Long time no Blog...

So I know it has been quite awhile since I last wrote on here. It doesn't help that I don't have the internet at home so I have to try and update this at work. Well a lot has happened since July, lets see if I can get everyone caught up.

Bill has been having some trouble healthwise the last couple of months. If you don't know, he has to chew his food to death just so he can swallow it. He has a history of choking if he doesn't pulverize the food. Well one night he was eating cereal and began to choke on it. WARNING!!!! Graffic content... to dislodge the food he forces himself to throw up. Anyway, after he threw up, he still struggled to drink water. This lasted for a couple of days before he decided he needed to be seen for it. Bill came into the doctor's office and was given various Rxs to see if they would help. They thought he might have a bad case of acid reflux, but after speaking with a specialist, they wanted him to get his throat scoped. So Bill went in, low and behold, they found an almond sliver lodged in his throat. They also found that his throat was the size of a straw. Most people's throats are 2cm (or 20mm) and Bill's was 3-4mm. Pretty much the size of a 2 yr old's throat. So he was given some medication to help "open up" his throat and also had his throat stretched. We go back in to have his throat looked at in a couple of weeks. Fingers-crossed the meds work and his throat has reached 8-10mm (the celebration size).

We also have a new addition to our family. He was born on July 30, 2009 with brown curly hair and blue eyes. His name is Bodee and he is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever (had ya fooled, didn't I?). He and Mick act just like brothers. One minute they are cuddling up to each other and the next they are wrestling around and fighting. Bodee has been a fun addition to our little family. He has quite the personality and just loves to be loved.

Our house is slowly coming together. I haven't done much painting since May so some of our walls are still multi-colored. I have finally hung some things on the walls so they are not quite a bare as they were. Give me another year or so and I might get the hallway done.

Anyway, I think that is enough for now. I will try to be better about updating this more often, but I make no promises. Until next time...

I love you Grandma!

On Thursday July 9, 2009, I received a call from Eric (oldest brother) while at work. Now our family doesn't call just to chat so I knew something was up. I answered the phone and asked him what was up. He said that Grandma Fairchild had passed away earlier in the day. I wasn't sure if he was serious and all I could say was "your joking". Unfortunately he was not. Grandma died of a massive heart attack while at Physical Therapy. She was on the treadmill and had gotten off to grab the sanitizer spray. As she was walking to pick it up, she collapsed. The Physical Therapists began CPR and revived her for just a moment, but then she was gone. Grandpa Fairchild was there with her when she passed. Grandma was laid to rest on Wednesday, July 15, 2009, next to her parents in Nampa, Idaho. The following is Grandma's obituary:

Lorraine (Geisler) Fairchild 1925 - 2009 Lorraine Fairchild, 83, a long-time resident of Nampa, Idaho, died suddenly Thursday, July 09, 2009 in Nampa of causes related to age. Lorraine was born September 1, 1925 to Lester Fredrick Geisler and Ada Andersen, in Central, Bannock (now Caribou), Idaho. She moved with her family to Nampa in May 1929. While attending Nampa High School, she met her future husband, Wayne Oliver Fairchild. They married on June 20, 1942. Their marriage was later sealed in the Salt Lake LDS Temple on October 8, 1959. The focus of Lorraine's life was her husband Wayne and their children: Terry Wayne (Nancy) Fairchild of Nampa, Diane (Lynn) Christiansen of Boise, Loanne (Terry) Adler of Caldwell, and Kevin Jon Fairchild of Nampa; their 17 grandchildren, 44 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild. A life long member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Lorraine held various callings including Relief Society President, Primary President, and Temple Worker in the Boise Idaho Temple. She served a full-time mission with her husband in the Denver Colorado Mission from 1986 - 1987 primarily serving in Fort Collins, Colorado and Guymon, Oklahoma where they made many friends. She spent her last years providing service for LDS Humanitarian efforts and LDS Family History Indexing. Her talents were many, but remembered most by her family will be her pot roasts, homemade chicken & noodles and potato salad; the many wedding quilts that adorned her children and grandchildren's beds; the canned fruits, jams and jellies, pickles and other assorted vegetables, much of which came from her large garden; the personally monogrammed baby towels that greeted each new descendent; the birthday cards she sent on each child, grandchild and great-grandchild's birthday; the many and various family histories and stories of her progenitors and descendants alike. Besides her parents, Lorraine was preceded in death by a daughter Judy Ann, a son Darwin G, her brothers Keith Lester and Lyle Andrew Geisler, her sister Maxine (Geisler) Bristow and one great-grandchild, Jessica Dawn Fairchild. Funeral services will be held 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 15 in the Nampa 33rd Ward LDS Chapel, 6111 Birch Lane, Nampa. A viewing will be held from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at Zeyer Funeral Chapel, 83 N. Midland Blvd. Nampa, and at the church on Wednesday from 12-12:45 p.m. prior to services. Bishop Shawn Adams will preside. Interment will follow at Kohlerlawn Cemetery, Nampa.

Health News

Okay so the health in mine and Bill's little family has not been so great lately. Bill was sick with the flu for about a week (starting 2 weeks ago). We happened to catch it early enough that he only missed 2 days of work. That and I work at a doctor's office and made him go in to be seen. I can report, after some meds and rest, that he is feeling much better and only has a cough still hanging on.

Now for myself, it is not that easy. For the past 7 months I have been having what I refer to as episodes. It all started out with flashes of "memories". Now I don't know if they are memories of things that actually happened to me or were in a movie or a dream. All I know is I would have a flash of this memory and try to concentrate on it to figure out what it was. I would then get light-headed, nauseated, and kinda disoriented, all of this followed by a headache and sometimes a cold sweat. I would have to either lie down or put my head between my legs so not to pass out. Since it all started, I have had upwards of 20+ episodes, with some being worse than others, but not all with the memory flash. I have had them while lying down, sitting, standing, talking to someone, eating, sleeping, working, or just being plain lazy. There is no common denominator between all instances. They only last for about 2-3 minutes, or at least I think that is the timing. I am just baffled.

