hears it, but she usually does a wonderful job of pretending to be sound asleep. He's a pig. I think he would eat until he popped. If he and his sister Sara Lee are fed at the same time, he gulps his down and proceeds to sit with his face so close to her bowl that she eventually gets so annoyed she leaves. Since she is the boss, he doesn't dare try to take it from her. Instead he has figured out that being the annoying "little bother" will earn him at least four or five bites of her food. And finally, that breath. His nickname isn't carcass mouth for nothing....phew!

With all of these "faults" one might wonder how he's managed to stay in our household for ten years. Plain and simple.....love. The crazy cat captured our hearts the first time we saw him at Petsmart in Greenwood. He was there from the Southside Animal Shelter......and he had poop all over his rear end! Janay still wanted him in spite of his "faults". I wasn't so sure. After a few days under our bed, he started to get comfortable in his new surroundings and that wonderful personality emerged. He acts more like a dog than a cat. He watches me leave in the morning from the front window. He greets me at the door with his loud meow when I get home. His favorite place is on my lap, whether that be relaxing in the recliner or rolling around the house with me in my wheelchair. If I'm home, he's typically close by.
What is it about pets that allow us to become so attached to them? We haven't been able to have children because of my spinal cord injury, so maybe our cats somewhat fill that role. But I don't think that is the only reason. I just love animals. I can't watch "Emergency Vets" on the Animal Planet channel without getting choked up. I guess I'm just a sucker for animals. Sprockett's my pal and always makes me smile.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Still No Date

No surgery date yet. I'm not sure how long I can continue to be "nice" when I call them. I have learned in life that not being "nice" typically doesn't help, so I will probably just continue waiting.

Photography has kept me very busy lately. People that Janay works with have had my phone ringing often. She told me a while back that if I do good work, the word will spread quickly among her co-workers. I'll assume the ringing phone means I've done good work and people are happy. Truthfully, I get as much satisfaction out of someone telling me how much they love their pictures as I do making a little money. A mom recently e-mailed me and said that a slideshow I made from the photos of her one year old daughter made her and her husband cry. I'm sure I had a huge smile on my face as I read that. Heck, my eyes even watered a little when I watched the slideshow (I told Janay my contact lenses were bothering me).

As much as I enjoy taking pictures of people, I still enjoy just going into the backyard and taking pictures of whatever pops up. The other day I chased this butterfly back and forth while it inspected each purple coneflower next to our house. The butterfly would make its way down the entire row and then turn around and go back over the flowers it had just visited. After doing this several times, I decided I had bothered enough and let the butterfly eat in peace.

Monday, July 16, 2007

It's a Big World

This past weekend we finished up Phase II of the wood floor project at our house (more on that later). Janay's family was doing the work while I supervised.....ok......I checked in on occasion to see if anyone needed anything and then got out of the way.

Corbin and Carly were over so I got to play with them and have fun while everyone else worked. Isn't that what a good supervisor does? It's fun to watch them explore the backyard. They like to roam around, check out the flowers and see what else they can find. When I saw them standing below the enormous blue spruces, I was awed by just how large they are. I couldn't fit half the tree in my camera viewfinder when I took the picture. To the kids, they are just another stand of trees. To me, they are just another one of God's miracles that we overlook day after day. What does it take for us to truly open our eyes and see the small miracles that surround us everyday?

Enough with the serious stuff. Corbin and Carly had fun. I had fun. I know eveyone else had fun too.......even though I worked them all like a dog!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

I thought I had heard it all..........

After 12 years in a wheelchair, I am use to people curiously staring. Some occasionally work up enough nerve to ask what happened. People have posed some crazy questions and made silly comments before, but someone topped them all the other day.

A man in line behind me at Lowe's comments on my lightweight wheelchair and how he's spent his share of time in one and blah, blah, blah. He the asks why I was in one. I tell him it was a motocross accident and how I'm blessed to be able to walk some. That's when he comes back with, "Well I noticed you hadn't lost much meat on them legs." Janay didn't hear him, but we rolled with laughter in the parking lot.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

No News to Report

Still no surgery date as of today (7/10). I spoke with the nurse last week and she said they are working on it. My doctor wants another specialist from I.U. Med Center to assist him so the 7 to 8 hour surgery will be cut down to around 5 hours. Coordinating the two doctors schedules has been difficult from what I've been told. The nurse promised me at least a weeks notice.....we'll see.

I have been busy with the photography business recently. I haven't actively pursued work not knowing when my surgery is going to be, but work is finding me. Tonight I have an appointment with five children between the ages 2 and 5. Hopefully the weather will cooperate so I can take them outside and let them run wild. It should be interesting. Below are a couple photos from recent shoots.




11:00 pm Update - The shoot with the five children went well tonight. We had a fun time chasing them around the yard. I think all of the adults involved will sleep well tonight :) Below are a couple from the shoot.