We have been so busy that I have neglected our blog this month so here's a quick update.

Otis was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder and Addison's Disease before the holidays. He is doing much better. We are grateful that we were able to get a diagnosis and help him to get better. He will be taking daily medications in conjunction with a monthly injection for the rest of his life.

Claire is taking Cheer Tumbling and Dance Acro still and she is really excelling. Much like her mother she sees what the girls who have been doing this for 10 years can do and she gets discouraged! She is doing wonderful in school as well. She has made great improvements this year in all areas and her teacher is fantastic (and cute too!). She has the same issue that I did at her age; socializing is the most important part of school :-) She is really enjoying reading all of the sudden which is wonderful. She is getting really good at choosing books that she is interested in which is half of the battle. At her age I was still pretending to read! Claire is part of a group of girls her age at church that she really enjoys. We get together twice a month and it is great to see Claire look forward to Achievement Night.

Jack refers to school as Fallujah. They have been on lock-down so many times that we lost count. I had to pick him up for an appointment earlier this week and we watched 2 high school boys leave in handcuffs. It makes me angry and sad that school is such a chaotic place. Jack asked to take the exam for McQuaid last month. We have completed all of the application components and are waiting for word from the school concerning his acceptance. Our next step will be applying for financial aid. Jack wants to attend McQuaid for the next 6 years very badly so we are hoping to find a way to swing it for him. We agree with him that he would be MUCH MUCH happier there. It is just a ton of money. We are approaching the final stretch of ice hockey for the season. There are a few more games in February and then we are in tournamentS in March.

Shane is preparing for his surgery in 5 days. He does not seem to be as worked up or nervous as I am. I'm sure he will be fine. He will be out of work for the whole month of February. I've been threatening to buy us some matching jogging suits so we can mall walk with all of the retired couples each morning. We have been celebrating his birthday for several weeks now although it is not until 2/14. We have had 2 "parties" and we are taking another cake to a friend's this weekend. He sure didn't miss any celebrating because of his surgery!