You can do it Lucy!

Lucy learned to ride her bike last weekend without the training wheels. She has no fear! Lucy wanted to do it and was not going to to stop until she did.

Early Fathers Day for Grandpa Grogg

Since Jim is in town we thought it would be a good opportunity for Betsy and the kids to let him open presents early. Here are a few shots...

Morgan Softball 10U

Morgan loves three sports or activities; skiing, softball and basketball. Here is Morgan in one of her games this season for the 10U Erie Tigers... Don't watch me, watch the ball!...Morgan playing 3rd base.

Morgan is one of two pitchers for the team. This is her favorite position.

Great batting stance; just like her daddy, ha :)

Our spunky child

Cute picture of Lucy doing who knows what, ha.

After the storm

Here are a few pictures of a beautiful rainbow left after the storm and tornado; God's beautiful reminder to never flood the earth again. Look close and you can see a double rainbow.

Over the weekend; Tornado's, Golf Clubs and Grandpa

Over the weekend I had a chance to go with my dad to pick out some new golf clubs at a Titleist Demo Day. This will be my motivation after surgery to get back my strength and do my exercises. After returning Jim made it in from Cincinnati, Ohio. Jim is Betsy's father. He will stay for a few weeks. We had Skyline Chili dogs that night with ingredients he brought from Ohio (my favorite)! The following day, Sunday, we went to Village Inn after church and upon exiting saw a tornado right out from us. It was amazing! we never get tornado's on our side of the interstate (western side). It moved away from us but it was pretty scary at first. I captured a picture while driving back home in the hail (I was pulled over to the side:). This is when it started to weaken.

Surgery update

After my last appointment we confirmed a date of June 24 for the back fusion. The procedure will be around 10 hours total. They will start with the front with the disk replacement and then finish in the back to secure it in place. I should be able to be back to work and driving after 3 weeks and then around 6 months of light activity while we monitor the progress of the fusion by X Rays. I should be back to normal activities by this time next year...DW

Balloon Festival

The Erie Town Fair was this past weekend and they start it off with a balloon festival launch in our neighborhood. Here are a few pictures from our driveway of the balloons floating overhead.
This was my favorite...

Lucy like this pink and green balloon.

They floated right over Morgan's bedroom. Morgan and her friend, Abby watched right out the window...

Field Day

Here are a few pictures from Morgan's 3rd grade field day last Friday:

What would field day be without the potato sack race?
Morgan concentrating on the free throw contest...

Do I have to hold this boy's hand, ha :)

The 3rd grade class with teacher, Mrs Fraser.

Continued Back Pain

For those who are not aware of my history; I have had two previous surgeries to correct a herniated disk at L4/L5 and L5/S1. These were back in 2003 and 2006. Both surgeries were focused on fixing a pinched nerve that shot pain down the back of my right leg. Now, it is time to fix the pain in my back. The pain has been increasing and not allowing me to continue with a normal quality of life. The issues are degenerating disks, stenosis, arthritis, slight herniation and a few bone spurs but the degenerating disks are the main problem. These are in the same region of L4 down to S1 (lower back). My mother and brother have the same issues and my mom had a fusion to fix the issue and recovered remarkably and enjoys a high quality of life. I will be undergoing the same procedure in June. The surgery involves placing small morsels of bone in the front of the spine (in the disc space) and along the back of the spine so that the bone grows together and fuses that section of the spine. They will put pins through the discs to hold it together with a rod. I will keep you updated as it gets closer. Please pray for a peace of mind...DW

Spring Recital

Morgan played a solo on the piano during the RMCA Spring Recital for students and parents. I was so proud of her! Morgan played "Ode to Joy" by Beethoven. Morgan and her 3rd grade class also participated in a heart touching, beautiful play called "YOURS". It was performed as a hand mime and a parent captured it on video and posted it to the link below. Please take the time to watch. Go God!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-x7sU9QsF0

Spring Snow

I wish I were back in Arizona. I am so over the snow...I know in the last blog I mentioned I was thankful for snow and I am but, in the winter when it is allowed to snow not the spring. Aghhh. The ski resorts (atleast eldora) are closed so I can't enjoy it. Oh well, we will just have the make the most of it and know that it won't last forever. My prayer is that everyone that has to be out in the snow today will be safe...DW

I am thankful for...

I just wanted to list everything I am thankful for that comes to mind. God has been so good to us and I want to remember these all year and not just at Thanksgiving, etc. Here I go...

God, salvation, freedom, Betsy, Morgan, Lucy, parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, rest of family, job, talents, abilities, knowledge, Bible, health, home, cars, friends, small group, RMCC, RMCA, military, seasons, mountains, oceans, colors, sunshine, pools, sports, music, books, vacations, sleep, technology, family time, food, wine, volunteers, rain, snow, fireplaces, hot chocolate, skiing, golfing, organization, day timers, and the last thing that comes to mind is love!

DW

Spring Break (cont...)

I have a few more pictures to share. Betsy and I were able to get our pictures taken together which is rare. Morgan is becoming a very good photographer. Below are a few more pictures before we left for Colorado.

This was taken before going out for a nice steak dinner at Fleming's.
This picture was at our favorite Mexican restaurant.
Here are the girls all dolled up before our steak dinner. This was taken off our balcony in the suite. The water park is in the background.
Here is a picture of the beautiful fountain at the entrance of our resort. Until next time...

When we were leaving we heard Denver was expecting another snow storm so we decided to drive all day and made it home at 11:00 PM. We left with snow on the ground and woke up after our trip to snow. Thank God for a safe drive and wonderful time with my family...DW

SPRING BREAK!!!

After a spring blizzard blanketed Colordao I was able to dig us out of 16 inches of snow to leave for Arizona the next day. Here are a few pictures of the snow the day before leaving.

Finally, we are in Arizona. The weather all week has been in the lower 80's with bright blue skies. The first day Derek was able to golf at the resort with his dad while the girls hung out at the pool with grandma. Below are a few pictures of our trip. This has been a very relaxing time. Betsy and I will miss the pool drinks and not cooking but the girls will miss the water park the most.

I will try to add more pictures before we leave. A few more days of sun and fun...DW