Ok, I'm such a blog posting slacker....
There, now that that's out of the way, I'll share this with you:
As I was nearing the school the first day, my son begged me to "just park here," a block away from his drop off point. "I don't want anyone to see you, I'm going to go by myself."
Already? Really? I thought I had a few more years before I heard that!
Sigh. All grown up and independent. First day of preschool. He's 4.
Driving to the airport- going home!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
We're sitting here on the road in Santa Clarita, attempting to make our way onto I-5 toward the airport. Traffic is nearly stopped due to an earlier accident, and the signs are announcing a 75 minute delay at this point on I-5. Our flight doesn't leave until 3:30, so we should be just fine, but our churches that fly out earlier are questioning whether they will make it in time.
As we creep along, we're laughing here in the "Family Van" that our old rental van would have been just fine for this trip! Yes, we got a new van after we hit a new low on Sunday night. Our Faith work teams went out as individual teams to talk, reflect and debrief our time together. Each of us shared our "One-Minute Talk" (the answer to the question"How was Mexico?") with our team and enjoyed some Starbucks. :-)
On the way there, we experienced "Reduced Engine Power" again, and were thrilled when we made it all the way up to 21 mph on a long stretch of flat road. We poked our way back to the college from Starbucks and headed toward the dorms to park. The dorm parking lot is past a little security station, over two speed bumps and up a steep curve. We made it past the guard shack, waved to security, got up over the speed bumps and proceeded to creep up the hill. Sadly, we couldn't make it this time and our van stopped several feet up the hill, unwilling to advance another inch. Aaron put the van in reverse, backed down the hill switching over to the exit lane, and we backed out the exit. We waved to security again as we drove out backwards, receiving a surprised look in return.
When we couldn't even make it over the speed bump on the way out, we knew it was time for a new van! The rental company brought us out a new van yesterday, and we just giggle thinking about what their drive back was like! I'm sure it took them about one block to decide to call a tow truck.
So, now we have a van with reliable engine power and no place to use it. :-)
As we creep along, we're laughing here in the "Family Van" that our old rental van would have been just fine for this trip! Yes, we got a new van after we hit a new low on Sunday night. Our Faith work teams went out as individual teams to talk, reflect and debrief our time together. Each of us shared our "One-Minute Talk" (the answer to the question"How was Mexico?") with our team and enjoyed some Starbucks. :-)
On the way there, we experienced "Reduced Engine Power" again, and were thrilled when we made it all the way up to 21 mph on a long stretch of flat road. We poked our way back to the college from Starbucks and headed toward the dorms to park. The dorm parking lot is past a little security station, over two speed bumps and up a steep curve. We made it past the guard shack, waved to security, got up over the speed bumps and proceeded to creep up the hill. Sadly, we couldn't make it this time and our van stopped several feet up the hill, unwilling to advance another inch. Aaron put the van in reverse, backed down the hill switching over to the exit lane, and we backed out the exit. We waved to security again as we drove out backwards, receiving a surprised look in return.
When we couldn't even make it over the speed bump on the way out, we knew it was time for a new van! The rental company brought us out a new van yesterday, and we just giggle thinking about what their drive back was like! I'm sure it took them about one block to decide to call a tow truck.
So, now we have a van with reliable engine power and no place to use it. :-)
Home sweet home
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Home safe at last...
I wrote a blog post from the freeway this morning but it's on the youth group travel computer and I forgot to upload it once I had a connection... oops.
Will do that soon, but we're home for now!
I wrote a blog post from the freeway this morning but it's on the youth group travel computer and I forgot to upload it once I had a connection... oops.
Will do that soon, but we're home for now!
Last night of SERVE 2010 and fire alarms
Monday, July 19, 2010
We fly home tomorrow and just had a sweet night of singing, preaching and communion together. Well, most of us were together... I was out in the courtyard with 5 of my kids, one of whom could not quite understand how making faces and grinning at people coming up for communion was not the appropriate action for the time and place.
No, this was not the youngest one.
After our final session tonight, our Faith girls met together for one last talk. We shared areas that we committed to be more obedient to God in, and wrestled with questions about these unreached people groups that we have been learning about all week: how is it fair that many will die without ever having the opportunity to hear of Jesus? What about in Romans where it talks about how all men are without excuse because God has made Himself known? Can they be saved even if they don't know the name of Jesus?
We finally had to wrap it up because, while this was a great discussion, most of us were about to fall asleep sitting up. We've had many late nights and early mornings (about 14 of them), and I for one am looking forward with great anticipation to my own clean bed and no alarm set for the morning! :-)
Most of us were just getting snuggled into our beds here in the dorms at Master's College (well, the girls at least) when we were jolted from our "eyes just closed drifting off to sleep" slumber by the fire alarm going off. Loudly. Which is good, in case of an actual fire, but really loud when it's just some boys smacking powder between their hands in the hallway which was close enough to the detector to set off the alarm. Of course, all we could see from the girls' end of the hall was "thick," smoky-looking air down at the end of the boys' hall.
We all evacuated the building, several wonderful students arriving at the doorways for all the rooms our kids were in to make sure they were out and to help carry them. All six of the kids slept through the evacuation, waiting, and return to their rooms; some looking up groggily and rather confused as they were returned to their beds.
No experience as amazing as this has been should end without fanfare... right? :-)
No, this was not the youngest one.
After our final session tonight, our Faith girls met together for one last talk. We shared areas that we committed to be more obedient to God in, and wrestled with questions about these unreached people groups that we have been learning about all week: how is it fair that many will die without ever having the opportunity to hear of Jesus? What about in Romans where it talks about how all men are without excuse because God has made Himself known? Can they be saved even if they don't know the name of Jesus?
We finally had to wrap it up because, while this was a great discussion, most of us were about to fall asleep sitting up. We've had many late nights and early mornings (about 14 of them), and I for one am looking forward with great anticipation to my own clean bed and no alarm set for the morning! :-)
Most of us were just getting snuggled into our beds here in the dorms at Master's College (well, the girls at least) when we were jolted from our "eyes just closed drifting off to sleep" slumber by the fire alarm going off. Loudly. Which is good, in case of an actual fire, but really loud when it's just some boys smacking powder between their hands in the hallway which was close enough to the detector to set off the alarm. Of course, all we could see from the girls' end of the hall was "thick," smoky-looking air down at the end of the boys' hall.
We all evacuated the building, several wonderful students arriving at the doorways for all the rooms our kids were in to make sure they were out and to help carry them. All six of the kids slept through the evacuation, waiting, and return to their rooms; some looking up groggily and rather confused as they were returned to their beds.
No experience as amazing as this has been should end without fanfare... right? :-)
Back in the USA!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Across the border and I think all 200+ of us stopped at the same IN N OUT for lunch. Aaaaahh, flushing toilets are wonderful, running water a dream, and washed hands pure bliss! Those bathrooms were mighty popular this afternoon!
Several of our group brought a change of clothes and sandals or flip flops to change into once we were across the border. Even breaking camp this morning to head back to the US, we still followed our Mexico dress code of long pants, tennis shoes, and t-shirts. At the first available opportunity, clothes were changed! A few even got to walk in bare feet on green grass.
Stomachs seem to be settling in this van for which we are quite thankful. Several from Faith are still struggling with the effects of several days of heat and dehydration, sensitive stomachs included. Hopefully, air conditioning, shade and lots of water will help that over the next couple of days.
On to the college!
Several of our group brought a change of clothes and sandals or flip flops to change into once we were across the border. Even breaking camp this morning to head back to the US, we still followed our Mexico dress code of long pants, tennis shoes, and t-shirts. At the first available opportunity, clothes were changed! A few even got to walk in bare feet on green grass.
Stomachs seem to be settling in this van for which we are quite thankful. Several from Faith are still struggling with the effects of several days of heat and dehydration, sensitive stomachs included. Hopefully, air conditioning, shade and lots of water will help that over the next couple of days.
On to the college!
At the border
Our caravan of 20+ vehicles is sitting on the freeway waiting in line at the border in Mexico. We're moving slowly enough that maybe I can post this along the way if I can get an internet connection picked up from somewhere. :-)
We broke camp this morning and got everything loaded up ion our cube trucks and vans. Everything is SO filthy and covered in dust! Our sleeping bags are disgusting, clothes and towels dirty and dusty, and bodies desparately in need of showers after three days! I'm sure many of us are also bringing home crickets and other critters packed in our bags, as they seemed to love to jump on into our tents and chirp at us all night long. Beth was most certainly not a fan of them in our tent. Ella thinks they are cute.
Someone found another tarantula this morning out by our "tooth brush spitting area," hopefully no one is bringing one of those home!
We have a few students not feeling well from the heat and dehydration, including three of our kids (two of whom are currently throwing up this very morning). Yesterday won out as the hottest day, which was also our hardest working day with several ambitious projects. The thermometer registered 111 degrees out at our Faith teams' worksites! It was a really hot day for roofing, for sure!
Our team had the delight of visiting with Maricruz and Jesus, the couple for whom we buillt on Monday and Tuesday. She invited us into her new casita to see what she had done with it. They had moved couches and chairs into the room, as well as their TV, radio and kids toys. Photos of the kids were up on the wall, and they had built a shelf along one of the upper walls. Curtains were in the windows and across the door to allow a breeze while keeping out the heat and bugs. She invited us to sit down on the couch, and Alex promptly made himself at home with the toys and watching TV. After visiting for a moment, we excused ourselves to go next door where we were repairing the roof. I asked Alex to come with me, because we "needed to check on the work we were doing next door." He reluctantly came with me outside, stepped out into the yard, looked next door, announced, "The work is going fine," and went back into Maricruz's house! I told her what he had said as best as I could in Spanish, and we laughed together over him. She welcomed him to stay there while we worked, and they even started a movie for the kids. It was a welcome relief for me to have him out of the sun for awhile on such a hot day.
