ER

Bill had very bad abdominal pains on Sunday night after dinner. With his appendix out years ago and the whole family eating the same food, we knew it was not appendicitis or food related. The pain brought him to his knees and came in waves. The kids were getting ready for bed and after an hour without improvement I called my parents to watch the kids so I could take Bill to the ER. They got him in quickly and first suspects kidney stones, he was still in a great amount of pain. After the meds and 2 bags of saline, he started to fell better. The blood tests, urine tests, CAT scans and all came back normal. It turns out it was a bad case of constipation! We didn't get discharged until 1 AM. The house is now fully stocked with broccoli, kale, green beans and salad. And I prepare Bill an extra serving of fruit when I fix the kids some fruit.

Jessica's case

Since 10-year-old Jessica went missing on Oct 5th and her body was found 5 days later, the community across Colorado has been on alert. Thank you God there was an arrest and a confession today. A 17-year old Austin Sigg that lived with his Mom only 1.5 miles away and once went to he same elementary school. Mom called the police last night, I can't imagine how she must feel. It will still take a while to gain the sense of safety back, but I'm glad he is locked up.

Chef Jef

Our friend Jef is now the executive chef at Harold's, a new restaurant in Longmont. It is a perfect job for him where he can be creative and it is only a mile from his house (no more hour commute twice a day). Bill got us organized to check out the new restaurant to celebrate Andy and Wade's birthdays. We don't get together enough any more. It was a great evening.

Quick SD trip

I finally got to meet Vicki and Chris' son Jackson this week during my quick work trip to SD. Jackson just turned 1 this past weekend. It's sad that many of my Bay Area girlfriends don't live close any more and don't see each other much. Diana in OC, Karen in Pasadena, Vicki in SD, me in CO and Yvonne and Karen L are still in the SF Bay Area. Some of us with kids, most married, all living busy lives. I am looking forward to a girls trip soon.
I look forward to seeing Vicki, Chris and Jackson again over spring break next year with the whole fam.

Full office

Bill had a big new site launch on Monday, so he ended up working most of the weekend. I tried to keep the kids out of the way, but had to run errands without the kids on Sunday. I came home to find them all in the office. This is Bill's solution to keeping an eye on the kids while he works! He set up the spare laptop and chair for Audrey.

Anderson Farms

We went on our annual trip to the pumpkin patch this past Sunday.  The weather was nice.  Although it was in the 50s, it was very nice under the Sun.  It had warmed up from the Friday/Saturday below freezing and first snow dusting of the season.  Our friends Eric and his son Gavyn, Jef and Michele and their daughter Josie joined us.  The kids had a great time on the rides, going to the pumpkin patch and selecting their pumpkins, and in the corn maze. 

Right after we took the picture below, Michele, Eric and I left to get some food.  We miscommunicated as Bill thought I was taking Audrey as well.  We lost our daughter!  This same weekend where child abductions have been on the top of the news.  We didn't notice until they announced "We have a lost girl, 3 years old named Audrey.  She has a brother named Mason.  Her dad is named Bill and her mom is named Cecilia."  Bill heard the first sentence and ran to find the office.  I missed the announcement all together, with my hands full carrying all the food I had just purchased.  Bill walks by me and says "We lost Audrey, I thought she was with you".  He failed to say they found her and she was in the office. I started running around, until Jef told me they had found her.  We both arrived at the office, where Audrey had a smile and a lollipop.  I am thankful she was found by a good person who turned her in.

Inspite the losing Audrey scare, we had a great time.

Have the times changed?

The story of missing 10-year old Jessica Ridgeway has been making headlines across the US.  She dissappeared on Friday morning while walking 3 block from her home to the park where a group friends meet and walk together to their Elementary school.  He mother works the graveyard shift and missed the calls from school reporting that Jessica wasn't at school until the afternoon. 72 hours later, she is still missing. 

Her neighborhood is about 7 miles away and right across where my work (FICO) office was for 8 years.  It is heartbreaking.  It is disturbing.  It is unfathomable. 

Growing up in Sao Paulo, I walked to school (7 blocks - 0.6 miles) both ways every day (sometimes alone, sometimes with other friends) since I was in 5th grade.  I also walked from my school to English school a couple of times a week.  Bill remembers spending his Summer days at the neighborhood pool and disappearing for hours.  How did our parents ever track us down?

Have the times changed or are we just more exposed to child abductions through the internet/social media/Amber alerts?  Can we give our kids the same freedom to roam around the neighborhood on their bikes, unsurpervised, and walk a mile to school?

I pray that Jessica is returned safely.