Happy Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Coley-oley!! He is 9 today.

We are going out to eat tonight with my parents for his birthday and his choice of places was Applebee's. I tried to convince him that we should go to a Japanese steak house (Miyabi's) and have sushi, but he didn't agree so Applebee's it is.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLE!

We love you!

Little bit o' info

Ronnie asked me to post some information on Hunter.

• The Radiologist reading Hunter's MRI said that he is 95% certain that it is not cancerous.
• We had to go back for an additional MRI view this morning so that the Radiologist could make sure it isn't cancerous. If it looks like he thinks it will he will then be 99% sure it isn't cancerous. Why not 100% is my question.
• Hunter WILL have to have surgery. No matter if it is cancerous or not he will have to have the lump taken out. It is softening the skull bone.
• We are waiting for the Pediatrician to give us a referral to a Neurosurgeon.
• We are also waiting for the Radiologists report on the additional MRI view from this morning.
• Hunter is worried about what his hair will look like after surgery. He wants me to make sure that he has a few days before going back to school so his hair will have time to grow out a little on that spot.

Here is a little recap of the last two weeks with our family:

• My dad goes into the hospital with renal failure.
• Three days later he is released and is being refered to MUSC for treatment.
• Friday, November 16, Hunter has a CT scan on his head
• Wednesday, November 21 Hunter has his appointment with the Pediatrician
• Friday, November 23, Ronnie's car breaks down
• Monday, November 26, Hunter has the MRI
• Tuesday, November 27, Hunter has an additional MRI view done
• Tuesday, November 27, MY FAVORTIE SHOE BROKE ON MY WAY INTO WORK!!!!!!!!!

How is that for a series of events. My stinking shoe broke! That was pretty much the cherry on top of our two weeks. I have been walking around all day with a flopping shoe. And my favorite ones! Grrrrrrrrrrr

Ronnie and I are still worried about our little Hunter. It won't be over until they tell me with 100% certainty that after they take this thing out it we will be done.

Thank you for all the prayers.

Ebby Ray

Happy Four Days After Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We spend Thursday afternoon over at my parents house. We ate dinner, which I so graciously let my mother cook....thanks mom! We have a tradition of going around the table and saying one thing that we are grateful for. This included my parents this year, which was fun. My dad said he was thankful for life. Made me stop and think of all the things I take for granted. He was simply thankful to be alive after all he has been through. There were a couple of funny ones, and we all laughed, but his stuck with me.

Friday morning Veronica and I got up at 5:30 to go shopping. We left at 6:00 and drove to Myrtle Beach. Our first stop was Toys R Us. We got the two things that I wanted, looked at the line, and promptly put them back on the shelf and walked out of the store. We then headed to Target. As I stood in line with my purchases Veronica kept wandering around. Every time she walked off she came back with a couple of things that she thought we "needed." I finally told her to stand still and not move. The good thing is that we were able to get 3 or 4 Christmas Presents out of the way for not very much money.

Next we were off to Best Buy. I found one of Veronica's Christmas presents there. Yes she has seen it and yes she is giving me a hard time because I am making her wait until Christmas to get it. Yes, I am a mean mom, but geeze it was a good deal that I couldn't pass up. Most of her Christmas is a trip to Minnesota.

After Best Buy we went to Michaels to just look around. Then we headed back to Toy R Us just to see if the lines ahd gone down. I needed to get Cole's birthday present while they were on sale. I got those, but the stocking stuffers were gone....of course!

Friday night Ronnie had to work and he took his cousin, Jenna, to the show with him. She got to meet the artist and seemed like she had a good time. The rest of the weekend was pretty lazy. Sitting around doing much of nothing. My mom and I drove Jenna back to Wilmington to meet the bus on Saturday afternoon. After that..nothing but laziness.

Ronnie didn't have to work last night so we all sat down and watched "Hairspray."

It was a good weekend spent with family. Not only am I thankful for my family...I thankful for all my friends!!

