About that Time Again...

Figured I should probably blog again. I just don't like blogging without pictures, and I don't like blogging with ONLY pictures...so I kinda get stuck sometimes.

The last few weeks here in Fernie have been one thing. Wet. Almost constantly. It's been pretty depressing and, from what I understand, it's been very similar almost everywhere else in this region. It's just not good for a person's sanity. Really it's not. Fernie was going stir-crazy! Well, I can't speak for everyone...but certainly for myself and most people I've talked to.

On the upside, it seems the weather is taking a break from dumping rain, the clouds have floated away for the most part, and the sun is shining! We were starting to worry that the week or so of sun in April was all we were going to get this year! Hopefully that's not so. This morning when I looked at the thermometer it was almost 20 degrees, and it was only 8am! Nice. I poured myself a mug of coffee and took my bowl of porridge and soaked up the sun on the back deck for quite awhile. It was heavenly! I didn't have to work with the kids today since I was waiting on a phone call for an interview time at the Best Western, so this allowed me the time for a pleasant morning "waking up" in my own time (even though I was awake as soon as Duane's alarm went off at 7:15).
While I was outside I decided it was time to cut a few flowers from the garden so we could enjoy the beauty inside the house as well. There is SO much in that garden, but the only things flowering right now (that are nice for flower arrangements) are the lupin and peony. I had to do a pretty serious ant hunt before I brought the peonies in, and I still missed some. Ew. One was crawling on the table and one on the wall. It was then that I decided to arrange them OUTSIDE on the patio table :) I think they turned out pretty nice. Can't go wrong when the flowers are so full of color!




Last night Duane and I were able to eat out on the deck for the first time, since it was finally so nice out. We BBQd burgers...well, Duane did...and enjoyed the sun together. It was then that we decided we were going to go out to do something when we finished. The something turned out to be a quick hike up Castle Mountain. Duane has biked it once before, but I'd not had the chance to get up it yet. I opted out of biking it, and boy am I glad I did! I can't believe people bike some of those hills! And there are some pretty interesting switchbacks to fiddle with on a bike. Like I said, I'm glad we walked :) It was the perfect way to end a great summer evening, and I hope to do much of the same throughout the summer if work allows for evenings with the hubby. Here are a bunch of the pics I took.


Our destination point: Castle Rock

Our wildlife encounter: grouse

Getting closer!

Castle Rock and wildflowers

A silhouetted husband

Castle Rock and the Lizard Range across the valley

Rounding the bend to the summit point

Duane picked me a flower :)

The Lizard Range, West Fernie and the setting sun

The Fernie townsite, Mt. Fernie, the 3 Sisters and Mt. Proctor across the valley. So pretty!

Traditional couples shot at the summit

And, yes, I made it up happy and in once piece :) I haven't hiked in just over a year!


Finished work with the kids, Duane's weddings are gearing up, I change hours at the Tea House for the summer, still waiting on another summer job ("it's only for 2 months, it's only for 2 months..."), enjoying the weather, and enjoying life!
So there's the update!

~K~

If It Weren't For the Rain...

...I'd be out doing this.
I like the rain, but enough is enough. I can't gain confidence if I'm not out there practicing!



That's all I have to say about that.

~K~

Oh My Word...I'm Blogging!

Well guys...here she is! My new bike :) Isn't she fab? She rides like a dream; so much smoother! (however, my rear end begs to differ...)



The "old" bike has been relegated to the basement, poor thing. Maybe I'll try to sell it to some unsuspecting mountain bike newbie next Spring. Ha ha. It really is a nice looking bike, but it is seriously a tank to haul up any type of hill...and if I'm going to get into mountain biking/trail riding at all, that guy isn't going to cut it!


Since I know no jargon I won't bore you with too many details, but she's a Trek6000 and has front suspension. It's a hardtail, which I learned means it has no rear suspension. Whatever. LOL It's not made of steel and I can bike up hills now, and the gears aren't finicky...that's all that matters to me! She's even quite pretty looking :) Hopefully she'll help get my bottom half toned up and leaner this summer, and will help get Duane and I out doing something together...unlike skiing!

