You can't make this stuff up, I tell ya.
As of yesterday afternoon, Dad was finally released from the hospital. Praise the Lord! I talked to him yesterday morning and he sounded good. Tired, but good. And he was telling me that when he went to the hospital ER at 12:30 in the morning on Monday, he never imagined that he'd still be in the hospital on Thursday. And even further from his mind was the fact that what took him to the ER was something as serious as Crohn's. He said he'd had a stomach ache, but never imagined!
Now we just pray that the insurance company will approve his treatment. He's looking at a 2 hour IV procedure every 2 weeks of Remicade, which was originally developed for rheumatoid arthritis, but has also been found to be helpful in the management of symptoms for Crohn's. There is at least a week wait to hear as to whether the treatment will be insurance approved, so we wait. And hope. And pray. What else can we do?
Now, in a development that we didn't really see coming, Dad had a reason for making that call yesterday morning.
My maternal grandmother passed away. Dude.
She was nearing her 90th birthday and I think that she'd have said that she lived a good life. She'd had a stroke and was confined to a wheelchair about 4 years ago, but she was still fairly sharp mentally for an "old bat".
I miss her.
Her funeral will be Monday afternoon. I was thinking that I was not going to be able to attend, but Jon being the supportive husband that he is had pulled some strings and we will be able to make the trip. It'll have to be quick, since the funeral is in Hannibal, MO and that's 8 hours from here- and Jon will have to be at work by 8am on Tuesday- but it can be done.
The boys will be staying with my in-laws. Whom I love. Did I tell you that?
***Update*** As this post was written, arrangements for the boys were one thing. But I'm not in the mood to be played with, so I went ahead and made other arrangements for the boys. Go me.
As sad as the occasion may be, I look forward to seeing extended family, most of whom I haven't seen since '99. And to get a tiny bit more time with my Mom and Dad, whom I don't see often enough.
And say goodbye to Grandma, whose laughter I will never forget.
This has been a week that I hope never to repeat, really.
31 July 2009
30 July 2009
You asked, I answered. Pt 2
Yes, friends, it's time for me to answer another of your questions! Here goes!
Helen said...
I'm curious why you moved!
Great question! And the short answer is "Cuz that's where the house is." No, wait. That's the answer we gave our friends and co-workers in Appleton who wanted to know why we'd want to move to this tiny village.
Sorry.
I'm going to assume (I know, my bad) that you're wondering about our most recent move; so that's what I'll answer. There's always a pretty long explanation as to why we made EVERY single one of our moves, btw; even from apartment to apartment.
Anyway....
We've always wanted to have our own place, but just simply couldn't ever afford it. That is until the bust of the housing market. Still, what we could afford was menial by other's standards and not that good by ours, I have to tell you.
We started seriously looking at houses in May of 2007. In June of that year, we found the "perfect" house. It had been foreclosed on, but not before the inside had been completely remodeled. The kitchen was my favorite part, I have to tell you; Pergo floor, recessed lighting, a fireplace (yep, in the kitchen!).....in a nice neighborhood on a quiet street, in a great school district.....
Yeah, we got outbid on that one. I was crushed. But we really couldn't afford it anyway, at least not on one income, so we just tried to move on.
The next half a dozen or so houses in our "price range" were not good. And I mean that. Most of them would need to have at least 20k put into them just to make them liveable...and some of them were in downright scary neighborhoods. Once, I didn't even get out of the car. LOL
So we just kinda gave up. The last one we saw had 6 inches of water in the basement and why that was would not be disclosed to us unless we made an offer. No thanks.
By then it's July of 2008 and we just decide to give up, for now. I didn't want the boys to have to move after the start of school, so we just decided that we'd pick up the house hunt in the spring.
Little did we know, other plans were in the works.
This house comes into our price range after a 10k drop having also been on the market as a foreclosure. The first time we looked at it, we drove right by and then I mentioned to Jon that I thought that the "yellow house" had a For Sale sign in front of it. Turns out that was the address we were looking for.
It was November and dark outside before the realtor could meet us. And dark outside means pitch black inside a foreclosed home; no electricity and all that. So we look as best we can with flashlights that night and two days later contact our realtor to take a tour again, this time in the daylight. He met us out here on a Saturday, what a good guy!
In talking with our realtor in the empty dining room, he said "the windows alone are worth 10 grand. If you're even a tiny bit interested, lets make an offer on Monday and see what they say."
Jon brought by the papers for me to sign at 10 on that monday morning and just after noon that day called to tell me that the house was ours. We were thrilled. (And still are, by the way.)
We didn't really consider at the time what moving from a big city to a small village would mean. It hasn't been that easy. But the difference in the $$ between our mortgage and our last rental lease has made it a little bit easier, for sure. It's nice to have the option to paint Caleb's room red if we want (how many walls is still in negotiation)....and not have to endure someone else's choice in "good music".
The boys have both adjusted well; made new friends and all that. Jon's experience remains the same- he just has a commute twice a day that he didn't have before. (We lived literally 4 blocks from his job.)
I've had a harder time, really. I've sorta become an introverted extrovert in moving twice in 3 years and that's made it harder. And it's different in the big city where you may only know a few people on your side of town; in the village of 415, we are the outsiders. But it's only been 7 months, it'll take time. And I'd have probably never met E in real life if I didn't live here. And that's reason enough for me!
So there ya have it, Helen. Hope that's what you wanted to know! LOL
Helen said...
I'm curious why you moved!
Great question! And the short answer is "Cuz that's where the house is." No, wait. That's the answer we gave our friends and co-workers in Appleton who wanted to know why we'd want to move to this tiny village.
