Thursday night, Jana had a much needed night out. A woman from church invited her to join their "Mommy's Night Out." They ate at a great brewhouse and talked for hours! Jana said she felt really comfortable with them. It was great to finally have someone really reach out and include her in something, other than church functions. She was supposed to be home by 9, but they didn't end up leaving the restaurant until almost 10:30!
This morning, Jana and Norah had a little playdate at the woman's house too. They had been wanting to get outside to play, but there aren't any parks within walking distance of our apartment. Norah loved wandering around in the Russell's backyard, and really enjoyed swinging for nearly an hour. She even fell asleep for a little while in the swing.
Tim went back to the doctor this afternoon. The sandal he had been wearing all week left his foot even more sore and was not restricting the movement of his foot like it should have been. The doctor agreed that Tim needed a different shoe for his broken foot. A big reason for this is because the healing process for this kind of break can take so long. With 18 weeks until the baby is due, Tim and the doctor both agreed they wanted to get the healing started as soon as possible instead of trying a couple of less aggressive treatments. This boot is gray, heavy, and very solid. It ends just below Tim's knee. His pants do NOT fit over the top of it, so we'll be safety pinning them up into a cuff for a while. He will still go in for an appointment in about 4 weeks to see if there has been any progress.
Norah is still just crazy Norah! She's cut a third tooth now, this one on top. Jana found her with some blood on her sheets this morning. After a quick check, we couldn't find any cuts or scratches. Later in the day, Jana noticed that her gum was a little bloody. Somehow Norah managed to cut her upper gum with a lower tooth, or it happened as that upper tooth was coming in.
Tim has a busy weekend at church. He will be attending the LWML Zone Rally most of the day Saturday, has church Sunday (of course), and is then going back Sunday afternoon/evening to get involved with the Hmong ministry at Peace. They have bible class and church programs each week at Peace. Tim is hoping to find out more about it and get some people from Peace more involved in the program. Jana and Norah will be putting up Fall decorations (finally, even though it's going to still be 100 degrees this weekend) and cleaning.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
One Eventful Monday
Hi Everyone,
Well, we had an interesting day today. Tim had a doctor's appointment for his foot this morning. He has been having pain in his left foot off and on for a few years, but it was always just flare ups now and then. This summer it got pretty bad, so he saw a doctor at a walk-in clinic while we visited my family in Sheboygan. That doctor recommended shoe inserts and rest, attributing the problem to plantar fasciitis (flat feet!). That didn't really help too much, but as long as Tim didn't do too much walking or activity on his feet the pain didn't get worse. Since we've been in Fresno, it's been constant and certainly has not gotten any better. It's so bad these days that even a short trip to Walmart has to be planned on good days. :( Turning wrong or bumping the side of his foot causes Tim to yelp out in pain and hobble for a while. I giggle at him, of course, but I knew it needed to be taken care of. Finally, last week I got Tim to make an appointment with a podiatrist... and that was today.
This doctor was great! He treated the problem seriously, asked a lot of questions, and really studied Tim's feet. He manipulated Tim's foot to see what hurt and where, watched him walk, measured his legs (uneven by at least 1/2 an inch due to a broken ankle in childhood), and took X-rays. It turns out that Tim has a "Jones fracture" in the outside of his foot. These fractures take the longest to heal because of the placement on the foot, which is right where all the pressure goes as you step. The doctor says he expects normal fractures to heal within 6 weeks, but that this kind typically takes at least 12 weeks! It is also due to the generally low blood flow to that area of the foot, which does not allow bone to heal as fast. Several tendons also pull on that area of the foot as you walk, which means it gets jarred more than a fracture in another area would.
