We Did It!

Well, Scott and I made it through the semester and we couldn't be more glad!  Scott finished his last semester strong with his best GPA yet, and he is officially graduated and the proud holder of a degree in Informatics!  He had a very nice ceremony and we had a small party afterward to celebrate!  Scott received two gifts that he is very excited about - a Citizen Eco-drive watch (charged by light- no battery) and money for a Nook color which he promptly went out to purchase! :)

We have been spending the month of May trying to fit everything in that we didn't have time to do during the semester!  I have been working extra hours with my family having lots of fun - the weather has finally been nice enough to go play outside taking walks and going fishing in the pond!  Scott has been applying to as many jobs as possible, and we have both been working for camp and getting ready for the summer ahead!

In a couple more weeks camp will be starting.  I will be the Kitchen Supervisor at Lutheran Outdoor Ministries' southern camp in Brown County Indiana, and Scott will be working as the Waterfront Director.  We are looking forward to it, and what will come next in our lives.


As for my Grandparents, we could still use prayers.  They are doing better, but Grandma still has a long way to go if she is ever going to get moved back  in with Grandpa.

Scott & his Dad

Scott and his Mom

New Watch

Grandma & Grandpa

As I mentioned before Grandma Dowling was in the hospital for quite some time.  She spent about 10 days there and she lost a lot of the strength she had left.  She has now moved into Covington Manor on the Rehabilitation side for now.  She is going to do physical therapy for a while and try to get back to being able to do some things for herself.  The therapist sounded very positive and confident that they would be able to push her enough to get some of her strength back.

This last week however, we have run into some new issues.  With all of the excitement going on with Grandma, Grandpa has lost basically all of his short-term memory.  He is forgetting things, how to get to and from places, items he needs to take with him, and just can't keep very good track of what is going on.  Because of this, he is now done driving, and we are working on making arrangements so that he will still be able to go see Grandma and get to the places that he needs to go.  It is hard on him, but he is taking it really well, and he is calling us when he runs into issues, so we have been able to help him.

Please keep Grandma & Grandpa Dowling, and the rest of my family in your prayers. It has been a difficult spring for us.

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Spring into Action

In the last few weeks a lot has happened... I will start with the newest information first...
Grandma Dowling is in the hospital now.  She went in late Wednesday night with extremely high blood pressure, and for the last two days has been experiencing some confusion.  Scans have shown significant brain deterioration, and she is very weak right now.  She isn't eating or drinking very much.  We keep hoping that maybe some of this is from the medicine they gave her for her blood pressure, but not much sign of improvement at this point.  She is more alert (awake more often) but hardly talking, and not wanting me be alone, and is very confused about why she is there.  We are not entirely sure what is going to happen next, but for now we are looking for a place that can offer more care for her to move into.  Grandpa is holding up, but it is really hard for him to see Grandma like this.

Also, in the hospital is our niece Catie.  She is 10 years hold, and has recently been diagnosed with Chron's disease.  She did not respond well enough to the medicine the first time, so now she is back in the hospital getting another blood transfusion and a scope.  They are going to look into changing her medicine and keep her for observation....Prayers for both Catie and Grandma would be much appreciated.

For some more uplifting information..
Scott and I had a very nice Spring Break.  We went up to visit Scott's good friend and groomsman Brian who lives in Verona, WI.  Brian works for a HUGE company called EPIC.  EPIC produces computer software for hospitals.  This company has an extremely high-stress and demanding working environment, so to make up for some of that the campus is designed in an extremely unusual and creative way.  Each building has it's own theme, and every conference room has its own extremely unique design... Here are some pictures from our trip.

Brian in the Indiana Jone's themed hallway

When Scott touched the idol it made sound effects and he jumped a mile high!

The tree house - a real conference room

New Yoke theme hall (subway below)

Scott and Brian in conference room

The Doorway to Hell: you could ring the door bell and get different demons to respond (creepy)

Stairway to Heaven (the building's name was Heaven)

Rocking Ralph - the horse I fell from while trying to get down - couldn't walk right for a week!

Dungeon and Dragons theme

We also went to a farmer's market in Madison - we saw the protesters at the Capital building (but did not partake in the action)  We did however, get away with some good Wisconsin Cheese, jerky, and homemade tortillas!  Before we headed back home we went bowling!

The rest of our Spring Break Scott and I spent working.  Scott worked at laying tile with his dad at his parent's house (pictures to come). I spent the week working on switches, homework, and my normal nannying days.

