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| Admin. Wing (Snapshots with Bumble) |
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| Also part of Admin. display |
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| Reception area (Polar Express) |
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| Polar Express |
No News
2 months ago
Sunday, December 23, 2012
More Christmas
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Good News/Bad News
Well, the events of the past week have been, how do you say, eventful? Ron called me Monday evening saying he thought he had just experienced a sudden onset of Alzheimers. He went to get in his car to come home and couldn't find it. It wasn't due to Alzheimers but to the fact that it had been stolen. After notifying security personnel and the police he finally got home about 10:00 pm. Of course the Good News was he wasn't carjacked while in the car!
But the week progressed on a higher note. We saw Ron's oncologist on Tuesday and his CT scan results were good. She said he is stable. No change. The spots in his lungs hadn't changed and she even said she is beginning to think they may merely be scar tissue. So he's been stable over a year now and that's the best news of all.
Then yesterday I spent the day in the city with my son-in-law while my daughter had surgery. They were expecting the doctor would have to do a full fusion on her wrist but he was able to save some function. She will still have some movement (she can still do the queen's wave) and that was much better than expected. She was in a lot of pain afterwards but I'm hoping she's better today. She has a titanium plate, screws and pins in her wrist so it's bound to hurt for awhile. The pins will be removed later.
Then twin #1 had a chair dropped on her foot and she broke 4 toes. The next day one of her students dropped another chair on it and then that evening her husband accidently stepped on her foot. But she managed to hobble herself to her sister's house last night to stay with her. She was great and able to get Jamie's pain under control and the two of them cuddled up in bed together and watched movies. That twin bond........I love it!
So, that was our week! But we are all still here and life goes on. Can't ask for more than that!
I guess we are going car shopping today.
But the week progressed on a higher note. We saw Ron's oncologist on Tuesday and his CT scan results were good. She said he is stable. No change. The spots in his lungs hadn't changed and she even said she is beginning to think they may merely be scar tissue. So he's been stable over a year now and that's the best news of all.
Then yesterday I spent the day in the city with my son-in-law while my daughter had surgery. They were expecting the doctor would have to do a full fusion on her wrist but he was able to save some function. She will still have some movement (she can still do the queen's wave) and that was much better than expected. She was in a lot of pain afterwards but I'm hoping she's better today. She has a titanium plate, screws and pins in her wrist so it's bound to hurt for awhile. The pins will be removed later.
Then twin #1 had a chair dropped on her foot and she broke 4 toes. The next day one of her students dropped another chair on it and then that evening her husband accidently stepped on her foot. But she managed to hobble herself to her sister's house last night to stay with her. She was great and able to get Jamie's pain under control and the two of them cuddled up in bed together and watched movies. That twin bond........I love it!
So, that was our week! But we are all still here and life goes on. Can't ask for more than that!
I guess we are going car shopping today.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Looking for common sense
Since the horrible events of last Friday there has been much talk about how change is needed in this country. No one seems to be sure of what changes except those who want guns are sure they don’t want their right to own them changed in any way. I respect that and have no desire to take guns away from responsible citizens. I just want to know who they are so I know whose house to stay away from. I realize I’m more likely to be hurt by one of their guns than I am the “bad guy’s”. My next-door neighbor and member of the United States Air Force, was outside two weeks ago after dark wielding his firearm because he heard a noise. My dear friend who took the necessary training and now has a concealed weapon’s permit almost shot her brother-in-law when he rang her doorbell after dark. So I just want the names and addresses of all those individuals licensed to carry guns as well as anyone owning weapons so I can protect myself from them.
I realize that people feel the need to protect themselves and their property. The problem is the bad guys have the element of surprise on their side. Unless you are sitting in front of the front door cocked and loaded the likelihood of you protecting yourself from anyone is pretty slim.
My nephew-in-law’s aunt and uncle returned home from church and decided to take a nap. The uncle fell asleep on the living room sofa and his wife in their bedroom. Uncle was an avid gun collector. He believed in owning a gun to protect himself and his family. However, the intruder who had hid in the kitchen pantry waited patiently until everyone was asleep and then preceded to enter the bedroom where he gagged and raped the sleeping 64-year-old woman. He then exited the bedroom window without a shot being fired.
But our country will always have guns. The good guys are armed and the bad guys are armed so I’m under no delusion that we will ever get rid of them.
What I would ask every single person who owns a gun to do is to go home and make sure your weapons are secured. Don’t be under a false sense of security that, “Your child knows not to touch a gun.” The day after the horrible event in Connecticut a three-year-old nephew of an Oklahoma Highway Patrolman was visiting his uncle and the child accidentally shot himself in the head with his uncle’s firearm. It happens every day all over the country. Invest in a locked gun case or better yet a gun safe. Make it at least a challenge for thieves to steel your guns. Most homes are burglarized when no one is at home.
Next, take a look at the video games your children are playing. Do any of them glamorize killing? Be objective when you do this because we have all become desensitized to violence. These war games are so realistic they are used by the armed forces to help train soldiers. What are you training your five-year old to be?
Then we need to thoughtfully examine all the incidences of mass shootings that have transpired in this country. Look for all the common denominators. If automatic weapons or mental illness are common denominators than those issues must be addressed. Are services readily available to the mentally ill? Are we so caught up in protecting the privacy of individuals that innocent individuals remain unprotected from the psychotic actions of the mentally ill? When teachers identify at risk children are services readily available for the child or family? Rather than more police officers or more metal detectors in school how about just making education the priority it should be. Schools need money in order to provide smaller classrooms, special education programs, the basic resources needed to address the needs of children.
