My Writings. My Thoughts.

Beautiful Tribute……

// November 13th, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Blog

On Nov. 2nd, I was notified by my Mama that my Grandpa Hannah had been air-evac’d down to Mayo for a possible heart attack. Nov. 3rd, she told me that he has a blockage in one of the main arteries…the Circumflex artery. Surgery has been mentioned but the docs don’t think it’s a good idea and don’t feel it will really help him a whole lot and there are some big risks…such as being on a ventilator for the rest of his life if things go wrong. Also, his left ventricle is only at about 20% capacity right now.

Of course being pregnant I started crying… a lot! My Papa Hannah means the world to me. I didn’t want to see him suffer anymore, but I also didn’t want to see him go.

Nov. 4th, she let me know that he was going to be moved to a hospice and that he probably wouldn’t last past the weekend. I, of course, start crying…again.

Nov. 5th, a little after 9:30pm (my time) I received the phone call that I had been dreading getting. My sister, Melanie called to let me know that he had just passed away. We cried for a little bit over the phone, tried to comfort each other, and then she told me that my Mama would be calling soon so we hung up. I cried lots and then my Mama called me. She let me know that he loved me very much, which I knew, but it was still hard knowing that he wasn’t here physically anymore. She talked with me and then with Stew for a couple minutes and then told me that she had some more people to call. Stew and I sat on the couch and I told him some of the memories I have of Grandpa. He gave me a blessing and then I went to bed. I didn’t sleep much that night. I woke up the next morning to see that Stew had written a beautiful tribute to Grandpa. I feel very blessed to have had him in my life. I am happy that he isn’t suffering anymore and that he is with Dalon and Brant and the rest of our family who have passed on. I know that I will see him again some day and that he is watching over us right now. We weren’t able to be in St. Johns for the funeral yesterday because of how far along I am in my pregnancy, but I know that my family understands why and that they know that we love them all very much. I love you Papa Hannah!

Here is what my wonderful husband wrote:

a man I barely knew

Sunday, 06 November 2011 00:14 Stewart Pierson 3 Comments

There are rare moments when I take the time to seriously reflect on the things that are important to me. Often important questions and deep thoughts cross my mind but I rarely allow myself the opportunity to be vulnerable and put them in words. I recall my younger years when I wrote in a journal with such fervent dedication that all of my most personal thoughts were recorded on paper. I have 5 years of densely written journals and then… nothing. It has been ages since I’ve allowed that to happen.

Tonight, however, I felt the need to reflect. The question that is floating around in my mind is “who do I want to be?” You see, tonight my wife’s grandfather died. I hardly knew the man but something about him and his life captivates me.

The time I spent with Chera’s grandpa Hannah was limited. I think the fact that I didn’t know him well allows me to look at him objectively and make some observations that his family might have overlooked. Until tonight I knew very little about him other than what I had gathered in the short time I had the chance to talk to him. Tonight, after she found out about his passing, my wife shared with me many things I didn’t know about him. Things which he should be proud to take to the next life. But those are her personal stories and I won’t tell them here.

Here’s what I knew on my own:

Over 30 years ago, Chera’s grandpa Hannah was diagnosed with a severe form of Lupus, an autoimmune disorder. His doctors informed him that it was unlikely he would live more than 6 months. As the story goes, he told his doctor that it was God who would decide when he’d die and that he planned to live to see great-grandchildren.

Many years after being diagnosed with Lupus, he was there to meet his first grandchild – my wife Chera, who he helped raise for the first year of her life. She talks about him with such love and longing that I can only pray my own grandchildren will have for me.

Chera’s grandpa Hannah has had an extremely difficult life. Because of his Lupus, much of the last 30 years he has suffered excruciating pain and undergone brutal treatments related to his condition. Since I’ve known him, he has been very frail and weak but that was never the impression I got of him. He reminded me a lot of Clint Eastwood – a rough-around-the-edges cowboy who was full of piss and vinegar. He is the type of man you’d imagine in one of those western paintings – maybe a sun-kissed cowboy sitting on his porch after a day of herding cattle. Despite everything his condition threw at him, he was strong. Maybe not in the way we define strength by today’s standard, but the way it was drawn years ago when goodness was considered strength. In my opinion, strength is the ultimate form of beauty.

