Celebrating Nick's Birthday

This afternoon I drove to Orlando to celebrate Nick's birthday with he, Meg and Doug.  I was very happy to do so since I hadn't seen them in a week. They picked the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.  Neither Doug nor I had ever been there.  The food was absolutely delicious. I was very thankful for the "skinny menu" as it was filled with several dairy free options.  It also helped me leave room to try a dessert.  Meg and I split the chocolate cake and the guys each got a piece of cheesecake in honor of Nick's 25th. No one was disappointed with their choice. 

Dinner wasn't the only item on the agenda tonight.  Nick also opened his gifts from Brett - a pair of Purdue socks, and Doug and I - a Purdue hat.  Both were greatly appreciated.  We also got to hear Nick's favorite parts of DC in person and to see all of the souvenirs that they brought back from their trip.  It was a lot of fun, and I was very glad to celebrate Nick tonight. He truly has become an integral part of the Heinisch family, even if he is a Yoder.

Washington DC for the Newbie

Meg and Nick spent the last four days in Washington DC enjoying all that our nation's capital has to offer.  While they were there, Meg even got to visit with childhood friend, Aaron.  He had been stationed at the Pentagon for the past several years.  I loved all of the pictures that she sent.  Nick had never been and I was glad to hear that he liked the city as much as we had on our family's three previous trips.  The monuments, Arlington Cemetery and Mount Vernon were high on their favorite's list as was the American History Museum.  Neither one loved the food but did enjoy eating at one of the oldest restaurants in the capital city.  Their photos brought back so many fond memories and I can't wait to hear more about it when we catch up with them tomorrow.  

Happy Easter

It was a quiet Easter for Doug and I in Ocala, but we didn't mind.  We had visited with all of our children in the last two weeks and had really enjoyed being with them.  Today, Doug and I went to 11 a.m. mass about 30 minutes early.  We found seats without any issue, but it definitely was more crowded than usual by the time the service began.  The mass was very nice, and we enjoyed it very much.  We also bought a big cookie to celebrate the day.

The rest of the afternoon was spent working in the yard.  We needed to prune several trees and plants that had had been either damaged by the frost or were just growing too big.  After careful evaluation, we were glad to see that the palm tree was growing green palms again.  We were also happy to find out that the lemon tree had survived the harsh winter.  Unfortunately, the lime tree and the pineapple had too much damage.  We planned on trying new ones after our trip to California.

We were also able to talk to all of our children today and appreciated hearing how they were celebrating the holiday.  Brett and Karen spent it much as we had with mass, lunch and getting a few things done around their apartment.  Cal and Maggie were enjoying Easter in Oak Park with Maggie's family.  I appreciated all of Cal's humorous texts reminding everyone about his long time run at winning the family Easter egg hunts.  Meg and Nick were in DC and went to mass at one of the oldest cathedrals in the United States. The pictures were beautiful.  Cameron's Easter was very quiet with all of his roommates out of the apartment for the weekend.  He appreciated the time to catch up on a few things and hanging out with Cora.  Although it wasn't our traditional family Easter, it was still very nice and I loved hearing from everyone, especially the memories that they shared.

The Hail Mary Project

Doug and I spent the afternoon at the movie theater today watching Ryan Gosling's newest film, "The Hail Mary Project."  It had gotten great reviews and Cal told us that he really liked it, so I had pretty high expectations.  Thankfully, I was not let down.  The movie was fantastic and I loved it from start to finish.  It reminded me somewhat of Castaway with Tom Hanks, but this film had a lot more humor in it.  The main character did go into space and there was an alien character, so it was completely science fiction. The movie was incredibly heartwarming, however, so the genre of film didn't really matter that much.  Overall, I was very glad that Doug agreed to go with me as he liked the movie as well, and we were able to share a large bucket of popcorn making for a fun lunch for the two of us.  As Roger Ebert would say, "a big thumbs up" for today's theater experience.  

Good Friday

Today was Good Friday and because of it, I spent quite a bit of time at Blessed Trinity.  I first went there to hear the stations of the cross.  Father Pat did a very nice job with the service, and I was pleased to have attended.  I couldn't remember the last time that I had done heard the stations of the cross in church and it gave me a lot of time to reflect on the life of Jesus and the suffering that he endured as well has Mary.  Since becoming a mother of adult men, I have often thought of her and what it must have been like to watch her only son be crucified.  I cannot even imagine the anguish that she felt.  

I was very happy that Doug was able to join me for their Good Friday service since his work let out at noon today.  Father Bill led this one and also did wonderful job reminding us of what Jesus sacrificed for all.  We were also given a chance to say a prayer at the feet of Jesus, and I found it to be extremely moving.  I spent a lot of time during this service thinking about the brevity of life and the suffering that we must all bare.  God didn't promise us a life of ease, but he does promise to help along the way.  I am thankful today that He brought us to a church that has helped me grow in my faith and feel His spirit in my daily life.  I couldn't ask for anything more than that.

Finally, A New Plan That Might Work

I went to the gastroenterologist today with low expectations of getting help with my stomach issues.  I had been dealing with the pain and intestinal distress since I was eighteen years old.  I had been given a lot of medications to try without too much support.  The only doctor that really took me seriously and helped at all was Dr. Mulry.  The medication he had given me back then was no longer available, so I felt like I had been in a holding pattern for the last fifteen years.  On my last visit to the gastroenterologist in December, the PA spent most of the time shaming me on what I was taking and what I was eating.  Her advice helped a little bit, but I could never get over how negative she made me feel about myself.

All of that changed this afternoon.  Dr. Brown was one of the quirkiest guys that I had ever met, but his advice and recommendations were by far the most helpful.  He told me immediately that I was dealing with a nerve issue that was creating intense pain in my stomach.  The gastritis didn't help but wasn't the main cause.  The stress that I was under these past couple of months was.  He explained that the nerve ran from the brain to the ear to the stomach and that the extreme stress that I had been under since last June was causing the pain.  He couldn't fix my life situation, but he had several holistic recommendations that would help my stomach as well as a medication that I could try if I wanted.  

The doctor wrote everything down and I walked out of his office the happiest I had been in months.  I not only had an answer, but a way to fix the situation.  I planned to "destress" my life, start on his holistic recommendations and go back to walking anytime I felt upset or in pain.  It was nice to have a correct diagnosis after all of these years of struggling.  Just knowing that made my stomach feel a lot better.  It also answered why my sciatica was the worst when I was under a lot of stress.  I couldn't wait to tell everyone else.  

Companion Pass

By flying to Chicago and back this past week, I earned a companion pass promotion from Southwest. With that Doug would be able to fly for free with me anytime I booked a flight from August 7th to October 7th.  We were both very excited to hear that as that the fall was prime IU football season.  

The one downside to the pass was that I couldn't book Doug's ticket until August 7th, so we might not be able to sit together.  If it meant that the flight was free, I knew that neither one of us would care about that.  The companion pass also meant that I would only be in the Midwest when Doug was able to go.  It would make for shorter three-day trips instead of the weeklong ones that I had been taking in the past.  I was ok with that as I had spent a lot of time in Indiana since last June and was ready for a break from being away from home for extended periods of time. As of right now, Doug and I haven't decided when or where we will travel this fall, but at least now we know that it would be a lot less expensive.