Teeth and Toes

(Disclaimer: The right foot on the right is not my own. The image displayed is for illustrative purposes only. If this had been my actual foot, it would have been the left one, and there would be much more blood on the bandage, which bears a very close resemblance to the actual one.)

The week is flying by again, and I guess next week this time, Lord willing, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. 52 weeks have flown by again, and it really just seems like a short time ago that I was putting away my Christmas decorations. I did buy a big artificial tree last year, because it seemed like I barely got all the pine needles vacuumed up before we were dragging in the next one. Now, I don't have to wait until the weather is right before we put the tree up. It's more like I have to get the boxes of kids clothes out of the den to make room for the tree. I never seem to find an end to finding clothes that need to be donated, taken to consignment, passed down to kids at church, or just mended for our use.

Yesterday and today have been filled with rain, doctors' appointments and, of course, mid-week Bible study last night. Yesterday, I carted all 4 kids off to the pediatric dentist. We looked like a line of ducks parading through the waiting room when they called "Sam, Hannah, Sarah, and Micah...."


Poor Sam's mouth is in trouble again. The child has had endless problems in his mouth every since his enamel went bad as a child. Then, when he was about 11, he fell off his bike and onto his mouth, knocking out one front tooth and breaking off the other. The endodontist put the one back that came out, and he advised us to disturb the teeth as little as possible until he was about 18. Well, he is 18 now. Sam has a lot of restorative work to have done in the coming months. In addition to Sam's work, the dentist dropped the bombshell on us that he thinks Micah needs braces. Micah's teeth are as straight as can be, but he is telling us that he has bite trouble. I plan to check this out thoroughly and see if this is a ploy for more money! Even Sarah, despite the fact that she has had 8 teeth worked on this year, needs two more of the white coatings on her molars. I thought we were done with all the sealants, and then they spring two more on me. Hannah was the only one with no problems at all----yet! I walked out of there with "estimates" for over $5,000 worth of work! Ouch!

Speaking of "ouch," I have been fighting an ingrown toenail for months now. Sometimes, it would seem like I was winning, and then, the pain would start anew. So today, I let the podiatrist have at it! I had my left big toe done some 2 1/2 years after I did the other one. I let the podiatrist numb it and then dig out the edges for ever and ever, hopefully. Acid applied to the nail bed nearly guarantees there will be no more ingrown nails ever, ever again. That is a very good thing, seeing as it is harder and harder to reach my feet each year. I wish I had done them both at the same time now. It is really not so bad (she says while the numbness is still in effect.) Oh well, live and learn!

We had a bit of excitement last night as we went to church. We stopped for some cokes at a local market on the way, and a kid was outside talking to a sheriff's deputy, telling him he had just escaped his kidnapper. We thought the poor guy was looney tunes. Turns out, he wasn't. The story is here if you want to read it. The most ironic part was that the kidnapper made it to within a mile of our house before being captured by police at a little restaurant. I guess the fellow did not think he would stand out with wads of money hanging out his pants and socks from a robbery earlier in the day. Any other night of the week, Sam might have been down there, because we sometimes order take-out from there. I was glad it was church night!

So that's my pretty yucky and "exciting" week in a nutshell. I am really looking forward to some down time next week, vegging out, pigging out, and spending time with family! Be safe if you travel, and please remember to keep my dad in your prayers as he anticipates open heart surgery on Dec. 7th!