Post Surgery Update

Well, the deal is done. Came through surgery pretty well and am slowly healing. I went on my first outing yesterday to Walgreens and was exhausted and in a bit of pain by the time I got home. It is so funny how long it takes to regain your strength after something like this! I'm so thankful that my mom has been here to help out. She will be in town for another week and then my mother-in-law will be here to help for a couple of weeks.

So, a little realism right? Is that what you're waiting for? Skip the wonder woman "I'm doing great chat and get down to the honest truth" right?

Okay, let's see. In all honesty, my stay in the hospital was probably the worst one I ever had. Since I've only been in the hospital for two child births I don't have a ton of experience, but seriously, this hospital stay was not great. I was more than ready to come home! Coming home, my life has revolved around getting out of the chair, going to the bathroom, and lowering myself back into the chair. I have mastered the chair. The bathroom has been another story entirely. Let me just tell you that with a surgery like this, they pretty much have to remove your bladder and various other parts of your anatomy to get out the stuff that they are actually taking out. So you can imagine that when they put those necessary body parts back in they don't always land in the same place! Are you getting my drift here??? Basically, the bathroom has been the highlight of my day for a week now! Sad, but true!

I have only had a couple of days that I have truly felt like dog poop, so I am thankful for that. I have been in some pain, but I did just have my gut cut open, so I guess that is to be expected. So, all in all, I'm faring pretty well!

This week, I'm going to try small, one store outings lest I nut up being cooped up inside my house!

Insanity

That is my life right now - sheer insanity! Okay, maybe not that bad, but it has been really busy. I thought things would slow down once we got baseball and softball over, but it has just continued on.

We picked up my three nephews on Tuesday night and brought them back home with us and we have been living life large since they got here. On Wednesday we went to McDonald's for lunch and playing, then followed that up with almost three hours of jumping at Jump City. They were all wore out by the time evening rolled around and everyone slept in this morning. Let me pause here and let you know that I am completely irritated with myself because I forgot the camera!!! And, yes, I forgot the camera today also. Today we headed out to the aquatics center since we have no neighborhood pool and I'm too cheap to buy a membership anywhere! Everyone had a great time! We followed that up with a hair cut for me, a run through the pizza drive thru and then an ice cream run after dinner. Can you say "diet"? Yea, I need to go back on one! Tomorrow we are headed out to get groceries and run some errands and we are going to Chuck E Cheese with a friend. I know my brother is considering coming down a day early to get them just so that he can go to CEC!!! My parents will be here tomorrow night and then my brother and sil will be here around lunch time on Saturday. It has been a fun couple of days and I'm sure the weekend will be fun with everybody here.

We have started and, almost finished, another project. This first phase of the project should be done tomorrow night so I'm going to wait to post pictures so you can truly see the change from start to finish. Craig re-tiled our shower in our bathroom. It looks so good! He is so handy to have around!

With that being said, this might be my last blog post for several weeks as I am having surgery next week so I'm going to be out of commission for awhile. I hate to know that someone is having surgery and not knowing why so I will tell ya'll that I'm having a hysterectomy and leave it at that! Lift me and my family up in your prayers over the next few weeks. I've never had true, real life, put you out cold, kind of surgery and I'm a little nervous. I'm blessed to have wonderful friends and a wonderful mom and mother in law who will be helping out with things. I appreciate you gals so much!

It is now 10 minutes to one in the am and I am exhausted. I'm going to bed! 'Night all!

