hi. Just checking in.

Lydia performs in Blame it on the Wolf today at school!

The girls performed in TruthWorks - The Musical at church this week!

National Piano Guild Competition
Emily and Lydia with their wonderful piano teacher.
They both made Superior marks!
Congradulations Girls!

APRIL: April has come and gone. It was a crazy month, and I am going to try my best to post more often now that life is a little less crazy. There is a lot to catch up on, so here goes….Nana and Pop took a wonderful 2 week cruise around Italy and the Greek Isles. They went with alumni from Ga. Tech and saw wonderful sights and I cannot wait to see their pictures. The problem is that often when they leave town, bad things happen. This time it was a couple of bad things. Both of which have turned out fine, by the way.

FIRST BAD: Early in April I began to have headaches, and they just would not go away. By the end of the first week I had talked to my Doc and switched from Tylenol to Percocet. By week two I was in the hospital on the “strongest migraine meds ever created” and they were not helping much, but the Demerol sure was nice. They scanned and re-scanned. The also had me on an anti-seizure med, Depakote. I don’t know why. Finally they decided to do a lumbar puncture, measure the opening pressure, and take a look at the cerebral spinal fluid. The guy who did the test said my CSF pressure was high and proceeded to drain some fluid off. They ran test on the fluid and everything looked good. I started feeling better after the LP, but the neurologist said that my CSF pressure was fine and to ignore the other guy. In fact I felt so good; they sent me home the next day, only to experience the joys of the “post lumbar puncture headache.” I was pain free when horizontal, but standing up was a nightmare. This happens in more than 70% of folks who get a LP and was expected. It’s just seems strange that they use a LP to help diagnose a headache, and the LP then gives you a headache. Hmmm. That headache lasted thru week three. After missing so much school, I had to withdraw from my classes, but thankfully I did so before my GPA was affected. I am still having some headaches from time to time, but they are not awful. They put me on Topamax, which is a migraine preventative. So, was it a migraine, or was it increased CSF pressure? Will we ever know for sure? It was a rough time, but family and friends were there, and the girls ended up having a fairly good spring break without me. My sweet, sweet husband made sure everything was taken care of, including me. You know someone really loves you when they will get in the shower with you, clean you up, wash your hair, dispite the risk of being vomited on. He is a good man.

SECOND BAD: The other bad thing happened at Nan and Pop’s house. Poor guys! They finally got home from their trip and their basement was flooded. After being awake for 20+ hours flying home, Pop bailed water until 2am, when the man finally gave up for the night. And yes, he is almost 70. He’s my hero. The hot water heater was broken and the basement was saturated. So they had a new tankless system installed. They are still cleaning.

FAMILY: Now for the fun and happy news….Brother Paul and family learned that they got the family housing they wanted at Emory. Yea! He starts school in the fall and they will be moving mid-summer. Niece Rebecca will be coming for a week this summer to hang with the girlies. They are sooo excited, as am I. Paul and Nana both had birthdays. Yea!

MUSIC: Keith and I went to see Bruce Springsteen last week and it rocked. Last night Keith saw Bon Jovi and said it too was a great show. I have recently gotten lots of great new tunes from my friends Sue and Rosa. This makes me very happy!

WORK: I am back to work now and really enjoying it. Although the last two shifts provided little sleep, I did get to watch a massive MI on the EKG and worked a couple of cool wrecks. And I won an award! It was for Region III - Excellence in Pediatric Care for a call I ran on a little 10 year old girl last year. It was a terrible wreck; two drunk teenagers hit a family in a minivan. The van rolled and hit a concrete post and the little girl’s neck was shattered. She was practically decapitated. I was sure she was dead, but she was such a fighter. After a long recovery, she is now up and running around. She got her life back. That is why I love my job.

GIRLS: Today is Piano Guild. The girls will compete in front of judges and be scored. They are both nervous and excited and I am sure they will do a great job. They are still practicing hard for their spring choir musical at church. Lydia has pioneer day this Friday at school. She has made her own apron and today we will finish her skirt. Emily had a really fun field trip to the aquarium and World of Coke museum. She came home with her very own glass bottle of real Coke and wanted to drink it that night with dinner. Like any good mother would, I told her no, and let her have it with her cereal the next morning. Saturday they are off to the Renaissance Festival for some fun with the Rainey family.

