The Best Commercial Ever

Just in case you haven't already seen this Coke commercial from 1979/80, it won the best Super Bowl commercial again. Not sure for how long, but it's my favorite!

And posting something really cool like a Mean Joe Green commercial keeps my mind off my drunk next door neighbor who called the police on us because Colin and some friends were in her yard! (They were trying to catch a neighbor's dog who got loose.) She's a belligerent drunk who has nothing better to do than gripe about kids walking in her yard, which, by the way, is no better than any yard on our street. We had an altercation, called each other a few choice names, the apparently she called the police! A couple hours later they show up at our house, asking what happened. Here I am in my jammies, with a houseful of crazy kids, and the police are at my door!

Okay, I was not going to write about this! This woman has been a pain in the butt since she moved in 3 years ago. If I could afford to move I would. I am going to go to bed and try not to dream about visits from the police!

Good Movie

Just saw The Game Plan with Dwayne "The Oh-so-hot Rock" Johnson. It was a really cute movie. You also have many opportunities to see The Rock and his naked chest! He is so hot.

And speaking of hot, Heath Ledger is dead! He was so cute, even when he was lusting over Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain. It's so sad.

Where has the time gone?

Since my last post we've endured 2 weeks of school, a 10th birthday party (see above), several soccer games, a few basketball games, un-decorating the house for Christmas, an Ohio State loss, and lots of laundry. Needless to say, it's a busy time! I could really use a snow day.

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Today is Ben's 10th birthday. Happy Birthday, Ben! I guess we can call him "Ben Ten" or is it "Ben 10?" Who knows. He'll always be my Benna-Boo. He'll kill me for posting these pictures from this past week, but it shows his true personality. (Although I did post one picture of him riding his scooter in his underwear in the snow, I swore to him I wouldn't post the one of him playing Guitar Hero in his new spandex boxer briefs and wife beater...too bad. It's cute.)

Merry Christmas

The gifts are all wrapped and under the tree. It's 1 AM, and I just took the last gulp of Santa's wine (yes, here at the Cunningham household he gets wine if we have it...Santa doesn't like milk...ugh...especially a cup of it that's been sitting out since bedtime...) It's time to go to bed...the boys will be up by 6, I am sure. Last year it was 5:30 I think! Tonight we had wedding soup, went to Niederman's Farm for their Christmas Walk (even Alan went!), and after Ben went to bed at 9:30 (his idea is that the earlier you go to sleep the earlier you can get up!) Colin and I watched The Flintstone's Christmas Carol. Well he watched it. I am not very good at sitting down and watching something. I was asleep on the couch before he met Marley's ghost! I woke up just in time to see Scrooge see the error of his ways and repent. Great story.

I hope everyone has a joyous and blessed Christmas with family and friends. I know it's a time of gift giving and receiving (why must it be so stressful to get just the right presents, the right amount of gifts under the tree for each boy, etc) when the true meaning is that God sent his Son to earth. He asked a poor girl and her fiance to take on the responsibility of caring for the One who will open the gates of Heaven for us. Let us not forget the real meaning of Christmas, and continue the celebration through the season of Christmas that lasts through the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6.

In the words of Charles Dickens and Tiny Tim, "God bless us, every one!"

Sad news

Now that my emails are back in order (I think I ended up getting over 600 emails from my mom and the CF foundation) I was able to get some important emails. One being very sad news that Karen Visely (see blog entry a few weeks ago) died on Wednesday. Here are my sister's words:

I'm so sorry to pass the news that Karen did not recover from the injuries sustained in the horrific fire that destroyed her home. She passed away late this morning. That's all the information I have at this time. Thanks for all your prayers. Please keep her family, her students and her fellow teachers in your prayers. She's now at peace. God bless, Madonna How sad, but I, too, am so glad that God took her to be at peace in Heaven. I cannot even fathom the torture she would go through during the healing process. It really puts things into perspective. I can write about stuff that drives me crazy, but what she and her family went and will go through is just unimaginable. Please keep her children (2 adult children) and her family and friends in your prayers. I just keep thinking about her 4th grade class and those children who loved her so much. Merry Christmas, everyone. Please be safe. Have happy times with loved ones.

Karen update

Here are two emails I received from my sister today, written by two people close to Karen. Please keep praying...her address is at the bottom if you feel inclined to send her your well wishes.

We would like to share what we know about Karen’s condition. She is in a medically induced coma due to the severity of her injuries. This is common with burn victims. Her condition has been and will remain very critical for weeks, months……..no one knows how long. Karen will be kept in this comatose state “ a long time”, because 60% of her body has 3^rd degree burns. She is on dialysis, due to renal failure, as well as having blood pressure problems. These seem to be the two major concerns—besides the burns.

Karen’s son, John, is now living with his dad in Hecla. He is coping much better, but he’s lost everything, too.

We know this sounds very dire, but we have been told that it is all unpredictable and Pam and I see that it isn’t like any other injury or disease. There is no timeline, prognosis or diagnosis given. Hour to hour, day to day………..

Please continue to keep Karen in your prayers. Pray for her comfort and strength. Each day that she is with us is a miracle.

and...

Karen is currently in surgery to remove the burned tissue in anticipation of eventually being able to graft healthy skin. This is standard protocol for burn victims. Her family is at the hospital with her.

I would not encourage anyone from work to go visit with her until a later time. Now is a time needed for rest and recovery. Visiting also brings outside germs and infection, which she is very susceptible to at this time. So, give her time and visit when she is stronger.

Cards and emails are the best choice right now. Her sister is staying at the family house provided by the hospital for a small fee. She sits faithfully with her sister, and reads her all of the cards and email’s, which is wonderful stimulation for Karen. I do believe she may hear her sister. However, she will be kept comfortable for the time being with medical interventions.

Karen also remains on dialysis to cleanse the toxins from her body until her kidneys can do this for her. This is not uncommon at this time. This will be a slow recovery, so I ask you all to sit tight. We will keep you posted as time goes on. This is Karen’s 5^th day out, and that is a good sign. Karen is a fighter, and she is getting the very best care there is to help her on the road to recovery. I know your thoughts and prayers are with Karen and her loved ones.

Karen Visley
West Penn Hospital
T2 Burn Unit
4800 Friendship Ave.
Pittsburgh,Pa 15224