{Happy Valentine's Day!}

Happy Valentine's Day to all! Everyone should already have received their cards in the mail, but I thought I'd post this here as well to tell you how much we love you all! You know who you are! :-D

Love,
Mike, Michelle, Meghann

{Mike's Back Surgery}

Okay....we have a date! Mike will be getting his microdiscectomy on the 25th of February. So only 12 more days of pain for Mike. The pain he has after the surgery should be so much less than he has now, that it'll be much better right away! Yeah! We just want Mike to feel better as soon as possible!

{Aquarium of the Pacific Orchestra Performance}

Wednesday, the 11th of February was Meghann's last time performing with the McAuliffe Middle School Orchestra @ the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. :-( Makes me sad! They've done it every year and done so well! Here are some pictures and a video from the performance. Enjoy!

Meghann was off to the side this year, so I didn't get good shots of her playing!

Mr. Sisil in the tank...he's a diver @ the Aquarium so that's pretty cool!

Larissa, Kendall, Rebecca and Meghann

Make sure you click on the little "up arrow" on the bottom right after you click "play" and choose "HQ" to watch this in high quality!

{Mike's Pending Back Surgery}

Mike went to his orthopedist (he's a spine specialist) on Tuesday. He will be having the microdiscectomy surgery in 2-3 weeks. They are working on scheduling the date at this time. So that's where we are right now. He's a perfect candidate for the surgery and we're praying that everything works out for the best. We just can't wait for Mike to not be in pain and to be able to get back to doing the job that he loves! We have very good family and friends for support during all of this which helps us all!

{Disneyland with the Markers & Walkers}

We met up with Ted, Stephanie, Colin and MacKenzie Marker @ Disneyland on Monday, the 9th. Since the kids didn't have school, it was a perfect day. Now...it RAINED a lot in the morning, but then it cleared up to be a BEAUTIFUL day! It's like no time had passed @ all, though it's been 16 years since we've last seen them! The kids all got along perfectly! Colin and Kenzie are very well behaved and super outgoing! We had a blast with them! We're so thankful that we have so many friends in our lives...I can't imagine being without good friends to do so many things with! Here are some pictures from our day! (I'm a few posts behind, so there should be a couple posts today.....!)

{3 Day Weekends ROCK!!}

Gosh, I love a 3 day weekend! Unfortunately, this weekend is a drill weekend for Mike (PHEW, only 3 more years left before he retires @ 22 years service!) so we can't really do anything until Monday. On Monday we've planned a trip to Disneyland with some old High School friends of Mike's! Ted & Stephanie Marker and their 2 kids! Ted & Steph got married the weekend after we did in 1993. How time flies! Ted and Mike found each other on Facebook, which is a WONDERFUL tool for connecting with family and friends! We can't wait, we know it'll be a fun time catching up with old friends...and @ a place we all love to hang out! Long live Disneyland!

{Mike's Back Update for Thursday-UPDATED!}

Mike went in for his EMG today. He really liked the neurologist who took a long time discussing his symptoms and how everything has progressed since the onset. He then underwent the nerve test and the preliminary results are that it is NOT a chronic condition (meaning the nerve is damaged) but an acute one (meaning that it's the herniated disc causing the discomfort to the nerve). So Mike is THRILLED to hear this news! That means that the microdiscectomy is a viable option for him. We're hoping he can see his orthopedist sooner than the 17th since the results of the EMG will be given to him tomorrow. So basically....it's been good news today! Mike's spirits are considerably lifted!

**UPDATE** He's able to get in to see his orthopedist this coming Tuesday! YEAH! That means things are moving more quickly that we'd originally thought. The sooner we can get relief for Mike the better! I think he'll feel like the Million Dollar Man!

{Mike's Back Update for Wednesday}

Good news! A cancellation @ the EMG Dr. means Mike gets to go in tomorrow for that test. So that way we have some "answers" earlier than next week! Thank you for your continued prayers to our Almighty Lord that he be healed!

{Mike's Back Update for Tuesday}

Well, he is not going to have an epidural. He is going to wait until next Tuesday when he has the EMG (nerve test) and gets the results for that. He'll be then seeing the doctor again the Tuesday after that. (2 weeks from today) They will then discuss surgery or what other options they have. At this point, due to our research and talking with many others that have had this same problem, we think that the microdiscectomy is the best way to go at this point. Click here to see a video of what the surgery entails, it's animated, not real surgery. It REALLY explains it well! It's more of a "cure" than a "pain mask". With his job he'll always have to have the heavy belt around his waist and sit for 12 hours in a patrol vehicle. If he gets it "fixed" now he doesn't have as much chance of furthering the injury because he can't feel the pain. So we wait....and Mike's in pain. This sucks!

{Steelers WIN the Super Bowl!}

We had a GREAT time @ Dave and Heidi's house for Super Bowl! Barbara and Leni were able to come up and join in the fun with all of Dane & Michelle's kids....so there were 8 kids and 9 adults partying both UP and DOWNstairs....watching 2 different 60 inch TVs! There was TONS of amazing food from Amazing Dave's, as well as Heidi's chili, Michelle's Buffalo Chicken Dip, chips and dips, cakes and cupcakes...YUMMY! Lots of fun! Though tonight was a bad night for Mike's back/leg. As we were getting ready to leave, he was in a lot of pain...hopefully a good night's rest will help. Anyway, a SUPER game....2 very well matched teams make for some SERIOUS fun to watch! A few good commercials....the Doritos one with the "crystal ball" was HILARIOUS! All in all...good fun, good food, good friends, good family, good game! Super Bowl 43...in the can!