Like I said earlier, I didn’t really know him well so I can’t judge him by the life he led or the actions he took. What I do know is that sometimes you can just feel the goodness in people. I understand that it is easy to overlook someone’s faults after they have passed on and only see them as the highlights of their life. But I didn’t know his highlights or his low-lights.

All I know is that he was kind to me.

So, my thoughts have turned back to the question “who do I want to be?” I suppose the answer to that is that I want to be kind. And I want to be strong. I may never have rippling biceps or washboard abs but I can posess a strength beyond that. I want to be the the type of man that will be seen this way not only after I die, but also while I am alive. I guess that in many ways I want to be a man like Chera’s grandpa Hannah… as I know him.

A man I hardly know has taught me what it is to have strength and kindness. I know that my wife and her family will sincerely miss their grandpa and I’m glad that my children were able to meet their great grandpa Hannah.

Hanna

I am glad you are finally at peace. You deserve rest.



A Much Needed Post……

// October 16th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Blog

So for those of you who read my blog, I apologize for not writing for the past 5 months. I have been busy and when I do have a minute to write, I just want to spend time with my hubby and kids. So here is a run down of what has happened and I will try to do better after this……keyword there is “try”.


May

We were in AZ for most of the month. What a dreadful vacation! Both kids got rotavirus and were in the hospital. Poor Stew didn’t really get a vacation because he stayed at the hospital with Ethan. We were supposed to be there to relax and see family and friends and that didn’t really go as planned. Our last night there we were able to see some of our greatest friends, the Uerkvitz family and the White family.

The day before Mother’s Day, I realized that I was “late” so I secretly went and got a pregnancy test and it came back positive! What a great Mother’s Day gift to me!! When Stew and I talked on Mother’s Day I showed him the stick (we were chatting on Skype) and he was definitely thrilled.


June

My birthday month! I turned 25 years old. I can’t believe that I am 25, married, and have 2 kids with one on the way. Crazy! Also, Miss Ryan turned 2 years old 9 days later. I love sharing my birthday month with my cute baby girl! This is the month that I started to get really sick! I had been sick a week before my birthday and in that week I lost almost 12lbs. My doctor put me on Phenegran which helped ALOT!


July

Ethan turned 5 years old! I can’t believe that my baby is 5 years old!!!!! The time sure went by really fast. Stew finished Summer Session of school a few days later and then we went to Toronto to visit his sister Lynette and her family. We had lots of fun. We went to parks, the ROM, had a girls night and the guys had a guys night. It was great being able to spend time with them and I am happy that right now they only live about 5 1/2 to 6 hours away.

A couple days later we had Stew’s mom come and visit us for a week. As soon as she got in we went to Westside Market and got lots of yummy food for when she was visiting us. We went to the Cleveland Art Museum, Lakeview Cemetery, the movies (we went and saw Cars 2)……Cindy watched the kids for us a couple times as well. One time was so Stew and I could go get an ultrasound. I was cramping and spotting and it was really scaring me. The other time was so we could go out on a date since we hadn’t been on one for a while. We were very sad when she had to leave to go home. :(

At my ultrasound I found out that I had Marginal Placenta Previa, which is where my placenta was covering the opening of my cervix. That is why I was cramping and spotting. I was put on pelvic rest, which totally stunk! I had to make sure that I wasn’t doing a ton of strenuous activities and heavy lifting, which I wasn’t doing anyway. I was also going to have to have a C-Section around 37 weeks to get Miss Elaina out since I wouldn’t have the opportunity to have a natural birth.


August

Stew started year 2 of POD school!! YAY!!! Another big milestone this month was Ethan starting Kindergarten at Col. Lt. John Glenn Elementary. His teacher is Miss Lendel and she is AWESOME!!!!!! It was so weird going to Kindergarten Orientation and filling out so many forms just for him. By the end of the month he had already learned A, B, C, and D… how to write them as well as their sound and a song to help him remember them. Ryan and I had a pretty hard time when it was his first day. We both cried lots and we were very excited to pick him up from school at the end of the day!

