The Holidays have come and gone! Now it's time for a new year.
The last part of 2005 was rather stressful in the Coons household. Both Brad and Krislyn were working very long hours. To complicate things even further, they were talked into taking a kitten "home for the weekend" by one of the local animal rescue groups. They both knew what that meant, and with their house full of animals and very little time to work with a new kitten to integrate it into the household, they were forced to find another home for the little one. Fortunately, her brother Scott was looking for a companion for his kitten Fred, so he and Brandy adopted her later that weekend. Fiona now has a comfortable home with Fred.
That same weekend, Krislyn became very ill, with something completely unknown that would take her over a month to get over. Thanksgiving came and went quickly. Thanksgiving day was spent at Krislyn's aunt's house this year. Everyone brought a dish, and Krislyn brought baby food since she couldn't eat anything that required her to open her swollen mouth very far. She quickly found that eating through a straw was about the only thing she could do.
By the end of Thanksgiving weekend, Krislyn was in terrible pain, and not getting any better, in spite of seeing three doctors. All five diagnoses turned out to be wrong, and the expensive piles of pills she was being given weren't working. Meanwhile, Brad was doing double duty or better, putting in very long work hours, caring for Krislyn, making runs to Walgreens for new pills or anything over-the-counter that might have some hope of relieving her symptoms, and keeping the house going. Just to add a bit more fun to the mix, both of his home computers and his work laptop all crashed in the span of one week.
December began with things only getting more stressful. The Christmas holiday season was in full swing, work hours hadn't settled down, and Krislyn was getting worse by the day. Krislyn was able to get some very high doses of antibiotics and antivirals, which seemed to help for a day or two, so she and Brad were able to go to her company Christmas party. It was a nice release to get out of the house, if only for a few hours.
Eventually, Krislyn's specialist had to take a biopsy of her lip tissue (ouch) to try and figure out once and for all what was wrong with her. Of course, more medication came with it, but it was just more of the same. The tests came back completely negative for everything they tested for, which was a very good finding considering the tests were for some pretty nasty things, but it unfortunately left her without a diagnosis.
Finally, and just in time for Christmas, Krislyn was put on new medication that seemed to do the trick. They finally diagnosed her with a very severe allergic reaction, to something yet unknown. Improvement came within a few days, and she was able to get into the Holiday swing, just in time for Brad to run out and do some last minute shopping and decorating around the house.
Christmas Eve was held at Krislyn's grandmother's house, and then there was a rush later that evening to midnight mass at a nearby church. Christmas morning came early, Brad and Krislyn exchanged gifts, and then it was off to her parent's for another gift exchange. Tired from the Holiday rush and the recent illness (and stress), Monday was spent recovering and in general laziness.
Still playing catch up around the house and having to work the week between Christmas and New Years made the New Year come very quickly. New Year's Eve was spent relaxing and visiting the neighbors, and New Year's Day held even more relaxtion and rest. The holidays offered a nice breather, and things are only looking up for 2006!
Happy Birthday to: Jim, Nancy, Simone, Joe, Paige, Kelsey, Eve, Marcie, Josh, Jenny, Ben, Burt and Aaron
Congrats to: Paul and Heather on their new Puppy!
The early part of 2006 was a very interesting time for the Coons family. Health--something that had been a bit troublesome in late 2005--continued to be a problem. Krislyn's health has generally improved, as she was able to undergo allergy testing and pinpoint exactly what she was allergic to. Unfortunately, she found that she is quite allergic to some very common chemicals found in nearly everything. Fortunately, she no longer has a mystery illness that comes and goes as it pleases; so, although she has turned the house upside-down trying to find out what she can and cannot use, she is feeling much better.
In February the decision was finally made to have Oliver, the elder of the animal menagerie, declawed. His surgery went well, and he recovered quickly, for a large adult cat anyway. Shortly afterwards he stopped eating, something which was very strange for Oliver, considering his usually ravenous appetite. After about four days without food, Brad and Krislyn were finally forced to take him to the vet to find out what was wrong. He was admitted to the animal hospital for anorexia, something which turns out to be somewhat common in cats. They attempted to force feed him over a couple of days, and both Brad and Krislyn stopped by whenever they could to try and bribe him with all kinds of food, but all to no avail.
