Laurel and AJ

Laurel and AJ
Originally uploaded by sillyschramm

They're finally wed, those two crazy cats. Actually they have three crazy cats, but that's besides the point. Laurel (Jonathon's baby sister) and AJ tied the knot this past Friday. The ceremony was lovely and the reception was very lively and fun. Congratulations!!!

Winter Wonderland

December 2007 295
Originally uploaded by sillyschramm

With approximately 10 inches on the ground, how can we not bundle Erich in his finest snowsuit and take him outside.

Erich didn't really like venturing on unplowed territory, but enjoyed making snowballs and being pulled in the sled. Jonathon is having a great time cross-country skiing. Katie is enjoying watching from a distance, although she will try skiing tonight after Erich goes to bed.

We're back

Sorry for the lapse. We didn't have internet service since around Thanksgiving. I'm not sure exactly when it was fixed because we were in Washington State from the 5th until this morning. I will have have some new pictures as soon as I download them and such so stay tuned...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We woke up to our first official snowfall of the year. We hope you all enjoy Turkey Day!!

My men

IMG_0327
Originally uploaded by sillyschramm

Jonathon is finally home for good. Erich is enjoying getting to know his daddy better. We had some fun in the backyard, enjoying the end of fall.

Jonathon is glad to be home, but is still working hard to finish his writing. He hopes to defend sometime this late winter/ early spring.

And Katie is enjoying a little more sleep now that Jonathon is here to play with Erich. We're all thankful.

Just chillin'

Erich was able to get himself into his rocker without falling and bumping his head, which is a miracle in itself. Here he is doing one of his favorite things: simply reading his picture books. He entertains himself so easily.




Last night I spied Erich reading the paper with his grandpa. It was so cute to see the two of them. Another of Erich's favorites is the Target circular.

On another note, I received my new camera yesterday (a Canon Rebel XTi, 10.1 megapixel). As soon as I figure out how to use the darn thing, and download the software, I'll have some less-grainy pics to show you all. But beware; my work schedule is a little brutal right now, so it may be a while. I'm not even halfway through the user manual yet.

Trick-or-Treat!

Erich had a lot of fun trick-or-treating for the very first time. We were sad his daddy couldn't be there to join the festivities, but their are many more Halloweens to come.

We spent the evening with our friends in Grand Rapids. Robert and Kathryn traditionally have their nieces and nephew come over for a party and graciously invited us to join them.

I think I saw Dorothy and Toto

Okay, so this happened on Thursday night, but I've been only working and sleeping the last four days so you'll have to forgive me.

We had the most incredible line of storms starting at 7:30pm. I work the 7pm-7:30am shift and they called a tornado warning no less than 7 times throughout the night. So what do you do with the patients? You stick them in the hallway. Unfortunately, my patient was on a ventilator, so we had to cover him with blankets and move him as far away from the window as possible. That sucked too, since his fever was 104.6. It was pretty much chaos.

Jonathon's parents were watching Erich. His dad said he was watching the news and there was a funnel cloud spotted pretty much right over their house. So he ran up the stairs to collect a very sleepy Erich and raced to the basement. Yes, the house is thankfully still standing. After a few times of moving up and downstairs, they all finally set up camp in the basement and slept there all night. How crazy!!! When I drove home at 8am, the sun was shining and all you could see of the storm was some very black clouds far in the distance... God's awesome power!!!

Crane Festival

Yes, we went to a (Sandhill) Crane Festival today near Battle Creek. Jonathon has a way of finding out about these obscure things. It was actually a lot of fun. They had vendors there, hayrides, a nature hike, etc. The whole point was to watch the cranes flying and landing in the water (it was in a wetland area). This is their prime season. It was very crowded with bird watchers from everywhere.

The best part was Erich is feeling so much better and had a great time. The air was crisp, the leaves are turning; it was great fall weather. Then we went to Turkeyville, which is an interesting place. We had a turkey dinner and saw turkeys, goats, and a calf. Erich was a little freaked out by the goats who we were feeding weeds. We are just trying to soak up the precious moments we have with Jonathon before he leaves on Monday.

Yea!!!

Jonathon is finally here for his mid-fall visit. He arrived safely by train this morning. It's so good to have him here, even if it's only for 10 days.

In other good news, after only two doses of high-dose amoxicillin, Erich is a new man. I finally found a pediatrician who would see him yesterday. She was very nice and helpful. She said his ear infection is raging (no thanks to the Bactrim from two weeks ago) and she thinks he has a mild pneumonia. She didn't confirm it with a chest x-ray or blood cultures because she said it would cost over $200 for the work-up. But she was worried about him and said he was not yet sick enough to be admitted to the hospital, but was pretty close. Then, after learning that my tonsils had been really swollen yesterday morning, she had the nurse test me for strep (which, thankfully, was negative). The receptionist didn't even charge me for it and said, "we test ourselves all the time for strep and don't pay for it, so don't worry about it." Praise God!!! Now we just have to pray that all will be well, until, at least, November 1st when my health insurance kicks in.

