Thanks

This one is for Sylvia. I am thankful that after 9 1/2 years of marriage my wife still does things to surprise me. For my birthday last week she took the initiative to arrange for a nice time away for the two of us. On the night before my birthday we had a great time with our friends Aaron and Danae Amstutz over supper at a Mexican restaurant in Winchester. She also arranged for me to have the next day off of work and so we stayed overnight in Winchester and spent the next day eating out and just enjoying each others company. I cannot imagine tiring of our love's exploration and the small ways that we still surprise one another after more than a decade together.

Growing Boys

Elliot
Age: 20 months
Height: 34 inches
Weight: 27.6 pounds
Growth Chart: 75% in all measurements - height, weight, and head circumference
Activities: looking at books; coloring; playing outside; washing dishes - "hep didjes" ; talking; playing with balls and trucks; going to visit people; going to the store; trying to differentiate colors - currently most things are "gween"; counting - he can say what the next number in sequence is up to 9; music - current favorite devotional songs are "For God So Loved Us", "Running Over", and "Building Up The Temple"; and eating - loves almost everything


(This picture is for you Carmen, Jason, Dara and Lydia and Luke!)



Vincent
Age: 7 months
Height: 26 and 3/4 inches at 6 months
Weight: 17 pounds at 5 months
Activities: taking toys/blocks out of containers one by one; "jumping" in his exersaucer and making it move all over the floor; screeching happily; watching Elliot play; trying all kinds of foods; loves music - smiles almost constantly while we sing devotional songs; loves the outdoors; wants to be in on all the action now - I think he'll be more happy when he can finally crawl; and is generally curious and excited about the world around him.

Update On My Dad

Dad is still at UVA and surgery to repair his hip is scheduled for tomorrow (Monday). He is in good spirits, but is in more pain as more weight is attached to his leg (his leg is in traction). The doctors are amazed at the good health he has at his age (67). Yesterday when I was visiting him a doctor was in and asked a string of questions prior to surgery (he had a couple of blood clots on his lungs and surgery to place a filter in was needed), and was genuinely surprised when Dad answered "No" to almost every question on the list. That's certainly a blessing!!

To give an example of the way my dad is responding to his situation, when the emergency personnel were at the scene of his fall, they asked if he had any medical/health problems they needed to be aware of, and Dad answered "No, just accident prone". And that amidst experiencing severe pain!

A brief account of what happened: He was pressure washing the roof of his sister's house, unknowingly touched a hot wire, lost his balance, slipped, and fell 18 feet onto a concrete basement landing.

Continue to pray for Dad and Mom - there will be a long period of recovery ahead.

My Dad

My dad fell off the roof of a house today and shattered his hip. He was taken to UVA Medical Center for surgery. I don't have a lot of details yet, but I'm asking that you remember him and my mom especially in your prayers. Thanks.