Love to you all!
Ebby Ray

Thanksgiving Weekend by girl with 2 little brothers

So this weekend my cousin Jenna came down to visit us. If any of you out there have younger children, siblings, or annoying neighbors between the ages of 6 and 12 you will understand how this was a slight dilema. Kids between these ages are obsessive to put it nicely. Hunter and Cole would not leave her alone! She handled it well though.
For those of you who don't know Hunter and Cole, they are loud, kind of obnoxious, and they talk...ALOT. This of course is coming from my point of view, so i'm sure those of you who do know them would not agree.
They both know which buttons to press for me and they both like to press them. So much so that this weekend i went to spin the night at my grandma's house. I also went over there because i gave jenna my bed to sleep in, so i was sleeping on the couch. Cole wakes up around 7:00 in the morning, comes down stairs and turns on the tv no matter who happens to be sleeping on the couch. You can see the problem, especially since me and my mom went shopping at 6:00 a.m. the previous morning. I went to Bethmom's and slept like a baby until noon. It was GLORIOUS!!!! so that was my weekend. A word to the wise NEVER and i mean NEVER! go shopping at Toys r Us on Black Friday. You won't make it out alive.

You Guys are Horrible!

To all the people who doubt my driving abilities:

Just because my father is Ron Ray does not mean I can't drive! Yes, he's going to be the one teaching me, but i do not have ADD like he does. I can pay attention if i want to. (Missy Eagan don't say/type a word). You should not fear for your lives while I am on the road. I will be a safe driver, you can count on it! If I'm not a safe driver, then you probably should be scared because soon I'm coming to the roads near you!

Sincerely,
Veronica Mckenzie Ray

SORRY TO INTERUPT THIS PROGRAM!

To all persons driving on roads in South Carolina!!

VERONICA GOT HER DRIVING PERMIT TODAY!!!!

Please use extreme caution when driving in the vicinity of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The positive side of this story is that her mother will not be teaching her how to drive!

Awesome Weekend in MN

I had a great trip to Rochester this past weekend. As usual it was filled with fun, friends, food, and worshiping our Lord through music. The only thing missing was my awesome woman. Unfortunately, I have to wait for the January trip so share all of the awesome-ness with my lady.

Here is the summary:

Friday Night- Stayed at Dan Howe's house. Played poker with the boys. Lost everything ($5). Gained approx. 2 lbs. from all of the awesome food that Dan's wife made.

Saturday Morning- As has become the tradition, went to Perkin's with Don & Becky. We also had a special guest: Pastor Steve Eckert. I ate approx. 9-10 of the Tremendous Twelve items; up from the seven I ate last time.

Saturday Afternoon/Evening- Practiced with my buddies in the band for the evening choir service. Sung/played from the bottom of our toes, straight to the Lord's ears. It was, indeed, Heaven practice. What a light, fun, meaniningful singing party the Lord put together this weekend.

Saturday Night- Went over to the Ganz house for delicious food and belly laughs. Once I get started entertaining the kids (Anna, Megan, and Alex) it is hard for me to stop. We were cracking each other up all night long, until we couldn't take anymore. The food was mexican in nature and all together delicious.

Sunday Morning- See Saturday Afternoon/Evening

Sunday Afternoon- Ate a final meal with the Howe Family. Marin made caramel raspberry french toast, deluxe hash browns and scrambled eggs. The Howe's really spoiled me in the food department all weekend. It was amazing.

Then I left and came home to my lovely family. I sure miss them when I am gone but I love the reunions.

It was my first official wewekend as a CCC employee. It had kind of a different feel. A familiar-comfortable-lets-get-some-work-done feel. I know the work hasn't really started. But it felt good to be on board.

I have cute pictures of the weekend that I will post in the next couple of days. I am currently not at my home computer.

Have a happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for so many things. But if you are reading this, I am thankful for you.

Hunter's Head

Yesterday Hunter had a CT scan. They found a little something something on the left side (the picture makes it look like it is on the right side, but it is actually on his left). He will be having an MRI in the next couple of weeks and then they will decide if he will have to have it biopsied or removed. The doctor said that he worries that it is growing into or making the skull bone "soft". He said that it had definately grown into the soft tissue already. I don't understand any of this, but I sure do hope they do.