Whew....

Fall is here

We welcomed the new season with a trip to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch. For lack of time, we didn't pick our own apples, but we had fun strolling through the pumpkin patch with Erich. He is still sick and was tired, so forgive him for having his pacifier in most of the pictures. If you would like to see more pics, just click on the flickr photo thing to the left. They have all been downloaded.

Woe is Erich

The boy-child is cutting his one-year molars, which is probably why this viral thing has lasted so long. He is feeling much better, but not without the help of Tylenol every four hours. There is always a challenge... I'm not in a hurry because I know teenagehood is right around the corner. I'll take teething any day.

But on to the cute things he's doing these days... He loves to read his picture books, play with any wheeled toy, and go for walks on a nice day. He is walking/almost running everywhere. He is just a lot of fun to hang out with. Here are some recent pictures:

Hanging in there...

I just finished my week of nursing orientation. What a loooonnngggg week it was. We had to sit in a windowless room across from the morgue for 8 hours a day. I could never have a desk job.

To make things more interesting, Erich and I are sick...again. I just have a cold that is resolving nicely. But poor Erich has an ear infection. The daycare called me Thursday to come get him because his temp climbed to 103. We don't have insurance so I had to call around. It's amazing that doctors' offices won't see patients without insurance, even if they can pay cash. It's ultimately cheaper for me to pay out of pocket by seeing a doctor in office than to go to an urgent care center or ER. Needless to say, we went to the Urgent care center, the doctor took one look at Erich's ears and said, "yep, they're bright red, and I see some bubbles." Bubbles? What are bubbles?" I'm a Peds ICU nurse. I only see the kids whose ear infections never got diagnosed, and they have bigger problems. And then I had to ask the doc to prescribe something from the Meijer "free antibiotic list" since we don't have insurance. Well, now I can sympathize with others somewhat better. The difference is I will have health insurance in a little over a month. I wish I was Canadian.

Anyway, we're on the mend. Thankfully he doesn't need to go to daycare until next Thursday, so he has time to recover. And, thankfully I start working on the unit this week, so I won't be so bored.

Hi Daddy

Well, I finally figured out how to link video to our blog. This one is for Jonathon. We love you and miss you!!!!

An update

So, Jonathon made it back to NJ safely and is cracking down with his writing. Keep going, Schrammy!!!

Jonathon's brother, Joel, and his wife, Magda, made it safely to France and are getting their bearings (sp?) before Magda starts school. Please pray that Joel can find a job so Magda will be able to better focus on her studies. And, please pray they find good, inexpensive housing for their time there. They will be in France until June, at least.

And, sorry, no pictures or videos yet. With all the moving, sorting, storing, and such we lost our photo card reader (and I lost the cable for the camera itself), and the video camera cord is buried in mom and dad's barn. It will probably be a week or so. But, hang in there. I figured out how to link video to this blog, so you'll be able to see Erich in action very soon.

Have a great week!!!

We've arrived

We arrived in Michigan Wednesday evening, just in time for a pretty wicked thunderstorm. Driving was a little harder the second day, because all of us were feeling a little under the weather.
Families share germs, as you all know. We happened to be sharing some form of Strep, I think. We made a trip to the Urgent Care Center yesterday. The doctor didn't have to look very hard before prescribing three rounds of antibiotics. The best part is, we took advantage of our last two days of medical coverage. We won't be covered again until November, so we squeezed right in there.
When I download pics again, I'll write another update. But for now, don't expect much. Walking up the stairs is quite the chore right now.

Moving Stinks

We pick up the moving truck on Monday and we thought that by starting two days ago, we would be busy, but okay. Every time Jonathon takes a batch of packed boxes away to the basement, I look around and think, "Huh, it looks exactly the same as it did 2 hours ago." Meaning, progress is really hard to see when you're packing all of your belongings. This is after we already lost a lot of stuff in the flood earlier this Spring.


To make things more interesting and fun, Jonathon and Erich both have pretty bad colds. The kind where you cough all night and sound pathetic. Last night Erich woke up every half hour until about 3am. Then he slept from 3-5am and did it all over again. At 6:45am I realized all was lost and we got up and played. We are all EXHAUSTED!!