Sorry.
I'm going to assume (I know, my bad) that you're wondering about our most recent move; so that's what I'll answer. There's always a pretty long explanation as to why we made EVERY single one of our moves, btw; even from apartment to apartment.
Anyway....
We've always wanted to have our own place, but just simply couldn't ever afford it. That is until the bust of the housing market. Still, what we could afford was menial by other's standards and not that good by ours, I have to tell you.
We started seriously looking at houses in May of 2007. In June of that year, we found the "perfect" house. It had been foreclosed on, but not before the inside had been completely remodeled. The kitchen was my favorite part, I have to tell you; Pergo floor, recessed lighting, a fireplace (yep, in the kitchen!).....in a nice neighborhood on a quiet street, in a great school district.....
Yeah, we got outbid on that one. I was crushed. But we really couldn't afford it anyway, at least not on one income, so we just tried to move on.
The next half a dozen or so houses in our "price range" were not good. And I mean that. Most of them would need to have at least 20k put into them just to make them liveable...and some of them were in downright scary neighborhoods. Once, I didn't even get out of the car. LOL
So we just kinda gave up. The last one we saw had 6 inches of water in the basement and why that was would not be disclosed to us unless we made an offer. No thanks.
By then it's July of 2008 and we just decide to give up, for now. I didn't want the boys to have to move after the start of school, so we just decided that we'd pick up the house hunt in the spring.
Little did we know, other plans were in the works.
This house comes into our price range after a 10k drop having also been on the market as a foreclosure. The first time we looked at it, we drove right by and then I mentioned to Jon that I thought that the "yellow house" had a For Sale sign in front of it. Turns out that was the address we were looking for.
It was November and dark outside before the realtor could meet us. And dark outside means pitch black inside a foreclosed home; no electricity and all that. So we look as best we can with flashlights that night and two days later contact our realtor to take a tour again, this time in the daylight. He met us out here on a Saturday, what a good guy!
In talking with our realtor in the empty dining room, he said "the windows alone are worth 10 grand. If you're even a tiny bit interested, lets make an offer on Monday and see what they say."
Jon brought by the papers for me to sign at 10 on that monday morning and just after noon that day called to tell me that the house was ours. We were thrilled. (And still are, by the way.)
We didn't really consider at the time what moving from a big city to a small village would mean. It hasn't been that easy. But the difference in the $$ between our mortgage and our last rental lease has made it a little bit easier, for sure. It's nice to have the option to paint Caleb's room red if we want (how many walls is still in negotiation)....and not have to endure someone else's choice in "good music".
The boys have both adjusted well; made new friends and all that. Jon's experience remains the same- he just has a commute twice a day that he didn't have before. (We lived literally 4 blocks from his job.)
I've had a harder time, really. I've sorta become an introverted extrovert in moving twice in 3 years and that's made it harder. And it's different in the big city where you may only know a few people on your side of town; in the village of 415, we are the outsiders. But it's only been 7 months, it'll take time. And I'd have probably never met E in real life if I didn't live here. And that's reason enough for me!
So there ya have it, Helen. Hope that's what you wanted to know! LOL
29 July 2009
The good, and the not-so-good
First of all, I want to give a huge thanks to all of you who were so supportive in your comments to this post. I've had a bit of a rough time, but knowing that you are praying for me and for my family helps a LOT. So, thanks!
Now, as they say, on with the rest of the story.
Can I tell you how exhausting it is to sit and wait for the phone to ring? Man, and I'm really bad at the patience it requires also. Good thing that my dear friend E invited me to go shopping with her yesterday, that broke up the morning at least. (THANK YOU!) And it didn't really help that Jon would call to see if I heard anything at what seemed to be hourly intervals. "No, honey, I haven't heard; but I'll call you as soon as I do!" Aaaaahhhhhh!
Mom called me just before 2pm yesterday. The long and the short of that story is that now in addition to his recent diagnosis of prostate cancer, Dad has Crohn's. They suspected that may be the case with the CT scan that he had in the ER on Monday, but yesterday's test confirmed it. And his doctor said that from what he had seen, Dad should have been having trouble for quite some time, as there is "significant narrowing of the colon" Thankfully, his symptoms on Sunday were the very first indicator that there was a problem.
Now, while manageable with medication, this wasn't on his "short list". But he's maintaining his sense of humor (which I love about him) and calling Crohn's his "July disease". Mom told him that two major diseases this year were PLENTY and that he needs to stop!
There will be some trick to getting a medicinal course that works for him though, for two reasons. He has taken dilantin for trauma- induced epilepsy since 1977 AND he's starting radiation therapy for the cancer at the end of next month. But Mom was fairly confident that the doctors can find something that will work for him, even with all those factors to keep in mind.
He's having a colonoscopy some time today and then if all goes well, will probably be discharged from the hospital tomorrow.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, that was the "not-so-good" news. Now for some good news.
I love my mother and father-in-law. That's some good news right there, I'll tell ya that. LOL I love that they live close enough to visit, but far enough that they don't come every day; but that's another post.
The long and the short of this story is that they were having some minor trouble with their 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan and were thinking about trading it in. And yesterday, they actually went to purchase another vehicle and the small dealer they went to didn't want to accept the van as a trade. So they drove it home.