We are asking way too much of our teachers. They no longer have the time or opportunity to teach. Every child with a disability does not necessarily belong in a mainstream classroom. But if they are then provide the additional support to make them successful. Don’t expect a teacher to give that child the extra attention they require and still focus on the needs of twenty-three other children.
Now a State Rep. Mark McCullough from Oklahoma announced his plans to file legislation that will, among other things, allow CLEET-certified teachers and principals to carry firearms at school and at school events. Really? Now my daughters are expected to be armed? If they had wanted to be in law enforcement they wouldn’t have gotten their degrees in education. I can’t think of anything safer than 24 four-year olds and a loaded gun. Why not use the money to hire off duty officers to patrol schools. Having a kindergaten teacher pack heat along with her lesson plans is not the answer.
Is common sense absent in this country?
I realize that people feel the need to protect themselves and their property. The problem is the bad guys have the element of surprise on their side. Unless you are sitting in front of the front door cocked and loaded the likelihood of you protecting yourself from anyone is pretty slim.
My nephew-in-law’s aunt and uncle returned home from church and decided to take a nap. The uncle fell asleep on the living room sofa and his wife in their bedroom. Uncle was an avid gun collector. He believed in owning a gun to protect himself and his family. However, the intruder who had hid in the kitchen pantry waited patiently until everyone was asleep and then preceded to enter the bedroom where he gagged and raped the sleeping 64-year-old woman. He then exited the bedroom window without a shot being fired.
But our country will always have guns. The good guys are armed and the bad guys are armed so I’m under no delusion that we will ever get rid of them.
What I would ask every single person who owns a gun to do is to go home and make sure your weapons are secured. Don’t be under a false sense of security that, “Your child knows not to touch a gun.” The day after the horrible event in Connecticut a three-year-old nephew of an Oklahoma Highway Patrolman was visiting his uncle and the child accidentally shot himself in the head with his uncle’s firearm. It happens every day all over the country. Invest in a locked gun case or better yet a gun safe. Make it at least a challenge for thieves to steel your guns. Most homes are burglarized when no one is at home.
Next, take a look at the video games your children are playing. Do any of them glamorize killing? Be objective when you do this because we have all become desensitized to violence. These war games are so realistic they are used by the armed forces to help train soldiers. What are you training your five-year old to be?
Then we need to thoughtfully examine all the incidences of mass shootings that have transpired in this country. Look for all the common denominators. If automatic weapons or mental illness are common denominators than those issues must be addressed. Are services readily available to the mentally ill? Are we so caught up in protecting the privacy of individuals that innocent individuals remain unprotected from the psychotic actions of the mentally ill? When teachers identify at risk children are services readily available for the child or family? Rather than more police officers or more metal detectors in school how about just making education the priority it should be. Schools need money in order to provide smaller classrooms, special education programs, the basic resources needed to address the needs of children.
We are asking way too much of our teachers. They no longer have the time or opportunity to teach. Every child with a disability does not necessarily belong in a mainstream classroom. But if they are then provide the additional support to make them successful. Don’t expect a teacher to give that child the extra attention they require and still focus on the needs of twenty-three other children.
Now a State Rep. Mark McCullough from Oklahoma announced his plans to file legislation that will, among other things, allow CLEET-certified teachers and principals to carry firearms at school and at school events. Really? Now my daughters are expected to be armed? If they had wanted to be in law enforcement they wouldn’t have gotten their degrees in education. I can’t think of anything safer than 24 four-year olds and a loaded gun. Why not use the money to hire off duty officers to patrol schools. Having a kindergaten teacher pack heat along with her lesson plans is not the answer.
Is common sense absent in this country?
Friday, December 7, 2012
more golf cart parade pictures
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| Our therapists as the Nutcracker |
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| Univ of Okla. Mascot "Sooner" |
Should be fun!
Monday, December 3, 2012
Christmas Trees and Parades
We had the annual golf cart Christmas parade tonight and unfortunately not many of my pictures turned out but here are a few. The theme was Christmas Characters.....
We had a great turnout and the weather was perfect. It must have been about 70 degrees. Our staff outdid themselves this year and unfortunately the pictures I took just don't do the parade justice.
Here are some of our themed Christmas trees this year.
We also had a tree with green frogs and one covered in lollipops.....
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| The Abominable Snowman |
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| The Nutcracker Queen |
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| Sweet Baby Jesus |
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| The abominable Snowman Float |
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| Nutcracker Float |
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| The Nutcracker & The Rat King |
Here are some of our themed Christmas trees this year.
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| Cowboy/Cowgirl Tree |
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| Super Hero Tree |
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| Happy Meal Tree |
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| Toy Story Tree |
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Update on Socks
Socks found his forever home. He was adopted yesterday by a woman who works at my daughter's school. She is thrilled and Socks seems to love his new home. She had another cat named Oscar and they all seem to be adjusting to the newcomer.
We got our Christmas shopping done yesterday and now we can coast until Christmas. We decided not to put up the tree this year. Just too tired to get it out and then have to take it all down in a few weeks. We will just enjoy everyone else's decorations this year.
I'm going to make fudge next week and some other gifts from the kitchen but that should be fun!
Hope everyone had a restful weekend.
We got our Christmas shopping done yesterday and now we can coast until Christmas. We decided not to put up the tree this year. Just too tired to get it out and then have to take it all down in a few weeks. We will just enjoy everyone else's decorations this year.
I'm going to make fudge next week and some other gifts from the kitchen but that should be fun!
Hope everyone had a restful weekend.
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