On a very good note, my friend from work, Ali, came over yesterday and played with Erich for four hours (minus a nap) so we could pack without interruption. THANKS ALI!! You may never understand how great that was. And my other work friend, Louela, is taking Erich on Monday so we can load the truck and paint. Friends really do come through for us and we are so grateful.

Okay, well I probably won't write again until we're in Michigan and settled so see ya in a few weeks. Please remember us in your prayers. Thanks!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (yesterday)!!!!

Jonathon spent his birthday doing statistics and writing at the library. But we still made the day special. I made my very first German Chocolate Cake. It turns out both of us used to request this same cake from our mothers for almost every birthday. Coincidence? I think not.

I actually had to go out and buy 9-inch round cake pans and this nifty cake presenter thingy since I had neither. I have a way of shopping and acquiring things right before a big move.



This picture is for Connie. While she was visiting me in NJ, I made her go out to eat with me every day so I wouldn't have to cook or do dishes. So, Connie, here is proof that I do cook. This is an almost normal scene in our kitchen around dinner time. As you can tell, we don't have a dishwasher. Or, rather, our dishwasher is named "Jonathon." And, yes, I made him do dishes on his birthday. I'm so mean.

"Well, Happy Birthday, and whatever..."
I love you, Schramm!!!

Back on-line

Last week was really great. My sister flew in from Washington (state) and spent the week with Erich and I while Jonathon was in California. We hung out in Philly and NYC and had a blast. Sorry, no pics yet because I took them with the 35mm camera. But I have a recent picture of Erich at his best: playing with his H2 Hummer. At least this hummer gets good gas mileage!

Jonathon had a great time in California at the ESA Conference. I wish Erich and I could have gone with, but we wouldn't have had much to do during the day. Oh well. We had mucho fun anyway.

And now, we start packing for the big move. And, I'm trying to decide between working full time and part time. The biggest difference between the two is how much I end up paying in premiums for health insurance. You would think that by working at a hospital that I would get good health coverage at a decent price. Sadly, that has not been the case at any hospital I've worked at.

Goodbye, for a week

Jonathon needs to take the laptop to California this week, and our desktop is broken, so I will not be online until next Sunday. It's amazing how dependent we grow on technology. I guess I'll have to "rough it" (with no pit-toilets, thank God).

17 Children???

Did you hear about the family who just had their 17th child? They estimate this woman has been pregnant for 10.5 years of her life. Well, I guess that's one way to avoid getting your monthly period. All I can say is they need their own personal landfill just to accommodate all those diapers (unless they use cloth; highly unlikely). They say it's a gift from God. That's true. But I also think birth control is a gift from God. While I'm on my soap-box I just have to say that I'm sure these parents are able to love all their children very much, but our world is so overpopulated already and their are so many children without stable parents or places to call home. I guess I'm saying, "Why not adopt and use that love for children who are not so fortunate." Okay, that's all for now.

Adirondacks

We just got back home yesterday from a wonderful trip to the Adirondacks. We spent Thursday through Sunday with our friends, Seth and Stephanie, and their two girls at a cottage their family has on Raquette Lake. It was WONDERFUL! We had such a fun time boating, fishing, swimming, canoeing and playing games. We were sad to leave, but also exhausted. Now we need a vacation to sleep.

More exciting news...Erich took about 4-5 steps on his own while we were there. Apparently their is a tradition in their family that many of their babies learn to walk while vacationing at the cottage. I guess that makes us family. Now we just have to convince them to include us in their summer vacation schedule every year (hee hee!!).

Coffee Catastrophe

I have a coffee maker called "TechniVorm" and it's awesome. I won't go into the details of why it's so awesome so you'll just have to trust me on this one (or you could research it online and buy one yourself). Anyway, I was brewing myself some coffee today and I forgot to open the switch on the filter to allow it to drip into the carafe (it was closed in order to allow the hot water to fully extract the coffee oils and such). So when I came up to our apartment after doing some laundry in the basement I smelled the wonderful aroma and said "Oh crap!!" Hopefully I didn't break it. We'll know soon enough. So now I am enjoying my wonderful cuppa Joe while chewing on a coffee ground every once in a while. Yum.....

Last day of Work (for a while)

Well, tonight is my last night of work. Thank you Jesus. I did an extra night shift on Friday night, so this is my third night in a row. I'll be thankful when my paycheck comes, but for now, I am exhausted. Oh well, pushing on through. I'll have more pics of the wee one soon, I promise.

Almost finished!!!

