Spring Is Here!

It has been almost forever since I've posted here, so I thought it was time to write an update. Because today was so incredibly gorgeous, I took a break from grading approximately 437 papers (end of the 3rd nine weeks and all) and took a few snapshots of the prettiness in our yard.

First, this is the view out my front window from the living room. Unfortunately my camera doesn't seem to capture the color as prettily as it is in person. (I will have to work on different times of the day to see if I can capture it more exactly.)

Our frilly solid yellow daffodils have all spent themselves out, but these lovelies (in two different locations) are still going strong.

Now for an update on all of us:

Logan is working hard clearing some land with his brothers-in-law (easier to type than my brother and our BIL) and getting the RV park ready for its spring reopening.

I am of course busy with school (see aforementioned grading papers) but am also working hard to take better care of myself. It is paying off too! I managed to walk/jog 3 miles on the treadmill this morning in under 48 minutes (a personal record). I am also really enjoying yoga class once a week. It is such a workout, but I feel amazing doing it. I'm still managing to find a bit of crafty time and have some projects completed with a few more in progress.

Ansley is so busy with 8th grade! She is participating in extra band practice once a week to get ready for a competition/Six Flags trip (plus the spring concert is coming up soon). She continues to progress nicely on the piano with a lesson each week. She's also involved in 4-H poultry judging with weekly practice until the competition in early April.

Macey is staying busy with two dance classes each week (fortunately on the same night) and is practicing daily for 4-H DPA (District Project Achievement) competition this coming Saturday. She placed first in her class for her presentation on Pompeii, and she is really hoping to place first at district too. After the competition is over, we have promised to take the girls to see the movie "The Hunger Games." Ansley has read all three books and absolutely cannot wait for the movie.

Hopefully you're enjoying your spring weather too. We are praying that this nice weather will remain, although many people say this year's weather pattern is the same as the year of The Blizzard (3/13/93). So far so good! Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, stay safe!

Wear Red TODAY!

Today is the American Heart Association's "Go Red for Women" day. Did you know that heart disease is still the #1 killer of women in America? Get your red on, show your support, adopt a heathier lifestyle, and spread the word!

Pink Eye

NOTE: Ansley is very embarrassed by this although we keep telling her that there is no reason at all to be embarrassed!

Last week, Ansley's right eye was bothering her a bit. We thought maybe a sty was developing, so we applied a warm compress every so often and OTC eye drops as needed. Off we went with life in general.

Saturday morning, she woke up to a horribly red eye and a bit of goop. We decided that we'd better not mess around with this, so off to the Clinic at Wal-Mart (run by Union General and friend Dr. Debora). The nurse was great. She checked Ansley's eye for abrasions or foreign objects, with a black light after adding some eye drops first. You should have seen that eyeball glow! No problems there, so probably bacterial pink eye since the problem was relegated to one eye only. Start a round of antibiotic eye drops and if things don't improve, take her to the eye doctor. Oh, and by the way, she could be contagious for up to 24 hours after starting the eye drops.

We stayed home from church yesterday but would have gone to school today had it not been canceled due to the ice that is still lingering on the back roads (and our driveway). Her eye has cleared up some so we will wait and see about going to the eye doctor.

The good news is that she will go to the orthodontist this afternoon to get the wire that came off of the back left bracket over Christmas fixed. Whew. What a sentence. Hopefully it won't be any big deal at the ortho. Shouldn't be.

Also, today Logan went and had bloodwork done as part of his routine physical. I'm proud of him for taking better care of himself!