Maybe 29 won't be so bad after all (not that I was too worried...). Happy birthday to me.
(these are a couple of birthday gifts from my new favorite shop in town...The Green Petal)


~K~

Vegetable, Flower or...weed??

What the heck is growing in my garden? Anyone know? Mom?
I really need to tidy it up, but I took a few pictures first and maybe someone could enlighten me?





My guess is that the last one is a lettuce of sorts...but that's all I've got.

~K~

Fairy Creek Trail

Not that we got very far up the trail before we diverted to more interesting and not so trail-like spots.

We took a couple hours on Sunday afternoon for a photography lesson..anything to hang out, just the two of us! I enjoyed it for the most part, but I think learning all this exposure stuff makes my head hurt. Numbers and figuring out how they correspond is NOT my forte and sorta takes the fun out of the hobby for me. I certainly enjoyed the time outside with the hubby though, and I think that's what counts.

Here are the shots from the afternoon (even though I know most of you have seen them on FB already...but my mother hasn't. Here you go, mom!).

The Teacher. He looks good in blue. I have a crush on the teacher...but I think I'm allowed!



He gave me a tough exposure here, but I figured it out!
One of my faves from the day



Another favorite. There was an old vehicle in shambles, and the door was pretty cool.

The photographer doing what he does best.

Another favorite...there are a few!



Yet another fave.

These icicles were just so neato!


Final shot of the walk...not a great one, but my husband just HAD to pull off the three-pronged icicle and shatter it on the rocks!


~K~

Forgiven

I pretty much love this song. Verse two is pretty significant in my situation. Love it. Click on the link to hear it sung by the Gaither Vocal Band and Signature Sound.



I Then Shall Live
Gloria Gaither (who, by the way, is one of the most brilliant lyricists EVER)

I then shall live as one who’s been forgiven;
I'll walk with joy to know my debts are paid.
I know my name is clear before my Father;
I am His child, and I am not afraid.
So greatly pardoned, Ill forgive another;
The law of love I gladly will obey.

I then shall live as one who’s learned compassion;
I’ve been so loved that I'll risk loving, too.
I know how fear builds walls instead of bridges;
I dare to see another’s point of view.
And when relationships demand commitment,
Then I'll be there to care and follow through.

Your kingdom come around and through and in me,
Your power and glory, let them shine thru me.
Your Hallowed Name O may I bear with honor,
And may Your living Kingdom come in me.
The Bread of Life, O may I share with honor,
And may You feed a hungry world thru me.

~K~

Jody's A Mommy & I Have A Nephew!

Ok folks...here goes the story. I feel as though I've told the important bits multiple times over facebook already, but I guess things get lost in the mix.

Mom, correct me if any of this is incorrect...the days all blended together, as well as the amount of times she was sent home!

