Christina

Last night I had such a great conversation over the phone ... yes, over the phone, with the little girl I used to nanny in Connecticut. Christina's not little anymore. She's 17 and a junior in high school. It's been 10 years since I became a part of her family for 20 months. I've seen her three times since I moved back to Nebraska, but recently we've been in contact regularly through facebook. It's been fun to watch her grow and mature (although I thought she was pretty mature when she was 7) into this lovely young woman.

Well, we chatted because of a sad posting she made on facebook. She told me one of her guy friends confided in her that he had been contemplating suicide. Just about one month ago, however, one of her girlfriends from grade school committed suicide, so Christina took the boy's comment seriously.

In discussing this with her, I was amazed and pleased to see that she is still the confident, smart, caring girl that I met a decade ago, and I was honored that she was asking my advice.

During the course of our conversation, we decided she is going to come out and visit me (and Jason) in July!!!!! I got so giddy ... and almost immediately started planning her stay in my head, like play Barbies, make books, watch Sailor Moon cartoons. Then I realized she's not little anymore and would probably enjoy the Omaha zoo or Old Market instead. :)

I went to bed so excited and grateful that the little girl I devoted my days to for nearly two years is as fond of me now as I am of her. It made the experience all worth the while.

Happy Thursday

Sorry it's been awhile since I last blogged ... not that I expect you all to check my postings daily. I've been frustrated b/c I've wanted to blog with my blackberry but can't seem to figure it out.

So we've had a fun and busy week. I took two knitting classes with my friend Angie and finished my first scarf last Sunday! Now I need to stop by String of Purls and purchase my next yarn and needles so I can work on a new one while we drive to North Platte this weekend. Never thought I'd get into knitting, but it was one of my goals - to learn a new skill this year - and I've done it. I think we're going to take a hat knitting class in a couple months.

On Tuesday we went to Lincoln to get adjusted by my brother, Stan. We do this every week and it really seems to work. He's so gentle and good at what he does that we notice when we've gone too long without an adjustment. I love our weekly trips to Lincoln because it provides the opportunity for us to see Stan and sometimes other members of my family ... including the TWINS!

Speaking of the twins, little Samuel is in the hospital this week fighting a bacterial infection and dehydration. William has it too, but not as bad, and is at home. Samuel gave Alicen quite a scare ... all of us really ... but I think he's doing better today.

On the TTC (trying to conceive) front: Still feeling great despite a little pressure in my abdomen earlier this week. We'll just have to wait and see.

Please pray for Jason, who most likely will have to make a big and important decision in the upcoming months. Thanks!

Heavy heart

For the past 2 days I have been overwhelmed with grief and tears as I watch the images of the destruction in Haiti following the earthquake. Seeing such horrible loss, injury and death, I can't help but wonder why the people of Haiti have to continue to suffer over and over again. I am proud of all the humanitarian efforts taking place and I hope supplies, medical treatment and fresh food and water can come upon the people today. I pray God watches over them, takes the souls of those who have died to him, and blesses the aid workers and their efforts.

If I were single, I'd go to Haiti and spend as much time as I could there helping out. But because I can't, I will make a monetary donation and continue to give my prayers.

Let's continue to pray for God's will in Haiti.

Feeling great

So I've been on Clomid for two days now and feel GREAT! I feel I have more energy, better recall and just feel more alive. It's hard to explain. But I guess that's what happens when you go from having nearly non-existing hormones to more normal levels of progesterone and estrogen. This in and of itself is great. Let's hope the other benefit of the medication - ovulation - works, too! Can I stay on this forever? Just kidding. :)

Fresh start

So I've decided to jump on the blog wagon. I don't know if it's because I think people will read it and care, but mostly I think it's because I like to write and sometimes putting my thoughts into words helps me make sense of things.

With the new year, I want to make a fresh start and focus on things that kind of got put off at the end of last year ... things like eating healthy meals and watching my portion sizes (Weight Watchers), exercising five days a week at the gym, going to regular confession (at least once a month), praying with my husband (a new Catholic), and do my best to become a better writer.

One major goal for 2010 is to get pregnant. My husband and I have been trying to concieve for a year now and have been unsuccessful, mainly because I suffer from polycycstic ovarian disease, which causes infertility. Last year I had surgery to remove endometriosis, and yesterday I started my first round of clomid - a fertility drug that is supposed to make me ovulate. I can be on it for six months.

I'm very hopeful that it will work, but hesitate to get overly excited as I don't want to be disappointed if it doesn't. I want to be a mom so badly as almost all of my friends have children and I see the joy and love they experience with children. I know I've been very lucky to get to spend so much time these last two years of marriage focusing on me and my husband as a couple. We spend more time together than apart, which has been very nice. I just know we both would love to have an addition to our family to spread the love between us. I've been very blessed to marry a man who loves me despite my health issues and is willing to be patient and supportive as we work with my doctor at the Pope Paul VI Institute to make our dream a reality.
So here's to a year full of joy, health and a little Maxson.