The Winter of 2008......

...in pictures.

I only have a "lost & found" camera with thirteen pictures, but we have been using it, just to record that "we were here" until the new camera is chosen and purchased.

Here is our season, soon to end this month.

Sarah snowboarding, with the ever-present view of Mount Shasta

Maddelyn skiis

Snow, trees, sky.....at the ski park

Different angle


We had a very intersting storm in February, where the wind blew the snow drifts different than usual. Below are pictures to prove this point.

This view was taken outside my front door, from the level of a mouse

Another view out the front door.

Those are my chimes, a gift from Marty...they make beautiful Gregorian music in the wind storms. Lovely.

So, the girls room window looked like this. Usually it is because snow sticks to the window. This time, it was because the snow piled up in front of their window. Anne wrote that she was "living in a snow globe" :)

The boys room windows had just a bit less in front of the window.

A little color this winter, from a castle Malachy worked hard to build.

The Honda is almost missing under the snow drifts.





The view on the side of the garage.

The little building is our school room.....the rest belongs to the neighbors.

Another view of the almost missing Honda.

Two snow shovelers.......Matthew & Garrett......shoveled for four days.

There is often a wave on the south side of our house. Notice almost NO snow on the ground outside my bedroom window. The wave is about 4 feet high.

Same "happy" shovelers.

Kids all over the country are excited for snow days!

The kids at Our Hearts' Haven KNOW it is nothing to be excited about........it creates LOTS of work. :)

Well, truthfully.........they love the snow, the way it looks, the way it covers the slopes for skiing and boarding......but, it is a huge commitment to keep things cleared. Boy is Matthew going to be missed next winter. :) Especially since Marty has not needed to go on the roof for two seasons now........that will end in 2010.

Behind the house, the snow blocks the boys' window. This was an unusual drift for us.

Now you see behind the garage.....and the girls' window is blocked as well. The drift on the roof was different. It usually is not as tall, unless we get 8 feet.

More drifts behind the house. Some of the drifts were 8-10 feet........it was crazy. It kind of looked like peaks of whipping cream. BIG ones!

More drifts & peaks.

More......see how close to the roofline for that drift.

Another angle.....notice less snow on the ground.

Four foot drift on the roof.........waiting for Matthew to remove.

Even the old blue beast........Suburban........invited drifts.

Drift directly up close is the Honda from the front. There is our porch.

The boys dug a tunnel when they cleared the snow from behind the garage.

Another angle of the tunnel.........I hit my head hard lifting it too soon!

The tunnel actually had a cave in the side.......the dogs thought this was clever. :)

Ten-foot drift below, four-feet above..........Matthew starting to remove it.

Wider angle of all

Sadie standing while I dug out a path to the school room..........she was acting strange that day.......and kept right behind me.

Matthew up on top.......knocked out another 4-foot drift from above.

Same....

For some reason, Matthew purposely dumped snow on the tunnel!

The man-child.............well, he is 18 years old....I guess he is a man?

We sure are going to miss him!

Malachy worked hard to create a new friend all by himself. The snowman kit we got handed down from Shawna came in handy! Of course, the supplies were at risk from dogs who like to chew things.

Close-up....that's a fake carrot! I like how the hat chin-tie gives him a smiling face!

Looking for the tennis ball in the deep snow. :)

Work & play, side by side.

Malachy taking advantage of the ten feet!

At the bottom.

It's HARD work up there!

Close-up of Matthew working

Hey! I am taller than the roof!

In the down direction.

The next day, the bare-er spots melted enough for a nap.

Garrett took these dog photos........and woke them up here.

This was two days later........after more snow.

We can barely see the old blue beast.

What Garrett, Matthew and Malachy look like after three days of shoveling............one more came the next day!

Those storms above were in February.........a few days ago, already in March, I think.......we had one of those beautiful, perfect snowfalls.......whereby the snow came straight down, no wind, accumulating fast and furious. The snow was so light and soft. Reminded Marty & I of our Tahoe days. We used to go for late night walks in these kind of storms. These photos below are from that storm.

The flakes are falling.

The picnic table.....during the storm...this fell in about three hours.

The morning after........I was up before the sun rose.....as usual.

The morning after......our apple tree.....and orchard.




The view of the back of thr property.......orchard, berries, swingset & fort.

The view to the south, from my bedroom.

The view in the front of our house.

The picnic table the next morning.

The photos below were taken yesterday...........on the way to and at the ski park.

