Whew!

Postcards - I have received Michigan, North Carolina and Indiana. Thanks!

Cruise - Getting way too excited, it is less than a week away that I leave California for Michigan and then just a few short days there til we go down to Fort Lauderdale! Packing is getting a bit confusing, so could you Michigan people please have Carribean weather so I don't have to pack two different seasons of clothes?!? One of the teachers here went on the EXACT same cruise in December, same ship and everrything. She has told me about the excursions she went on. Of course they were all the all day expensive ones, so I won't be following in her footsteps. But she did recommend the line dancing on the ship and got me some informtaion on the wireless cababilities.

Adam - We went back to the Orthopedic surgeon today and went over the results of Adam's CT Scan. (He has now had, multiple Xrays, an MRI, and a CT Scan) His right leg is 3/4 of an inch shorter than his left. So in February they are going to stop the growth in the left leg (outpatient) and then in June/July (when school is out), they will do the major surgery of removing the bad part of his tibia and putting in a metal plat and screws. That will stop both legs from growing in the tibia and fibia. However the femurs and the spine will continue to grow. The doctor measured Adam and he is 5' 7 3/8" right now. He figures he has approximately 1/2 -1" further he will grow from the femurs and spine. I am 5' 10" and Taj is just over 5' 8". So that will put Adam right on target. The doctor is Dr. Osterkamp and is very renowned in the area. He is the Chairman of the Board for Verdugo Hills Hospital and has done quite a bit of pro bono work for students in the District. We just happened upon him and thank our lucky starts.

Marisa - Is such a great mom. She is doing very well taking good care of Caitlyn. She has gotten completely out of maternity clothes and looks awesome. She went to the doctor yesterday for her 6 week check up and everything is fine (at least that is what she told me).

Caitlyn - is ADORABLE! But of course you all know that by seeing all the wonderful pictures. But you ain't seen nothing yet! Wait til you SEE her and cuddle with her smell her (doing the good times). I heard through the grapevine (Mel) that Gretchen is coming in April. Marisa is going to Minnesota with Caitlyn sometime in May. Our house is open for visitors, or there is a nice hotel not too far.

Link - There will never be enough words to express how thankful I am to AUnt Mry for helping us check out Link. She was limping and then wouldn't do much of anything. She was getting lethargic and then started getting hot spots and biting them and then throwing up. I was seriously getting very worried and going through what our choices would be. When the doctor told me how much it would cost to get xrays done, and then if the worst (hip displacia) was confirmed how much surgery would be, I knew my choices were then going to be very limited. Kathy mentioned to Mary the turmoil we were in and she offered to help. Link got her xrays and treatment for the hot spots. (Marisa, post a picture of her in her cone) Arthitis and old age (9 as opposed to the 7 we thought) were to blame. Her hips and knees are fine. She has some pills she takes once a day and is like a new pup again.

Taj - Is still working at Home Depot and living in Simi Valley. He has suffered a loss in his family recently and is thinking of going abroad sometime in the near future.

DSL - Is WONDERFUL! We had the cable guy come in and set us up with Cable connection for the internet now. WOW what a difference. No more waiting for the dial up. I have AOL until the end of February and think I may keep it even after that. The cable guy recommended it even because he says they (AOL) have the best antivirus stuff. Also, if you have a connection other than Dial up AOL is cheaper. We have been with them for almost 10 years now so maybe if I threaten to leave they can do something for me. When I signed up for the DSL, the clerk at the cable company office handed me an installation kit and said here you go! HUH? What? I have to do this myself? I turned to Marisa and said Here ya go! She took hold of it and got to work on it at home only to realize we don't have a cable connection in that room. Whoops! I went back to the office and asked about installing one. The clerk looks at me a little funny and says "Ma'am you have 7 tvs in your home." Yeah what's your point? "You need another connection?", yes I don't have a connection near the computer. Still bewildered, "with 7 tvs?" YES! She went in the back office and came back saying they would do it for free. I guess 7 is a magic number!

I guess that's enough of an update. I still haven't figured out how to put up pictures, ok I never really tried. But I promise to take great pictures on the cruise and put them somewhere for everyone to see.

Hook em!