Easter Egg Hunt

  

Appendicitis

Sunday began with a fast. In our church we designate one Sunday a month to fast for 24 hours (2 meals) for a spiritual purpose. Rachel and I chose to fast for gratitude. Not to have more of it necessarily, but to show it. Yes, we had walked to church because our car had broke down again. But we are also healthy enough to walk, ride the bus or ride our bikes to get us anywhere we needed to go for the past week. We're considering making biking a permanent lifestyle change, but that is another topic. Not only are we healthy, but our children have virtually been sick-free since we arrived in Blacksburg, VA. Any parent knows what a blessing that is.

Finally, we found out that we are going to get out of our current lease and secured another apartment that is cheaper, has an extra room, washer and dryer (After a year of laundromats, no more!), and more. Yes, a fast of gratitude seemed appropriate. We were about to learn how much more grateful we could be.

From the start of the fast I felt a knot in my stomach. I usually don't struggle to fast a couple of meals, but Rachel reassured me when she said that she often has stomach pains when she fasts. I endured, hoping that filling my belly at dinner would  soothe the pain. But it didn't. Nor did drinking a glass of Alka-Seltzer. I didn't sleep well that night. About 3am I woke up and started researching my symptoms, but went back to bed with no luck and a fever that put me out until late morning. After talking with my mom and answering a series of questions that Rachel had found on WebMD, we decided that I best fit the description of having appendicitis. One quick call to our home teacher and he was at our house and ready to take me to the hospital. Further investigation and a CT scan confirmed that I was in the early stages of appendicitis.

In order to let Rachel be with me, Heber and Hannah's primary teacher volunteered to take all of the kids for the night. I was happy that Rachel could stay with before and after the surgery for her company and because she was able to capture this video of me after the surgery. I vaguely remember it. I mostly remember just not wanting to give any one (especially the nurses and doctors) a serious answer about anything.

I had the surgery on a Monday evening and was released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon. That seemed like a long time, but looking back it really wasn't. We were so grateful for our friends in from church and work. Three different friends of Rachel's (all pregnant) took one of our children. Tuesday night we had two wonderful Italian meals delivered to us: The first was pasta Alfredo from the Johnn and Shannon Judd, and the second was baked spaghetti from Lauren from work. Additionally a coworker of mine named Thomas brought some farmer's market salad ingredients, fancy baker's bread and baked goodies for dessert. He did not skimp, that;s for sure. The next day our other home teacher brought by a hearty stew, salad and bread. Like I said, we had no idea how much more grateful we would be.

 

As for the surgery, I seem to be healing fine. It only took these 3 little incisions. I have a checkup on the 11th of April. I'm glad I wasn't too manly to go to the hospital earlier rather than later.

Finally, there is one more thing that I have to get off my chest. Just before we returned from the hospital to get our kids we decided to take advantage of the babysitting situation and slipped off to watch the new Hunger Games movie. I was glad that we didn't see a comedy and really enjoyed the movie. However, we did feel a little naughty taking advantage of our friends' kindness. So thank you to all who helped us through this and made it a rather enjoyable experience.

Sunday Picninc 2

Sunday Picnic

Interesting Facts About General Conference

Playing at the Park

Ode to Peyton Manning

No, you're the man.

I've always been to into sports, but not terribly into professional athletes. However, over the years one has stood out in my eyes which my brothers can attest to. He is Peyton Manning. I admired his work ethic. He wasn't the most athletic, but he was always the most prepared. Off the field he was at worst someone who never got into trouble and at best a generous philanthropist, a funny actor and an effective motivator. Here is an article by Rick Reilly that does a better job honoring him than I can. I hope you enjoy it was much as I did.

Thank you, Peyton Manning.

This might be the beginning of something better. Might be the end of everything good. But before we slog into what happens next, where you'll go, what you'll do, we owe you a thank you for what you've done and who you've been.

So thank you, Peyton Manning, for never showing up in the VIP section of Cheerleaders, overserved and under-mannered.

