Friday, February 6, 2009

Gladys & Ellen (the show) on You Tube!!

I think I laughed until I couldn't laugh anymore!!

Supposedly this is completely real, and knowing a few 88 year old myself, I'm inclined to think it could be... but then again, Gladys sounds an awfully lot like a female version of Larry the Cable Guy... just not a potty mouth!

Anyway, if you haven't heard it yet, go to You Tube and do a search for "I Love Jesus but I Drink a Little." Yep, that is right.... I can't explain, just go and listen for yourself...

smiles
N

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Can you keep up with your fellow blogger?

I found out today I had a "follower" on my blog... a cousin of Dirk's who recently moved to Quebec (Hi Brian!)... I realized I have about 10 blogs on my "favorites list"... so I went to my "Dashboard" to see if I could figure out how to add them, so I would be notified automatically when they update thier blog... It works!! How cool is that!

Just thought I'd pass the information along in case any of you want to do the same... maybe everyone knows this but me?!

Have a great SuperBowl weekend everyone!
smiles

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

thor's eye surgery... all is well...

Seems like there has been one too many medical entries on our blog lately?! Well, anyway... we just praise the Lord that HE is our healer!

They surgery was schedule for Tuesday (Jan 27th) at 8:30 a.m., by Dr. Nixon, the Pediatric Specialist at the Regional Eye Institute in RC. I should have brought my camera to record the day, but Thor said "NO... this is private stuff, mom..." I guess telling you all about our day is as good as it will get!

We checked in at 7:30 a.m. Thor was very relaxed... definitely God's peace at work in him! He is often quite nervous about anything new or different. All the pre-op stuff went smoothly, getting changed into the hospital gown, going over his medical history, picking out the flavor for his giggle gas mask, etc. This time the nurses and staff addressed questions directly to Thor, not to ME!? Just another sign of how much he is growing up!

Dirk had wanted to stay until Thor was taken into the OR, but he had a safety training meeting at Butler that was required ... if I had known it was the same day I wouldn't have scheduled surgery that day... but in the end, it was OK that he wasn't there the whole time. He was with us through almost all of the pre-op stuff, and got to his class just in the nick of time. There was a lot of sitting and waiting time for us... Then Dirk was able to be home much earlier in the evening since he had been in RC all day!

Thor and I chatted while he waited for his 'relaxation' medication to take full effect. He thought the medicine would make him fall asleep instantly... so he kept joking with me, and acting like he has "passed out"... complete with sticking his tongue out and flopping his head over. I asked him what he was doing... and he just giggled. First sign the medication was working! He never did get really loopy... but just as they were wheeling him into the OR, I did notice he wasn't able to complete he own sentence... so he was obviously ready.

Dr. Nixon came out after the surgery was complete and said both eyes were done, and he was very pleased with the outcome. No challenges, even though he had some scar tissue from the previous procedure. He only made one incision in each eye, to tighten the muscles on the outside corner of each eye. We are very thankful for Dr. Nixon.. he is a very quiet, kind man. We have found out recently (not from him of course) that he is one of the most highly trained doctors in this area in the USA... one of only 5 that work at this level. Certainly such a blessing to have this all in our own town... the other 3 families waiting for surgery that morning had travelled from many hours away... as the staff said is very common.

Thor started to wake up about 20 minutes later, so I was able to join him in the recovery room. He looked very good, was very drowsy still, but not complaining at all. I chatted with him, and helped him get sips of his Sprite while he continued to wake up. Everyone commented that he did great... his vital signs were "rock solid" according to the Anesthesiologist.

They brought Thor out to the car in a wheel chair, and helped me "load" him up to go home about 12:00 noon. We went to the pharmacy to get his prescription drops (antibiotic and pain reliever for his eyes)... and were home by 1:00 p.m.

Thor had really wanted to go to hockey practice that evening (before surgery)... but realized the staff was right... he wasn't going to feel like doing much for the rest of the day (at least!). He did get hungry finally, around 4p.m. and got his favorite PB & honey toast with a banana. The rest of the evening he really started to "perk up"... and even got his homework assignments done before he went to bed. No signs of any side effects... they warned us about him seeing double for a few hours... and having an upset stomach. No trouble with either.

I wasn't going to send him to school until noon today, I thought I'd let him sleep in and enjoy a quiet morning at home... but he woke up naturally at 6:45 a.m. and got himself ready for school. So he's back into the regular routine already! He still has quite a bit of redness in the outside corner of his eyes... that will take a bit more time to heal.

Thanks for all of your kind thoughts and prayers... God is GOOD... ALL the time!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Atadmore

Anika: Mom... What is "atadmore."

Me: MMMmmm...? I don't know... can you show me one?

Anika: Kailey said it was "atadmore"... that it had "atadmore" frosting than the other sweet roll...

Me: (smiling...) OH... A "tad" more?!! Yep, I know what that means!!

Now Anika knows a new word...

Tad: tad   /tæd/ [tad]

–noun Informal.
1. a small child, esp. a boy.
2. a very small amount or degree; bit:

Please shift your chair a tad to the right. The frosting could use a tad more vanilla.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Thor... and his eyes!