Kayla's Post About Her Week at Camp

Well it was really fun. Our normal day was kinda like this,

7:00 - wake up, get dressed and set
7:30 - go raise the Christian flag and the American to. Say the pledge to both of them and the Bible. Then say tudu todu todu cone zone x2 or to the cone zone, wich was where we lined up for meals.
7:45 - breakfast
8:30 - quiet time in the cabin
9:00 - merry maids
9:30 - (if it's wednsday it's time to hike the huge moutian that takes 3hrs to climb) time to talk with the missionaries, Mrs.Edith and Mr.Tony about what they do on thier mission fields.
10:30 - We work on the quilts that we're making for the poor people in the Appalachian Moutians.
11:30 - todu todu todu cone zone
11:45 - lunch yum!!!!!!
12:45 - pool time YAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!
1:30 - straight to the gift shop for soda, ice cream and souveniers.
1:45 - qestion time the missionaries.
2:15 - get changed and freshend up
2:30 - our choice camptivities ( archery, water sports, dance ect....).
3:30 - Bible story time
4:00 - straighten up the cabin
4:30 - take down flag
4:45 - cone zone
5:00 - dinner
6:00 - canteen
7:30 - showers
9:00 - free time
10:00 lights out

Pictures, Pictures, and More Pictures

Helen Trip


The family checking out the shops in Helen.


Kayla and her cousins.


Me and Tyler enjoyed a lovely nap together while almost everybody else went shopping. He was exhausted and so was I and I hate to pass up snugglin' with my boy!


Tyler having a big time playing mini golf.


Here is my brother-in-law trying to put the ball in the hole; I think he lost!


Here is our bear - yep, he was really that close. Craig's uncle got an awesome picture of him, I hope he emails it to us!


Yes, I was very happy to have made it to the top of the falls!


Grandpa and Grandma and Tyler at the falls.


Finally made it to the top! Our hike at Anna Ruby Falls.



Kayla is taking a break on her way up the mountain!


Tyler declared that this lion looked like it had stepped right out of Narnia - he hasn't even seen Narnia, but it was a really cool sight!


The kids at the wild life preservation.



Yes, the cabin was even equipped with a guitar! They had tons of toys, movies, games - very well stocked for a week with kids of all ages!

Kayla's week at camp:


The view from the top of the mountain after they hiked it!


Face Painting


This is where my child lived for the week!


Some hyper girls ready to go to camp!

Weekend at the beach:





My little fish - he actually had rings around his eyes all weekend because he did not want to take his goggles off!

Back Home Again

Aaaahhhh, what a relaxing week it has been!

We picked Kayla up from the church this past Friday night and she talked for probably an hour without breathing, telling us about camp! She had a great time although she did say that the letters I had wrote and stuck in her bag kind of made her sad. Other than that, she had a great time. They swam, hiked a mountain, learned new songs, learned about missions, and the list goes on! She has already asked if she can go again next year!

We spent Saturday packing and getting ready to go to the mountains. Left for the mountains on Sunday morning to meet Craig's mom and dad, his aunt and uncle, and his sister, brother-in-law, and two nephews. We had not seen his sister's family in probably six years, which is just terrible. But, they live in California and it is a looonggg trip! We got to Helen Sunday afternoon after stopping to shop for a little bit in the outlet malls on the way up. His aunt and uncle (Dave and Linda) got there about the same time as we did so we traveled up the mountain to check out our cabin. It was wonderful! Very accomodating for the twelve people that we had living there for four days. The rest of the family got there a little bit later and we had a great time of just visiting with everyone. That night we got to see some of the wild turkeys that live around there with their little babies; they were coming down the mountain. Monday morning everyone except for me and the kids took off for white water rafting. Dave and Linda followed everybody down the river and took pictures from the bank! The kids had to be 12 to go, so we sat that one out. They had a great time and aside from the fact that Ron, my father-in-law, fell out of the raft and got drug under the raft, it was a great time! He came home with a great story to tell. While they did that, the kids and I ventured off to a Wildlife Preservation place and checked out some very cool animals, then we went back to the cabin and had a great time just hanging out and also getting some much needed rest! We also got to admire the deer hanging out by our cabin from our kitchen window. That was pretty cool! Let's see, Tuesday, we hiked up to see Anna Ruby Falls, and then went to Brasstown Bald. We came home for supper and while fixing our plates, I looked out the kitchen window and there was a black bear right across the driveway enjoying his dinner. It was incredible! Dinner got put on hold while we watched the bear. That night we went into town and played mini golf and had ice cream - that was a lot of fun, and it didn't hurt that I one the back nine of mini golf! :) Wednesday, I stayed at the cabin all day - it was sheer bliss! I napped, I read, it was awesome! Everybody else went tubing, and I didn't miss that a bit! Again, Ron-bo got beat up on the river and he and I made a pact that if we ever go up there again, he and I will go out to lunch and go shopping while everyone else tubes! That is just not my thing and not his either. Anyway, it was a great week of getting re-acquainted with family that we don't get to see that often. We'll miss them! We did have one minor mishap during the week. Craig, who is never sick, had to go to the doctor the Friday before we left town for pink eye. That was pretty much cleared up by Monday when they went rafting. Tuesday morning, he woke up with an ear ache. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but Craig gets these obscene ear infections that put him out of commission. It usually requires prescription pain meds, ear drops, and a couple days off of work. They are brutal. The last one that he had, his eardrum actually burst - it was not pretty! So, we got up and around pretty quick and found a prompt care place a few miles away and got him an antibiotic and some ear drops. It bothered him off and on, but, thankfully, this one did not seem to be as bad as the last few have been.

