Spring Cleaning

[J] We will approach this update thematically. I expect this will be somewhat colloquial, as it is evening and I am in a rambling mood.

Our darling son's development rushes on without pause, its more endearing moments captured successfully and promptly by camcorder if not by blogger. We may at some future date have the capability once again of uploading video to our computer and then to this blog, but for now his adoring public must wait to view for itself his finer points. He is crawling vigorously (and mischievously) at every opportunity, including during diaper changes. He babbles much, feeds himself with little fingers, and can drink (but prefers showering) from a sippy cup all by himself. He can take a spoon from your hand, place it in his mouth with relative success, and hand it back to you for a refill. He is beginning to use rudimentary sign language to ask for more. He now has four well-sprouted teeth with more on the way. Given his propensity for exploring electrical cords and outlets, his continued survival is nothing short of miraculous. He loves anything with buttons to push, including remote controls and the power button of the computer. He supports himself standing, and can balance briefly until he realizes he is not leaning against anything. He approaches stairs with enthusiasm. He takes pens out of his father's breast pocket at every opportunity, recently began trying to put them back, and just this weekend he discovered the marvels of the clicking mechanism of the ball-point pen. I face a choice between ink stains and replacing the click pen in my pocket with something safer (a pen light?). In short, our son is a marvel of God's engineering, a wonder to be around and the joy of our lives. All his babysitters are eager for repeat appointments, which must indicate positive things about our son.

In late March Alison took a quick trip to Cedar City to surprise Melissa Singleton with a visit. Their reunion was, as you can imagine, a joyful one, and they had a great time. However, while Alison and Janci Patterson (Alison's driving buddy who eagerly ditched class for a road trip of bonding and updates) attended a show, Melissa was allowed to babysit our son, and he returned to us with a new tattoo. You may imagine our mixed emotion; on the one hand, we were upset that she hadn't waited until he could make that decision for himself. On the other hand, that little green alien made him look so tough! Anyway, the tattoo soon washed off and with it dissolved our enmity. It turns out Alison knew all along it was a temporary tattoo! Ha ha! I guess the joke was on me.

I spent the majority of last month engaged in my preceptorship for nursing school, which meant working full-time for free at the end of the school semester. I had no intention initially of seeking employment at South Davis Community Hospital where I did my student nursing, but I discovered a love for respiratory patients, ventilators, and other things people generally try not to think too much about. I applied there to work at the end of last month after a period of indecision about my future, and I started my orientation this week (not a particularly arduous process after having virtually been employed there for 135 hours). I am enjoying working there so far, and I feel like this is a company that I can be proud to stand behind. It seems very well-organized and well managed. I was originally supposed to start last week, but fate intervened in the form of a sports injury. I had joined a recreational soccer league in Clearfield at the invitation of my sister-in-law, and was trying very hard to be safe - stretching, wearing a brace, warming up well - but after about 20 minutes of the first game I came down from jumping for a ball and my knee popped, and I couldn't walk anymore. Four orthopedic appointments and a very expensive diagnostic test later, I learned that my ACL (which had probably already been compromised but not challenged enough to snap) was gone, with some collateral damage to the meniscus. Those of you who have known me since high school are probably shaking your heads, and with good reason; for those others who joined my story later on, the ACL I just ruined was actually a grafted slice of patellar tendon from the last time my ACL was torn in half during a soccer game, in early 2000. So, I face physical therapy and a costly brace, followed (as soon as I can afford to take another month off from work after not having worked for two months already this year) by another surgery to replace my ACL, probably using a cadaver graft. We will find out soon whether the new insurance that begins in 90 days will cover the surgery; if not, I will probably be under the knife before September hits. Yippee! In related news, I am sorely disappointed to not be able to figure skate.

In better news, I am finally done with school for the time being. The Lord very strongly hinted that now was not the time to begin my BSN work, so I am taking a year off while we try to recover and get things in order. It is great to be in school, and I love furthering my education, but it is nice to be facing a summer off after having enrolled in every possible semester of school (with the exception of the semester after Caleb passed away) since the fall of 2000. I feel that I will not likely receive a BSN from Weber State University, but I will get one somewhere on my way to getting my NP. Still up in the air.

I surprised Alison on her birthday by skipping my last class (which turned out, conveniently enough, to have been cancelled anyway) and going to my parents' house to make dinner. I made homemade spinach ravioli with butter-herb sauce and a few of Alison's favorite side dishes. We spent a nice evening together while grandma and grandpa babysat for us. I mention how great I was with this surprise, because most of my gifts are fairly utilitarian and unimpressive, so the gourmet meals are supposed to make up for it. [A- In addition to the wonderful meal, I was pleasantly surprised that Jordan had bought me a kitchen crockery for putting cooking utensils in. While he may rightly classify this as utilitarian, it was far from unimpressive. For it not only represented a tidy storage unit, but a willingness to give up his preferred storage method for my own which, in my eyes, is nothing less than chivalric.]

[A] One weekend in April, we went to lunch at Kyoto with Michael and Shannon, where we both tried sushi for the first time. I'm sure Michael probably picked the least disturbing varieties for our inaugural experience and I am truly grateful. Honestly, it really wasn't an unpleasant experience aside from the thought process of "am I really going to eat what is very obviously Octopus? really?" The meal was delicious; I had teriyaki chicken (which Michael recommended as the least disturbing, most authentic option) and Jordan tried the teriyaki salmon. Overall, a great new experience which I'm sure we will repeat sometime in the future.

Also since our last update, we celebrated Caleb's 3rd birthday and for this Jordan made a gourmet meal of cupcakes (I made a yummy lemon icing to top them with). We had a fairly informal gathering with some family at the cemetery and shared a few peaceful moments together. When the snow started falling (yes, snow in May), we retreated to Grandma Johnsen's house to continue visiting. The weather kindly took care of the bitter aspect of the day, and we were left to enjoy the sweetness of our companionship.

With the weather getting warmer, Isaac and I have started attending our neighborhood's park days. Every Wednesday, we gather at a park in the area (ranging from Kaysville to Ogden) to let kids play and moms visit. In all honesty, Isaac would probably rather nap at the designated park time, but has none-the-less indulged in my excursions and I dare say enjoyed the time out of doors. Last week, the park we went to had actual sand and I was dumping it all over the changing table for the rest of the day. Good times.

Overall, our spring has been a nice one. It was a bit nerve-wracking to have Jordan off work for so long, but it was also an absolute joy to spend so much time together. We are currently adjusting to Jordan's new schedule of working evenings. Isaac has been a little confused by the absence of his father at bedtime, but has enjoyed the extra daddy play time in the morning. We had a pot luck with some of our neighbors earlier this week and are realizing just how deep our roots have grown. The future is so unpredictable, but from today's vantage point, South Weber is a place we could easily and eagerly call home.