Wish I were here:

I am so wishing that instead of the rain, ice, snow, and cold that I see out my window every morning, I could be enjoying these views. A girl can dream...RIGHT?

My Daily Horoscope

Aries

March 21 - April 19Go for the gold, dear Aries.
This day marks the beginning of the rest of your life.
Treat it with respect. You may find that you are on a crusade,
and that your combative instinct is working over-time.
There is a lot of fuel in your engine, so don't worry about running out.
The only thing you really need to be concerned about is possibly stepping on other people's toes. Make sure you consider how your actions are affecting others.

What does everyone think???

Little Peanut

These are the lyrics to the song "Glory Baby" by Watermark.

Glory baby you slipped away as fast as we could say baby…baby.
You were growing, what happened dear?
You disappeared on us baby…baby.
Heaven will hold you before we do
Heaven will keep you safe until we’re home with you…
Until we’re home with you…


Miss you everyday. Miss you in every way
But we know there’s aday when we will hold you We will hold you
You’ll kiss our tears away. When we’re home to stay
Can’t wait for the day when we will see youWe will see you
But baby let sweet Jesus hold you‘till mom and dad can hold you…
You’ll just have heaven before we do
You’ll just have heaven before we do

Sweet little babies, it’s hard to understand it ‘cause we’re hurting
We are hurting. But there is healing.
And we know we’re stronger people through the growing
And in knowing-That all things work together for our good
And God works His purposes just like He said He would…
Just like He said He would…


BRIDGE:I can’t imagine heaven’s lullabies and what they must sound like
But I will rest in knowing, heaven is your home
And it’s all you’ll ever know…all you’ll ever know…


I love to hear this song that I heard about on the blog When Hello Means Goodbye. It makes me feel better to know that my little peanut is in heaven with her Grandpa.

Update

I just wanted to send out a quick note to let everyone know that Mom and I made it back to WI on Tuesday and she is resting comfortably at our house. Her Dr's visit went really well. She got her staples out, had an x-ray that looked great, and was fitted with a boot. Still no weight on that ankle for 6 more weeks, but we will do whatever it takes to make it better. She will be staying with us until the middle of April, with one visit to MI March 20th for a Dr's appointment.

Lastly, we just wanted to thank everyone for their support, thoughts, and prayers for both my Mom and Mike and I's loss. We will keep everyone updated on progress.

Trials of an only Child

As many of you know, I am an only child. This is not a bad situation to be in most of the time, but in circumstances of sickness and trauma, it is a lot to bare. This is the story of my very interesting week, and the reason why I am stuck in Holland without Internet access until Tuesday.

My week started out on a very shaky note, with a call from my mother saying she had fallen on the ice and "hurt her ankle". After a few hours and one very scary looking X-ray, I got a call from an ER doc saying the ankle was broken in 3 places and needed surgery ASAP. To this I instructed them to wait until I got there and took off for, the supposed to take, 5 hour drive to Holland. Including picking up Mike at work it took us 4 hours the get to the hospital, and we arrived just as they were wheeling her to surgery. Luck was on our side...we thought!!

After one night in the hospital we had devised a great plan that would get Mike and I back to work on Thurs and Mom to a safe place where she wouldn't have to be alone, our house. Unfortunately, the Dr. vetoed that plan on Tuesday by saying that Mom couldn't endure the ride to WI for 1 week.

So, here I am in a noisy Panera Bread, using the Internet, and trying to get some time to myself. The last 3 days have been nothing but taking Mom to the bathroom, getting her stuff, and watching TV. Don't get me wrong, I love to be lazy at times, but this is getting to me and with 4 more days to go I may need medicinal help to endure. Following a post op appointment on Tues I will be bringing Mom back to WI to live with us for the 6-8weeks she has to stay off the ankle.

