Its a New Day

Last Friday we opened gifts at R&R's with the kids. It was fun to see how excited they were about their new clothes and toys and books. Me with Tristan, Hannah and Julia Julia and her daddy - where she is happiest. Saturday afternoon we all went to Mike & Karen's. It was pretty busy but lots of fun. The (present) grandkids and opa When we were growing up and we would get together with my dad's family, there was always a picture taken with all the grandkids. It is fun to look back at those pictures and see the family grow and change. We thought we'd try this year... the funny thing is that we often had the same expressions as kids (crying, sad, happy, bored).

Sunday morning it was just one of those days that only lead to trouble... There really wasn't anything terribly funny about our conversation - truthfully I don't remember what we were even talking about - but suddenly Betty Ann had to sit down and Kelley and I had tears running down our faces. The three of us were standing (or at least trying to keep on our feet) laughing and crying and struggling to catch our breath. It was the kind of laughter that you feel like you could go for a good long nap afterwards. I am so glad to have friends that I can laugh like with.

Yesterday I had another 2 treatments. I was actually feeling pretty good when I started out (about a 7) and had the first treatment with no crying (amazing!!!). I went downstairs for my 'sleep' and then came back up for my second session. Dr. B asked if I'd had a good rest and I said "I didn't think I really slept, but when I looked at the clock it was already 8:30 so I guess I did sleep". He just smiled as he put in the needles for the 2nd treatment and said (very straight faced) "I could tell... you still have pillow marks on your face". Usually by the time I get back to the office after my second treatment I'm pretty worn out. I usually work with the lights off and just quietly go about my work (as if I ever make much noise in the office). Rudy and the little girls came by for a visit and I was being 'teased' about something when Hans said very gently, 'Rudy, take it easy on Jennifer - she had her treatments today and she doesn...

This morning I had my re-assessment at The Migraine Clinic. Basically Dr. B. took my pulse in a few different places before the treatment. Because I was having 2 in 1 day, he waited until after the 2nd treatment to finish the re-assessment. This week has been a particularily difficult one. It could be the ups and downs of the weather and/or the anxiety of getting calendars and envelopes and enrollment packs put together and out in the mail (the calendars came in this morning but I still don't have envelopes so I'm at a bit of in impass) so that they get to the prisons by christmas, or that I don't have my tongue sticking in my cheek at the right angle... whatever the reason it has been bad. So when Dr. B. asked me how bad I was this morning, it was all I could do to keep the tears at bay. (what is it about him that makes me cry?!?). I went in with a migraine. It was about a 8.5 (so I can still function) but it was getting worse. I was climbing to a 9.5 by the time my treatm...

Tomorrow is my Opa's 85th birthday, but on Saturday we got together as a family at the Mary Hill Inn (in Mary Hill) where my oma rented the place for the evening, and we had a surprise party for my opa. He walked in and was very surprised. He didn't really want to come out that evening because they had a seniors thing at the church, but since my Aunt Heather and Uncle Kevin were 'taking him out for his birthday' he decided to go. It was a really lovely evening. Heather arranged for each family to make up 2 scrapbook pages so that when friends came over they could 'show off' their family. During the meal mom, Aunt Heather, Uncle Michael, dad and most of the grandchildren went up and shared a memory of opa. It went from him working in his work shop to chasing after Uncle Michael with a homemade paddle while they were camping, to just sitting and watching a hockey game. There was also some time of singing and touching moments of remembering God's grace. I reali...

This morning I asked if Dr. B would do a re-assessment - just for my peace of mind to see if there was any change from his point of view. I'm not sure if I should be concerned or not but he said that as he was driving in this morning he was thinking about me and how I must be feeling like we're just going in circles with no real results. Well, we have to wait till after next week's first appointment and then he can do a re-assessment (something about having to wait a certain amount of treatment times) so we'll see next week what happens. The only strange dream I had this time was that people were sitting in the room where I was resting and complaining that if they went to Princess Margaret they get coffee & snacks and other free stuff while they have to wait and nicer chairs. I defended Judy (the secretary) and said it wasn't her job to provide coffee or anything else and that the chairs were comfy. Weird.

Why am I writing about my trips to the Migraine Clinic? As I get ready to report again that I went had the needles in, did my breathing, had the needles out, had a short nap, had the needles put back in, breathed again and had them out, and checked for drops of blood before leaving the office, and then about how I'm feeling after, I really hope that is doesn't sound like complaining. It would be untrue of me to say that things are getting easier as the weeks go by. Some days, well, honestly most days, they feel worse. Just when I think that it is as bad as it has ever been it gets worse. I still feel frustrated that after a treatment session I can be in bed for days at a time and feel that my head might explode any second. There are lots of tears. Lots and lots of them. I've missed going more to church in the last 3 months then I have in my entire life and even when I do make it I often have to leave early because though I was 'ok' 30 minutes ago, it has suddenly be...

