Christina's story

Nap time

2008-09-24T11:02:00.000-07:00

Catching my beauty sleep.

Sip Sip Sip

2008-03-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

I'm learning to use a straw cup. Watch me attack the new challenge with gusto!

Bye Bye Zonisamide

2008-03-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

It's about time for a new post. I've been very tardy in keeping you all updated. My most exciting new news is I'm almost completely off one of my medicines! Mom, with the consultation of the epilepsy doctor, has been weening me off Zonisamide for about four weeks now, and in a few days, I'll be off it all together. That means I will only be on two medicines, Keppra and Lamictal for my seizures.

The other good news is that my seizures have been much better again. I seldom have more than a couple a week, unless I get constipated, which has been happening sometimes on this diet. But I have medicine for that too.

I'm also pretty revved on two new additions to my diet from the veggie family. Squash and spinach. Mmmm. I was getting sick of carrots, tho I still like the green beans now and then.

My funny hat

2008-01-17T17:45:00.000-08:00

Mommy and daddy took me down to Children's Memorial Hospital in the city Monday for an EEG. A guy comes in and sticks a lot of sticky stuff in my hair and attaches these little multi-colored wires to my head, and then wraps it all up in my very own turban. Don't I look ever so chic?

It gives the medical people a picture of how my brain waves are working. Mommy says they were still looking pretty different. But then, we all know I am different in my own special way. They wanted to get a picture of my brainwaves awake and asleep, and during a seizure. So I took a little snooze.

But I didn't have a seizure. Just as well, mommy says. We were able to show my epilepsy doctor a recent seizure my dad caught on film.

Mommy also brought my little doggy for me to lean on! All and all, it was an OK visit. We will know more from the EEG later. Mommy, daddy and the dietician also discussed some exciting new additions to my diet coming soon, like Tuna, winter squash, and maybe fruits like Papaya and Mango.

Good grades

2008-01-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

I got my Progess Report Tuesday from my Special Education teachers. I made initial benchmarks toward several of my goals!

Among my accomplishments: I activated a cause and effect device given parial physical assistance and two verbal prompts 80 percent of the time; I held both hands on a tactile material for 10 seconds 40 percent of the time; I reached for an item suspended in front of me twice within an activity given partial assistance and verbal cues 57 percent of the time; and I watched for three seconds three times during a 20-30 second activity 67 percent of the time.

Baby steps, as they say. My mom and dad are proud. Now it's on to the second benchmarks.

My bowling party

2008-01-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

Dani and Chris helped me celebrate my birthday belatedly today with a bowling party. Gabe couldn't make it, but his mom and big brother Kyle came. We all had lots of fun, using their special ramps to roll the ball down the lane. I got a 112, thanks to my helpers, mom and dad! Dani really enjoyed herself, and smiled up a ton. Thanks Dani and Chris for making my birthday party fun.

Chris, Dani and I prepare to bowl.

Dani looks at the score with fascination while I take a little nap.
Even the big brothers had lots of fun. (Gabe's brother Kyle and my brother Peter)

Watch me sit

2008-01-04T15:18:00.000-08:00

Look at me sitting, so big and strong. For almost a minute and a half!!! (for you clock watchers, I was in position about 15 second before daddy scrambled to get the camera on me. I'm tricky that way.)

My favorite things

2008-01-02T17:11:00.000-08:00

I have a new favorite past time. I love to practice my sitting. I surprised mom and dad a few days ago by starting to sit up again, like I first did four months ago. see Aug. 29 post. But now I do it with fervor. Ten, fifteen, even twenty times an hour.
I'm kind of sneaky tho. Every time daddy gets the camera out, I take a break. But maybe in a little bit I'll show off for the world. I need to work up to it. I'm a little bashful. After all, I'm only five.

Resolutions, smesholutions

2007-12-31T10:04:00.000-08:00

My dad was going to write a few New Year's resolutions for me here. But what's the point of resolutions anyway? Either we will lack the resolve to follow through, which is why they are resolutions and not something we are already doing anyway, or our presumption to know what the year brings will stand out as ridiculous anyway.

The failure rate of resolutions is cliche. Most people lack the will power for true and lasting change, unless the Spirit is moving in their lives. Further resolutions fall short due to short-sightedness. I could resolve, to stand up on my own next year. But it would only happen if God wills it to be so.

