The Snow Dance and a Knee Brace....Not a Good Combo!

Well....here we are. Mark hurt his knee at a retreat this past weekend playing football. We do not know for sure if it is broken, if ligaments are torn, or if it's just royally messed up. We'll find out for sure on Tuesday when they do the MRI. IN THE MEANTIME, though, he did not let that stop him from doing the Snow Dance last night. It seems to have worked....no school....snow is coming down.....they are predicting 7-12 inches before it's all over!!!! Wish us luck, though...Mark insists that he's sledding today. To be continued....

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's......

....the newest addition to our family!!! That's right - we are the proud owners of a 1999 Mazda Miata - cutest car I think I know. When we got it, I said, "That's a sports car!", to which Mark replied, "No, it's a sports CART..." It kind of reminds me of our toy poodle - her bark is definitely worse than her bite:)

Here is how it all happened - a new (to us) car was defnitely NOT in the plan anytime soon. But, Mark's 1995 Nissan red truck that we have had for 8 years finally bit the dust! When you start having vehicle problems (transmission, air conditioning, ....) that will cost more than the poor truck is worth, it's time to do something. SO, to ebay we went, and here we are. He found a great deal on this one in Memphis, traveled there (gunning his truck just to get it up to 20 mph because the transmission was shot), and bargained his face off. We love it. When he got home with it, we all had to take shifts "riding around" in it because we couldn't all fit in it at once. It is going to be awesome (at 30+ miles to the gallon) for all the day-traveling that Mark has to do. Basically, as he describes it, it is a "people mover"....

Some drawbacks to the car? Well....

1. Mark's face and head are terribly sunburned from all of his travels with the top down.
2. Mark has yet to find a "cool" way to get in and out of it because it is so low to the ground.
3. Mark sat at the McDonald's drive thru for quite sometime the other day waiting for the lady to take his order because his car was so low, she couldn't even see him.
4. When he did finally get his coke ordered and drove around to the window, the poor lady had to lean so far down out of the window that she almost joined him in his cart.
5. You can't take these cars through the automatic car wash (with the top up, of course) - Kinlee and I tried that one.....Hey, leave us alone - we wanted to surprise him!!!:) I think it worked ;)

Other than that, it is a great addition to our family!!! All kidding aside, we are very blessed to even be able to work another vehicle into the mix. Mark and I haven't gotten to go in it together yet (you know....2 kids at home and all), but as soon as they go back to school, we have a day trip planned with the top down - we'll just be sure to bring the sunscreen!!!:)

Father's Day (a week late)!!!

Last weekend, we had the joy of celebrating Father's Day ALL weekend long! On Friday night, we met in Jackson with my mom, dad, and brother, Ted, who was in from Ohio. We met to eat at Ryan's and visit - it was great to get to see all of them, even if it was for only a little while. On Saturday, we decided to celebrate Father's Day with Mark a day early. We figured it would be easier getting in and out of restaurants on Sat. instead of Sunday. SO, we headed to Chili's - one of Mark's favorites. After eating, we surprised Mark with a game of putt-putt golf.

As you can see, even though it was HOT, a great time was had by all!!

Thank you, Mark, for all that you do for us! We love you so much!!!!

Teapot Trot 2009

To continue our Teapot Festival week of fun, Mark and Parker ran in the Teapot Trot 5k on Thursday night. It had rained most of the week, but the weather turned nicer in time for the race - then it poured down right after it was over!!! They both did a great job and represented the Finton Family well. During the race, I was able to take some pics. of the boys. I didn't post any of Mark's pictures, though, because just about every picture I took also had a pic. of a guy with no shirt on - not too pretty. I kept trying to take one without him in it, but he just seemed to keep "popping up". However, here are some action shots of Parker. The top pic. is of him and his teacher from school. He hooked up with her and ran/walked with her most of the way. I hear he chatted a little bit, too. Surely not!!

I am the proud owner of......

...A HUSBAND WITH PNEUMONIA!!!! That's right - after a week of being sick, a shot that did no good, an antibiotic that he didn't need, and a second trip to the dr., he has officially been diagnosed. Here, he can be seen taking one of his four breathing treatments a day. Doesn't he look pitiful?? He said, "I look sick!" I followed with, "You are!!" The kids thought it was funny that he was "smoking" in order to help him breathe better!!! He has been so sick, poor thing. I think he is, in a strange kind of way, glad to finally have a diagnosis so that he knows there actually IS an end (other than death itself) to the way he's been feeling! He is on a very strong antibiotic, steroids, decongestant, and breathing treatments! He even has a basket for all of his medicine! I told him next he was going to have to get one of those little pill boxes that have compartments for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We're not there yet, but we're not too far from it!

The dr. told him to stay home from work for a week - he talked her into 5 days - she said come in Monday morning for another chest Xray and she'll let him know then.....So, Monday for sure, maybe longer. He is getting "cabin fever" already - please say a little prayer that he gets better quick, and that none of the rest of us are "blessed" with his diagnosis.