The Cole Kids are HOME!!

Jared, Dillon & Madison returned home today from a Christian Youth Conference in South Padre Island. This conference is called Student Life @ the Beach (http://beach.studentlife.com/).

They had a really good time & got to know other youth from the church we've been attending (Austin Stone). We are SO THANKFUL for the scholarships through ASCC that allowed the kids to go & have an awesome time with God & friends.

Dillon has been sleeping since he got home at 4:30 (minus 2 hours for supper & a visit). He and his roommates decided to try & stay up all night to watch the sun rise over the beach. I think he was somewhat successful, based on his droopy eyes.

Here are some of the pics Dillon took of the sun rise on Friday morning. Pretty Amazing!!

Long distance commute

Scott has started his job in Houston.
He leaves on Sunday evenings & returns on Friday evenings.
So he left last night.
Seems lonely & quiet here.
I guess I've sorta gotten used to him being around.
There certainly are plenty of things I can think of to do.
Hmpf.
I think I'll call Scott & see what he's up to.

no more shots for Scott!

Scott's doctor removed him from insulin shots today! YAY!
He will continue to take an oral insulin boost each day, but the shots are gone.
If he can continue with a healthy lifestyle then it's possible the diabetes may subside and he won't have to use insulin at all! Let's make that our goal. :)

IT'S A JOB!!!!

Scott starts a new job tomorrow!
He will be Project Manager for the business we've been trying to buy in Houston.

The purchase negotiations have been dragging on & on & on... so the owner/seller decided to get Scott over there and get him started doing some management stuff. We're very thankful because it gives Scott an income plus it gets him familiar with the business.

Scott will leave this afternoon & take up residence in the room he rented last fall in a suburb north of Houston called Humble (pronounced 'um-ble').

It will take some vehicular adjustment to have Scott working again. Especially since I'm a full-time employee in another city... transportation could be an issue since Jared has a local part-time job & Dillon has football M-Th. Hmmm.....

Congrats Scott!!

New fun at the Cole house!

Dillon's good friend, Cody, gave him an old go cart. Now we can't get Dillon & our neighbor, Pat, off the go cart. Thanks Cody. No really, THANKS!! Now if someone would give me a ride.... stay tuned.... :)

try this!

My friend Valerie sent me this link (http://www.wordle.net/) to make 'word clouds'. Here is a couple I made - you can make different colors & fonts. It's pretty cool!

Visitors from Iowa

We have enjoyed having visitors from Waterloo, Iowa. Ingrid & her Mom, Carol, arrived last Saturday & we enjoyed giving them the 'Austin' experience.
They got to go to Rudy's for barbeque, watch the Congress Street bats, a trip to San Antonio, Six Flags- Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, and concluded with a beautiful sunset and the Oasis. Here are a few pics from dinner at the Oasis.

Madison & Dillon with funny faces

Madison's helping with VBS

Madison is helping with VBS this week. She gets up @ 6am each day to be in downtown Austin by 8:15am. She's having a great week! Good job Madison!!

chilling with cousins

jared's b-day

2 of Jared's b-day gifts can be seen here: A dorm-size fridge (under the tv) and the blue baby pool (under the lounge chair).

We had fun with a birthday cookie provided by Aunt Jeannetta. 17 sparkler candles. Fun! We had many cousins here for Jared's dinner: Margaux!

Here's a bunch of cousins: starting from left: Hannah, Josh, Margaux, Jared, Andrew, Benji, Dillon & Madison!

Jared's fun day at Six Flags

The kids in Jared's orchestra decided to take a trip to San Antonio to Six Flags as an 'end of year' trip. Here's a few silly pics of Jared & his friends.


Does this boy need a haircut, or what?!

June update on Scott

Scott went to the surgeon on Monday for a follow-up visit. Good news! The doctor has released Scott to return to work... with restrictions, of course. He can lift up to 30lbs. As for sitting/standing, um, I don't know. I think Scott has to determine what he can tolerate. Anyways, this is good news so Scott can get himself a JOB! YAY!

Scott has needed his daytime insulin shots only 2 or 3 times in the past 2 WEEKS! He gives himself a long-lasting shot at bedtime but his blood sugar has been within normal range (sometimes lower than normal) all day, everyday. The surgeon thinks Scott will be able to quit the insulin shots all together soon. Let's hope so! The next endocrinologist appointment is in 3 weeks.

Each day Scott has been able to tolerate more & more physical activity. He tries to get in the pool each day to do some aquatic therapy that he learned after the back surgery in 2006. It has really paid off. He won't tell me how much weight he's lost, but his pants are all too loose now, especially his swim trunks! We're going to have to velcro those things on him soon. :)

Good Job Scott! The Road to Recovery has been long for you, but we're proud of your improvements!