VAN VOORHIS FAMILY BLOG

Birthday Celebration

Originally uploaded by SisterPV

Just got back last night from a great weekend with 8 of my girl friends. We gathered at the Lake Austin spa in Austin, Texas from 4 different states (Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Mississippi). This was the first time to include some of my girlfriends from Florida in my girls trip and it was so wonderful to mesh some old friends with some new.

We all got along famously and enjoyed a beautiful weekend of healthy food, spa visits, exercise and cooking classes. We also supplemented it with plenty of m&m’s, oreos, a bit of champagne and many late nights of chatting and playing cards.

I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends – and a family that doesn’t mind me taking off a few days to regenerate with my girlfriends.

Had a fabulous time away, but always good to return to my family. J

"Wacky Tacky" day at school

Originally uploaded by SisterPV

Homecoming week at school for Anna & Ethan and they get to do a few of the dress down days. Today was “wacky tacky” day. Love those crazy kids!

Ahhhh, 10:00 on a Saturday morning and it finally feels like fall in Florida. 58 degrees now and will only get to a high of 68. So nice to have the windows open and feel the cool breezes and yet have the sun shining. We really do love living in Florida!

Sam has already played tennis this morning and if off to play golf. Anna is cleaning her room, Ethan is working on homework and I’m stirring things up in the kitchen (thinking enchiladas for dinner tonight). The house is totally quiet – no t.v., no music – we just can hear the fountains in the pool. Lovely day.

I went to the gym yesterday for the first time in a while and did the recumbent bike for my knee. Not too sure if I pushed my knee too much – I guess I’ll try to continue to take it slow. I’ve got an appointment with an orthopedist at the Mayo Clinic here in Jax that specializes in sports medicine and knee arthroscopies – that’s on Oct. 28. So, holding still (so to speak) till then.

A week from now I’ll be in Austin, Texas with 8 girlfriends from around the U.S. (Ohio, Virginia, Mississippi and Florida) for a girls weekend at the Lake Austin spa. We fly out next Friday and return late on Monday so it will be a nice and relaxing weekend for all of us – and our spouses will be flying solo with the kids. Should be a nice weekend for all.

Well, back to the kitchen….. J

We arrived home today from a brief trip up to South Carolina this weekend. We took the kids out of school a bit early on Friday and drove up to spend time with Sam’s parents and his brother Tim & 4 of his kids that were there as well. The kids hadn’t been up to SC all summer, so it was nice for them to spend some time with Mr. and Mrs. VV. Grandma seems to be doing much better and is gaining strength and is in much better spirits. She was up and moving around more than we expected her to be and we are hoping that she isn’t too tired after having 6 grand kids and 3 new house guests for a few days.

Sam & his brother Tim had a class reunion of sorts. It was an informal gathering of a number of classes that spanned the years they graduated from high school, but it was a bit disappointing for Sam since his class was not really represented among the attendees. Anna & Ethan enjoyed hanging out with the oldest 4 of Tim’s kids – their youngest, Daniel, had a fever so he stayed home with his mom, Stacey. It’s nice to see the kids just pick up where they left off from the last time they saw each other and run around in the yard and woods.

Last week was sort of a hurry up and wait week for me. I had gotten my MRI the previous Friday, but had to wait till Thursday to get the results from the orthopedist. Upon review of the MRI, I was told that my meniscus is torn and that I also have arthritis in my knees – which was surprising for me to hear at age 42. I guess that explains my achy knees – the joy of getting old and having family members before me with bad knees as well. This Dr. told me that surgery is pretty much my only option. Since there are so many differing opinions in regard to knee injuries and their treatments, we made an additional appointment with a Dr. from Mayo to review the MRI. On Friday, I met with Dr. #2 and his opinions were pretty different in regard to treatment. He gave me a cortisone shot and told me to wait a week or 2 to see how it feels, and if it hasn’t improved, then I should go ahead and schedule surgery with another Dr. at Mayo who specializes in sports medicine and knee arthroscopies.

So…. again, hurry up and wait. I’m trying to be a patient patient, but I’m not very good at it. I’m thankful that this is just a minor inconvenience and that I’m not dealing with a life threatening disease or the illness of a child or spouse. It is driving me crazy to not be able to exercise or play tennis, which is a very enjoyable aspect of my life. Appreciate prayers for patience and wisdom as we decide the course of action to follow.

Kids are doing well and will be entering their second quarter of school this week – time sure is flying. Oh, and we’ve decided to renovate the kitchen – so that will be keeping us busy for the next few weeks. Thanks for staying in touch with us. J

Mother/Daughter

Originally uploaded by SisterPV

Love my girl!

Long time friends

Originally uploaded by SisterPV

Had a really nice weekend with my friend Beth, from Ohio. Beth & I have known each other since 1985 – it was great to have her come down for a few days and meet some of my PV friends.

Full week for us – started off with Ethan having a fever and missing Monday and Tuesday from school. He has since recovered and is back in the swing of things. Sam was being kind and stayed home with Ethan on Monday while I went to tennis clinic – unfortunately for me, I tweaked my knee playing tennis. I went to the orthopedist on Tuesday and was told by my Dr. that he thinks I’ve got a torn meniscus. Had a MRI on Friday and am anxiously awaiting the results next week (Thursday a.m.) to see if it is something that requires surgery or just rest in order to recover. Needless to say – no tennis for the time being. Bummer.

On Thursday, my friend Beth came down from Ohio for the weekend and Sam left on a golf trip with his friend Ed. They’ve enjoyed massive quantities of golf while I’ve enjoyed massive quantities of girl time. Lunches with friends, drinks on the beach with friends and tonight I had a few girl friends over (including my mom) for a low key girls night. It’s been great catching up with a friend from 25+ years.

Sam’s mom seems to be doing well this week and things seem to be positive. We continue to appreciate prayers for her recovery. We will head up to Greenville next weekend with the kids to spend some time with them and attend a class reunion of Sam’s.

Next week is the last week of school for the quarter for the kids – this last week they both had 3 projects due – so it was a busy school week for them. Band concert on Monday, Bible Study on Tuesday – hopefully good news from my Dr. on Thursday – we’ll see.

Sam returns tomorrow from his golf trip and my friend Beth flies home. Nice to have girl time, but also am glad my husband will be back home. That’s about it for now. J