As my daddy read this morning, "Do not worry about tommorrow, for tommorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34.

So I resolve not to resolve this New Years. I will spend New Year's Eve like I spend most of my evening, snoozing contently in bed.

Time keeps on slipping...

2007-12-29T08:43:00.001-08:00

Here's a little post from my dad. He was feeling the passing of time this morning. I'm not sure I understand much about time. I just like rolling around on the floor.

[Dad: Time is slipping through my fingers like sand. Christmas is past. Another year approaches. Then another spring. Another summer. Fall will fall, giving way to winter's deep freeze. And on and on and on. Five, ten, twenty....to the final dance.

I still don't seem to get that "things" don't bring happiness. They inevitably disappoint or grow dull. Their glitter is fleeting.

Soon, very soon, my new knife sharpener will be just another kitchen item. Ho hum. Even my new knives and the sharp RAZR phone will be old hat. Dull, efficient, but boring.

And on and on and on. We run on the treadmill, pursuing newer and shinier things. We need our material fix, like some commercial junkie high on toys and gadgets. Always chasing what can only be found inside.]

"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength."

Isaiah 30:15

Christmas morn

2007-12-25T11:06:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas morning, and nothing says Christmas morning like blogging.

Excuse me if my post is a bit incoherent today, short sleep will do that to you. My older Brother Peter was up at 6 a.m. and of course, once he was up, noone else was going to sleep in. My ghost writer (daddy) is a bit exhausted, so he may not be up to his usual excellent standards in translating for me.

Peter got some cool gifts, even though he suffers from having a birthday close to Christmas which siphons off most of the real fun. "They were all good," Peter says when Daddy asked him which was his favorite. The most promising before opening would have been Zoo Tycoon for the DS, and Sim City 4 for the PC, the later given him by his uncle Jim. The only problem with both is they require a learning curve, and some degree of frustration to begin. More than daddy could tolerate on Christmas morning sleep, see above.

I got some neat things, too. A couple lighted toys, a few new outfits, and a weird fuzzy animal that makes noise. I got to roll around in a lot of wrapping paper, too, and do my best to smash some empty boxes.

Even Daddy did allright. And, unlike his housegroup pastor, Matt Burley (see his blog http://burlyfamily.blogspot.com), he managed to refrain from buying himself a lot of gifts beforehand. Ok, Ok, so he did have that mental lapse and bought the pans two months early. But that hardly counts. They became garage sale proceed gifts, not Christmas gifts anyway.

I'm a baby bear

2007-12-21T16:19:00.000-08:00

I received this adorable Brown Bear fleece covering for my wheelchair from one of my therapists, made by another mother of a special needs child. Isn't it just so cute?

It's my birthday!!

2007-12-20T18:39:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday Christina
Happy birthday to you girl
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to our little girl!!
(Sung to the tune of Happy Birthday Jesus)

We celebrated my fifth birthday today (My real birthday's actually Dec. 24, Christmas Eve. I was a little Christmas present all my own. My parents thought I was a baby bird, all the high-pitched little sqwaking that I did!)
I am such a big girl, now. I got a Mozart Magic Cube, a T-shirt, a stuffed kitty, a book, some slippers, a vest, and a hoodie sweater. I really like the music cube. Above is a picture of me with some of my loot.

Happy Birthday Peter

2007-12-13T20:01:00.000-08:00

Peter's birthday today. I have to get used to calling him Peter now. He's prefered it for about a year, but dad's a little slow to catch on.

I liked P.J. It was cute, and it reminded me of his middle name, which is the one I got to pick. Josiah. After the good king in the bible. Even before I was married, I wanted to name one of my children Josiah. Keith Green also had a son named Josiah, another factor in my decision, as I was way into listening to his music at the time. When it came to naming our first son, Molly really liked the name Peter. Sounded good to me too, but I wanted to get Josiah in there somewhere. So Peter became Peter Josiah. It seemed to have a ring to it, and even the pajama allusion from the nickname seemed to be harmless.

This is a biased dad talking, but nothing was so cute as hearing little three-year-old P.J., ahem Peter, say his name. "I'm P.J."

But alas, everything changes. Kids grow up. They earn the right to call themselves what they want, within reason of course.

