Math Question

Thursday I had one of those scramble-teacher moments. I'd been out sick for three days, and I was only two weeks into a brand new Math program that I was piloting. Due to that, I was uncomfortable about going onto the next lesson in the manual - I couldn't do that until I looked through the past three days' assignments and knew the kids were understanding what was being presented.

By the same token, I had twenty-three children who needed a worthwhile Math assignment! I suddenly realized I could connect the day's Math to something else we study every week. I did a very quick google and then put the following words on the board:

exponent

fraction

sine

geometry

calculate

logarithm

percent

trigonometry

Then I posed the question: These Math terms have something in common and are connected to something we study here in class. What is the connection? Hint: dictionaries might provide some clues.

Always up for a challenge, they jumped right on it! I told them that if they thought they knew the answer, to jot it down on a scrap piece of paper, and I would look at it and confirm or deny. It took about twenty minutes, but one girl had a BINGO moment and got it. Was she excited! That only encouraged the other kids to scratch their heads and dig a little deeper.

Can YOU solve this? I will post the answer in a day or two!

I Don't Speak Russian!!

Note to self:

Next time my recently returned-from-Russia missionary son leaves town for the weekend, check my Facebook account before he departs.

Otherwise, if he has borrowed the laptop and logged onto Facebook in Russian and forgotten to log himself off, I'm toast and will have to wait until he returns home, deciphers the Russian, logs himself off, and changes everything back into English so I can get on.

Le sigh. (That was French.)

Friend?

Yesterday was my first day back after having been so ill. I was glad to see the kids, and they seemed happy to see me, too. I got lots of hugs from the girls, nods from the boys, and there were plenty of smiles all around.

It did surprise me, though, when a 5th grade boy walked in, spied me, and cried, "Cool! You're back! Now both of my friends who were sick are back at school."

Friend? Friend?! The more I think about it, the more complimented I feel!

The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways

In the "The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways" department...

If I didn't have diverticulitis, I would've been out visiting teaching tonight with my partner, Lisa Connolly. And if I'd been visiting teaching tonight, I would've missed a PHONE CALL from Sarah's birth son, Isaac.

Totally out of the blue, and he was actually wanting to talk to her so he called me to get her phone number, but still... I got to hear his voice for a few minutes!!

Sarah texted me later and said he'd called. I hope I get to hear what he said.

I never thought I would say this, but I am GRATEFUL to have diverticulitis!!

Acts of Kindness - A New Perspective

Sometimes when you are the recipient of a small act of kindness, it puts things in perspective. You discover just how important a small act can be.

Case in point: Yesterday as I sat in the waiting room for my CT scan, I was cold. I'd had the chills since the middle of the night, and although the waiting room was warm, I was still freezing and was huddled under my jacket.

"Would you like a blanket?" I heard, and standing in front of me was the receptionist, holding out a hospital blanket. Not only that, she'd had it warmed in their blanket heater! I reached out for it, and she suggested, "Let's wrap it around your shoulders and behind you so you're really warm." Then she proceeded to help me get all wrapped up!

It was absolute bliss! I actually pulled it up over my head and just sank into that warmth, dozing off there in the chair, all toasty and warm while I waited for my turn in the scanner.

Probably a very small act for her, but what an impact on me. It warmed my body AND, even better, it warmed my heart.

Not Fair!!

It is not fair. (Yes, I am whining.) Whenever I exercise, something goes awry with a joint and I end up in the doctor's office. Set a goal (and attain it) to eat 5 fruits and veggies a day, and I end up with diverticulitis and flat on my back in bed for a couple of days.

Yesterday morning I felt some pain in my left side when I woke up. It progressed throughout the day until evening when it became very sharp and had me up during the night. I went to Med Express at 8 this morning. They did blood work, other tests, and an xray then sent me to the hospital where I had a CT scan. The diagnosis is diverticulitis, an inflammation of the diverticula in the colon. There was the possibility that I would be admitted; fortunately they let me come home.

The doctor says the change in diet has caused this. For a while I cannot eat raw veggies or fruit. I have to have everything cooked until the colon heals. I may be able to go back to work Wednesday depending on when the antibiotics kick in (two different ones.)

::sigh:: Back to a diet high in fat, I guess.

Family Health Challenge

Several of us in the family began a health challenge together last Tuesday. We are modeling it on the Hershey Biggest Loser Challenge (I'm in that, too) so I have support at home, online, and at work!

My goal this week was to eat 5 fruits and veggies every day. I dropped a surprising amount of weight doing just that. (I'll reveal it on Tuesday when we all assess points for the first week.) I am also trying to eat healthier overall, but I am not dieting. At least not yet.

Today I got started on the Wii Fit. As I put in my height, age, and weight, I was surprised (and a little mad) to see that my Mii got plumped up to reflect my weight. Hey, can't I at least be skinny there??? :D It was kind of funny...

