Richie's Eye Injury

I wanted to fill you in on the happenings of the last 18 hours or so. Last night Rich and I were playing tennis with friends and as Rich was serving the ball, Richie standing diagonally in front of him turned and the ball hit his eye.

I noticed shortly after that there was blood in the eye (where the iris is) and he was complaining that he could not see out of it. We went to the ER and they diagnosed him with Hyphema (bleeding in the anterior of the eye) and a corneal abrasion (which is very painful). They admitted him for observation and until the Opthamologist could see him in the morning. He had to be on bed rest and sleep upright so that the blood would not pool at the back of his eye causing more problems.

The Ophtamologist's report this morning was good. He said the blood in the eye was at 5% as opposed to 10% the night before. There was no damage to the back of the eye and the prognosis was good for a full recovery. He said at least 24 hours more of bed rest, a patch for the eye, drops, and medicine for the pain. We are to see him again tomorrow at 1:30pm to check the progress. He thought the abrasion should be healed by then and that (hopefully) the blood in the eye would be completely absorbed.

We were discharged from the hospital, but as soon as we got home he started complaining of his stomach hurting and threw up (we think this was from the medicine on a mostly empty stomach). He still seems to be in a lot of pain, is still struggling with nausea, and is having a hard time leaving the eye alone. We are also concerned the eye might be bleeding again...it is hard to tell by just looking.

Please continue to pray for him. Thanks to everyone for all the prayers, thoughts, and kind deeds. We are truly grateful!

My First 5K: Documented for Posterity

Guess what?

I ran my first 5K last week! This was truly an amazing feat for me. I have never been a runner. In fact, I was the girl in gym class who huffed and puffed around the track claiming that I couldn't run. I must admit the odds were and (still are) stacked against me. I don't have a "runner's body". There is nothing long and lean about me. I'm a mere 5'0" tall.

This all started with The Big D. I started running to amp up my weight loss efforts. Over a six month period I slowly and gradually worked myself up to a point where I could run a good amount of time without stopping. At that point, I decided to bite the bullet and sign up to run a 5K(3.1 miles) with my husband, Rich, and friend, Shelley.

I trained mostly with Rich who is not a mere 5'0" tall. He's a much more significant 6'0" tall. He was so sweet and helpful and ran right alongside me even though it was more difficult for him to run at a slower pace. He also helped me work through some of the mental stuff, which turned out to be a BIG part of the battle for me.

I didn't set any speed records, but I met my goal of running the entire distance (without stopping) and finishing in under 40 minutes. My official time was 38:22.5. And do you know what? I actually enjoyed it! I didn't enjoy all of the training, but I definitely enjoyed the race. In fact (now brace yourself for this one), I'm running another one in about two weeks! I'd like to satisfy my curiosity by seeing if I can run it a bit faster. After this one, I plan to take a break for awhile and not push quite so hard.

Anyway, that's a little bit about what has been going on with me. Thanks to all of you who have encouraged me and prayed for me along the way. It really meant so much to me!

Shelley and I (BR - before the race)

Rich and I (BR)

Shelley and I (AR - After the race)

Rich and I (AR)

Happy Mother's Day!

Rich and I miss our Moms (and families) on a daily basis, but there are days like today that make us miss them more than usual.. We both feel that we are where we belong, but being away from family is never easy. Our Moms and Dads miss out not only on the big days (like today) but also on the day to day moments of our lives. I don't always do a great job of keeping them up to date on what we are doing so I thought I would take this opportunity to share with them some our memories from the last year. We love you all so much. And our hearts miss you especially on days like today. Please know we consider ourselves very blessed to call you "Mother".

The Noticer: A Giveaway - The Winner!

Oops. I forgot to post the winner to the book giveaway yesterday. Seriously, the state of this blog is sad, sad, sad.

Anyway, I used Random.org to generate a number because writing out six whole slips of paper with your names on them seemed like a little too much work! Haha!

Anyway, without further ado...

The winner is

PAM!!!!!!!

Congratulations, Pam! I really loved your response by the way and can definitely relate! I'll send you an email so we can work out delivery! ;-)

The Noticer: A Giveaway

I've decided to give away my copy of The Noticer. See review below.


Leave a comment about a time in your life when a little change of perspective made a BIG difference in your life!

All comments must be left before midnight on Thursday, May 7th. I'll announce the winner on Friday, May 8th!

The Noticer: A Book Review

I recently read The Noticer by Andy Andrews and was immediately drawn in by the title. I consider myself a perceptive person and often find myself "noticing" others and caring about their general sense of well-being. I thought this book was going to be about taking the time to notice others, but it turned out to be more about perspective than perception.

The Noticer is a story about a man named "Jones" who appears in the lives of various people when they are in need of a "little perspective". Jones shares his wisdom in an effort to set each person on the right track.

From a Christian perspective, I can't say that I agreed with Jones on all points. However, I gleaned several bits of wisdom reading about his encounters and was able to appreciate the general concept - the impact perspective can make on a person's life. I found the concepts and general feel of the book seemed to be oversimplified, but it was a quick, easy read and enjoyable overall.

50 Years!

Today marks a very special day. Rich's parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary! We are so thankful for their beautiful example of a committed Christian marriage.

Happy Anniversary
Dick and Joanne!