It's been a while, I know. I have no excuse really. I guess I just check my facebook daily so I get behind on blogging.
Mike's MELD score has dropped to 16 which is great. He still is sick and a normal MELD is 9. He has good days and bad days. We appreciate your prayers.
One thing I've learned through this is that life goes on even when it is on HOLD.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Fine Line
Brooklyn's school requires parents come for a three way conference (Parent, child, teacher) in order for the child to receive their report card. They get graded not only on Math, Reading, etc., but Math quizzes, Math notebook, Math Homework, Problem Solving, Science Notebook, Science Quizzes, etc.
My quandary is when you have a child doing eighth grade problem solving do you get wigged out because they aren't doing their math homework. Or they have an A in Math Quizzes do you get upset that they made a 17 and a 64 on math homework - because of hurrying. They obviously get how to do the work.
What about when in Math they set a goal to eat all their lunch. I had a hard time making that connection.
Being in a non-traditional environment she gets to do many more hands on projects. She spent a few days at the Outer Banks doing experiments and they have done other field trips that are off the hook. My fear is when she gets back to a traditional setting for high school she will have a hard time adjusting. Homework isn't counted as a separate grade.
Parenting, I thought would get easier; however, it isn't. I guess to prepare her for the future it is important that she learns if you can make a 100 in a class you should do everything to make that 100 (like go to Study Hall at 7:30 on Thursday mornings.)
But I guess I have to walk that fine line of positive reinforcement for working on 8th grade problems while encouraging doing her best work in all of it.
My quandary is when you have a child doing eighth grade problem solving do you get wigged out because they aren't doing their math homework. Or they have an A in Math Quizzes do you get upset that they made a 17 and a 64 on math homework - because of hurrying. They obviously get how to do the work.
What about when in Math they set a goal to eat all their lunch. I had a hard time making that connection.
Being in a non-traditional environment she gets to do many more hands on projects. She spent a few days at the Outer Banks doing experiments and they have done other field trips that are off the hook. My fear is when she gets back to a traditional setting for high school she will have a hard time adjusting. Homework isn't counted as a separate grade.
Parenting, I thought would get easier; however, it isn't. I guess to prepare her for the future it is important that she learns if you can make a 100 in a class you should do everything to make that 100 (like go to Study Hall at 7:30 on Thursday mornings.)
But I guess I have to walk that fine line of positive reinforcement for working on 8th grade problems while encouraging doing her best work in all of it.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
If you had told me
that in less than a year:
I would lose my job, get a new job, get a promotion, my air & heat would go out in my car, Mike would need a liver transplant, we would rent out our downstairs apartment and that my mom would have macular pucker and need surgery...I wouldn't have believed you.
If you had told me that this verse and John 10:10 would relate to my life so heavily this year. I wouldn't have believed you.
My prayer for my friends is that you will have abundant life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I would lose my job, get a new job, get a promotion, my air & heat would go out in my car, Mike would need a liver transplant, we would rent out our downstairs apartment and that my mom would have macular pucker and need surgery...I wouldn't have believed you.
If you had told me that this verse and John 10:10 would relate to my life so heavily this year. I wouldn't have believed you.
My prayer for my friends is that you will have abundant life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Frankie Bones
Mike & I went to Frankie Bones for lunch today.
I had the Seafood Benedict and he had an omelet with four cheeses, ham, mushroom & broccoli. Our meal was about $25, it was prepared well and was nicely presented. The flavors all went well together and nothing was overpowering. I was pleased.
The restaurant is very tastefully decorated in a speakeasy theme. It reminded me of an old New York restaurant (Sardi's). Mike said it reminded him of Chicago.
We will definitely go back.
I had the Seafood Benedict and he had an omelet with four cheeses, ham, mushroom & broccoli. Our meal was about $25, it was prepared well and was nicely presented. The flavors all went well together and nothing was overpowering. I was pleased.
The restaurant is very tastefully decorated in a speakeasy theme. It reminded me of an old New York restaurant (Sardi's). Mike said it reminded him of Chicago.
We will definitely go back.
Highlands Community Church
This morning we went with Jeff & Jan to check out Highlands Christian Church. Honestly, my preconceived notion was that it would be annoying with the kids allowed to be in service. I have a hard time concentrating.
We did not have a hard time finding parking and found across the street there is parking that probably not too many people are aware of. We were greeted at the door by two greeters, but really those were the only people that even spoke to us.
It's really dark in the worship area. The heat (it's an older building) was hot, so we moved to a cooler location. Yes, the kids after they started working on their packets were moving about, but they weren't really loud. Well a couple were talking, but it wasn't as bad as I suspected.
It's always hard for me to worship the first time in a new place. I enjoyed the music, but it was more to listen to for me than worship with. Their videos are freakin' funny. They did a great job explaining gel (with one L) groups...but made me think they were saying jail groups, serving, foster parenting and volunteering. It was a great infomercial which I guess helped you understand the church. He didn't really preach this morning.
They did children's time which was very traditional and I felt the woman doing it really probably talked above the children's heads. They aren't going to understand going to the chocolate lounge with a friend and how that relates to God if you pray first (there was more to the story, but I don't think I can do it justice).
They explained why children worship with their parents (intergenerational) and why their gel groups aren't segregated. Why they don't have a single's ministry, etc. I understand you don't have a building, it's hard to correlate all of those things when your space is limited, etc. So how do you talk about the hard topics if children are always there? How do you have a PG or PG-13 service when you have 5-year-olds in the room. Frankly, I don't want my child exposed to certain topics (although now she is at age 11 being exposed) but I feel they are necessary to talk about at church.
The statistic of emotional affairs via the internet, porn via the internet, loveless marriage, and singles marrying for the wrong reason is staggering. How do you ever go deeper and touch on any of these topics if children are always present?
