Healing and Blessings Continue

I had no idea what a challenge this surgery would be.  Not only did it HURT, but I was frustrated with the things I could not do on my own.
I was grateful for the things I could do.  I managed to master driving one handed, the hardest parts were turning the key to start the van and removing the key after turning it off.  That freedom was HUGE and kept me sane.
But my splint was still my constant companion. . .

Ugly swollen fingers . . .
I could not straighten my arm much less scratch my nose. 

It was hard to hold my arm up or let it hang down so I had to prop it up constantly.

I went to my first doctor’s appointment (after surgery) and he took the bandages off. . . what relief!  But then he put it right back on after admiring the stitches and removing a few pounds of cotton.

I was blessed by a wonderful friend (and visiting teacher) who came over and cleaned my kitchen (I was living with nothing but males  who don’t *see* dirt and messes the same way I do. . .)

A clean kitchen can really lift your spirits!
(Note I still could not take a shower because the stitches were still in.  Why did no one tell me about this horror?)
A several weeks after surgery, I was instructed to remove my splint a few times a day and *try* to straighten my arm. 

What do you mean that’s not straight?

And then my friend came back and cleaned my bathroom!!!!!  (tears of JOY!)

I was going a bit stir crazy and just wanted to go somewhere. . .anywhere.  How lucky are we to live so close to Tahoe?  So off we went. . .

That was the end of that hike. . . but I could totally see a tennis court in the distance. *sigh*
Another friend. . .another blessing!  Everyone deserves some sunshine a box

So many little things helped me endure this tough time.  I felt so guilty that so many people were doing nice things for me.  I didn’t HAVE to have the surgery (but I really wanted to be able to use my arm pain-free . . though at this time, I doubted it would ever be that way.)

Lasts. . . .

Do you ever get a feeling that it’s going to be the last time for something?  Sometimes that “last” is welcome and known, like the last high school football game to watch the marching band perform their half time show.  But the worst kind of “last”s are the ones you don’t want to be a last and you don’t know for sure that it is one.  (Maybe it’s a blessing that you don’t know for sure!)
I had that feeling when I had my last child.  I think the Holy Ghost nudged me to enjoy every moment, every “last” first event.  And I did!
I had the feeling of a “last” this time for Christmas, that there would never be one like it again.  There would no longer be just the five of us following our favorite Christmas traditions.  The previous two Christmases (however you spell that) left us incomplete, with Jennifer and David on missions, but that was okay because they were where they were supposed to be.
So I was determined to enjoy THIS Christmas with my family complete.
I’m not sure if we even decorated the tree (the danger of blogging about it 9 months after the fact).

But we did send off a Christmas card (even if we didn’t manage to get a family photo.)

The kids, for years, spent the night together in the same room, but David refused to this year   He even got up first.

Let us not forget the entire reason we gather to celebrate. . .

Now I don’t know for certain that it was truly a “last” but the prompting was there and I took the time to enjoy every minute of it.

Tis the Season

I don't know what's up this year, but we are moving slowly. I never thought we'd barely have our act in gear on December 20th. We do have the tree up.

If it didn't come pre-lit, it would be naked. I'm sure I know where the decorations might be, but they definitely are NOT on the tree. Yet.

Paul has been gifted at work and

we are starting to think about what we can do as far as gifting others.

(Time is flying by and we don't know where it is going.)
I am still obsessively baking cookies. . .

and I'm not done yet.

(Good thing I love to bake cookies at Christmas time. I love giving them away too)
Another Christmas favorite around here is Christmas cards! We love to check the mail and find out what family and friends are up to. We love the photos and the letters and the kind notes.

Because we love to receive all that lovely mail (especially when it's NOT bills), we feel we need to make sure people know where we are. Though we've been here a while, we have been known to change addresses on a regular basis.

Got that job out of the way! And even got them in the mail much quicker than we manage to get our missionaries letters out the door. If YOU didn't get one, then we must not have your correct address. Let us know!