First Post of 2009!

Looking at my last post I see it has been awhile since we've added anything here. Tina has completed a series of iron infusions; seven iron tranfusions in total done at the hospital. They tried her on a different iron and it caused anaphatic shock that shook her up pretty good. She has had two of the IVs infiltrate leaving her bruised and in a lot of pain. She seems to have more energy following this series. But it been pretty rough on her since she has started working again. A couple weeks ago Tina and the girls went to Atlanta to purchase Hope's fencing equipment, the nearest place to purchase such equipment. HVA had started a fencing club that has now developed into a team. Come springtime (wait a minute, isn't it spring!) she will be competing in tournaments. This trip just before Tina's infusions so she was very fatiqued and felt pretty worn out when they got home. I had to work so they went without me. I did get to play a couple rounds of disc golf while they were gone.

Last weekend Hope participated in a shoot for a American Ladders, a commercial that is being shot locally by a group of University of Tennessee students. She is one of the zombies and is the youngest undead. This evening we are going for the final shoot. The students are creating this film to submit it to people who fund such things. All shooting last week was done in a huge warehouse and required multiple shots. It will look pretty neat once it is all edited together.
This past Tuesday we attended our first HVA PTSA meeting. It was pretty interesting to see how other Presidents run the meeting. There was a good turnout and I was not the only dad there! PTA is extremely active here in the Knoxville area. It is great to see all the opportunities that are available and the community support. We served as PTA Board members at the girl's schools and in 13th District in California
for a number of years.
I have been busy in my new job attending networking meetings with other supported employment providers in eastern Tennessee and activities with the Chambers of Commerce. We had a great meeting with a local hotel that could be very advantageous for them and the people we serve.
Most recently, I have been attending Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. The 13 week video version was offered at our church, so I have been attending on Thursday evenings. It comes with a great kit of resources and tools to eventually become debt free. I can't wait to get to that point, house and all!! There is a link to Dave Ramsey's website to the left of this post.
As you can see we have been pretty busy with life here in eastern Tennessee. Tina told me she was driving back from work the other day and thought "I like the south". I agree. It is beautiful. Hearing about the housing market, unemployment, fires, drought and everything else going on around the country, we feel very blessed to be here in a place we really want be. Now that we feel pretty acclimated to this area we have a goal to get out and explore the Smokys and other sites throughout this region. There's alot to do and we can't wait for Spring!!!

I think that might be all for now.

-Norm