Well, counting tonight and tomorrow night, I only have five shifts of work left at my current job. My last day will be July 22. Erich and I aren't moving until the end of August but with two weeks that I need off between now and then, it was easier to quit than to try to get vacation time (it's a fruitless effort trying to get vacation time during the summer if you haven't worked there for at least 10 years). It will also be great to have a lot of time to work on packing everything up and tying up loose ends. It will also be nice to have more time with Jonathon before our two-or-so-month separation.

My current project is finding a new job in Michigan. I'm still not quite sure what I'm looking for. I need a job with flexibility since I'm relying on family to help with childcare, but I also need enough hours (still paying those college loans). Jonathon and I are also trying to plan a trip to Europe during this year (or so) of transition since his brother and sister-in-law will be in France. What to do?! I did send in my paperwork to get my RN license in Michigan, although I already hit a snag. I think the Boards of Nursing in this country make it difficult on purpose. Everything I have ever needed to do through them has come with some sort of submitting and resubmitting and phone calls that lead to nowhere coupled with them telling me to do things I already have done (their response is usually,"Oh, well then, just send it again to the address printed...") They never apologize for their own stupidity ('cause that would mean they were wrong in the first place).

Did I ever mention, living in New Jersey has not really made me a kinder, more compassionate person?

Well, amidst the stress of moving and finding a job, there are a number of things I'm thankful for. I'm thankful we'll be moving closer to some family and friends. I'm also thankful we do not have to worry about selling a house in this awful market (thanks to our decision to only rent while in NJ). And I'm thankful for our outstanding health (although we still have a month or so to catch Lyme's disease before we leave).

Please remember us in your prayers; that the move and job search will go smoothly. Thanks.

Pictures of Erich

My friend Ali took some pictures of Erich for his one-year birthday. Check them out by clicking the photo above. They're fabulous.

Prayers needed

A friend of mine, Barbara has been diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer that has spread to her liver and ovary. Please pray as she begins chemotherapy soon. She has also been having trouble with nausea, poor appetite and pain. Please pray for her, her husband, three sons, almost daughter-in-law and grandson. Thanks.

Let's Have a Party!!

Yesterday we celebrated Erich's first birthday with some friends from NJ. Although quite a few people couldn't make it (mostly because school just ended and people are on vacations) we had a lot of fun with those who could come. Here are some pictures. Erich's favorite part of the whole day was the swimming pool. He literally splashed for about 30 minutes straight.

Happy Father's Day

To all the wonderful fathers (biological or not) and father-figures, Happy Father's Day!! One thing I know is true, is that there seems to be a shortage of stable, happy, dependable men. So to all of you who are the best, we appreciate everything that you do and we love you. If you know any single men who fit my description, let me know. I have a few wonderful women on standby.

Happy 1st Birthday!!!

Erich is 1 year old today. Jonathon and I were busy reminiscing about what we were doing at specific times of the day this time last year. Actually, at this time (8:35am) last year I was laboring in a jacuzzi, an hour and a half away from meeting Erich.
He was so small and so precious. He has been such a joy to have in our lives. I always knew having a child would change my life, and at the beginning it was a really difficult change, but now I realize that every day is better than the one before it. We're having so much fun with Erich, watching him grow and develop into a little man. And, he's a happy baby (most of the time).

Ode to Barney

June 2007 008
Originally uploaded by sillyschramm

I was going to come up with a clever poem for our beloved dog, but seriously, I cry whenever I think about him too hard. We took Barney for a long hike in the Sourland Mountains. Of course, he rolled in something dead, so the car stunk horribly the whole ride home (very typical indeed). Jonathon then bathed him while I packed up all Barney's things. I said my goodbyes to the old beast and cried on the front stoop while Jonathon and Barney drove away. I wasn't sure Jonathon was going to make it safely to the kennel, but thankfully he did. Jonathon talked for a while with the owners of the kennel. Barney escaped his leash one last time and ran back to the car. Jonathon was able to coax him back when he was then dragged out of the office into the back. They are a no-kill shelter, so no, he was not "taken to the back." He will be put up for adoption again and we hope he finds a good family. Otherwise he will spend the rest of his days at Roycefield Kennels. Tonight Jonathon came home after a church meeting and we cried about it again. We feel kinda empty. We loved our dear dog. It probably would have been easier to put him down, since that would mean no more suffering from whatever disease he would have had. But no, we had to give him back. Betray him. He was a good dog.

Father and Son

June 2007 010
Originally uploaded by sillyschramm

Can it get any more precious than this? Erich had a good day despite only taking one nap. It must be the cooler temps (finally!!). Tomorrow is D-day for Barney (departure day). We are going to have to give him back to the Kennel. I'll post soon on how that went.

