9th Week Before Summer Break

This past week was super busy getting back into the groove of going to work and getting ready for Easter. The weather was quite lovely this past week and it feels like spring might actually make an appearance. Just for the fun of it I took some pictures of the trees though at this time they still are bare but will try to track their progress. The tulips are popping up, the crocus are blooming and many other signs of life are happening in nature - Praise God in always being faithful to bring us spring.

To add to the spring aura Dan brought me flowers at work early in the week. It was so refreshing to see the beautiful colors and was very thoughtful of him. Thank you Dan!!!

It was nice enough on Saturday to actually have the first bon fire of the season. Oh, the smell of wood smoke was a delightful fragrance.

We also received some good news regarding Dan's progress in being able to walk on his foot once again. He had an appoinment this morning and Dr. gave him the go ahead to bear weight but he is suppose to wear his boot for another 4 weeks. This surgery is becoming a much longer ordeal than he or I originally thought but we are thankful for the added mobility.

Spring Break

The last week in March rolled around and that meant it was time for spring break. It was nice to get the break in the school year and have a chance to catch up. I enjoyed sleeping in, going out for lunch, having coffee with a friend, spending time with the kids and just generally not having to be somewhere every morning. On Saturday we went to Albert Lea and met Mary, Dee, Kody and Renee at Kathryn's house. We had lunch together and hung out for a couple hours. It was fun. They were exchanging cars with Renee and it was a nice half way place for them to meet.

On Thursday Dan had a Dr. appointment because of some swelling in his leg and it was discovered through an ultra sound that he has a blood clot in his leg. He has to give himself Heparin shots and will be taking coumadin for a few months trying to dissolve the clot. It seems he is going for the record in complications from bunions. Hopefully the end is in sight. He goes back to the Dr. next Monday and we are praying that his foot will be healed enough to bear weight on it and he can get moving again.

Weekend Fun

Weekend Fun Part 1

Wedding Fun - I got my picture with the beautiful bride!

This past weekend was one that was so enjoyable for many reasons. On Saturday the weather was just beautiful, sunny and 60s, for March in Minnesota that is pretty good. I was able to sleep in that day, had time to go for a walk, and relax for most of the day. In the afternoon we got ourselves dressed up and headed out the door to Allison's wedding which was to start at 3:21. The wedding was just beautiful and we enjoyed seeing the happy couple as they said their vows and began their life together. Our good friends Bob and Marilyn came up from Missouri for the occasion and it was so fun to get to spend some time with them as well.

Girlfriends - Jane, mother of the bride and Marilyn my friend from Missouri.

Weekend Part 2

The second part of the weekend was fun too! Mikaela turned nine on Sunday and we got to have lunch with them after church and in the evening went to her birthday party. Denise made yummy enchiladas and rice with chips and homemade salsa. After dinner, Mikaela blew out her candles and opened gifts. It was a really fun time. I can't believe she is getting so big. She is such a blessing to me and I thank God for giving her to us.

She chose Funfetti cake with ice cream and strawberries - She is her Grandma's granddaughter!

Sad News Brings Opportunity

We have been looking forward to this day, counting down the weeks at first then the days. Dan had an appointment to see his surgeon and was fully anticipating a "go" for putting his foot back into service. The good news is that his foot is healing and looks good but the sad news is that it is not ready for full weight bearing and he has to be on crutches for another month, ugh! He has been making plans to do some projects and they have again been placed on the back burner. In the whole scope of life this is nothing to get bothered over but on a day to day basis it is a little disappointing. Our wise and good God tells us to rejoice and give thanks in all things so here is an opportunity to trust the Lord and know that He will work all things out for good.

Where Does the Time Go?

It has been several weeks now since I last posted partly because we haven't done much that is really post worthy and partly because the time has seem to just fly away. I am getting most anxious for some warmer weather and have hunkered down and am just waiting for that to happen. Life does go on even while waiting so I will document some of the random things we have been doing.

Dan's foot has continued to heal and of this day he is still in a boot and on crutches. It has been six weeks since surgery and he sees the doctor on Monday. We are planning that everything will be healed up and he will get to start walking on his foot again. It is hard to believe but he is a little hesitant to walk on that foot now.


