recovery

My recovery is going well. The doctor removed my catheter last wednesday... couldn't be happier about that. I have been cleared to be up for roughly 5 minutes every hour. Basically long enough to use the bathroom and get some snack or drink, but then the rest of my time is spent on the couch. A reality I am not particularly fond of. I am getting bored, but am determined to follow doctor's directions so I heal properly this time around. I know, not exactly normal for me!

We couldn't be happier about the lack of pain. Afterall I can finally sleep through the night, and am not so cranky in the morning anymore. Still not a morning glory, but better.

Nate has been great about everything! He has been chasing after the kids and doing some of my chores. The kids have picked up some of the slack too so at least I don't feel like my house may burn to the ground if one more piece of paper falls near an outlet.

School is out next Thursday so we will see how things go with all the kids home and wanting to be entertained. Luckily we have fantastic neighbors who don't mind us crashing their pools. Will be a great alternative while I heal in the next couple weeks.

Thanks for all the thoughts and checking in on us!

Awards and Medals!

Cyanne finished out her soccer season last weekend. She had a blast with the group of girls on her team. None of them had any team experience, but all meshed well and progress was quick.




She was one of the most aggressive girls for sure! The final game she scored 6 of the 8 points to help her team win the game! That afternoon she had an awards party at one of the girls houses. They had everything on the pool deck so everybody had a blast. She got a medal for participation and recognition for being the most scoring player on the team. A fact she was very proud of.



At the end of each year one child from each classroom is given an award in a huge school-wide assembly. These kids are chosen for a wide array of reasons.





This year Ms. Bahr chose Cyanne to receive the "Keller All Star- Exceptional Outstanding Student" award. Siting that, "She has made many fine contributions to our class and is an inspiration to her classmates. Cyanne has made marvelous progress academically all year long and has an excellent attitude towards school". In truth her fantastic teacher is her motivation to do so well. She has had a strong influence on her... we will miss her next year!

on the couch now...

On Thursday the 22nd I finally had my hysterectomy done. I ran around crazy the week before trying to get things set up for my recovery. The day of surgery I woke up cramping a always and made my way to the hospital. Stella was brave enough to babysit the two little ones for us and our great neighbor's helped get the older ones to school. We sat in pre-op forever, but finally the anesthesiologist gave me the rlaxing drugs and they started wheeling me to theoperating room. Last ting I remember was seeing multiple exit signs where there was only one. Next thing I knew I was in post op. I had no idea I had been in surgery for nearly 5 hours!

During my surgery Dr.Lim discovered my uterus had fused with my bladder. Result of 2 c-sections. As he was trying to separte them he pierced my bladder leaving 1/2 inch inscision. He called in Dr. Brusky, a bladder specialist, to fix the damage. While there he noticed I have a 12 mm kidney stone on my left side. He thinks there are more smaller stones that he couldn't see as well. He placed a stint in that area, sewed shut my bladder and says I have to keep my catheter until June 4th. On the 4th we will deal with all my stone issues.

I came home on the 23rd. Nate has been great about having to do everything. Ammon caught a cold so he has been high maitenance. Such is life though. There have been a few visitors, church people have been bringing great food, and I feel better already than I have in roughly a year! I have to stay on the couch for another week, but after that can start being semi-helpful. Won't be back to normal for another 6-8 weeks after that though.

So... Did you want pancakes?

Okay. Nate came home for lunch today and all of a sudden Ammon got really quiet.



We got up and he had destroyed the snack shelf and dumped half a box of pancake mix on the floor.



He was having a great time, but unfortunatley I didn't have near as much fun cleaning it up.



Good thing I love my steamer!

Howdy Ya'll

Last weekend I was lucky enough to go to Houston to see Kristin and her family. Seems like forever since I have seen her, and has been well over a year since seeing her kids!

Ammon and I boarded our plane just before 6am our time. Ammon had a great flight there... sleeping until the last 20 minutes. We packed light and met up with Kristin and Jr. at the baggage claim and then we were off to start our adventure!

We went to Old Town Spring first thing. It is a quaint little part of town with boutiques everywhere. Fantastic shops with a very "down home" quality. While there I realized they fry everything! Even candy is not safe! We had a nice lunch with plenty of entertainment supplied by the boys. Then it was off to pick up Derek and Shayla and time to set up sleeping arrangements.

Kristin's kids are a kick! They are full of energy, and so good with the babies. Great little swimmers too!

Derek is quite the baseball player! I was lucky enough to sit in on one of his play off games. He was a great 3rd baseman, but when the end of the game came he was the close out pitcher. I hope I got that right. His team did win though! He has skills with the light saber too! The babies followed his lead and played star wars with him.

Shayla was kind enough to let Ammon and I sleep in her princess domain! She and Ressa would be two peas in a pod. The both love baby dolls and pink! Mondays she has gymnastics. I was happy to go to her practice. She is a natural!

Jr. and Ammon spent the vacation squawking at each other. They enjoyed throwing balls up and down the stairs, chasing each other, and invading all the kitchen cabinets. Quick friends!

We enjoyed the swimming and relaxing! Also enjoyed the fantastic food! We paid a visit to my favorite ever mexican food LUPE'S (too bad it is only in Texas), had great Texas BBQ at the Rib Tickler, and of course Kristin is a great cook. Nothing like her homemade jam and bread... YUMMY! It was a fantastic vacation, and although we just left, we miss them all!

I'm 4 now!

Yesterday was Ressa's fourth birthday. Amazing when we think back to her delivery and her stay in the NICU... barley breathing to virtually unstoppable! There's our girl!

We started off the day with her breakfast of choice... doughnuts. Then it was off to baking all the cake parts she wanted.

After the baking process her best friend ever, Rachael, came over for a birthday outing. We went to the stables down the street where another best friend, Shae, met up with us. We did a pony ride and the petting zoo. The highlight of the petting zoo was the goats. Ammon kept tackling and pulling their ears... no fear! Then the girls all got a kick out of feeding the goats. There were also bunnies running all over the grounds so the kids had a great time trying to catch them.

After the farm it was home again to decorate her cakes. She wanted a dancing princess cake... we did the best we could. Cyanne, Foster and Ammon had purchased Polly Pocket dolls in the Dinsey Princess form so we broke into the package early and used them in the cake. She LOVED it!

To wrap up the night a few of the neighbors came over for cake and ice cream. We fired up the candles and although it took her a few tries, and ultimately some help, she didn't mind having boyfriends to show for her effort. She even named them all off!

The best part for her is that as of today she gets to be a big girl and sleep on the top bunk! She and Cyanne are switching beds tonight. Should be interesting...

Soccer Update

Cyanne had her second game last weekend. Only 4 girls showed up for our team so it was a crazy game with lots of running. Cyanne scored 2 goals and another girl, Chelsea, scored another 4! They are really good about working together for the goal. Anyway, as promised, here are some updated pics... check out the uniform!