November 2008

Well...I haven't been on here for a long time. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! I can't believe how fast life is going by. I am about to turn 30 on the 22nd of this month. That's a bit hard to swallow. Not ready to leave my 30's - but wow, I remember when MY MOM turned 30. Now it's my turn. Tune in later to see how I did! :)
Anyways, the Johnson Family is doing great. I am staying very busy with my munchkins. I can't believe how big they are getting. Rylie is 5 1/2 and is loving Kindergarten, and is getting ready to take a break from Ballet. She's been doing it for 7 solid months. She wants to be done right now. But she has one big performance to do before she can. She is about to be in her 1st Nutcracker performance. Very exciting - she has seen one (and loved it) and we are going to go to another one mid December. She is reading and just growing up so fast.
Chase is...Chase! Holy good grief...this is one heck of 3 yr old little boy. He fully lives up to his name, and keeps me oh so busy. He is full of energy and attitude. And makes me tear up at least once a day. It's gonna be a long year... But all that 3 yr old boy stuff aside, he is doing great. His diabetes is NOT slowing him down. If you didn't know he had it - you would never know this kid had anything going on. Which I am proud of! He is learning to bring me food and ask if he can have it. Which is a plus. Not always fun trying to figure out why his blood sugar is erratic!!! We are approaching the 1 yr mark since his diagnosis. I can't believe a year has flown by. It shows me how much we have gone through...and survived. We have come a long way, and found a normalcy in life once again. Now if it gets changed again, and not for the better...I'm gonna be ticked.
Matt has a new position in the company that unfortuntely takes him from us way too much. He is on the road or air for that matter, traveling all around the western states. He is the Western Regional OTR Retread Sales Manager for D&D Tire still. The company sold this year, so come the end of 2008 - the company will be officially under the name of Purcell Tire and Rubber Co. - you have probably heard of them. They have been around for a long time... Matt is happy with his new job and is of course - good at it!!! Nothing new there. He knows his tires.
Our life has had it's share of trials and we have come through them. Maybe not with shining colors, but we got to the other side. We continue to be thankful for what we have, and hope that the future holds nothing but greatness. I'm over the sadness and hardships. I've had my share thank you very much!!!
But I hope this finds you all well...
Much love to you all - and Happy Holidays to you all!!!!

Doing much better these days...

Well... after "checking in" and reading my past blogs, I feel like I need to update how we have been since Chase's diabetes diagnosis. As much as I wish I could write that it was not true - it's not the case. BUT... he is doing good. And I mean not only good - but fantastic!!! He was put on a insulin pump in late March. I was struggling to give my baby these piece of crap shots 3-4 times a day. He's little - he doesn't understand. He would tell me "no" and "bad momma"... Crap - it's gonna make me cry remembering that. But the good news is, that we are no longer doing that. He is on a wonderful little device that is delivering insulin to him without the needles. Now, he still gets his fingers poked 4 times a day - no matter what. But no more shots!!! I have to put a new infusion site in once every 3 days. But it is really simple, and he does great. He doesn't fight me, he doesn't flinch. He is a very brave little boy - and I should take some lessons from him! I could write a book on it - but the main thing is that HE is living his life the same that he was before diabetes. He is a wild and mischevious little boy - a typical toddler... And we love it...
Rylie, my sweet girl is now 5 yrs old, reading like a champ, being a ballerina, and will start kindergarten in late August. She is signed on for soccer again - maybe she will be into it a bit more this season. But she is doing great and continues to the best big sister to Chase and the best little helper to mommy and of course, she is always Daddy's princess!!! Love that girl to pieces...
Matt is doing great. D&D Tire sold recently, and Matt just started a new position in the newly combined companies. So hopefully it all turns out really well for him - and us as a family.
Me... I'm getting better. I am learning to forgive so to speak. I do get angry with some of the past issues involving my kids health. It can bring me down easily if I let it. I am trying to find the balance. I'm improving - still have a ways to go. But I love my family to ends of the Earth - and there is nowhere I else I'd rather be - except the spa getting a facial and a massage... :)
I hope that this is a bit easier to read and let's you all know that we are doing much better since the last post. I had a hard time reading it - very raw and real feelings I was having. It was a very tramautic time - it still stings me pretty hard when I think back on it...
love to all...
The Fernley clan...

I'm still here...

Hello all! Yes, I'm guilty. The one who was super excited about this blog...and now I struggle to post. Ack! I'd feel more guilty if I didn't know that I am in good company.

We the Mortons are all doing pretty well (especially compared to everything the Fernley Johnson families are going through! I count my blessings!) I am sick of winter, that's not news. Sadly, in Wisconsin, there will be many more weeks of it. I've decided that my personal hell would not be fire and brimstone, but bitter, biting, windy, cold. Guess that's what we get for living here...it's the same every year, no surprise, I don't know why it still bums me out every year. It is getting better. Sunday, it was about 30 degrees, sunny and no wind. Hey, I know it's still cold, but it's "warm" enough that I can bundle up the kidlets in coats and hats and not worry about frostbite. There's a 50 degree difference between 30 degrees and the sub-zero temps we've had lately. It's all a matter of perspective. I guess.

The only other news around here is Ty's sad Happy Birthday. We were meeting Jake's brother and his wife and kids at a pizza place for his birthday party on Saturday. The place wasn't open and we were waiting in line. Ty was all over the place running around. He tends to be a little top heavy and he trips often. This time, he managed to catch the corner of the door and split open his head. I heard people screaming my name from the back of the line and went back to find Jake holding Ty, blood everywhere. Naturally, I freaked out. We left Brooklyn to party with her cousins and headed to the ER. Two hours and 7 stitches later, the ordeal was over. We picked up Brooklyn from Ty's party and headed home for naps. Poor Ty. Luckily, I don't think he knew what he was missing.

I'll post some pics of the kids. I'm getting super excited already for next Thanksgiving!