Love

I love my husband today for the little gifts he gives me.  Not the kind you wrap up in paper and ribbons, but the kind he knows matter most to me.  When I can’t be home to be with my babies and watch them grow, he is and shares it with me like no one else would.  He calls me, texts me, sends me picture messages daily, of all the little things along the way that would matter to no one else but me.    He does it because he loves me, and knows how much I love them.  It makes me love him even more.

This week  I:

*Kicked a ream of paper down the hallway with my crutch

*Carried a 32 oz. Big Gulp Diet Coke in my purse – without spilling a drop

*Asked for help at work 3 times (that’s a lot for me)

*Let my boss bring me lunch (okay, that one wasn’t so hard)

*Decided the humiliation of riding the slowest carts in the world is worth not huffing, puffing,     sweating and having spaghetti arms by the time I get all the way back to my office.

*Read the label and realized I could take two Vicodin at once, hallelujah.

2 weeks down, 3 to go…

Pandemonium

• 9/7 Jake ends up in the office with a skinned up knee and elbow from P.E.
• 9/13 Jake ends up in the office after a bee sting at recess
• 9/16 Leah takes matters into her own hands and cuts her hair
• 9/19 Jake cracks his chin on the teeter totter and knocks a tooth out
• 9/21 Austin flips the bike trailer and road rashes his face.


September you may be over now.

Knee Surgery

My knee surgery went very well.  It was done as an out-patient procedure – I checked in at 12:00 and was home by 3:30.  The clinic staff was wonderful, and I was a much better patient than I usually am.  Dr. Yao cleaned out some floating cartilage fragments (which we didn’t know were there), repaired some fraying cartilage (which we did know was there), and performed a micro-fracture on the top of my lateral tibia bone (which we were hoping he could do but he wouldn’t know for sure until he got in there).  Basically, he poked 4 microscopic holes in the bone to promote healing and growth of some new "pseudo-cartilage".    

My recovery has been great, but the biggest part of it includes not putting any weight on my right leg until the holes have a chance to do their thing properly.  So while my knee feels like I could walk just fine, I am confined to a whole lot of sitting around, and can't walk without crutches.  It is a little strange to only have two small holes on the outside of my knee, and be relatively pain-free, yet still unable to walk or do anything I normally would.  I have no previous experience using crutches, so I am not exactly graceful or capable on the things.  Austin called them my stems when I first got home, and Leah calls them my sticks.  All three of the kids were lectured on how crutches were not toys, to avoid broken TV’s and windows.

My dear mother came back to town, on the heels of just having been here for Jake’s baptism, to help take care of me/us.  She stayed with me at the clinic during the procedure, so Brian could be at home with the kids and get Jake from school.  Brian shouldered the house-and-kid-work, and mom cooked and took care of me, including giving me a pedicure and washing my hair for me, before I was allowed to shower.  She entertained the kids with crafts and shadow puppets, ran errands for us, and got to see Austin off on his first day of Kindergarten.    In short, she was fabulous as usual!

As is par for the course when I have time on my hands, I started making a list, mostly of random things I have become more aware of during my “recuperation”.  Some good, some bad, such as:

•  You can’t truly appreciate the luxury of taking a shower until you are forced to only take baths.
•  My body does not like large doses of Vicodin.
•  My kids have very caring natures.  Whether it’s Jacob ever willing to be my legs, Austin very tenderly putting new Band-Aids over my stitches, or Leah being the first to jump up and hand me my crutches, my kids want to be helpful.
• It is important to set your crutches at the right height from the get-go, to avoid having to endure new soreness after figuring out they are set 2” too short.
• The generosity of my friends is remarkable.
•  It is sometimes easier than I thought it would be to sit around and do nothing, and sometimes harder.
•  I loved being home to see Austin after his first few days of Kindergarten.  I also love the one-on-one time I have had with Leah while the boys are at school.
• Betadine makes you look like an Oompa Loompa.
• Getting down on the floor is relatively easy, getting up is another thing entirely.
• While I am a self-admitted control freak, there are some things I am perfectly okay turning over to other people, such as letting my mom decorate my house for fall. 
• Crutches and under-wire bras are not a good combination.
• I can waste a remarkable amount of time playing Bubble Blast on my phone.

