Freeman's Forum

Rattlesnake (contains graphic images for those of you who are snake weenies)

2011-06-27T21:45:00.036-06:00

So, you've read things from the point of view of my amazing wife. This time it's my turn.

Almost daily since the sun began warming things up here in Del Norte, my co-workers have diligently warned me to look out for the rattlesnakes when I go out for a run at lunch or when I ride/walk home from work. I usually dismiss this with an, "I will."

Tuesday last week as I was having difficulty with my front derailleur on my ride home I looked up in time to see a gray snake run over by my front tire on soft sand. Knowing I couldn't stall out, being clipped in my pedals, I sped up to decrease the chance of a retaliatory strike. After a couple of rounds of my pedals I looked back to see if it slithered away only to see in my periphery the snake being flung around by my back wheel. As if my adrenaline was not pumping quickly enough, I successfully vaulted out of my pedals and dropped the bike and did everything but squeal like little girl.

The snake was laid across my back tire head up and rattling its tail, no doubt a bit dazed by taking two circles on my back tire. Through the adrenaline, I somehow was able to call Sandra and asked her to pack up the kids and the BB gun. While awaiting her arrival, the snake slithered off of my tire and coiled in the shade of my bike.

Sandra and the kids arrived, and got to hear the rattle of the snake. After removing my bike, I courageously (not really if you look at the picture) put a well-placed silver BB from my trusty childhood Daisy pump action air rifle right to the back of the head killing the snake instantly...

Or so we thought. This guy had some serious "reflex" movement, therefore, Zach ensured his death with a second BB at point blank range.

Or so we thought. Thinking he must be dead, we allowed the kids to feel the snake on the ground, when it started moving AGAIN! Nathan got the honor of killing the snake for the final time with the 3rd well-placed BB.

Or so we thought. After placing the flacid snake into a gallon ziploc bag and sealing it, Sandra and the kids pilled into the van to head home while I continued my ride home. While it lay on the floorboard of the passenger seat, the bag began to move, and we're not talking small "reflex" movements, like lots of large coordinated movements. Needless to say, this just about put my, to this point amazingly willing wife, over the edge. After arriving home, I, in my infinite snake wisdom, stated that, "He's an oxygen breathing animal, therefore he will suffocate in the ziploc bag pretty quickly."

Or so I thought. After eating dinner and me heading back to the clinic for scalpels and gloves. I returned home to find this amazingly resilient beast slithering in the bag dragging its head around as if we had paralyzed it from the neck up. Finally, to finish him off and get this dissection thing on the road I decided to use the preverbial shovel decapitation. At last, dead.

Or so we thought. With head decidedly detached from the serpent, dissection began. However, during skinning the flacid snake would occasionally and coordinatedly move into a tight "S" shape. Creepy! Once the skin was off it was apparent that the heart continued to beat! We dissected this snake through just about every organ system, including the cardiorespiratory system with the heart in my hand and yet it STILL BEAT! Finally, Nathan received the go-ahead to "finish him off". With a single probe he pierced the heart of the snake and it stopped (not quite crushing the head of the snake as in Genesis, but close).

This time it worked. The dissection was amazing. We found its gallbladder, lung, heart, stomach, intestines, trachea, esophageous, venom glands/ducts, and have a beautiful rattlesnake skin we'll preserve. Fantastic opportunity for the kids to see creation at work.

If you'd asked me earlier in the day if I would kill a rattlesnake and dissect him without help, I would have told you no way, but what a blessing to have that opportunity. It may never come again. At least, hopefully, I see him sooner next time...

The Love Story

2011-02-16T12:02:00.002-07:00

One sunny afternoon, twenty years ago today, a young girl sat nervously in the back of her parents car. You see she was on her way to meet a boy whom she had talked to daily for a couple of weeks. She knew she was already in love with him and him with her. Her tummy was filled with butterflies as they approached Sabin Junior High School. He had told her he would meet her by the statue of the big dog in front of the school, and he would be wearing a blue baseball cap...

Wow! Twenty years!!!! What a sweet young boy I met that day. God was working and we didn't even know Him very well yet. I am so thankful that the young boy I met that day was in love with me too. It seems impossible that we could have been so in love and so young. I guess the first grade love letters seem even more impossible to believe. Here we are looking back on this silly picture and never have been more in love than we are now!

Most people don't really celebrate the day they met, and we don't normally do much either, but that day was so anxiously awaited, that we vividly remember the details. Also, TWENTY years!!!!

