Biology, Part II

Before the girls went with their dad for a few days on spring break, we took the opportunity to finish up Kalani's dissecting labs. They all gathered round as she dissected the fetal pig and had a blast seeing the different dyes that were injected into the pig to show the difference between the arteries and the veins, in other words to show the blood flow to the heart and then the blood flow leaving the heart. Amazingly there was still not much odor at all to the preservation process done and it was really neat to see all the organs inside. The next night they all got to dissect a crawfish since the order came with 10. They all had gloves on and were ready to go. These were a little more stinky! I guess from being a little fishy smelling mixed along with the chemicals was a bit of a weird mix to smell. They all had fun doing this, but things were a little harder to see because the crawfish are so small. Though we may not have found everything on them, the girls still really enjoyed getting to play around and be a part of something Kalani is doing. Hope this wasn't too much of a visual, but that you enjoyed sharing the experience along with us!

Spoiled Rotten!!!

Little Miss Libby has nestled her way right into all of our hearts, just like she has always been a part of the family. She has the sweetest disposition and loves to be treated just like a baby, which Hannah has no problem doing and does on a daily basis. For those that don't know our grumpy old man, Goober, disappeared 4 weeks ago and we haven't seen him since. He has wondered off for days at a time, but never for this long. He has a microchip, but nothing has turned up so far. We have had him about 7 years and I still just keep expecting to go outside and see him sitting there waiting for food or attention. Kalani took it the hardest since she had deemed him her cat, but has made room for Libby in her heart as well. Kalani really misses him, but as you can see has made room to spoil Libby and even allow her to have her afternoon nap on her bed and even using her pillow. The daily battle is getting Hannah to not be so possessive with this cat since she is the one that found her and thinks she is only hers. The cat is very spoiled needless to say and never lacks for attention!!

Prayer Request Update!

Our former pastor's wife, who I mentioned previously, just had a second scan done before having her 4th chemo treatment next Monday to see if the tumors on her lungs were shrinking. Through God's grace the scan revealed that they have shrunk by 20% and the chemo is working. I just wanted to share with you all the good news and below is the praise report she sent out to all those praying.

Dear precious family and friends,

Psalm 126:3 says, "The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad." This morning I had my CT scan, and then Gary and I met with Dr. Butler. Usually a very solemn man, Dr. Butler had a smile on his face! He told us that the scan revealed that the tumors in my lungs are shrinking in size (about 20% smaller in size than they were eight weeks ago). Sue, my clinical trial nurse, said that when a scan reveals that tumors are stable and not growing, she and Dr. Butler are happy; but when a scan reveals that tumors are shrinking, they are ecstatic! So I guess I can be ecstatic, too! To God be the glory--great things HE hath done!!

No matter what the results of my scan had been, God would still be good and He would still be in complete control of everything happening in my life. I am (again) scheduled for my 4th chemo treatment this Monday (March 9). I cannot thank you enough for your prayers for our family.

Rejoicing in our wonderful Lord,
Barbara Ledbetter

Psalm 33:21 says, "For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name."

Homeschool Fun!!!!!

Kalani is taking Biology this year which came along with its own lab book. I just recently told her to pick out a couple of labs she might like to do in there this year. She picked out dissecting a sheep’s brain and a fetal pig. I ordered those, plus a frog and crawfish for us all to do together. Oh, what fun!






Yesterday, Kalani dissected the brain and the frog. Lauren and Hannah were at her sides, waiting to see if they would gross out or if it would be cool. Needless to say it turned into something so funny that I had to share it with everyone. Hannah was at her side with the lab book telling her what to do and Lauren was on the other side acting like her nurse. When it came time to cut open the brain, Lauren would not hand Kalani the proper tool until she said just as Lauren asked. When Lauren sets her mind to something she will not let it go. Kalani had to say, “Scalpel, please!” before Lauren would hand it to her.








Just to let you know Shelby has been running a fever the past few days and was on the couch crashed after taking some medicine, so she missed out on all the excitement. I was nervous myself about doing this, knowing that if there was any odor associated with these items then I might lose it, but there was amazingly no smell to them at all.
Hannah and Lauren had to touch the brain to see how it felt and was very goofy about it. Hannah was very intent on Kalani doing the frog just right, and Lauren was anxious to see all the organs, making Kalani point out each one. Lauren wanted to know if it was a boy or girl frog and Kalani determined that it was a boy because of not having any of the female reproductive organs.

I almost think that Hannah and Lauren enjoyed it more than Kalani, but I know she did as well. Hannah even said she can’t wait to do it herself in a few years. We cleaned up the mess so we could get ready for dinner, but it was a blast watching them have fun together and share this educational experience with Kalani. Stay tuned for more on the fetal pig and crawfish dissections!!!!!!