Events of the week

I'm very happy to report that some of the pregnancy nausea and fatigue is starting to abate a little, and though I'm still not a bundle of energy, I am going to push myself and stay up an extra 20 minutes (ha!) to write and update all two of you readers on events in the Wind household this week.  ;)

It's been a busy week.  We have enjoyed some wonderful fellowship with friends and family this week (the friends being mostly from our church and the family being my brother Mark and his wife Beth) and the week has flown by.  I can tell that I am feeling a bit better because we added in some extra events this week that were very fun.

The weather has been weirdly spring-like, complete with singing birds, daffodils coming up out of the ground, blue skies, fresh air, and a smell of spring.  We'll take it, though!  In fact, it was so nice this week that we made an impromptu trip to the zoo just to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.  The girls and I did a good amount of walking, and the highlight was seeing the baby polar bear play in her exploration area.  The polar bear cub was having great fun digging in a huge tub of ice cubes, playing with a plastic hoop, sticking her face in and out of the tub, stretching and rolling and generally really having a great time.  Across from her, in a separate enclosure, was a family of three grizzly bears who were also in and out of the water in their area, playing with some plastic toys, and swimming and splashing.  We watched the bears for a long time!  Fun!

This was the first week of class for the spring semester, and also the week that John finished his German class online.  It had been a task he'd been working on during the entire break, so he was so relieved and thankful to get his final assignments in and take the exam.  We have also been leading a discipleship class at our church for several Chinese men, and that was supposed to finish up this week, but two of the men couldn't make it so we will hope to finish next week.  

Also, I am now a part of a class for Seminary Wives called "Cross-Cultural Ministry." I will be participating in the class each week and speaking formally once.  This runs for the next six weeks, and I really enjoyed our first class last night--meeting the ladies who are taking the class and having a chance to help them prepare for life overseas. 

With school kicking into gear for John, we've been trying to get in a better schedule at home too.  One resolution I made this week was to start earlier in the mornings.  Now that I'm not quite as desperate for sleep, I have been getting up earlier and trying to start our school day right on time (8:30).  If we do start on time, we have no problem finishing before lunch, even if we take a detour or two throughout the morning.  If we don't get started, though, it's easy for the morning to ooze by and then suddenly we have lots to do when nobody is as motivated in the afternoon.  So, that's going a bit better, we still have more to learn though about keeping a disciplined schedule!

Date night Tuesday night was our turn to have a date, and we opted to stay home, order a pizza and watch the movie "Courageous."  It was excellent.  We could get it at redbox for a dollar, so it was a cheap and very inspiring date.  It's really a touching movie!  I was very impressed and the message and movie-making were both excellent.  What a fun date!

Our small group is gathering again with almost everyone back in town now after the break.  We are looking forward to time with these brothers and sisters over the next semester!  The fact that we were hosting last Sunday night was motivation for me to clean my whole house at once and have everything ready for guests--a good motivation!  And it felt good to have it done, too!

And, the big news of the week for the girls is that they started swimming lessons!  There are often swimming lessons offered at the seminary pool, but I had heard it was difficult to get in--not so many teachers, and tons of kids that want lessons.  So when I stopped by on Wednesday afternoon and asked about the possibility of getting into the next session, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were still openings for this session.  The instructor had just arrived and asked if we could start that afternoon, in an hour to be exact!  So, we filled out the registration forms, ran home to get swimsuits, and were back in time for the girls' first swimming lessons ever.  Their teacher is a sweet lady named Amber and has all three of my girls in the class--just the three of them and the teacher.  (Since the girls haven't had lessons before, they are all pretty much at the same level.)  On Wednesday Christin was pretty hesitant to get in the pool, until Daddy offered a sufficiently motivating reward: new lip gloss.  After the promise of the lip gloss was made, she did get in and participate the last 10 minutes or so.  But today, she was in the water the whole time and really did quite well!  Considering that in times past when I had taken her into deeper water she clung to me with a death grip, she is doing great to even be willing to be in the water (albeit by the side of the pool) on her own.  I see the girls facing their fears of putting their faces in the water and that is so great!  Clara Anne has led out with a more eager, willing attitude (not exactly fearless, but willing) and Chloe and Christin are doing better and better.  Chloe did NOT want to jump in to the teacher on Wednesday but today she did it, no problem.  So, progress already!  We'll have three weeks of lessons, twice a week, and see where we end up from there.  I never had lessons myself so I feel like I have already learned a lot about the basics of swimming!

And then, there's me and this little one I'm carrying around.  I still have not been to a doctor, we have been trying and trying to get the insurance issues ironed out but no success yet.  Thankfully it doesn't seem like there are any issues and I think I may have felt a little "doink" kick a couple of different times.  Hard to say at this point though!

This next week my brother and his wife will be out of town so we will be keeping their girls for the week--and that will be a joy!  They play so well with Clara Anne, Chloe, and Christin, and truly all have a lot of fun together.  We'll do school, make a few trips out if we feel like it, but just generally enjoy the time together.  Praying for a blessing on Mark and Beth as they travel!

Last but certainly not least, here is an update on my dad.  I know that I didn't say much on the blog here after they got home from Mayo clinic, but partially that was because there wasn't so much to say.  After all of those extensive tests, they left still not knowing exactly what is causing Dad's issues.  Some doctors thought Dad had severe chemical depression, brought on by his two heart attacks, some thought he showed evidence of dementia (not necessarily Alzheimer's), and some thought that there were other neurological issues going on.  In the end, no course of treatment was decided upon other than that they are trying a new antidepressant for him.  Since Mom and Dad have come home, there has maybe been a very slight improvement in Dad's condition, but generally he still wants to rest in bed all day, have it dark and quiet, and has no energy for social interactions.  He is somewhat aware of what is going on around him (like when Mom's piano lessons start and stop) but is not able to interact with her much at all.  They will have followup appointments at Mayo in March and perhaps more will be done then.  For now, we are praying for wisdom, healing, and a better quality of life for my dad, as well as strength and sustaining grace for my mom.  We will wait and see what happens.

Well, there's the news from the Wind household!  Thanks for stopping by!