The other teams also got to visit with the families they had built for earlier this week, which was such a joy!
We made one of the vans into a "relief van," with the air conditioning running for people to come and take a break from working, or for those who weren't feeling well. It was a hard day to stay hydrated, and after we drank all the water in our water bottles and the 6 five gallon water jugs we brought out to the site, we bought out all the little local neighborhood stores of all their cold water! It was SO very hot.
A local church was on site in the neighborhood yesterday doing an outreach program for the kids. We learned from the pastor that they had been there also on Wednesday and a woman had decided to follow Jesus that day, in large part because of the team that had been there serving her by building her a house the days before!
We were able to give that church team all of our remaining craft supplies and puppets to continue to use in Tijuana through their ministry!
I'll keep checking for a Wi-Fi signal and try to get this posted- otherwise I'll do it when we get back to Master's College. However, if I have to wait, you better know that it will be later because there is no way that any unscheduled, required task is going to come before that shower! :-)
We broke camp this morning and got everything loaded up ion our cube trucks and vans. Everything is SO filthy and covered in dust! Our sleeping bags are disgusting, clothes and towels dirty and dusty, and bodies desparately in need of showers after three days! I'm sure many of us are also bringing home crickets and other critters packed in our bags, as they seemed to love to jump on into our tents and chirp at us all night long. Beth was most certainly not a fan of them in our tent. Ella thinks they are cute.
Someone found another tarantula this morning out by our "tooth brush spitting area," hopefully no one is bringing one of those home!
We have a few students not feeling well from the heat and dehydration, including three of our kids (two of whom are currently throwing up this very morning). Yesterday won out as the hottest day, which was also our hardest working day with several ambitious projects. The thermometer registered 111 degrees out at our Faith teams' worksites! It was a really hot day for roofing, for sure!
Our team had the delight of visiting with Maricruz and Jesus, the couple for whom we buillt on Monday and Tuesday. She invited us into her new casita to see what she had done with it. They had moved couches and chairs into the room, as well as their TV, radio and kids toys. Photos of the kids were up on the wall, and they had built a shelf along one of the upper walls. Curtains were in the windows and across the door to allow a breeze while keeping out the heat and bugs. She invited us to sit down on the couch, and Alex promptly made himself at home with the toys and watching TV. After visiting for a moment, we excused ourselves to go next door where we were repairing the roof. I asked Alex to come with me, because we "needed to check on the work we were doing next door." He reluctantly came with me outside, stepped out into the yard, looked next door, announced, "The work is going fine," and went back into Maricruz's house! I told her what he had said as best as I could in Spanish, and we laughed together over him. She welcomed him to stay there while we worked, and they even started a movie for the kids. It was a welcome relief for me to have him out of the sun for awhile on such a hot day.
The other teams also got to visit with the families they had built for earlier this week, which was such a joy!
We made one of the vans into a "relief van," with the air conditioning running for people to come and take a break from working, or for those who weren't feeling well. It was a hard day to stay hydrated, and after we drank all the water in our water bottles and the 6 five gallon water jugs we brought out to the site, we bought out all the little local neighborhood stores of all their cold water! It was SO very hot.
A local church was on site in the neighborhood yesterday doing an outreach program for the kids. We learned from the pastor that they had been there also on Wednesday and a woman had decided to follow Jesus that day, in large part because of the team that had been there serving her by building her a house the days before!
We were able to give that church team all of our remaining craft supplies and puppets to continue to use in Tijuana through their ministry!
I'll keep checking for a Wi-Fi signal and try to get this posted- otherwise I'll do it when we get back to Master's College. However, if I have to wait, you better know that it will be later because there is no way that any unscheduled, required task is going to come before that shower! :-)
Wednesday and Thursday
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Wednesday:
We started a new build today for Saul and Nancy. They have two children, Bethsaida and Jesus, who enjoyed doing crafts with our kids and students. The kids made bracelets and necklaces, and Nancy set up a matchbox car race track in her kitchen for Alex. He had so much fun and was one sweaty boy!
It is getting much hotter here, and our team worked fast and got the floor and walls mostly built before lunch. After lunch, we were able to spend most of our time sitting and visiting with the family under the tarp they had stretched out for shade. Nancy shared her photos with us, which were helpful as we talked together about her life without a shared language! They are a family of believers who travel an hour and a half to their church to worship. They have been praying for a church to be established in their neighborhood. Aaron and a some of our guys walked a few blocks to check on our other work site, and came back with the wonderful news that two women there (neighbors) had decided to follow Christ! We drove Nancy down there to meet her new sisters in Christ.
We left the site to head to the showers (YEAH!YEHAH!YEAH!!!) and gathered together again after that to eat at Tacos Rene. We had a wonderful joyful fun meal together, complete with a bit of dance party at the end, encouraged by the guys who worked there who kept playing the same song over and over again. :-)
The "Family Van" (rental van Faith #4) has been having a bit of trouble with "reduced engine power." Driving in Tijuana is an experience in itself. Stop signs are a suggestion, speed bumps are serious, enormous potholes are the norm, the majority of the roads we drive on to get to our sites are dirt roads and very bumpy, and everything is up and down steep hills or ramps. I was doing pretty well until Wednesday afternoon on our way back from the site when my engine light came on and this "reduced angine power" signal. It meant it! The next hill I encountered my van slowly crept up as we prayed to make it to a spot I could pull over. We did, and from there drove up the rest of the hill in first gear at a snail's pace! It's been on and off since then- we haven't figured out what the problem is, but sometimes it works great and other times not! Last night on our way back from tacos, the warning lights came on again. I sailed along okay on level ground, but I could barely crawl up the hills to camp with it floored in first gear! We were seriously going about 2 miles per hour, waitng for the van to die at any moment. We barely got to a parking spot and were making arrangements to drop down to three vans for Thursday, but of course, today it was completely fine!
Thursday:
We finished the house today at Nancy's. She is going to use it as a work room and hopefully teach craft classes out of it as well. She was so very sweet and taught the kids how to make crepe paper crafts today, which we learned briefly in Guatemala but didn't have the chance to try ourselves. At the end of the day, she gifted each of the kids with an item she had made- they are really incredible and quite time consuming. As this is her source of income, I know that she gave them great treasures. Five more people in the neighborhood accepted Christ today- I think Nancy may see a church there before she thought she would!
Despite Aaron's best attempts to get the van to "break down" again today (we were close to a site where a mechanic from our group was working), it functioned just fine all day. He left it idling in the 103 degree weather (yeah, it was HOT today!), zoomed over bumps and up hills, drove it around forever, and it behaved just perfectly. :-)
As we were leaving our work site today, the clouds moved in a gifted us with a few welcomne drops of rain. They felt so good! We are all so hot and sweaty, but our team is really great. They work well together, are kind and gracious, and a total pleasure to sweat with. :-)
The kids are still loving hanging out with the students. the biggest "problem" we're having now is that our little ones are starting to think that they are "big kids" and feeling pretty put out when they have to go to bed early or not do everything the students are doing. I keep reminding them that their time will come!
We have one more day of work here. Tommorow we will go out to the neighborhood we were in on Monday and Tuesday and our three teams with complete three different projects there: rebuild three roofs and build a bano (bathroom). Our three teams have been building in the same neighborhoods for our builds this week and it's been great to be so close. While we are each at our own site with our own experiences, there is a real sense of community as we are in the same neighborhood.
We started a new build today for Saul and Nancy. They have two children, Bethsaida and Jesus, who enjoyed doing crafts with our kids and students. The kids made bracelets and necklaces, and Nancy set up a matchbox car race track in her kitchen for Alex. He had so much fun and was one sweaty boy!
It is getting much hotter here, and our team worked fast and got the floor and walls mostly built before lunch. After lunch, we were able to spend most of our time sitting and visiting with the family under the tarp they had stretched out for shade. Nancy shared her photos with us, which were helpful as we talked together about her life without a shared language! They are a family of believers who travel an hour and a half to their church to worship. They have been praying for a church to be established in their neighborhood. Aaron and a some of our guys walked a few blocks to check on our other work site, and came back with the wonderful news that two women there (neighbors) had decided to follow Christ! We drove Nancy down there to meet her new sisters in Christ.
We left the site to head to the showers (YEAH!YEHAH!YEAH!!!) and gathered together again after that to eat at Tacos Rene. We had a wonderful joyful fun meal together, complete with a bit of dance party at the end, encouraged by the guys who worked there who kept playing the same song over and over again. :-)
The "Family Van" (rental van Faith #4) has been having a bit of trouble with "reduced engine power." Driving in Tijuana is an experience in itself. Stop signs are a suggestion, speed bumps are serious, enormous potholes are the norm, the majority of the roads we drive on to get to our sites are dirt roads and very bumpy, and everything is up and down steep hills or ramps. I was doing pretty well until Wednesday afternoon on our way back from the site when my engine light came on and this "reduced angine power" signal. It meant it! The next hill I encountered my van slowly crept up as we prayed to make it to a spot I could pull over. We did, and from there drove up the rest of the hill in first gear at a snail's pace! It's been on and off since then- we haven't figured out what the problem is, but sometimes it works great and other times not! Last night on our way back from tacos, the warning lights came on again. I sailed along okay on level ground, but I could barely crawl up the hills to camp with it floored in first gear! We were seriously going about 2 miles per hour, waitng for the van to die at any moment. We barely got to a parking spot and were making arrangements to drop down to three vans for Thursday, but of course, today it was completely fine!
