Big Turn

I am pleased to report that Halloween which marked 13 weeks along also marked a big turn for the better on my end. I'm still weak and a little "urpy", but food - real food - is now staying down on a regular basis as long as I eat it slowly and don't have too much. I've been able to take little outings each day since last Friday. They exhaust me, but I no longer feel like I need to carry a bag with me wherever I go. I'm spending more time online keeping up with the news and friends' and family websites, and have even already started my Christmas shopping!! So make sure your wishlists are up-to-date :).

This week marks the final week of my first trimester - I can't even believe it! Thank you all for your prayers. There has been a remarkable difference in my health since my last post.

Adeline now has 12 teeth! She's talking up a storm and now says words like "stretch", "trash" (she loves to throw things away), "cookie" (pop tarts are cookies around here), and we're getting really close to "Amma" :). She loves to eat mini wheats soaked in milk for breakfast, and lunch and dinner always end with some jell-o for dessert.

Daddy was able to visit with us these last couple of days. He and Adeline got some good father-daughter time in and now he's back to work.

That's all for now. Happy Election Day!

Love,
Meredith

Super Quick Update

I just wanted to say hello to let you all out there know that we're still alive since it's been so long. Adeline and I are living in Holland (MI) with my mom right now while Alan is at home in South Lyon. We don't know how long we'll be here. The sickness with this pregnancy is significantly worse than with Adeline. At this point (12 1/2 wks) with Adeline I wasn't throwing up everyday and could eat lots of normal things, even go out and about on a regular basis. This time a good day is if I throw up fewer than 3-4 times (today's not been a good day) and can keep anything besides some cream of wheat and some juice down. Between my first two appointments (3 weeks) I had lost 6 lbs... not too bad. Then in one more week I went down 7 more lbs. for a total of -13 this pregnancy so far, and I actually don't even know what my real pre-pregnancy weight was. My guess is I've lost a couple more this last week since my appointment on the 22nd, but I haven't gotten on the scale so I'm not sure. I just know I'm weak and when I wrap my thumb and pinkie finger around my wrist they overlap.

Many of you have said you are praying for us. I thought I'd let you know some specifics you can be praying for:

• Healing. I need to be well. I am so sick with no end in sight and I simply want to be able to do things like hold my daughter.
• Adeline. She has been doing well, but I know this is hard on her. She only gets to see Daddy once a week, if that, and Mommie can't hold her, sing to her, put her to bed or anything. It's hard on all of us, but one-year-olds don't exactly know how to cope.
• Alan. It's difficult having Adeline and me away with no one to come home to or take care of.
• My mom. She's been Super Amma these few weeks and it's exhausting!

That's all I've got in me for now. Hopefully there will be more soon.

Blessings,

Meredith

So Sick... and other news

Well all I have to say is Thank God for Zofran. Really, praise the Lord that He gave someone the wisdom to create such a miracle-working drug. The last two days without Zofran have not been good. Basically when I eat I'm thinking, "Will this be easy to throw up later???" Okay, sorry to be so graphic. I'm doing better today, back on the Zofran, and praying that this sickness doesn't progress to the worst it was with Adeline and that it will last only as long if not a little shorter. I'm thinking I probably have about 10 more weeks to go... Which means by Christmas I should be able to enjoy a nice meal :). Thanksgiving on the other hand is probably shot. And I don't even want to really think about how sad my birthday will probably be :(.

Anywho, in other news, I think I shared in my previous post that we were going to be moving into our new place today. Well we decided not to go with that little condo and are now looking at other things. The folks we are living with right now are very generous to let us stay until we figure things out. It looks like we'll be settled on a new place and moving in by the end of the week. Good thing, too, because we really need access to the rest of our clothes :).

More soon!
Love,
Meredith

The Last 10 Days

Hello there!

Long time, no update, but we've been on the road! We have safely arrived in South Lyon, MI and are staying at the home of some church members until our apartment is available on the first of October. Here's a quick rundown of the last CRAZY! week or so.

Friday, 9/19 - Meredith's last day at work. They threw a mini party with cake. I wish I would have been feeling better so I could have enjoyed it more.

Saturday, 9/20 - Alan's last day at work. He, too, had a little going away shindig and they gave him a beautiful calfskin bible that he had been pining after. Also today my brother, Rob, broke his arm playing football. He was supposed to help us move... so that put us in a bit of a bind, but we're glad he's okay.

Sunday, 9/21 - Our last Sunday at Christ Church. Rob had surgery on his arm today so the three of us visited him in the hospital.

Monday, 9/22 - Meredith's midwife appointment. I found out I was probably about 7 weeks along. They poked and prodded and I had a gazillion vials of blood drawn.