That’s the news for now, hopefully the next post will be sooner and shorter!

Well, finals are done and I have started my next quarter. So far so good! It's been a little while, so I'll try to catch you up.... Emily got braces, and hinges, and screws and all kinds of things in her mouth last week. She is still taking Motrin. Lydia got the part she wanted in our church's spring musical. She gets to talk about broccoli! And everyone liked my new Asian-Meatball-Stir-Fry-Veggies dinner last week. Emily was inducted into the Junior Beta Club, Keith spent the weekend at a church men's retreat (with my Dad), and we had a fantastic Easter. We went to church, BIL Kevin also came to church, then to the park for a bucket of chicken and playtime. It was fun! Tuesday night we went to a meeting at the middle school for parent's of upcoming 6th graders. That was a little scary. It's big. After the meeting we went to Little Five and heard the BoDeans. That was great! Love the BoDeans. Love my hubby for taking me. You can check the band out here....

http://www.myspace.com/bodeans

Looking forward to summer! One chaper test, three finals exams to go. I'll be finish with this quarter next Monday. See you then!

We had a bit of an impromptu neighborhood driveway party last night. The Taylors from across the street were up and out with their kids, so we joined them to watch the eclipse. It was pretty neat, even thought it was a little cloudy. That's Michael down on the ground working with his camera trying to get a good moon shot. His pictures turned out way better than mine. Mine look like, well, nothing. They are just black. It's fun to have groovy neighbors!

This picture always makes me smile. This week we are remembering Keith's Dad, Harvey. It's been three years. We miss you Granddad.

The new doors have been installed and Keith and I went out on a date! We saw Definitely, Maybe. It was a cute romantic comedy that meshed perfectly with our mood for the evening. We had a great time talking and strolling around Atlantic Station looking for food. It was a great night!

School is going well. I had myself all psyched up for being done on March 17th. Done that is until next fall. After some thought though, it occurred to me that there were these two other intro classes I could take this year instead of next fall. They are part of the program classes that you can take early if you want to. After much deliberation and talking to some folks at school, I think I will go ahead and take them this spring. It will make my life a little easier later on, and the classes sound like they won’t be too difficult. Intro to Computers I can take online and Intro to Healthcare only meets one day a week. And you learn to do cool stuff like take a pulse, a BP and perform CPR! Let's just say I expect to do well in that one. So I will have a one week break between terms instead of no school till fall. But it may improve my GPA which is always a good idea!

Happy Valentines day!
Things I love about Keith:
He always double checks the locks at night before bed.
His all-telling eyebrows, when they scrunch, something is not quite right. This is very helpful when talking about the kids or bills.
Sometimes at dinner, he turns our prayer into a fun cheer.
He has really clean feet.
Election time in the Pierce house is a blast thanks to Keith.
His ability to see straight thru me, followed by the grace not to point out my faults.
He always puts the seat down.
They way he inspires and challenges the girls.
His voice, whether he is singing, giggling, or whispering.
They way he drums on the steering wheel when a great songs comes on the radio. It's really fun to watch!
He encourages me to reach my goals, even when they are not his goals.
He keeps the checkbook balanced.
His love, for without it I would not be near as cool as I am.

Vote! Midterms. Mexico. Eye Doctor. Lab. Doors.
Just a few ramdom things found on this weeks calender. I will be finished with midterms by Wed., Nana and Pop are in Mexico all week, and I need to order new doors for the house. Yay, new doors! Keith and I decided to get new exterior doors for each other for Christmas this year, not very glamorous, but very much needed. Right now in A&P we are doing a unit on the digestive system and the cardiovascular system. In lab we are drawing various tissues like the stomach, liver, heart and so forth. They look so cool under the scope. Much neater than a drawing could ever show. To me the heart is probably the most cool. Can't wait to see how the primary turns out tomorrow. Get out there and VOTE!