Thursday:
We finished the house today at Nancy's. She is going to use it as a work room and hopefully teach craft classes out of it as well. She was so very sweet and taught the kids how to make crepe paper crafts today, which we learned briefly in Guatemala but didn't have the chance to try ourselves. At the end of the day, she gifted each of the kids with an item she had made- they are really incredible and quite time consuming. As this is her source of income, I know that she gave them great treasures. Five more people in the neighborhood accepted Christ today- I think Nancy may see a church there before she thought she would!
Despite Aaron's best attempts to get the van to "break down" again today (we were close to a site where a mechanic from our group was working), it functioned just fine all day. He left it idling in the 103 degree weather (yeah, it was HOT today!), zoomed over bumps and up hills, drove it around forever, and it behaved just perfectly. :-)
As we were leaving our work site today, the clouds moved in a gifted us with a few welcomne drops of rain. They felt so good! We are all so hot and sweaty, but our team is really great. They work well together, are kind and gracious, and a total pleasure to sweat with. :-)
The kids are still loving hanging out with the students. the biggest "problem" we're having now is that our little ones are starting to think that they are "big kids" and feeling pretty put out when they have to go to bed early or not do everything the students are doing. I keep reminding them that their time will come!
We have one more day of work here. Tommorow we will go out to the neighborhood we were in on Monday and Tuesday and our three teams with complete three different projects there: rebuild three roofs and build a bano (bathroom). Our three teams have been building in the same neighborhoods for our builds this week and it's been great to be so close. While we are each at our own site with our own experiences, there is a real sense of community as we are in the same neighborhood.
Happy Birthday, Ella! Happy Cast Day, Beth!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Today was our first day at the worksite, and it was wonderful! We drove out into an area that was completely uncivilized a year ago and that is now growing up into a neighborhood of homes. Our team is building a home for Maricruz and Jesus and their two children. Several other teams are working in the same neighborhood building houses, so it was fun to have lots of interaction with many families. When we pulled up, Alex jumped out of the van and yelled, "I see friends!" and took off up the hillside to a home where a couple little boys were playing. I managed to help him step around the stream of sewage before he plowed right through it, and he was off making friends. It was such a delight to watch him. It was interesting to watch how each of the kids approached this new setting with the language difference. Some jumped in, some were reluctant but with a little encouragement, were out in the street playing soccer or interacting with others. Maria, Ella and Alex sat down with a pile of scrap wood and nails and hammered away to their hearts content for quite a long time! Max played soccer, Kyler helped out with some building (as did all the kids at some time), and Beth collected water bottles from the students and staff to take them to be refilled, making sure everyone stayed well hydrated.
It was on one of these errands that she tripped stepping down the hillside (this neighborhood is on the side of a hill with a beautiful view out over the valley and hills), and caught her fall with her hand, hurting her wrist. She came and told me that she fell and I could see that she was dirty, so I said some encouraging word and told her to brush off. A minute later I turned around to see her and saw that she was on the verge of tears. She was so stoic that I hadn't realized how badly she was hurt! We looked at her wrist, which behaved suspiciously like it was broken, but took her to an air conditioned van to rest for a few minutes and see if that helped. It didn't help, she still wasn't able to move it without extreme pain, so we took her to the clinic to have it checked out (the same one Jeremy worked at). She was such a trooper! We were sent from the clinic on a drive to another tiny little building where we had x-rays taken. Beth, sitting quietly with tears springing to her eyes when they repositioned her wrist, but not saying a word.
We took the x-rays back to the clinic, where we met with the doctor (maybe?) All this in Spanish, of course, which I have a very limited command of. Actually, I shouldn't even use the word "command," because I can't command anything in Spanish! He pronounced to us that it was not broken, but that he wanted to cast her all the way up past her elbow. Hmm.. I had to ask for a bit more clarification on that one, which seemed to confuse him. Why is this crazy American lady asking all these questions of him?
It sounds like he thinks she has a bad sprain and wants her to immobilize it and rest it "because of all the trauma." I'm not entirely sure it's not broken, so a cast didn't seem like such a bad idea. Either way, it will be the easiest was to take care of it this next week with our limited accommodations and being out on the worksites each day. She now has a good old fashioned heavy plaster cast to haul around, and also to hit anyone with who bothers her. :-) She's going to have one great Tijuana souvenir!
Ella's 6th birthday is today, and we hope to make it special for her with a little party tonight. The cooks are serving a cake tonight for all the people who have birthdays this week.
We hope to have a less medically eventful day tomorrow, but today was not too bad. Beth and I had a fun adventure and experienced new things in Tijuana together!
It was on one of these errands that she tripped stepping down the hillside (this neighborhood is on the side of a hill with a beautiful view out over the valley and hills), and caught her fall with her hand, hurting her wrist. She came and told me that she fell and I could see that she was dirty, so I said some encouraging word and told her to brush off. A minute later I turned around to see her and saw that she was on the verge of tears. She was so stoic that I hadn't realized how badly she was hurt! We looked at her wrist, which behaved suspiciously like it was broken, but took her to an air conditioned van to rest for a few minutes and see if that helped. It didn't help, she still wasn't able to move it without extreme pain, so we took her to the clinic to have it checked out (the same one Jeremy worked at). She was such a trooper! We were sent from the clinic on a drive to another tiny little building where we had x-rays taken. Beth, sitting quietly with tears springing to her eyes when they repositioned her wrist, but not saying a word.
We took the x-rays back to the clinic, where we met with the doctor (maybe?) All this in Spanish, of course, which I have a very limited command of. Actually, I shouldn't even use the word "command," because I can't command anything in Spanish! He pronounced to us that it was not broken, but that he wanted to cast her all the way up past her elbow. Hmm.. I had to ask for a bit more clarification on that one, which seemed to confuse him. Why is this crazy American lady asking all these questions of him?
It sounds like he thinks she has a bad sprain and wants her to immobilize it and rest it "because of all the trauma." I'm not entirely sure it's not broken, so a cast didn't seem like such a bad idea. Either way, it will be the easiest was to take care of it this next week with our limited accommodations and being out on the worksites each day. She now has a good old fashioned heavy plaster cast to haul around, and also to hit anyone with who bothers her. :-) She's going to have one great Tijuana souvenir!
Ella's 6th birthday is today, and we hope to make it special for her with a little party tonight. The cooks are serving a cake tonight for all the people who have birthdays this week.
We hope to have a less medically eventful day tomorrow, but today was not too bad. Beth and I had a fun adventure and experienced new things in Tijuana together!
We're in Mexico!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
We made it safely, police escort and all. :-) What an experience. I'd love to write more about it later, but Aaron is running off in just a couple moments with the computer to an internet cafe in town.
The weather is quite nice, not too hot with a super breeze that blows across the hilltop our camp is on. The sun is hot, but the evenings are cool enough that we all bundle up in our sweatshirts for our evening worship session. The kids are doing ok... playing hard, making friends and getting quite tired, which, unfortunately, is leading to some grumpy and disrespectful talk. Please pray for wisdom and patience for me as I respond to them and try to help them grow through this experience. It's hard sometimes to balance the needs of the group (and expectations) with what I know works best with my kids. Especially hard when I'm very tired. :-)
Well, Aaron is standing over me waiting for the computer, so I'd best go. We're off to our first worksite tomorrow!
The weather is quite nice, not too hot with a super breeze that blows across the hilltop our camp is on. The sun is hot, but the evenings are cool enough that we all bundle up in our sweatshirts for our evening worship session. The kids are doing ok... playing hard, making friends and getting quite tired, which, unfortunately, is leading to some grumpy and disrespectful talk. Please pray for wisdom and patience for me as I respond to them and try to help them grow through this experience. It's hard sometimes to balance the needs of the group (and expectations) with what I know works best with my kids. Especially hard when I'm very tired. :-)
Well, Aaron is standing over me waiting for the computer, so I'd best go. We're off to our first worksite tomorrow!
Mexico tomorrow!
Friday, July 9, 2010
This may be my last post for awhile as we head into Mexico tomorrow morning. The team blog will continue to be updated, but my ability to post to our personal blog will likely be limited.
We enjoyed a hot sunny day here (though not nearly as hot as it's been at home!) and were graciously invited by family members of one of our students to their home nearby for the afternoon. We had a ton of fun relaxing and playing in their pool for a couple hours! Our kids loved the playtime with the students and are really building some neat relationships.
Aaron left with the "A Team" this morning about 9 am for Mexico. He took an advance crew of about 10 students a day early to set up camp, aka "Servelandia," and to cut and deliver lumber to all the work sites. We're looking forward to meeting up with him again tomorrow.
We are being very careful in regard to safety issues as we head across the border into Mexico. The organization we are working with has an excellent reputation in the area and are well aware of any safety concerns and how best to avoid any "trouble." The new chief of police in Tijuana is apparently a big fan of this ministry and is providing a police escort for our group (!) once across the border, and an officer at our campsite. We were joking (mostly) tonight that we're not sure if this will help us or put a big target on us! :-) Really, we know that we are safely in God's hands and He has people here that He loves dearly and cares about, and the Body of Christ needs to be His hands and feet to the hurting people of this world. If we let fear hold us back from everything.. eventually it will eliminate all we do! Of course, we are proceeding wisely in human knowledge, but ultimately trusting in God's knowledge and plan.