Also fun news: Spring has brought lots of fun with Sheldon - he is extremely ornery and gets into everything.  If it fits in his mouth, he thinks it's his and it's gone before you remember that you set it down!  We can keep him entertained for hours with the laser-pointer!  Here are a few of my favorite pictures;

Scott and Sheldon doing dishes

it was so warm the other day that I opened up the door and let fresh air in..Sheldon stood in this position looking outside at the street for most of the night..He would run from window to window, and then back to the door.. Scott is pretty sure he made friends with some squirrels.

Update on Grandma

In case you haven't heard...Grandma has recovered from her stroke with miraculous speed.  The day after her stroke, we did not think she would be walking again very soon, if ever, but then 3 days later she was up and moving!  She went home the Monday after and did not need In-patient rehab - wow! that was not what we were preparing for.  Grandma and Grandpa are both doing well, and now looking for a new place to live that might be a little safer for them (without stairs) and closer to either my mom, or my aunt.

Thank you for all of your prayers!

Updates

This new semester has brought many changes for Scott and I.  As I mentioned before, Scott started out with an internship at Parkview.  That didn't last very long--it was basically slave labor and he was a glorified maintenance man for which he was driving an hour to get to and not getting paid.  He gave that up fairly quickly, and began searching for other options.  Scott talked a family friend into letting him on as an intern for his small computer store that fixes computers similar to A+ computers.  He has really enjoyed working here, he is learning a lot and actually able to put some of his learned skills to good use.  When the store is not busy, he is able to use the time to work on homework.  The best part is that he is home every night by 5:30, so we are actually getting to see each other more than just the weekend this semester! :)

As for me, I have started a new round of classes, I am still enjoying my job with the kids.. I started out working a lot more this semester, however the weather has given me several days off recently which has been bad for the income, but great for my homework situation.

As many of you, I am sure have heard by now, my Grandma Quance (Mom's mom) has been in the hospital since Tuesday evening, suffering from a stroke.  Rather than one big stroke that affects a large portion of the brain; it appears that suffered several small strokes in different areas of the brain (Which, explained in more detail by my brother the med student, is a good thing.)  She is fortunately stabilized now, but is struggling to gain use of her left side.  Her vision is extremely limited, and there will be a lot of rehab in her future.  She should hopefully be moving out of the ICU very soon, and be able to be transferred to a rehabilitation hospital.  She is not doing well, but the outcome could have been much worse.

Sorry, no pictures for now, but I do have some fun ones of the kitty to put up soon.

Holiday Season Happenings

Scott and I started off the Holiday season with Thanksgiving in Punxsutawney, PA (the home of the groundhog) with with my best friend Aubren, her family, and her boyfriend Daniel.  We had a very fun a relaxing weekend and got to travel around to see the town.  The night we returned was the same night that I got my early Christmas present (my kitten).

Aubren & Daniel, Groundhog, Anna & Scott

The one and only: Gobbler's Knob - this is where the fate of winter is determined!

Right outside of the Library where Phil lives during the year

Christmas Time:
We spent Christmas Eve with Scott's family, visiting his nieces and nephews. (unfortunately I don't have any pictures from that day).  But we had a great time getting to see both of Scott's sisters and their families.
Christmas morning was spent with my family, and then the day after Christmas we had our big family gathering with an ugly Christmas sweater contest - Scott's parents came down and joined us for this and we had tons of fun!

We could not stop James from putting Sheldon's toy in his mouth!

Our matching ugly outfits

Scott, Anna, Sarah, Greg, Daniel, Jenae, Mom & Dad Dowling

playing with nephew James

haha

New Year, New Beginnings

Hello everyone, Scott and I decided that it would be a good idea to start up a blog this year to help keep in touch with our friends and family and let them know what we are up to!  I am also hoping that this blog will act as a scrapbook for us because I am not too gifted in the area of creativeness or crafts, and I am going to try to take more pictures and hope that this will encourage that habit!

What we are up to:

Scott and I are living in Auburn, IN in a cute little apartment. (it is an old house turned into a duplex) we are on the lower level.  Our neighbors are sometimes noisy, but we love our place, and we really like our Land lords...
We have a brand new little kitten - he was Scott's Christmas present to me :)  His name is Sheldon and he is tons of fun.  He is about 14 weeks old.  At times he is wild and drives us crazy, but right when we have had enough he jumps up on our lap and cuddles and is the sweetest thing ever.

We are a few days away from starting a new semester (Scott's final semester of college).  Scott is finishing up at Trine University (Tri-State) and I am now at IPFW, but we are not quite ready for our vacation to be over yet.  Scott is currently working at an internship with Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne with the IT department.  It is going very well, but we are not sure how long he will keep doing that once school starts... I found my own work this year and am working 2-3 days a week as a nanny for different families.  It helps pay the bills and I enjoy every minute of it!

Sheldon at 8 weeks old