Mikaela came one weekend and stayed with us while Denise was out of town and Tommy had class in the cities. She had picked a recipe out of a cookbook and we made some cream cheese bars. We did a little shopping that weekend and had a good time together.

We started out with a chocolate cookie crust. She ground up the cookies and we spread them out in the pan.


We mixed the cream cheese in the mixer with the eggs and sweetened condensed milk.

We reserved some out to make the chocolate part and then swirled them together.

The finished product - they turned out really good and actually got better as the aged a bit.

A perk of being the cook is getting to lick the beater - yum yum.

Rochester Better Chance had their annual gala on March 6th and we watched the girls while Tommy and Denise attended the event. We went over to their house and took Mikaela's favorite meal, Valentino lasagna, and spent the evening playing. Elise entertained us with her antics.

This weekend Brian invited Nichole and Isaac to come to Rochester and we were able to meet them. We have enjoyed their visit and the rest of the family came over this evening for dinner. We had a good meal and enjoyed being together.









That wraps up the last month in a nutshell. God has been good in so many ways to our family and I am grateful for his love and mercy shown everyday. Next weekend we will celebrate Mikaela's 9th birthday. Fun and more fun!

Spice and Sugar - A Perfect Combination for Valentine's Day

Saturday, a wonderful day for sleeping in. Often what happens on Saturday morning is that I will wake up at about the time I normally get up so when I looked at the clock and it said 5:10 it was especially nice to lay in bed a little longer. As it turned out it was close to 8:00 before I actually got up. I LOVE Saturday mornings when I can sit and have my coffee and read my Bible and just ease into the day. That is exactly how my day started and it was wonderful.

The Spice

Since Dan had his foot surgery getting out has consisted of going to the doctor or the emergency room so we decided to get lunch somewhere and settled on Carlo's O'Kelly, one of our favorite places and thus the spicy part of my day. We left around 11:30, got a table right away and enjoyed a wonderful lunch. By the time we left there was a wait so we were glad we went early. I stopped at the grocery store and picked up a few things and that was the extent of our outing but it was fun to get out and do something together.

The Sugar

In the evening Mikaela and Elise came to spend the evening while Tom and Denise got together for a fondue dinner with some friends just up the street. While they were dipping we were frosting and doing a little dipping ourselves. I had made Valentine cookies ahead of time and we decorated them with either pink, purple, or turquoise frosting and sprinkled and with a wide variety of sugars and little decorations. We also dipped pretzels and decorated them. Thus the sugar part of my Valentines day. I enjoyed seeing the girls and I hope they had a good time.

What Fun

For a time now Dan has been having trouble with a bunion on his left foot. Two years ago he had a small surgery that was suppose to help it but it did not really do the job and it had gotten pretty bad again. A bigger repair was done a week ago and we are hoping that it will be much better after it heals.

Before the surgery you can see where the baby toe is sticking out on the side.He emerged from surgery with a great big bandage on his foot. The surgeon straightened out the toe and placed 2 little screws in the bone to hold it in place until it healed. There was also another little bone spur on the top of his foot that was removed.

Three days later we went back in to have it casted. After the bandage came off you can see what repair was made. The toe is much straighter now.

Also notice the rash on his leg. That should have given us a clue that his leg was not happy all bandaged up. We weren't listening though.

They fixed him up with a pretty orange cast. It was on his leg for less than 24 hours.

In the evening of that day he broke out in hives, especially in places that were closed in and a little warm - not fun. A big problem though was that where we could see underneath his cast it was all broke out. It was driving him CRAZY. In being married to Dan for 34 years I have never seen him be so bothered by anything. We went to the ER and waited and waited and waited and eventually they gave him Benadryl - whoppee, and then they did split open his cast. The resident that was seeing him was a little hesitant to just take it off and by this time the Benadryl had worked some so it was a little better. To make a long story short he should have just taken the thing off. We got home about 2:00 AM and were able to sleep. In the morning it was bad again so off to the clinic this time. They finished the job that had been started in the ER the night before and this is what his leg looked like

His surgeon saw him and was dumbfounded as to what was going on. He was put into a boot instead of a cast and it appears that he will just stay in it. His doctor's comment was "you are just a very complex person".

Stay tuned for the ongoing adventures of Dan's bunion - or non bunion at this point.