Kimmy 11/24

    Ahhhh....another pretty good day!  Kim's nurse, Jim (Steve Buscemi's cousin), stopped by this morning and let Kim know that her oxygen levels looked good, heart rate improved and all of her incisions look very good.  So, we reduced her oxygen down to 1 liter!! Kim was able to help me help her get herself ready for her day today, too.  The compression panty hose that Dr. Struthers suggested, have helped reduce the swelling in Kim's legs somewhat 'they don't feel like logs today', Kim remarked.
    Kim spent most of the day laying low, storing up her energy for the afternoon - we drove her over to Cody's school, Desert Sky Middle School, to watch Cody play in the Turkey Bowl football game - students against teachers!  Grammie and Grandpa Jim, parked the car on the street so Kim could watch from the car, her portable oxygen tank hooked up to her.  She cheered for Cody - it was an emotional time for her, as it was her first outing in over a month.  Antonio and I watched from the sidelines as the students won!  Cody had some good plays, a long kick off return, nearly for a TD and a few QB hurries as he penetrated the offensive line with his blazing speed.  Prior to the game, Desert Sky's principal, Mr. Mortensen, was heard to say "C.C. stands for chump change".  Although Mr. Mortensen's play stood up to his trash talk (nice interception!), the rest of his team was not able to convert the victory!  Mr. Mortensen and his team really do a lot to boost student morale and today was a fine outing for all.
     Following the game, we got Kim back home, where she quickly fell asleep - this short time out of our home has really wiped her out.
     As for the little bambini's, I took them to school with Bella in tow this morning.  Cody walked her, or did Bella walk Cody?, to Antonio's class.  Mrs. Schrantz chose Tonio to be 'Star Student' this week and said he could bring in something special to share with the class.  Bella was something special...barely able to contain herself amongst the throngs of children, she was in her glory!  And Tonio was jazzed!!  Poor Mrs. Schrantz had to settle him down, as Cody dragged Bella off campus.  Later that morning, I went back to Tonio's class to participate in a 'stone soup' feast. Mrs. Schrantz had recently shared that story with her class and put together a fun lunch for her students and parents.  She even had Autumn come down from Mrs. Rudzena's class to join us.  Tonio created some incredible turkey pictures and a placemat - he is very creative.  Mrs. Rudzena had Autumn stay after school to help her catch up on some projects and then took her to Baskin Robbins for ice cream!!  Needless to say, Autumn was not too upset that she missed the Turkey Bowl!!  At home, Grammie and Grandpa Jim whipped up a grillers dream with burgers, dogs and baked potatoes on the grill!  So, with Grammie, Grandpa Jim and Kim's steady improvement, the kids are very happy these days.
      We want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!!  Our wonderful neighbors, Betsey, Brian, Amy, Tom and Betsey's parents, Ursula and Sam, are graciously doing a huge turkey dinner for our family to enjoy.  We are blessed to have this Tucson family and they have helped us so much over the last month or so.
       I know that I have a lot to be thankful for, including 17 Thanksgivings married to Kim, 27 total Thanksgivings together and 33 Thanksgivings since we first met...not to mention 3 wonderful children and incredible support from family and friends!
      We have a friend in Florida, Polly, a cancer survivor who has helped our family through some challenging times over the last 6 years or so, who sent me this beautiful verse:
 Psalm 32:8  I will guide you and teach you in the way you should go I will guide you with my eye
      Happy Thanksgiving!
                     Love,
                                   Dave