January 15, 2008

Wow! We made it through Christmas and New Year's without any problems at all. That is a first for us in many years! Yesterday David got a clean bill of health as far as his hips are concerned. They are healing very well, so well that he does not have to visit with the doctors again for two more months. He can start looking for a job and do anything he wants as long as it does not hurt. The only sport he can't do is skiing of any kind and riding a horse.

The kids have returned to school and are doing very well. We took Elizabeth to the Neuro-Opthomologist yesterday to see if there was any damage from the car accident last year. She has no nerve damage and her vision seems to be improving so much that there is a possibility that in two years she may not need glasses or contacts.

James did have some problems with classes at college the first semester and is on academic probation. This means his financial aid is in danger of not being accepted for next year so he must bring his grades up this next semester. He must repeat his English class and pick up a History class. Then this summer he is going to take his Certified Nursing Assistant classes and possibly EMT training here at the Jr. college here in Trinidad.

As the time draws nearer for the kids to go to Washington, DC they get more and more excited as do David and I. In order to assist them with there fundraising, the Lion's Club here in Trinidad is raffling a 2008 Harley Davidson Fat Boy Motorcycle Limited Edition for $50.00 per ticket. If you would like to get in on the chance to win this fabulous machine, please email me or leave me a message about how to contact you on this site. I will be happy to get with you and get you in on the raffle.

We are always anxious to hear from any of you about your families and you yourselves. Please email or just send a message on here to us. Much love and God's Blessings to you all!!

Merry Christmas!!

Now that the weather has finally turned cold and it has snowed, it truly feels like Christmas time and time to send out that traditional message to all our family and friends.

First off, we hope this finds all of you in good health and doing well as can be financially. We have been able to maintain our household even with the decline in income due to David's job loss. It did take totally wiping out our retirement fund from the State of Colorado to pay all our bills in full and become financially solvent. We didn't have much choice in taking the payout, it was either take the payout or go completely so far in debt we wouldn't be able to get out for many years. We were also facing losing our apartment due to the inablility to pay the rent. Not only did we pay all our bills, but we were able to put quite a bit of the money back into an IRA to begin building our retirement again.

If you have kept up with my blogs at all, you know David is doing so well since his bi-lateral hip replacement surgeries. The doctors have told us they have not seen such a fast recovery in a very long time. He will not have to see the doctors again until January 2008. Hopefully by that time he will have a new job and the increase we have been waiting for from the Veteran's Administration.

James is still struggling in English at college but has plans to take some makeup classes here in Trinidad this summer while he is working and going to school to get his certification as a Nursing Assistant. He is due home for Christmas on Friday, December 14, so please be praying for good weather so this Mom will not worry too much about the 4-5 hour drive. He says he is so ready for a month long break and then should be ready to dive back into studies and get his grades up.

Elizabeth has been studying hard every free minute she has when she is not working. She is planning on taking the ACT test in April when all the Juniors are scheduled to take it. She wants to go to college to be a pediatrician and I believe she will obtain her goal. She continues to do well in band, she is 2nd chair for their concert tonight.

Ben is having some problems with staying organized and keeping up with school work. We have had a long talk and hopefully things will improve and the grades will come back up to the level we know he can obtain. He is doing very well in band also. Both of them received bronze medals from their band director and the Colorado Band Master Association, along with all the kids in the band. The kids placed 3rd in State Competition in October, up one place from last year. Now it is on to Washington, DC in July to represent all of Southern Colorado in the National Independence Day Parade.

I have not had a lot of time to rest and relax or think about myself much with taking care of the kids, house and my husband. However, things are starting to get back to normal and I should be able to concentrate on what I want to do. I am still working online at home every morning, only now I have 4 different credit card accounts to work one. I am now a CSR for Walmart in store credit cards, Walmart Discover, Sam's Club in store, and Sam's Club Discover accounts. No more pay just more work but it is still very interesting. I hope one day to get promoted to a Coach for other agents, but the requirements are tough so I will have to work hard.

We are so thankful for all our family and friends but most especially this time of year you are all on our minds. Please be assurred we pray for you all everytime we say a prayer. We think of all of you often and wish you great health and success. Thank you all for praying for us and keeping us in your thoughts. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Life update

