I met my wife, Heidi, on New Years 2007.  Less than two months later, her sister Kelly was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer.  You might think that I only know the "sick" version of Kelly, but this is not your ordinary patient.  As her father Larry put it, Kelly is the type of girl that, if she came in complaining of a hangnail, you better call 911.  She was tough as nails and feared nothing!  When they told her she had cancer, her reply was, "Okay, so now what?"  As I became a part of the Strobel family, Kelly became my sister, and I will forever cherish the few years in which I knew her.
 

In today's installment of "how to improve society":
 
Today, I was driving on the highway and a woman pulled out in front of me.  So we're driving on the two-lane highway for about 50 meters when she slows down, so I take it she's wanting me to pass her.  When I attempt to do so, she moves over in the middle of the road, cutting me off (again).  She then turns right, heading in to Burger's Smoke House, not before giving ME the finger.  I have a list of things that I did NOT do to deserve this.
 
Then, while at school, I had to try to explain to a kindergartener why she should not pretend to smoke her magic marker.  *sigh*
 
People!  If you must smoke, don't do it in front of your kids!  You're not even giving them a chance.  Ever heard of second-hand smoke?!  You're giving your toddlers an addiction without even giving them the consideration.  Stop that!

Yesterday was a wild one.  Maywood had a great morning at Prindle Studios and Eatery (thanks Liz for another awesome meal), writing/editing songs and working a little bit on the record.  But that was just the beginning.
 

These are uncommon for my school, but we have one today.  On the positive side, it's great getting a day off in the middle of the week... It's depressing to lose a scheduled basketball game because of it (had one scheduled for tonight but it of course is cancelled), but there's really nothing that can be done about that I guess.
So it's lazy day under one big pile of cat for the Lorings...

As if all this 0-degree madness wasn't fun enough - we had to get out in it at 6:30am today so we could get back to school.  I'm not taking a 2-week vacay for granted, but.. it's really hard to get back into the swing of things.  Funny thing is, I spent the last three days of vacay actually *fearing* this day...
Excited to get basketball up and rolling again.  For those who don't know, I coach 7th grade boys basketball.  We have a game tomorrow!  And Thursday (although the weather indicates that game might not happen). 

Wednesday, Heidi and I came up to Minnesota for Christmas.  My family lives there, and so every other year we go there.  My sister Sarah and her husband Roberto come up from Mexico, and my other brothers and sister come in from KC, Maine, Florida and Chicago... yeah... we're spread out to the max!
 

This could not come from any other mind than that of a little kid.
 
A parent recently told me that her kindergarten student (who is in my class) asked her, "Mom, can you get in trouble for following people?"
 
"Following people?  What do you mean?"
 
"You know, like in school.  Can you get in trouble for following people?"
 
"No.  Why?"
 

I received a phone call yesterday that everything in my biopsy came out benign.  Thank you to everyone who prayed for me, supported me and Heidi through these last couple weeks.  My recovery is coming along and I'm just praising God for His faithfulness.  If I had cancer, I wouldn't feel any different about Him, but I am so thankful that's not the case.
 
SL

Thanksgiving every year, for me, is at my Grandma's in Columbia, MO.  Except 1999 (NYC) and 2000 (on a cruise ship) I've spent every Thanksgiving here with my dad's side of the family.  It's one of the few things I have of my childhood that I can still hang onto. 
 

I enjoy the show Heroes, though I am totally behind on it and will never catch up.  That said, I have stumbled on one major concept that has become a staple to the show: Time travel.
 
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