Tuesday, 9/23 - Today was super duper "go" day. Adeline had a doctor's appointment in the morning where she got two shots, but she did well. We learned she's 50% for weight at 22 lbs 5 oz. and 75% for height at 31". She's growing so fast! Afterward Adeline and I ran errands - as many as we could get done before I was about to pass out from exhaustion! We only made it till about noon. The rest of the day was all about packing and moving. Alan took a uhaul truck over to my coworker's house to pick up the things we had stored in his basement. He brought them back and with some help from a friend loaded our ABF trailer. Later in the afternoon another friend came over with a friend of his to help us pack and load. It was craziness. We finished at about 2am.

Wednesday, 9/24 - We got a later start than planned, not leaving South Hamilton till noon, but it was good to say goodbye to the shoebox and Massachusetts. I was so happy I cried :). We drove and drove and drove, stopping every couple of hours so I could snack, Adeline could stretch her little legs and get a diaper change. We arrived at our hotel in New Columbia, PA at about 9:30pm I think and were happy to crash for the night.

Thursday, 9/25 - Earlier start today as we were out of the hotel by about 10am. Not much to share about today because it was just more driving! Out of PA and into OH, we arrived in Cincinnati at the Wrights' at about 7pm.

Friday, 9/26 - Today was kind of a rough day for me, sickness-wise. We all got a pretty late and lazy start though. Johanna and I stayed at home with the kids resting for a few hours in the middle of the day while Nathan and Alan went over to Kentucky and also explored Cincinnati a little. When they came back we all went to the zoo for about an hour before they closed.

Saturday, 9/27 - Today we went to the top of the Carew Tower in Cincinnati to look out over the city and across Kentucky even. It was beautiful (except for the smoggy haze... :). Nathan gave us our bearings and told us about various buildings around the city. After that we went to get famous Graeter's ice cream. Then we went over to see the house that the Wrights' just bought. We didn't get to go look inside, but we did drive around the neighborhood quite a bit and it looks like a lovely place to live.

Sunday, 9/28 - Today we went to Covenant-First Presbyterian Church in downtown where Nathan is the Associate Pastor. The church is absolutely gorgeous and the people there are very sweet. It was nice to worship there with them that morning. For most of the rest of the day we rested and waited for Adeline to wake up so we could get going on our drive to South Lyon. We ended up not leaving Cincinnati until 5pm which happened to also be right when the Bengals/Browns game was ending... We were part of the mass exodus from the city after the game, but thankfully the traffic didn't last too long. We arrived in South Lyon at 9:30pm and were happy to have a comfortable place to sleep and make ourselves at home.

So, here we are, Monday, 9/29 - Happy Birthday, Aunt Beckie! There are some errands and things that need to be done for us to get into our apartment on Wednesday but for the most part I think we should be able to relax a little till Wednesday when the rest of the moving process begins.

Hopefully there will be more soon from South Lyon.

With love for The Conrow Family,
Meredith

Hi There!

I just thought I'd post a little something since it had been a while :). The latest news is...

• We're moving to Michigan next week. Alan accepted a Director of Student Ministries position (forgive me because I'm not 100% sure what his title is...) in South Lyon, MI (near Ann Arbor) and he starts October 1st.
• It's getting chilly out here in MA which is really making us wish we had all our Fall clothes right about now. We packed them away at the beginning of the summer knowing we would be moving by the end of the summer before we needed to be dressed more warmly. I think we'll just make it!
• And one more little tidbit of news... You may have noticed the new ticker at the top of our web page. Yes, it is true. Adeline will be a big sister come next Spring. I am expecting, and not feeling too great at the present time, hence the lack of posting.
• Adeline has a pretty nasty cold which means she's not really sleeping these days which means I'm not really sleeping these days. Keep her in your prayers.
• Last week on September 9th Adeline's first molar broke through! It's on the right side. Very exciting :). I can't believe what a big girl she is.
  

That's basically the news from South Hamilton. Soon, we'll have news from South Lyon! :)

Why I (Meredith) am voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin.

We believe in low taxes, spending discipline, and open

markets. We believe in rewarding hard work and risk-takers and letting

people keep the fruits of their labor.

We believe in a strong defense, work, faith, service, a

culture of life, personal responsibility, the rule of law, and judges who dispense

justice impartially and don't legislate from the bench.

We believe in the values of families, neighborhoods, and

communities. We believe in a government that unleashes the creativity

and initiative of Americans, government that doesn't make your choices

for you, but works to make sure you have more choices to make for

yourself.

I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise

them.

I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them.

I will cut government spending. He will increase it.

My tax cuts will create jobs; his tax increases will eliminate them.

My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and

keep good health care insurance. His plan will force small businesses

to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government-run

health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.

We all know that keeping taxes low helps small businesses grow and

create new jobs. Cutting the second-highest business tax rate in the

world will help American companies compete and keep jobs from going

overseas.