Tim has a "walking sandal" right now. Basically, it looks like those adorable boot things only cut off at the ankle. The doctor also recommended a special kind of shoe insert to alleviate pressure on the foot. We had to go to a special store to get them...and they were pricey! I teased that now we needed to go spend money on Norah and me. We will also be icing Tim's foot two times a day for 20 minutes. This is supposed to artifically increase the blood flow to that area of the foot in order to prompt the bone to begin growing back. Tim will go back in about a month to have another evaluation and X-ray to see if there is any healing taking place. At that time, the doctor will decide if this is working quickly enough or if he thinks a "walking boot" will be necessary. If this sandal doesn't work, Tim may also be facing some sort of bone stimulation procedure and physical therapy. There are a lot of factors working against Tim right now, making it difficult for his foot to heal. He says the sandal doesn't feel like it's tight enough, and that it isn't really restricting the movement of his foot as much as he thought it needed to. I guess we'll see what happens in a few weeks. For now, we ask your prayers! I need Tim to be gimp-free by the time the baby comes (18 1/2 weeks) so he can chase after Norah! Since this is going to be a long and slow process, it might take that long.
In other news...
Norah refused to eat her strawberry-banana yogurt and peas at lunch unless they were mixed together. Gross! She did this the other day too, only everything had to be dipped in the sauce from our fruit salad.
On our way to Yosemite today, Norah threw up in the car. It smelled just like strawberry-banana yogurt and peas. Haha... anyway, we pulled in to a parking lot to get her cleaned up. I didn't have other clothes along for her (WHAT KIND OF MOTHER AM I!?), so I ended up running in to Target to buy more baby wipes and clothes for Norah while Tim waiting with her (naked) in the car. Of course, who has any appropriate clothes for 102 degrees anymore in mid-September? Luckily, I was able to find ONE pair of shorts in Norah's size on clearance and a shirt that even kind of matched.
What a day! I'm hoping the rest of the week is a little more calm and uneventful. Oh, there's my cake for Tim's bible study tomorrow! Have a great week!
Well, we had an interesting day today. Tim had a doctor's appointment for his foot this morning. He has been having pain in his left foot off and on for a few years, but it was always just flare ups now and then. This summer it got pretty bad, so he saw a doctor at a walk-in clinic while we visited my family in Sheboygan. That doctor recommended shoe inserts and rest, attributing the problem to plantar fasciitis (flat feet!). That didn't really help too much, but as long as Tim didn't do too much walking or activity on his feet the pain didn't get worse. Since we've been in Fresno, it's been constant and certainly has not gotten any better. It's so bad these days that even a short trip to Walmart has to be planned on good days. :( Turning wrong or bumping the side of his foot causes Tim to yelp out in pain and hobble for a while. I giggle at him, of course, but I knew it needed to be taken care of. Finally, last week I got Tim to make an appointment with a podiatrist... and that was today.
This doctor was great! He treated the problem seriously, asked a lot of questions, and really studied Tim's feet. He manipulated Tim's foot to see what hurt and where, watched him walk, measured his legs (uneven by at least 1/2 an inch due to a broken ankle in childhood), and took X-rays. It turns out that Tim has a "Jones fracture" in the outside of his foot. These fractures take the longest to heal because of the placement on the foot, which is right where all the pressure goes as you step. The doctor says he expects normal fractures to heal within 6 weeks, but that this kind typically takes at least 12 weeks! It is also due to the generally low blood flow to that area of the foot, which does not allow bone to heal as fast. Several tendons also pull on that area of the foot as you walk, which means it gets jarred more than a fracture in another area would.
Tim has a "walking sandal" right now. Basically, it looks like those adorable boot things only cut off at the ankle. The doctor also recommended a special kind of shoe insert to alleviate pressure on the foot. We had to go to a special store to get them...and they were pricey! I teased that now we needed to go spend money on Norah and me. We will also be icing Tim's foot two times a day for 20 minutes. This is supposed to artifically increase the blood flow to that area of the foot in order to prompt the bone to begin growing back. Tim will go back in about a month to have another evaluation and X-ray to see if there is any healing taking place. At that time, the doctor will decide if this is working quickly enough or if he thinks a "walking boot" will be necessary. If this sandal doesn't work, Tim may also be facing some sort of bone stimulation procedure and physical therapy. There are a lot of factors working against Tim right now, making it difficult for his foot to heal. He says the sandal doesn't feel like it's tight enough, and that it isn't really restricting the movement of his foot as much as he thought it needed to. I guess we'll see what happens in a few weeks. For now, we ask your prayers! I need Tim to be gimp-free by the time the baby comes (18 1/2 weeks) so he can chase after Norah! Since this is going to be a long and slow process, it might take that long.