I'm trying to fit our stuff back in our bags and do laundry. Quite a challenge with one washer for two floors of dorm rooms and everyone needing to do laundry at once! This is where teamwork really comes in... coordinating laundry one day, building a house the next...
We enjoyed a hot sunny day here (though not nearly as hot as it's been at home!) and were graciously invited by family members of one of our students to their home nearby for the afternoon. We had a ton of fun relaxing and playing in their pool for a couple hours! Our kids loved the playtime with the students and are really building some neat relationships.
Aaron left with the "A Team" this morning about 9 am for Mexico. He took an advance crew of about 10 students a day early to set up camp, aka "Servelandia," and to cut and deliver lumber to all the work sites. We're looking forward to meeting up with him again tomorrow.
We are being very careful in regard to safety issues as we head across the border into Mexico. The organization we are working with has an excellent reputation in the area and are well aware of any safety concerns and how best to avoid any "trouble." The new chief of police in Tijuana is apparently a big fan of this ministry and is providing a police escort for our group (!) once across the border, and an officer at our campsite. We were joking (mostly) tonight that we're not sure if this will help us or put a big target on us! :-) Really, we know that we are safely in God's hands and He has people here that He loves dearly and cares about, and the Body of Christ needs to be His hands and feet to the hurting people of this world. If we let fear hold us back from everything.. eventually it will eliminate all we do! Of course, we are proceeding wisely in human knowledge, but ultimately trusting in God's knowledge and plan.
I'm trying to fit our stuff back in our bags and do laundry. Quite a challenge with one washer for two floors of dorm rooms and everyone needing to do laundry at once! This is where teamwork really comes in... coordinating laundry one day, building a house the next...
Magic Mountain
Thursday, July 8, 2010
This morning went well as we all attended the session after breakfast. For the most part, the kids enjoyed (or tolerated!) the meeting. I guess they hear the great wisdom of this morning's speaker every day, so that part wasn't new to them... ;-) Aaron challenged us all this morning to consider our response to sin in our lives. Do we feel that we have failed ourselves, have not lived up to the goals and standards we have set? Or are we grieved that we have sinned against God? The difference is relationship. With the first, we really think of only ourselves. However,if we have a vital relationship with God, our sin will break our hearts because of how it breaks our relationship with God. Aaron, of course, expressed it much more eloquently and with a few more stories, but you get the late night, I-spent-the-whole-day-at-an-amusement-park-in-the-sun-chasing-six-kids version.
The aformentioned kids had a BLAST at Magic Mountain today! Tons of fun, lots of rides, an amazing (and a little too inspiring I think!) daredevil motorbike/skateboard/bike stunt show, exceedingly overpriced food, Cold Stone ice cream, sore feet, lots of sun and sunscreen, run-ins with Superheroes and Looney Tunes characters ("Are you the REAL Batman?" asked Alex. "For reals?"), 220 of us in orange SERVE 2010 shirts (comically, I saw several other groups in orange shirts today- all daycares!), and an adventurous search for our rental van at the end of the day in the enormous parking lot. Kyler saved the day by remembering which Looney Tune lot we had parked in. Apparently, I did not bring my brain with me today because it never ONCE occurred to me to note where I had parked in a strange van and completely unknown-to-me parking lot about the size of my town, to which you take a shuttle bus that has THREE different lots it stops in. Thank goodness for observant Kyler at least getting us to the right lot from which to continue our search!
Before we get too far into our trip, I must make note of a great blessing to us. One of the students is joining us from another church as both a participant and our "nanny." She's a wonderful gift to me as I try to juggle the varying needs of the kids within our group's schedule, and my desire to also serve as a leader (at least part time!) with our team. Yeah, yeah, yeah for Alicia!!! Alicia and I are working out how to balance our schedule so that we all can be involved as much as possible with the team events. It will probably change every day... :-)
The rest of the team just got back, so I'll sign off here and head to our leader's meeting. For more on the team, you can also check out the team's blog at youthmark.com/faith_kent.
The aformentioned kids had a BLAST at Magic Mountain today! Tons of fun, lots of rides, an amazing (and a little too inspiring I think!) daredevil motorbike/skateboard/bike stunt show, exceedingly overpriced food, Cold Stone ice cream, sore feet, lots of sun and sunscreen, run-ins with Superheroes and Looney Tunes characters ("Are you the REAL Batman?" asked Alex. "For reals?"), 220 of us in orange SERVE 2010 shirts (comically, I saw several other groups in orange shirts today- all daycares!), and an adventurous search for our rental van at the end of the day in the enormous parking lot. Kyler saved the day by remembering which Looney Tune lot we had parked in. Apparently, I did not bring my brain with me today because it never ONCE occurred to me to note where I had parked in a strange van and completely unknown-to-me parking lot about the size of my town, to which you take a shuttle bus that has THREE different lots it stops in. Thank goodness for observant Kyler at least getting us to the right lot from which to continue our search!
Before we get too far into our trip, I must make note of a great blessing to us. One of the students is joining us from another church as both a participant and our "nanny." She's a wonderful gift to me as I try to juggle the varying needs of the kids within our group's schedule, and my desire to also serve as a leader (at least part time!) with our team. Yeah, yeah, yeah for Alicia!!! Alicia and I are working out how to balance our schedule so that we all can be involved as much as possible with the team events. It will probably change every day... :-)
The rest of the team just got back, so I'll sign off here and head to our leader's meeting. For more on the team, you can also check out the team's blog at youthmark.com/faith_kent.
SERVE 2010 has begun
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
We made it to Master's College today and the kids had a wild and wonderfully fun afternoon of hanging out with the "big kids" after we all got our luggage into our rooms. I absolutely could not believe how much energy they had after getting up at 4:15 am- and only one of them took a 10 minute nap on the plane! Alex was running up and down the hallways with big boys chasing after him, Max was engrossed in card games, foosball and basketball in the dorm lobby, the girls were in heaven making friendship bracelets with the older girls, and Kyler was building Lego creations with a new student friend. All I wanted to do was take a nap. :-)
They were still running at 7 pm- racing each other up enormously long flights of stairs up the hillside, reveling in the all you can eat buffet of the cafeteria (with soft serve ice cream cones!), chatting and visiting with all the students, and thanking me profusely for bringing them on this trip.
By 7:30 or so, seated in the worship center for our first session, the comments were changing... "I'm so tired..." "When can we go back?" "Why are we here?" "Don't touch me!" Some of the comments were non-verbal but still very clear, and Alex couldn't say anything because he was asleep in my arms. :-) Max could have held out longer, and indeed wondered why we decided to leave so early in the session, but leave we did and began the long walk back to our dorms up the hill. A bit less racing this time as we started, but by the time we got halfway there the races began again and I started to hear, "Why couldn't we stay longer?" "I wanted to stay for singing!" "Why did you make us leave?" Ah, such a cruel, thoughtless Mom I am, obviously not in tune with what they really wanted... :-)
Within about 15 minutes, all were asleep in their beds, and of course they look like sweet sleepy angels all sprawled out. Except Max. He's still awake. I know this because I just sneezed and heard "Bless you," from the floor.
Tomorrow we have an early morning with breakfast at 7 am followed by our morning worship session. I hope that they are all able to appreciate and learn what they can from these times together, according to their ages. For some, it may just be a sense of community and common purpose, coming together as many people to serve our one Lord Jesus. I hope that several of them will truly allow God to show them more about Himself, and that they will be challenged and grow in the ways that God has for them these coming weeks.
Fatigue, tiredness and trial have a way of bringing out all kinds of things in us... things we generally would rather not see! I pray that we will have grace and patience with each other, and will be an encouragement and support to each other as we follow Christ together.
After our morning session, we're all off to spend the majority of the day at Magic Mountain. I think it's called "team building," or something like that. :-)
I'm pretty sure I'll have some elated and tired kids in my van at the end of the day!
They were still running at 7 pm- racing each other up enormously long flights of stairs up the hillside, reveling in the all you can eat buffet of the cafeteria (with soft serve ice cream cones!), chatting and visiting with all the students, and thanking me profusely for bringing them on this trip.
By 7:30 or so, seated in the worship center for our first session, the comments were changing... "I'm so tired..." "When can we go back?" "Why are we here?" "Don't touch me!" Some of the comments were non-verbal but still very clear, and Alex couldn't say anything because he was asleep in my arms. :-) Max could have held out longer, and indeed wondered why we decided to leave so early in the session, but leave we did and began the long walk back to our dorms up the hill. A bit less racing this time as we started, but by the time we got halfway there the races began again and I started to hear, "Why couldn't we stay longer?" "I wanted to stay for singing!" "Why did you make us leave?" Ah, such a cruel, thoughtless Mom I am, obviously not in tune with what they really wanted... :-)
Within about 15 minutes, all were asleep in their beds, and of course they look like sweet sleepy angels all sprawled out. Except Max. He's still awake. I know this because I just sneezed and heard "Bless you," from the floor.
Tomorrow we have an early morning with breakfast at 7 am followed by our morning worship session. I hope that they are all able to appreciate and learn what they can from these times together, according to their ages. For some, it may just be a sense of community and common purpose, coming together as many people to serve our one Lord Jesus. I hope that several of them will truly allow God to show them more about Himself, and that they will be challenged and grow in the ways that God has for them these coming weeks.
Fatigue, tiredness and trial have a way of bringing out all kinds of things in us... things we generally would rather not see! I pray that we will have grace and patience with each other, and will be an encouragement and support to each other as we follow Christ together.
After our morning session, we're all off to spend the majority of the day at Magic Mountain. I think it's called "team building," or something like that. :-)
I'm pretty sure I'll have some elated and tired kids in my van at the end of the day!
