11/27/1937-03/29/2006
Love you, Daddy!
Love you, Daddy!
29 March 2010
28 March 2010
Michael's Got a Feeling!
We added music to this video that Andy shot of Michael at swim class yesterday. Too cute!
Long Week
It has been a long week in our household as we try to adjust to a new normal. We have been having a hard time getting a hold on Drew's allergies this Spring. It started with the first warm-up. He was stuffy as usual, but he also had this cough that we could not seem to get rid of. I decided to skip the pediatrician and take him directly to the allergist. I am so glad I did!
When Drew went 18 months ago, they said he did not have many allergies, as the skin test showed. The doctor examined Drew this past Tuesday, and immediately said he was wheezing (could not hear it myself, but later found out that his coughing jags are when he is wheezing). They decided to to a lung test first. His capacity was at 74% (down from 96% 18 months ago). They gave him albuterol and retested. It only came up to 79%. Drew's diagnosis? Asthma.
The also repeated the scratch test for allergies and he lit up like a Christmas tree. His big ones are danders, trees, grass and mold. I really like this doctor and he came up with an action plan. They increased allergy meds, and added 2 inhalers. One is for daily use and the other is albuterol for before exercise and as a rescue. I need to take him back in a month.
So, the week has been spent adjusting to new med schedules, and coming to a new normal. The diagnosis did not surprise me, but at the same time was kind of unsettling. We'll get used to this. So far, Drew is doing brilliantly. Since the addition of the twice daily inhaler, he is breathing much better. Soccer season is starting again in a couple of weeks, and we'll do fine. God will help us through this!
When Drew went 18 months ago, they said he did not have many allergies, as the skin test showed. The doctor examined Drew this past Tuesday, and immediately said he was wheezing (could not hear it myself, but later found out that his coughing jags are when he is wheezing). They decided to to a lung test first. His capacity was at 74% (down from 96% 18 months ago). They gave him albuterol and retested. It only came up to 79%. Drew's diagnosis? Asthma.
The also repeated the scratch test for allergies and he lit up like a Christmas tree. His big ones are danders, trees, grass and mold. I really like this doctor and he came up with an action plan. They increased allergy meds, and added 2 inhalers. One is for daily use and the other is albuterol for before exercise and as a rescue. I need to take him back in a month.
So, the week has been spent adjusting to new med schedules, and coming to a new normal. The diagnosis did not surprise me, but at the same time was kind of unsettling. We'll get used to this. So far, Drew is doing brilliantly. Since the addition of the twice daily inhaler, he is breathing much better. Soccer season is starting again in a couple of weeks, and we'll do fine. God will help us through this!
21 March 2010
6 months old!
OK, she's 6 1/2 months old, but I missed posting a picture! This was taken at my sister's tonight...love my baby girl's smile!
Fifth Sunday of Lent
Again, I miss you all. There is so much going on in the blogosphere, and I just feel disconnected. I am looking forward to reconnecting after Easter!!!
I had a beautiful day today. I had a great lunch with friends. I planned and pulled off a surprise birthday lunch for a dear lifelong friend who has a monumental birthday this week. It was so nice to sit back with friends and just talk! I can only imagine what it would be like if I could lunch with a number of you (we'd never get out of there!).
Then, we went to dinner at my sister's house tonight. It was great to have the kids play together, and be able to catch up with my sister. Everyone will be tired tomorrow as they were up late, but it was a great evening.
Then, I found out about the health care vote. I am so disheartened. I had hoped it wouldn't pass. My sister reminded me about Fr. Corapi's words about the horrible things that would befall our nation if Obama became President. Now these things are coming to fruition. We must pray! Pray for our nation, pray for the unborn, pray for each other. I will not despair! We must continue to pray!
I hope you all have a great week!
I had a beautiful day today. I had a great lunch with friends. I planned and pulled off a surprise birthday lunch for a dear lifelong friend who has a monumental birthday this week. It was so nice to sit back with friends and just talk! I can only imagine what it would be like if I could lunch with a number of you (we'd never get out of there!).
Then, we went to dinner at my sister's house tonight. It was great to have the kids play together, and be able to catch up with my sister. Everyone will be tired tomorrow as they were up late, but it was a great evening.
Then, I found out about the health care vote. I am so disheartened. I had hoped it wouldn't pass. My sister reminded me about Fr. Corapi's words about the horrible things that would befall our nation if Obama became President. Now these things are coming to fruition. We must pray! Pray for our nation, pray for the unborn, pray for each other. I will not despair! We must continue to pray!