Anyway, he's 9 today. Halfway to that critical age of 18. Can we really be halfway there already? It will be a hard day for me when he packs up to go to college. But we're not there yet, thank God.

Happy birthday ... Peter!

My diet

2007-12-11T19:44:00.001-08:00

My mommy and daddy have me on the Ketogenic Diet. I have been on the diet since January. We have modified the ratios a few times since then. I eat mostly puried food, as I don't chew well. Here is the majority of my diet. (This is a precisely regulated diet prescribed for me by my dietician. Under no circumstances try this at home without consulting your doctor.)

Breakfast
20 grams Peanut Butter simply Jif
21 grams Butter

Snack
16 grams pear
12 grams butter

Lunch
18 grams vegetable--puried green beans or carrots
19 grams chicken--breast meat, cooked in crock pot, puried in cuisinart
26 grams mayo--mixed with chicken
7 grams butter--mixed into veggie

Dinner
12 grams peach puried
20 grams chicken
26 grams mayo
7 grams butter mixed into fruit

Ice storm cometh

2007-12-10T16:31:00.000-08:00

An ice storm is headed our way. Our you prepared? Do you have candles and/or flashlight accessible?

Everyone was freaking out at my office about it, and making alternate plans in case they can't get to work. But we'll get the paper out, we always do.

Here's the link to the National Weather Service Ice Warning.

PJ's birthday party

2007-12-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick video of PJ's birthday party at Raceline Motorworks last weekend.

A few words about Raceline for anyone considering a birthday party there. It was something different. PJ's been to a number of parties at a handful of the usual gigs - Pump it up, Whirlyball (which they can't really play so the do laser tag), bowling alleys, miniature golf, Chuckie Cheese (when he was younger), Libertyville Sports Complex (which was a real waste of money), etc. So when we saw this place in the summer, we thought it would be a nice change of pace.

The nice thing is that all the guests leave with a remote control car, a cool party favor. And the kids seemed to enjoy themselves. The negative things included the price, which was considerable, which limited the number of kids we let him invite. Also, it was noisy and chaotic, and it took a good bit of time to line up each race and get it underway. Also, the party room left a lot to be desired, as it doubled for their office and break room. As with a lot of these parties, it seemed over pretty quickly, and then we were left wondering if we really got our $200 worth. But PJ and the kids seemed to enjoy it. So I'd give it a mixed recommendation.

My Dad's Poem

2007-12-08T05:52:00.001-08:00

Here is a poem my Dad wrote for me when I was but a wee little thing. They had just been told by a geneticist that I might have mitochondrial disease, so my mom and dad didn't really know what to think, or how long I might live. Mercifully, the diagnosis did not bear out, and I have lived and grown to be a whopping five-year-old girl!

But the sentiments my daddy shared are special and sweet. They may strike a chord with anyone facing a similar situation.

For Christina

It falls like rain
On the hard winter ground
The hope that was there yesterday
But a memory, or a whisper,
Like a silent breeze, blowing past, and then no more

It is hard to look at her today
Without feeling sadness well up inside
How much longer? I can’t help think
Will we have a year, a month, a week?
For now, so warm, so real,
Lying peacefully in my arms.
But it will be so much different then
When she is gone.

Will I be able to remember the soft touch
Of her tiny shape snuggled in my arms?
The sweet smell of her body, all comfortable and warm
The sounds of her suckling,
As she nurses from the bottle.
Such music to my ears.
But will it soon be gone?
And what am I too remember then?
But a sad sad song.

We had such hopes
For this tiny bundle of joy
To do the normal things, to grow
And enjoy
It wasn’t all that long ago,
That these all seemed so close, so real
Now someone has hung a sheet over our universe
And all we see is through a veil

So many thoughts
My mind drifts here and there
What will never be, what she might never see
No, No, I can’t let it drift there
There’s a monster in those thoughts, waiting to devour me whole
It won’t be satisfied with me, it’ll want my soul
No much better, not to go to that place
Face the day, that’s all, quite enough to embrace

Still there’s a numbness in this place
Where hope crashes against pain
We know so little now,
Yet it’s hard to refrain
From thoughts that plunge off the bitter end
To embrace those never mores.
And to the darkest corner of my being send
To dwell in the darkness off the distant shores.