Also this month, Stew and I celebrated our 6th Wedding Anniversary. We went out to The Melting Pot for dinner…… SO romantic! I love this man so much and I feel very lucky to have him as my spouse and eternal companion. He is amazing. He sacrifices so much so our family can have a better future.


September

Ethan has been doing SO well in school. He almost finished learning the alphabet by the end of the month. He started doing homework and absolutely LOVES doing it. As soon as I pick him up from school on Wednesdays, he asks if he can sit down and do it. We have been reading lots of books and I am excited for when he starts learning how to read them as well. Stew had his first round of tests this month. He did AWESOME! He ended up getting 3 A’s and 2 B’s on his tests! SO proud of him!!!

I have been sick this whole month. Every morning I “do my business” and then go about my day just fine. Also, I found out this month that the Marginal Placenta Previa “corrected” itself and I didn’t have to have to have a C-Section to get Miss Elaina out.


October

So far this month has been a bit crazy. Our weather has been REALLY cold and we even spotted a little snow when it was raining. Ethan has been home from school for almost a week. He got croup from the drastic weather change, which resulted in having his asthma act up. He is on a steroid for the croup and a new asthma medication, which he hasn’t been able to take yet. He hasn’t been able to sleep much, which has made it to where Ryan and I haven’t had much sleep. Hopefully the rest of us don’t get sick too, especially Stew since he has tests coming up at the end of this week.


Alrighty……So I promise that I will try to keep up with the whole blogging thing. Sorry for this being SO long.

The Luckiest…

// August 27th, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog

Today marks 6 years of being married to such an amazing man! I loved him so much on our wedding day and I love him even more today! We have two beautiful children with another one “baking”…… We have been through many ups and downs, but we have always been there for each other.

I love you so much babe! Here’s to time and all eternity!!!!!!

Mother’s Day……

// May 9th, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Blog

Today has been a bit different from the Mother’s Days I have gotten used to over the past 6 years. I am used to being treated like a queen for the whole day……feeling very special and appreciated.

I still feel appreciated and special, but my day wasn’t the same as it usually is. My sister and her husband decided to surprise me with flowers last night since Stew isn’t here to do that. I made breakfast for everyone this morning otherwise I think we would have just had cold cereal. I made Crepes, which are my favorite……unfortunately because they take SO long to make, mine were cold…… Oh well. We didn’t make it to church today… Miss Ryan has had a sick tummy for about 2 days now and she got her dress dirty. :-( We didn’t have anything special for lunch or dinner, but we did have some cake out at my Aunt and Uncle’s house.

I did feel very special today when I chatted with Stew on Skype. He told me the other day that he got me an AWESOME Mother’s Day gift. He was going to wait until he got here to give it to me, but I got him to show me…… He got me a Kindle!!! I have always wanted one and have loved borrowing Stew’s to read books. I am SO excited to use it!!!

I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful husband, who knows just how to show me how much he loves and appreciates me…… even when we are about 2,000 miles apart. I love you babe…… Thanks for everything! Because of you I am able to be a mommy so some of the sweetest children ever!!!

Lately……

// May 9th, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog

So the kids and I have been in AZ since the 26th of April…… and what a day that was. We go to check our bags and the ticket agent tells us that our first flight is running a little late and that we might miss our connecting flight. She was nice enough to have a backup plan for our connecting flight and got us on another one that left almost an hour and a half than when we were supposed to get in. Our first flight changed many time. First it was 1:50pm……then 2:38pm…… then 3:08pm………We finally boarded at 3:29pm. We were definitely missing our connecting flight! We get into Charlotte at 5:25pm (our original connecting flight left at 4:25pm). We rushed to the bathrooms and then RAN to our next gate. They had a hard time printing out tickets and we were the very last people to get on the plane. A lady was nice enough to move to a different seat so we could have a whole row to ourselves.