Finally, the decision was made to insert a feeding tube into the poor cat, and to have an endoscopy done to test for stomach or intestinal cancers. Once the tube was installed, Oliver was at least able to return home. Brad and Krislyn had the strange experience of having to feed him through the tube in his side, meanwhile trying to keep him in a sweater so he wouldn't play with or remove the tube (cats and clothing do not mix!). Finally, after about a week of force feeding through the tube, Oliver began to eat on his own again. Shortly after, the endoscopy results came back showing that he did not have cancer, but instead had irritable bowel syndrome, a rather common condition in cats, and something that was quite treatable. Since that time, Oliver has had his tube removed and has been eating quite well due to his medication and special diet.
Right around the same time, Brad came down with a nasty case of Bronchitis that kept him home sick for a week. He was still able to continue doing work from home, which actually proved quite productive, since he was able to skip many of his usual meetings and focus on getting work done. He did manage to call in for a few conference calls until his voice entirely gave out, which left him uncomfortable, but with plenty of time for rest. He finally went to the doctor and got some medication to clear things up, and was back on his feet in a few days.
Amidst all of the illnesses and other insanity, Krislyn turned 27! Her birthday was celebrated with a dinner with her family, and little else since Brad was still very sick at the time. He did manage to make it up to her once he healed with a nice dinner at the local sushi restaurant and the new cell phone she had been asking for.
Krislyn had two more co-workers leave her office, which as usual has left her with some additional work. Brad has also had a busy time at work due to a few people leaving the project he is currently assigned to. All in all, work and staying healthy has left both of them with little time for anything else.
The dogs finished their third round of obedience training classes late in February, and both passed their Canine Good Citizen certifications. They will be starting an introductory class in Agility training early in spring, which will hopefully help them both with their confidence--Samantha in general, and Charlie with his fear of stairs. It should be fun for the humans and the dogs, and give them a bit of exercise and socialization. With the weather warming up in St. Louis, some new activities starting and everyone feeling better, it should make for a nice start to spring.
Happy Birthday to: Neal, Katie, Robin, Grandma Niggli, Krislyn, Joan, Brandy, Derek and Caden
Happy Anniversary to: Neal and Eve
Congrats to: Paul and Heather (on their new puppy!), and Marcie and Josh (Baby Ella!)
Spring was a busy time in the Coons' household. In early March the dogs began Agility training, where they learn to complete various obstacles in a timed run. Both Charlie and Samantha loved it and did very well, but they wore out the humans, who have to run the course with them. They completed round one of the training and are scheduled to begin round two in mid-May.
Brad's project at work has had some rough patches as of late, leaving him pretty stressed out. Fortunately, he was able to recouperate a bit at the recent 1st Annual Brother's Weekend. He and his three brothers met in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a fun weekend of relaxation, sight-seeing and deep sea fishing. They didn't catch anything but still had a great time and came back very relaxed and recovered.
April brought on a ton of extra hours at work for Krislyn, since another one of her co-workers left. She had to pick up some of the work and also train a couple of new hires. Easter Sunday was spent at Krislyn's Grandmother's house, with much of the family in attendance. It was a nice day with beautiful weather, and was a good opportunity to catch up with everyone. Krislyn's brother, Scott, just bought a new home and was very excited to move in.
Brad and Krislyn celebrated their five year anniversary on the 28th--my how the time flies! They had a nice dinner on Friday night, and then attended a wedding for one of Brad's coworkers on Saturday. It was a beatiful weekend, and a good send off into the month of May!
Happy Birthday to: Nathan, Randy, Aaron, Carol and Kim
Happy Anniversary to: Dave and Amber
Congrats to: Scott and Brandy (on their new home), John and Jaime
My, it's been a long time! Well, things have been rather hectic here, but we are finally up and running again. So, let's get updated!