Jon was talking with my FIL and then called our mechanic, who has told Jon that despite what FIL's mechanic said, it is probably NOT the transmission of the van where the problem lies, but rather a belt or motor with the heating/cooling systems. (Based, of course, on only what FIL told Jon seems to be the problem.) "There's a loud noise if you run the a/c or heat, but if you don't, it runs flawlessly." Huh. And I put more stock in Roger's opinion when I found out last night that his van is a '97 Dodge Grand Caravan. So, I'm thinking he knows. Roger is fairly confident that the repair is something that Jon could do himself for around $150.
The short of this story, and it was supposed to be...I'm sorry, is that if WE want the van, all we have to do is go pick it up. That's it. And I asked Jon if he knew how much they want for it and he told me "NOTHING!"
Oh, my goodness, I did the "happy dance" right there!
Now, it's pretty high mileage, but for FREE, who cares! Woohoo!
We hope to go pick it up on Saturday after watching Matthew march in a parade.
Oh, and in other good news, my BFF Carrie called me yesterday to tell me that she's PREGNANT! She had a miscarriage this spring, so she waited this time to tell me. And that's her thing, and that's okay! She's already into the second trimester and I am THRILLED!
Whether it's good or bad, is there such a thing as "information overload"? I feel like my head is going to explode! LOL
Now, as they say, on with the rest of the story.
Can I tell you how exhausting it is to sit and wait for the phone to ring? Man, and I'm really bad at the patience it requires also. Good thing that my dear friend E invited me to go shopping with her yesterday, that broke up the morning at least. (THANK YOU!) And it didn't really help that Jon would call to see if I heard anything at what seemed to be hourly intervals. "No, honey, I haven't heard; but I'll call you as soon as I do!" Aaaaahhhhhh!
Mom called me just before 2pm yesterday. The long and the short of that story is that now in addition to his recent diagnosis of prostate cancer, Dad has Crohn's. They suspected that may be the case with the CT scan that he had in the ER on Monday, but yesterday's test confirmed it. And his doctor said that from what he had seen, Dad should have been having trouble for quite some time, as there is "significant narrowing of the colon" Thankfully, his symptoms on Sunday were the very first indicator that there was a problem.
Now, while manageable with medication, this wasn't on his "short list". But he's maintaining his sense of humor (which I love about him) and calling Crohn's his "July disease". Mom told him that two major diseases this year were PLENTY and that he needs to stop!
There will be some trick to getting a medicinal course that works for him though, for two reasons. He has taken dilantin for trauma- induced epilepsy since 1977 AND he's starting radiation therapy for the cancer at the end of next month. But Mom was fairly confident that the doctors can find something that will work for him, even with all those factors to keep in mind.
He's having a colonoscopy some time today and then if all goes well, will probably be discharged from the hospital tomorrow.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, that was the "not-so-good" news. Now for some good news.
I love my mother and father-in-law. That's some good news right there, I'll tell ya that. LOL I love that they live close enough to visit, but far enough that they don't come every day; but that's another post.
The long and the short of this story is that they were having some minor trouble with their 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan and were thinking about trading it in. And yesterday, they actually went to purchase another vehicle and the small dealer they went to didn't want to accept the van as a trade. So they drove it home.
Jon was talking with my FIL and then called our mechanic, who has told Jon that despite what FIL's mechanic said, it is probably NOT the transmission of the van where the problem lies, but rather a belt or motor with the heating/cooling systems. (Based, of course, on only what FIL told Jon seems to be the problem.) "There's a loud noise if you run the a/c or heat, but if you don't, it runs flawlessly." Huh. And I put more stock in Roger's opinion when I found out last night that his van is a '97 Dodge Grand Caravan. So, I'm thinking he knows. Roger is fairly confident that the repair is something that Jon could do himself for around $150.
The short of this story, and it was supposed to be...I'm sorry, is that if WE want the van, all we have to do is go pick it up. That's it. And I asked Jon if he knew how much they want for it and he told me "NOTHING!"
Oh, my goodness, I did the "happy dance" right there!
Now, it's pretty high mileage, but for FREE, who cares! Woohoo!
We hope to go pick it up on Saturday after watching Matthew march in a parade.
Oh, and in other good news, my BFF Carrie called me yesterday to tell me that she's PREGNANT! She had a miscarriage this spring, so she waited this time to tell me. And that's her thing, and that's okay! She's already into the second trimester and I am THRILLED!
Whether it's good or bad, is there such a thing as "information overload"? I feel like my head is going to explode! LOL
27 July 2009
Shattered
I do not know Mckmama or Prince Charming or the MSC personally, but that hasn't mattered. I have read Mckmama's blog for quite some time and I feel like I do know them.
My heart is breaking for what is happening with Stellan right now. And in my head, I know that God is in control, but my heart seems to think otherwise at the moment.
And honestly, maintaining the faith that God knows what He's doing is a huge struggle right now. It doesn't help that I have let the Enemy get in my head and do what he does best- lie.
And my car is dead. D.E.A.D.- dead. The not -fixable kind of dead. And while that is a trivial matter at the moment, it doesn't do any good to how I feel about how things are going. Living out here in no-man-land, I can't get a job without a car. And financially speaking, things are a bit too tight right now to get a car without a job. To like pay for it, and stuff. You know, what responsible adults do.
Some days, like today, I am sick of being a responsible adult.
My college roommate is dealing with the fact that her mom has just recieved a diagnosis of Stage 4 bladder and anal cancer. It's bad. Bad enough for Amanda to have to sit in a room with her mom and the rest of her family and discuss her Mom's final wishes. Before her mom can't communicate what her wishes are.
My heart breaks for the whole family.
And then about an hour ago, I got a call. And when I looked at the caller ID, my heart skipped at least two beats.
It's Mom.
