The Noehren's

Here is a cool video done by the University of Kentucky that features Brian and other researchers.  I think it is really well done.  Check it out! Last week I interviewed Dr. Petersen's postdocs (the lady in the video talking about satellite cells) for an article I'm working on and it is just amazing research.  I am definitely NOT a scientist, but have amazing respect for the work all research scientists do.  It is demanding work, but how cool is it to be the first to discover something new - especially when it can directly translate to better health and improved therapies!  Let's hope those crazy politicians get their act together with this whole fiscal cliff business and continue to fund meaningful research like those shown in the video.  Without federal grant funding none of their studies would be possible, nor would jobs like Brian's (whose promotion and tenure depend on securing federal grant money to fund his research) be available....

Last night, the first night of Hanukkah, we lit up the menorah and played some dreidel!  The kids love learning about Mimi Noehren's heritage and so do we.  Our melty-from-the-attic-all-summer candles have extra character, don't you think?  Hoping for a gimmel...  Grant is the dreidel king - he won most games!  Santa even came for a visit.  Ridiculous, I know... Happy Hanukkah Mimi!  We can't wait to see you soon!

Last Saturday Haley and her school's robotics team headed to their first regional competition near Louisville.  Here she is with her robotics gal pals.   So, what exactly is a robotics competition, you ask?  I was wondering the same thing.  This particular one was sponsored by Future Engineers of America.  In a nut shell, the kids build a robot made from legos, and program it to complete certain tasks.  This particular competition focused on mobility issues and their robots has to help perform tasks like pushing in a chair, walking a dog, etc.  They have 4 rounds of 2.5 minute session during competition to perform as many tasks as they can and are judged by how well their robot performs, and their oral presentation to the judges.   Here is the high school gym where I spent many, many hours (we were there from 8 am - 6 pm).  Note to self - next time bring a padded stadium seat.  Here is Haley's team w...

Most readers of my blog (all 5 of you) know that I've struggled with maintaining my thyroid levels and all the fun stuff that comes with that for years.  I'll have a great 6 months, and then for no rhyme or reason the fatigue, fogginess, coldness, pimples, hair loss etc. return.  It is frustrating to say the least.  At least I am blessed with enough hair on my head for 5 people, so I can afford to lose a some! You might remember when earlier this year I was enjoying feeling great because of the addition of iron supplements and Vitamin D in my life.  But then over the last month or two the honeymoon was over and the old symptoms returned.  Boo.  Blood work confirmed what I already knew, my thyroid levels were off again.  So, a few months back my sister was diagnosed with Hashimotos disease, an autoimmune disease that is the cause of hypothyroidism in a lot of people.  As with any autoimmune disease (like celiac, lu...

Thanksgiving is the one time of year that I can usually count on seeing all of my sisters and their families at once.  It gets a little nutty with 10 grand kids running around in a confined space, but I love seeing the cousins bonding, and chatting away with my sisters!  The night before Thanksgiving Brian and I went out with my high school best friend Kim and her hubby at Mountain State Brewery - home of the best pizza and homemade root beer on the planet.  I am sooo bummed I didn't get a pic!  I haven't actually seen her for over 12 years!  It was great to hang out like old times and meet her new hubster.  Thanksgiving morning Brian and I headed out for our Noehren Turkey Trot.  We seem to be the only two in the family that thinks this is cool.  Maybe someday we can sucker someone else into joining us.  Brian ran the whole Decker's Creek trail - all 13.5 miles of it.  I jumped in for the last 7 miles.  It ...

Last week we had a great Thanksgiving in my hometown of Morgantown, West Virginia.  I have been particularly homesick lately and was so excited to venture back to my old stomping grounds.  The morning before the rest of my sisters arrived we went to Coopers Rock, a family favorite.  It was a perfect sunny day and the kids were finally old enough to enjoy scrambling around the rocks without us worrying about them dying.  Here we are at the overlook with Morgantown in the distance. And here we are getting to the good stuff down below the overlook.  Coopers Rock looks like it rained huge rocks all over the place so there is lots of nooks and crannies to explore.  I could fill a whole blog with cool pictures of this place, but here are my favorites:  Some nooks and crannies were only kid sized:  I love this place!  My family growing up may not have been campers, but we sure loved spending the day at Coopers Ro...

It is that cozy time of year where I am perpetually cold until March.  Good thing I have these guys to help keep me warm. I also have a hubby that is never cold and loves fire.  Bonus.  Here is Moses with his burning bush.  He was so excited to burn this dead bush he dug out.   He makes me smile :)  I was feeling crafty this weekend and had a little fun with some felt and a glue gun.   It was a fun pinterest project for the kids to play with.  Time to get the Christmas decorations out!

This month our buddy boy turned six!   He had a blast celebrating at Chuck-E-Cheese with a few of his pals.    This pic cracks me up.  These girls must have spent most of their tokens on this game shooting a huge spider.  They were in giggle heaven.  Ticket Blaster!  If I had unlimited amounts of money I would buy one of these and fill it with dollar bills and give the kids 15 seconds per week to grab their allowance.  OK, maybe 5 seconds.  We love our Grant!   He is full of fun loving energy and has a gift of always bringing a smile to our faces.  Happy 6th Buddy Boy!

This Halloween, the kids trick or treated farther than ever before and had a blast surveying their stash of candy.  I enjoyed helping them eat it!  I'm pretty sure Brian looks forward to trick or treating just as much as the kids.  No Halloween is complete without Dusty, the Pumpkin Cat.  We thought this shot shows off his nice belly fluff.  It's kinda like Spanx for cats.

I didn't get many pics of this year's trunk or treat - but here are a few.  There were so many fun and creative costumes!  We did, however, manage to win cutest trunk.  Woot woot!  Thank you pinterest!