Deep Fried

Thanksgiving has come and gone. We had two guests for the holiday. Chrissie's grandfather came in from San Diego and her uncle came down from Louisville. We hired out the cooking of our Turkey this year. We wanted to try a deep fried turkey but did not want to risk burning down the house. We found a BBQ place in town that you could order a deep fried turkey from and have it ready when you wanted, so thats what we did. It was good, but I dont think it lived up to the hype I have heard regarding fried turkey's. Other than the afternoon feast, it was a day of watching football and chatting, not much else. Friday kicked off Gib's scout troop fundraiser of selling Christmas Trees. The troop operates three sales lots around town and each boy is asked to work four shifts, also, one parent of each family is expected to work four shifts. Gib, Chrissie, and I did a double shift on Friday. The Tennessean sent a photographer down to the lot we were working to take pictures for the paper, well Gib and I made the news...



Gib, a Boy Scout, helps Alex Cornette choose a Christmas tree behind the Church of Christ on the lot's opening day, Nov. 23.




Nicholas, 15, a Boy Scout, sets up a Christmas tree for display in the parking lot behind the Church of Christ. Mike, the father of Scout Gib, helped him.


(PHOTOS BY STEVEN S. HARMAN / THE TENNESSEAN)

College preview.....Say what???!!!!

Yes, we attended our first college preview day with Indy on the 17th. While she is still a junior, going to college now days requires careful planning and resume building. It is much more complicated than when I went to college. It was both exciting and unsettling for me at the same time. It was amazing to see all the opportunities, work, and fun this can be for Indy, yet, it startles me how soon she will be out on her own. The college we went to was a small, approx 4500 students, private college here in TN, definately on her short list, but not necessarily the top just yet. Indy would prefer a school this size, she doesnt want to be just another number amongst 1000's. Chrissie and Indy are working on scheduling the where and when for the next one. I dont think it will be until spring. And then, just as we finish up with Indy, Taryn wil be right in the thick of it. In fact, Chrissie has already started giving Taryn school brochures to peruse. Why does it seem in retrospect that time flies??? Where did all the years go.....

Recovery Complete

Indy took a full two weeks to recover from her tonsilectomy. She returned to school on Monday the 19th. I think her voice has changed slightly. She insists that it is back to normal. She is now working on getting back up to speed on her school work. She did some while she was home, but still has some exams to complete. I found it great to have her around the house for the full two weeks. It gave Chrissie and I an opportunity to talk and be with her more than her usual school, social, and work schedule permits. The one drawback to the whole scenario, is that I had to get up and drive Taryn to seminary each morning. Chrissie's drawback was that she had to get up 2 or 3 times a night to administer the "narcotic" pain medication. Isn't it wonderful to have modern medicine make life a little easier after these type of surgeries.

Soldier Pen Pal

PFC Steven John Christofferson November 2007

Dear PFC Christofferson,

Apparently, there has been a change of the list of soldiers with your company since we were first given somebody to write to. So, now we get you! This letter has some parts from the first letter mailed to Lt. Hardin, since I can only think of so many things to say about us! I hope you don’t mind. I’ve also written a new letter, also in this envelope, so you’ll get it all together. I hope you enjoy getting to know a little about our family.

November 3, 2007


Hey there!

Well, it’s coming up on midnight on the last day of daylight savings time. My oldest daughter’s curfew is predictably, midnight. She called a few minutes ago to point out that since we turn the clocks back, maybe technically, 12:00 AM is really 11 PM so couldn’t she go by the Fall-Back time for curfew tonight? I laughed, and we compromised on her not pulling into the driveway with one minute to spare. She’s at a work get together 10 minutes away, and a friend just arrived, so she got lucky I thought it was funny enough to give some leeway. So, now I’ve got to stay up longer, and figured why not write a letter?

Would You Like a Wreath From the Boy Scouts?
Today, I hoofed it around with Gib to sell Christmas wreaths for the Boy Scout Troop fundraiser. We were fairly successful – he’s sold about 25, for 2 days of door-to-door work and a mom asking around for him. He gets $5 for each wreath sold in his Scout Account. When a scout sells 8 he automatically gets $50 off his Boy Scout Camp fee in addition to the $5 per wreath. He will also sign up to work four 4 hr shifts at the Christmas Tree Lot, conveniently located in Downtown right next to Starbucks (a great location for Hot Cocoa or Apple Cider when it’s cold out!). This helps the Troop to raise the money it uses all year long for operation and providing low cost/high adventures. Working the tree lots also reduces your camp fee. Since I really hate being cold, I put my time in walking miles with Gib to sell wreaths door to door while the weather was still nice! Luckily, Gib LOVES working the Christmas tree lots and even wants to volunteer for the set up and unloading and tagging of the truckload of trees. He and Mike can do that. I’ll stay at home and bake cookies or something!