It's a plant cell. Emily created this for her science project and the kitchen has just now begun to recover. I am so proud of how the girls are doing this week with all of their projects. Lydia turned in a wonderful weather project this morning and right now Keith and Em are at Hobby Lobby (by far his LEAST favorite place to go ever, tied only with Joann's) to get supplies. Now Em has to work on a diorama of the sinking of the Lusitania for Friday.

The other night Keith and I realized that the last date we went on was in early November. We went to Nashville for our anniversary. That was one heck of a date! Completely wonderful! But now it feels like we might just need a little regular normal date. Maybe dinner and a movie. Or Starbucks and a walk thru the park. We've had a super busy and somewhat stressful December and January has been just as crazy. I have mid-terms next week, then maybe, just maybe, we can get out! We do so many things, work, school, family and church that it's hard to remember to take care of the one we love the very most! Feel free to share any cheap date ideas!

Everyone at home is better now. The illnesses left and the snow arrived. Last week we saw snow twice, which is almost unheard of around here. School is in full swing for all the girls in the house and Keith is working hard like always. Next week the girls have 4 different projects due. Yikes! Nothing like keeping busy!

This Sunday is Emily's birthday and she and Keith are going to check out the Chattanooga Aquarium and stay at a hotel with an indoor pool. I know they will have a blast! Last year she and I went horse back riding in north Ga. for her birthday, and the windchill was 8 degrees. Yep. 8. The actual temperature was around 15 I think. (see pic above) After that, I believe she came to see the value in an indoor activity for this year.

I'm really looking forward to seeing The Bucket List with Dad tomorrow. He's usually a pretty fun date! I realized after I wrote about Paul that there are many other friends and family I want to write about. Cause you guys are just fascinating! I suppose those will come at the right time, with the right inspiration.

This here is one of my most favorite people in the whole world. Paul was probably my first friend ever. We spent many childhood afternoons playing together in the yard, on the brown linoleum in the den, and especially on the orange shag carpet in the basement. I guess we had chairs, I just don't remember them. We colored and drew things, built things and made up little stuffed animal bands that played Glen Campbell songs. We played in the creek and sang in the car. In high school we were both in band and church youth group and his friends become my dating pool. We had braces at the same time and learned to drive together. Most importantly, we kept each other's secrets. I missed him a lot when he left for college. He was my best friend. Life felt, for the first time in a long time, a bit empty.

We haven't lived in the same town for 20 years now, but that's about to change. Paul and his family are moving back here this summer. And I can't wait. And yes, I know, it won't be the same. Now there are jobs, kids, and marriages to take care of. And we will both be full time students. But he is just a comfort to stand next to. I feel better when he's in the room. It's hard to explain, but if he were an it, it would be a warn cup of coffee, or a fleece throw that takes away the chill. He is kindhearted, and joyful, and goofy, and the very image of grace and forgiveness. He's good for my soul. He's also amazingly smart, which is why it is still so funny when he's lost his keys.....again. I guess this summer I could start keeping an extra set at my house.

The family is suffering thru the flu right now.  Lydia caught it first and for her it lasted 11 days.  Keith is on day 5, Emily is on day 3.  So far I am still well.  We wash hands a lot.  We check temperatures.  I dole out the meds.  We watch movies and paint fingernails and read.  Even though they are all here at home, I miss them terribly.  I want to sleep in the bed again with my husband and spoon. I want to hold him without the fear of being attacked by nasty, kamikaze flu germs.  I want to go out and play at the park with the girls. I miss the tickling and laughing.  But this too will pass and someday soon we will be normal again.  Normal is a blessing.  Too often I forget that.    

Here's what happened last year in 2007, just to catch you up.

1. Keith swept me off my feet by taking me on a surprise trip to NYC to celebrate 20 years more or less together.

2. We left a good church for a great church.

3. Keith began a new job, with the exact same commute.

4. I became a student again, and passed algebra!

5. Lydia was baptised, I was proud.

6. Emily won the "Reader of the Year" award at her school.

I was proud again.

7. Finally recovered from the wreck, sued and won.

8. Keith embarked on 48 hour adventure to see

(twice, in 2 different states) Crowded House.

9. The girlies started piano lessons, now the music begins in our home at 6:30 AM each morning.

10. Got a little older, a little grayer and a hopefully a little wiser!