We FINALLY get into Phoenix around 7:38pm (we were supposed to get in at 5:59pm), met my dad down at baggage, and then stopped at Mc Donald’s for some dinner. We were STARVING!!!! Thank goodness I packed a bajillion snacks so Ethan and Ryan wouldn’t starve since we weren’t able to get anything to eat when we were getting to our connecting flight. I finally got the kids to bed around 11:15pm AZ time (2:15am OH time) and Mr. Ethan was up at 2:48am AZ time (5:48am OH time, which is around the time he usually wakes up at home). Since we have been here we have hung out with family, spent some time with friends, and have helped out with some things around my sister’s house. The kids have played outside lots and I have had fun visiting and doing makeovers on my sister Melanie!

We have talked with Stewart everyday, either on the phone or on Skype. We miss him so much! So far he has passed three classes and he has two left! Stewart is supposed to get in on the 12th and the kids and I are SOOOOO excited to see him!!!!!!

The weather has been nice and toasty compared to the rainy, cooler weather we have been experiencing in Cleveland. I am looking forward to going back to that!

Struggling……

// March 12th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Blog

I am struggling……with a lot of stuff.

I am struggling with how I feel about myself. Yes, I am working out everyday…I even printed out my workout schedule and have it taped by my side of the bed. I put little smiley face stickers on it when I complete my workout. I also joined WOWY Super Gym…… I was hoping that I would be able to meet people who are doing the same workout program as me and that we could be “workout buddies”…… I am also trying to eat healthier, which isn’t exactly going that great. I got a thing for sweets! I am trying to look at healthy recipes and try new things, but I just want to keep going back to my favorite, high-in-calorie foods…… I still feel very blah. I am right in between sizes and it is frustrating. 7/8 is a little too big and a 5/6 is a little too small. Wish my body would just lose the weight already!

I am struggling with being so far away from family and close friends. Especially right now with what my family is going through. For those of you who read my blog know that my Uncle Brant passed away Sept. 17, 2010. It will be 6 months in a few days since he has left us to join Heavenly Father and our other family. I still miss him terribly and think about him all the time. Now my family and I are trying to deal with the fact that my Grandpa (Brant’s dad) is really sick, in the hospital, and this may be his time to join his family in the next life. My Grandpa Hannah has been very sick for many, many years. He was diagnosed with Lupus when my mom was in her late teens and has been suffering with this for so long. I have been praying that me and my family will be able to cope with this…… that I will be able to cope with this being SO far away from my family…again. It is so hard to pray for him to get better when I know that he is suffering. I love him so very much and I know that this will be even harder for me to deal with than with what I was feeling when Brant passed on.

I am struggling with not seeing my wonderful, hard-working husband very much. My sweet little Ethan broke down crying tonight because he misses his daddy so much. We just sat hugging each other for a few minutes, crying while Miss Ryan said “Oh…sad… It okay E-hes and mommy…” What sweet little spirits we have and we are so blessed to have them in our lives. I told Ethan and Ryan that Daddy misses us three very much and that he is gone so much because he is trying to do well in school. I then told them that after this week of tests that Daddy has 9 days that he is planning on spending time with us…that we are going to go on a trip and have lots of fun! Stew called a few minutes after our talk and Ethan cried again to his daddy telling him that he misses him so much…… I got teary-eyed again.

I feel like I am still struggling a little bit with making friends here. I am trying to let this wall down that I have up and let the girls here get to know me, but it is really hard. I have already lost a friendship with one of the girls here and I think I am just afraid of it happening again.

And lastly, I am struggling with not flipping out on my extremely rude neighbors. The ones above us stomp around until all hours of the night, are rude when I try to tell them to knock it off….. I know that I need to call the 24-hour line and complain, but I feel bad for the guy that has to come and listen to what we are listening to. The ones right next door are quiet now at nights because Stew went and yelled at them…… Maybe I should have him yell at the ones above us because me saying something to them isn’t working. Another thing that drives me nuts about the neighbors above us is the fact that they use a handicap sign in their car when there isn’t anything wrong with them AND the guy’s mom isn’t living with them anymore (the mom needed the handicap sign)!!!!!!!

Finally starting to feel better…… Sorry for the complaining… I can’t keep it bottled up inside otherwise I really explode and at the worst times too.

Sickness……GO AWAY!

