Monday, January 20, 2014

A time of patience

Saturday morning, I drove through a blizzard. A real South Dakota highway of nothingness blowing snow zero visibility blizzard. I was coaching a swim meet in Watertown, which is about 60 miles north of Brookings. On Friday, it took me about 55 minutes to get from our house to the swim pool. On Saturday morning, it took me 1 hour 50 minutes. There were definitely points when I thought, this is ridiculous and I should turn around. There were also points that I thought that it wasn’t that bad of a drive. And there were points that all I could do was pray.
That drive was a good reminder to me that while I can’t see what is in the future, there is a destination. There is a final point that I am traveling to. And there will always be a few angels and a God to watch over me and protect me on that journey. While I may not know why things are happening, there is a purpose of the timing.
When people think of January, they think of new beginnings and a time to start fresh. I’m beginning to think that January is a time for me to quickly learn patience and learn that there is a greater plan for me. January has held some happy times and some sad times for me. January 2005 was when Phil and I went on our first real date. January 2007 was when I started my internship with the City of Colorado Springs. January 2008 was the month that I got to start planning our wedding. January 2011 was the month that Phil interviewed for and accepted the airport manager position in Brookings. January 2012 had some major ups and downs. That was the month we had a miscarriage and I had a D&C procedure. But it was also the month that we moved into our first home. January 2013 was the start of baby prepping the house, as well as the start of some of my pregnancy issues. With so much happening in the previous January’s, I should not be surprised that this January has a few moments that make me remember that God is in control. From starting a new job of teaching a course at SDSU to driving a different car to seeing Olivia grow up in the blink of an eye, there is so much to be thankful for. This January though, Phil and I are thankful for technology and medical care.
A week ago, we were sitting at the table for dinner and Olivia was eating some cut up fruit and veggies. She started to make a weird jerking/twitching move and Phil and I just looked at each other, asking ‘what’s up?’ She would have the movement, then be fine, then do it again. I immediately went to the phone to call my mom (Nurse Jean to the rescue!) and by that time, Olivia had stopped. During the whole two to three minutes, Olivia had about five or six of these one to two second twitches. She would smile and giggle and was in a good mood during the episode. We cautiously watched her and since we couldn’t truly explain what was going on, we thought she had a minor reaction to a new food she tried. Two days later, I gave her that same food and the twitches happened again. Thankfully, I had the iPad close and was able to video a few clips. I sent them to Nurse Jean, called Phil and we talked about what we should do. Thursday at lunch (she didn't eat that fruit again), Olivia had three minor episodes and away to the pediatrician she went. After a physical evaluation and blood work (which was normal), the doctor watched the video clips we had, asked a few questions and then said she would recommend we go see a pediatric neurologist. Our appointment is April 1, so we feel okay that our doctor doesn’t think it is urgent enough to get her in sooner. But now we sit and wait. And pray. And give a few more hugs and kisses. And know that during this blizzard of our life right now, while we can’t see what is to come, we know that we have the guidance of a loving and caring God.

 

Saturday, January 4, 2014

10 month update

Olivia here! I'm reporting for mommy, since she's busy trying to go around the house and think of items she needs to get to baby-proof the house for me! I thought I would update you all on how life is, now that I'm a 10 month old. As you may have guessed, I am now a crawling little girl! I gave mommy and daddy that special gift on Christmas Eve and took my first crawling movement and I haven't stopped since that day. My teachers at daycare have even commented on how much I move these days. And how much I eat!  Who would have guessed 9 months ago when I was struggling to eat, that I would be eating anything and everything these days! I love baby puffs and almost any pureed food. I used to prefer certain foods, but now I eat anything. I am trying new foods almost every week, with the most recent additions being meat. I have two teeth right now on the bottom and love sticking everything in my mouth!
I know a lady should never tell her weight, but I'm right around 17 pounds (at the doctor's office on December 30, I weighed 17 pound 4 ounces, but that was with my clothes on). I am fitting very comfortably in 9 month clothes, so mommy will probably be packing up the 6 month clothes soon (since I still fit into some of them).
I'm 10 months old!
My favorite things to do during the day are to play, crawl and play some more! I love the new toys I got for Christmas, and my favorites are my activity garden, Discovery links and the foam mat with alphabet letters. Or any box will do! During the day, I go to daycare for a few hours, but spend most of the time with mommy at home. I also love singing, giggling and babbling and mommy and daddy will always smile when I make these noises. Since I am so active during the day, you would think that I would sleep a lot at night... but, I still enjoy getting up every 3-4 hours. I just like to make sure mommy and daddy don't forget what my voice sounds like! The other day, I mastered the skill of going from a laying down position to a sitting position and I had so much fun perfecting it that night. Mommy was a little scared when she came in and saw me sitting up in bed. The next morning, I gave dad a little scare too when he heard clicking coming from my room. He came in to find me sitting up and pulling on my mobile! So, I am definitely growing and learning lots of new things!
Christmas in IA
Christmas in CO
Christmas in SD
We had a wonderful Christmas (times three!) and it was fun seeing all of the lights and hearing the pretty music at church. I joined in singing sometimes, even if other people weren't singing. Christmas in Colorado was a lot of fun with Mimi and Poppi and Uncle Tom. I did really well on both flights (even after a 3 hour delay at the airport in Sioux Falls). While we were in CO, I had a lot of fun playing, seeing the mountains, visiting new friends and I even treated mommy and daddy to few nights of long sleeps (like 5-6 hours)! Then, Christmas Eve and Christmas day were with mommy and daddy at our house. And last weekend, we went to George to have Christmas with the Tiedeman family. It was a weekend full of hanging out with my cousins and playing with toys.
I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve! We were pretty boring here and were in bed pretty early. Mommy and I celebrated the ball dropping on the pacific coast when I was up during the night. But, January 1 was a day of relaxation and recovering from a little cold and ear infection I had. I wish everyone happiness and health in 2014!
Merry Christmas from the Tiedeman family!