Halloween Costume Report – The Shoes Make the Outfit:
Did you know shoes are the most important, yet often overlooked-until-the-last-minute part of the costume? Indy handed out candy dressed as Super Girl. She was very cute but white platform boots really completed the look. Taryn and a friend wore matching school type uniforms, with a bit of gothic make-up to spice it up. But flip flops? We thought NOT. Indy had a pair of clunky black heels with silver buckles which were perfect. The girls were actually quite cute and if it wasn’t for the Gothic attitude, it’d be hard to tell they were in costume. Gib dressed as a piece of Hubba Bubba bubblegum. He wore all pink head to toe courtesy of Target’s girl department. On the shirt, we painted the Hubba Bubba logo in yellow & pink puffy paint. Guys don’t get a free pass on the right shoes for the outfit either! Gib borrowed a pair of Indy’s black & pink sneakers which was a way cool effect. He told his friends that it’s macho to wear all pink ‘cause it’s the new black. Mariah went as a punk pink & black pirate girl. She looked adorable with a bandana over her hair and lots of eyeliner just like Capt. Jack Sparrow. She thought her white wheelies would be ok, but the Shoe Police said Nay. Again, a sister’s shoes saved the day at the last minute. This time it was Taryn’s all black indoor soccer runners. Mike and I had a costume party next door earlier in the week. I didn’t feel like coming up with an idea until I felt guilty the night before. So I Googled easy DIY stupid costumes. Came up with Lame Excuses, and we grabbed crutches and a cane from mom, and taped a whole bunch of lame excuses on our shirts. You know, things like, my cell phone battery died, and I have a headache. It was lame (pun intended all the way around) but at least it was funny to have people try to figure out what we were. Have to say it was better than the couple that came as ketchup and mustard. Mike said I didn’t use the best lame excuse of “But it was on sale!” Ha-ha. That’s not an excuse, it’s Pure Reason. The kids pulled in quite a haul of candy as usual. One way to tell they are getting older is the pile of yucky candy is a lot smaller than it used to be. They’re not as picky as they used to be! However, Raisinets and 3 Muskateers are still a NO GO.

Well, Indy made it home and it’s only 11:50 – Whoo-Hoo! 10 minutes to spare on the new midnight. Yay, a whole extra hour of sleep! Of course you feel the full effect better when you go to bed at earlier. Here’s a family photo of us in our Titans shirts taken in September. We hope you are doing okay. You’re in our prayers.

Stay safe.


Mike, Chrissie, Indy, Taryn, Gib, Mariah

Post Tonsillectomy

So Monday was the big day. Indy was scheduled for 10:30am and we had to check in at 8:30am. We got there about 8:00 and signed in then found seats in the waiting room. Now I am sitting there and I hear someone say "Hi Mike". Turns out the Exec VP of the company that I work with is there while his wife is having surgery. What are the odds?? Anyway, we get situated in a room and do all the pre surgery stuff and then wait some more. Indy doesn't actually leave for surgery until 12:30. She returns at 2:00 and we stay at the hospital until 6:00pm. Surgery went well no problems. Now its just recovery. With some good pain medication and a lot of ice and popsicles I think she will do just fine. They say days 4-7 are the worst and Indy has indicated that the pain is a little worse now, but she is handling it all just fine. Lets hope we don't have too much of a struggle catching up on all the missed school work.

Catchup - Foot Surgery

Chrissie's mom has had difficulty with her feet and a couple of months ago she ruptured a tendon in her foot. Well on the 24th she went under the knife. The Dr. cut out some of the tendon and re-attached the remaining to the other tendon. This same procedure has already been done earlier on her other foot, so now she effectively has one tendon in each foot. She has been confined to a wheelchair for the next four weeks, she is not allowed to put any weight on the casted foot.

Tonsillectomy

So after Indy's allergy and steroid deal, her throat started bothering her again. She has had numerous bouts of sore throats and strep in the past, so we decided to take her in to see an ENT specialist. He took one look at her tonsils and said they had to go. This was on Monday and she is already scheduled for the tonsillectomy on the 5th. It was a cancellation that allowed her to get it done this quick, otherwise it wouldn't have been until next year. We go in today for the pre surgery lab work. The paperwork that explains the surgery says it is going to be a rough 7-10 days after, but the benefits of not having so many throat problems in the future will be worth it.

Halloween

Halloween seems to have been a success for the kids. Indy stayed home with her BFF Joe and watched a movie while handing out the treats. Taryn went to the mall with two of her friends and then door to door after that. She was a gothic school girl - she really looked good. Gib went through the neighborhood with our neighbors, he was a stick of hubba bubba bublegum. Mariah and I went to a different neighborhood so she could trick-or-treat with a friend from school, she was a pirate. Long and short of it - we have way more candy than we need. Unfortunately, Chrissie had a nasty migraine headache and was down for the count mid afternoon through the next morning. Basically Halloween blew right by her.

Catchup - Scouts

Two weeks ago, Gib started a class on the Environmental Science Merit Badge. This is one of the tougher Eagle required badges. He has completed the two class sessions, has a bit of homework, and then will meet with MB counselor for sign off. The wreath sales campaign comes to end this Tuesday the 6th. So far I have had approx 175 orders turned in. We have ordered 750 so I hope most of the boys have just planned to turn everything in on the last day. I know of one boy who indicates he has sold about 90. Lets hope it all works out in the end. District Camporee coming up on November 9-11 that Gib and I will attend and then also on the 11th Gib has signed up for the Horsemanship MB.

Mariah joined girl scouts this year and is very much enjoying it. She had her first girl scout campout the weekend of October 19. She indicated it was a great time.

Stock Market

Yesterday:

Bought CROX @ 50.90