Friday, December 4, Jody and Nigel were asked to come to the hospital for an ultrasound. Jody understood that if baby was decidedly large, they were going to C-section that day. Nigel understood they'd induce her if baby was large. Turns out one doc (Jody's) figured they should get him out, but the head obstetrician figured he could wait a bit and let Jody go into labour naturally. The ultrasound showed baby was about 7lb 10oz - 7lb 11oz at that point. The OB said that's not abnormal because they "have tiny Asian women who come in here and push out 8lb babies all the time". In other words, he wasn't concerned. They were sent home and told to call Saturday morning.
Jody thought they were to go in on Saturday, so in they went...and they were sent home again...as I figured. Nobody thought it was worth it to induce her. She was told on Saturday that she should come back Sunday and they might induce her.
Sunday rolled around and Jody and Nigel headed back in early to get things checked out after she woke up and noticed her water was broken around 6am (could've been broken a couple hours, she figured). Monitors showed she was in the early stages of labour, so the doc wouldn't induce her and she was sent home. I went from the hospital to church half asleep. Jody and Nigel joined us for lunch after church and Jody was ok, but obviously uncomfortable. Jody stayed the afternoon and "napped" in the guest room..Nigel went home. Sunday evening (midnight-ish) comes and Nigel is sleeping, dead to the world, and Jody is suffering some really bad back labour. She calls mom crying asking mom to go over so someone awake is there with her. Mom spent the night Sunday night and went to the hospital with them on Monday morning, where they finally admitted her and she started active labour.
Mid-morning on Monday, mom whipped home, woke me up and we left for the hospital figuring things were going to progress quickly. They didn't. Jody had very, very uncomfortable back labour almost the whole time, yet wasn't dilating past 4-5cm for hours. Baby and mom were both stable, though, and morphine was ordered. After the morphine was administered, Jody was still uncomfortable and the only difference was that she was extremely drowsy. Awhile later they gave her fentanyl. It also did nothing to help with her pain. Jody was in and out of "consciousness" for a number of hours. Eventually the epidural was ordered, administered, and we had our Jody back! She was in great spirits, though tired, and even mentioned that her tummy was itchy! We hadn't heard that all day! She also was able to realize how hungry and thirsty she was, but wasn't able to eat anything once doc had it in his mind that they might do surgery. The poor girl!
Shortly after the epidural, we noticed baby's heart rate increase significantly...up into the 170s, and within a couple minutes (when doc was out of the room on a phone call), the heart rate went up to the mid 180s! It was determined at that point that a c-section was going to happen for sure. She'd dilated to 6-7cm by this point (post epidural), but it wasn't quickly enough for the doc and baby's head was still facing up. So we were at the point that doc wasn't happy with her progress, baby's head was up, and baby's heart rate was up indicating possible infection setting in because of the amount of time that had passed since her water broke. From the time Jody's water broke to this point was about 36 hours. In my mind, that's completely unfair and abnormal. It's one thing to want to let her labour naturally, but when her water broke Sunday morning I think it should've been a max of 12 hours after that they'd induce!!
Just before 9pm on Monday night, Jody was wheeled into the OR with 2 grandmas and an auntie waiting in anticipation on the other side of the doors.
Gavin Peter Guest was born at 21:21 on Monday, December 7th and weighed 9lbs 8oz!! He was 20 and 3/4 inches long and after mommy held him for a few seconds, he was whisked from the OR to the NICU...right past the waiting grandmas and auntie...we looked like the paparazzi :) He was also born with a microform cleft (this isn't Gavin, but this is similar to what his lip looks like...just on the opposite side) that managed to heal itself in the womb. Apparently that is very rare...go Gavin!! The doctors have no concerns about it. His breathing was too rapid for comfort, which is why they took him to the NICU...but once they got there and got his breathing under control, they also noticed his blood sugar levels to be very low.
(they wheeled Jody in there post-recovery to check him out)
He was put on an IV of sugar water to help regulate that, as well as now feeding him formula to help wean him off his meds. Apparently blood sugar issues are common in newborns, but I'd never heard of it. They originally said 24-48 hours in there, but as of today, it's been almost twice that.
Jody has been doing well, but has been very tired...rightfully so...and she is quite swollen from all the fluids they pumped her with, and they finally removed her catheter and her IV fluids and meds yesterday. She is also sore from the surgery, but is surviving. She was discharged today without her son, but will hopefully have him in her arms soon. Nigel has had to go back to work the day after Gavin was born, and I stayed at the hospital with her all day, every day. She enjoyed a few visitors (thanks guys!) yesterday, and we're working on finding someone to stay with her at home during the next couple days while Nigel is at work. I have unfortunately come down with a cold or something, so we don't want her catching a cough. Having an incision and a cough would not be a good thing...so I'm staying away. It's really tough though!!
As far as I've last heard, they were hoping to remove his IVs either tonight or tomorrow and see how he does, and he should be home in a couple days! They have also lowered his meds from 18ml/hour to 4ml/hour and he seems to be regulating his blood sugars ok!! I might be lucky enough to get to hold him once before I move home at 6am on Sunday morning.
I'll be back for a baby steal at Christmas with my husband!! :)

Here are the pictures of his first couple days and all of these are through a window with no flash, so pardon the out of focus-ness :)

Gavin's 2nd day - first 24 hours:

Gavin's 3rd day:




Since Jody was discharged today, I worked overnight, and I've managed to come down with a cold, I didn't go to the hospital at all today. There will be no more pictures until Christmas...unless he comes home before I leave on Sunday!

~K~