100th Post! Off to Mexico...
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Wow. This is my 100th post and it seems as if that should be very significant. Not sure why... Aaron just wondered if I was going to give away any prizes. Hadn't considered that, but maybe I should look into it... :-)
Anyway, of far greater significance than what number precedes this post (and the reason I'm actually writing) is the fact that we leave our house tomorrow morning at 4:45 am to head to the airport. The kids and I are finally getting to go with Aaron on SERVE, the mission trip to Mexico that happens every three years to El Florido, about 20 minutes east of Tijuana along the border. Every previous trip, we've either just brought someone home to join our family, been about to bring someone home, or been waiting for passports or citizenship after finalizing the bringing home of several someones. This year marks a new era: the number of people in our family has plateaued, and we are all passport holding US citizens. Whoo-hoo!
All our bags are packed and actually already on their way to southern CA, along with the luggage of the 220 other students and leaders on SERVE 2010. All that's left for us to do is get our tired little selves out of bed at a truly unkind hour, get dressed, and grab our backpacks. We'll fly to LA and stay at The Master's College for a couple of days for team building and training, then drive across the border into Mexico. I'll try to update as I can, although I'm not sure when I'll have access to the internet.
It will be quite the adventure, as we head into a lot of unknowns. Living in a tent with all my kids in the midst of 220 other people leaves one feeling rather on display. :-) And, as we all know, we'd rather our kids displayed the best behavior and attitudes when out in public (well, I guess myself, too!)... what are the odds THAT'S going to happen for 2 weeks straight? Pretty slim, I'd say.
Real life. That's what we will "display." Real life.
I just hope I do real life well these coming weeks. :-)
Anyway, of far greater significance than what number precedes this post (and the reason I'm actually writing) is the fact that we leave our house tomorrow morning at 4:45 am to head to the airport. The kids and I are finally getting to go with Aaron on SERVE, the mission trip to Mexico that happens every three years to El Florido, about 20 minutes east of Tijuana along the border. Every previous trip, we've either just brought someone home to join our family, been about to bring someone home, or been waiting for passports or citizenship after finalizing the bringing home of several someones. This year marks a new era: the number of people in our family has plateaued, and we are all passport holding US citizens. Whoo-hoo!
All our bags are packed and actually already on their way to southern CA, along with the luggage of the 220 other students and leaders on SERVE 2010. All that's left for us to do is get our tired little selves out of bed at a truly unkind hour, get dressed, and grab our backpacks. We'll fly to LA and stay at The Master's College for a couple of days for team building and training, then drive across the border into Mexico. I'll try to update as I can, although I'm not sure when I'll have access to the internet.
It will be quite the adventure, as we head into a lot of unknowns. Living in a tent with all my kids in the midst of 220 other people leaves one feeling rather on display. :-) And, as we all know, we'd rather our kids displayed the best behavior and attitudes when out in public (well, I guess myself, too!)... what are the odds THAT'S going to happen for 2 weeks straight? Pretty slim, I'd say.
Real life. That's what we will "display." Real life.
I just hope I do real life well these coming weeks. :-)
Conversations of note
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Ella sneezes. "Oh! I think I'm catching up to someone's cold."
This afternoon I had a great request from Alex as we were conversing together: "Mom? Can you "pause" the talking 'cuz I have to go to the bathroom."
Alex and I are in the van today in a hurry to leave when I can't get the garage door to close... something seems to be in the way. "Oh, for crying out loud!" I said as I got out to investigate. It turns out that a rope had fallen across the sensor and so every time I started to close the door it sensed something under it and opened back up again. I moved the rope, successfully closed the door, and hopped back in the van. As we started to drive away, Alex cautiously said to me, "Mom? When are you going to cry out loud?"
Late night update (can't pass this one up):
Max and Kyler just came out of their room to inform me that they are scared.
"What are you scared of?"
"That the angels of death might make... what's that woman's name that cut Samson's hair?"
"Delilah."
"Yeah, that they'll make Delilah come back to life and they'll surround us and she'll cut off our hair and we'll lose our strength."
This from two boys whose hair is less than an inch long. And was just cut two nights ago. Which apparently didn't impair their mighty and world-renowned strength then.
And really? Delilah?
They seemed more afraid of her than the angels of death in their story... ah, the power of a woman. ;-)
This afternoon I had a great request from Alex as we were conversing together: "Mom? Can you "pause" the talking 'cuz I have to go to the bathroom."
Alex and I are in the van today in a hurry to leave when I can't get the garage door to close... something seems to be in the way. "Oh, for crying out loud!" I said as I got out to investigate. It turns out that a rope had fallen across the sensor and so every time I started to close the door it sensed something under it and opened back up again. I moved the rope, successfully closed the door, and hopped back in the van. As we started to drive away, Alex cautiously said to me, "Mom? When are you going to cry out loud?"
Late night update (can't pass this one up):
Max and Kyler just came out of their room to inform me that they are scared.
"What are you scared of?"
"That the angels of death might make... what's that woman's name that cut Samson's hair?"
"Delilah."
"Yeah, that they'll make Delilah come back to life and they'll surround us and she'll cut off our hair and we'll lose our strength."
This from two boys whose hair is less than an inch long. And was just cut two nights ago. Which apparently didn't impair their mighty and world-renowned strength then.
And really? Delilah?
They seemed more afraid of her than the angels of death in their story... ah, the power of a woman. ;-)
Mom is getting her new heart!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Aaron's mom, Jackie, is is surgery right now preparing for her new heart. Her new heart is on it's way from Colorado with the surgeon, who has inspected it and pronounced it the heart for her! Please check out her CaringBridge page for more updates throughout the day.... (link also at right on sidebar)
My grandma, my mom's (Marianne) mom, passed away early Thursday morning, so the loss and grief that another family is experiencing today is very real to me.
My grandma, my mom's (Marianne) mom, passed away early Thursday morning, so the loss and grief that another family is experiencing today is very real to me.
Breakfast conversation
Monday, April 5, 2010
Overheard at the breakfast table early Easter morning:
Max: Have any of you entered puberty yet?
Elizabeth: No, but if I had, I wouldn't tell you!
Max: Have any of you entered puberty yet?
Elizabeth: No, but if I had, I wouldn't tell you!
Question from Ella
Friday, March 19, 2010
"Hey Dad!! I have an idea... Maybe if you're not working today, maybe this afternoon the three kids: you, me and Alex, can go on a bike ride! Do you think we can?"
Hahahahahahahaha... :-)
Right now, Ella is currently clarifying after Aaron asked again how many kids:
"Yes, three kids. You, me and Alex. 'Cuz you are a kid 'cuz you have a mom."
Hahahahahahahaha... :-)
Right now, Ella is currently clarifying after Aaron asked again how many kids:
"Yes, three kids. You, me and Alex. 'Cuz you are a kid 'cuz you have a mom."
Support group suggestions?
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
In keeping with my 5 year old daughter's commitment last week to quit smoking, I have a confession to make. I have been under the illusion that I could stop a certain behavior of mine anytime I wanted to.
..."It's not that I NEED to do this, I'm just choosing that I want to right now because I'm more comfortable that way. Really, I can stop anytime..."
Well friends, it turns out that I can't "just quit."
I tried, and I couldn't. It wasn't possible.
I have had to face the hard truth that I cannot give up my drawstring pajama pants and sweats.
I can't get my regular pants buttoned.
..."It's not that I NEED to do this, I'm just choosing that I want to right now because I'm more comfortable that way. Really, I can stop anytime..."
Well friends, it turns out that I can't "just quit."
I tried, and I couldn't. It wasn't possible.
I have had to face the hard truth that I cannot give up my drawstring pajama pants and sweats.
I can't get my regular pants buttoned.
"I quit...."
Thursday, January 28, 2010
My friend, Lisa, was walking Alex and Ella to school yesterday afternoon with her two boys. Along the way, part of the conversation went like this:
One boy: I smell barbecue!
Pause
Ella (age 5): I quit smoking.
Lisa: Oh, really? Had you been smoking long?
Ella: No. I never started. I just decided to quit.
One boy: I smell barbecue!
Pause
Ella (age 5): I quit smoking.
Lisa: Oh, really? Had you been smoking long?
Ella: No. I never started. I just decided to quit.
Post-op report
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
I had my first post-op visit on Monday, and my surgeon was very impressed with how well I'm doing! She was surprised that I've been off the Percocet (for pain) since last week, and says everything looks good overall. It wasn't much of an outing, but I was really tired when I got home! I took a nice little afternoon nap after the kids left for school. I am certainly still lacking the energy I had... when I clean off the kitchen counters and disinfect them, and then feel like I've earned a nap... you know I'm not quite "back to normal" yet! I call this my "pretend" life that I'm living... the one where I DO get to take a nap after cleaning off the counters, someone brings me dinner every night, and my biggest job is to work on healing and getting better. Yeah, this is not my "real" life! :-) I feel pretty good in my "pretend" life; I'm not sure how well I'd hold up in my "real" life!
My surgeon reminded me how deceiving it is to see my incisions healing up so nicely and quickly... it's easy to forget the major work she did inside and how much I have to heal from under my skin.