Now to understand, Mom has a hatred of calling people on the phone. She won't do it unless she has to, and that includes calls to us kids.
So something is always up when she calls.
I had hoped for a second that she had misdialed, like the last time she called my cell. She had a work emergency that involved a power failure and in trying to call her boss, she got me instead.
It worried me at the time, as she didn't really have time to explain, but I would have preferred it today.
When I answer the phone this morning and ask her how she is, her reponse of "Oh, I'm fine" did not match her tone of voice. AT ALL. And it's Monday, she's supposed to be at work.
Turns out Dad is in the hospital.
They'd gone away for the weekend and yesterday morning Dad started complaining that he didn't feel well. Just that his stomach was really hurting. Mom thought that maybe he was getting a stomach virus, since my neice just got over one. Dad felt good enough to drive home, but then was getting worse and worse.
He drove himself to the ER at 12:30 this morning, telling Mom that she needed to get some sleep since she was working today.
At 5:15, he called with the news that a CT scan had revealed a bowel obstruction and that he was being admitted. He told her to go ahead and go to work.
Good thing she doesn't listen to him.
When Mom called, she was waiting for the surgeon to come in to the room for a consult as it may be necessary for Dad to have surgery to remove the obstruction.
He'll be in the hospital at least the rest of today, longer if surgery is necessary.
He's on a morphine drip and "not at all reasonable" according to Mom. He's having his stomach pumped and they are hoping that things get resolved without surgery.
And once again, I'm over 400 miles away. Not that I could do anything if I was there, but I could at least sit with Mom, ya know?
I'm feeling pretty shattered.
My heart is breaking for what is happening with Stellan right now. And in my head, I know that God is in control, but my heart seems to think otherwise at the moment.
And honestly, maintaining the faith that God knows what He's doing is a huge struggle right now. It doesn't help that I have let the Enemy get in my head and do what he does best- lie.
And my car is dead. D.E.A.D.- dead. The not -fixable kind of dead. And while that is a trivial matter at the moment, it doesn't do any good to how I feel about how things are going. Living out here in no-man-land, I can't get a job without a car. And financially speaking, things are a bit too tight right now to get a car without a job. To like pay for it, and stuff. You know, what responsible adults do.
Some days, like today, I am sick of being a responsible adult.
My college roommate is dealing with the fact that her mom has just recieved a diagnosis of Stage 4 bladder and anal cancer. It's bad. Bad enough for Amanda to have to sit in a room with her mom and the rest of her family and discuss her Mom's final wishes. Before her mom can't communicate what her wishes are.
My heart breaks for the whole family.
And then about an hour ago, I got a call. And when I looked at the caller ID, my heart skipped at least two beats.
It's Mom.
Now to understand, Mom has a hatred of calling people on the phone. She won't do it unless she has to, and that includes calls to us kids.
So something is always up when she calls.
I had hoped for a second that she had misdialed, like the last time she called my cell. She had a work emergency that involved a power failure and in trying to call her boss, she got me instead.
It worried me at the time, as she didn't really have time to explain, but I would have preferred it today.
When I answer the phone this morning and ask her how she is, her reponse of "Oh, I'm fine" did not match her tone of voice. AT ALL. And it's Monday, she's supposed to be at work.
Turns out Dad is in the hospital.
They'd gone away for the weekend and yesterday morning Dad started complaining that he didn't feel well. Just that his stomach was really hurting. Mom thought that maybe he was getting a stomach virus, since my neice just got over one. Dad felt good enough to drive home, but then was getting worse and worse.
He drove himself to the ER at 12:30 this morning, telling Mom that she needed to get some sleep since she was working today.
At 5:15, he called with the news that a CT scan had revealed a bowel obstruction and that he was being admitted. He told her to go ahead and go to work.
Good thing she doesn't listen to him.
When Mom called, she was waiting for the surgeon to come in to the room for a consult as it may be necessary for Dad to have surgery to remove the obstruction.
He'll be in the hospital at least the rest of today, longer if surgery is necessary.
He's on a morphine drip and "not at all reasonable" according to Mom. He's having his stomach pumped and they are hoping that things get resolved without surgery.
And once again, I'm over 400 miles away. Not that I could do anything if I was there, but I could at least sit with Mom, ya know?
I'm feeling pretty shattered.
Fly
We took a day trip to the Milwaukee Co. Zoo last week. We'd been once before, but no one can remember when it was; doesn't that tell ya something?
Anyway, when we were there, we visited the building exhibit entitled "Wings from down under". What a cool place!
Basically, it was a free-form habitat where you could enter (for an additional $2.00 per person) and feed parakeets, cockatiels and Eastern Rosellas, all which are commonly found in the wild in Australia.
Caleb thought it was cool to be so close to the birds!
I just had the bird on right on the stick at first, then the bird on the left flew on to my hand and scared me! I shrieked! Aren't they pretty though?
Caleb was "done", so Jon took his feeding stick. Jon also discovered that the yellow and green bird did NOT want to be petted! LOL
Matthew was very patient, as usual, and let one little bird eat the whole stick!
There had to be at least 200 of those little birds of all colors in the exhibit! That was by far the highlight of the day!
Anyway, when we were there, we visited the building exhibit entitled "Wings from down under". What a cool place!
Basically, it was a free-form habitat where you could enter (for an additional $2.00 per person) and feed parakeets, cockatiels and Eastern Rosellas, all which are commonly found in the wild in Australia.
Caleb thought it was cool to be so close to the birds!
I just had the bird on right on the stick at first, then the bird on the left flew on to my hand and scared me! I shrieked! Aren't they pretty though?
