Long time, no see!

Ugh. Sorry for the massive delay in updating the blog. Here's the latest going on with all of us...

MARC: we just found out he's been promoted to MAJOR!!! We're so excited! He won't pin on the rank (read that as...get the paycheck) until next September, but at least we know it's on the horizon for him. In addition to the promotion, he found out that he was selected for the Air Command and Staff (ACSC) schooling that's here at the base. Basically, it's a required course for new Majors, and to get an in-residence (versus correspondence) slot is awesome. From what I understand, it means he was among the top 10% of newly promoted people to be given a school slot right off the bat. Everyone else will have to "compete" for their slots. SO cool. We're hoping that they will add that one year to the end of our assignment here...rather than integrate it into our time. Marc still wakes up at night with pain in his feet, but not as often. He did change his running program...now he's only running 3 days a week. He seems to have figured out that if he rubs the back of his knee and upper calf, the pain will subside and he can go back to sleep. Weird. He has some big physical fitness test to pass this month, and after that's done, he'll go back to the doctor and see what they can do for him. Otherwise, things are same-o same-o for Marc. Work is good, he's had to start cutting the grass already, and slowly the garage is getting re-organized.

TYLER: This kid loves school. He has so much fun! He's reading like a champ; in fact, his teacher told me he reads better than most second graders! He can read really big words (satellite, astronaut, different, somewhere); stuff that most Kindergarteners aren't "supposed" to be able to read yet. Yeah. Now they've met Tyler. He has his daddy's brain! He's also doing some math, and likes that quite a bit. He's still our little computer and gadget freak. When we got our new computer, we put the old one in his room. He doesn't have the internet, but he can watch movies, play games, and dink around in MSWord. He can get that computer to do things I didn't even know it could do. It's freaky. We enrolled him in soccer through the YMCA...he LOVES soccer. It's one sport I have no problem with him playing...football is OUT! He spent Spring Break with me at the barn; he was in the Horse Camp we had going on out there. He rode Ranger every day...all by himself! He learned how to go, stop and turn. They went on a trail ride, did lots of arts and crafts stuff, and generally just had a blast. He wears a riding helmet (we all do), so when he fell off those two times...my heart only stopped for a second or two... :) He is growing like a weed...jeans that fit him at the beginning of winter are getting too short. We measured him the other day, and he's 44 1/2 inches, and he weighs about 40 pounds. He's no longer in his old car-seats...they've been replaced by high-back booster seats. They're much easier for him to get in and out of, although I'm still nervous about him not being in a 5-point harness system. He's finally able to enjoy a lot of the stuff he got for Christmas, since the weather is warming up...soccer goal, bow and arrows, etc. We're scheduling him an appointment with a doctor in Atlanta...a pediatric cerebral palsy specialist. We need someone to coordinate all of his care...someone who can tell us what needs to happen and be done, instead of us trying to be in charge. We also want to make sure that what's currently being done is the best for him. He's supposed to have OT therapy (for his hand) once a week, but we're lucky to get in once a month. I'll keep you posted on all that...

SHANNON: I'm still working at the barn, although I'm there 5 days a week now. I totally love it! I keep it clean and organized, help the barn owner with special projects, and now that the weather is better, I'll be riding horses in addition to Ranger. I'm learning so much about everything involved with a boarding facility...hopefully I'll have my own facility some day! I come home tired and dirty, but I've never been happier at a job in my life. As for scrapbooking, that kind of went on the back burner for a while. I've done very little this year so far, but am starting to get back into it. Otherwise, my life is full and happy these days!

RANGER: this guy continues to amaze me. Some of you may already know that on March 8th, we celebrated his 25th birthday with a party at the barn. It was so much fun! We did it as a potluck, and there were so many people there! I was so thrilled that so many came out for us. I made Ranger a carrot cake, and he LOVED it! He ate dang near the whole thing! We have lots of photos, and some video. The following weekend, we had an Equine Chiropractor come to the barn...she had 11 horses to work on, Ranger being one of them. She was blown away by how fit he is! She said there literally wasn't a bone in his body that is showing his age. His lumbar spine should be starting to stick up, and his is still flat as a board! He needed very little adjustment, and he seemed to enjoy what she did need to fix. It's quite a treat for us to get a specialist like this at the barn; we're now on her "route" so we'll be seeing her again. Needless to say, my head was too big to get out the barn door that day. In February, he injured his right front foot, and he couldn't be ridden for a month. I had to go to the barn every day to take care of the wound and re-bandage it. He was on stall-rest for the first two weeks (not a happy boy) because the mud was so bad I was afraid he'd contaminate the wound. Since then, it has healed nicely and there's no visible sign that it even happened. In the 16 years I've owned him, this is the worst injury he's ever had. Knock on wood. A LOT of wood...

PIPER: he hates the rain. Poor PeeWee...we've had so much rain lately that he's forced to go out in it to take care of his business. I swear, if we had a litter box, he'd use it! He's our little snuggler, and will sneak into my side of the bed in the mornings to get warm. He plays very, very well with Tyler, and has learned that if Tyler gives him a command, he needs to listen. We had an issue with that for a while, but P caught on. One thing I find interesting, though...he gets very distraught when Tyler is crying. He'll come to where Tyler is and sit with him. If he gets the chance, he'll lick Tyler's face. We don't know what this means, but it sure makes Tyler stop crying. We just tell him Snot-Puppy is there to clean up his face, and he starts laughing. Nice.

FAMILY STUFF: this year we're planning to take Tyler to DisneyWorld. They have a deal this year for military members...Marc gets a 5-day Park Hopper pass for free, and we get ours for $99 each. That will save us a huge amount of money! We can drive there in about 7 or 8 hours, so that eliminates plane fare. We don't know when we're going yet, but it'll be in June or July. Tyler has NO IDEA we're going, in case something happens and we don't go after all. We don't want him to be disappointed. As for the rest of our travels this year, we have no idea. I still want to go back to Abilene for a visit, so I may take Tyler and we'd go without Marc (he could care less about going). There have been too many times that I've been "this close" to going out there and never make it. Grrrr. Everyone is, of course, always welcome to visit us!

HOUSE: we love it! It's coming along really well. I'm slowly getting Marc to let me replace light fixtures...what's in here is SO ugly. We have some landscaping issues to tackle both in the front and back yards, and we need to add concrete to the driveway to make it wider. We're going to get new shutters and maybe a new front door. If we don't get a new door, we're going to paint the existing one. I do want to add a screen door of some sort, though. I love opening the windows to get air through the house...especially when it's not humid out. We have yet to paint the kitchen. I don't think we've actually agreed on the color yet. We have to prime it first, though. At least that hideous border is gone...yuck.

Well, that seems to be all that my pea-brain can remember right now. I promise to be better about updating, and I'll get some photos uploaded one of these days. We hope all is well with you!