Christmas

Its was 60 F in Richmond on Christmas Eve. In a way it was nice; in another way weird. Dan misses the snow. I guess I am not missing it so much because it would make me sad not to be skiing. Yes, I am still on a crutch. This week is 12 week since the surgery, and my meniscus needed 8-12 weeks to heal. We'll see if Thursday, my surgery's anniversary, brings some magic.

Christmas morning was peaceful and quiet except for the happy squeals from the children. They truly make Christmas magical. It was great the see their excitement as we unwrapped their cherished homemade gifts. Those are the kinds of gifts that are dearest to me. Santa brought the family a Wii. My kids, mostly Zayne, have been maniacs since Christmas morning. I am questioning whether Santa made a wise choice with the Wii. We start with the guidelines tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.

The Top Ten List of Things You Probably Don't Care To Know About the Kirkham's 2007 Year
10. Dan is in his final year of training. Yeah! He is doing a MRI fellowship at MCV in Richmond, Virginia. It's been great living by his brother little John.

9. As a family and wannabe ski bums, we decided we miss the mountains. The kids get teary eyed whenever they hear John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High."

8. Heather took a pretty good digger on her MTB (but what's new), resulting in the need for knee surgery in early October. She is still on one crutch and is in the need of patience. Does anyone one have any to spare?

7. One of our Standard Poodles took 2nd Nationally in the UKC for confirmation. He was in 1st place for almost the entire year until he was force to retire because of Heather's knee.

6. Zayne is still a reading and tinkering maniac. We were pleased when he decided to be baptized in June along side his cousin Hunter in June.

5. Joshalyn still loves to craft, get dirty, listen to books on tape, play sports and joke.

4. The family will be moving next July for a job in La Grande, Oregon. Yes, that is in the mountains and near mountain biking and skiing.

3. Joshalyn and Zayne took great care (and some would say advantage of) of their mommy after the surgery by doing the cooking, laundry, some cleaning and changed her ice packs.

2. Despite the fact that Heather was unusually dysfunctional this year, (thus an email and no cards), she still managed to sew PJ's for all her nieces and nephews, invent 3 new zucchini recipes, catch up on all those pesky photos albums, write personal histories for herself, children, parents and grandparents, visit nursing homes several times a week, learn to read and write Arabic, keep up on her Russian, finally comprehend trigonometry, keep abreast of local and national issues and pressure her government representatives whenever needed, keep in touch with all her friends and especially those she met on her mission in Russia, learn a new musical instrument, exercise daily, dump lots of ice cubes from her drinks into the ocean to combat global warming, spend oodles of time playing with her children, parent her children so well that they never fight or sass, make darn sure that they are always on top of their homeschooling tasks, and always have a wonderful meal for her hard working husband at the end of the day.

1. Despite the everyday trials we feel abundantly blessed. We are grateful for our Savior's atonement and the opportunity to repent, be renewed and come closer to God.

For those that know Heather slightly, obviously one or two of the above items are exaggerated. But the fact remains, we, as a family of mountain lovers stuck in the deep south on Christmas, hope that this email finds you happy, healthy and well.

We really do often think of each of you . May the Light of Christ enlighten your life this Season and always.

Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas,
The Kirkhams

ACL, Screws and Patience

As many of you know I love to mountain bike, a lot. The mountain biking around Richmond one would not consider to be challenging in the least, yet I was looking forward to a new type of training; working on speed instead grinding climbs and rock challenges. At the end of August Dan and I found a fun place to ride with a rocky climb lasting more than three minutes, a couple drops and a rickety teeter – totter that crossed over a pile of uneven logs to another ramp. I nervously, but excitedly tried the new challenge. Not only did I fail tackling the home built contraption but I also messed up my knee when fell five feet onto one leg. Yes, I hyperextend my knee, breaking the knee capsule and tearing the ACL. I also had a tear in the meniscus and sprained the MSL. It hurt like a banshee on fire at first, but I was able to bike the 1 - 2 miles out okay despite reduced mobility. When people ask me how I hurt my knee I simply tell them I fell off my bike. Of course my kids love to tell people the whole truth which causes folks to look at me with the look of “You are such a stupid person to try such a thing.” Only my sisters were brave enough to verbalize it.

I was in the lovely land of denial for about 6 weeks thinking that I could avoid surgery. I finally gave in and had the operation October 3rd. Dr. Loughran put (screwed) in a cadaver ACL and trimmed up the meniscus. Typical recovery is 4 – 6 months. It has been a lot harder and slower than I thought it would be. My meniscus has been given me lots of problems Yet, I must be learning tons of good lessons from this somehow.

Our Standard Poodle Mojo has fallen to the UKC second place in the nation since I have not been able to show him with my knee. Bummer.

Zayne is excited that a space has opened up in the Lego Club. That starts next week. That boy reads like a maniac. He’ll read anything but really loves Garfield comics, Pokemon and anything about dinosaurs. Joshi loves Webkinz, horses and dogs. She can ramble on in her journal for pages and likes writing poetry and songs. I am trying to figure out a way to stop Joshi from growing up. I am sure other parents have moments feeling like that too.

Puppies Leaving

3/11/07

We placed our third puppy this weekend with another loving family. We said goodbye to Powder, Maia and Zayne's favorite, Snopow. It is a bitter sweet experience. I enjoy seeing them go to such wonderful families and look forward to picking up less doo-doo, but I will miss each of their distinct personalities in our home.

Why do I often cry while watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition? Does anyone else feel manipulated emotionally watching this show?