Memoirs of Granny

January 29th around 6:00 pm Annette Nordstrom - aka "Granny" passed on to her heavenly home. She died peacefully in her sleep when her heart finally decided to stop functioning. Her 99th birthday was coming up in March. Tor and Clare have both had so many wonderful memories with Granny; she immediately adopted Clare as another grandchild and Tor would go spend many hours with her up in Kansas City where she lived. She was the first to meet Clare after Tor and Clare met, first to meet Vanna, and first to know that Miss Josephine was on the way. She relished her position as "family matriarch" she would say. She was a delightful little bohemian woman who was a school teacher in her younger years. She taught us Czech and Swedish words when we would come to visit. We are sad, but only a little, because Granny really wanted nothing more than to go home to heaven where she could trade her "wearing out" body with a healthy young one.

We know she died in peace knowing that Josephine was born safely and Taryn was engaged to the man she loved. She told us many times the only reason she was alive was to pray for the family and those were two very specific items of prayer for her! :) She was completely coherent and alert until the last couple of days before she died. In fact, the night she died Tor, Clare and Josephine received in the mail a handwritten congratulations card and check from her. Also, Pete and Joie received a box of Jack Stacks BBQ in celebration of their 41st wedding anniversary the night she passed. Amazing timing.

Thank you, Granny! You are in a better, more glorious place than we can imagine where your knees don't hurt and your heart works perfectly. We love you so much - Tor, Clare, Josephine and Vanna Nordstrom

Okay, here are a couple more adorable pictures when Josephine was a week old...also, I'm trying to replace the facebook link - it should take you straight to the album and not ask you for a login. Here goes. Copy and paste the link into the web address area. Love!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040648&l=85e6b&id=79102684

Josephine's first week has been wonderful. Joie, Tor's mom has been here the whole time doing dishes and cooking like a champ! The first two nights when Tor and I were unspeakably exhausted she stayed on the couch with Josephine in her little glow worm setup so Tor and I could sleep in between every hour and a half feedings. God bless her!!

Taryn, Tor's sister and her fiancee, David came in to visit for the weekend, so we have been having fun family and friend cooking gatherings and celebrations.

Josephine couldn't be more beautiful.

For more pictures go to:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040648&l=85e6b&id=79102684

Josephine Clare Nordstrom is here! She made her debut January 18th. We have had delay in updating this blog because she had to be on UV light treatments here at the house for five days because her blood bilirubin level was high and made her severely jaundice. Today was a celebration because she got to come off the lights! She is quite happy about it because she is a snuggly baby and was missing her cuddles. You can only imagine how mommy and daddy felt as well! Her skin is pink and glowing now and has lost most of its previous orange/yellow color from the jaundice.

The delivery went so smoothly; we have so much to be thankful for with that. And afterward, all the friends and family support was amazing and helpful! Our hospital stay was also quite nice; our hospital had surprisingly good food that could be ordered through room service. Tor and I took advantage of this as much as possible. :)

I will post tons of pictures; they may not be organized as I still need some lessons in posting pics on this blog.

More pictures are soon to come of her rosy cheeks!

We are having a peaceful evening at home after eating a nice meal of halibut and lentils. Baby Nordstrom is growing and kicking - both on a frequent basis! Vanna is happily clean after a bath from Tor (she smelled like the swamp she was hunting in) and has a full belly from her food and table scraps.

We are settled into our new abode - a cozy condo that makes life much simpler.

Christmas was peaceful this year with just Tor, Clare, Vanna and Baby Nordstrom. The invitation for Christmas breakfast with the McCoys made our day even more fun (delicious cheese grits, casserole, yogurt with fruit and cinnamon rolls make any Christmas morning nice!). Tor made coffee and we had a blast with the whole family there playing games and horsing around. After we left, we opened the presents under our tree and gave into the sleepy temptation for a Christmas nap. We were excited to have boxes under the tree from UPS, FedEx and USPS - Getting presents from family away was a blast! We are enjoying all of them hugely.

Clare has been craving grapefruit - along with decaf mochas. QT, McDonald's and, of course, Nordaggio's have been successfully satisfying the craving. Sleeping is now a chore - or should we say - almost extinct for Clare...and therefore Tor. Even Vanna is disturbed by Clare's continual turning, readjusting and moving around to either breathe, pee or drink.

Tor is the most patient and supportive husband that exists in general, but especially for a miserable pregnant woman! Ever patient and ever thoughtful of Clare's comfort and cravings. :) He is working on Nordaggio's website which is soon to be revealed which is a exciting addition to the company. Keep an eye out for it - people will be able to order coffee online and have it freshly roasted and sent to their house.

Vanna is becoming quite the excellent pointer and retriever, sitting still in the duck blinds and marking the birds as they come in. She has brought in many good pheasants, quails and ducks. Needless to say, we have been eating well. She hangs out almost every day with her good friend Samson - the chocolate pointing lab in the top picture. They are best of friends.

Baby Nordstrom has the hiccups as we write; an almost daily occurence for her - bless her heart. Her kicks and rolls keep moving up higher in my belly - every now and then she gets her heel caught in my ribs and makes us both breathless, I'm sure.

Check back often for updates! Especially in regards to Baby Nordstrom's soon arrival.