In other news...
Norah refused to eat her strawberry-banana yogurt and peas at lunch unless they were mixed together. Gross! She did this the other day too, only everything had to be dipped in the sauce from our fruit salad.
On our way to Yosemite today, Norah threw up in the car. It smelled just like strawberry-banana yogurt and peas. Haha... anyway, we pulled in to a parking lot to get her cleaned up. I didn't have other clothes along for her (WHAT KIND OF MOTHER AM I!?), so I ended up running in to Target to buy more baby wipes and clothes for Norah while Tim waiting with her (naked) in the car. Of course, who has any appropriate clothes for 102 degrees anymore in mid-September? Luckily, I was able to find ONE pair of shorts in Norah's size on clearance and a shirt that even kind of matched.
What a day! I'm hoping the rest of the week is a little more calm and uneventful. Oh, there's my cake for Tim's bible study tomorrow! Have a great week!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Get Your Norah Fix Today!!!
Here are a few photos and videos of Norah! Enjoy! I also included one of me... figured you'd all want to see what I look like now. It's not the most flattering, but oh well.
This is one way we know we can get Norah to travel!
Norah loves to pull her scrapbook that Grandma and Auntie Jessi made off our bookshelf and look at it. Sometimes it's not even upside down! :)
This is one way we know we can get Norah to travel!
20 weeks!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Recent Sermons
Hi Everyone,
I am posting my two latest sermons. One was preached last weekend and the other will be preahed tomorrow. Things are going well at church. They are keeping me busy. Pastor seems to enjoy my sermons and so does everyone else. Please let me know what you think as well.
September 6, 2009
September 13, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
New Norah Photos
Norah loves her stroller. Whenever it is out/unfolded, she pushes it around. This time, she crawled around pulling it.
Daddy brought Norah a rose the other night. She was fascinated and loved it.
Oh my! How old is she?! I finally was able to get some pigtails in Norah's hair, even though it was just the top and sides. 2 years from now, she'll probably look just like this still!
I love the Pebbles Flintstone pony tail, but can only get away with it if Norah is distracted.
This is exactly why I have usually given up trying to get things in Norah's hair.
This time, I told Norah when I finished making supper we would go for a walk. I told her to get her stroller and climb in. She pushed it to the middle of the living room, tipped it over, and climbed in! :-D
This is a big step for Norah. She's very curious about the vaccuum now, and much less afraid.
Just a couple updates from the past week or so...
Jana and Baby are doing well. We are officially at 20 weeks, 1 day now. We can't believe this pregnancy is half over already. Everything has gone smoothly so far, and we continue to pray for that for the remaining 20 or so weeks. Jana has started doing a workout video designed for all 3 trimesters since she can't get outside for exercise as much as she'd like. She still loves to take walks with Norah though, and is looking forward to a little cooler weather to do that more often. Based on her calculations, she has now gained about 4 pounds.