While she may not have 'officially' celebrated her birthday (not for lack of trying) Julia turned 2 last Thursday. Julia is a real treasure! She is sweet and always has a ready smile. She loves to make people laugh and has a mischievious streak as well - all while being totally innocent :) She adores her big brother and loves nothing better than to rub the top of his head and just laugh. He is sweet enough to let her. She is a daddy's girl and loves to go to the farm with him, even when it is cold She loves her mommy as well and is always ready to give a smooch, well, after she says no of course. It is hard to believe that this little baby is now so big! and sooo vain (she loves to look at herself after a picture is taken) And so sweet! Happy birthday Julia-bear!

Last week flew by with a great flurry of sad, tender and happy moments. Tuesday evening I went to Alymer to visit with Hettie's mom and dad. It was a difficult visit to see him so close to death and so not himself. It was also sad to see mom a little lost and watching him. On our way home I wondered why people were flashing me (with their headlights) and we realized that I had no tail lights. None - pitch dark. So Het and I went to Canadian Tire and got a new bulb (after talking with Jeff of course to see if that could be the problem). When I asked the man at the counter if someone might be able to help he promptly said "no" and walked away. Then the announcement came over the loud speaker that the store was closing in 2 minutes (I didn't realize that it closed at 8pm in Alymer). So I asked a man putting some wiper fluid in his car if he could help. Of course, as usually happens when you need to do an outdoor repair or replace wiper blades, it was raining, windy and f...

Last week was treatment #15 & 16. It was pretty uneventful. It was my first time starting my 2 sessions in 1 day. At 6:30 Dr. B did the first treatment and 20 minutes later I was in the 'lounge' office tucked under a nice warm blanket and had just over an hour of a good sleep. I went back up at 8:45 for the second treatment. He used different needles this time (and I'm sure they were much thicker than normal) and they all hurt a bit going in (and I could still feel where they had been hours later) but it was fine. By 9:15 I was back on the road. Not really feeling any different than I have any other time, but time will tell with that too.

My treatments were pretty uneventful this week. Tuesday was a really not good day and Dr. B was teasing me about being able to take more pain (which I was so NOT able to laugh at) so I did what I always seem to do there - I cried. By the time he came back I was 'under control' and applogized and told him that I am usually quite cheerful. Thursday when I went he, he was teasing me again and I said I could take it this morning and he said he could tell. Not that it was a great day - I ended up going home right afterwards and back to bed - but I didn't cry. And that's a good thing :) Next week we're going to do 2 treatments on Thursday mornings (and not go at all on Tuesday mornings). This is simply to cut down driving time and cost of gas. I'll only have 1 morning to get up at the crack of dawn and drive out to Georgetown (and with winter coming this is also a good thing). I'll have my first appointment at 6:30 and then have to wait till 9 for my second so I c...

Friday didn't start off great and by 5pm I was laying on the couch with a pounding head thinking I would have to cancel my plans of spending the evening celebrating Kelley's birthday. I took some T3's and had a hot shower and got ready "just in case" it worked. Then headed out. We had a great time at Monty's a little place in Hespeler, that Jon had rented for the evening. It really fit 30 people (and we were about 28). We had different appetizers and lots of fun talking and laughing, eating and laughing... did I mention laughing? The best was Wilma's skiing story that she told without words (because she was laughing so hard). Oh yeah... lots of laughing. When I was driving home later that night, I realized that my head was feeling pretty good. Better than it had felt in a long time. I would say a 6 out of 10 (which is really good -for me - since most days/weeks have been a 8-9 out of 10). I was trying to remember when I last felt that good. July 27. Almost...

It is starting to feel like life is an old record skipping (yes... I remember what records are) and I'm just waiting for the needle to get it moving onto the rest of the song. After the dinners for work, I know that without a doubt I will be in bed a few days. They are long days filled with lots of work (and smiling) and even though I did get a rest both days, by the end of the day I was toast... burnt toast. Maybe I have the wrong mindset going in, but on Tuesday I didn't really expect anything. The needles all hurt, but I didn't expect that I would feel better, if anything just worse. It became a SUPER long day going to Toronto in the evening with the Oosterhof's to pick up Hettie from the airport and then needing to have a heart to heart with dear Rachel afterwards. By the time I got home I was beyond burnt toast. I had gone to see my family doc about something else that day as well. She called me in the office (which made me a bit concerened because the nurse called...

So last week was visit 7 & 8. Tuesday was pretty uneventful, but Thursday was a different story. I talked to Dr. B about where the needles are placed and that sometimes they really hurt and sometimes I felt nothing and how on Thursday's I've been pretty good till about 9pm and then I get whacked with a doozie of a migraine and spend most of the next 3 days in bed. Apparently, some times we are more sensative to things than others, but it shouldn't affect if the needles hurt or not or the outcome. He just said, "Don't have a headache this weekend"... why didn't I think of that... By the time I left on Thursday it was not good. I was really trying very hard not to cry in the office. I managed to hold on till I got into my car and then cried the whole way back to the office. My head was just pounding with pain and I just had to cry. I made it to the office and managed to stay for 45 minutes before I had to go home. I just couldn't handle the pounding ...

A few weeks ago I took Tristan and Hannah and Rebekah (a girl from church) to the Toronto Zoo. This was a first for all of them! Hard to believe since as kids we would go all the time, both with family and on school trips. It was a bit cold and rainy, but the kids were warm and snuggly with their sweaters and rain gear (too bad Rebekah and I weren't that prepared!). When we first arrived they kept ohhing and ahhing over the fallen trees and the river and I wondered if I'd made a huge mistake since they could see all that in grandpa's forest, but as time went on they loved it. If you notice, Tristan's finger is up the Gorilla's nose... there weren't many other people there, but at this particular spot there were 3 ladies who were just in front of us and they were sticking their fingers up his nose so Tristan followed suit. We tried to avoid those ladies the rest of the trip (which was thankfully easy to do). Every time they saw "the world" they wanted t...

Well, after treatment #4 - and a very long day, I went to Kelley's to play games (I didn't come in last... but I didn't win either :)), and by the time I did get home the lovely migraine that had been stopped earlier in the day came with a vengence. The nice thing was that I was able to get lots of work done during the day. Friday was also a bit of a right off, but thankfully Saturday was a good day (that will have it's own post). Sunday and most of Monday were also mostly spent in bed. So, Tuesday morning I woke up feeling - well, ok - it wasn't great but it wasn't terrible. By the time I got to Georgetown I was feeling pretty good. That didn't last long. I'm still not sure what caused it, but whether it was some anxiety over going to prison later on in the morning, or where the needles were placed (they all seemed to hurt), but shortly after the needles were put in my right arm started shaking. This is not an unusual phemomenon. Sometimes, when a reall...

Bright and early (well actually dark and early) this morning I headed off to Georgetown for my 4th appointment at the Migraine Clinic. The drive is nice with not too many people on the road yet and certainly no traffic my way there or back. Brandan is there and always cheerful (he MUST be a morning person) and Judy (his receptionist) is also there bright eyed and bushy tailed. After signing in I go into the room and Brandan starts sticking needles in my head and hands. After 20 minutes of breathing and waiting he comes back in to take them out. This morning he put one in my right hand (it is usually the left) and said 'This one is going to hurt a bit". Well... he wasn't kidding, but I figured I can deal with it for a few minutes. Then I started to get a migraine. When he came back in the room he asked me where it was and then proceeded to put a needle in my left hand, quite far down and wiggle it around while applying pressure to my pinky. That hurt. A lot. I've never ...

This past September has been one of the busiest I remember in a long time. Lots of wedding preparations (and of course the actual wedding). Every weekend was filled with family activties. First Ryan, Rachel and kids and I went to the Fire Hall Open House. There are always lots of firetrucks there to look at, some games for the kids, a police car that rolls over (to show what happens if you don't wear your seatbelt), firetruck rides and face painting. The kids get to do an obstacle course as well. Tristan and Hannah competed against each other (each with their own fireman taking them through) to fill buckets with water and spray flags with a hose. Then of course the end of September brought Chad and Amanda's wedding. I only took 1 picture the entire day (and it isn't great) but Julianna did a great job (at least of the one that we've seen). It was a busy but lovely day and we are so thrilled to have them living close to us. With that, the quilt I promised them for an eng...

This morning... very early, before the darkness of the night sky had lifted (that would be 4:30am) I woke up to the startling sound of the alarm. I had been dreaming that Michael Card would be coming as a speaker to Camp Tamarak, but some how it was going to be between him and Hulk Hogan. It was really one of those strange dreams that you don't mind waking up from... So why was I up so early? This morning I had my first appointment for 6:30 at The Migraine Clinic in Georgetown - just over an hour's drive away. After a few navigational snaffu's (I suppose the GPS didn't like being up so early either and it told me to take the HWY 6 North exit, then do a U-turn and get back on the 401 the way I came from) I managed to find 83 Mill Street. It was dark there. Very dark. There were 2 men jogging and 1 lone light on inside the building up on the 3rd floor. So I entered cautiously - not even sure if the doors would be open and went upstairs. Judy, the very sweet and way to per...

Saturday we had the Riverside Church Picnic. There was a great turnout of people (though I didn't get any pictures of them) and lots of fun had by all. The teens planned games for the children (which also kept them occupied so the adults could talk) and there was the tractor pull. We're still not sure how Tini 'The Ox' Oosterhof's team didn't win :). There was lots of food (is there ever a shortage) and then there was the dessert contest. There were only 3 brave enough to enter and we all made cheesecakes. In no particular order... Taramisu Cheese Cake (mady by yours truly) A Berry Cheesecake (by Kathryn) New York Style Cheesecake with a Strawberry reduction (by Jon) Jerry had the honour of being one of the judges... So did Simon. Rudy was also a judge. DW announcing the winner... apparently it was close (though not close enough...) Kathryn is still the Dessert Queen!