// February 18th, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Blog

I have been pretty sick since about Sunday. At first I thought it was allergies and then my throat started hurting really bad. I wasn’t sneezing anymore, but my nose was either runny or stuffy. I had a horrible cough the next day. Not exactly the best feeling to have on actual Valentine’s Day. Stew came home on time and surprised me with some red tulips and a card. He was hiding in the room that has all the storage cages and waited a while before he came in. He then ordered and picked up dinner, as well as some donuts for dessert and some herbal tea for me. I felt pretty special!

I am still sick… Stew stayed home from school on Wednesday, let me try to sleep in, and then watched the kids so I could go to the doctor. I got a chest xray and a couple other labs done. I haven’t heard back from them so I am hoping that doesn’t mean that I have pneumonia. I have been so short of breath that I haven’t been able to work out. I feel like such a slacker!!!!!!! I did SO good that first week and totally missed this second week. I have decided that I am going to wait until Feb 28th and start it again….. then I would have my end date as May 1st. If my end date was May 1st then I could start P90X the next day, which is the first Monday of the month!

Here’s to hoping that this sickness goes away and that I can start exercising on the day that I want to!

Memorable Date

// February 18th, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Blog

Last weekend some of our friends here in OH watched Ethan and Ryan so Stew and I could go on a date to celebrate Valentine’s Day! We got ourselves somewhat dressed up (lately dressed up for us has been nice jeans and a nice top), dropped the kids off and then headed off for a great planned date!

Usually we go see a movie and then go to dinner, but I thought it would be nice to do something else. So I went searching for a nail salon to get some pedicures done. We haven’t gotten one since Winter of ‘08. I found a place that I thought was okay. The pedicure area looked quite nice and relaxing. We get there and get settled in for what we thought was going to be a nice relaxing hour…… Boy were we wrong. The guy doing the pedi for Stew massaged his legs a little too hard…so hard it wasn’t enjoyable. Stew also had picked out a nail color, a mood changing color and the guy refused to put it on. The lady who did mine gave a nice massage, but pulled out what looked like a cheese grater to file my feet (My feet are NOT that dry. She could have used the pumice stone and it would have worked fine!)……definitely wasn’t worth what we paid, but it was nice just to be with Stew.

After our pedi’s, we drove over to PF Changs. We were looking forward to some Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Chang’s Spicy Chicken, and Crispy Honey Chicken. We went inside, told them our name, and was told it would be a 45-50 minute wait!! WHAT??!! We decided against that and drove over to Texas Roadhouse, which had a worse time frame… 50-60 minute wait! We walked back to the car and tried to decide where to go. We didn’t want to go too far so our choices were McDonalds, Applebees, Quiznos, CiCi’s Pizza, and Hong Kong King Buffet……………….LOL. We laughed SO hard about our choices! We ended up just going to the Buffet. We were definitely overdressed for going there, but we had a great time together. One of the first things Stew said to me was, “Pick whatever you want to eat tonight…because we are dining like kings!”

We picked up our kiddos, chatted for a few minutes with Rachel and Brandon, and then took the kids to Cold Stone Creamery to get some Founder’s Favorite! We ended the night with some dessert and a movie!

Although our pedi’s didn’t go well and we didn’t get to eat where we wanted, we had an amazing time just spending time with each other! I love you Stew!!!

INSANITY– Day 1

// February 7th, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog

I have started…INSANITY. I decided that I would wait to do P90X. The Fit Test was…… INSANE!!

Measurement Tracker

Fit Test Worksheet

Working Out…

// February 5th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Blog

The need to workout again has been in the back of my mind until recently. I don’t love myself…… I don’t feel comfortable the way I am. Now I know that you who read this probably think I am mental thinking that way, but I hate not being able to fit into the clothes that I have and I don’t have the money to buy bigger clothes. So once again I will be starting a workout program…… and even though I feel like it is REALLY hard I am going to be doing either P90X or INSANITY. I haven’t decided yet. Whichever one I decide to do, I will be starting Monday, February 7th.

So Monday morning this Measurement Tracker is going to have some numbers on it…and yes, I am going to post it here and on Facebook. I am also going to take another “Before” photo and post them. I may even take photos of my progress (30 days, 60 days, and 90 days). Anyway…… to any of you who are reading this, PLEASE give me words of encouragement!! I really need them!

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