If any friends or family out there are going to be around on Saturday or Sunday and are looking for something to do give me a call, I have time. Thanks for listening to me whine, I should get back to "work". Kate

One Week

Today it has been one week since I lost my first little peanut. One week of grieving for someone that we never really knew, but loved dearly. This one week has been filled with a roller coaster of emotions and many moments of confusion. Confusion over not only what to tell friends and family, but about what to expect from my own body. This next few months will be a waiting game and I am TERRIBLE at waiting. The only thought that has brought me comfort this week is that my little peanut is safe in heaven with her grandpa (my father) who passed away 3 years ago. I know that he will take great care of her and she is blessed to know him. Thanks to everyone who called, wrote, sent cards, and prayed. I am blessed to have so many people out there who care. Kate

I thought I would leave you with one of Peanut's friends: This is Leon the Lion, her first toy.

Extreme Loss

I write this post with tears in my eyes. It seems like crying is what I've done a lot of this weekend. Just a few days ago Mike and I were extremely excited and looking forward to announcing to friends and family that we were expecting our first baby. After a year of trying we were finally blessed with a positive test on Jan. 17th. Since then we had been getting more excited by the day and had been finding it difficult to not tell everyone that we know and love our great news. Unfortunately, our little one was not healthy and was not able to stay with us. Friday when I woke up I knew that something was wrong and a trip to the Dr. confirmed that we had suffered a miscarriage. Now we are grieving the loss of our little peanut by trying to focus on the good things in our life, while looking forward to trying again in the future. I would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray and keep us in their thoughts. Kate

PLEASE PRAY!!

Mike and I have suffered a terrible loss today. I am not up to going into detail right now, but we just need everyone to pray that we are stronger for this in the long run. Thank you to everyone. Kate

Oh So Cute!!!

Thought everyone would enjoy this cute little face. I know that it always brightens my day.

Curly or Straight...What's the Verdict

Well, this was the look for the day. What does everyone think? The experiment started with a girl at work that has been talking about straightening my hair for awhile now. Today was the big day and over our lunch hour Tracy and I played "Barbie Beauty Shop".

This is the finished result:


Reactions have been mixed. The girls at work mostly thought that it was great, but of course they're not going to say it looks bad. Now as for my Mom, those of you that know her know she tells it like it is, I sent her a picture this afternoon. Her reaction was "It looks like SH**". Then there was my husband who was so shocked when he got home that he just kept asking "what did you do". He also said that there was no way I was his wife, his wife has curly hair.

Now that hair experiment day is over I am glad that I did it, but have to say I think I look better with curls. I guess god knows what he's doing when he creates us. So tomorrow it's back to curly sue.

Job News

So I told everyone that I would let them know when I heard about the job. Well, I got the call this morning that they offered it to and it was excepted by another candidate. Needless to say I'm disappointed, but hopefully another, better opportunity will come along soon. I am going to continue to concentrate on the wonderful things that are happening in life and stay positive. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. Kate

Still Waiting

Today marks 2 weeks that I have been waiting for word on the new nursing position that I applied for. This waiting has been made much more difficult by the fact that I have been filling in for the nurse that left the position. Hopefully next week will bring good news and a permanent home for me. Thank you for your continued prayers and I will keep everyone posted. Kate

How Fitting!!

Daily Horoscope:
Aries March 21 - April 19
Uncertainty with regard to professional matters can lead to an increased determination to get ahead, dear Aries, in spite of confusion as to exactly how to do it. It might be a good idea to do some research, organize all your information and then use it in order to formulate a plan of action. The resulting advancement may be slow-moving, but it is sure and steady, and a wealth of experience that enriches your life should follow.

Prayers Please

I am sending out this post to request prayers for Mike and I. Many of your know about our struggles to start a family and we always need thoughts and prayers for that, but recently there is one more request. A few weeks ago I applied for a position as a Pediatric nurse in the clinic system that I work. I interviewed for that new position today and hope to know something by next week. This position would give me a routine and a department to call home, which would bring consistency to our lives. Those of you that know me well know that I am terrible at waiting and second guess myself during that time. Hopefully this week will pass quickly and we will recieve good news at it's completion. Thanks, Kate.

O Christmas Tree

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, how lovely are your branches.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, I just don't want to take you down.

As you can tell I am having a hard time bringing myself to take down our Christmas Tree this year. I just love sitting at night with the lights low, fireplace on, enjoying to glow of it's beautiful lights. I keep telling myself that I will do it when Mom goes home and since she leaves tomorrow (after a 2 week visit) I guess the time has come. I order to prolong to joy awhile longer I decided to take some pictures of it and some of my favorite ornaments.