Wow can't believe this year is almost over. This has flown by! But as I was saying to someone the other day, seems like when we are young the days drag by until we are older like we want to be and when we are that older age they just fly by! God is amazing!
This has been such an eventful four months in our lives and many of you have been keeping up by reading this blog and the one on my blogspot. But for those of you new to this, I will try to catch you up and for those of you wanting to know more about what I have been up to I will catch you up too.
Beginning on June 30, David lost his job due to many problems attributed to his disablility and current medical condition. At this time we are appealing the decision and have filed with the Colorado Civil Rights commission for an wrongful termination of a disabled person. The CCRC and the EEOC investigations are a long process that can take up to a year to complete, then we have the process of dealing with the State of Colorado Department of Personnel to see how they react to the findings. All of this may take a year or more to conclude.
In the meantime we are trying to live on his income from the VA disability and my small income from working at home online. We have applied for an increase in his disability from the VA but that can take up to a year or more to receive that increase as they have to review the medical records. So, in other words we are in a hurry up and wait situation from not only the State, CCRC, EEOC but the Veteran's Administration as well. Please pray for good and fast outcomes in all areas.
David had surgery on the left hip on August 7 and on the right hip October 23. He is recovering nicely from both and says he feels like the Bionic man now. I have to remind him that he is not able to run as fast as the Bionic man they didn't put those parts in him...LOL! He is looking forward to getting back to work to find a job after the first of the year. I can truly say even though I have enjoyed having him around to talk to during the day, I will be so glad when he returns to some kind of job. He is making me a bit crazy with staying around and looking over my shoulder all the time...LOL!
The kids have been very busy at school. James is a freshman at the University of Northern Colorado. He seems to be doing ok at this point with a bit of trouble with his English class with all the writing. He has never been very good at reading and writing, but he is getting some help. Elizabeth is a junior at Trinidad High School, a flute and piccolo player in the marching band and an editor for her yearbook. She loves band most of all and is looking forward to their trip to Washington, DC in July 2008. Ben is a freshman at THS, playing in trumpet in band and loving every minute of the attention he is drawing from the girls at the school. I told David we need to have the shotgun to scare the girls away from him not from Beth....LOL!! He is just as excited about he band trip as his sister, we all are, David and I will be going as chaperones. The only member of the family not going will be James, he will be taking summer classes at Trinidad State Junior College to catch up on the English classes and hopefully will be taking his Certified Nursing Assistant classes so that in the fall he can apply for Nursing school.
I have been working very hard all year at my job with Alpine Access. I am a customer service representative for GE Consumer Finance working on Walmart credit card accounts. The very best thing about my job is that I get to work from home online and I only work 4 hours each day first thing in the morning. This allows me to help with anything the band may need in the way of taking care of their uniforms. I love the people I work with in my virtual office and most of the callers I speak with. As with any job in customer service there are some you would rather tell to go jump in a lake but you can't. I have had very good ratings from all my supervisors so I must be doing something right.
We will be celebrating Thanksgiving, my birthday, David's birthday and Christmas this year by giving thanks to Our Lord and Savior for keeping us together, healing David's body and for always watching out for us in our time of need. We have been blessed with our families and we thank God for them each day and with every prayer. We also take the time to thank Him for the many blessing we have in each and every one of our friends.
Thank you all for always being there when we needed a shoulder to cry on or just an ear to listen to the woes. God Bless you all!! Keep in touch!! We love you!!

Marching Band Results

The Trinidad High School Marching Band finished in 3rd place in Division 2A for the State of Colorado.

WTG! Miners!! We are so proud of you.

I will have new pictures to post of them once I get my camera back from the kids.

God Bless Everyone!

Marching update #1

Just got word from the kids they are now in 3rd place after the semi-finals. They are only down about 2 points so they can come back and move into 2nd place again. They will be marching at 6:30 pm tonight. I will keep you all posted on the outcome.

Go Trinidad take State!!!

Colorado State Marching Band Competition

Tomorrow, Sunday, October 28, our two youngest kids will be traveling to Grand Junction, Colorado with their high school band to compete in the Colorado State Marching Band Competition. This had been postponed last week due to the storm that dumped snow on the mountains and in several other areas of the state.

The kids are very excited to be going into the competition in 2nd place. They will have to make up almost 8 points to beat the team in 1st. They have been practicing every day for the last two weeks to try to better their scores from regionals.

Please be praying for their safe travel and for good results. I will post the results as soon as they are known.

God Bless you all.

David is out of the hospital

David got out of the hospital in record time for the Veteran's Administration. They told us today while they were preparing to release him that they have never sent a patient home in 3 days from the date of hip replacement surgery. We are so happy to have him here to recuperate. We are going to have to stay in Denver with my parents until November 5th when he gets his staples removed. We will have to see what the doctors say at that time about traveling home to Trinidad.

We are rejoycing daily at our Blessings we are receiving daily. We are going to be celebrating this Thanksgiving with lots of prayers of Thanks for all that we have received. Also our birthdays, his and mine are right after Thanksgiving and just before Christmas. For the first time in many years we are going to have a wonderful Merry Christmas as he will not be sick or in the hospital!!

Thank you all for the many phone calls, emails and prayers you have been sending up and to us. We are so Blessed to have all of you in our lives. God Bless you All always!!