As I do this all important job of healing (I keep reminding myself I only have one chance to do it right!), I am so thankful for all of you that have stepped in to help- taking the kids to school, picking them up, bringing meals, baking cookies with the kids or doing some other fun activity, or cleaning my bathrooms or kitchen... it has been such a help and we are all so thankful. The kids love to see you all, and I KNOW Aaron appreciates not having the entire world and all our responsibilities resting on his shoulders alone. :-)
I woke up this morning and realized that the coma I fell into on the couch last night by 7 pm was probably partly due to the fact that I'm coming down with a cold. I hope I can still fight it off (if I can't when my life consists of sitting on the couch, drinking tea and mostly resting, there's not much hope for ever fighting one off!), but if not, at least I'm not doubled over with pain every time I cough or sneeze now....just a little hurt.
Well, I'm off to attend to my cup of tea... vanilla coconut white tea this morning... :-)
My surgeon reminded me how deceiving it is to see my incisions healing up so nicely and quickly... it's easy to forget the major work she did inside and how much I have to heal from under my skin.
As I do this all important job of healing (I keep reminding myself I only have one chance to do it right!), I am so thankful for all of you that have stepped in to help- taking the kids to school, picking them up, bringing meals, baking cookies with the kids or doing some other fun activity, or cleaning my bathrooms or kitchen... it has been such a help and we are all so thankful. The kids love to see you all, and I KNOW Aaron appreciates not having the entire world and all our responsibilities resting on his shoulders alone. :-)
I woke up this morning and realized that the coma I fell into on the couch last night by 7 pm was probably partly due to the fact that I'm coming down with a cold. I hope I can still fight it off (if I can't when my life consists of sitting on the couch, drinking tea and mostly resting, there's not much hope for ever fighting one off!), but if not, at least I'm not doubled over with pain every time I cough or sneeze now....just a little hurt.
Well, I'm off to attend to my cup of tea... vanilla coconut white tea this morning... :-)
Question of the night from Max
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
"Is everything the same between red and green except for the color?"
Home sweet home
Saturday, January 16, 2010
It's nice to be home to recover, although there is a lot more noise here than at the hospital as the kids are in various stages of upset as they head to bed... some gave me sweet kisses good night they passed by me on their way to bed, and others are in loud mourning (sackcloth and ashes are coming soon, I think) over the loss of their Lego structures that had to be put away as they are being bodily removed to bed....
.... aaah, yes. With all the sadness that was present on that hospital floor, very little of it had to do with Legos. It's a different world here! :-)
I am slowly making progress and seeing hope for healing. My first night and morning in the hospital were great and I was feeling really wonderful (for having just had a major 3 hour surgery!). By the time I went to bed on Thursday night (my first night home), I was in a lot of pain from the leftover gas from the insufflation during surgery. My shoulders, front and back of my neck, chest and upper back were all sore and crackly- I felt like I was made of bubble wrap (I'm not as much fun to pop- although if I could have, I would have!). I decided to dose up on the Percocet and try to get a good night's sleep. This was a great plan, until I got to our bed and tried to figure out how I was going to lay down! My poor husband spent a good 10 minutes with me and all the pillows in our house trying to figure out how to get me into bed and in a position that I didn't feel like I was dying.
I felt like the worst patient I've ever had.... after getting it all arranged and laying back, "No, I'm sorry. I don't think this will work." Try again, and again... "Do you think you could move this one pillow up just a bit? Okay, over here more. No, down... no back up just an inch.... Okay, how about a bigger pillow under my knees? Hot pack here, ice pack here..."
Oh, the drama.
Finally, success. (and then Aaron got into bed and the whole thing tilted!)
And what great success it was! I did not move a single muscle the entire rest of the night and did not wake up at all until the alarm went off the next morning. I have not slept that well for weeks!!! In fact, I still felt in such a comfy position when I woke up, that I took another Percocet and decided to take advantage of it (who knows, if I moved, maybe I'd never be this comfortable again in my life?) and go back to sleep. I did that very well, and didn't get up until 1 pm that afternoon.. :-)
When I finally got up, much of the shoulder gas pain seemed to have dissipated, and I think it's mostly all gone by now. Now that pain is resolving, I feel much more comfortable and able to sleep in more positions, which was very helpful last night. Bed looked a little more normal and less like a pillow museum when I went to sleep.
I've been able to rest and take it easy thanks to Aaron and my mom and sister who are helping out this week. It's such a blessing to be able to sleep and rest as needed, and have them jump in to help with the kids. Of course, the kids are loving all the attention and time with Gramma and Aunt Amy. :-) Gramma is home now, hopefully to recover quickly from the cold that the kids gifted her with, and Amy will be here until Wednesday.
I made it out into the wide world today to celebrate a precious little friend's first birthday. Although not far (I trekked all the way across the street) I did get out of my pajama pants to attend! Yes, I put on other pants before I left- that was more the accomplishment that taking off my pajama pants. :-) Happy Birthday, sweet girl!
Thanks again so much for your support, comments and well wishes. I am feeling so incredibly thankful for how well surgery went, and so thankful that I made the choices I did for this surgery. Looking at the pictures of the organs she removed, I can truly tell you that I feel nothing but relief that they are gone! So many adhesions, multiple endometriomas on both ovaries... it was just a mess and I feel that my body is healthier to have that all out! Now, the sight of my "swelly belly" would beg to differ with the idea that anything was removed- it looks more like several water balloon artilleries were placed there for storage. My surgeon assures me that she really did take it all out, though, even though that page of photos showing it all cleaned up was accidentally deleted during surgery. Hmmm.... sound suspicious to anyone else? :-)
.... aaah, yes. With all the sadness that was present on that hospital floor, very little of it had to do with Legos. It's a different world here! :-)
I am slowly making progress and seeing hope for healing. My first night and morning in the hospital were great and I was feeling really wonderful (for having just had a major 3 hour surgery!). By the time I went to bed on Thursday night (my first night home), I was in a lot of pain from the leftover gas from the insufflation during surgery. My shoulders, front and back of my neck, chest and upper back were all sore and crackly- I felt like I was made of bubble wrap (I'm not as much fun to pop- although if I could have, I would have!). I decided to dose up on the Percocet and try to get a good night's sleep. This was a great plan, until I got to our bed and tried to figure out how I was going to lay down! My poor husband spent a good 10 minutes with me and all the pillows in our house trying to figure out how to get me into bed and in a position that I didn't feel like I was dying.
I felt like the worst patient I've ever had.... after getting it all arranged and laying back, "No, I'm sorry. I don't think this will work." Try again, and again... "Do you think you could move this one pillow up just a bit? Okay, over here more. No, down... no back up just an inch.... Okay, how about a bigger pillow under my knees? Hot pack here, ice pack here..."
Oh, the drama.
Finally, success. (and then Aaron got into bed and the whole thing tilted!)
And what great success it was! I did not move a single muscle the entire rest of the night and did not wake up at all until the alarm went off the next morning. I have not slept that well for weeks!!! In fact, I still felt in such a comfy position when I woke up, that I took another Percocet and decided to take advantage of it (who knows, if I moved, maybe I'd never be this comfortable again in my life?) and go back to sleep. I did that very well, and didn't get up until 1 pm that afternoon.. :-)
When I finally got up, much of the shoulder gas pain seemed to have dissipated, and I think it's mostly all gone by now. Now that pain is resolving, I feel much more comfortable and able to sleep in more positions, which was very helpful last night. Bed looked a little more normal and less like a pillow museum when I went to sleep.
I've been able to rest and take it easy thanks to Aaron and my mom and sister who are helping out this week. It's such a blessing to be able to sleep and rest as needed, and have them jump in to help with the kids. Of course, the kids are loving all the attention and time with Gramma and Aunt Amy. :-) Gramma is home now, hopefully to recover quickly from the cold that the kids gifted her with, and Amy will be here until Wednesday.
I made it out into the wide world today to celebrate a precious little friend's first birthday. Although not far (I trekked all the way across the street) I did get out of my pajama pants to attend! Yes, I put on other pants before I left- that was more the accomplishment that taking off my pajama pants. :-) Happy Birthday, sweet girl!
Thanks again so much for your support, comments and well wishes. I am feeling so incredibly thankful for how well surgery went, and so thankful that I made the choices I did for this surgery. Looking at the pictures of the organs she removed, I can truly tell you that I feel nothing but relief that they are gone! So many adhesions, multiple endometriomas on both ovaries... it was just a mess and I feel that my body is healthier to have that all out! Now, the sight of my "swelly belly" would beg to differ with the idea that anything was removed- it looks more like several water balloon artilleries were placed there for storage. My surgeon assures me that she really did take it all out, though, even though that page of photos showing it all cleaned up was accidentally deleted during surgery. Hmmm.... sound suspicious to anyone else? :-)
Heading home from the hospital
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Aaron is downstairs picking up my discharge meds and then we'll head on home!
I'm doing pretty well- got up walking last night and multiple times today. My abdomen hurts a bit but mostly it's my shoulders that are SO sore from the gas they inflated my abdomen with yesterday for the surgery. I feel all crackly when I try to take a deep breath! I'm so happy to be eating, and have enjoyed a nice quiet morning and afternoon sitting by the window drinking several cups of tea, and looking out in to the gray haze that lies between me and Mt. Rainier... :-) It is always nice to be inside with a hot cup of tea on a rainy day- I even brought my own very soft lap blanket from home, and right now, I'm doing okay without the fireplace.... :-)
Thank you, thank you for all your kind words and encouragement. Thank you to those of you who sent emails or left phone messages the night before my surgery or over the last two days. I'm sorry I didn't return the calls or emails, but I heard them and read them and was so encouraged. The magnesium citrate demanded that my time be spent in the bathroom and not at the computer or on the phone for any length of time, which was really a bummer :-)
Thank you all so much for all of your notes and walking through the day with us. I feel so loved, supported and cared for… and that’s a really nice way to feel.