We have this time to hold her now, to watch her and enjoy
To savor every moment, and drench her in our love
A sweet gift this truly is, one I would not deny
Yet still touched with sorrow, for I know the hour is nigh
When no more will she rest quietly in my arms
She will be at peace
Resting in the Father’s charms

It’s a far far better place
He’ll whisk her off to be
Embraced by our loving saviour
Her pains and cares set out to sea
Her short short life will become a much more glorious thing
Her voice lifted up, and with the angels she’ll sing
And one day, we’ll be with her again
Standing on that glorious shore
I would not trade that for anything
So this pain I will endure

Christina, we love you
Each minute we have left
We’ll try to cherish each and every one
Be they a million, or just a few short score
And then when it’s your time to go,
We’ll miss you, and cry like never before
And go on loving you,
All the more.

Fresh coat of paint

2007-10-11T17:17:00.000-07:00

I am not smarter than a fifth grader - so I am blogging rather than watching the show by the same name with the rest of my family.

Good golly, has it really been two weeks since my last blog. So sorry faithful readers. I have been busy on my work blog, what with murders in Deerfield, and sentences in major court cases, and civil suits being filed. It's been an unbelievably eventful year in that community this year, and most of it not good. So if you think about it, pray for that community. They've had more than their fill of tragic events and media attention this year.

What a difference a little new paint makes. That was brought to my mind because we re-stained our deck this past weekend, a semi-annual task we do every three years. Guess that makes it triennial? Anyway, the deck looks a whole lot nicer now and we actually squeezed it in perfectly between rain and cold weather.

On my way to work I pass a house that used to look like a rundown dive, with old faded peeling paint. Slowly, progressively, the owners (new owners maybe?) have been painting it this nice yellow, side by side. Today I noticed they had completely the three sides that I see on my drive, and boy does it look sharp, like a new house.

Maybe our spiritual lives need a new coat of paint from time to time. A fresh dose of the Holy Spirit. Some renewing fire to dust out the cobwebs and refocus and refuel.

My seizures

2007-09-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

These are what my seizures looked like before I began the Ketogenic Diet (edited, the whole seizure was over 5 minutes long). I would have about four or five of these a day. Notice my tonic extensions, and my nystagmus (involuntary eye movements.)

Vote early, vote often

2007-09-15T19:04:00.000-07:00

I've been busy on other blogs lately, mainly my work one Lake Affect. But I didn't want to neglect you faithful readers to our family blog site. Molly and I go to the Bears game tommorrow. A generous work contact of mine is taking us. Yipee!! The Bears actually ought to win this one, against the lowly KC Chiefs. I was going to bring a sign, but then my contact broke the news to me that his seats weren't all that good. Anyway, in the interest of fun, I will let you guys vote on which sign I should have brought. See the poll to the left and Go Bears!!!

Blog envy

2007-09-05T05:45:00.000-07:00

What would Freud say about that?

I didn't start this blog to be rich or famous. But I have to admit, I suffered from just a triffle bit of Blog Envy when I read the account of Dawn Meehan in the Chicago Tribune, the mother of six with no formal writing training who has stumbled into the media spotlight for her witty blog chronicling the escapades of her children and her everyday brush with insanity. (No, I am NOT going to link to her site.) She is being swarmed by literary agents, media, radio stations, even Good Morning America, who have branded her the darling of the blogosphere comparing her to "the legendary humorist Erma Bombeck."

I never read much Bombeck, but I've read plenty of humorous writers. There's a lady in North Carolina, Laura Snyder, who writes a column Laura on Life that is run in 40 small papers in 22 states. She e-mails me (and a bunch of other editors) her column every week. She has the same self-deprecating style of humor. I haven't seen her on Good Morning America. And I used to run a column from a school board member in Lincolnshire on mothering, called momologue. Her dream was to be the next Erma Bombeck. Her stuff was good, not great, but plenty witty. So why Meehan?

As I read the words of King Solomon in Ecclesiastes this morning, a partial answer came to me (besides pack journalism):
"The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong.
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all."

I have nothing against Meehan. I wish her success. Solomon goes on to say "to accept his lot and be happy in his work - this is a gift of God." And I can say I am generally happy with my work. Still, if time and chance were to wink in my direction ...