Bad week for technology

Our computer is toast (we think). Jonathon was using it on a hot day and thought it simply shut off because it was overheated (which had happened in the past). Well, now it won't turn on at all. I'm just thankful we have Jonathon's laptop, otherwise we would be out of luck. Anyway, as soon as I figure something out, I'll have pics up. Have a great week.

Testing...

May,2007 054
Originally uploaded by sillyschramm

I'm testing my flickr account to post photos to my blog. But Erich is cute, so here's another picture of him. Thanks for your patience.

A day in May

Our little man is so close to walking. He even stood without holding anything for like a split second. We're thankful we use cloth diapers because the bulk makes a nice padding for all the falling on his bum. He also had his first encounter with the oven this past weekend. He was on the other side of the kitchen safe and sound, but he crawled over to the oven while we blinked, and had his little fingers in that space between the oven door and the broiler drawer. He has blisters on three of his fingers. I guess he is going to have to be banned from the kitchen during any kind of baking from now on. Jonathon and I feel stupid because we were both in the kitchen, one of us right in front of the oven. At least we didn't learn a harder lesson; this one is pretty tame.

Anyway, our Memorial Day was uneventful. I slept for half the day after a hard night's work, and Jonathon entertained Erich and Barney.

Oh, and poor Barney, we have to find a new home for him soon. He's great with the baby (as you can see by the torture Erich inflicts on the poor animal), but Barney doesn't know his own strength and it scares me sometimes. We also are just so stressed out because Barney requires a lot of attention and time outside and we just haven't been able to give that to him since Erich has been born. After many, many months of going back and forth on this issue, we finally made the hard decision. Anyone have room for a 75-lb beast called Barney???

For Kimberly

This one is for you, Kimberly. Erich is not always smiles and sunshine (just most of the time). But, then again, this picture is from when he was 4 months old. You know, get back to me when he's 17 years old. Then I'll have pics of a moody teenager (can't wait!!).

Barnegat Lighthouse

Jonathon came back from California late Saturday night and we thought it was a good idea to spend a day together exploring another great wonder of our beloved New Jersey (while we're still here). We drove to Barnegat Lighthouse which is located on the northern tip of Long Beach Island. Of course, on our way there, we had to stop for a hike in a wildlife management area where there were MANY ticks (both Jonathon and I had to pull one out, as well as brush many off our pant legs; Erich made it out safe this time).
The scenery of the shore was breathtaking when you look out into the Atlantic. Of course, if you look out the opposite way, you'll see a typical NJ shore town. Going before Memorial Day was also a big help; the traffic wasn't too bad.
On a side note, I didn't upload these pictures to Yahoo photos because they will be cancelling their photo site. I will have to probably open a Flickr account to show our photos. I'll let you know soon.

Happy Late Mother's Day

Mother's Day was interesting. We went to church in the morning. After church all the men made brunch for the women of the church (very nice!!). We then went home, Jonathon packed a bag, and we drove to the airport where Jonathon went away to Santa Barbara, CA for a week. I then took Erich home and started my adventure as a temporary single mother. VERY HARD!! Let me tell you; this is why God meant for there to be a mother AND a father. Luckily, Jonathon's mother came today to help out while I went away to work (where I am now, which is why there is no picture with this blog). So, I had a good and bad Mother's day. I love being a mom, so all in all, it was good. I hope all you mothers out there had a wonderful day!

A walk in the woods

We recently went on a hike to Washington Crossings State Park in the Sourland Mountains. Jonathon has a connection with someone from the Garden Club of America and may be able to work this summer identifying/surveying the park. It's not yet a well-known hiking spot so the entrance is on a rural residential road out in the sticks. If you didn't know it was there, you would drive right past. But it was beautiful. And there were still native species of plants there which means there is hope of revitalizing the forest. We took Erich and he seemed to enjoy himself, and my was he very dirty when we were finished.

Springtime Merriment

There will be no pictures of me (Katie) during Spring...EVER! My allergies temporarily age me by about 20 years. Swollen, red eyes, sneezing, coughing, wheezing...but I still love the smells of Spring (when I can smell them).

But we have plenty of pictures of the small one. He is just always cute. We have all been enjoying the warmer temperatures. We have gone to the park a few times; Erich loves to swing and crawl in the grass. He loves to watch the dandelion seeds be carried away by the wind. We are all desperately trying to enjoy this time before the heat and humidity of summer begin.

Jonathon is working very hard with his research and his writing. He sometimes has long days away from home, but is feeling productive. And, well, him being productive is the most important thing at this time. The rest seems to take care of itself.

I hope you all are enjoying your Spring. Make sure to walk barefoot in the grass while you can.

Will Daddy share his doughnut with Erich? Not today, poor Erich...not today. Maybe when you have more teeth.