I also learned that my balance is waaaay bad. I knew it wasn't good, but I was surprised to try the balance games and see how poorly I did. We moved to Indiana the day I got my cast off from my ankle surgery, so I never rehabbed it. I knew it was weak, but that was another surprise from the Wii Fit for me. I love the balance exercises on the Wii and was making good progress with them today.

Cole took my bike upstairs for me so I can set it up on the trainer and start cycling. I hate indoor cycling because it is so boring, but I am going to try to watch movies on the computer while I spin.

My mantra is that, if I am struggling, don't give up - tomorrow is another day. "Just keep swimming!" as Dorrie said in Finding Nemo!

Boys Will Be Boys!

Ashley took this picture of Kyle and Braden tossing snowballs to Zeus in the snow at Christmas. Hard to imagine Zeus can leap that high, as old and creaky as he is now! But I guess "boys will be boys"... after all, consider how old the man is who is throwing those snowballs ! (Hmmmmm, Kyle?? :D)

My Family!

I am just now sorting through the zillions of pictures we took after Cole returned and getting them posted. Here are a few from the family pictures we took the day after Christmas. I love the one of all our children, in age order, jumping in the snow!

Second Post of the Day - Zeus

Sarah posted the following on her blog. I removed the pictures (they caused publishing problems) but saved the text.

And because I have a feeling Zeus is not going to be with us much longer, I thought I would post a little something about him today.

Meet Zeus, former K9. Seriously. When we lived in Illinois, his handler lived behind us. I would always see this GREAT big Lab hanging in the backyard, looking forlorn. AS I got to know the neighbors, I found out that the wife did not like dogs, and thus Zeus was an outdoor dog. One evening, Zeus started barking around 1:30 a.m. J.C. was a baby, and I remember waking up suddenly knowing that something was wrong. When I heard Zeus's bark, I knew immediately that it was a DANGER bark. Sure enough our neighbor the cop had come out and let Zeus into our backyard(knowing that we would be grateful!). There was a commotion, and we saw a flashlight and heard some crashing. It turns out Zeus had seen a prowler in our backyard by a window and had let Tim know there was a problem. From that day on, I knew that I would return the favor to Zeus, as he had prevented something potentially serious from happening.

About a year later, Tim told me that the police department was going to retire Zeus, as his hips were giving him some trouble. He happened to mention that they were looking for a home. I perked up and thought of my parents who had not had a dog since our beloved Duffy had passed away a few years earlier. I mentioned it to my parents who kind of gave a "we'll see" response. At First. Within a few days, my parents had adopted Zeus and taken him home to live his new and improved life. No more outside dog!!!

Since that time Zeus has made a special place in all our hearts. He has saved my sister from danger in a gas station, protected the house from my own brother (Ha Ha), has a fan club, and has earned the title "My Favorite Zeus". For a long time, Black was Trinity's favorite color, because that was the color of Zeus. This dog is seriously special. I am grateful to have had a part in bringing him into our lives. It will be really hard to say goodbye for good.

Zeus - an Update

I sent the following to my kids today as an update on Zeus' declining health.

Zeus continues to be happy and in good spirits. The tumors are growing and he seems to be having some difficulty getting comfortable when he sleeps. I intend to put some pillows down by his bed to hold his head up since the chest tumor puts him at an awkward angle..

Saturday afternoon I noticed he was bleeding from his snout. I assumed he'd bumped his head on something and cleaned him up. Sunday afternoon he had four more bleeds, so we knew this was not just running into a corner but something more serious.

I called the vet and took him in this afternoon. She found nothing and sent us home with the caution to bring him back immediately if he bled again. Well, he started bleeding in the parking lot, so we went back inside and he had some x-rays.

The news isn't good. It looks as though there is a mass in his upper right jaw and most likely that is cancerous. It is also possible that he has an abscessed tooth, but he doesn't have the mouth soreness, etc. that accompanies that. (She did give him an antibiotic, just in case.) One more possibility is that he had a blood clotting issue.

The vet is pretty sure the mass is cancer, though, and if it is, surgery is not an option due to his age. We will focus on keeping him comfortable as long as possible.

When he bleeds, it is pretty messy and that is a problem. For example, he bled again during his dinner tonight after we got home from the vet, and there was a mess larger than a dinner plate on the door, more on the floor, etc. (How he got it on the door, especially that much, is a mystery!) It also makes him sneeze, so we have been cleaning walls etc. It has been going everywhere.

Dad and I are sad this evening. We're eating our own dinner while Zeus hangs out, watching us hopefully. Like I said, he's acting pretty normally, and that makes us laugh and feel a bit better.

The Nutcracker Ballet

I took my mother and sisters to see a performance of The Nutcracker Ballet January 2. Two former and two current students danced in it. And, they are pairs of sisters!