Caleb was "done", so Jon took his feeding stick. Jon also discovered that the yellow and green bird did NOT want to be petted! LOL
Matthew was very patient, as usual, and let one little bird eat the whole stick!
There had to be at least 200 of those little birds of all colors in the exhibit! That was by far the highlight of the day! 25 July 2009
Six Word Saturday!
Yes, friends, it's that time again! Time for Six Word Saturday!
Curious to learn more or to see others' entries?!? Click on the button below to check it out!
Here's my entry for the week!
Meeting new friends was quite fun!!
Curious to learn more or to see others' entries?!? Click on the button below to check it out!
Here's my entry for the week!
Meeting new friends was quite fun!!
23 July 2009
You asked, I answered!
Ethan, Zach, and Emma's Mom said...
I'd love to hear you and your husband's love story! :-)
And I started thinking, “Do we have a love story?” haha, I totally kid. While it isn’t flashy or incredibly romantic, there is a story…so bear with me as I reach into the far corners of my brain and dig it up.
It has been 15 years, you know.
After I graduated high school in June of 1993, I did what 99% of all other high school seniors do- I went to college.
‘Cuz, ya know, my dad and I had the whole “get a full-time job or go to college” talk. And I wanted to do everything I could to avoid working, haha.
So, off to college I go, about three and a half hours away from home. There I met Matt who was from the great state of Michigan and who was also a college freshman. We were in the same “freshman advisory” group.
Now, here I will tell you, for those who don’t know….I was born in the aforementioned great state. I was born there, spent the first 3 months of my life at the University of Michigan Medical Center and proudly spent my youth as a UofM Wolverine football fan. Even though my Dad was a Nazarene pastor while we were growing up and we lived in such places as Kentucky and Nebraska (among others), “home” is Michigan.
And what I didn’t know at the time, is that Matt’s sports loyalties lie with the UofM’s arch in-state rival, the Michigan State Spartans. Blech. That’s okay…it doesn’t change the story.
The following spring, in April of 1994, Matt said to me “Have I got someone you need to meet.” So I’m thinking “Okay, sure. How bad can he be?” Thinking of course that the worst that can happen is that I have to block his number from my dorm phone and I can forget all about him once I go home for the summer.
About a week before Jon and I meet face-to-face, he calls me. And I think that we spent something like 4 hours on the phone, just that one time. Turns out he wasn’t terrible and we had quite a few things in common.
**He’s a preacher’s kid- like me.
**He’s lived in Michigan- like me.
**His parents pastored a church in Wisconsin- mine had just accepted a call to a church in WI about 4 hours from his parents.
**Oh, and he’s a Wolverine fan….something we never actually talked about until after we got engaged. How funny.
There’s more, but it’ll bore you…..
On Friday, April 29,1994 Jon’s going to make the drive from his home in Green Bay to where I attend school- about an hour south of Chicago. He’d worked his job at the convenience store on the third shift the night before, so he doesn’t show up the campus till around 7 in the evening.
He calls me from the lobby of Matt’s dorm and I go to meet him. All I really remember is that he’s tall-6’3”- and he has really dark hair and REALLY blue eyes.
He says to me “Hey, you must be Jennifer.” My reply is something like “I guess that makes you Jon.” See…not romantic. hahaha.
The rest of that weekend goes by in one gigantic blur. I know that we ate pizza and I know that we spent Saturday at the local amusement park. We ate at Ponderosa. (It closed less than a year later...) And spend every spare second together on Sunday too, till he left campus before 10pm.
Did I mention that it was the weekend before finals? Oops.
We talk on the phone almost every day after that. I go home to Wisconsin (my parents had been pastoring a church in IL when I left for school) and announce to my parents that I met the man I’m going to marry….at that moment they are less than impressed.
They do get to meet him a couple of weeks later; and while I think they reserved judgement, I don't remember them saying anything negative. We spend that whole summer with one of us driving the distance to meet the other…blech. And I have to say that during that time, I get pretty darn good at putt-putt golf- a game I HATED when we started dating. And we watch every episode of the XFiles together. I miss that show….. And talk and drive, and talk. And talk.
He asked me to marry him on my 20th birthday that September. We were across the street from the house at the church…in the middle of the sanctuary aisle he asked me if I saw us getting married there. I thought he was joking…turns out he was completely serious! He dropped to his knee and said “I love you… and I want to marry you..right here.” Of course, I said “YES!” My parents were surprised, but didn’t try to talk us out of it. (They’d gotten married at 18, so what could they say? That fact worked in my favor!)
We were married the following October in a ceremony that was uber small as far as attendants and frou-frou, but perfect. Matt was best man- of course. And the rest, they say, is history. Some day I’ll have to show you pictures.
Does that answer your question?? I hope so!
I'd love to hear you and your husband's love story! :-)
And I started thinking, “Do we have a love story?” haha, I totally kid. While it isn’t flashy or incredibly romantic, there is a story…so bear with me as I reach into the far corners of my brain and dig it up.
It has been 15 years, you know.
After I graduated high school in June of 1993, I did what 99% of all other high school seniors do- I went to college.
‘Cuz, ya know, my dad and I had the whole “get a full-time job or go to college” talk. And I wanted to do everything I could to avoid working, haha.
So, off to college I go, about three and a half hours away from home. There I met Matt who was from the great state of Michigan and who was also a college freshman. We were in the same “freshman advisory” group.