Most importantly, I realized, once again, how truly blessed I am.  I have a loving father, who along with my husband gave me a beautiful blessing of comfort and healing prior to my surgery.  I have a wonderful husband, who has not let me do a thing but rest and recuperate.  He brings me ice cream and dinner in my chair, and never lets me want for anything.  I have a selfless mother, who secretly delayed her own much needed knee surgery to come and care for me after mine.  Last but not least, I have sweet, sweet babies who love their mommy, even when she isn’t worth much.  

Shrek The Musical

My girlfriends are amazing.  They took me to see this



as a "recuperation gift".  It was fun, and funny, as are my girlfriends!  Thanks for knowing just what I needed after a week in the recliner, for dropping me at the curb before parking, asking if I needed to pee before we sat down, and not being embarrassed to use my handicap parking pass at Claim Jumper.

Catching up (it's gonna be a long post)

Life around here has been a little hectic lately.  In a good way, but crazy none the less.  Thanks to my knee surgery,  I now have come to a screeching halt and have oodles of time on my hands.  What a better use of my time than to sit and blog, right?

Jake's baptism was Labor Day weekend.  What an amazing day, to say the least!  I continue to be awed by the spirituality of my son, and the naturalness with which my husband continues to grow in his priesthood responsibilities.  He gave Jacob such a beautiful confirmation blessing - Jacob sat there with eyes closed and a big grin on his face through it all (I believe a mother has a right to "peek" on these types of moments).   We were surrounded by family and friends and I know Jacob felt loved and supported on his special day.

 my men in white

 this is what organizing 20+ people for a picture looks like

 my big family (minus Josh and Katie)

my little family

We followed up Jacob's baptism with lunch at Burgerville and a family trip to the zoo.  At the last minute, my brother and his family and my aunt were able to join us, so we were our own little herd heading through the zoo.  Unfortunately, the animals liked the 90 degree weather even less than us, and there weren't a ton out to view that day, but we had a great time anyway.

 the kids in the eagle's nest

 Leah in the petting zoo

 riding the dino

 Jake realizing that bronze statues sitting in 90 degree sun all day get HOT!!!

 Brady working the ladies

 no family picture is complete without a mountain goat

 on the bus ride back to the parking lot

Austin after running through the mister - wet, tired and happy

The day was capped off with a baptism/birthday party at Aunt Kiki's.  It was great to come in out of the heat to central A.C., yummy food and good company.  Jake opened his favorite gift, his own set of scriptures, embossed with his name on the front.

Next up in our busy line of activities was Jake's first day of school and Austin's kindergarten testing.  Couple the first day of school with the opening of a brand new school, and things that morning were a bit chaotic.  The line of parents and students waiting to get in when the bell rang wrapped all the way up the driveway and down the road.  In the hubbub, this is the only picture I got of Jacob that day:

Jacob was very excited to see that not only had some of his buddies transferred to the new school, they were in his class as well.   Somehow, when he came home that first day, he just looked older.  3rd grade, where has the time gone?  Austin sailed through his testing that morning with flying colors.  His teacher even commented that they didn't usually see kids test at his level unless they had been to pre-school, which he has not.  I am so proud of my boys!

Two days after Jake started school, and three days after my parents had gone home from Jake's baptism weekend, my mom was back in town to help us out, and I had knee surgery (which is whole post in and of itself).

Four days after my surgery, Austin started Kindergarten.  He was so excited and so ready!  He was decked out in his Captain America backpack, on which he is just sure the big red-white-and-blue "A" stands for Austin.

Thank heaven for handicap parking permits and kind ladies manning the front door who let us in early!   I hobbled in with him on my crutches, got his supplies put away, and left him looking like this:

Dad and the boys ride to and from school each day, and Jake and Austin both love it.  Leah loves the ride over in the bike trailer, but has a hard time understanding that they are there pick up/drop off the boys each day and not to play on the playground.

Whew!!