Thank you for never ending up on Court TV, or Page Six or with parts of somebody's nose on your knuckles.

You came to a nowhere franchise and made it Somewhere. Greatness poured out of your fingers because you put in the hours and the study and the pain to let it. Two Super Bowls, four NFL MVPs, 11 Pro Bowls, 11 playoff seasons and more records than a used CD store.

It was trendy to make fun of your "Yes, sirs" and "No, sirs" and your 1950s haircut but many of us secretly admired it.

You played a violent game and yet somehow held on to that southern gentility. In the middle of the worst time of your life, you took the time to write a hand-written note of sympathy last week to Fox's Chris Myers upon the death of his son.

Thank you for watching more film than Martin Scorsese. Thank you for always being the last one to go home at night, for knowing more about what defenses were going to do than some of the players on those defenses themselves.

You came to a nowhere franchise and made it Somewhere. Greatness poured out of your fingers because you put in the hours and the study and the pain to let it. Two Super Bowls, four NFL MVPs, 11 Pro Bowls, 11 playoff seasons and more records than a used CD store.

That Super Bowl win was classic you. Every day that whole week, you made your center, Jeff Saturday, spend an extra 15 minutes snapping you balls you'd soaked in a bucket of water. "It might rain," you said. So when it did, and Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman looked like he was throwing greased watermelons, you looked like you were throwing rocks.

Fourteen years in the league and the worst we can say about you is that you made a lot of castor-oil faces and your helmet left funny marks and one time you laid into your "idiot kicker." Fourteen years and you didn't sext anything, wreck anything or deck anybody.

You were a 10,000-watt bulb in a small city, and yet you never seemed to tire of it. If you did, you rarely showed it. There's a fan website -- peytonmanning18.com/encounters.html -- where everyday people tell how you were with them. It's hard to find a rotten one.

"Peyton was so nice and down to earth," one wrote. "He was just as polite and nice as I've always heard," wrote another. "He was getting ready to leave and wanted to take a picture with me and thank me for driving his golf cart," said a third. It's a lousy site if you're a cynic.

I have no idea how much time and money you have to give to a hospital to have it renamed in your honor, but they did that for you in Indianapolis. Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at St. Vincent. Says a lot.

How many times can one man change an entire city? Well, without you there's probably no Lucas Oil Stadium. Without Lucas Oil Stadium, there's no Super Bowl this year in Indy. Without the Super Bowl, there's no brand-new, drop-dead gorgeous JW Marriott downtown. Forbes figures you improved the Colts' value by $233 million. Compared to that, $28 million to keep you doesn't seem like much, does it?

Thank you for showing up at podiums in your shoulder pads some nights because you knew some of us had early deadlines. Thank you for making us laugh in all those ads. If there's ever been a funnier jock on "Saturday Night Live," I'll keep a ham in my pants.

Thank you for showing up to work every day, every week, season after season. You started 208 straight games -- through purple thumbs and black eyes and stomach flus that left you green. You get paid either way, so thanks.

Hell, you even tipped great. The other night, in North Carolina, you left an extra $200 on a $740 check that already had an 18 percent tip in it. According to my abacus, that's 100 percent class.

Lastly, thank you for the way you left. Always thought you'd go out as a Colt, and go out the way you wanted, but if it had to end this way, "I truly have enjoyed being your quarterback" is as good an exit line as I've heard. You made it sound like it was an elected position, an honor, a job where you knew people were depending on you. You were right.

You came to the line and changed the play 1,000 times, but you never changed your team, your city, your fans. Jim Irsay did all that for you Wednesday.

That would've gone down most guys' throats like a porcupine, but you took it and you smiled and you stood there with your arm around Irsay like he wasn't the one dumping you, like there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

That's grace. You had it in the huddle and you had it in the pocket and you had it at the end.

So thank you, Peyton Manning. And bravo. You wore the horseshoe, but it was us who got lucky.

Thanks to my brother Kimball for sending me the article.