Now, here I will tell you, for those who don’t know….I was born in the aforementioned great state. I was born there, spent the first 3 months of my life at the University of Michigan Medical Center and proudly spent my youth as a UofM Wolverine football fan. Even though my Dad was a Nazarene pastor while we were growing up and we lived in such places as Kentucky and Nebraska (among others), “home” is Michigan.
And what I didn’t know at the time, is that Matt’s sports loyalties lie with the UofM’s arch in-state rival, the Michigan State Spartans. Blech. That’s okay…it doesn’t change the story.
The following spring, in April of 1994, Matt said to me “Have I got someone you need to meet.” So I’m thinking “Okay, sure. How bad can he be?” Thinking of course that the worst that can happen is that I have to block his number from my dorm phone and I can forget all about him once I go home for the summer.
About a week before Jon and I meet face-to-face, he calls me. And I think that we spent something like 4 hours on the phone, just that one time. Turns out he wasn’t terrible and we had quite a few things in common.
**He’s a preacher’s kid- like me.
**He’s lived in Michigan- like me.
**His parents pastored a church in Wisconsin- mine had just accepted a call to a church in WI about 4 hours from his parents.
**Oh, and he’s a Wolverine fan….something we never actually talked about until after we got engaged. How funny.
There’s more, but it’ll bore you…..
On Friday, April 29,1994 Jon’s going to make the drive from his home in Green Bay to where I attend school- about an hour south of Chicago. He’d worked his job at the convenience store on the third shift the night before, so he doesn’t show up the campus till around 7 in the evening.
He calls me from the lobby of Matt’s dorm and I go to meet him. All I really remember is that he’s tall-6’3”- and he has really dark hair and REALLY blue eyes.
He says to me “Hey, you must be Jennifer.” My reply is something like “I guess that makes you Jon.” See…not romantic. hahaha.
The rest of that weekend goes by in one gigantic blur. I know that we ate pizza and I know that we spent Saturday at the local amusement park. We ate at Ponderosa. (It closed less than a year later...) And spend every spare second together on Sunday too, till he left campus before 10pm.
Did I mention that it was the weekend before finals? Oops.
We talk on the phone almost every day after that. I go home to Wisconsin (my parents had been pastoring a church in IL when I left for school) and announce to my parents that I met the man I’m going to marry….at that moment they are less than impressed.
They do get to meet him a couple of weeks later; and while I think they reserved judgement, I don't remember them saying anything negative. We spend that whole summer with one of us driving the distance to meet the other…blech. And I have to say that during that time, I get pretty darn good at putt-putt golf- a game I HATED when we started dating. And we watch every episode of the XFiles together. I miss that show….. And talk and drive, and talk. And talk.
He asked me to marry him on my 20th birthday that September. We were across the street from the house at the church…in the middle of the sanctuary aisle he asked me if I saw us getting married there. I thought he was joking…turns out he was completely serious! He dropped to his knee and said “I love you… and I want to marry you..right here.” Of course, I said “YES!” My parents were surprised, but didn’t try to talk us out of it. (They’d gotten married at 18, so what could they say? That fact worked in my favor!)
We were married the following October in a ceremony that was uber small as far as attendants and frou-frou, but perfect. Matt was best man- of course. And the rest, they say, is history. Some day I’ll have to show you pictures.
Does that answer your question?? I hope so!
22 July 2009
Plan
Don't ya just love it when a plan comes together?
I just had the best time with E, my blogging friend over at The Mommy Diaries. Today was the first time that we actually met face-to-face and she is SO NICE!
We live two towns apart, you see. Two fairly small, not -much -happening towns apart. I started reading her blog from another blog and she emailed me one day with "Where are you from? My traffic feed comes up from my town."
The response I sent to her was "I am in ______. Where are you??"
Imagine how excited we were to discover that it is INDEED a small world!
Early this week, she says, "So ya wanna get together this week?" Of course, I do! Duh!
Being that I am without transportation at the moment, our original plan to meet in the town between wasn't going to work out. So I suggested that she come to my tiny town...we'll have a picnic at the park!
Well, what do ya know, but it rained. That was okay, we'd just have an indoor picnic!
I have to add that her husband's reaction to the news that she was coming to my home made me chuckle. He was, let's say, a tad bit suspicious that I am not who I say I am. Even when E told him that she'd seen my picture, he wasn't convinced that I wasn't an ax murderer or something! Too funny!
Of course, she chose not to let his trepidation be any kind of a factor in whether or not we'd meet!
Her kids are just too cute and her boys and mine got along swimmingly! Oh, and she is GREAT too!
Thanks friend! Here's to many more picnics!
Wordless Wednesday- Cat Nap
*****By the way, great questions for yesterday's post! I've almost finished the answer to the first one- keep 'em coming!*****
21 July 2009
Whaddaya wanna know??
Have something you've been dying to ask me? Anything you wanna hear the story behind?
Ask away!
This is a bit of a trend in some of the blogs I read (go here and here...oh, and here) and so I thought I'd join in on the fun.
I'm a follower, not a leader, in case that wasn't clear.
Maybe I can go back and answer your questions that have been posed in the comments too!
I'm all prepared to write a post to answer your questions starting Thursday.
Come on, ya know ya want to!
Ask away!
This is a bit of a trend in some of the blogs I read (go here and here...oh, and here) and so I thought I'd join in on the fun.
I'm a follower, not a leader, in case that wasn't clear.
Maybe I can go back and answer your questions that have been posed in the comments too!
I'm all prepared to write a post to answer your questions starting Thursday.
Come on, ya know ya want to!
20 July 2009
It's a girl!
Meet Dina (think the Disney classic film 'Alice In Wonderland' here), born the end of May. We picked her up on Saturday from a neighbor of a friend of my sister-in-law Elaine.