See the little circle looking thing on the right side of the scan. That is what they are worried about. I know that some of you medical students could look at this and tell me what is happening, but I am still not sure that I would understand.

Hunter is very excited about having an MRI. He is not excited about the contrasting part, but he wants to see what the "tube thing" is all about. He was excited about the CT scan, but it just didn't last long enough for him. Strange kid!

Will keep you updated.

Ebby Ray

Headed to MN!!

I am headed to ROchester this weekend for the super special choir wekend. I sure look forward to the choir. Regular worship is always meaningful and worshipful, but you add 30-40 powerful voices singing from their toes to the Lord and you have an incredibly moving experience. I always say it is like Heaven practice.

Imagine...standing face to face with the Lord...our Savior...our Redeemer...our Creator...singing or praise with perfect united voices, from our pure spirit, without any fleshly intentions or corruptions. I can't wait for that day!

But for now, I am going to Rochester!

THe weather here has been a lesser preview of what I will be facing in Roch. Last night at HOB I was out back at the artist entrance all night and it was cold. The low was 32. So I will be ready.

TOnight will be poker night at Dan Howe's place. Since I stink at poker, it will be a fun, short evening. And of course, tomorrow morning will be the Tremendous Twelve at Perkins for breakfast. That's really why I go once a month...they take me out for breakfast.

Then Saturday evening I will get to hang out with the Jensen's and Ganz's. I am told there will be cheesecake. Can't wait!!

Hope you all have a nice weekend. I will take the camera this time and put some pictures on here next week.

Update on my dad

My dad will be released today from the hospital. His kidneys are functioning again, his potassium levels are back to normal, but his blood sugar level is still high. The doctor said last night that they will release him late today so that they can get as much fluids in him as possible.

The diagnosis was the pituitary glad...he has Addison's. He has had it for several years but this time with the help of low fluids his body wasn't functioning properly. His kidneys stopped working and he wasn't getting enough oxygen in his lungs.

He is now on two inhalers to help the lungs and they are sending him to an Endocrinologist at the Medical University of SC for treatment. With the use of inhalers with steroids his blood sugar levels are still going to be tough to manage, but they are going to try and figure that out at MUSC, too.

Thank you for all the prayers!!!!!!!!!!!

Ebby Ray

Cissy The Boston Terrier

I wrote about my step-dad and his health earlier so I thought that I would add this cute picture of their dog, Cissy. She looks like she is working and really annoyed that someone is interupting her.

Walter-wee-winski

I am not like Ronnie and some of his reasons for moving to North Myrtle Beach, SC. I didn't move here for the beach, or days like today, which is 70 degrees and sunny. I didn't move here for the salt air or to still be wearing sandals in November. I didn't move here to still be able to get a tan in November, either...even though I could.

Here is where Ronnie and I agree on why we moved here. My parents! Cole and Hunter call my step-dad Walter...Veronica, English and I call him Walt-wee...Ronnie calls him Walter-wee-winski. We moved here to be of some help to my mom with my step-dad and be of good company to them both. I hope we have been of good company so far, but now we get to help.

My dad was admitted to the hospital yesterday with congestive heart failure. After some tests they found that his kindeys have shut down, his potassium level was 6.2 (8 is lethal...I think), and his blood sugar level was 480 (150 or below is normal). He is in pretty bad shape. He will be in the hospital for at least a few days. Ronnie is my hero in that he was able to give away a kidney a few years ago to a friend of ours. The doctor talked to my mom last night and they talked about a possible kidney transplant. Of course I have a perfectly good kidney that Walt-wee can have. No question about it!! I would be sad if I wasn't able to give him mine.

Now I can't help or do anything while he is in the hospital, but I can help my mom with her household things. I stayed with the dogs last night and then fell asleep while my mom was talking to me. At least I was there in case she needed to go to the hospital in the middle of the night. I will be staying there again tonight. Ronnie will be in Rochester, MN this weekend so if Walt is still in the hospital at that time we may stay at her house for a night or two...if she wants the company.