May: Brad turned 30 this year! We celebrated with a SURPRISE party in Wisconsin. Krislyn was able to get Brad's close friends, Paul and Heather, along with some of the family to help plan the event and surprise Brad. About 30-40 people came to wish him well. It's so great to know he has such good friends and a loving family.
June: June was busy preparing for the July party. Brad decided to build an Office in the basement and fix-up the garage. After weeks of work, he insulated and painted the garage, installed new shelving and sealed the floor, and added speakers and ceiling fans. The Office was finished with the exception of carpet installation, which wasn't scheduled until after the party.
July: Well, it's time to party! Brad and the crew started the 4th off with a bang. The neighborhood loved the show, and this year, Brad's dad, Burt, got to join in. With extra fire power and lots of fans, the show was a huge success--oh, and no one got hurt either!
August: Just a month spent catching up on all the things we kept putting on hold. Krislyn's job saw more turnover (again...), but she managed to keep herself afloat. Brad's project was finally kicking off, but with new work and no new budget, pressure to get things done without overtime or extra manpower was high. The dogs completed their Good Citizen training (passing the test with flying colors) and 2 levels of Agility. They were doing great. On the family front, Krislyn's cousin, Krista, announced she and her husband, Bob, are expecting their first child. Krista is due in February and is doing well.
September: Finally, some time off. We spent the holiday just staring. Well, not really, but it was very relaxing. We traveled off to Boston for Krislyn's friend's wedding. You may remember Meaghan, she was Krislyn's Maid-of-Honor. Meaghan and Dan (yes, her date that caught the garter at our wedding) were married in Boston, just off Harvard's campus. While out for the wedding, we did some sight seeing and caught up with Kim (another of Krislyn's friends and wedding attendants) and her family. It was a busy weekend, but loads of fun. The month ended with a birthday party for one of Brad's colleagues at the Sheradon hotel in St. Louis.
October: October launched the busy season again. We started with Canine Carnival, where the dogs showed off their good looks and great behavior. We attended a newly invented holiday, called Harfestivus, held by Brad's colleague and learned all about a long lasting war between the dwarves and the Underpants Gnomes that eventually ended in peace, which is now celebrated by the Harfestivus (or something like that...don't ask!). Krislyn's cousin Morgan had her 7th birthday party, and Brad and Krislyn scrabbled from house to house for Family Day clean-up activities. Brad was also off in DC for a week of training for work. Oh, we definitely missed the travel (NOT).
November: November was another busy month, with lots of travels, ups and downs. Early in the month, Brad and Krislyn traveled to Las Vegas for Krislyn's friend Stephy's wedding at the Bellagio. The wedding was beautiful, and they managed to squeeze in a bit of vacation too. They made a trip to the Hoover Dam, spent a day trying to kill themselves hiking the Grand Canyon, and saw a magic show at the Monte Carlo hotel back in Las Vegas. It was a busy but very fun trip--especially after the HUGE lobster they devoured at the Rosewood Grill restaurant. When they returned home, they found that Brad's paternal grandmother was very ill, so they made a rushed trip up to Milwaukee. Unfortunately, Grandma Coons passed on several days later, but many family and friends came together to pay their respects and celebrate her long and happy life. Brad and Krislyn made it back to town just in time to stop by Krislyn's grandmother for Thanksgiving dinner. They are both looking forward to a much calmer holiday season!
Well, that should do it until the new year! Stop back for a 2006 wrap-up in January!
Happy Birthday to: KayO, Brad, Ken, Scott, Meaghan, Kerrie, Greg, Krista, Andrea, Connie, Christiana, Arcangela, Kaylee, Tara, Nicholette, Morgan, Bret, Nancy, Simone, Jim, Joe, Kina, and Eve
Happy Anniversary to: Andrea & Dan, Tara & Mitko, Karl & Missy, Peter & Melanie, Marcie & Josh, Greg & Kerrie, Jim & Joan, Brian & Julie, Bret & Heidi, Mike & Theresa, Rick & Venessa, Bob & Krista, Paul & Heather, and Rachel & Randy,
Congrats to: Meaghan & Dan, Stephy & Chris, Becky and Sarrah
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