Momma Jo

Well, as usual, it's been awhile since the last post. Abbi, who has in recent months, always referred to herself as "Abbi" has taken to calling herself "Abbi Jo," which was the original idea. We don't really call her Abbi Jo too much, so she just kinda started saying "Abbi Jo, Abbi Jo" on her own last week. It was pretty cute. I guess, she thought the "Jo" part was a good idea, as she occasionally now refers to April as "Momma Jo." No daddy Jo yet.

I finished up a month working on the Burn Unit last month. It was productive, overall. I learned a lot and feel much better about managing burns, wounds, skin grafting, etc. Also, I got to put in some central lines and chest tubes. We're coming along well in enhancing the curriculum and didactics as well.

I've moved on to working with the Trauma team this month. I have had some experience running traumas in emergency rooms in small towns around Kansas, but this is definitely revolutionizing the way I approach trauma. The surgery residents have been great to me and I look forward to the remaining half of the month.

We continue to make preparations for leaving for Zimbabwe in January, as well. My girls headed to Kansas City to see family last Friday, as I worked most of the weekend. They will stay there until I meet up with them tomorrow. At that point, we'll head out to Louisville to the Global Missions Health Conference.

http://www.medicalmissions.com/GMHC/Home.html

It's a life changing conference where most missions organizations with a medical ministry will have a presence. It was there that I first heard my favorite speaker, Dr. John Patrick, talk. I love being in the presence of men and women who have served the Lord on the mission field. Generally, aside from being interesting and full of compassion, they are the kind of people that I just want to be in the presence of- just hoping some of their character and essence will rub off on me. They are some of the neatest people you'll ever meet.

I traveled to K.C. to surprise April and Abigail yesterday after I woke up from working all night Sunday. April's grandparents were in town, staying with her uncle. So, I figured it would be a nice opportunity to see the family. I snuck up on April when I got there, and she was quite surprised to see me! It's always nice when a surprise plan works out!

We had a great visit, catching up with April's family and, of course, loving on my little girl. April and I had a great evening together. Abbi seems to say everything under the sun now, and has moved into a phase where she always has her baby doll or stuffed bear with her. I love my girls more than anything on this earth. I'm so thankful for her family and for the legacy they've given me in their daughter and in my daughter. On the way back home today, I dropped in on my mom in her classroom. It was wonderful, as usual, to see her. I'm blessed more than I could ever ask for, having families on both sides of the family that care so much about April, Abbi, and I. I don't deserve such goodness in my life and I am thankful to God for it.

In other happy news, I we'll be adding to our family in December when my sister, Becca and her fiance get married on New Year's Eve. Becca is a beautiful person and I look forward to getting to know Joe better in the future. I'm very happy for them.

OK, on to the pictures...