David's kidney update

Last night, we took the kids and some friends to an outdoor Christmas light display. It is one of those you drive through and view animated light displays from your car windows. The kids loved it and we all had a nice time. David is finally old enough to begin to appreciate the beauty of this place. He saw all the lights going by our windows and kept saying “pretty” and “more, please.” It was really sweet to hear his little voice commenting on the sights.

David met with his kidney doctor today. The news was not as good as we had hoped. His blood pressure is still not under control and his creatinine level is creeping up. We will be adding a second blood pressure medication to his daily routines. The hard part is he will have to go back to his pediatrician for weekly blood pressure checks. These are distressing for David and he has developed a great fear of going to the doctor’s office. I can relate to this. I was terrified of doctors when I was younger, too. To make matters worse, David will also have to go in for blood tests every month, which is much more frequent than before. The only upside from today is David is still growing and gaining weight and he’s still awfully cute and happy (when he’s not in the doctor’s office any way.)

Abby will be on her holiday break from school after tomorrow. The whole family is ready to be in a Christmas mindset and start enjoying the gifts of the season. We are very thankful and very blessed. Pam has been busy with lots of different projects this week. She’s been baking, running the kids around to places, making gifts for teachers and taking care of all of our domestic needs. She’s been working her tail off. I’m hoping we can give her some time to relax this weekend.

I’m getting excited. I just received my welcome packet from Pete Wernick (a.k.a. “Dr. Banjo”) for the 2009 session of his Bluegrass Jam Camp at Argyle. The camp isn’t until early March, but I’m really excited about going back. The 2008 camp was so much fun and I learned so much about playing music with other Bluegrass musicians and what I am capable of doing. I’m hoping to build on that experience at the next camp.