Help For JJ

Tug ont the heart strings- These a relatives of some close family friends of mine. Please pass this along
I just wanted to pass on an opportunity to help for anyone that is interested. JJ was born with the liver out of his body in like a bubble or sac. They were unable to fix it until this summer, when he was able to go to Seattle and have it put back inside. He has recently turned three, and you can imagine how hard it has been for them to keep him from falling on or hurting his tummy for the last 3 years. Amy has had to stay home with him, and has been unable to work because he needs constant care. He can not go to a sitter or day care because his immune system is horrible and an cold or flu usually puts him into the hospital, not to mention the typical wrestling of a child could kill him because of the placement of his liver. They really struggled to get enough money to do the 1st surgery, but thanks to many friends and family they were able to raise the funds to go and have the procedure done. Unfortunately they found out that they would still need another surgery. JJ's has hernias that were not able to be fixed then, but need to be now. The hernias mean that he has a hole in the abdominal wall that causes his intestines to fall out into his scrotum, making it about the size of a small grapefruit.. as you can imagine, this is very painful for him. Since the surgery his liver is still protruding alot in his belly since they couldnt close the muscle wall all the way around it.. every day he has constant tummy aches and has not been able to gain ANY weight since the surgery, but now they need to check things out and decide if maybe he needs a permanent feeding tube surgically placed. They are supposed to go up to Seattle in November for the surgery, however they are having a hard time raising the funds to get there and get it done. They were at first denied Medicaid, but after an appeal Medicaid agreed to pay part of it. As you can imagine, this kind of surgery is an expensive ordeal. Poor Amy has said that she is so humiliated to have to beg for help, but that for the sake of her child she will do whatever it takes to make him well. I can not imagine how hard it must be. She must come up with the rest of the money by the end of the month (yes- the end of this week) or the hospital will postpone it until next spring when the flu season is over. As a family we like to try to find someone in need at Christmas and help them out. If they do not get enough $ to do the surgery now, they will be that much further ahead in the spring. I thought I would pass along the information in case anyone else is looking for someone to help and has not found that someone yet. If you want to read some more about JJ or look at the pictures (found at the bottom of his blog) his blog is http://teamhelpjj.blogspot.com . Amy was thinking about starting a business before he was born, and had invested in some materials to make bows and watch bands. She is so tired of just asking for help that she would like encourage people to donate and she will send them one of the items, or you can buy some from her ( I think her bows are really cute). If you are interested take a look.

Skype-aholic

It is true, I have joined the ranks of the proud who love the web cam. I never thought I would say it, but I love a good web cam conversation.
My history with web cams has been one of disgust and confusion. I was first introduced into the world of video chatting my freshman year of college. On of my roommates had a dangerous love with her computer and taking pictures of herself with her web cam. My thoughts were, "Whoopty freakin doo! A picture of you sitting in your room!" (I guess I can't really rant too much because the picture above is from my web cam of my roommates and me in the library) I preferred getting out and interacting with people I could actually see, feel, touch, smell, and if I was lucky, taste. Just kidding! I never quite understood what the big deal was about web cams.
Fast forward to this year. My big brother Andrew flew off to the Middle East to supply out war heroes with tanks and airplane rides. And his good looks of course. I was at his house when he Skyped his wife. It was so much fun to hear AND see him and for him to be able to see his kids. My heart began to soften.
Last week I downloaded Skype and am now able to video chat with Nathan instead of our nightly phone calls. It is SO much more fun to talk to him when I can see his mannerisms and what he is really doing when I talk to him. Yep, I'm a Skype-Junkie!

Did you know I love surprises?

What a busy/long week it has been already and it is only Wednesday. This is my transition week into teaching 3rd grade so knowing my schedule has been hard. Nathan had his first big test in Econ with a professor that is infamous for failing half of BYU. With our lives a bit crazy and a crazy weekend coming up, it didn't look like we were going to see each other for over a week, which seems silly since we only live 30 miles apart. I wasn't too happy about the idea but decided to try and be positive anyway.
After school I ran to the store and then went home to make dinner. I heard banging on the front door and my roommate yelled "Come in!" A deep voice then yelled back, "Special delivery for a Michael Webb!" My first thought was "Ooo! Surprise package! I knew my mom loved me." and then I thought, "Ok, why can't anyone say my name right." So I stomped to the door and opened it up and there was Nathan smiling. What a wonderful surprise! I guess he was trying to do a Sean Connery voice and it worked...I had no idea it was him. That is why I put the photo of him above. I think it expresses him pretty well. Plus I love the story behind the picture. We had been walking through the old city and Nathan was sharing much of his... random knowledge... with me about the island of Vanuatu and how it is disappearing into the ocean. I could have cared less thinking that nobody cared about it but the people on the island and him. Then he found this pen in the old city. Why it was in Jerusalem who knows! Probably just to prove to me that Nathan's information isn't always useless. Oh you know I am kidding Nathan.

