Chasing Life

Just wanted to tell you about the past couple of months since our last update... We took our trip to Big Sur, CA over Easter weekend and it turned out to be one of our best trips ever. It was more relaxed than many of our trips in the past have been. We spent four days seeing the flower fields in Carlsbad, hiking and touring the old Mission in Santa Barbara, going to the lighthouse and aquarium in Monterey, and hiking in Big Sur where there are redwoods, turquoise beaches, waterfalls, cliffs, and creeks all within a couple miles of each other. If you ever get a chance to come out to California, I would highly recommend Big Sur! I think it's my second favorite place I've ever been to. One interesting thing that happened on that trip was that a bus ran into the side of the Monterey Bay Aquarium shortly before we got there. I think there were more people taking pictures of that than of the animals in the aquarium! Gotta love how us humans can't help but gawk at accidents of an...

It's been so long since I wrote an update that I had to go back and look at our pictures to remember what we've done since October! This may get long so feel free to skim! We got back from Hawaii at the end of October and definitely felt like we needed a vacation from our vacation, especially with all of the drama from the fires out here! Although we don't really celebrate Halloween in our house, we did dress up the kids in safari outfits and go over to a small gathering at our neighbor's house where we ate tortilla soup and raided some of their candy stash. In the beginning of November Paul and I participated in the Muddy Buddy race in Los Angeles and I learned just how out of shape I was after having Jacey! The race consisted of running, biking, and obstacles, along with a big mud pit you have to crawl through at the end. There were so many hills in the course that I was walking my bike probably half of the time on the verge of losing my breakfast! I definitely was no...

The past couple of months have consisted mostly of us traveling. In September, Paul had to go to Washington State to attend a conference, and so my parents came to San Diego and took a road trip with me and the kids. We went to LA (Hollywood and Santa Monica), and then from there we drove along the coast all the way to San Francisco (with a few stops along the way). After San Francisco we headed to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park to see the big trees. They were so amazing and made me feel so small! After almost 6 full days in the car, we headed back to San Diego and my parents left to go back home. The first weekend in October Paul had a three-day weekend so we took a road trip up to Mt. Whitney (the tallest mountain in the continental US), Death Valley National Park (which actually was pretty interesting to visit, despite the name), and also the Mojave Desert National Preserve (which wasn’t all that exciting, but going to “Hole in the Wall” at the south end was worth the drive ...

We definitely have lots to share since the last update I sent out. Most importantly we had our baby girl, Jacey Hannah. For those of you who haven't heard, here's a short version of my labor and delivery experience... I was due to have Jacey on June 6th. Unfortunately my due date came and went and I had no signs whatsoever that Jacey was ready to come out. When I was two weeks overdue both Paul and my OB doctor were both really pressuring me to be induced. I tried everything I could find on the internet (with the exception of castor oil) to try to start labor naturally but it just wouldn't happen. I REALLY didn't want to be induced and so after much debate I finally convinced them to let me wait another 5-6 days (with fetal monitoring every other day) to see if Jacey would come on her own. Well, that very same day at 5pm I got a call from a doctor who had "double-checked" my monitoring strips from earlier that morning saying she saw something that concerned he...

Happy Memorial Day, everyone! Thought I would send out a quick update before the baby is born. I am due on June 6th, which is only a week and a half away so I am currently holding my breath wondering when little Jacey will arrive. Overall I'm feeling good. Heartburn is about my only complaint right now, aside from how difficult it is to get up off the couch! Just like with Kade I have been blessed with a very good pregnancy and now we are just praying that the delivery will go just as well. I will be having the baby at the Balboa Navy hospital which is about 30 minutes away in good traffic so it might be an interesting trip if I need to get there during rush hour! Kade took his sweet time coming so if Jacey is anything like he was I shouldn't have a problem getting there in time. Paul is still enjoying his job, but work has gotten significantly busier in the last month or two. The atmosphere at his office is very laid back, but Paul with his OCD and overachiever tendencies has ...

Well, enough of you have asked me for an update that I finally decided I had better get one out! As you all know, Paul and I moved to San Diego in late December. We are absolutely loving it here (except for the gas prices and sometimes the traffic). We are definitely all settled in now and it feels like we've been living here for a year! God has blessed us with a great house, a wonderful church, and very friendly neighbors (many of which have kids close to Kade's age). I have been fortunate enough to meet lots of other moms in the area, and we already seem to have established a nice routine for ourselves. We have church on Sunday mornings and a couples' with toddlers small group that meets at our house on Sunday nights, every other Monday night we meet with a couple neighbors down the street for game night, on Tuesday mornings I lead a mom's bible study at our house, Wednesday mornings I take Kade to the library for story time, Thursday mornings I walk with another grou...

Happy New Year! Just wanted to let you know that Paul and I rang in the New Year in our new home here in San Diego, so we (once again) have new contact info. You will find it below. Paul will start at his new job tomorrow as a doc for the Navy SEALs on Coronado Island. He is definitely looking forward to it and the hours should be good so therefore I am also looking forward to it. Our house here is pretty much completely unpacked (thanks to a ton of help from our friends who were here visiting from Phoenix for New Year's - thanks Dan & Jamie!!!)...all we have left to do is hang all our pictures on the walls (which is Paul's LEAST favorite thing to do)! We have already found a church that we really like and we will be starting a small group bible study later this month. I have also already joined a gym and plan to start using it tomorrow (in addition to being able to do cardio outside EVERY DAY!!!). My pregnancy is going well. I am finally over my nausea and my belly is star...