OK, I will give you the link to her site now (like you don't already know it) www.mom2my6pack.blogspot.com

Christina sits

2007-08-29T17:33:00.000-07:00

Our little princess is just full of surprises this week! First she laughs on cue for the video (see Monday post), now we capture her on film sitting. A few days ago, she sat up for a few seconds, but I wasn't fast enough to catch it on camera. So yesterday, when she did it, I trained the camera on her for 15 minutes and sure enough, she did it again. Molly reports she did it again twice this afternoon (off camera). Go girl go!!

Christina laughs!

2007-08-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

She has done this a few times, but this is the first time we’ve been able to capture it on video. It is still a rare occurrence, and precious when it happens.

Knocking on the Door

2007-08-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

The Door was open, so we went in. We’ve been busy the past week roaming around Door Co. Wisconsin, strolling by the waterfront in Fish Creek, eating at an Old Post Office in Ephraim, checking out the caves above the town, checking in on the sister goats in Sister Bay, and of course, cruising up to our fav restaurant in Gills Rock, the Shoreline, for a beautiful sunset dinner. The sunset didn’t cooperate this year (total cloud cover) but the meal was as delicious as ever.

Here’s a few links to places we’ve been or like while there. For the complete experience, drive up to Door Co. and check it out yourself! (Highly recommended)
High Point Inn
Shoreline Restaurant
The Cookery
Summer Kitchen
Chocolate Chicken
Made in Britian
Hands on Arts

And some video highlights of our trip:

No Fantasy Football for us

2007-08-15T17:16:00.000-07:00

I’m going on record right now. You guys are the first to hear it. There shall be no fantasy football for the Grahls.

I got far far far too addicted to fantasy baseball this summer. PJ’s team, which is only PJ’s team in name and slightly in spirit, became an almost daily distraction for me, as I managed its way to the top of the Peace League at ESPN sports. Whoo hooo. I can stand up tall in the council of the elders and declare that I have arrived. Yeah baby.

So anyway, no fantasy football. It’s rehab time. We like football enough anyway without having to have the lure of a fantasy team to keep us hooked. Molly, PJ and I all dig football (how odd is that?) And we can try to outguess the newspaper prognosticators. That’ll be our pigskin pasttime this fall.

Nanna and Grumpy visit

2007-08-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

Nanna and Grumpy came to visit today. Grumpy took PJ and I down to a soccer game in Soldier Field. It looks very different with the sky seats. PJ says it looks like a cyclone. I certainly liked it a whole lot better before they mucked it all up with the space saucery sky box seats for rich Bears fans. The historic pillar facade is totally ruined.

We got to the soccer game late, but Grumpy used some of his sweet talking charm and the head ticket office guy who had just closed down shop thinking no sane sole would show up this late to buy tickets felt guilty enough to let us in for free. Howz that for a run on sentence! Anyway, Grumpy kept saying his main goal was to see the renovated Soldier Field on the cheap without all the hassle of a Bears game, aka thousands of people, streams of cars, and lots of drunken fans. So, in his words, at the end of the day, it was all "mission accomplished."

Everything’s just peachy

2007-08-04T07:27:00.000-07:00

My poor peach tree. It got too many peaches this year for it’s size. See how badly it’s leaning? I thought about calling the Botanic Garden to see if there was anything I could do. But then the peaches started coming off. They’re all gone now – picked, dropped, or rotted. The tree has begun to right itself, so I think it’ll be allright. But if there’s any master gardners out there who know the answers to these questions – is this normal for a young 3-4 year old dwarf peach tree and is there anything you should do about it? feel free to lend me your advice. Otherwise, the peaches I managed to pick were, shall I say, just peachy.

Cruising on 4 wheels again

2007-07-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

Tire fixed. Bank account not depleted. Vacation still possible. Thanks all who prayed. I took it to Marty's Garage (but thanks for the recommendation, Matt, I'll file it away if we need it later). He was quick, friendly, and cheap. I like all three, but especially the last :)

Cars, trucks and tires

2007-07-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Oh snap! (thanks Matt, for the handy phrase.) The Grahl family’s been having a wee bit of trouble with vehicles this week. First this nice van blocks our driveway for more than an hour (see pic). Then, my tire decides to go flat. Oh pooh, as they say. I am torn between taking it back to the place I bought the tires a year and a half ago, C&M, (overpriced, and always trying to get me to do more to my car) or Marty’s Garage, which we liked last time we had car woes. Please pray for honest repair guys and blessings on our vehicles.