A double decker bus like those we rode in while visiting London

Bell given to us by Mom last year (we get an ornament each year)

Looking Ahead to 2009

As we speed toward the New Year, Mike and I not only reflect on the year gone by, but think about what we would like to accomplish in the one to come. This year has seen many happy events including the building and moving into our dream home, visiting a new state (CA), and welcoming our first nephew into the family. Along with these happy events we have faced some struggles that we continue to work through. These include death/illness of family members that are close to our hearts, the continued struggle to start the family that we so much desire, and watching those around us receive the thing that we so desperately seek. Though we rejoice with these friends and family, it is difficult to endure the repeated disappointment over something we feel meant to do.

Considering the ups and downs of 2008, these are the goals that we have set for the coming year:

1. To finish settling into our new home and continue to improve upon it.
2. Relocating Mom to WI so that she can be close to us.
3. Settling me into a permanent position within the clinic system, therefor getting a routine.
4. Last, but certainly not least, to start a family. We hope that this year will bring the addition of a little one to our hearts and home.

If you could please keep us in your prayers as we start this new year and strive to achieve these goals it would be greatly appreciated. We wish everyone a Happy and Healthy 2009!!

Merry Christmas from the Stormes!!

Home At Last

Even though we are sad to be back in the snow and out of the sun, we are really glad to FINALLY be home. It's a long story, but the highlights are, we were supposed to fly out of San Diego at 11:30am on Sunday morning and finally took off at 5:30pm San Diego time. This delay put us into Chicago after midnight last night. Since there was no way that we could stay awake to drive home, it was another night in a hotel for us. To make things more complicated, my Mom was supposed to fly into Chicago yesterday, and as those of you that live in MI know, with all the snow no flights were leaving Grand Rapids. Finally today at 1:00pm Chicago time we met up with Mom and headed back to WI. Tomorrow it's back to the real world, BOO WHO. At lease we had a GREAT trip with an extra day to sight see. I will leave everyone with our favorite picture from each day. ENJOY!!

Monday:

Through it was raining, it was great to see the Pacific Ocean

Tuesday:

Mike and I at the coast. It was hard to explain to the Mexican gardener what we wanted, where was my high school Spanish when I needed it.

Wednesday:

The ABC Christmas party was really fun and we had a great meal with good company

Thursday:

Mike and I got to see the beautiful sunset. Together this time.

Friday:

Jin Jin the 16 month old giant panda at the San Diego Zoo. She was so cute!

Saturday:

The view from the cliffs of Point Loma was amazing. My favorite part was the tide pools.

Sunday:

This was the view from our balcony in San Diego. We were sorry to have to leave it :(

Hopefully we can go back again sometime.

Party People!!

Tonight Mike and I had the pleasure of attending the ABC Supply West Regional Office Christmas party. This was held at the Chart House, a very beautiful restaurant right on the Pacific ocean. We had a great time and are very grateful for the hospitality that has been extended to us by the members of this office. Here is a photo of us all gussied up and having fun.Tomorrow is Mike's last day of work and then we are off to San Diego to stay until Sunday. I am very glad that I will have a sight seeing buddy soon. It gets lonely being in a new place while Mike is at work and wanting to share my experiences with him. I can't wait to explore with my husby. Love Ya Babe!!!

Day 3 of Californication

Though day 1 and 3 of Californication were overcast and rainy, day 2 was beautiful. Mike was able to take the morning off and we went for a drive down the coast to La Jolla where we snagged these gorgeous photos. This one is a view from the cliff looking north toward Los Angeles. We decided to take a steep set of stairs down to the beach to get closer to the Pacific.

FYI: the waves can and will come all the way up to the cliffs. I learned this the very wet way.

Overall the trip is going really well, even with the rain I have gone somewhere different everyday. One of my favorite things that I saw was yesterdays sunset. Having only ever seen one over Lake MI, it was a majestic sight to behold. I will leave you with some great shots of that sunset. ENJOY!!