Happenings

So just a quick post to share a few things with everyone...

A couple of you have asked about Dexter and his crazy ear. Well, he's doing well and is all healed. Right before we left for Philadelphia, we had a check up visit with the Vet. Now they originally told us he would probably have to have the drain in his ear for 2 -3 weeks and wear the cone for a month. When we went to the Vet, he had made such excellent progress that they went ahead and took off the drain AND the cone! It had only been five days! Dave and I were so relieved that we wouldn't be leaving him in such an uncomfortable position and that he might enjoy his time at the vet being boarded while we were gone. As of today his hematoma is all healed. There is some scar tissue in his ear that causes it to be a bit "thick" in certain places, but he is a much, much happier puppy dog! He did excellent at the vet as well. It took him a day or so to get back to his "old self", but all in all, he did very well. We were very proud of our little guy!

In other news, I have made some excellent progress finding participants for my research progress. While I still have a long ways to go, I have a good start. I have met this week with several pastors from the larger churches in our area seeking their help finding young couples. If you think of us during your prayer time, please pray that the Lord would motivate people to take my survey and that he might give me the perseverance to find all the people that I need.

Dave and I enjoyed a "first" in our marriage last night....our first concert together, courtesy of my mom! Dave called me at work yesterday to tell me that mom had four tickets to the Martina McBride concert in Dallas last night for us. For those who don't know (and much of my family won't), Martina McBride is a pop-country artist with a voice as big as Texas who is known for belting out her ballots during her concerts. I was totally excited to go see her, and my gracious husband who doesn't like country agreed to go with me. A few phone calls later, we had found some friends with no plans who came with us and we had a fun night together. Martina delivered an awesome, energy packed concert with highlights when she sang a few old Patsy Cline songs, but with her unique twist. I loved it, knew most of her songs to sing along, and am still singing this morning. She sang all the good ones.....I have been blessed, Independence day, When God fearing women get the blues, This one's for the girls, Concrete angel, Love's the only house, and a few new ones too!

I am thinking about starting another blog. There are many times when I have thoughts....deeper thoughts then can be written about here, that I would like to share. I don't know what it is about this new "age of blogging" that makes people want to spill their soul on the Internet, but sometimes when I am alone and thinking, I say to myself "I should blog about that". We talk about this phenomenon in my classes all the time....how the Internet causes people who normally would be very private to post deep and intimate things for everyone to read on their blog. What causes them to do this? Is it the need, deep down inside, to express their feelings and have someone listen to them ( or in this case, read), but in a non-confrontational way? Is it a false sense of security leading people to believe that because the Internet is so huge, no one will ever come across my little blog? Maybe it's this need for socialization that technology has begun to control. How many of you have "friends" on Facebook or Myspace that you never even see in real life, but they are your "friend" on your computer? All that to say, I too feel the pull to express myself, to write about my feelings and thoughts, perhaps not for the reason to have millions of people reading them, but to simply express them. Let them out, get them out of my mind and some place else where they won't clutter up my brain. A blog seems like the perfect place, but I hesitate. One reason...in six months I am about the start hunting for jobs, and I know that employers Google their perspective employees. I would be embarrassed if my future boss read my blog about my private issues. And that's another reason....I struggle with the idea of my private business being made public. But then I think to myself "if I am really comfortable blogging about this topic, maybe it's not that private to me after all". So while I have this yearning to share a more intimate and, dare I say, intelligent, side of myself with my readers, I am hesitant as well. If you have stuck with me this long, I would love some comments or ideas about this topic. What do you think? Is a blog for your personal thoughts and feelings a good idea or bad idea? Should I start one of those invitation only blogs where I have to invite people to read it and only they can access it? Gimme some feedback.

Till next time, as my dad would say, this is Karen for the two of us (and our furry friend).

A Philadelphia Fourth

Dave and I just got back today from our wonderful trip to visit Mike and Rachel in Philadelphia. We had a fantastic time. While it wasn't our original intention to visit them for the fourth of July, it worked out perfectly for Dave and Mike and their teaching schedules. Rachel was able to take a few days off work, and I was actually granted a break from the coffee shack too!
All in all, it was a fantastic trip filled with good food, good conversation, fun adventures, scrabble games, lots of french press coffee, and staying up way past our bed time. I have picked out some of the best pictures to share. If you are interested in seeing some of the others (I'm thinking mainly of you, Dad) then let me know and I'll send them to you. We hope everyone had as great a holiday as we did. Enjoy!

Mike and Dave chowing down on their authentic Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches. We waited about 30 minutes for them, and they were worth every second of anticipation.

The girls and their cheese seaks!

Dave and I in front of the Liberty Bell. It was so crowded the day we went, but it was neat none the less. I kept thinking about how long that bell had been there (centuries!) and how many people had passed by it. Amazing piece of our history.

Mike and Rachel treated us to a wonderful dinner at their favorite resturant in Germantown. Here they are at dinner. It's one of the only pictures I got of Mike where he wasn't hamming it up. We are so alike in that way :>).

And Dave and I at dinner...he seemed to channel his inner ham in this picture too.

We also took a day and drove to the Jersey shore and spent an afternoon on Wildwood Beach. It was perfect weather. Nice and sunny with a cool breeze. It was a relaxing and fun day.

We took a walk one day and I fell in love with this home. One day when Dave is President of some huge educational society and I am the communications director for some huge company (maybe Apple computers or even Starbucks) we are going to live here.


And of course, Fireworks! It happened to rain on the fourth, so it was neat to watch the fireworks show in a slow drizzle. It didn't stop us from playing with sparklers, which I am still afraid of, and having a good time.