This is exactly why I moved here. I was able to go to the hosptial on my lunch break yesterday. Ronnie was able to go to the hospital yesterday. We couldn't have done that from Rocehster. Although we will only be here for a year I am so glad that we are here right now!! This is the perfect time for our family to be here! Absolutely perfect time!!!!

Have a good day!
Ebby Ray

The Lastest Beaking Ray News

Overall things are cruising along nicely. Here's the summary:

Ron's New Job

I am now the warehouse manager for an interior design firm. I do deliveries, keep the showroom nice, help the designers when they install all of the furniture and fixtures. There are five ladies that run the show and I basically just run errands and keep the warehouse stuff in orde. It is actually pretty fun. The ladies are all nice...so far. They keep telling me that I am their "Anthony" from the 80's TV show, Designing Women. YEAY!

Other Big News for the Rays

After much thought and prayer about what the future holds for the Ray family, we have decided that we are moving BACK to Rochester, Minnesota. As many of you know, we left a really good situation in MN. Several people in our lives even said, "It doesn't feel like you guys are done with your work here." They were right.

The past couple of times I went back to MN to play drums we have been discussing and negotiating the possibility of coming back and working on staff at CCC. In October they officially offered me the position and I officially accepted the position. THe full-time position will be split between two ministries the worship ministry, and the Salt and Light ministry. For the worship ministry I will be doing music on the weekends, of course, helping set up the weekly worship services, connecting and communicating with other worship team members, and other logistical things. People do not realize how much prep work goes into weekend worship services. Let alone a growing thriving ministry with over 100 volunteer participants.

For the Salt & Light ministry I will help lead the worship and do some speaking. I have already been thinking of some things to talk about.

We are incredibly excited about this. We were a little concerned about moving back after only a year. But it still does not feel like it was a wasted trip. What a joy and a pleasure to spend time with family on a regular basis. We have dinners almost weekly with EB's parents. We see them a lot more than that each week. We help them with things they help us with things.

With the holidays coming up, I am so excited about spending them with family. Not only with EB's parents, but my sister and her family are coming for Thanksgiving, my cousin Jenna too. English is coming home for Christmas. And the beach...I mean come on!! There are so many reasons to love the beach: family time, free therapy, cheap dates with Ebby, sun, salt water.

Well that's about all I have for now. Keep this whole thing in your prayers. We just want things to go smoothly.

Lots o' love!

Balmy 36 Degrees

We woke up this morning to a balmy 36 degrees outside. There was even frost on the car. The kids were all taking about if they should wear coats or not and if we had any cheap-thin-WalMart-gloves around the house. They all decided on wearing sweat shirts and hats. By this afternoon it will warm up again I am sure. I think that fall is really here and the leaves should start changing soon.

Hunter is now #6 in percussion. He started out #13 and is working his way up. I don't know if anyone remembers me writing about this before, but the #1 and #2 spots are occupied by girls. I think that this is awsome! Hunter is a little bummed about his recent challenges. They won't play against him. They just give up their spot. He told me last night that this isn't what challenges are all about. That they should at least try. How are any of them (including himself) going to get better?

All three of the kids brought home their report cards this week. They all made one B and the rest A's. The problem with the B's is the reason behind the B's. I don't mind a B if it is in a hard class and they are trying and doing thier best work. All three of them received a B because of not turning in an assignment. Grrrrrrr! We will have to work on that. :)

Ronnie started his new job yesterday. He is no longer working at the pizza place. It had gotten so slow and this new job just came along. Perfect timing. I will let him tell you about it when he has time to write. He will still be working at the House of Blues. He really enjoys that job and gets to see some really talented people playing.

Please be praying for my friends John and Sarah C. They are expecting their first baby in February. They have had several ultrasounds and the baby's right ventricle is twice the normal size it should be. There is a long medical explanation. Thankfully they live in Rochester and are being seen at the Mayo Medical Center. Second, there appears (again) to only be three fingers on the left hand. While there is a slim chance that the other two are just "hiding", that is not as likely now that only three have been seen two times in a row. A third ultrasound with Mayo has been scheduled for November 26th. John and Sarah would appreciate and covet your prayers.

I hope you all have a great day!

