May 2009 Archives

Well . . . . . . tincture of time did not heal the knee that led Sarah to her award-winning performance at the national track and field meet on May 2nd, so today she went to the OR.

The MRI two weeks ago did not show any obvious abnormality --- so obvioulsy she must have inherited the "J factor."

Rachel insisted on leaving school to be with her sister . . . . I'm certain she is looking for an app on her iPod to help Dr. Jansen out.

Below you see the before and after: the other Dr J found that 2/3 of the medial meniscus (the cartilage on the inner side of the knee) was torn away from the bone. (Top photo) The meniscus itself was not torn, but because its attachment was loose, this was the cause of her persistant pain and deceptively normal MRI.

The bottom photos show a still fuzzy Sarah behind the beautiful flowers from her boyfriend's family and the pretty blue sutures in her meniscus. (Joel also spent most of his day at Sarah's side :o)

Rehab involves very limited activty for 6 weeks and no jumping, running, etc. for up to 4 months . . . . .

If you didn't really look at the Angela and Eric's wedding photos closely, you may have overlooked the photo of Steve and Sarah "dancing" aka gimping together on the dance floor.

About 2 1/2 weeks ago Steve was almost at the end of a 10 mile run when he ran past an orphanage that burst into flames . . . . . . . . . . he ran inside and was able to carry 29 children to safety but when he ran back inside to save one last child, he had to jump out of the third story window . . . . . . . . . and tore his Achilles tendon when he got home and tripped getting onto the riding lawnmower!!!! (He has actually been plagued with recurring pains/strains in his right calf for over a year. In retrospect, I am certain this was "fraying" of his Achilles.)

Looks like the pontoon will get a lot more use this summer.

Dreams really do come true . . .

And thanks to Tracy, trouble melts like lemon drops . . .

(The wedding planner went AWOL, but Tracy stepped in and orchestrated all the final details with perfection and passion. I guarantee she did NOT bite her lip for very long.)

All the pretty bridesmaids all in a row

. . . skies of blue and clouds of white . . . (and maybe a few white knuckles as the groom patiently waits)

. . . waiting and pacing

. . . trees of green . . . . . roses too . . . .

(The Best Man thought he had lost one of the rings but discovered it nested inside of the other.)

. . . watch them bloom . . .

What a wonderful world . . .

. . . and what a wonderful honor and privelage for Steve to stand beside his son as Best Man.

. . . faces of people passing by . . .

. . . friends shaking hands . . .

. . . saying I love you . . .

Bella Notte was the theme for the Junior-Senior Banquet (prom) at Lakeland Christian Academy this year. I'm sure you know who we think was the Belle of the evening, but in more than the obvious way.

The Junior class is responsible for planning and executing the banquet each year. Sarah has been a class officer ever since she entered LCA five years ago, so her attention to detail and organization was instrumental in helping to make Bella Notte one of the best banquets in LCA history. They broke tradition and not only transformed the gym into a quaint Italian restaurant complete with valet parking but they also danced the night away - another first in LCA history - and even had professional dance instructors! Even the sceptics conceded that it was a Beautiful Night.

Steve "offers" some fatherly advice while the belles finish primping.

Perhaps you recognize Sarah's date, Joel . . . he was in the background of several photos from the NCSAA track meet and in the NCSAA "3rd runner up circle" with Sarah. (They even scored the same number of points.)

Fortunately, they're not too serious . . .

The National Christian School Athletic Association held the National Junior and Senior High Track and Field Championships in Beaver Falls, PA again this year.

The LCA Girls' Senior High team placed 3rd overall, the LCA Boys' Junior High team placed 3rd overall and the LCA Girls' Junior High team place 2nd overall. All but 2 of the Boys' Senior High team were on a mission trip in Papa New Guinea, but the 2 that competed had oustanding performances and their team placed 5th overall.

Rachel had a great meet and finished 2nd in shot put, 2nd in the 4x100 relay and 4th in discus. Overall, she was 10th in individual points for Junior High girls.

Sarah finished 1st in long jump, 3rd in discus, 1st in high jump and despite a bum knee from a slip in high jump, managed to place 6th in the triple jump. (The MRI on her knee is next week.)

Sarah placed 3rd overall in individual points for Senior High Girls.
Logan Pitts (L) also placed 3rd overall for Junior High Boys and Joel Widman (R) placed 3rd overall for Senior High Boys.

What a great coaching job, Daddy!!!

Even though seventeen seems much older than sixteen, our little princess still has some little girl left inside her rapidly maturing mind and body. She still holds tight to her birthday tradition of poppyseed chicken and "numeric" bread. This year she also had a special surprise treat from her boyfriend, Joel. (Notice the one extra-special cupcake for Sarah --- and the extra gray hair I got just from typing the word boyfriend in the same sentence as Sarah!)