I'm going to check out my pics from the week, so maybe I can get some of those posted soon!

Strangeness

Does anybody else know how strange it is to have your child in a different place from you for several days without even being able to talk to them? I'm missing my girl, but one of the GA ladies told me last night that no news is good news. One of the parents got a call Monday night from an upset, homesick girl. Poor thing! I'm so glad I didn't get that because that has to break your heart, but at the same time, you know if they stay that they'll have fun. Kayla did good when I dropped her off Monday morning, but Monday night I was wondering how she was doing. The first night away from home is always the hardest! Thank goodness she will be home tomorrow evening!

So, they won the championship game this past Friday! It was a great game and both teams played so hard! Kayla got the championship trophy from the rec department plus her team trophy - she was so excited!

Our weekend at the beach was wonderful! We had a great time of just relaxing and enjoying being together as a family. We saw dolphins at the beach - several of them - and that was just cool!

This week has been extremely quiet and relaxing and I am loving it! With no softball and only one child at home, it has been soooo quiet! Craig and I are in the thick of AWANA planning, and I am finally starting to feel like we are accomplishing some things there. For a while it just seems like you talk and hash things out without ever actually getting anything done. I'm a "get-it-doner", so I'm happy we are making progress. We are so blessed to be seeing how God is orchestrating certain things and are also blessed by the leaders that are stepping up to serve! However, we can always use more, so if you want to serve in AWANA, let us know! We would love to have You! Shameless plug I know, but, hey, it's my blog, right? :)

We leave on Sunday for the mountains, so today I'm going to clean house and get the big grocery list ready. I may even start doing a little packing today. Tonight I'm off to get a mani/pedi and I desperately need it!

Oh, big news of the week??? Tyler and the babysitter found a snake in the back yard this week! AAAHHH! It was dead, thankfully, and had been dead for quite a while, but still...

So Proud!

Kayla had her tournament game last night and they won!!! They played a great game and won 22-11. The previously undefeated team that we beat a few weeks ago played before us last night and lost - quite an upset! So, we are very well matched for the game tonight and it will probably be a very close game and I will have no nails left by the time it is over! I will miss the excitement of the games after tonight, but I will not miss the crazy schedule we have been keeping!

We are headed to the beach this weekend, just the four of us, for a couple of days of relaxation and soakin' up some sun. I'm more than ready! We'll get back on Sunday night and Kayla leaves for camp on Monday morning. I'm going to miss her like crazy! She'll get back Friday and we leave again on Sunday for a few days in the mountains with Craig's side of the family. His sister is coming and we haven't seen her and her family in over five years, so it will be a fun time of catching up.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!