I'm sure parents who love being surrounded by their children 24/7 will love this type of ministry. I love my child, but think she learns much better on a level of her own with her peers (or maybe she should just go to work with me every day and learn the way I do..sarcasm).
That's just my 2c. My perception!
We did not have a hard time finding parking and found across the street there is parking that probably not too many people are aware of. We were greeted at the door by two greeters, but really those were the only people that even spoke to us.
It's really dark in the worship area. The heat (it's an older building) was hot, so we moved to a cooler location. Yes, the kids after they started working on their packets were moving about, but they weren't really loud. Well a couple were talking, but it wasn't as bad as I suspected.
It's always hard for me to worship the first time in a new place. I enjoyed the music, but it was more to listen to for me than worship with. Their videos are freakin' funny. They did a great job explaining gel (with one L) groups...but made me think they were saying jail groups, serving, foster parenting and volunteering. It was a great infomercial which I guess helped you understand the church. He didn't really preach this morning.
They did children's time which was very traditional and I felt the woman doing it really probably talked above the children's heads. They aren't going to understand going to the chocolate lounge with a friend and how that relates to God if you pray first (there was more to the story, but I don't think I can do it justice).
They explained why children worship with their parents (intergenerational) and why their gel groups aren't segregated. Why they don't have a single's ministry, etc. I understand you don't have a building, it's hard to correlate all of those things when your space is limited, etc. So how do you talk about the hard topics if children are always there? How do you have a PG or PG-13 service when you have 5-year-olds in the room. Frankly, I don't want my child exposed to certain topics (although now she is at age 11 being exposed) but I feel they are necessary to talk about at church.
The statistic of emotional affairs via the internet, porn via the internet, loveless marriage, and singles marrying for the wrong reason is staggering. How do you ever go deeper and touch on any of these topics if children are always present?
I'm sure parents who love being surrounded by their children 24/7 will love this type of ministry. I love my child, but think she learns much better on a level of her own with her peers (or maybe she should just go to work with me every day and learn the way I do..sarcasm).
That's just my 2c. My perception!
NC State Fair
The Kwiatkowskis and Harkeys went on a tour of Chapel Hill, NC State, downtown Raleigh and to the State Fair.
Basically we ate our way through the fair. The deep fried pecan pie was awesome. Of 112 rides, I think the kids enjoyed a few of them. We toured the agricultural parts, watched the tractor pull, ate some more, rode some rides, looked at some crafts, ate fish sandwiches, ate hot dogs, ate turkey legs, ate corn, looked at the rabbits, checked out the baby pigs, bought some honey, ate some sweet potato fries, ate a philly cheese steak, drank lemonade and laughed.
It was a great weekend! (The best comment of the weekend was Ben saying Chapel Hill was a better campus than NC State...now if we could just get rid of his Duke shirt!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Good news
This weekend we went to the NC State Fair (more in a later post), Bali Hai, to Raleigh, to Chapel Hill and then back to Chapel Hill on Monday for a doctor appointment.
The doctor thought Mike looked better than last time he saw him and told us he doesn't think Mike's MELD score is indicative of Mike's level of illness. He thinks Mike is much better than his MELD score would lead us to believe. He asked to do blood work and guess what - the MELD score has dropped to 18. Still not great, but much better than 22.
They did prescribe some medication for one of the things driving his MELD and he will do more blood work in a few weeks.
All the glory goes to our God and the Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Thinking on this today!
Share
Today at 9:16am
1 Peter 1:3-9Give praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy he has given us a new birth and a hope that is alive. It is alive because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. 4 He has given us new birth so that we might share in what belongs to him. It is a gift that can never be destroyed. It can never spoil or even fade away. It is kept in heaven for you. 5 Through faith you are kept safe by God's power. Your salvation is going to be completed. It is ready to be shown to you in the last days. 6 Because you know this, you have great joy. You have joy even though you may have had to suffer for a little while. You may have had to suffer sadness in all kinds of trouble. 7 Your troubles have come in order to prove that your faith is real. It is worth more than gold. Gold can pass away even though fire has made it pure. Your faith is meant to bring praise, honor and glory to God. That will happen when Jesus Christ returns. 8 Even though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not see him now, you believe in him. You are filled with a glorious joy that can't be put into words. 9 You are receiving the salvation of your souls. It is the result of your faith. New International Reader's Version (NIRV) Copyright © 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society
The doctor thought Mike looked better than last time he saw him and told us he doesn't think Mike's MELD score is indicative of Mike's level of illness. He thinks Mike is much better than his MELD score would lead us to believe. He asked to do blood work and guess what - the MELD score has dropped to 18. Still not great, but much better than 22.
They did prescribe some medication for one of the things driving his MELD and he will do more blood work in a few weeks.
All the glory goes to our God and the Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Thinking on this today!
Share
Today at 9:16am
1 Peter 1:3-9Give praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy he has given us a new birth and a hope that is alive. It is alive because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. 4 He has given us new birth so that we might share in what belongs to him. It is a gift that can never be destroyed. It can never spoil or even fade away. It is kept in heaven for you. 5 Through faith you are kept safe by God's power. Your salvation is going to be completed. It is ready to be shown to you in the last days. 6 Because you know this, you have great joy. You have joy even though you may have had to suffer for a little while. You may have had to suffer sadness in all kinds of trouble. 7 Your troubles have come in order to prove that your faith is real. It is worth more than gold. Gold can pass away even though fire has made it pure. Your faith is meant to bring praise, honor and glory to God. That will happen when Jesus Christ returns. 8 Even though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not see him now, you believe in him. You are filled with a glorious joy that can't be put into words. 9 You are receiving the salvation of your souls. It is the result of your faith. New International Reader's Version (NIRV) Copyright © 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society
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