San Diego in September

I (Lori) was away last week for the annual conference of the American Academy of Family Physicians. It is the first time I have attended their large, national conference and it was impressive. I spent A LOT of time in very good lectures and it helped renew my enthusiasm for family medicine. My good friend Sarah went with me and we did have fun. We took some time to stroll in the "Gaslamp" district and sit outside of the cafe people-watching. One afternoon we took off and went to "OB" - Ocean Beach. It is a very laid-back little beach town that seemed classic Southern California. It was a throw-back to the Sixties with a burger joint called "Ho-Dad's" and an infamous store called "The Black" that sold tie-dyed T-shirts and drug paraphenalia. Dude! We sat and relaxed on the beach then walked the longest pier on the West Coast at night. It was incredible. We also were able to visit a state park high on a point above the bay/harbor. There is a lighthouse there and it used to be a military surveillance point in WWII - used after Pearl Harbor Day to watch for a possible attack on the coast. Now there is a large naval base in San Diego and we watched naval ships coming in and out as well.

I did have a severe allergic reaction to some food I ate and ended up in the ER. That was weird but I'm fine now and have a new appreciation for everything I eat. My doctor is trying to figure out what it is I'm allergic to and now I carry an EpiPen.

Eric did a GREAT job with the kids while I was gone. What an awesome husband! I owe him big now though and he is not likely to forget it.

The kids are great and all of us are looking forward to Halloween. The dentist today said Alex's tooth is looking pretty good and so far, no surgery to remove it.What a blessing!!

Photos from CA (click on them to enlarge):

What Happens When Mommy Slips Away for a Few Days (NO PICTURES)

Lori has run off with her buddy Sara for a "medical conference". Of course every time I hear from her, she is looking at boats, eating at Nobu, or goofing around. I'm not really sure what they do at these "medical conferences" but I assume a large part is sitting around laughing at their spouses trying to do it by themselves for 5 days. While I trust Lori and Sara, I am worried they might meet the San Diego Chicken and get swept off their feet.

As for me, the kids are sensing weakness in me and going for it. I should have known that they had figured out that Lori was gone for a bit when the little ones stopped scratching and biting each other and starting heading to random rooms being relatively silent. When Alex and Katie are together and quiet, only bad things can happen. In fact when I hear the sounds of silence, my heart stops, I run to get the Spot Shot and then take off to find whatever they have done.

All said and done, the week is going OK and I am feeling like I will survive. I just need to make it until Friday afternoon when my sister-in-law will spell me for a bit and then I can handle the rest. It's strange how Lori and I are always talking about how much she works and never gets to see the kids or me, but only 2 days into her trip, I am realizing exactly how much she does see me and help me when she is here. I hope she relaxes and enjoys herself because she does an amazing job at work and at home and this trip reminds me of that.

"Absense makes the heart grow fonder" has always been a saying I understood but now I UNDERSTAND it. I am glad Lori is getting a chance to get away, learn (which she loves), and spend time with a good friend/collegue. However, I am selfishly awaiting her return.

Maybe I've lived in Missouri too long

So, I am in the living room with my 3 little angels (I am told by law you must use "cutsie" terms of endearment to refer to your kids on your family blog). Ryan turns to me and says,"daddy, can we have some hick juice".

"What????," I said as I turned to look at my eldest child. "what did you say?"

Ryan replied, "Can we have hick juice with dinner?"

My mind started to wonder. hick juice? What is that? Where would they have heard a term like that and what could it be? I thought maybe he read it in a book. So I asked, "Ryan, what is hick juice?"

Ryan said, "You know daddy, hick juice like we had for lunch"

At this point I wondered what he was talking about but I knew for lunch they hadn't had moonshine so i was a bit relieved and since I had made lunch and there was nothing hick about them. There was nothing hick about the juice......

Finally Ryan says, "Daddy, you know, H, I, C juice"

Still not sure until Alex chimes in, "Hi-C. Yeay. I want hick juice."

Hope Now

I've been listening to KLOVE(online radio at www.klove.com)a lot lately. Sometimes the problems of the world just make me so negative - so pessimistic. A song I happened to hear really made me think and it really helped lift my spirits tonight. Something to come back to when the darkness creeps in........


"Hope Now" - Addison Road

If everything comes down to love
Then just what am I afraid of
When I call out Your name
Something inside awakes in my soul
How quickly I forget I'm Yours

I'm not my own
I've been carried by You
All my life

Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free

When my life is like a storm
Rising waters all I want is the shore
You say I'll be ok and
Make it through the rain
You are my shelter from the storm

I'm not my own
I've been carried by You
All my life

Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free

Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free
You've become my hearts desire
I will sing Your praises higher
Cause Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free

One-on-one Time

We've been really busy. We had friends over on Sunday for a BBQ. Some were new friends that have moved to this area from China. It was wonderful serving them the tea I brought from China last year and hearing Mandarin spoken in our house.

This last few weeks before school started I tried to take my days off and spend one-on-one time with each of the kids. I took them to different places - Silver Dollar City, the park, and to Kansas City to a wedding. We had a great time and it was nice to have special time alone with each of them. Here are some photos: