Friday, January 27, 2006

 

Update on Grandma...

Hi Everyone,
I'm sure you all know by now that Grandma has a fairly large kidney stone (1 cm)...
For those of you who haven't been updated, I just talked to my mom who was with Grandma and others at the hospital today...
Because the kidney stone is so large, Grandma can't pass it naturally. So, the doctors are going to "blast" it, and then Grandma will have to pass the pieces of the stone. However, the equipment that does the "blasting" only comes to the hospital every three weeks, and it was just there last Friday. So, Grandma has to wait 2 weeks (or longer if the waiting list is full) to have that procedure done. While waiting, though, it is very painful to have the stone outside the kidney in her "tube" (sorry to those who are medically-inclined, I'm just using the terms Mom gave me :)). Therefore, the doctors pushed the stone back into Grandma's kidney and put a stint there so it won't come out until they perform the "blasting" procedure.
Anyhow, Grandma is home as of tonight, and Mom said that she should feel fine, although could be nauseous...
Keep her in your prayers, as I'm sure you are. If I hear anything more, I'll put it in the comments of this post and y'all feel free to do the same.
Take care...
Kristen

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

 

We're praying for you Aunt Joyce

Aunt Joyce,
If you look at the blog (if not- hopefully you'll start :), I want you to know that I'm praying for perfect health for you. Hope you feel better soon.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

 

Want to lose a few?

Hey All!
Holli, Ben, Missy, and I are going to run the 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) in the "Borgess Run for the Health of It" on Saturday, April 29th. We'd love to have others join us!
I know, I know...13.1 miles seems like an impossible feat, especially if you haven't run before. BUT, we're starting VERY slowly, following the same book ("The NON-runners' Guide to a Marathon") that Holli, Missy, and I used to complete our marathons. Seriously, it is a do-able feat! Even if you've never run long distance, you can do this! And April is just before swimsuit and cottage season....what a great way to lose some extra pounds and get connected with the family! :)
If you're even considering (Heidi is), shoot me an email (kmjoy1@yahoo.com) and I can send you a training schedule. It's a lot of fun, and it feels great to accomplish such a goal...

 

How Many Candles???


Happy Birthday BOB (otherwise known as DAD)

Can anyone guess how many candles are on his cake?

I love you!

Monday, January 16, 2006

 

To the Ladies of the Johnson Clan

Thanks so much for the beautiful shower yesterday---and for the lovely toilet paper wedding dress---I will have to post some pic's once I download them :)

Especially for Lisa H. and Suzi for "enhancing" me in the dress.

Thanks again and see you all at the wedding!!!

(p.s.---this generic "thanks" blog will not take the place of your thank-you notes---eventhough I tried to make it work like that)----ahahahah, just kiddin ;)

 

Gretchen, here is your Westie Info.

Hi Gretchen, the breeder info. you were looking for is the following:
Angel-Like Kennels
4030 Shannon Drive
Fort Wayne, IN 46835
P- 260-918-2250
F- 260-219-2250

The breeder's name is Patty Mosely. She is super nice and welcomes people at her house to check out her kennel and the dogs.

The price- $550

I hope this helps your neighbor out---let me know if you need anything else!

Talk with you soon Gretchen!

Friday, January 13, 2006

 

Grandma to be a celebrity?

Just thought I'd let y'all know that I emailed the editor at the Kalamazoo Gazette today about Grandma and our family. I noted how many kids, grandkids and great-grandkids she has, the amazing things she still does at 86, our Christmas Eve tradition, and even a bit about Grandpa and his role as a leader in the church and owner of a local company. I must give credit where it's due: This was Kim's idea! I'll keep everyone posted if the Gazette contacts me...I tried to sell the story as best I could, noting some of the schools some of us have attended, jobs we hold (including "proud" stay-at-home mamas!), and that we actually know one another and enjoy spending time with each other! So, soon, we may all be famous! Hey Jackie and Bob, maybe they'd like a picture of all of us on the big boat?! :)

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

 

Dan is Employed

Just to update everybody, Dan will be employed once again beginning Monday!!! He will be working for a place called Dura-Automotive in Fremont (an hour north of Holland). He will start off by making the commute for a while and then we will decide whether or not we'll move to the Muskegon area. Thanks for all of the prayers, we appreciate all of them.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

 

Alternate Transportation to Jim Berry Wedding



We undo the mooring ropes at Lake Macatawa in Holland, head out the channel to Lake Michigan and go south to Saugatuck where we go up the Kalamazoo River, past Kalamazoo, to Galesburg, and then back through Kalamazoo to Lake Michigan. We then head across the lake to Milawaukee, turning south to the Navy Pier in Chicago, and down the Chicago Sanitary Canel to the Des Plains River. Near Joliet we pick up the Illinois River, winding our way south through Peoria to just north of St. Louis. At that point we pick up the Mississippi River south for a short distance before we head west on the Missouri River. We wind through Missouri to Kansas City where the Missouri River heads north along the Missouri/Kansas border, north along the Missouri/Nebraska border, and when we get to the northern part of Missouri we take a short detour up the Nishnabotna River which gets us to a few miles from Sidney, Iowa. Retracing our route south to the Missouri River, we then head north to just below Omaha, Nebraska, where we pick up the Platte River. The Platte River will take us west, through Kearney, through North Platte, then into Colorado and onto Denver. Once again we retrace our route east to pick up the Missouri River again, go north, past Omaha and head to Pierre, South Dakota, then to Bismark, North Dakota, then northwest to Great Falls, Montana. At Great Falls we need to pick up the Jefferson River south to Beaverhead River to New Hawkins Lake. There is a little tributary from New Hawkins Lake in Montana to the Lemhi Pass, which is 8000 feet high. At this point we need to carry our boat a few miles over the pass, into Idaho, to pick up a tributary which flows into the Salmon River in Idaho. We should be ready for the portage at this point because there are about 200 dams we had to go around on the Missouri River to get this far so we have had plenty of practice. Hopefully we picked up a lot of family along the way for just this occasion. Anyway, the Salmon River goes northwest and meets up with the Snake River on the Oregon border. We still head north through Idaho to Washington where we pick up the Columbia River which goes west and exits into the Pacific Ocean. We go south to California and dock nearest to where the wedding will be. We then break up the boat for firewood and have a grand bonfire before the wedding. One note, in order to make it in time we need to leave on January 15.

Friday, January 06, 2006

 

A New Puppy & A New House


I thought I would show you how a new puppy and a new house sometimes don't mix. Lisa and I bought a new house and we have a very nice yard of dirt. As you all know when snow melts it turn to water, and mixed with dirt it will make mud.....

Curious Puppy + Muddy Yard = An extremely cute puppy picture!!

Thursday, January 05, 2006

 

Greetings From CB

I just learned about the family blog. I wanted to share a picture of Brad's new arrival, but I don't have a digital photo of him yet. So instead I will try to attach a picture of our house we moved into last October '05.
Take care all, and I look forward to keeping up with the family happenings on this site.

 

Online Scrabble

Nerdy post, I know, but we told Pam we'd pass along the URL for free online scrabble and thought some of you might find it fun too. Chris and I almost always have a game going with his mom and my mom. It e-mails you when it's your turn and it's pretty easy to figure out. You can play 2, 3, or 4 player games. If any of you need some scrabble partners, Chris and I are always up for a good game (marniplesko@gmail.com and plesko@gmail.com) -- just sign us up and we'll play with you :)

http://www.thepixiepit.co.uk/scrabble/

 

Christmas Eve in the Carribbean

I thought the family should know that even though Jayne refused to give me her permission to miss Christmas Eve, I managed to sneak away and have the time of my life on a Carribbean cruise. Although I'm sure you all were dissapointed that there was one less person to take up space in Grandma's basement, I thought I'd post proof that Christmas on a cruise ship is incredible. This is a picture of me with two of my friends, Christy and Lindsey, who went on the trip.
The day we left Michigan the temperature was 9 degrees, so it was exciting to spend seven days touring the Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Mexico in the 85 degree sunshine. The cool thing about being in Mexico is that unless you try very hard not to, you're going to come back with a tan. :)
However, just so all my favorite relatives feel loved (you know who you are), I'll tell you now to reserve me a spot on Grandma's basement couch for next Christmas Eve.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

 

Before the spit up...


Here's Levi in one of his many awesome Christmas Eve gifts...this one is (obviously) from Great Aunt Nancy Johnson (Jim's)...
Her claim is that she's the "World's best great aunt," but I'm sure once this is posted, there will be many other great aunts out there who would beg to differ! :)
Right after the picture was snapped, Levi exhaled his last meal all over the bib, sending it straight to the wash (speaking of laundry...who knew someone so little could produce so much! I don't know how Grandma did it!)
Take care all...If you don't see Levi until Todd and Lisa's wedding, he'll be the one in the tux being pulled by the flower girl in the wagon!

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

 

Funny Kindergarten Quote of the Day

The random things that kids say during the day, is one of the best parts of my job. Today was no exception. I was sitting with one of the few non-hispanic kids (she's Hmong -- an Asian culture) after school, waiting for someone to come pick her up. Her name is Shiva. Picture this tiny little Kindergartener -- much shorter than most of them and super cute. She's totally random most of the time (partially due to the language barrier and partially because that's just her personality). So anyway, we're sitting by the front office, and I am attempting to make small talk so she doesn't let it sink in that her cousin walked home and forgot her. This is our conversation (keep in mind two things: she is totally serious saying this and her brother is a baby):

me: So, Shiva, where do you think your library book is at home, remember, library is on Thursday.
Shiva: You know my brother pulled down his pants and I saw his weeny.
me: hmmm, ok.
Shiva: yep.

Hahaha. Made my day. It's always funny to watch someone actually use the word "weeny" in a sentence without thinking twice or laughing. I wasn't quite sure what to say to that one. I dropped the library book subject all together...

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