My surgeon came in to talk with me again this morning and go over the surgery once more. I knew I was in pain, but it’s always nice to have someone tell you there was a good reason for it… :-) The endometriosis appeared to be contained entirely in the organs that she removed- she looked all around but didn't see any signs on any other organs. That is so encouraging to me that hopefully it will be gone now for good! Once again, my right ovary was stuck to the back of my uterus, and my left ovary was stuck to my pelvic wall, and pulling up. It was twisting on itself due to the adhesions, but couldn't fully twist (an ovarian torsion) because it was stuck in place. So, that was probably the primary source of all that left sided pain I've been having since November.
It sounds like transport is here so I'm on my way home!
I'm doing pretty well- got up walking last night and multiple times today. My abdomen hurts a bit but mostly it's my shoulders that are SO sore from the gas they inflated my abdomen with yesterday for the surgery. I feel all crackly when I try to take a deep breath! I'm so happy to be eating, and have enjoyed a nice quiet morning and afternoon sitting by the window drinking several cups of tea, and looking out in to the gray haze that lies between me and Mt. Rainier... :-) It is always nice to be inside with a hot cup of tea on a rainy day- I even brought my own very soft lap blanket from home, and right now, I'm doing okay without the fireplace.... :-)
Thank you, thank you for all your kind words and encouragement. Thank you to those of you who sent emails or left phone messages the night before my surgery or over the last two days. I'm sorry I didn't return the calls or emails, but I heard them and read them and was so encouraged. The magnesium citrate demanded that my time be spent in the bathroom and not at the computer or on the phone for any length of time, which was really a bummer :-)
Thank you all so much for all of your notes and walking through the day with us. I feel so loved, supported and cared for… and that’s a really nice way to feel.
My surgeon came in to talk with me again this morning and go over the surgery once more. I knew I was in pain, but it’s always nice to have someone tell you there was a good reason for it… :-) The endometriosis appeared to be contained entirely in the organs that she removed- she looked all around but didn't see any signs on any other organs. That is so encouraging to me that hopefully it will be gone now for good! Once again, my right ovary was stuck to the back of my uterus, and my left ovary was stuck to my pelvic wall, and pulling up. It was twisting on itself due to the adhesions, but couldn't fully twist (an ovarian torsion) because it was stuck in place. So, that was probably the primary source of all that left sided pain I've been having since November.
It sounds like transport is here so I'm on my way home!
My husband is the best!
I need to proclaim it loudly, and the highest I can currently get is the 11th floor of the hospital. So hear me blogging from the top of hospital on the hill:
Aaron is amazing!
This man is the most patient and steady friend a girl could have- particularly a girl in pain, preparing for surgery, or post-op surgery! He has been so helpful in preparing, and put up with all the little and big things I wanted done before surgery to be prepared as best as I could. He has held me in my pain, gotten up at night to get me water and medicine when needed, rubbed my back and legs, put up with all my moods (made worse by hormones that we hoped would help control symptoms) and pre-op anxiety, and has promised to not ship me off to far countries with the new hormone adventures we're beginning (as of last evening, I'm now in menopause!). He has willingly and cheerfully prepared to take on multiple additional responsibilities in the coming weeks... actually, to continue doing so- he's already been filling in the pieces for me when I've been unable to the last couple months.
Completely exhausted and tired last night, fighting a cold, up several times the night before (awakened by me getting up, or helping Max change his bed after he threw up)... he graciously and lovingly stayed here extra late with me to make sure I was settled- which involved getting the room all set up with every little thing that I needed close at hand. I love this man!
Thank you, Aaron, for the many, many ways that you show your love for me.
Aaron is amazing!
This man is the most patient and steady friend a girl could have- particularly a girl in pain, preparing for surgery, or post-op surgery! He has been so helpful in preparing, and put up with all the little and big things I wanted done before surgery to be prepared as best as I could. He has held me in my pain, gotten up at night to get me water and medicine when needed, rubbed my back and legs, put up with all my moods (made worse by hormones that we hoped would help control symptoms) and pre-op anxiety, and has promised to not ship me off to far countries with the new hormone adventures we're beginning (as of last evening, I'm now in menopause!). He has willingly and cheerfully prepared to take on multiple additional responsibilities in the coming weeks... actually, to continue doing so- he's already been filling in the pieces for me when I've been unable to the last couple months.
Completely exhausted and tired last night, fighting a cold, up several times the night before (awakened by me getting up, or helping Max change his bed after he threw up)... he graciously and lovingly stayed here extra late with me to make sure I was settled- which involved getting the room all set up with every little thing that I needed close at hand. I love this man!
Thank you, Aaron, for the many, many ways that you show your love for me.
Hello from Post-Op Heather
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Wow what a day! I am so thankful to be up my private room with a nice view of the city. I should have a view of Mt Rainier in the morning and I even get to stay in bed and enjoy that. :)
I have a bit of a sore throat from anesthesia but nothing that my nice, cold, frothy, soothing, filling chocolate milkshake isn't helping. :) I hurt but my pain is pretty well controlled with my PCA (I press a button to have pain medicine delivered through my IV).
I got to call home and say goodnight to the kids. It was good to hear their voices and to reassure them that I was just fine. Max was especially relieved that there had been no fires, floods or terrorists hampering my operative experience.
I'm pretty sleepy and am really looking forward to the peaceful sleep that comes from knowing that my surgery is over and taken care of. I may well be able to come home tomorrow. We'll see how things go. Did I mention that I was tired? Aaron and I had lots of little naps last night between bowel prep and Max deciding that this was a good night to get sick and throw up.
Well I had best sign off now so Aaron can get started on that nice hand massage. :) I also had better quit talking now, while I'm on this Dilaudid. Who knows what I might post for all the world to see!
I have a bit of a sore throat from anesthesia but nothing that my nice, cold, frothy, soothing, filling chocolate milkshake isn't helping. :) I hurt but my pain is pretty well controlled with my PCA (I press a button to have pain medicine delivered through my IV).
I got to call home and say goodnight to the kids. It was good to hear their voices and to reassure them that I was just fine. Max was especially relieved that there had been no fires, floods or terrorists hampering my operative experience.
I'm pretty sleepy and am really looking forward to the peaceful sleep that comes from knowing that my surgery is over and taken care of. I may well be able to come home tomorrow. We'll see how things go. Did I mention that I was tired? Aaron and I had lots of little naps last night between bowel prep and Max deciding that this was a good night to get sick and throw up.
Well I had best sign off now so Aaron can get started on that nice hand massage. :) I also had better quit talking now, while I'm on this Dilaudid. Who knows what I might post for all the world to see!
In the room
Heather is settled in room 1104 and almost ready to blog. She tried but it hurt too much to sit up. She looks great and is relieved that the surgery was only via laparoscopy. She is looking at the menu and ready to EAT!
WOW
Heather is out of surgery and not even in the recovery room yet but I just met with a grinning Dr Jaucian as she told me of the complete success in surgery. It gets better. It was done completely through the scope so her recovery time is so much quicker than her expected laparotamy. I'm quivering with joy with the realization that she will likely head home Thursday to begin her recovery. This is huge. :) I can't wait to tell her. It'll be another hour. WOW again.
meanwhile. . .
I'm remembering with fondness last nights discussion with the kiddos. There were lots of worried faces but we talked about how trust in God means we place our lives in his hands when we can't see the outcome. "When I'm standing beneath you and you jump from a ledge do I catch you?" all heads nod and smile. "What if you couldn't see daddy but he said to jump because he could see you?" a few worried looks but then some smiles. Today we placed Mommy in God's hands for a procedure that is otherwise a normal operation but it holds worry with it.
Heather explained how this endometriosis pain led to that very full family seated there last night. They looked on in wonder and many follow up questions as she showed God's hand in crafting this family without a Heather pregnancy. Any pregnancy in the mix would have altered this Bauer existence and I'm tearing up to think one or more of them would have been bumped out of the Bauer Bunch.
Aaron
Heather explained how this endometriosis pain led to that very full family seated there last night. They looked on in wonder and many follow up questions as she showed God's hand in crafting this family without a Heather pregnancy. Any pregnancy in the mix would have altered this Bauer existence and I'm tearing up to think one or more of them would have been bumped out of the Bauer Bunch.
Aaron
Into the OR
I've just said goodbye to Heather and gave the last hugs and kisses for while. Carl was administering drugs, Jan is the nurse and Dr Jaucian is ready to operate with her team. Elizabeth wrote a card to the doctors to encourage them to do their best hoping that they had rested well. The Drs assured us they had rested well and Dr Jaucian is keeping the card in her front chest pocket to remind her of how many people love her. I won't expect updates until about 6pm. Thanks for all your prayers. We'll get Heather situated in her room tonight (i think on Swedish 11SW) before we invite guests to see her.
At the hospital
We're here, checked in, and waiting. I'm a little nervous, but mostly STARVING! That takes precedence right now... :-) My last meal was yesterday's breakfast, and only clear liquids since then. I'm looking forward to anesthesia and surgery right now primarily because it puts me closer to eating again... :-)
Not much else to say, but I'm on my to the next waiting room now... :-)
Not much else to say, but I'm on my to the next waiting room now... :-)
YEAH!!!!
SOOOOO relieved! I just got off the phone with my surgeon and the problem is fixed, they got me a room in the Main OR and I should be able to go close to my originally scheduled time of 2:15!! We had thought if they were able to do it today at all that I would have to be an add on case at the end of the day.
I am immensely thankful- I just could not fathom having surgery canceled and have to continue to wait for a later rescheduled date. After all the prep (NO one should have to do bowel prep twice for the same surgery!) and arrangements, not to mention the pain, we are ready for this to happen TODAY!!!