Sizzling steak competition

2007-07-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

Bring on the heat baby! The men of Trinity were sizzling Sunday during the first ever steak competition, the Grill Master Classic. Big hunks of meat. Manly vegetables. Searing grills. After Master Chef Joe Meuth taught, and the men cooked, the competitors faced off in a smokin’ grill off. Who was this year’s Grill Master Champion? Watch the video and see.

Brush with fame

2007-07-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

I stopped at a Shell station in Bannockburn this afternoon for gas. I left with Scottie Pippen’s autograph.

It was surreal. I wasn’t even sure it was him at first when I saw him get out of his SUV and pump gas. But as I was giving the attendant my credit card in the small gas station office, with him towering over me from behind, I had to ask “are you Scottie Pippen, or do you just look like him.” He chuckled a little, and replied in a soft deep voice “uhh both.”

After rambling on like an idoit for a few seconds about how freaked out my son was going to be when I told him I met Scottie Pippen, I braved up enough to ask him to sign an autograph. As I started to hand him the receipt the attendant had just handed me, Pippen astutely noted “i think he wants YOU to sign that first.” I then gave him the customer copy of my receipt to autograph.

Thanks Scottie. PJ says thanks too.

Arnie's work blog

2007-07-19T06:23:00.000-07:00

I have a work blog now. Lake Affect. News and views of Lake County. It's not been highly promoted yet but will be soon.

Christina's new words

2007-07-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

Christina has been very vocal lately. She has been inventing new sounds, which has us all encouraged. The Ketogenic Diet Charlie Foundation, which she has been on since January, is definitely having an impact. She has had fewer seizures and we haven't altered her medication in months. Some of her new words include:

brrrrrrr
goooowaa
mmmmmmma
a motor sound
and rasberries.

Coneflowers in our backyard

2007-07-13T20:00:00.001-07:00

Perty cone flowers, nice and purple.

Civil War Days @ Lakewood

2007-07-09T05:13:00.000-07:00

Units including the 8th Illinois Cavalry, 13th Tennessee Infantry, 104th Illinois Infantry and Taylor's Battery stage a battle July 8 at the Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda. PJ and I attended.

Weekend update (with your host Chevy Chase)

2007-07-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

....or not.
But Chevy was the best SNL weekend update anchor.

Interesting news around Mundelein. Police shot Bambi near Barefoot Bay. Read all about it at http://www.mundelein-review.com/. (I agree with the woman quoted near the end of the story. If you take in a deer fawn from the wild and treat it like a pet, you're asking for trouble somewhere down the road. Let wildlife be wildlife.)

It's pizza night at the Grahl house. Every Friday. Takeout or frozen. Yum Yum.

PJ's fantasy BBall team on ESPN, the Mundelein Mustangs, spend their eighth day in first place, despite a pathetic performance by CC Sabathia yesterday.

Daily prayer request: for wisdom spending time wisely this weekend. For more time with God. For the weeds to die in my garden. (ha)

Trivia Answer: I almost forgot, the answer to the trivia question from two days ago is 5. Bonds is currently at 751 career, 17 for the year.

PJs dig (New and improved)

2007-07-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Peter and his friend Jusang were busy at work yesterday, uncovering a triceratops from the back yard.

Chisel and hammer in hand, the duo, with the help of site supervisor Dr. Molly Grahl, the renown paleontologist, worked diligently to unearth the prehistoric bones of the large quadrupedal plant-eating dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period.

Christina's Fourth of July parade at SEDOL

2007-07-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

Welcome

2007-07-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Grahl family blog.

This blog will contain news of the Grahl family, a thriving family of four, including Papa Arnie, Momma Molly (not to be confused with the musical Momma Mia), junior Peter, and the adorable youngest, Christina.

We will have lots of fun updates, family news, links to you tube videos, maybe sound slide shows and more. Molly even plans a prayer blog.

So stay tuned for all the Grahl fun.

Trivia quizz for the day (to be answered on the next post): How many home runs is Barry Bonds away from breaking Hank Aarons record (as of Wednesday July 4)? Extra credit, how many home runs does he have this year?