Doubling the child tax exemption from $3,500 to $7,000 will improve

the lives of millions of American families.

Reducing government spending and getting rid of failed

programs will let you keep more of your own money to save, spend, and

invest as you see fit.

Opening new markets and preparing workers to compete in the world

economy is essential to our future prosperity.

I know some of you have been left behind in the changing economy, and

it often seems that your government hasn't even noticed. Government

assistance for the unemployed workers was designed for the economy of

the 1950s. That's going to change on my watch.

Now, my opponent promises to bring back old jobs by wishing away the

global economy. We're going to help workers who've lost a job that

won't come back find a new one that won't go away.

We will prepare them for the jobs of today. We will use our

community colleges to help train people for new opportunities in their

communities.

For workers in industries that have been

hard-hit, we'll help make up part of the difference in wages between

their old job and a temporary, lower paid one, while they receive

re-training that will help them find secure new employment at a decent

wage.

Education is the civil rights issue of this century.

Equal access to public education has been gained, but what is the

value of access to a failing school? We need to shake up failed school bureaucracies with

competition, empower parents with choice.

Let's remove barriers to qualified instructors, attract and reward

good teachers, and help bad teachers find another line of work.

When a public school fails to meet its obligations to students, parents deserve

a choice in the education of their children. And I intend to give it

to them.

Some may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private one.

Many will choose a charter school. But they will have the choice, and

their children will have that opportunity.

Senator Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched

bureaucrats. I want schools to answer to parents and students.

And when I'm president, they will.

My fellow Americans, when I'm president, we're going to embark on the

most ambitious national project in decades.

We're going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries

that don't like us very much.

We'll attack the problem on every front. We'll produce

more energy at home. We will drill new wells off-shore, and we'll

drill them now. We'll drill them now.

My friends, we'll build more nuclear power plants.

We'll develop clean-coal technology. We'll increase the use of wind,

tide, solar, and natural gas. We'll encourage the development and use

of flex-fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.

Senator Obama thinks we can achieve energy independence without more

drilling and without more nuclear power. But Americans know better

than that.

We must use all resources and develop all technologies necessary to

rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices and

restore the health of our planet.

My friends it's an ambitious plan, but Americans are ambitious by nature, and

we've faced greater challenges. It's time for us to show the world

again how Americans lead.

[an excerpt from John McCain's acceptance speech given September 4, 2008 in Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN]

All this and a confident, smart, ethical woman that my daughter can look up to.

Vote McCain*Palin!

Three State Day

Alan had a paid day off of work today - woo hoo! - so we decided to take a little family road trip. The plan was to head down to Providence, Rhode Island and find something fun to do for the day. We hopped in the car this morning about 9am - just in time for Adeline to have her morning snooze in the car - and arrived in Providence at about 10:30. We went to the capitol building first. We weren't sure what to expect as far as crowds and things around the city, but were very pleased when there were very few people in sight... and all the parking was free! We walked around the building for a bit. It is spectacular. Pretty typical capitol building, and so large for such a small state that Alan remarked that they could probably fit the entire population of RI in that one building :). Hehe.

We stopped off at Providence Place Mall right next door to pick up a map of the city then walked around a bit. Across from the mall is Waterplace where throughout the summer on selected evenings they do something called Waterfire. Alan had learned about it when we first moved to New England but we never got around to doing it. If you're ever in RI in the summertime, however, we've heard it's a really spectacular sight to see.

We were getting pretty hungry at this point so we went to a spot called Union Station Brewery. For you Californians it's a lot like BJ's. Alan and I had delicious burgers while Adeline snacked on grilled cheese, cucumbers and pickles. What can I say? The kid has interesting tastes.

Anywho, after food we decided to head up toward Brown University to get a look at the campus. It is in a very cool location. The buildings are beautiful and old. We would really liked to have gotten out and walked around, visited the bookstore, etc., but kids were moving in and the hustle and bustle of the first days back at school were evident. So after a little drive (hilly drive!) we called it quits.

Overall we really enjoyed Providence. It is a beautiful and very clean city. I would not mind spending more time there. Maybe I'll be a Brown Parent one day ;-).

Since it was only about 1:30 we decided that we were so close to Connecticut (less than an hour's drive to New London), how could we not go??? (nod to Mom ;-) So we stopped by the local AAA office to pick up a Mass/Conn/RI map and headed west! In New London we found a little spot to park right next to the water and a pier and let Adeline get out and run around for a while. She was very grateful. Then we stopped off at an ice cream place to top ourselves off and I was very grateful :). After lunch in Providence and dessert in New London, we decided to call it a day.

Three hours and three states later, we arrived home. The end. :)

Click here to see pictures of today as well as California pix and some other little videos and pictures from August.