January is our semi-annual check up with Dr. Nixon, Thor's opthamologist. When Thor was 3 he had surgery to correct both eyes from crossing (strabismus). He actually wore glasses for about 2 months... but the glasses did not help to correct the issue, so surgery was scheduled for late May 2004. He was 3 1/2 then, and the recovery was very quick.

Thor has had annual visits with Dr. Nixon to 'watch' his eyes, to be sure his eyesight is staying on track in three different areas: his vision (20/20 nearly... so that is GREAT!!); his depth perception (not so great right now); and the crossing. I don't know what unit of measurement they use to describe the "crossing" but Thor is current at "25." Normal range is from 0-8.

January 27th he will go back for a 2nd strabismus procedure, Dr. Nixon will tighten a few of the outside muscles, to help pull his eyes out; as well as weaken a few of the inside muscles ... so they can't pull his eyes in quite as much.

As we scheduled the surgery date, Thor was not a very happy camper. He gets pretty nervous about any medical procedure, even getting his teeth cleaned the first time was a major ordeal! I think it's really the "unknown"... the more we talk about what he can expect, the usual procedure for things, what it will feel like (for example... it WON'T hurt ... not much at least)... he starts to relax and does much better.

One recent visit at the Dr.'s office to check out a large wart on his finger ended up in him throwing up all over the clinic floor... he was so nervous the Dr. was going to use a "LASER" to "kill" his wart, he just couldn't contain himself (literally!). Then she told him he never uses a laser on kids under 12... he was much better for the rest of the appointment!

Anyway -- we've been talking about what will happen the day of his surgery... He won't be able to eat or drink when he gets up in the morning... We'll be with him in the pre-op room... he gets some medicine called the "I don't care" cocktail.... he goes to sleep... 1/2 hour later it's all done... they bring dad and I into the "wake up room" and then he gets to pick out whatever kind of pop he wants to drink... and in about an hour we can take him home again.

BTW: recovery time is 24 hours!! Pretty cool, huh?!! Except he can't swim for 7 days... so he will miss one of his swim lesson classes (with Zion classmates), but he'll be able to get back to school by noon on Wednesday, or for sure first thing Thursday!

Now Thor says the surgery sounds like "fun..." He can't wait to pick out his soda pop! (he hasn't been allowed to drink pop while he's had his braces on... so this will be an exception)....

Monday, December 29, 2008

Christmas Family Fun...

Morrison Family ChristmasChristmas Eve and Day were quiet but wonderful family days at our home. Funny how 12 years of marriage have changed the way we want to celebrate the Holidays!?

Our first Christmas together as the Dirk and Nancy Morrison family started out with more than 12 hours waiting (and a little flying) travelling from Colorado to Sioux Falls. Dirk promised to never travel over Christmas again...The next Christmas Dirk went skiing with a friend the early part of the day, then returned home to a very unhappy wife (hadn't started that way, just found out I didn't want to be ALONE on Christmas?!!)...

Now we can't imagine our family holiday time any other way, except home with our kids... experiencing the traditions ... creating memories... and a little extra spoiling with presents and fun Christmas Day!

Dirk took out the sleds and ATV... pulled Thor around the yard until there wasn't enough snow to pull the sled anymore! !Then he took Liv out for a "walking pull"... she liked being outside, but not the sled as much!

Moeller/Morrison Family Christmas
Saturday we spent the day at my parent's home with my brother Ted and his family. Before we opened gifts, Grandma wanted to hear some singing and reading. Anika sang "In a little Stable" and Thor read the Christmas Story from Luke 2.

Later we enjoyed a wonderful family evening skating at the Roosevelt Park Ice Area.
Anika was a little disappointed she couldn't skate better... as she skated/walked around the rink she was saying (out loud) to herself "I'm working hard today so I can skate better next time..." Abbie and Anna were great skaters too, especially for having only skated once before. Jan was the designated babysitter for Theo -- he was a very happy boy... watching, smiling and waving as we skated by... and waved to him through the glass.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Lefse Making Day!


Today is the DAY! Two years in the waiting...

I was WAY to tired last year to make lefse, the "cheater style" or the traditional style.

Cheater = using dried potato flakes, adding boiling water, cooling

Traditional = starting with raw potatoes: washing, peeling, cutting, boiling, mashing, rice-ing(special tool), cooling

3 children and WAY too many obligations put a lot of things on the "have-to-wait-list."

This year we are back to the usual family traditions: Christmas card, decorations on the tree (yes, last year it was only lights), lefse, rolled Christmas cookies, spritz cookies...

I love my friend Anne's comments:
"I think all non-Christmas activities should cease for the month of December so that families can really focus on each other and what this season is really all about. Just revel in some peace and meditate on Jesus. No cub scouts, no sports, no Awana, no small groups. Just family. Society doesn't have to go along with me, but that's how I plan to honor Christmas next December. A month-long Sabbath."

I WHOLE HEARTED-ly agree!! I'm with ya' Anne... next year we're going to take a December Sabbatical for the Morrison family too! Wonder what Dirk's boss will say when I tell him he can't go to work for the month? (just kidding, but a girl can wish can't she?)

Blessing and smiles to you all.
PS: for those of you who are wondering, since I mentioned Christmas cards, they are done... just not "posted" yet. They'll be in the mail soon... I just have to buy more stamps!