For those of you who knew us then, enjoy the memories this picture brings. For those of you who did not, then enjoy the laughter!

Wednesday Fun!!

2010-10-27T21:30:00.007-06:00

Not only is Brian really enjoying his job, but his schedule right now is awesome! He is currently off every Wednesday and every weekend. Each Wednesday, he joins us for homeschooling in the morning, which the kids love. He also teaches science each Wednesday, which he loves! One amazing thing has been the Wednesday adventure that he and the boys take. They have gone on a different hike each week. It has been so good for all three of them. Zach is a little mountain goat, he truly comes alive talking about the hikes. Nathan is enjoying pushing himself a bit in the realm of adventure. Brian is just loving the time. They have been rock climbing, bone collecting, and orienteering. We have so many different animal bones on our porch that the deer are going to stop coming by our house, for fear of what will happen to them.

The picture of the four of us is from our "recess" adventure last Wednesday.

Month One

2010-10-27T20:59:00.002-06:00

It has officially been a month since we loaded up two trucks, two minivans, and a car to drive down here to South Fork! I cannot believe it. We are doing well and enjoying our mountain getaway. It has sunk in, I think, that we are not on vacation. I don't think that I can say that this is home yet, but I know that we aren't vacationing. It really is a strange place to be. We are still enjoying the beauty of God's creation all around us, but are also still missing our friends a ton. The kids are beginning to ask when we can visit. Zach made the heartbreaking comment this week that he couldn't remember what his friends look like. I have shed more tears this month than I realized I had....Did you know that crying a lot makes you very thirsty? Pay attention next time you have a good sob. :) God is so good and faithful and I know he has a plan for us here. I am excited to see how he chooses to work in us here. I do not know when the heartache will lessen, but I know that in the midst of this transition, we all have drawn closer to the amazing Creator who hung the stars but also knows the number of hairs on our heads. What more can you ask for! So, for those of you wondering how we are doing. Our days are going well, we are really enjoying our time with Brian, and we are trying, as a family, to cling to the Lord in the midst of missing the people that we are used to doing life with. Thank you for all of your prayers. I really appreciate it.

(I know many of you are praying for relationships here. This Sunday, I met a woman at church who just moved to South Fork from Parker on September 15th. Her husband's new career brought them here. She has a 4 year old boy, 18 month old boy, and is newly pregnant. I am excited to get to know her. We are going on a little hike with the kids on Friday. Thank you, Lord!)

Friday Nature Walk

2010-10-08T21:27:00.003-06:00

God is AWESOME! I began getting nervous, about the thought of taking the kids on outdoor adventures by myself, about a month ago. At that point, I began praying for that anxiousness. Today was my chance. We had a nature walk to go on, and I prayed for a good spot. WOW! An amazing spot was more like it. I was not nervous. The drive was BEAUTIFUL, and our destination was even more beautiful. On the way up to Big Meadow Reservoir we got to see the incredible fall colors AND the first snow on the peaks of the tallest mountains. I heard my three sweet children ooohhhhing and awing at what we saw. Nathan said it best, "This is too beautiful for me to deny God's amazing creation." It's amazing what profound wisdom comes from that boy's mouth. Aside from needing coats, it was a perfect little exploration of God's amazing creation.

Our Lovely Cabin

2010-10-08T20:57:00.003-06:00

We have the opportunity to stay for 6 weeks in a great vacation cabin in South Fork. This wasn't the ideal moving situation, to move twice, but we are really enjoying our time here. Now it just feels like a nice ease into life. It is gorgeous here. The fall colors are amazing. We had dear in our back yard today. There are such neat, old unique things in here because it is fully furnished and functional.

For those of you who would love to have a mental picture of where to place us, these pictures are for you.

Love you!

Where Are We? Why?