My mom just arrived to stay with the kids for a couple days so we're going over all that fun stuff- when to pick up the kids from school, where the school is :-), what time bedtime REALLY is.... :-)
We're off to the hospital in another 30 minutes or so.... the next adventure begins...
I am immensely thankful- I just could not fathom having surgery canceled and have to continue to wait for a later rescheduled date. After all the prep (NO one should have to do bowel prep twice for the same surgery!) and arrangements, not to mention the pain, we are ready for this to happen TODAY!!!
My mom just arrived to stay with the kids for a couple days so we're going over all that fun stuff- when to pick up the kids from school, where the school is :-), what time bedtime REALLY is.... :-)
We're off to the hospital in another 30 minutes or so.... the next adventure begins...
Pray for the surgery and scheduling difficulties today. They aren't sure they have a spot in the OR. The doc called and is working on it.
Happy surgery to me...
Thursday, January 7, 2010
I feel so far behind it's hard to just jump in with "now." However, the reluctance to jump in with "now" is a large part of how I got so far behind!
...I'll get a chance to go back and blog about our trip to Ocean Shores, and THEN I'll update about preparing for Thanksgiving in the local ER... Or... first I'll get around to sharing the amazing, wonderful, great news that Mom Jackie is OUT of the hospital now while waiting for her heart transplant... and THEN I can reminisce about Christmas, Max's 7th Birthday and the New Year....
Or, I can just start here and now, and actually post something. I guess I'm going with Plan B.
I'm having surgery in 6 days. Big surgery. This is starting to sink in a bit more. I have spent the last 7 weeks (since the above mentioned ER visit) longing for this surgery with all of my heart, soul and abdomen (especially this area- it's been sending up it's own not-so-silent-pleas); despairing that it was so long in coming; and literally counting down the days. When feeling better, I've been planning, organizing, cooking and cleaning in hopes of lightening the load on my hubby and family during my recovery when I will officially be Totally Lame And Pathetic. Maybe I need a t-shirt that says this, just so no one feels uncomfortable with what appears to be obvious, but seems unkind to state out loud: "Um, excuse me, but I could hardly help but notice that you seem to be Totally Lame And Pathetic. Can you really not do anything useful?"
The answer could be on the back: No, I Can't. Of course, that wouldn't necessarily help, since most people won't even see my back unless they happen to be laying on the floor under my clear Plexiglas sofa cushions.
I don't really have a Plexiglas couch (fairly obvious, I know), and anyway, who could fit under the couch with all the books and toys that are "stored" there?
Anyway, veering wildly down a rabbit trail... I promise, I'm not even on Percocet right now. :-)
So, my endometriosis is back, and causing quite significant ongoing pain this time. It all came on fairly suddenly, and once it started, it didn't let go. The pain has not seemed to cycle, it's just daily in some form or another and requires narcotics on the worst days. Hard to do life as usual this way!
In 6 days, my surgeon and one of her partners will spend a couple of hours "cleaning up" after my endometriosis uninvited guest- removing several large masses, any adhesions, and any other spots of endometriosis they can find. After that, I have kindly asked that she please remove the organs most heavily involved with this disease, because I'd like to be done with this, thank you very much. This will be my second surgery for this (endometriosis, not organ removal), and I'd really like it to be my last.
This is no guarantee that I will be rid of the endo forever- 15% of woman with endo who have their uterus and both ovaries removed still struggle with endometriosis... can you believe that? Of course, given that I will have turned 36 three days prior to surgery ...."Happy Birthday to you, would you like that removed? We can take it all for you, and we hope that you'll feel brand new..." (Yes, that can be sung) I'm not quite ready yet to be thrust into immediate full menopause, so will be taking replacement hormones, which can in turn feed the endometriosis. Tricky stuff, hmmm?
However, I am putting in my order for the glorious This Solves All My Problems type of experience. :-) After, of course, I recover from my open abdominal surgery: no lifting more than 10 pounds for 6 weeks, no driving for 3-4 weeks, tired, needing extra rest/sleep (ha!), and getting my new hormone regimen figured out.
All of this makes me reflect on the plans we make. I had purposed to enjoy this year in a special way, to not let these unique moments of life slip by, not not miss the little blessings of this years' schedule. It may sound silly, but this was a beautiful year to anticipate: All six kids in school this year, at the same school. One school schedule to work with, and a couple hours in the afternoon "free." I wanted to soak it all in and enjoy it... just make the most of it realizing that this year will never come again.
My afternoons of Bible study with my cup of tea, curled up in my favorite chair with a beautiful garden view, and silent (aahhh, the silence!) little tasks around the house lasted for one month. One month. Month two: Flu. Months three & four: Holidays leading into/alternating with days of Pain. Month 5? I probably won't even remember month five as I'll spend all those afternoons in an exhausted coma after making it through the morning post-op!
Isn't it interesting how our plans change? I am having to focus so much more on how to really "soak up" this time. I don't want to just get through it, because this is still my life, my kids' lives, my husband's life... and we don't get to do these days again. They are precious, even these truly hard and painful days. How will I treasure them in this new time that I wasn't expecting? What does that look like for this time of life? I don't know the answer to that yet. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you treasure each moment that you're given...
...usually I take pictures, but I can tell you, that is one way I will NOT be treasuring/documenting this time! :-)
...I'll get a chance to go back and blog about our trip to Ocean Shores, and THEN I'll update about preparing for Thanksgiving in the local ER... Or... first I'll get around to sharing the amazing, wonderful, great news that Mom Jackie is OUT of the hospital now while waiting for her heart transplant... and THEN I can reminisce about Christmas, Max's 7th Birthday and the New Year....
Or, I can just start here and now, and actually post something. I guess I'm going with Plan B.
I'm having surgery in 6 days. Big surgery. This is starting to sink in a bit more. I have spent the last 7 weeks (since the above mentioned ER visit) longing for this surgery with all of my heart, soul and abdomen (especially this area- it's been sending up it's own not-so-silent-pleas); despairing that it was so long in coming; and literally counting down the days. When feeling better, I've been planning, organizing, cooking and cleaning in hopes of lightening the load on my hubby and family during my recovery when I will officially be Totally Lame And Pathetic. Maybe I need a t-shirt that says this, just so no one feels uncomfortable with what appears to be obvious, but seems unkind to state out loud: "Um, excuse me, but I could hardly help but notice that you seem to be Totally Lame And Pathetic. Can you really not do anything useful?"
The answer could be on the back: No, I Can't. Of course, that wouldn't necessarily help, since most people won't even see my back unless they happen to be laying on the floor under my clear Plexiglas sofa cushions.
I don't really have a Plexiglas couch (fairly obvious, I know), and anyway, who could fit under the couch with all the books and toys that are "stored" there?
Anyway, veering wildly down a rabbit trail... I promise, I'm not even on Percocet right now. :-)
So, my endometriosis is back, and causing quite significant ongoing pain this time. It all came on fairly suddenly, and once it started, it didn't let go. The pain has not seemed to cycle, it's just daily in some form or another and requires narcotics on the worst days. Hard to do life as usual this way!
In 6 days, my surgeon and one of her partners will spend a couple of hours "cleaning up" after my endometriosis uninvited guest- removing several large masses, any adhesions, and any other spots of endometriosis they can find. After that, I have kindly asked that she please remove the organs most heavily involved with this disease, because I'd like to be done with this, thank you very much. This will be my second surgery for this (endometriosis, not organ removal), and I'd really like it to be my last.
This is no guarantee that I will be rid of the endo forever- 15% of woman with endo who have their uterus and both ovaries removed still struggle with endometriosis... can you believe that? Of course, given that I will have turned 36 three days prior to surgery ...."Happy Birthday to you, would you like that removed? We can take it all for you, and we hope that you'll feel brand new..." (Yes, that can be sung) I'm not quite ready yet to be thrust into immediate full menopause, so will be taking replacement hormones, which can in turn feed the endometriosis. Tricky stuff, hmmm?
However, I am putting in my order for the glorious This Solves All My Problems type of experience. :-) After, of course, I recover from my open abdominal surgery: no lifting more than 10 pounds for 6 weeks, no driving for 3-4 weeks, tired, needing extra rest/sleep (ha!), and getting my new hormone regimen figured out.
All of this makes me reflect on the plans we make. I had purposed to enjoy this year in a special way, to not let these unique moments of life slip by, not not miss the little blessings of this years' schedule. It may sound silly, but this was a beautiful year to anticipate: All six kids in school this year, at the same school. One school schedule to work with, and a couple hours in the afternoon "free." I wanted to soak it all in and enjoy it... just make the most of it realizing that this year will never come again.
My afternoons of Bible study with my cup of tea, curled up in my favorite chair with a beautiful garden view, and silent (aahhh, the silence!) little tasks around the house lasted for one month. One month. Month two: Flu. Months three & four: Holidays leading into/alternating with days of Pain. Month 5? I probably won't even remember month five as I'll spend all those afternoons in an exhausted coma after making it through the morning post-op!
Isn't it interesting how our plans change? I am having to focus so much more on how to really "soak up" this time. I don't want to just get through it, because this is still my life, my kids' lives, my husband's life... and we don't get to do these days again. They are precious, even these truly hard and painful days. How will I treasure them in this new time that I wasn't expecting? What does that look like for this time of life? I don't know the answer to that yet. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you treasure each moment that you're given...
...usually I take pictures, but I can tell you, that is one way I will NOT be treasuring/documenting this time! :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
.jpg)