Oh gosh, so much has been going on. Life is crazy, in a good way.

Last Thursday, Michelle cleaned out the Explorer, in preparation for us to leave town the next morning. I keep my baseball umpiring gear in a HUGE suitcase, and in the process of taking it out of the car, she twisted her knee really badly. She shook it off, although she was in a lo of pain.

The next morning, we left town kind of early, heading for Tullahoma. Michelle wanted to surprise her mother on her birthday by bringing Alex to the school where she teaches. So, after a fairly smooth trip, we got there. Michelle's mom flipped out when she saw Alex, and all the other teachers had a great time meeting him. That was a lot of fun.

Saturday, Michelle's dad and I put new brake pads on the Explorer, so it will now stop on a dime. Almost. It is definitely improved now. Cool. I had fun watching some college football that evening. Any day that Michigan, Notre Dame, and Tennessee all lose, with Georgia winning, is a great sports day for me. To boot, Memphis almost came back to beat Ole Miss. They came up just short :( All in all, it was a great sports day.

We had originally planned on worshiping at Mt. Denson on Sunday, but we were too sleep deprived to get up at the crack of dawn (which is what we would have needed to have done in order to get there). So, we slept in a bit, until the pain in Michelle's knee became so unbearable that she decided to go to the hospital. She spent the bulk of the morning there, and eventually got a prelimenary diagnosis of a torn ligament. The doctor told her to get an MRI once we got back to Memphis to confirm his diagnosis.

We were able to leave just in time to get to Dickson on schedule. Alex was baptized at the birthplace chapel at Montgomery Bell State Park, which is where the Cumberland Presbyterian church was founded in 1810. It was a wonderfully ecumenical ceremony, and Alex looked great in his suit that my grandmother had made for him. We had a great picnic afterward, and everyone had an awesome time. Some of us threw some football, and it was nice to get my old wing loosened up a bit. After a while, Alex decided that he had had enough of everyone pawing on him, and he spazzed out big time. It didn't help that it was over 100 degrees outside. So, I took him to the car, turned the AC up high, and let him chill.

Once we left to go back to Memphis, he was in full rage. He had just had too much stimulation the entire weekend, so he let loose. He cried constantly almost the entire way home. It took us seemingly forever to get back. Monday, he spen the whole day ticked off because he was too tired to sleep. Finally, Monday night he went down. And slept like a rock for about 12 hours. He was in a much better mood when he woke up.

I did not get any school work done all weekend, so on Monday I decided to go to my office to get some stuff done. It felt weird to labor on Labor Day, but I got done everything I needed for Tuesday's class (acts of the apostles). My plan was to do my stuff for today, yesterday afternoon--but Michelle needed to have her MRI, and by the time she got that done she needed to go to class herself. So, Alex and I hung out all afternoon, and into the night. Michelle got home about 8:30 or so. Once we got him transferred, I went to the office to do what I needed for today.

After the MRI, the diagnosis is torn meniscus in the knee. She should know definitively in the next day or so. Either way, she is looking at surgery to fix it. That sucks.

I stayed at the office until deep into the night, until I got everything done. I hope everything is good; I can't stand the thought of starting the semester behind the eight ball. It seemed that everything was fine. I went to class this morning about half-asleep, but I made it throught the day. I have ethics from 8-11, and Christian Ministry from 1:30-4:30. After lunch, I was REALLY ready for a nap, but I got stronger as class went on, and didn't crash until a little while ago.

I am enjoying my classes. The work load is insane, but I suppose it is grad school. LOL. I get a kick out the people that complain, and sometimes I wonder what they are doing there. Oh well. It has been a lot of fun showing pictures of Alex to everyone. No one escapes without seeing at least a few...LOL.

My friend "Boston" Ellen has moved to Chicago for grad school. She has her own apartment for the first time, and I am excited for her. Since she is a Cubs fan, I think I will start calling her "Northside" Ellen...LOL. Go girl!

Seeing my grandmother and Alex in their Braves gear last week reminded me of the funniest story ever. Several years ago, the Braves swept the Cubs in a 3-game series. The next day, my grandmother went to Verizon Wireless to pay her bill, and knowing that Kent would be there, she took a small broom with her. Once in the office, she started waving her broom around, making sure Kent knew that the Braves had swept his beloved Cubs. Granny, trash-talking one of my best friends...LOL. Absolutely hilarious! He has never forgotten it, either...LOL.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...