So far she fits in really well. The boys just love her! And even Jon's been able to tolerate her longer than I'd ever seen. (He's *so* not a cat person. Too bad for him. LOL)
She's so little yet that she is smaller in length than Jon's shoe (size 11) and she hasn't figured out how to quite get to the top of the stairs. It's just too cute.
Caleb seems to think that he needs to pick her up as soon as he spots her. She is only too happy to let him and then her motor starts to run! She's quite a cuddler.
We look forward to many years with "our girl".
18 July 2009
Six Word Saturday!
Here goes....
Excitement building...getting new family member!!
Want to participate? Head on over to Call me Cate and check it out!
17 July 2009
Happy Birthday...what treatment!
My Grandma N, my mom's mom, is turning 90 at the end of August. That's a big deal! My mom's siblings are all getting together at my uncle's house in VA that weekend to have a party and a reunion of sorts.
When Dad first found out about his cancer, he was leaning toward having surgery. And in doing so, he found out that he would need to be off of work for three weeks for recovery. Well, that would eat up all of his pto time and make it so that he would not be able to make the trip to VA for Grandma's birthday. Mom was still planning to go if she could get a ride with one of her brothers, who lives on the other side of the same county.
Well, from what I understand, Dad met with the radiation oncologist this week and is now leaning toward a course of radiation. That will begin, from what I gather, after they return from VA next month.
It is also my understanding that radiation will be something like five days a week for eight weeks, or something. Whew.
Continued prayers are appreciated.
When Dad first found out about his cancer, he was leaning toward having surgery. And in doing so, he found out that he would need to be off of work for three weeks for recovery. Well, that would eat up all of his pto time and make it so that he would not be able to make the trip to VA for Grandma's birthday. Mom was still planning to go if she could get a ride with one of her brothers, who lives on the other side of the same county.
Well, from what I understand, Dad met with the radiation oncologist this week and is now leaning toward a course of radiation. That will begin, from what I gather, after they return from VA next month.
It is also my understanding that radiation will be something like five days a week for eight weeks, or something. Whew.
Continued prayers are appreciated.
16 July 2009
Give thanks!
(I woke up this morning with this running through my head.......LOL)
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His love endures forever.
to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
who made the great lights-
His love endures forever.
the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.
to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.
to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.
to him who lead his people through the desert,
His love endures forever.
who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
and killed mighty kings-
His love endures forever.
Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
and Og king of Bashan-
His love endures forever.
and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
and inheritance to his servant Israel;
His love endures forever.
to the One who remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
and freed us from our enemies,
His love endures forever.
and who gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven
His love endures FOREVER!
Originally published 2.03.09
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His love endures forever.
to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
who made the great lights-
His love endures forever.
the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.
to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.
to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.
to him who lead his people through the desert,
His love endures forever.
who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
and killed mighty kings-
His love endures forever.
Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
and Og king of Bashan-
His love endures forever.
and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
and inheritance to his servant Israel;
His love endures forever.
to the One who remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
and freed us from our enemies,
His love endures forever.
and who gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven
His love endures FOREVER!
Originally published 2.03.09
15 July 2009
14 July 2009
Tiggers bounce
And, I found out, so do six year olds. ( I did know this already. Bear with me.)
Last night, after dinner, J was laying across our bed on his stomach. I was just sitting on the bed next to him and we were chatting about our day.
Next thing I know, in marches C, and he plops himself between his dad and me. I caution him to not jump on Daddy, as Daddy's back isn't feeling the greatest. He's on his knees on the bed, and starts to bounce up and down just on his knees. When he notices that it makes J bounce a little, all he can do is giggle.
Then from a sitting position, I start to bounce too. So it doesn't take long before J decides that enough is enough and he gets up. C, of course couldn't be more thrilled, because that gives him so much more room.
Now, I grew up where bouncing on the bed was taboo. So was bouncing on the couch, and putting your feet on the couch. All of course, because it ruins the furniture, or at least that was what we were told. I don't let my boys bounce on the couch, and they have bunk beds, so bouncing there is completely out. (Imagine that.)
You should have seen C's face when not only did I not keep him from standing on the bed, I stood myself. Now for years, my dad has picked on me because I'm fairly short, but I have to say that it came in very handy last night. *giggle*
And we bounced. And bounced. And bounced. And proved that my two and a half year old bed CAN take the weight of me jumping on it. (How embarrassing would the opposite have been? Yikes.) Until about 10 minutes later, I am pretty out of breath and choose to stop. C stopped, but he would have been willing to keep it up, I'm sure.
And I did stress the ABSOLUTE importance that he is NOT to jump without my permission. With a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye, he agreed.
Sorry, Mom and Dad. I'll make sure that there is no bouncing at your house. This is the ultimate joy of the old 'My house, my rules'.
Good times.
Originally published 8/22/2008
Last night, after dinner, J was laying across our bed on his stomach. I was just sitting on the bed next to him and we were chatting about our day.
Next thing I know, in marches C, and he plops himself between his dad and me. I caution him to not jump on Daddy, as Daddy's back isn't feeling the greatest. He's on his knees on the bed, and starts to bounce up and down just on his knees. When he notices that it makes J bounce a little, all he can do is giggle.
Then from a sitting position, I start to bounce too. So it doesn't take long before J decides that enough is enough and he gets up. C, of course couldn't be more thrilled, because that gives him so much more room.