2010-09-30T15:33:00.004-06:00

Wow, what an amazing journey this has been. One day, I will have to tell the whole story, but I will start with the last two years...
As most of you know, Brian spent the last two years in PA school. He went into PA school with a love of orthopedics and very little desire for family medicine. He went into school with as much of an open mind as possible. We knew that God would have a great place for him, but assumed it would be in Greeley in the field of orthopedics. Brian loved almost every rotation he went on, so the big "narrow down" of interest just wasn't happening like he thought. At the end of May, we sent him far far away to a little town we had never heard of. I had asked in the previous months if he was sure he had to go so far when there were plenty of family practice rotations much closer to home. Because it was supposed to be good experience we did not pursue getting the rotation changed. We even looked on the bright side and planned a great little camping trip with Aunt Becky to South Fork, a nearby town, and went to see the Sand Dunes. We had a great time and went back home, leaving Daddy in this little town with a sweet couple who welcomed him into their home.
The rotations following Del Norte were a mix between amazing and grueling. Brian knew that his last rotation would be with an Ortho doc he knew and respected up in Greeley. We assumed that this would be a great job opportunity. However, God had already been planting seeds in Brian, that he would love to get better at the "medicine" part maybe even before diving back into orthopedics. We didn't really know what this yearning meant, but we knew we needed to be open.
One afternoon in early July, I recieved a call from a PA that Brian had worked with in Del Norte. She wanted to know if she could pass on Brian's information for a position opening in September. Of course I said yes, because we were being open... Well guess what? Here we are. In the weeks following that phone call we felt more and more that God was pointing us in the direction of this little town we hadn't even heard of. Brian realized through lots of conversation and prayer that this was his adventure to live for this time. God worked out so many details, both physical and of the heart, to make this happen, and we have sacrificed a ton to obey and come down here. We will miss our friends in Greeley dearly. The way of life we know and are used to is very different than this little town. We are excited and scared, but we know that God will use us here and will provide whatever we need. The kids have been amazingly supportive and flexible. Just as we are trusting God and sacrificing things, they are trusting us even though they know they are sacrificing things.
So....Where are we? We are currently in South Fork, Colorado staying in a cute cabin until about Thanksgiving. After that??? Well we have a house in Del Norte we would love to rent, but are waiting for some legistical hurdles to be overcome. Brian is anxiously awaiting the start of his new job. He will start in the next couple weeks. Why are we here? Well, the specific reasons are yet to be seen. The most important reason... We are obeying a push from our amazing Lord. I am so excited to see what He does during the next few years.

I will try to keep our blog updated. The entries will not be this long...

What More Could a Boy Want?

2010-07-16T15:01:00.003-06:00

Zachary Thomas Freeman loves being a boy. I am so thankful for the boy that he is. He brings so many smiles to all of us. He has a great sense of adventure and has such a drive to create things. He loves his "art stuff" and makes pictures for us often. He has an amazingly tender place in his heart for things he finds special.

I had to share his morning with all of you. I was working outside early this morning trying to surprise Brian with a little project that I was working on. Zach had come out in his jammies after breakfast and wanted to build with his tools. First he sorted them proudly, then after much thought, he ran to me and told me he was going to build a bridge for his Mighty Bean toys. ( Don't ask...they are weird.) That's when I took in the WHOLE picture of my sweet little boy. I will let you look carefully at the details of this great boy moment!!!

(Thanks to all who contributed to making this possible...Papa and Grandpa for the great tools, Magruder's for the loan of cool batman jammies, and Slayden family for the wonderful cowboy boots, Nana for the great wood scraps!!)

Daddy is Delivering Babies

2010-04-01T14:25:00.002-06:00

I did not intend to only have an entry every six months or so, but oh well. So much has happened over the last year. Most recently Brian has headed down to Pueblo for his women's health rotation. Abby is spending the week in Colorado Springs. Zach is LOVING his perpetual "dates" with me. Nathan is enjoying a normal week of school. I am missing my husband and daughter, but am enjoying my Zach time also.

This morning the boys were talking to Brian on speaker while eating breakfast. They were casually talking about his day doing surgery, delivering babies, and working at the clinic. Then the following conversation began:

Zach: I want a baby sister.

Nathan: Yeah, we want a baby sister.

Daddy: You have one...her name is Abby.

Nathan and Zach: No she is 3 she is not a baby any more.

Daddy: Well we don't know what God has for us, but no baby sister right now.

Zach: Ohhh! Come on Daddy, just deliver us a baby sister.

Nathan: Yeah! Come on.

At this point Daddy had to go and I quickly realized that some clarification was needed.

Mommy (with a huge smile at the sweet misunderstanding): Zach, what do you think "delivering babies" means.

Zach: That's when you take babies to families who need them.

Mommy: Nathan, what do you think it is.

Nathan: It's like adoption!

Oh don't you just love children. I wonder how many things we talk to them about in which they have a completely different understanding.

I did explain that Daddy is helping mommies get their babies out of their tummies. I am sure that comes with its own set of misconceptions, which can stay for now. At least now they know that there isn't just a Baby Delivery Man who drives around delivering babies.