Ebby Ray

New Movie

I have been e-mailed something similar to the following from several different friends. I thought that it is definately blog worthy. My question is....How can the children kill God if God doesn't exist Mr. atheist? Explain that one away!! Please don't let your children see this movie.

Ebby Ray

You may already know about this, but I just learned about a kids ' movie coming out in December starring Nicole Kidman. It's called The Golden Compass, and while it will be a watered down version of the book, it is based on a series of children's books about killing God. (It is the self-described atheist author's response to C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia trilogy.) From what I understand, the hope is to get a lot of kids to see the movie - which won't seem too bad - and then get the parents to buy the books for their kids for Christmas. I checked this out on the Snopes website ( http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp) ; it is accurate. This quote from the Snopes site sums it all up:"The series' author, Philip Pullman, is an avowed atheist who has averred that "I don't profess any religion; I don't think it's possible that there is a God; I have the greatest difficulty in understanding what is meant by the words 'spiritual' or 'spirituality.'" Critics of Pullman's books point to the strong anti-religion and anti-God themes they incorporate, and although literary works are subject to a variety of interpretations, Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview with The Sydney Morning Herald that "My books are about killing God." (Conservative British columnist Peter Hitchens labeled Pullman "The Most Dangerous Author in Britain" and described him as the writer "the atheists would have been praying for, if atheists prayed.")"

My Dad's Job by Veronica

As i'm sure a lot of you know my dad (Ronald Eugene Ray II) works at the House of Blues. Not only does he benifit from this but so do I (Veronica Mckenzie Ray). the only reason i bring this up is becuse to night i'm going to a concert at HOB. The show is Motion City Soundtrack, MAE, Anberlin, and something else, i can't remember. In the next two weeks i'm going to two other shows, which is pretty exciting. I just realized that this only the second blog i've written. the first one was about whether or not you guys think my dad is metro or not. I voted yes. Hey guess what?! I am now 5'10"! i'm now officially taller/as tall as both my parents. CRAZY! well...we're about to leave so i'll sign off now! Salut! Adios! Au Revoir! (i'm taking french this year)

Why did I get a present?

I woke up this morning and went down stairs to make me some cereal. I walk around the corner from the stairs to the kitchen and there were some roses in a vase on the kitchen counter. I walk closer to see what was going on and there was a card on top of a new book. The card had Ebby on the front of it, therefore I opened it.

At this point I was really wondering why Ronnie got me a gift. Was I so grumpy yesterday and he thought I needed a pick-me-up? Had he done something wrong that I wasn't aware of? What in the heck was I missing here?

I open this beautiful card and started reading it. OH MY GOSH!!!! Yesterday (friday) was our wedding anniversary!! I completely forgot! Ronnie forgot, too, until 11:00 last night. He was at House of Blues and realized that he hadn't said anything to me about our anniversary. He thought that I just hadn't said anything to him waiting to see if he said anything. Not even close. I totally forgot.

Thankfully I don't get upset about things like this. My birthday, mother's day, Valentine's Day, Christmas...I don't really care it he or the kids get me anything. A few years ago Ronnie forgot that it was my birthday. We had celebrated a few days early so when the actual day rolled around he didn't realize it was my birthday. No big deal! Like I said thankfully things like that don't bother me.

Well Happy 16th Wedding Anniversary to us......a day late!

Ebby Ray

Finally Caught Up on Sleep

Well as you know last weekend I worked some really odd and long hours. I took me quite a few days to recover from the whole thing. I finally feel like myself again.

Last night at House of Blues was Elliott Yamin from American Idol. He did a lot of fun R&B and Soul tunes. Listen the boy can SING! I was impressed. Heck! I was impressed when he was on A.I. There also just seems to be so much joy coming out of him. It's fun to watch. His band was incredible too. It has been inspirational to see all the great drummers every night. It has made me want to grow as a drummer and learn some new stuff.

Tonight's show is going to be a bunch of stoners. I am not particularly looking forward to baby-sitting tonight's crowd. But hey, this job is a lot more fun than almost any job I could be out doing.

Speaking of jobs...I got a new one. I have to leave for HOB right now so I will write more about it later.

Much Love.