Well most recently I had them Monday, Tuesday night and Wednesday day. I finally got fed up with feeling this way and decided to be checked out by one of my bosses (remember I work in a doctor's office). I had my blood sugar, blood pressure, and heart rate tested, all of which were normal. I then had blood drawn and tested, everything normal and in tip top shape. So what could it be? We don't know. So next Friday, I will be going to have a CT Scan of my head to see if there is any neurological damage. (I know I just left myself open for jokes.) If nothing is found, I am not sure what is next. Maybe just forget about it or do more extensive tests. We shall see. Until next time...

Dreams...

Okay so I need a dream interpreter. I have been having some very odd dreams lately. First, I have a dream that I am pregnant, but don't tell my husband because I am afraid that he will be mad at me. I am afraid that he will think I got pregnant on purpose so I wouldn't have to work anymore (I want to stay home w/ the kids).

The next night I had a dream about Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. They look the same, but a more teenage version of themselves. They are singing a duet, not odd, but it was not a song they have ever sung together. It was a Shania Twain song. I can't quite remember the name of it, but it was about being a woman. I'm sure if I heard it, I could point it out.

Then a couple of nights later I had a dream about some famous lady. I can't remember who it is, but I know she is well known (we'll call her Susie). Anyway, she was being threatened at her home and ran to the neighbor's house. He was some creepy guy that only wanted to do harm to people. The guy's daughter (let's say Donna) came home and took Susie away before her dad could do any harm. As Donna and Susie are walking down the street, things just start flying at them. First it is newspapers and then it escalates to larger items like cars and buses. I can't see what is throwing/blowing these items at them, but I know it really freaked me out. It scared me enough to wake me up.

Last night was the weirdest of them all. I was on some outing with my entire family. I can't remember where we were, but we were ALL there. My right hand started to hurt so I looked at it. The top half of my ring finger was all red and swollen. I have no idea what caused it so I decided to squeeze my finger. As I was squeezing it, little thorns started to pop out. It didn't hurt so I kept squeezing. I got about 5 thorns out, but my finger was still swollen. I thought there might be more so I continued to squeeze my finger. With this one last squeeze, out came a 3-4 inch long snake (less than a 1/4 inch round). Once it came out, the swelling and the dream were gone.

So tell me, what do my dreams mean? They are starting to scare me. Until next time...

Evidence...

Okay so here is the evidence that Mick will actually run on the treadmill we bought him. We have been able to get him to run up to 30 minutes.

These videos show what has become the norm for him. He will grab one of his "toys", run for a little bit and then let himself and/or his toy fly off the back of the treadmill. Mick will even drop his toy on the treadmill while I am running, just to watch it fly off the back. I think he enjoys that more than anything (I never have claimed to have a sane dog). Until next time...

Treadmill...

So we bought a treadmill today. I cannot believe how much they ask for those things and all of the new little knick-knacks. They come with I-Pod hookups, built in fans, magnetic keys, and quick touch speed/incline buttons. What luxury we have these days! Anyway, purpose of the treadmill is for the dog (and I guess me too). I am tired of Mick tearing things up out of boredom and I need to waste that energy somehow. I know, I know, just take him for a walk. Slight problem, he has more energy to spare than what I can wear out of him in a walk. Try running you say? Well it is a little hard to run with a dog biting at your feet the entire time while he is running backwards. My next option, a treadmill so we bought a treadmill today. That brings us full circle. Until next time...

How to start?

Okay, so I thought I would give this a try. I have heard numerous people talk about their blogs and finally decided to give it a try myself. I am sorry if this starts out a little rough, but I am new to the blogging world so please be kind.

I guess I could start with a summary of 2008...

January- Adjusting, once again, to a long distance relationship. Not easy when you are used to seeing someone every day. (Bill accepted a job in Utah in December '07.)
February- Married off another roommate and once again was on my own. I seem to have the ability to marry off everyone else, but not myself.
March- Gained a new roommate, but shortly before the move in, little bro Curt gets engaged. Yes, there goes another roommate!
April- Found out the company I was working for was merging with a sister company and relocating to Texas. I am out of a job as of August 1st.
May- Get engaged to Bill on his mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Betty, you get a new daughter-in-law!
June- Marry off another roommate (Curt) and move back home with the parents until my own wedding.
July- Wedding plans and preparing to lose my job after 2 years.
August- Bill starts school 3 nights a week and is useless when it came to wedding decisions. His answer to everything was, "I don't care" or "Whatever you want". I know, every girls dream, but not when you are as indecisive as I am.
September- Frantically try to get last minute wedding details taken care of without panicing too much. Marry Bill on the 20th inbetween the rain showers. Rain on the wedding day is lucky, right? Spend the first 4 days of marriage throwing up and fighting off a fever. Lose my Grandma Christiansen after a long fulfilling life (91 years). Move to Utah.
October- Start adjusting to married life, a new home, and a new town/state. Start looking for a job as good as my last one.
November- Find a job in a doctor's office and get sick shortly after starting. Spend our first Thanksgiving as a married couple with the in-laws in Idaho Falls.
December- Spent our first Christmas as a married couple with my family in Boise. We got from Draper to Boise via Pocatello. Thank you snow! I never have claimed winter to be my favorite time of year. Wii competitions were all the rage this year in the Christiansen household! And I must say, I can hold my own.

Well that is a summary of 2008. I know for the length it seems more like an autobiography, but trust me it is a summary. Until next time...