It is Worth The Time!!

2009-07-13T20:35:00.003-06:00

I found Zach today quietly waiting for me to be done reading to Abby. I stood and watched him for a bit. He was relaxed and just enjoying HIS book. We ended up "reading" this as his naptime story. To all you Mommies out there who put the time and effort into scrapbooking, just remember that it IS worth it.

(I am learning that I cannot wait to "blog" everything I want. I just have to seize the moments that I can. I hope you all enjoy.)

The Picture to Go with The Stitches Story

2009-05-05T14:26:00.000-06:00

First Freeman Family Stitches!!!!!

2009-05-05T14:01:00.004-06:00

Well, I honestly didn't think that the first stitches would be on Abby's beautiful little face, but here they are. We had just returned from a nice little walk around the block to our neighbor's house. It was such a beautiful afternoon. Zach hit his tennis ball so well and WHAM! Abby was at just the right place to catch the follow through right in the face! We were loaded in the van and to the Dr. within 5 minutes. She had decided when we got there that she was "all better, I don't need to go to the hospital."( more like HOPspital) Our Doc decided to send us to the ER in the event she needed sedated in order to get it stitched pretty. She was such a trooper and a blessing to all of the staff. She (and mommy) did get very sad and scared when they did the numbing shots and the stitches. Unfortunately she felt the last one. She is doing very well today.
Little Zach made sure that he told EVERYONE that he hit her with a tennis racket, but it was an accident.
The most bizarre part of the night was that about 30 minutes after we got to the ER. In walks our neighbor, the same one we had taken the walk to see. She was bringing her almost two year old little girl in for a head lac. on the eyelid!!!! We, after our 3 hour stay, ended up in the discharge room at the same time. How weird! I told her that next time I would much rather meet for coffee or a playdate!

Abby Turns TWO!

2009-04-22T15:35:00.003-06:00

I will figure out how to get pictures in order and rotated. Sorry! Abby was excited about blowing her candles out, but didn't want to give them up when it was time to eat. This was on her actual birthday. Her party wasn't for a couple more weeks.

2009-04-22T15:27:00.002-06:00

Abby's trip to the hospital with croup, on the way home from Aunt Becky's birthday weekend. We stopped in Thornton and had to stay overnight. She really did great.

Heater's on!

2009-04-22T15:20:00.001-06:00

All three of the kids yell "Heater's on!" and run to lay by the vent. I know this summer we will long for it to be cool enough to run to the heater!

Big Wisdom from Little Mouths

2009-04-22T14:37:00.000-06:00

Months after Brian set this up, I got my first dose of blogging material. I cannot resist putting it on now.

Wise Words from Nathan

I try to periodically ask the boys about what kind of husband they want to be someday, and try to mention when they do things that I know their future wives will love. One day I asked Nathan what he thought it takes to be a great husband. He barely hesitated before confidently stating, " Wisdom and patience"! I just had to smile, knowing that the future Mrs. Nathan Freeman will be very blessed! So all you husbands out there, just remember " Wisdom and patience".

Wise Words from Zach

One day I was sitting down at our dining room table, enjoying a lovely lunch with Zach and Abby. My sweet Zachary says, " Germs are God." Of course, as any mommy would, I thought I had heard him wrong, so I asked him to say it again. Again he says, "Germs are God." Hmmmm, I began pondering how to explain deep theological things to a 4 year old. The rest of the conversation went as follows:
M- "Germs are God?"
Z-" Yep, Germs are God."
M- " Well Buddy, remember the bible says there is only one true God."
Z- " No, Mommy. Germs are LIKE God, They are always with us and all around us, but we cannot see them!"

Wow! What an amazing analogy. I love knowing that Zach thinks about God throughout his day. He is figuring out that God is everywhere. He loves Him so much. Last month on our way down to the Springs for Aunt Becky's birthday, he was in the back of the van singing as loud as can be straight to Jesus. It was awesome to hear his own little worship lyrics. (It was a rockin' little tune!)

It's About Time!

2009-04-22T14:33:00.000-06:00

Brian set this up for me about a 11 months ago. Boy have I had good intentions, but haven't taken the step to JUST DO IT! So here it is. I hope this is a blessing to all of our family and friends. I love keeping in touch in such a neat way. I cannot guarantee how often I will post things, but I will try.
Enjoy a peek into our little life.
Love,
Sandra