Norah is definitely a walker now. She still crawls sometimes, but mostly walks. She has another owie from her adventures though. Yesterday, while playing, she tried to turn quickly and tumbled. She hit her eye on the edge of the couch and had a little bit of a black eye. :( Poor girl, but it didn't seem to bother her. She is also suffering from a little cough the last few days. This morning, as Jana and Norah were walking out the door, she threw up all over herself and the stroller. Cough, gag, and there's breakfast! Lastly, Norah is working on cutting another tooth. It's only her second! At this rate, the new baby will probably have more teeth than Norah this time next year. :)
Tim is busy at church. Pastor has all kinds of new ideas for projects, etc. Tim is preaching again this Sunday and has been working really hard this week. He's taken on a new Bible Study and sings in the Choir Wednesday nights. If Pastor has his way, Tim will also be starting a young couples group for the 3 Fresno LCMS churches. There doesn't seem to be much interest at Peace though, so we'll see if it takes off. Tim is also working on some picture taking for Peace's publications. They're going to be starting an email newsletter soon, and Tim is taking on some of those responsibilities as well.
There isn't much else to share these days. We had a cooler spell last weekend, and Mondays high is supposed to be 83. Jana is really excited about that. Monday is Tim's day off, so hopefully they can enjoy the break from the heat outside somewhere. Pictures to come someday soon!
Jana and Baby are doing well. We are officially at 20 weeks, 1 day now. We can't believe this pregnancy is half over already. Everything has gone smoothly so far, and we continue to pray for that for the remaining 20 or so weeks. Jana has started doing a workout video designed for all 3 trimesters since she can't get outside for exercise as much as she'd like. She still loves to take walks with Norah though, and is looking forward to a little cooler weather to do that more often. Based on her calculations, she has now gained about 4 pounds.
Norah is definitely a walker now. She still crawls sometimes, but mostly walks. She has another owie from her adventures though. Yesterday, while playing, she tried to turn quickly and tumbled. She hit her eye on the edge of the couch and had a little bit of a black eye. :( Poor girl, but it didn't seem to bother her. She is also suffering from a little cough the last few days. This morning, as Jana and Norah were walking out the door, she threw up all over herself and the stroller. Cough, gag, and there's breakfast! Lastly, Norah is working on cutting another tooth. It's only her second! At this rate, the new baby will probably have more teeth than Norah this time next year. :)
Tim is busy at church. Pastor has all kinds of new ideas for projects, etc. Tim is preaching again this Sunday and has been working really hard this week. He's taken on a new Bible Study and sings in the Choir Wednesday nights. If Pastor has his way, Tim will also be starting a young couples group for the 3 Fresno LCMS churches. There doesn't seem to be much interest at Peace though, so we'll see if it takes off. Tim is also working on some picture taking for Peace's publications. They're going to be starting an email newsletter soon, and Tim is taking on some of those responsibilities as well.
There isn't much else to share these days. We had a cooler spell last weekend, and Mondays high is supposed to be 83. Jana is really excited about that. Monday is Tim's day off, so hopefully they can enjoy the break from the heat outside somewhere. Pictures to come someday soon!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
"New Baby" Chase
I had a regular office visit on Tuesday morning. I was not impressed with the office. The nurses and desk staff were really nice, but I had to wait a long time. I saw a NP because they're down a doctor. I was unhappy that at 19 weeks I still have not met my primary doctor. You'd think for your first visit they'd want you to meet the doctor and everything. Anyway, the NP was all business, and not at all warm, friendly, or welcoming. I wanted to discuss my desire for a VBAC with her, but after hearing what happened with Norah she basically said she couldn't trust my account of what happened. She had me sign a release for the operating room report in order to "see if that's really how it happened." !!!!! Oh, was I irritated! I understand they want the official information, but she sure could have been a whole lot kinder about it! So, it looks like I'll be waiting until the end of September to meet my doctor and talk about all of that. I'm really hoping she's nicer and things go a lot better next time.
I had an ultrasound yesterday afternoon. I guess this Doctor's Office does these routinely about 20 weeks to do measurements, etc. Well, Baby is measuring at 9 oz. which is approximately 18 weeks 4 days. I was at 19 weeks 1 day, so that's pretty close. We're still on target with a due date of January 28th. So far, it's smaller than Norah, who always measured 1-2 weeks larger than "average." The tech said everything looks good, nothing "out of the ordinary." I'm still feeling great and have gotten a lot of energy back. So far, I've gained only about 3 pounds from where I started, but I did also lose a few earlier. However, there is no hiding the belly now, so I kind of wonder how it's possible I've gained so little! I'm sure that'll change though since now the baby will be growing rapidly and storing up all kinds of (what they call) brown fat.