Now, I grew up where bouncing on the bed was taboo. So was bouncing on the couch, and putting your feet on the couch. All of course, because it ruins the furniture, or at least that was what we were told. I don't let my boys bounce on the couch, and they have bunk beds, so bouncing there is completely out. (Imagine that.)
You should have seen C's face when not only did I not keep him from standing on the bed, I stood myself. Now for years, my dad has picked on me because I'm fairly short, but I have to say that it came in very handy last night. *giggle*
And we bounced. And bounced. And bounced. And proved that my two and a half year old bed CAN take the weight of me jumping on it. (How embarrassing would the opposite have been? Yikes.) Until about 10 minutes later, I am pretty out of breath and choose to stop. C stopped, but he would have been willing to keep it up, I'm sure.
And I did stress the ABSOLUTE importance that he is NOT to jump without my permission. With a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye, he agreed.
Sorry, Mom and Dad. I'll make sure that there is no bouncing at your house. This is the ultimate joy of the old 'My house, my rules'.
Good times.
Originally published 8/22/2008
13 July 2009
"I don't have time!"
****Don't forget Comments For Cans this week!!****
Have you ever said that? I have. To my husband, my kids, my co-workers; it seems that there are never enough hours in the day.
This morning in church, Pastor Bill told the story of a little boy who wanted to buy time with his dad. It made me very teary. It made me wonder if my boys had ever felt that way. I pray they haven't and never do.
Then he pointed out that isn't it a great thing that our Heavenly Father isn't too busy for us. That when we go to Him in prayer He doesn't say, "Come back later, I don't have time."
He desires relationship with us if we call ourselves His children. He beckons us to make time for Him, and He has all the time in the world for us!
That is a great thing!
Originally published 10/19/2008
Have you ever said that? I have. To my husband, my kids, my co-workers; it seems that there are never enough hours in the day.
This morning in church, Pastor Bill told the story of a little boy who wanted to buy time with his dad. It made me very teary. It made me wonder if my boys had ever felt that way. I pray they haven't and never do.
Then he pointed out that isn't it a great thing that our Heavenly Father isn't too busy for us. That when we go to Him in prayer He doesn't say, "Come back later, I don't have time."
He desires relationship with us if we call ourselves His children. He beckons us to make time for Him, and He has all the time in the world for us!
That is a great thing!
Originally published 10/19/2008
10 July 2009
09 July 2009
Hungry?
For every comment that my blog receives starting with tomorrow's post through next Friday, my family and I are going to donate one non-perishable food item to a local food bank.
Your comments will feed my ego (hahaha!) and will more importantly help to feed the hungry in my community!
So, don't forget to make those comments!
My family and hungry families everywhere thank you.
The UP is an adventure.
We had a great time in the UP; the boys loved it! And we've already started compiling a list of stops that we want to make for next summer!
Here are some pics of our visit to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point in Paradise, MI.
Here are some pics of our visit to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point in Paradise, MI.
The Edmund Fitzgerald "Big Fitz", the most famous ship to ever enter the waters at Lake Superior....sank on November 10, 1975. The bell was raised from the wreckage in 1995 and a bell inscribed with the names of the lost crew was put in its place.
A memorial of sorts to three of the lost crew members on the beach of Lake Superior.
The boys loved the beach. The water was very cold and stretched as far as the eye could see.
The lighthouse. We toured the structure of the house, but they stop you short of going up into the tower of the lighthouse. But I climbed the steps and took pics anyway...I'm a rebel like that.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's post of our trip to Tahquamenon Falls State Park!
08 July 2009
07 July 2009
A star is born!
It is with great excitement that I present to you my new nephew, Carson James Goldsmith.
Carson was born via scheduled cesarean on Wednesday, July 1, to my little brother Daniel and his wife Cassandra.
Carson was born via scheduled cesarean on Wednesday, July 1, to my little brother Daniel and his wife Cassandra.
Carson weighed in at 9 lbs, 6oz and was 21 inches long.
(Just as a point of reference, Daniel was 10lbs, 3oz at birth and 21 and 3/4 inches long!)
Finally, I get to see his beautiful face! Not that I am biased at all. LOL!
Congratulations Daniel, Cassandra and big sister, 4yo Marissa! We love you!
05 July 2009
Vacation to an end..sorta
We're getting ready to leave my parent's house and head up north to travel home. There have always been stops in Michigan's UP that we have said "we should stop one day", so over the next 24-36 hours, that's what we plan to do.
With a stop at my grandparents cabin in the central UP also. When my grandmother called the other day, I wasn't thinking when I spilled the beans that we planned to travel home that way. So now, we'll make a stop tomorrow afternoon. We only get a chance to see grandpa and grandma in the winter when we are here anyway, since they spend the summer at the cabin. My brother and sister and I have some great memories of summer vacations spent there when we were kids.....we haven't been there since Matthew was around 3, so it's time.
Of course, we were also lucky enough to be present for the birth of my nephew.....I'm gonna keep you in suspense on that one. Don't worry, I have plenty of pictures and all the details.
See ya on Tuesday!
With a stop at my grandparents cabin in the central UP also. When my grandmother called the other day, I wasn't thinking when I spilled the beans that we planned to travel home that way. So now, we'll make a stop tomorrow afternoon. We only get a chance to see grandpa and grandma in the winter when we are here anyway, since they spend the summer at the cabin. My brother and sister and I have some great memories of summer vacations spent there when we were kids.....we haven't been there since Matthew was around 3, so it's time.
Of course, we were also lucky enough to be present for the birth of my nephew.....I'm gonna keep you in suspense on that one. Don't worry, I have plenty of pictures and all the details.
See ya on Tuesday!
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