The view as you drive by on the freeway.

Mount Shasta, in her glory

A different angle of Mt. Shasta....as you climb up to the ski park.

As you drive upward, and come around a curve, there it is......glorious!

The "Face" of Douglas, a run at the ski park.

You can see Mount Lassen from the ski park parking lot.

The kids tell me the views from the tops of the runs and lifts are simply breathtaking.

Another take on Mount Lassen, another volcano in the Pacific Ring of Fire.

The ski park from the west end of the parking lot.

I was walking by and this little tree sticking out of the snow caught my eye.

It was only about 2 feet tall..........and had a great background!

I love taking different angles of Mount Shasta........especially in different seasons.

I am ready now......SPRING, let's go!

Love & blessings!

Chari

Dear Grandma,

In this post of Haven Heartbeats, I will respond to your most recent letter of February 17th.

It was so nice to get a handwritten letter from somebody. :) Someday, I will write more letters by hand...just like I used to......before children. Remeber how I used to write those letters to you and mamaw?

I meant to write sooner, but I worked for a couple of days, and then got sick.........today is day 9 of my cold...actually day seven, if you only count from when I got stuffy and felt yucky. The cough preceded this by two days. And, after I got better, I had relapses.

The rain has been falling so hard here........I am wondering if we really did get the 9 inches of rain someone predicted. I sure hope so! The wind howled fierce for the whole time, too. Today we awakened to fresh snow, about 4 inches. We should be getting snow through Friday, I hear. The forecast shows Saturday clear, with more snow on Sunday & Monday. I will try to take the kids skiing on Saturday. I hope to be well enough by then. I am in the mood for scrapbooking...which I can justify doing at the ski park...but not at home. :)

I have no idea when I will next be going to Carson City...maybe in June? Probably in June. So, it does not make sense to have me bring your request in that way. Could we perhaps have you mail them to my dad's house.......and have the party pick up the package there? Jennifer expects to come for a visit in late May to see the kids in their play...but that is still so late. I do not expect any visits from any Nevada folks before that. Let me know what you think......and I can email my dad's address to you...oh, you probably have it already.

Thank you for the vegan recipes......the carrot hot dog is hilarious! :) I will pass these on. One of my vegans has decided she has been vegan so long now.....she cannot remember exactly why she went that way.....so, she has loosened her diet a bit.

Have I ever told you I LOVE your handwriting? It is so consistent, so lovely. I can always recognize notes in your writing.

It is now official that Matthew has QUALIFIED to travel with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program......now they just need to find him a country.......a host club who will take the tall, aged, unvaccinated creature. :) They feel pretty confident there will be one club willing to take him. Right now they are focusing in Italian-speaking Switzerland, because he wants to learn Italian. They have told him he will need to learn German first because it is the national language there. If Switzerland does not work out......I believe they will try Belgium, and then Germany. We are all so jealous of him. :)

Anne REALLY wants to go to Nevada-Reno...........we are waiting to see if she qualifies for any scholarships.....and then she will need to decide. There, or San Francisco State University. I think it will be May before we know for sure......I cannot remember. It is hard not knowing for sure, for so long. She just kind of wants to get on with her life......you know?

My cousin whom I asked for prayers is still in a coma........I guess last week she squeezed a finger...and something else....opened her eyes? I cannot remember. It is Uncle Howard's oldest, Tina.......so, really my dad's first cousin, not mine. She is still in the hospital, too, I believe. It is so sad...

Maddelyn is in her class right now, so I am at the college library, taking the time to write here. The round trip to the college is about 25 minutes....so, no sense in driving home for only a 50 minute class, eh?

I have to teach childbirth classes tonight. I have only one person signed up....and I have not spoken to her in two months. Once in a while someone shows up without signing up.....so, hopefully that will happen tonight.

Oh, one more thing before I have to go.......the kids have spring break the week of March 16th......we were wondering IF we could work if out....could we come for a 4 night visit? There are A LOT of things on the calendar......we would have to see if we could even make it work....so no promises. But, we have been desperately looking at our calendar for over six months, to see when we ALL could come see you. This just might work. What do you think?

Well, Maddelyn is done and she hates it when she has to wait. :) I need to wrap this up.

We love you and miss you!

Love,

Chari & family

St. Thomas Aquinas says......

Hurry, go to Christ, that he may bring you healing which you cannot receive from any human.


God bless your fruitful Lent!

With love,

Chari

So you want to know more about concussions?