After 9 weeks down in Panama City, FL for Paul's dive school, we are now back in CT enjoying our last 7 weeks here before moving to our new location of...SAN DIEGO!!! We just found out today that we are for sure going to California for the next 2 1/2 years where Paul will be one of the docs for the Navy SEALs out in Coronado. We are very excited to finally get the chance to go to San Diego since that is where we thought we were going for internship before God got His hands on our plans! It just goes to show that He really does know what's best for us because in hindsight it really did work out better that we went to Virginia for internship. The only downfall to living in San Diego is that we won't be able to afford to buy a house. That means we will have to rent the entire time that we're out there, which is hard for Paul and I now that we have been homeowners. All in all, Paul is doing well in his Undersea Medical Officer training. He was the "Honor Man" down...

It's been a few months since I've sent out an update so here goes...We spent most of May packing up all our stuff to move to Groton, CT the first weekend of June. Paul had to go to San Antonio, TX for 10 days in mid-May for C-4 training (learning how to be a doc in combat). He really enjoyed the hands-on part of it out in the field, but was bored to tears by all the power point lectures that he had to sit through. Meanwhile, I got a taste of what it would be like if Paul ever got deployed (in other words, what it would be like to be a single mom for a while). Moving our stuff to CT went very smoothly (except for Paul taking the moving truck on an expressway where trucks are not allowed!), and temporarily living with our friends in VA for the month of June went about as well as it could have. It's challenging not to have your own space when you're used to it, but they were very gracious hosts and we enjoyed our time with them. We were able to go home to MN and IA in late...

It's been quite a while since I've sent out an update on our new little family. Well, Kade is 5 months old now (can you believe it?). He is rolling over and sitting up unassisted for short periods of time. He is also spending a lot of his time smiling and/or listening to himself make all kinds of crazy sounds (his favorite being gurgling his own spit!). He and I just got back from just under 3 weeks of vacation with my family in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. My parent's new condo there is very nice...80 degrees and sunny every day and a view of the ocean from every room! If you want an awesome place to go to get away for a week or two, let me know and I'll put you in touch with them! I also just got back from finding us a place to live in Groton, CT. We decided to rent out our house here in VA while we go to dive school, and we able to find a couple willing to sign a 3 year lease (praise God!!!). Because they need to move here in the beginning of June, however, we have to mo...

Just wanted to get out a quick email to everyone announcing the birth of our son, Kade Isaac Nystrom. He was born on Sunday, 11/20 (four days early) at 10:05am at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, VA. He weighed 8 lbs. 5 oz. and was 21 inches long. We had a natural, vaginal delivery with no complications and were able to come home this afternoon, only 26 hours after Kade was born. Although we are all a bit tired, we're doing great! Hopefully many of you will get a chance to see him in person.

Hello again! Well, I'm under a month now until this baby is due. I don't think my belly can get any bigger without popping! Paul and I went to a birthing class last weekend, and also met with a doula (birthing coach) a few days ago to talk about natural childbirth. I'm going to try to have this baby without using any medication or drugs (which should be no surprise for those of you who know me fairly well). Paul has been telling me from day one to take the drugs, but I think this week I have finally won him over to my side. He said he will support my desire to deliver as natural as possible. I am feeling very good for being as pregnant as I am. My main complaints are heartburn (which Paul talked me into taking medication for) and hip pain from only being able to lay on my sides (I can't wait to sleep on my stomach again!). I'm still working out 5 days a week (which also shouldn't surprise those who know me), but I have had to cut down on a few things (no more ru...

Hello once again. Paul and I just got back from our four day camping/hiking/canoeing trip to western VA. We had a blast. Here are some of the highlights: 1) Our first and last hike were the hardest, straight up small steep mountain trails with me gasping for air the entire time (the lungs and heart have to work a lot harder during pregnancy). About 3/4 of the way up my legs felt like jello and Paul I'm sure was tired of hearing me whine! Once we got to the top though, we had incredible views. On a good day you can see for 50 miles (although it was cloudy when we were up there). 2) We spent five hours of one day on the James river canoeing Class I and II rapids every 1/4 mile or so. It was just enough to keep from being boring but not enough to tip us over (Thank God!). We also got the chance to see where we missed the sunscreen...little bright red spots here and there. 3) After canoeing we decided to make two last hikes to some waterfalls before setting up camp for the night (we ca...

Hello all. Just wanted to give you all a little update on how our first couple of weeks in VA have been. We are all moved in and unpacked in our new house in Suffolk, VA. We are about 10 miles (15 min) from the Naval Hospital where Paul will be working. I might try to find a part-time job until the baby is born (around Thanksgiving). Although we are loving our new house, we are already getting homesick for our friends and family. Hopefully we will start meeting some people around here soon! I had my first pregnancy visit just before we moved. For those of you who have been asking, I am feeling much better (no more queasy stomach), and I have not gained any weight yet so I can't send any pictures of my big fat belly since I don't have one yet! The weather here has been very inconsistent so far. It was rainy and cold, then sunny and 75, then rainy and humid, and now it's hot (close to 90) and humid. I guess that's pretty typical for this area. Paul and I attempted to go s...