Connor to have surgery again

Connor re-injured his shoulder Friday night. It popped out while he was playing basketball with some friends. Then it popped out again in his sleep that night (that was an experience I hope we never repeat!). An MRI shows extensive damage so it's back to the OR for him. Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday morning at 7:30. Please pray with us that the surgeon will be able to accomplish the surgery arthroscopically...that will reduce his healing/PT time by about 4 weeks. Either way, the goal is to have him back and ready for senior year football season (his MRI was even looked at by the team doc from the San Diego Chargers, a former colleague of our surgeon/LCA team doctor). We thank you for your prayers and will keep you updated.

Unfortunately, baseball is now over this season for Connor. But here is some of what it looked like:

It's been a while...

Hey everyone. I haven't posted on the blog in a while, mainly because I'm using facebook now and those of you who are on facebook are keeping up with us (and us with you) that way. But (unfortunately) not all of you are on facebook, so I wanted to give you an update of what's been going on with the Ward's.

State Football -- the last time I posted we were headed to state. It was a good game but we came up 3 points short - 33-30. Unfortunately there were a couple of very questionable calls that could have had us win by 10 points, so it was a tough loss. Connor definitely enjoyed rejoining the team.

Christmas - we so enjoyed having Nick home. Unfortunately, all 3 of our guys were sick with some very nasty stomach virus during the break. Bill missed 3 days of work -- the first time I can ever remember that happening. It kept Nick home for a while but he was able to see all his high school friends before heading back to KSU early to catch the K-State/OU basketball game. It was a really good game and he said it was worth it to come back early, though KSU lost. Nick loves K-State and his fraternity, Delta Upsilon. He has been able to connect so quickly do to pledging. DU is a dry house (which means no alcohol allowed on the property -- something Nick's mom and dad like :)and has some great guys in it. Nick is thoroughly purple and seems to have a new motto: EMAW (for you KSU grads :).

Basketball - Connor went straight from football to basketball. He had a good season and his coach has told us that he is receiving 1st Team, All-District honors (though that hasn't officially been announced yet). I filmed the last home game and put together this short (3 min) video of some of his highlights -- especially a buzzer-beater to tie the game -- and an impromptu shoulder-hoist by his friends. I don't think he'll ever forget that night.

Kelly - recently made the JV tennis team so that will be keeping her busy. She is a good student and enjoys doing a lot of writing in her spare time, as well as community service. We've been serving together in National Charity League, a mom-daughter service organization.

Valentine's Day -- Bill and Connor are standing in line outside the K-State basketball stadium right now waiting to go inside for the KU game. Nick and his fraternity bros have been taking shifts since yesterday to keep their spots in line...for them but not for Bill and Connor. Bill, Connor and Connor's friend, Brooks, have student tickets that we purchased. Bill reports that he is the oldest student in line! It should be a great game. I'm glad Connor was able to go as he had the flu and had been sick for a week. Go Cats!

Baseball -- it's started although Connor hasn't caught up with the team yet due to basketball and then the flu. Next week!

Hope all is well with you and your families!!

Correct link for Connor's highlight/interview

http://www.lscsn.com/secondary.php?page=includes/video_13.htm

Copy and paste into browser.

We are going to STATE!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Nick came home on Sunday and was able to spend the entire week home. Of course, he spent half his time visiting friends, but that's to be expected. We are thankful that he's happy and well-adjusted to college life.

Connor's football team has been progressing in the playoffs. We were surprised (and alarmed!) that his doctor released him to play football just as the team was entering the playoffs. As the doctor said "Connor far exceeded expectation" regarding his healing and rehabilitation. We can only thank God for this unexpected blessing. Connor has played in 3 games now. We did have a shoulder scare with the 2nd game, and he did hurt it, but not in the same dislocation way as before. So it has withstood the pounding.

On Saturday, Connor's team played in the semi-finals. We got a kick out of an impromptu fly-over right as the game started by Connor's uncle (Karyn's brother) who is a Careflight pilot. Every one thought it was a planned event because it happened right when the Star Spangled Banner was over. I wish I had a photo of it because he was rather low! Anyway, almost immediately into the game, Connor intercepted a pass and ran it back for our first score! You can see that and a snippet from his interview after the game here but be aware that Connor is mortified by it and will shoot me for sharing it! The other two boys interviewed are Connor's really good friends.



Kelly just finished her first trimester of high school, and as expect she did very well. At this point in time, she has decided that she wants to attend a military academy, so she is working toward that goal. Her brothers keep telling her she is crazy for even considering it.

