Johnsons' Journey

If you happen to find January, can you let me know… Because I don’t know where the heck it went! *lol*

Anyhoo…

I know a lot of you are on facebook, so I am sorry for repeat information. I just need to record things here too, for posterity. *lol* … This journal of our lives together, and family updates, are a gift for my children. No matter how into facebook I get, I don’t want to skip things here. You know?

Sooo… Here’s what’s been going on since I last wrote.

Jim and the Kids

First off, about Joe’s dad, Jim… Last Thursday he went into Kaiser hospital to have some routine blood tests taken (he has diabetes and high blood pressure). After having the blood tests taken, he decied to go get his blood pressure taken (completely his own idea). When the nurse took it, she discovered that his heart rate was at 130… According to Jim, I guess they want your blood pressure to be between 60 and 100, but they prefer it to be closer to 60. So they had him go to the emergency room… They wouldn’t even let him walk there; he had to take some kind of shuttle or something between the buildings.

Once they were in the ER, they did some tests… I think they did an ultrasound (and maybe an x-ray), and some other test (possibly an EKG???), and then they addmitted him so they could moniter his heart while they tried to bring his heart rate back down… I guess the lower chambers of his heart were fine, but the upper ones were working overtime. They were going to do a stress test on Friday morning, but then they canceled it because they decided that his heart had had enough stress, and should take anymore.

He ended up having to stay in the hospital for 2 nights, before they were able to get his heart rate down… Since Jim actually felt fine, he was pretty much bored out of his mind while in there. He also didn’t get much sleep, because the nurses were waking him up throughout the night to take his vitals and draw blood.

He went home on Saturday with 2 new meds that he has to take, to add to his ever growing set of rx drugs he has to take every day… It’s a good thing he has Elvina, because he would never keep it all straight without her! (He wouldn’t last without Elvina, period!)

Yesterday Jim told us that in 4-6 weeks he has to go back in for some other thing… If I am remembering correctly, they are going to “shock” his heart so that they can stop it and then start it back up again… I don’t remember if that’s exactly what he said, but it sure sounds unpleasant!!! According to Jim, it will be an outpatient thing.

We went out to the hospital on Thursday, to visit him and see how he was doing. We were glad to see that he was feeling fine, and wasn’t in pain or anything… He was just wishing he was at home. *lol* (and who could blame him)

After we left the hospital (which is in Clackamas), we drove into Oregon City for dinner… We did something silly… Jared, the girls, and I were in the mood for Taco Bell, while Joe and Josh were in the mood for a burger… So, while the rest of us had Taco Bell, Joe and Josh went over to Jack in the Box (which is in the same shopping center) for hamburgers. That was kind of strange. *lol* … But Josh REALLY wanted a hamburger, and Jared and the girls REALLY wanted Taco Bell, so it worked out.

Then we went over to Kmart to get the kids some new shoes… Both the boys had outgrown their shoes, and they were pinching their toes. I wanted to get them both a 4 1/2 (their feet are almost the same size), but they didn’t have any on that size at all. They only had 1 type of shoes that the boys liked (they had to get the same shoe, which they weren’t overly impressed by), and there was only one size 4 and one size 5… So Jared got the 4, and Josh got the 5… (Josh’s feet are a tad wider, so he got the bigger ones)

As for the girls, they needed some new sandles for church… Alicia is now in size 3, and we had a heck of a time finding something good for her… Did you know that they are putting 1 1/2 inch heals on size 3 dress shoes!?!?!?! I don’t think an 8 year old needs heals on her shoes! … We had wanted to find something in white, so that they would match everything, but we didn’t have any luck. She ended up with some brown and pink flats. While they are super cute, they don’t match any of her dresses. *lol*

Hmmm… What else is going on…

Jamie, Amanda, and Alicia

On Friday night we had the twins over night… Nothing too exciting happened, but the kids enjoyed themselves, and were all in bed by 10 o’clock… I thought I heard them up at midnight, but it turned out to only be Jacob, talking in his sleep. *lol*

Jared’s bowling was a little better on Saturday… Probably because he went in with a better attitude to begin with… Jared and I had talked over it a couple times since his meltdown last Wednesday, and he was/is coming to grips with the fact that he’s just in a temporary slump because he needs to learn his new ball… anyway, his first game wasn’t all that great. He scored a 78… But it was better than the 61 that he got on Wednesday… But this time he didn’t let it bother him, and as a result, he bowled even better on his next game, getting a 128. (That cheered him up) … He got a 100 on his last game, which is 3 over his average, so he was happy with that one as well.

Josh did great again, and got a 92, 116, and a 132… Two months ago Josh’s average was 69. He’s brought it up to 81!! He’s doing AWESOME!

While we were at the bowling alley, Debbie asked if she could take the boys home and have them spend the night again. (I am hoping that she doesn’t start making this an every Saturday occurance…) So Joe, the girls, and I just came home and bummed… Nothing exciting to report there.

grace Church

Yesterday we tried the new church again… Joe was off work at 8:30, and on his way home he swung by Debbie’s place and picked up the boys. They came home and quickly changed into something nice, and then we went to church… We all still really like it there… We have plans to meet up with Pastor Baker and the kids’ Sunday School teacher on Thursday at 5:30, so I will let you know how that goes… I hope they aren’t pushy, because the people at the church have been very friendly and welcoming…

After church we went to Joe’s parents’ house for lunch… Originally, Jim and Elvina were going to take the boys and the twins overnight on Saturday, and take them to a college basketball game on Saturday. We were going to come for lunch on Sunday, and then take the kids home… Obviously, that got cancelled, since Jim was in the hospital… We thought that we should skip coming out on Sunday too, so that Jim could catch up on some sleep, but his Dad wanted us to come anyway. He said he was really looking forward to us coming out… So we did… Elvina made a ham dinner, and Joe watched a couple games with his Dad. (a Lakers basketball game, and then a football game) … Thankfully, I wasn’t subjected to too much of the football game. We left at half time because Joe had to come home and get to bed.

Well, that’s it in a nutshell… You’re all caught up on the lives of us Johnsons. *lol* … But before I go, I just wanted to give a quick shout out for ps3 … The kids have a PS2, but I bet they would love to get a PS3!!!!