ACE is the place!

I took some time off work this morning to go with Bill to see the surgeon again. He had another MRI last week to investigate a large lump in his leg, close to where the cyst was removed in August. It is indeed another cyst. This one, however, is not wrapped all up in the nerves. It is in the muscle sheeth. So it is causing discomfort, but not horrible pain or function loss. The surgeon would like to operate as soon as possible and take out the cyst. He would also like open up the joint to look for the source of the recurring cysts and see if something needs "sealed off" in some way. We appreciate your prayers. As if life wasn't complicated enough, I *just* switched Bill over to my insurance to avoid the high COBRA premiums. So we have a bit of complications to muddle through and many phone calls to make....and I anticipate many hours on hold.

Tonight, we went to Clayton's school for a very fun event. The kids in his class have been working on scrapbooks for the last couple of months that had to do with the Yukon Territory during gold rush days. They had to write stories based on history. Some wrote about real people, and filled in missing gaps with fiction. Some wrote of fictional characters, simply based around history. They each had a treat at their tables (brownies, "gold" coins, etc.). In order to take a treat from their table, you had to listen their story. They all did such a great job. It was really funny to see the differences though. For example...

Boys: Our guys were best friends and they were working together and one of them got shot, so the other guy ran over him with the dog sled.

Girls: They found gold, and were so excited so they decided to have a baby! ...and her best friend had a baby, and their babies grew up to be best friends!

Boys: Our guy was a mountie and he went after the criminals and one of them pinned him down , pointed a gun in his face, and asked if he had any last words. But he kicked the guys legs out and reversed the move and told the other guy he didn't get any last words.

Girls: My story is about a sled dog who found a male sled dog, and they fell in love and had puppies, but the puppies died and so the male dog left because that's what guys do, so she finally found an owner that loved her and she lived happily ever after.

Boys: My story is about a sled dog he ate his master's gold nugget.

Girl: This story is about a woman who worked hard by herself and fell in love and got married and her husband shot her in the back and killed her, and the other man that had always loved her founded a national park in her honor and built a monument her with his poetry inscribed on it.

Boys: Our story is about some merchants, and some miners robbed their store, and they learned not to do it again because the merchants had better guns than they did.

Girls: She got married and had a baby, then they were robbed, and her husband died. But she remarried and had seven more kids, and lived happily ever after.

I could go on, but I just found it so interesting how, just like everything I've been studying, the girls' stories focused around love and relationships....and the boys stories focused on fighting for a cause and being a hero. It was really cute!

ACE is the place! I went to ACE today, and found almost all the hardware I needed....with a very helpful girl leading me (and my little circus side show) all over the store to find everything. Ian and Hayden were having great fun!