I hope you all have a great week!
14 March 2010
4th Sunday of Lent
Gosh, I feel disconnected from all of you! Like Nancy said earlier, I don't feel like I am having a fruitful Lent so far. Worries about a plethora of things as well as keeping the house in order and all that has really been consuming me. I wasn't even sure if I was going to post today because, well, I have been in a really foul mood today. I think it may be the happenings of the past week.
Most of you saw my post during the week about Sr. Rita. I will get to that in a moment. On Tuesday, I received a phone call from the company I worked for in college and graduate school. It was also the company my Dad worked for for about 47 years. They were calling to let me and my siblings know that the owner of the company had died unexpectedly over the weekend. He was only 64. I knew that I could not make the funeral mass on Saturday because my team had their last Forensics tournament. That meant that I had to take off from teaching and got to the wake.
On Thursday, Andy called to say his check engine light was on. I made the appointment for Friday. We dropped the car off, and I got a call a couple of hours later that the fix would be about $350! OUCH! We said to wait on it because we want to see if we can find someone to do it cheaper. I had to drive across town and get Andy from work, bring him back to our side of town to pick up the car, and I sped off to the funeral wake on yet again the other side of town.
My plan was to go from the funeral wake down to the sisters' convent chapel for a prayer vigil for Sr. Rita. We had word the she was very weak and could die at anytime. I arrived at the funeral home only to find I would have to stand in line for an hour and a half to pay my respects. I was glad I saw the family, and I also ran into many people I had worked with. It was just kind of draining. It made me miss my Dad.
Once I left, I sped to yet another side of town to the convent chapel to pray. I am so glad I did. Unfortunately, I missed the news that Sr. Rita had died at about 4:15 PM that day. A few of us still gathered to pray and remember. I found out that there are 270 sisters living there! How wonderful! Sr. Rita had been a part of that community for 61 years. She was also a part of the legacy that was my high school (it closed in 1991). God Bless her!
Most of you saw my post during the week about Sr. Rita. I will get to that in a moment. On Tuesday, I received a phone call from the company I worked for in college and graduate school. It was also the company my Dad worked for for about 47 years. They were calling to let me and my siblings know that the owner of the company had died unexpectedly over the weekend. He was only 64. I knew that I could not make the funeral mass on Saturday because my team had their last Forensics tournament. That meant that I had to take off from teaching and got to the wake.
On Thursday, Andy called to say his check engine light was on. I made the appointment for Friday. We dropped the car off, and I got a call a couple of hours later that the fix would be about $350! OUCH! We said to wait on it because we want to see if we can find someone to do it cheaper. I had to drive across town and get Andy from work, bring him back to our side of town to pick up the car, and I sped off to the funeral wake on yet again the other side of town.
My plan was to go from the funeral wake down to the sisters' convent chapel for a prayer vigil for Sr. Rita. We had word the she was very weak and could die at anytime. I arrived at the funeral home only to find I would have to stand in line for an hour and a half to pay my respects. I was glad I saw the family, and I also ran into many people I had worked with. It was just kind of draining. It made me miss my Dad.
Once I left, I sped to yet another side of town to the convent chapel to pray. I am so glad I did. Unfortunately, I missed the news that Sr. Rita had died at about 4:15 PM that day. A few of us still gathered to pray and remember. I found out that there are 270 sisters living there! How wonderful! Sr. Rita had been a part of that community for 61 years. She was also a part of the legacy that was my high school (it closed in 1991). God Bless her!
09 March 2010
Many Prayers Needed Tonight!
I am breaking my Lenten fast from blogging for something very important. I believe that Jesus would want me to do this, so I am.
Please pray this evening for Sr. Rita Menke who was the principal of my all-girls high school. She is a wonderfully strong woman who has served the Church well through her vocation for many decades. She is in the final stages of cancer and is asking for prayers. If you have facebook, you can find her page under Sister Rita's Hotline. Sister Rita is trying (and I believe succeeding) in bringing people together through Lenten reflections. As of tonight, she has 800+ fans (feel free to join if you are on FB).
I have been very moved by all of this since I found out that Sister Rita was ill. I am not sure if it is because of my memories of high school or because she is dying from the same thing that my parents' did, but I have been very sad about this whole situation. Please pray for her that her journey into eternal life is peaceful. Thank you so much! I will update as I can. Sister Rita commented a few days ago that she thought this was the beginning of the end.