This is not an impressive picture.... just use your imagination!
Baby is just sucking on his or her thumb and looking all relaxed in there!
As it says... FOOT.
I had an ultrasound yesterday afternoon. I guess this Doctor's Office does these routinely about 20 weeks to do measurements, etc. Well, Baby is measuring at 9 oz. which is approximately 18 weeks 4 days. I was at 19 weeks 1 day, so that's pretty close. We're still on target with a due date of January 28th. So far, it's smaller than Norah, who always measured 1-2 weeks larger than "average." The tech said everything looks good, nothing "out of the ordinary." I'm still feeling great and have gotten a lot of energy back. So far, I've gained only about 3 pounds from where I started, but I did also lose a few earlier. However, there is no hiding the belly now, so I kind of wonder how it's possible I've gained so little! I'm sure that'll change though since now the baby will be growing rapidly and storing up all kinds of (what they call) brown fat.
This is not an impressive picture.... just use your imagination!
Baby is just sucking on his or her thumb and looking all relaxed in there!
As it says... FOOT.Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Chases Visit the Ocean
This past Sunday, we left right after lunch for a short mini-vacation. We stayed with some friends of Tim's family, the Firstbrooks, in San Jose on Sunday night. Tim has not seen them in about 10 years, and I had never met them. We have a terrific visit. They were so welcoming! It was sure nice to chat with people who know some of the same people we do. Donna showed me a Cuttlebug machine for stamping/scrapbooking and let me create some things to bring home. Tim had a great time talking to Walt about his diving for Abalone, etc. Monday morning we left for Santa Cruz and the Ocean.
About a week before our trip, Norah fell in our bedroom and hit her cheek on the metal rail that holds the box spring. She still has a very nice straight line bruise, but now it's a lovely shade of yellow. Someone actually asked us in Santa Cruz if her face was dirty!
Norah enjoyed pointing out all the birdies for us. She loved chasing them with the stroller! It was around 60 degrees and foggy when we first got there and there was a chilly breeze. We enjoyed bundling up since we knew it was about thirty degrees warmer in Fresno.
It was neat to see all the sea lions taking a rest under the wharf. Later in the day we had fun watching as some of the baby sea lions tried and tried and tried to jump up there.
Norah finally was able to find the sea lions.
The sun came out just before lunch time, so we got to enjoy some time on the beach. You should have seen Tim pulling the stroller across the sand! :-D What a good Daddy!
Norah wasn't quite sure what to do the first time she put her feet in the water. Eventually, as I held her hands, she tried to pull me out towards the water each time she saw a wave. We all ended up getting our pant legs wet, but had a great time. We can't wait to go back when Norah is getting around even more on her own!
Daddy made a sandcastle (sort of) for Norah. She fell into the moat sideways and ended up with sand from her ear to her face all the way down to the cuff in her pants. It was just too funny!
Norah was very loving this trip. She stood next to her Daddy for a long time and just patted his back and gave him hugs and kisses. Precious!
I love this picture since I'm not usually in them! We have few photos of Norah with me since I'm the one with the camera everywhere we go.
This carousel is from the early 1900's. I guess the horses were all hand painted and have real hair tails. While we were on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, it was 1907 Night. All rides were just 75 cents. We rode the carousel and took the SkyGlider twice. Norah was really tired by this point, but I think she still had a good time.
I took this picture from the SkyGlider. Just a neat view from up high.
1907 Night also offered hot dogs and drinks for 75 cents. The three of us had dinner for less than $5. Talk about a deal... that was one of the most exciting things for this bargain shopper!
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