Many of you know Garrett (11 yo) suffered a concussion Wednesday night (February 18th) in the 4th quarter of his basketball game. He lost momentary consciousness and has little memory of the game.

Our doctor said he needed to be mellow (no sports) for the next 2-3 weeks. At least one coach was surprised it was so long.

An online friend mentioned she had done reseach after two of her sons suffered severe concussions. One suffered with pain for a year. She said Garrett should not do any sports for two weeks AFTER the symptoms subside. She said teaching others about the seriousness of concussions is a crusade of hers. It is now mine, too.

This got me looking around the internet. According to two sources, Garrett's concussion was moderate to severe (between a Grade 2 and 3) or severe (Grade 3). Shelly witnessed the whole thing.....she says Grade 3.

A week later, he still has a headache, neck ache and occasional dizziness......I will say he still has the ability to argue with his siblings......that's a good sign, right? :)

Concussions are a mild form of TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury.

It usually affects JR/SR aged kids, though occasionally into the college-aged adults.

I wanted to share the info I found, for those of you involved with sports, either as a coach, or a parent.....or both.

Be sure to view the mini-documentary below.

But first, here are some interesting quotes, all taken out of context, and from several sources:

Second Impact Syndrome. Aka SIS. The two cases described above involved repeated head trauma with probable concussions that separately might be considered mild but in additive effect were fatal. The risk for catastrophic effects from successive seemingly mild concussions sustained within a short period is not yet widely recognized. Second Impact Syndrome results from acute, usually fatal, brain swelling that occurs when a second concussion is sustained before complete recovery from a previous concussion that causes vascular congestion and increased intracranial pressure, which may be difficult or impossible to control. (There does seem to be debate about whether this actually exists or not.....seems like a moot point to me.......playing before healed seems pretty dangerous to me.)

Neurologists say once a person suffers a concussion, he is as much as four times more likely to sustain a second one. Moreover, after several concussions, it takes less of a blow to cause the injury and requires more time to recover. (Think football players & boxers.)

Depending on the extent and location of the injury, impairments caused by a head injury can vary widely. The irony of mild head injuries is that often, such injuries do not even require a hospital stay, yet they result in changes so profound that lives are forever changed.

The condition most commonly occurs in American football

Every documented case of SIS has occurred in males, but it is not known whether this is due to a special vulnerability or to a greater exposure of males to second impacts.


You must look at just one link: this is a great video documentary



This is a good, to the point definition



Another website here


Good list of signs and symptoms


About amnesia


About returning to play after a head injury



GRADING the concussion



a great handout for those of you needing one for parents, etc


Full of statistics, and from an MD point of view


Lots of info and links at wikipedia


Interesting info about POST-CONCUSSION SYNDROME


Summary of Recommendations of Management of Concussion in Sports below taken from here


Garrett had at least 6 of the nine below, at some point of his injury.


A concussion is defined a head-trauma-induced alteration in mental status that may or may not involve loss of consciousness. Concussions are graded in three categories. Definitions and treatment recommendations for each category are presented below.


Grade 1 Concussion


Definition: Transient Confusion, no loss of consciousness, and a duration of mental status abnormalities of less than 15 minutes.


Management: The athlete should be removed from sports activity, examined immediately and at 5 minute intervals, and allowed to return that day to the sports activity only if post concussive symptoms resolve within 15 minutes. Any athlete who incurs a second Grade 1 concussion on the same day should be removed from sports activity until asymptomatic for 1 week.

Grade 2 Concussion:


Definition: Transient confusion, no loss of consciousness, and a furation of mental status abnormalities of more than 15 minutes.


Management: The athlete should be removed from sports activity, examined immediately and frequently to assess the evolution of symptoms, with more extensive diagnostic evaluation if the symptoms worsen or persist for more than 1 week. The should return to sports activity only after asymptomatic for 1full week. Any athlete who incurs a Grade 2 concussion subsequent to a Grade 1 concussion on the same day should be removed from sports activity until asymptomatic for 2 weeks.


Grade 3 Concussion:


Definition: Loss of consciousness, either brief (seconds) or prolonged (minutes or longer).


Management: The athlete should be removed from sports activity for 1 full week without symptoms if the loss of consciousness is brief, or 2 full weeks without symptoms if the loss of consciousness is prolong. If still unconscious, or if abnormal neurologic signs are present at the time of initial evaluation, the athlete should be transported by ambulance to the nearest hospital emergency department. An athlete who suffers a second Grade 3 concussion should be removed from sports activity until asymptomatic for 1 month. Any athlete with an abnormality on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging brain scan consistent with brain swelling, contusion, or other intracranial pathology should be removed from sports activities for the season and discouraged from future return to participation in contact sports.