Day one in Grade three

Yep, today was my first day in Third Grade. Don't get too excited. I mostly sat in my little makeshift desk in the corner and tried to memorize names and take notes on how my cooperating teacher runs her clasroom and manages behavior. It will be quite the switch over from Resource. My biggest group for resource was four children, so 24 is going to seem like a ton. I am also used to being very in control of how each child is behaving, but with six times the number of students I am going to have to let a lot of things slip. The big unit I will be planning and teaching is on Native Americans. My cooperating teacher gave me the things she uses adn she let me look over them to see if I might want to use them. I think I will pass. Here is what the first sheet says..."Once there were many tribes of native Americans living in our country. A tribe is a group of people living together like a large family. The people all had black hair and red-brown skins." WOW! Where do I start with how horrible that is? So I will start from scratch and make it not quite so offensive of a unit. I just wish I were going home sometime soon so I could grab everything off my parents walls so show the class that Native Americans didn't just once live in our country but still do and have a beautiful culture! I am excited to teach this unit. It is jsut a shame that I will only get to teach it when math and reading don't take up ther rest of our day. I hate that science, social studies, and art are things you add to the day if time permits.
Okay, enough of my ranting, how about a story or two? My teacher introduced me to the class about 2/3 through the day and allowed them to ask me questions. One student asked me how long I had been student teaching. I told her 7 weeks. The next student asked "Do you do this often?" I had to smile as I told her I will only have to student teach once and then hopefully get a classroom of my own." At recess I went outside to watch the kids play. I made the mistake of wearing a skirt on a windy day. Not only was I feeling a little self conscience about how white my legs were in the natural light and that truth about how long it had been since I last shaved was glaringly noticable, but a big gust a wind came and blew my skirt right up. Hello Kids! Meet Miss Webb!

My Cousin Cameron

Cameron passed away yesterday and I just wanted to write down some of the things down that I loved about him. Cameron and my oldest brother Perry were the same age and were up to who knows what together as teenagers. I was always jealous of Cameron's beautiful bright blue eyes and perfect smile. Even the times he has a scruffy beard on his face, his smile peeked its way through and shone brighter than any other smile in the room. If I hadn't seen Cameron in a while and wasn't quite sure what to talk to him about, I couldn't help but start up any conversation with him just so I could try and make him smile. With Cameron's passing, I have become more determined to become much more than acquaintances with my cousins. I love the Rogers/Smith family and hope that they know of all the love many have for them in this difficult time.

Old Age

Is it just me, or am I getting old? I have to pee at least 20 times more than I used to. Nothing sounds better than going to bed early. Getting to bed by midnight used to be early not too long ago. While I still stop by the shoe section each time I go in a store, I usually find myself in the bath section imagining a nice long bath instead of a super cute outfit out on the town. I just want a huge tub with hot, hot water and a million bath things...soaps, salts, scrubs, oils, bubbles, you name it I want it. Since Johnathon has gotten home from his mission I feel so much more complete. I have someone to boss around and he allows me to pretend to be the mother hen again.
This week I am observing classes again before I move to teaching 3rd grade. To get a better idea of what I want to do I have been peeking in on some of the classrooms around school. I sat in on a Diagnostic Kindergarten (all the students have special needs) and I absolutely fell in love. I can't get my mind off of how much I want to teach that class. I told my cooperating teacher and she just about died when I told her I would probably have dreams about it because I loved it so much. She told me I was sick. Then she told me she would talk to the lady over Special Ed. for the district and ask if there are any positions opening up in any of the other diagnostic kindergartens. I sure hope so!
Am I not the most exciting person you ever met?
P.s. I must apologize to any one who has had to cross paths with me in the past two weeks. My periods have never really effected me much and i never knew what the big deal was about PMS because I had never really experienced it. Well it caught up with me this month. I believe I cried everyday for no good reason, yelled at or shot death looks to every person I love, and felt so tired and loopy that I acted like i was on drugs. So to all that had to endure my presence, I am sorry.

Fall has arrived

I used to hate fall. It meant winter was coming. I still hate winter, but I am learning to love fall. I LOVE fall fashion. Not that I am great at wearing it, but I do have a think for coats and jackets. Dark colors and earth tones start to appear everywhere. I love the slight chill in the air and adding another blanket to my bed. And SOUP! Glorious soup! Mmmm. Yay for fall.