our baseball fanatic son

I promise to get some Thanksgiving pics on here soon, but had to share a video with you. Not only does Brady probably not get much choice in the things he'll hopefully love and what we watch on TV - he now has embraced baseball so much that when he is pitching . . . he only throws strikes. Which you'll hear for yourself in the following clip.

we had a bit of a rough week last week. Tuesday 11/18/08 we lost James' maternal grandmother, Violet Stiller. Doctors had warned us they felt the end was near, and so it was. She was on her morning walk with Grandpa when she collapsed. The prayer service was last Friday and funeral Saturday in Zumbrota, MN. While it was a sad time that brought us together - it was a celebration in that all of her 23 grandchildren were together for the first time in many years. I even got to meet a couple of James' cousins that I hadn't yet met - so I have now officially met all his first cousins.

11/18 is usually a somber date for another reason - in 1988 on that very same day is when James lost his father. Funny in a weird way how things happen . . .

As if James didn't have enough reasons to remember 11/18 - he experienced his first kidney stone that afternoon - or so we found out later. He took himself to the walk-in clinic that evening because the pain was quite unbearable, enough that he couldn't finish a sentence without having to stop to wince in pain. Tuesday night and in to Wednesday was tough, Wednesday it got a little better and Thursday it turned worse again - so much that I took James to the ER. We both learned more about kidney stones, got some cool pictures from his CT scan and even better . . . he passed the stone while in the ER.

He's still a bit sore and I'm sure the 5 hour drive on Friday and Saturday was no help - but there was nothing that was going to stop him from being at his grandmother's funeral . . . even a kidney stone.

Hope you all have a wonderful & loving Thanksgiving - remember to give thanks for all you have . . . . every day :)

Not so great news

Happy or good news is not what I bring to the blog tonight. Today has been a long one, in only negative ways. Today marks 20 years since James lost his dad, which of course is a sad day in itself.

Sadly, the news got worse - we received a phone call early this morning that his maternal grandmother had passed away. While her passing was somewhat expected, the actuality and finality is always hard. We are so grateful that we were able to visit with her this past summer and say our goodbyes at that time.

Additionally, James spent some time at the doctor this evening for some intense pain he was having in his mid to lower back which has turned out to be a kidney stone. I think we're both relieved he went to be seen and received some medication to help with the pain. He's having some trouble dealing with the next stage right now - but know that it has to run its course and was told it could pass in a few days or take as long as 2-3 weeks. Cross your fingers for the shorter!

Hope all are doing well!

Halloween

Halloween was definitely a blast this year - Brady's first time actually trick-or-treating and he LOVED it! We were a little unsure how he might react to others in costume, but wasn't scared and called many by name (Batman, Spiderman, Elmo, etc). That was a nice surprise - you just never know.

We sure think our little "Jeff Gordon" was cute - but you can be the judge :)

He was able to be with his cousins, Grant & Dylan which always makes for a good time. We were actually successful in getting the 3 to stop long enough to get a picture - pretty good considering they were having a blast looking through their candy buckets and running around. Grant was dressed as a Twins baseball player, Justin Morneau he tells me - Brady as Jeff Gordon - and Dylan as Elmo (or mo-mo as he calls him, I love that).

job change

Hello all!!! It's been a little while - sorry about that! Happy to report that my thyroid has been behaving, I actually get cold sometimes - haven't had that for 2 years or more.

I wanted to let you know that in 2 weeks I will be leaving MeritCare, which has been my "home" for the past 6 years (and some change). I will be soon working for Dr Jeffrey Harvey, an orthodontist, in south Moorhead. My position is called a scheduling coordinator, which has similar functions of my job here at MeritCare, but a few new ones I don't even know all about yet.

I've been a little frustrated with MeritCare in the inability for advancement and growth, so felt I needed a change - maybe it's turning 30 and need to "mix it up" in this new decade, I don't know. I am a creature of comfort, so am a little anxious about the change, but it's what I need to do right now and is good for my family, finally putting that bachelor's degree to use.

It will mean changes in our daily life, James will now have to bring Brady to daycare, but I will still pick him up. I think James is actually excited for that, just to become a part of that daily routine that he hasn't been for 2 years, except on rare occasion. Being in the dental world, I'll get to frequently have Fridays off - not sure what I'm going to do yet with that time but excited to find out.

So - that is a change in my/our world and hoping for the best. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well in the transition and my new co-workers like me!! :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Fall Festival

We had such a fun time on Sunday going to our first Fall Festival here at Rheault Farms. For those of you not familiar - it's a farm-like layout that turns into a pumpkin patch of sorts for the last 2 weekends in September and is run by the Fargo Parks and Rec department.

Kids can pick their own pumpkins, decorate them with glitter, ride ponies, shoot hoops, toss bean bags, ring toss, ride the train, jump in the bounce house, climb the inflatable ladder and slide down the other side and other things. This was our first time at any sort of pumpkin patch with Brady, so were quite exited - and of course took plenty of pictures.

We were joined by our good friends Sonny & Christy and their daughter, Jada. Jada is just over 5 months younger than Brady and they have a really good time together.

Apparently something about falling down was quite funny . . .

The only thing he wasn't having was the ponies. He was a big talker until it was his turn to get on for a ride - he curled himself up in a ball so his feet wouldn't even touch it

He did surprise us in liking the slide - although, as you'll see, I got to go with him. Can't say I minded too much after he realized he was safe and when his belly laughing started. I was afraid we wouldn't get him to do anything else.

Hopefully the LAST thyroid update!

I was right!!! The pink pills are it! I had another blood test on Sept 25 to find that my levels are now in the normal range. My TSH level is at 3.69 - nicely in the middle of the 0.4-5.0 normal range. So - this is the right dosage and as far as I know, I only have to have it tested once a year now. I was too excited to ask questions when I got the phone call! Just wanted to share the good news!