What's next?

When thinking about a title for this post I couldn't think of anything better than "what's next?" I feel that in the recent past that question has popped into my mind frequently. You might have noticed that there has not been a post for some time. That is where the "what's next?" began. Our computer crashed right after I had posted last, but thankfully it had been acting quite moody before that time and we had saved all of our precious pictures and important research files. The computer crash was accompanied by a cold that swept through our family with the domino effect hitting Hailey, then Taylor, then Carter, and then me with fevers, running noses, plugged sinuses, and cough. By the time it had made it through all of us the life span on this bug has been more that 14 days. We then had a completely flat tire on the van and a plugged toilet. I was starting to feel defeated and poor with all of the unexpected expenses. Things have a way of resolving. Our God-given immune systems beat the cold. Money allowed us another pink lap top and new tires of the van have made a ride a bit smoother.
My next "what's next?" question involves a bigger NEXT. Mike had his final interview at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester yesterday. The kids and I went along and enjoyed the hotel, went swimming, and toured the city while Mike was subjected to long interviews and deep thinking. I think that we have been waiting for some letters to be written in the sky as to where Mike should train next, but they are some how not appearing. Mike has to submit a list ranking the programs where he interviewed at, numbering them from 1-8. We believe that Mike is likely to get his #1 ranking, but this obviously is not guaranteed until June 18th. Our struggle remains between Mayo Rochester and the University of Minnesota. Both have outstanding programs. Housing is much more affordable in Rochester as well as there not being much traffic to consume our lives with. This being said, we have so many emotional ties to Minneapolis, our friends, and our church. Its hard to weigh these out. The decision of Hailey's schooling has also been heavy on our hearts and we are asking "what's next?" with her as well. We don't feel that we can make that decision until we decide where we want to spend the next 4 years.

Our beautiful little Carter Dean is growing like an absolute weed! We broke out the exersaucer for him the other day and he is in love with it. He so happy all of the time, but needs to work on the skill of bottling.

I had to share the photo of Taylor saying "good bye" to the pipes. She did an awesome job, but reminds us every time when we go past the dumpsters that "my pipes in dere".

Pipe Update

Well it has been just over a week since we had little Taylor say good-bye to her pipes. It went exceptionally well. We had the whole family go out to the dumpster and she willingly threw them in one at a time. We cheered for her and said that she was such a big girl and also emphasized that she still had her silky blanket. The first couple of nights and naps were rough. I have to admit that I was expecting a more angry response, but when struggling to fall asleep and finding a new routine of getting to sleep it was just complete sadness. We would go up and comfort her every once and a while she would just cry and say "my pipes!". By day five she was down to 15 minutes to fall asleep with just a little amount of crying. I think that she is quite proud about this accomplishment, but more proud during the day, at night I think that she would gladly go back to being a "baby". Good job Taylor.

We have been struggling pretty bad here with colds and fevers. Hailey has ear infection and Taylor is in the middle of the cold yet. Carter got a stuffy nose but was thankfully spared from having any of the fevers. Today I am feeling quite stuffy; I guess it is inevitable.

We are anxiously awaiting Mike's interview at Mayo, Rochester next week Friday for this will complete the interview process. He is now pretty convinced that the choice is primarily between the University of Minnesota and Mayo, Rochester. I guess time will tell!

Bye bye pipe day

Today I have declared it to be "bye bye pipe day" for Taylor. Taylor has loved her pacifiers from the very beginning and is rather attached to them. I didn't want to rock her boat by taking them away around the time that Carter was born, but now that we have survived the first four months I have decided that it is officially time. They are like a drug to her. She is only allowed to have them for sleeping and once they are in her mouth it automatically makes her look and act sleepy. She also adores her blanket and may keep that for as long as she needs to. I'm not sure how we will ceremoniously say "good bye" but tonight is the night. I recall when I took Hailey's away; she pulled my hair and said "go get them!!!" I'm trying to publish a video that I took with Taylor and her pipe tricks. I tried to do it with them and couldn't!Our next big task will be potty training.

A crazy weekend

This past weekend we packed a lot into a short amount of time. It started with a trip to Sioux Center, IA where Mike dropped the kids and I off on his way to Omaha, NE for an interview at Creighton University. The kids and I hung out at the Walhofs' all day and I even got some shopping in. When Mike returned from Omaha we headed to Edgerton for my Grandma Vis' 92nd birthday party. We helped put on a little program for her and the girls even participated in some singing. Before the birthday party really even got started Mike, Carter and I took off to sing Mike's Mom perform in the Opland Singers in Pipestone, MN. We left Ginnie and Will in charge of the girls. Saturday we spent the day in Edgerton and then in the evening Hailey got to go to the "Go Fish" concert with Teresa and her girls. She loved it! When we asked Taylor where Hailey was she would answer at "fishers of men". We watched the Final Four with my parents and went to Leota church the next morning. Its great to live close enough to do all of this fun stuff with family, but today we are just needing to recover.
The interview trail is almost over. This past month has really just been a blur. Mike has completed all of his interviews with the exception of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. That interview is on the 25th of April. He has been pretty impressed with all of the programs that he interviewed and they each have attractive aspects. After the interviewing in Rochester he will have to rate the programs according to where he prefers to practice then on June 18th we will find out which program that he matches with. That fellowship doesn't actually start until July of 2009 after he completes his chief year at Abbott.

Oplands'

After another blow out!

Grandma Vis' great grandchildren

Carter's Four Month Well Check

Yesterday we were out playing in the sand at CSCC and today I braved yet another winter storm to bring Carter to his 4 month well child check. He was awesome and very patient during his exam. He weighed 16lb 6oz (75-90%) and measured 26 inches(75-90%). He did lots of smiling and cooing for his pediatrician, but as you can see below, it all came to an end with his teary eyes after his shots. What a cutie and I will just have to spoil him the rest of the day.

Hailey's First Dentist Visit

Hailey had her first dental visit last week and had an excellent review: no cavities, good bite. She was very brave and allowed them to do a complete cleaning and flouride treatment. The office there was also very flattered that she wore a skirt for the appointment.

Happy Easter!

Not a lot of people can say that they built a massive snowman on Easter, but that is what the Miedema family did. We received 7 inches of snow this weekend; heavy wet snow.
Interview update: Mike has now interviewed at 4 places (U of MN, Medical college of Georgia, Mayo clinic-Scottsdale, U of AZ). The U of MN has a great program but Mike was also really impressed with the U of Arizona so those are his 2 top choices currently. He goes to Iowa, Creighton, and Mayo-Rochester in the next couple of weeks and is thinking that Mayo-Rochester will likely join the other 2 programs as his favorites.

Carter Update

Carter continues to be the most pleasant of babies. Next week we will find out how much he weighs and how much he has grown because he will be four months old! It is so hard to believe. He is really good at sitting up when you hold him; he doesn't like to rest his back against you at all. He is also improving with his tummy time and holding up his head. He continues to eat between 4-5am each night but goes right back sleep. Sadly he is now totally out of his cute 3-6 month clothes and is already in 6-9 month. Carter is most generous with smiles. We love him to pieces.