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