And....there was a really pretty rainbow a few weeks ago . Jimmy Joe ran up the hill behind our apartment and took a cool picture of it. It was so pretty because you could see both ends. Think we'll have good luck? I hope so!
9 years ago
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Freezer Jam and Rainbow
I made strawberry freezer jam a little while ago. I've never made jam before, but it turned out great! Strawberries were $0.77 a lb so I bought a ton. We froze most of them for shakes, and the rest went to jam. I am excited I made jam! It's really not that hard, although real (not freezer) jam is a lot more work. I am a fan of freezer jam. Here is a picture I took of one of the containers.
And....there was a really pretty rainbow a few weeks ago . Jimmy Joe ran up the hill behind our apartment and took a cool picture of it. It was so pretty because you could see both ends. Think we'll have good luck? I hope so!
And....there was a really pretty rainbow a few weeks ago . Jimmy Joe ran up the hill behind our apartment and took a cool picture of it. It was so pretty because you could see both ends. Think we'll have good luck? I hope so!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Air Show
We went to the Air Force air show a few weeks ago. It was so cool. We took some cool pictures with a really fast shutter speed so the planes weren't just a blur. Here is a short slide show.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Kentucky
In May, during the week between my spring and summer semesters, Jimmy Joe and I went to Kentucky to visit my family. My parents and oldest brother live there, and my oldest sister was able to come down with her family from Illinois for half the time! We had a lot of fun. I miss my family so much! It had been a year since I'd seen anyone, and it gets hard not seeing your family! I loved going back and visiting. While we were there we went to Mammoth Caves, the Louisville Zoo, Squire Boone Cavern (the brother of Daniel Boone), Churchill Downs- the horse racing track where they race the Kentucky Derby, and we went fishing for a day on the lake in their community.
I LOVED how green it was there and all of the trees!!!!! I miss trees!
In "Fat Man's Misery" in Mammoth Caves.
My parents, Trent and us before going in Mammoth Cave.
My cute little nephew Luke helping me reel in the fishing line.
Churchill Downs
Me before I placed a $2 bet on a horse. They wouldn't take just a dollar.
Me after my horse lost. Jimmy Joe was happy because "I learned my lesson" :)
My adorable niece Clara checking out the races
I LOVED how green it was there and all of the trees!!!!! I miss trees!
In "Fat Man's Misery" in Mammoth Caves.
My parents, Trent and us before going in Mammoth Cave.
My cute little nephew Luke helping me reel in the fishing line.
Churchill Downs
Me before I placed a $2 bet on a horse. They wouldn't take just a dollar.
Me after my horse lost. Jimmy Joe was happy because "I learned my lesson" :)
My adorable niece Clara checking out the races
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
New Haircut
After having similar variations on the same haircut for 2 years, I decided to change up my hair a lot! April (my sister-in-law) cut if for me, and she did a great job- thanks April! I just told her to do whatever she wanted. It's a lot shorter and a ton thinner. My hair is so thick that if it's not thinned out it gets really heavy. After she cut it, there was enough hair on the ground for a full wig. I love it!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
School, heart, and more!
So I have not posted in a long time. I have been very busy lately. This semester has been the hardest time I have ever had in school (so far). I have always been really busy, but this semester has been especially hard because of the classes that I am taking. I have been doing about 6 hours of homework a day and going to class and work too. There is no way I could do it without Joanna. She has been there encouraging me along the way on nights that I have felt like pulling my hair out or having my brain explode, whichever came first. She has also been so helpful in making dinner when she herself is very busy and tired too. The semester is not over yet, but almost. So recently I have been trying to tell myself that this will all be worth it someday. Sometimes I think that I must be crazy to want to do this and more for another four years to get my PhD. All I know is that I am not yet content with what I know. I am starting to think that I never will be.
But don’t worry I have not lost sight of what is really important. The other day while I was pondering some things. I thought about when Joanna and I will start our family, and suddenly all my worries about Kinetics, Thermodynamics and Mass transfer suddenly seemed so insignificant. I know what I am really here for, to raise an eternal family and teach them how to become more like Christ; to be the best husband and father that I can be.
Another thing that has been occupying my time is trying to solve some unanswered questions with my dent in my chest. So there is a syndrome called Marfans syndrome. One of the signs of this disorder is pectus excavatum (dented chest). I have never been too worried about it, but I (and Joanna) wanted to make sure that I did not have it because people who have it usually have heart troubles. The main thing that can happen is having aortic dissections. This means that your aorta can rip and you die. There are also other heart problems you can have like regurgitation (some of your blood goes the wrong way in your heart).
