Day 33 (2/2/11) - Big Shoes to Fill

Two years ago this week, Mike began his paramedic program. His career change was inspired by the deadly crash of Trooper 2 as a way to honor the service and sacrifice of his fallen colleagues. Today Mike reported for duty for his first shift as a solo flight medic at Trooper 2 where he is now assigned. We are so proud of his selfless service!  Of course, continued prayers for his safety, competence, compassion, and peace of mind are always welcome!

The boys want to follow in his footsteps.  They certainly have big shoes to fill, but I think they're well on their way (although with his finger all bandaged up Gavin looks like he's flashing a gang sign!)!

In other news, while I was vacuuming the downstairs this afternoon, Ryan (on his own) decided to practice writing his upper and lowercase letters.  In preschool, they've learned to write about 12-15 of the letters.  So, I was surprised when he tackled the entire alphabet.  Here he proudly shows off his finished product.   

I was impressed with his penmanship, especially since he hasn't officially learned many of the letters yet in school.  To decipher the picture below:  the "J" and "K" are backward, he ran out of room on the last line and had to put the "W" at the end of the previous line, the "X" appears in the boxes that border the title, and the "Y" and "Z" are in red above the top line.  In my completely objective, unbiased opinion, I think that's pretty darn good for his first attempt!  He very well may be the next Dr. Mann!