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Enjoy your holiday season!

Much to be thankful for!

The KSU Wildcats weren't the only ones who had a tough day at KU today. Nick went to Lawrence on Friday night to see a friend from high school. He spent the night with him in the dorm and then left around 8 this morning to go meet some of his Delta Upsilon brothers for breakfast at the KU-DU house (it's only about an hour from KSU so a lot of the guys had come over this morning and they were meeting with the KU DU's). Anyway, on the way from the dorm to the KU-DU house, 3 guys mugged Nick, who was walking alone. He was shoved around, but wasn't hurt. They did take his wallet and game ticket. Fortunately, they did not take his phone, but his battery died (after he called us) and he was pretty much stranded with no wallet, no cash, and no working phone. He had ridden to KU with some DU's so he had no car there. Bill and I definitely felt 500 miles away, because there was little we could do. I did call a DU mom I know, and she called her son who was on his way to the game, and they somehow found Nick and fed him lunch and took him back to KSU. No one was too interested in watching much of the game (KSU lost 52-21). Right now, I don't think Nick ever wants to go back to KU again! We are just thankful he was not physically harmed.

We had some other excitement this weekend, as Willie, our new pug, decided to go on walkabout about 5 yesterday. The lawn guys did not close up the gate properly, and he escaped. We spent a lot of time searching for him, and hanging "wanted" signs, and going to the shelter. We were so happy to get a call from the shelter around 1:00 today that he had been found. Turns out that a lady found him on the street IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE yesterday probably right after he got out. She almost hit him. She did not live in our neighborhood, but she did drive around a little to see if anyone was looking for him. Then she took him to the animal clinic where she works and he spent the night there. They called the shelter. We were so worried about him, but the funny thing is that he never went anywhere! She probably had him in her car before we even knew he was gone (and he was only out for 5-10 minutes before we realized it). It was so hard to sleep last night, not knowing where he was. So we are just thankful he is okay! Still, he seemed tired from his jaunt!

Homecomings!!

Two weekends and two homecomings! We started with Connor's at Legacy Christian. Connor is still on the mend with his shoulder, so he didn't get to actually play football. He was, however, elected to the homecoming court, as was his girlfriend. Before the football game, the homecoming royalty was announced, and Connor and his girlfriend, Patricia, were elected Prince and Princess from the junior class!


The next night was the homecoming dance (I had no idea Connor would show up with black Nikes for shoes!!).


Nick had actually come home (sort of) that weekend. He came in on Thursday night and left Friday morning to go see his friends at Texas A&M and watch the K-State/A&M game (KSU won:). He came back Sunday and spent the afternoon with us before flying out in the evening. Somehow, in all the excitement, I didn't think to take a photo of him! But he wasn't the only one in town...my (Karyn's) dad had come to town also. So he got to see Connor's homecoming court...and I have not taken his photo either (I need to do better with photos).

But I did take Kelly's photo this last Saturday as she dressed up for her first homecoming. I must confess that I was pretty happy just to see her in a dress! She actually had a very good time.

A Quilting Getaway

Lori and I had fun last weekend on our quilting-getaway. We stayed at the Westin in Frisco, where we had a free night and a deeply discounted second night. So the cost may have led us to forget what a top-notch hotel we were staying in, but we were reminded on Friday night when we stepped into the elevator in our t-shirts and jeans, and were surrounded by couples dressed to the nines!

We decided that any money we saved on the room was spent on tips! We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies with our sewing machine luggage, and all the assorted extra bags with fabric and other necessities that we brought along. It barely fit on one (large) luggage cart!

After we were in the room we began the quest of getting it sew-ready. We: Can we have another table in the room? We: Thank you for bringing the extra table. It's a little too tall to meet our needs. Would you mind bringing another one, just like the one that came with the room? We: You found one! Great! Could you please bring another lamp so that table will be lit? We: Thanks for the table and the lamp. Would you happen to have any fans you could bring to the room? Of course, every delivery came with a tip. We would would be the worst-dressed tippers of the evening! Finally, we were set up.
We were surprised when we got back to our room Friday night after going out for a quick dinner. There was a gift basket and a large gift bag (which you can see in the photo) filled with fruit, crackers, other snacks, plates, and napkins...courtesy of the best husband in the world!!

On Saturday night, we paid Connor to pick up sushi and deliver it to us. The photo above was taken by Connor's girlfriend. It was a fun weekend...hanging out with my sister and working on quilts.