Please pray this evening for Sr. Rita Menke who was the principal of my all-girls high school. She is a wonderfully strong woman who has served the Church well through her vocation for many decades. She is in the final stages of cancer and is asking for prayers. If you have facebook, you can find her page under Sister Rita's Hotline. Sister Rita is trying (and I believe succeeding) in bringing people together through Lenten reflections. As of tonight, she has 800+ fans (feel free to join if you are on FB).
I have been very moved by all of this since I found out that Sister Rita was ill. I am not sure if it is because of my memories of high school or because she is dying from the same thing that my parents' did, but I have been very sad about this whole situation. Please pray for her that her journey into eternal life is peaceful. Thank you so much! I will update as I can. Sister Rita commented a few days ago that she thought this was the beginning of the end.
07 March 2010
Odds and Ends
It seems like there have been so many times this week that a blog post comes to mind, and I think that I will remember it for Sunday, and now, I don't! I will tell you that these days of Lent are flying by. I don't feel like I am getting enough done spiritually, but there is always room for improvement. I am hoping to post my review of the book I am reading for Catholic Company soon! It is a good one!
Baby girl is getting so big! She will be 6 months on Wednesday. I may have to break my blogging fast to post pictures. She is turning into such a big girl! I have been able to keep up with making all of her baby food. She loves sweet potatoes, squash, peaches and pears. This week, she had avocado for the first time! I read that it is a super food for babies, and she loves it! (With all that good healthy fat in them for brain development, we are trying to see if we can add to the rolls on her legs!). We also were very surprised to have her get her first 2 teeth! The boys were much older (9 and 11 months), so needless to say when I told Andy I though she was getting teeth, he dismissed it. At the dentist this week for cleanings, our hygienist checked out Alex and confirmed my suspicion. Two days later, one broke through. Yesterday, the second arrived.
I am continuing to work at becoming a better saver on just about everything. Andy made me a spreadsheet at the beginning of the year and I am tracking how much I am saving on food, clothing and just about everything you can think of. As of last week, I was at $957 in savings since the first of the year! It is kind of fun to see how much I can save.
We also made a huge change in our house. We purchased one of these. In about a week, we will be eliminating our land line and the cost associated with it. We also switched our cable to satellite and Internet to DSL. All told, our bill will be dropping from $145 per month to $80 per month, a savings of $65! I am so excited about this because I always felt like the cable company really had us, and now they don't! I also dropped the data plan from my cell, not being able to really justify it because of losing my team lead job late last year. That too was a savings of $25 per month. Anyway, bottom line is that I am having fun finding ways to save money!
I miss you all, and wish you a fruitful Lent!
Baby girl is getting so big! She will be 6 months on Wednesday. I may have to break my blogging fast to post pictures. She is turning into such a big girl! I have been able to keep up with making all of her baby food. She loves sweet potatoes, squash, peaches and pears. This week, she had avocado for the first time! I read that it is a super food for babies, and she loves it! (With all that good healthy fat in them for brain development, we are trying to see if we can add to the rolls on her legs!). We also were very surprised to have her get her first 2 teeth! The boys were much older (9 and 11 months), so needless to say when I told Andy I though she was getting teeth, he dismissed it. At the dentist this week for cleanings, our hygienist checked out Alex and confirmed my suspicion. Two days later, one broke through. Yesterday, the second arrived.
I am continuing to work at becoming a better saver on just about everything. Andy made me a spreadsheet at the beginning of the year and I am tracking how much I am saving on food, clothing and just about everything you can think of. As of last week, I was at $957 in savings since the first of the year! It is kind of fun to see how much I can save.
We also made a huge change in our house. We purchased one of these. In about a week, we will be eliminating our land line and the cost associated with it. We also switched our cable to satellite and Internet to DSL. All told, our bill will be dropping from $145 per month to $80 per month, a savings of $65! I am so excited about this because I always felt like the cable company really had us, and now they don't! I also dropped the data plan from my cell, not being able to really justify it because of losing my team lead job late last year. That too was a savings of $25 per month. Anyway, bottom line is that I am having fun finding ways to save money!
I miss you all, and wish you a fruitful Lent!
The Contest that I don't want you to enter :)
My friend, Karyn is having a great giveaway. She's made all of these super cute shopping bags. You can check it out here!
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