Features of Concussion Frequently Observed:


1.Vacant stare (befuddled facial expression)


2.Delayed verbal and motor responses (slow to answer questions or follow instructions)


3.Confusion and inability to focus attention (easily distracted and unable to follow through with normal activities)


4.Disorientation (walling in the wrong direction; unaware of time, date and place)


5.Slurred or incoherent speech (making disjointed or incomprehensible statements)


6.Gross observable incoordination (stumbling, inability to walk tandem/straight line)


7.Emotions out of proportion to circumstances (distraught, crying for no apparent reason)


8.Memory deficits (exhibited by the athlete repeatedly asking the same question that has already been answered, or inability to memorize and recall 3 of 3 words, or 3 of 3 objects in 5 minutes)


9.Any period of loss of consciousness (paralytic coma, unresponsiveness to arousal)





Prayers for his continued healing requested. He is missing the last two weeks of basketball season.........and at least two more weeks of ski/snowboard season. It is hard to keep him off the hill.........but I just have to.

A picture thought I am sharing........

A great, sunny and warm January ski day.

Sarah**Maddelyn**Gavin**Malachy**Matthew**Garrett

Looking for more of those days in March......

God bless,

Love Chari

In Memoriam........

AGE 18ish

Today is the 24th anniversary of my mother-in-law's death. I still miss her so much, even if I did only get a few years with her........and only 6 months as my mother-in-law. We had a lot in common. We both loved to read, to play Trivial pursuit (she beat me BIG every.single.time. :) ), art, music......and Marty. :)

She died at age 50 years, after suffering for three years with Lou Gehrig's Disease, also known as ALS......amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal form of muscular dystrophy. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

Marilyn was so brave, such an inspiration to all of us in her suffering. The night that she died, she called Marty to say goodbye.....and then later, in the wee hours of the morning, it was the phone call we had been expecting, but it still caught us asleep, literally. I do not remember what time it was.....3 am, 4? I do remember Marty and I lit the candles on our mantle and prayed a rosary together, and then we took a walk to a nearby park.

I try to keep her memory alive for my children, none of whom she ever met. We have offered every Rosary for 24 years, in her memory. Her picture above is always in their view.

She was already ill when Marty and I got engaged. In fact, now that I think about it......if we had not got married three months after we got engaged.........she never would have made it to the wedding. We still did not think she would be able to travel, but Marty's brother Bill made it happen. I am ever so grateful to him. Marilyn was SO happy at our wedding. I always remember that. I love the candid photos taken on that day.....she just shines. She died six months later.

Rest in Peace, Marilyn

February 26, 1986

The only photo I can find of baby Marty and his mother.

This was moments before the Kentuckian born fella migrated to California.
Brother David smiles on.

Marty's parents stand with us.

Marty's whole family at our wedding.

With one of her many grandchildren, Jeniffer.

One more thing:

I had mentioned a long while back, in my prayer requests, for a friend whose father was dying of brain cancer. It is actually Marty's friend. Well, her father died today, on the same day. They still thought there was another month, and Terri missed getting to be there when he died. She had been planning on staying with him shortly, till he died, but she never made it. I know this must be so hard for her. She is very close to her parents, especially as an only child. Please pray for their family, and the repose of his soul.

Thank you.

Love, chari

Happy 19th birthday......

..........to my sweet young friend!

Clare is best friends to my girls. I have known her , or of her, for almost ten years. Her mom is my best friend (one of those few)...and her brothers are best friends to my boys. Sometimes the girls think Clare and I have a lot in common.....hope that doesn't scare you, Clare! :)

Say an Ave for Clare for her Birthday today!

Clare, my gift to you will be a whole Rosary. :)

God's blessings to you on this day and always.

Love,

Chari and the rest of Our Hearts' Haven characters

It Is Ash Wednesday

St. Augustine,

my SAINT for 2009,

has this to say.......

Do not follow any road, but that which Christ trod.

This road seems hard, but it is safe.

May you have a fruitful Lent!

I am praying for you!

Love,

Chari

The above photo taken by yours truly in San Rafael, California, last Spring, when we visited the lovely St. Vincent’s Home for Boys.