Musings on Life and Living

I can't remember if I shared with my friends and family here what I am doing with my hair these days. I have shared it on Facebook, I have shared it on my teaching blog, and I have shared it on the blog that is tracking the awesome project that involves my hair. And because this blog is meant to be a chronicle of the things Gretch and I are doing, I figured I'd post it here, too. Besides, I think there are some friends and family who don't actually use Facebook or follow my teaching blog, so there's that, too. I last got a my hair really cut back in March when Gretch last cut it. In early August, I got my hair trimmed and shaped, but that was all. At that time, it had reached approximately 8 1/2 inches in length. It is now somewhere around 9 1/2 or maybe even 10 inches. I haven't measured it lately to verify, though. I do know that when I straighten it out and come in straight back, I look like something that crawled out of the 80s. Gretch, who had been busy ...

Many of you are aware that Gretch and I have been undergoing the process of vitro fertilization (usually called IVF). This process has been the culmination of a year and half of treatment for infertility. After a failed intra-uterine insemination (IUI), our doctor got us approved for IVF. There were a handful surgeries between getting approved and finally meeting with the IVF specialist who works out of Indiana. We met with him for the first time in September and had plans made for IVF at the end of November. There was a huge period of concern at the very beginning of the process because of issues with Gretch's cycle going all crazy for the first time ever. Fortunately, things started on the last possible day and we got started with the month-long process of subcutaneous injections to prepare for IVF. This involved a daily dose of a drug called Lupron that inhibits the process of ovulation. Then there were the daily doses of Menopur and Bravelle, which stimulate the development o...

Whoops. I was going to update last week about Gretch's callings and I forgot. And the week before I said that I would definitely write about it. So even though I considered writing a post about the end of our first gardening adventure, I suppose I need to get this post about Gretch done. Gretch's dad wanted me to ghost-write for her, but I'm not going to do that. Even if she does have the ability to update this blog, I think we've all come to accept that I do the writing. She will edit occasionally and offer input, but it is mostly my responsibility for no other reason than I do it. So no, William, I am not going to write as if I am my wife. I couldn't if I tried. So, what has Gretch been up to in church? Well, when we first got married, she and I were called to serve in the Nursery together. Then we were moved from the Nursery to teaching the 10-year-olds' Primary class. I did a lot of the talking in class while Gretch prepared the materials, handouts, etc....

I wrote last week about the callings I have in church and said I would write about Gretch's callings this week. However, I've changed my mind due to events that happened in church this afternoon. If you were looking forward to reading today about what Gretch does in church, I apologise. I'll get around to it eventually. Besides, this post is somewhat related. Today was the annual children's Sacrament meeting presentation in church. For those who are not familiar, Sacrament meetings are the general congregational meeting in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Instead of having a minister, priest, or pastor deliver a sermon, members of the congregation are invited to deliver brief messages (talks), usually 5-15 minutes in length. But once a year, the meeting is turned over to the children in the Primary, who share what they have been learning all year through brief messages (30 seconds to 3 minutes) and songs. The program is outlined in general terms by t...

I somehow managed to forget to write a post last week, and now I don't even remember what the topic was going to be. In an effort to avoid having that happen, I am writing now, before Gretch has even woken up. I thought I'd give a rundown on the different responsibilities that Gretch and I have in church now, since I haven't done that in an awfully long time and I realised there may be family members and friends who may not even know. (And if you don't care, well, this is our blog...) However, I am turning this into a two-part series so that this post isn't too long. I'll update you on what I have been doing first, and then next week I'll update on what Gretchen does at church. For nearly three years now, I have been the Webelos Den Leader for our Cub Scout pack. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the largest supporters of the Boy Scouts of America, and nearly every unit in the United States has a Boy Scout troop and Cub Scout pack c...

Way back when Gretch was a little girl, maybe about the time she was eight or so, her grandmother on her dad's side taught her how to crochet. Gretch learned how to do some fairly simple stitches, but she didn't stick with it and the skill was lost for several years. Last year, I decided it was finally time for me to learn how to knit. I had wanted to learn for several years and finally tried. I actually started learning how to knit over the summer of 2011, but my friend who tried teaching me got so frustrated with my inability to hold onto my stitches that she gave up. A few months later, though, Gretch and I both started to learn how to knit by borrowing a very useful book from one of our sisters-in-law. We learned how to knit and both made scarves. Gretch actually made a few scarves. After spending the winter knitting, Gretch decided she needed to reteach herself how to crochet, as well. She watched a couple of videos on YouTube, looked up some basic directions online, a...

I hate sitting still. Like, really, seriously, deeply hate doing so. When I am teaching, I am always on the move. When I am on the  phone, I walk around the house. Even when I am asleep, I tend to move around, tossing and turning while cheerfully snoozing and hoping I'm not hitting my lovely wife. My desire to be constantly moving is probably a big reason why the past five days have been so hard for me. As (hopefully) you all know, I had a laparoscopic varicocelectomy on the left side done last Wednesday afternoon. (By the way, I love how the name of that procedure just rolls off the tongue. Before surgery, the nurse asked me if I knew what I was there for and I gave the full name. She seemed slightly surprised. Anyone who knows me, though, will know that remember things like this is just part of who I am.) The surgery involved having three small incisions made in my abdomen. One through the navel for the laparoscope and then one on each side, a few inches away from the central...