So I went to the doctor and he did not think that I had anything wrong with me, but there were some signs of it that were close. Also my chest kind of hurt. I did not know if it was my muscles or my heart. So to be safe, first he took a chest X-ray and then an EKG (measures the heart electrical signals). In the X-ray you could see that I had very mild scoliosis (your back is curved right or left). That is another sign of Marfans, but a lot of people have scoliosis a little bit. So just to be sure, we decided to have me go in to the hospital and get an echocardiogram. This is pretty much an ultrasound on your heart, but they measure your heart cavities, the thickness of your aorta and they can also measure the velocity of the blood pumping in the heart. Well I was very nervous to have that done because needless to say I do not want to have heart problems. After an hour of looking at everything and having the cardiologist look at the movies and pictures he determined that there were no signs of Marfans, or anything wrong with my heart. I was very relieved. Although nothing was ever really wrong, this has made me so grateful for good health. This also has really opened my eyes to all the things that can go wrong with our fragile bodies.
In getting the echocardiogram you get to watch the monitor while they are doing their stuff. I have to say how amazing and humbling it was to see my own heart beating, and seeing the valves open and close. I was humbled to know that that little muscle contracting and releasing is what is keeping me alive. I have seen hearts before in cadavers, but to see my own heart valves open and close was amazing. We have an amazing architect. I have included a short video, it is hard to see what is going on. The video is a side view of my heart, if you look close you can see the valves open and close. The colors on the heart are showing the velocity profile of my blood going through the valves. So when you see color, that is the flow of blood going through the heart chambers.
And finally, Joanna and I are going to Cambodia!! We bought tickets and we are going this summer. I am so excited. It will be awesome! Well that is all.
But don’t worry I have not lost sight of what is really important. The other day while I was pondering some things. I thought about when Joanna and I will start our family, and suddenly all my worries about Kinetics, Thermodynamics and Mass transfer suddenly seemed so insignificant. I know what I am really here for, to raise an eternal family and teach them how to become more like Christ; to be the best husband and father that I can be.
Another thing that has been occupying my time is trying to solve some unanswered questions with my dent in my chest. So there is a syndrome called Marfans syndrome. One of the signs of this disorder is pectus excavatum (dented chest). I have never been too worried about it, but I (and Joanna) wanted to make sure that I did not have it because people who have it usually have heart troubles. The main thing that can happen is having aortic dissections. This means that your aorta can rip and you die. There are also other heart problems you can have like regurgitation (some of your blood goes the wrong way in your heart).
So I went to the doctor and he did not think that I had anything wrong with me, but there were some signs of it that were close. Also my chest kind of hurt. I did not know if it was my muscles or my heart. So to be safe, first he took a chest X-ray and then an EKG (measures the heart electrical signals). In the X-ray you could see that I had very mild scoliosis (your back is curved right or left). That is another sign of Marfans, but a lot of people have scoliosis a little bit. So just to be sure, we decided to have me go in to the hospital and get an echocardiogram. This is pretty much an ultrasound on your heart, but they measure your heart cavities, the thickness of your aorta and they can also measure the velocity of the blood pumping in the heart. Well I was very nervous to have that done because needless to say I do not want to have heart problems. After an hour of looking at everything and having the cardiologist look at the movies and pictures he determined that there were no signs of Marfans, or anything wrong with my heart. I was very relieved. Although nothing was ever really wrong, this has made me so grateful for good health. This also has really opened my eyes to all the things that can go wrong with our fragile bodies.
In getting the echocardiogram you get to watch the monitor while they are doing their stuff. I have to say how amazing and humbling it was to see my own heart beating, and seeing the valves open and close. I was humbled to know that that little muscle contracting and releasing is what is keeping me alive. I have seen hearts before in cadavers, but to see my own heart valves open and close was amazing. We have an amazing architect. I have included a short video, it is hard to see what is going on. The video is a side view of my heart, if you look close you can see the valves open and close. The colors on the heart are showing the velocity profile of my blood going through the valves. So when you see color, that is the flow of blood going through the heart chambers.
And finally, Joanna and I are going to Cambodia!! We bought tickets and we are going this summer. I am so excited. It will be awesome! Well that is all.
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