Feeling well and hopeful

  The last few days have been great!  My knee feels tight and swollen and my stitches itch and burn a little, but nothing that is intolerable!  I can tell that this recovery won't be anything like what I went through for the last 7 months.  

  Things are looking up, and I feel a bit more like my old self again.  I have missed "me"!  LOL.  Pain changes people, that much I know now more than ever.  The daily frustration of not being able to make it go away no matter what you try, and the way it interferes with your daily life starts to really take a toll on you. 

  I am actually sitting at my desk, with my leg in the immobilizer getting ready to take a shower, and trying to figure out what God has planned for me on this next "leg"  (pun intended) of my journey!  

  Let me end with this,  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Phil 4:6

All Systems Go!

  Well folks tomorrow is THE day!  I can't wait to just have all of this behind me.  During the last 7 months I have definitely developed a new appreciation for people with disabilities.  It is amazing the everyday activities you take for granted when you are well.  I can honestly tell you I will never take for granted the ability to climb stairs or get on the floor with my Daughter ever again.

  I missed out on a ton of fun with my kids this summer and I will never get that year back with them.  They are growing so fast, and I want to enjoy every moment that God grants me with them to the fullest.  

  Unless you have experienced something like this, it is hard to fully understand the frustration I have been dealing with for the better part of a year.  I am just so Thankful to hopefully be heading in the direction of putting this all behind me.  

  I can't go into surgery without thanking everyone who has helped me through this time in my life.  All of my friends with kind words, my family close and distant for their prayers and loving words, MaryLynn for sending me to Dr. Bare,  my Husband for picking up the slack around the house and running about a gillion miles up and down the stairs for me, and Mostly Jesus for answering my prayers and sending me the help that I needed from a most unexpected place.  

  I will keep you all posted on how things are going, and how my repaired knee is blessing my family and me daily!  God is good.........hopefully so is this Doctor ;)  LOL

BLESSINGS and Thanks to you all!  xoxoxox 

New Design

  I asked my wonderful husband to make my blog site look like my bulletin board in the office.  To my surprise he was able to do that for me in less than 30 min.  I am happy now to have a blog site that reflects my OWN style and personality!!  Thanks Love, Your the best!

What do you think?  Did he capture the essence of what I wanted?  I LOVE IT!!

Surgery

  After more than six months since my injury, it has finally been proven that I am NOT crazy!!  (At least not about my knee)  There are eight days until I have my surgery, and I feel like a kid anticipating Christmas.  Sure I am a little nervous about the recovery, and the pain afterward, even the surgery and anesthesia itself.  All of that is minor compared to the excitement I feel!  Knowing that in a few short months I should be able to walk, climb stairs, squat, even kneel, and possibly run again is an awesome feeling!  

 The biggest burden has been having such difficulty with the stairs.  There are three flights of stairs in this house, The family room and my bedroom are on the lowest floor and the kitchen is on the middle floor.  Just getting myself a cup of coffee in the morning has been next to impossible.  Standing for long periods of time is also very difficult, so cooking and baking are a BIG challenge.  

  I am very grateful to God for always proving faithful, and providing in my time of need, and to Mary Lynn who sent me to the Doctor that will be performing my surgery.  After six months of going to a Doctor who never touched my knee, and spent at most 2 minutes at a time in the same room with me, my new Doctor is my knight in shining armor.  

  Anyway, I just figured I would share my injury pictures again in case anyone missed them, so in the end you can see how far I've come and my x-rays so you can see what needs correcting.  

  I can't wait to get back to my "old" self again!!  

This is an x-ray of my knee cap, it is supposed to be centered between the two peeks of the knee joint.  You can see how mine is still sitting way off to the left side.

This was already a few days after the injury, but you can see how swollen it was.

Here is a picture of the bruising after it first started to appear.  My husband has a better one on his computer I will post later.

 

More Thrifty Finds!

I bought these t-shirts for my son at our local Salvation Army.  Brand new with tags, each cost me $.90 or $1.50.  Seems our local Target donates products that have been clearenced, and there is an aisle that is mostly these items.  You have to take your time while shopping to find the best deals.  DON'T bring the kids, they bore too easily!

This is the only purchase I made that wasn't brand new.  It is leather, and the inside lining was in perfect condition.  I paid $6.00 for it.  It is now my new FAVORITE handbag!  I know to many of you this seems very large, but during football and cheer season I end up carrying a lot of gear!  Really nice to take to the library too.

I thought this was so pretty!  Also still with tags $4

For the hubby.  NWT $1.50

This is one of those very trendy wall clings that you are seeing everywhere.  I love them, because they peel off and don't take the paint with them.  Or at least that's what they claim........anyway brand new for $5.  I didn't purchase this, just thought I would show you some of the really neat things you can find if you look.  :)

My oldest son lives in T-shirts with sayings or quirky pictures on them.  He was so happy when he came home to these and the ones above.  I spent $6 on 5 shirts.  Glad it doesn't take much to make him happy.

Recent Thrift Store Finds!

I couldn't pass these up.  They were $8.50 ea and still had the tags on them, as well as the plastic to protect the shades!!  I am using them in my boys room.

This was originally from the Bombay Company (now out of business)  I found it at the Good Will for $4.50  It is in my bedroom.

These urns were just too beautiful to pass up, they were only $5.95 each.  They will look beautiful in the living room! 

Getting Started

The only thing I have ever wanted to be was a Wife and a Mother.  I am blessed to say "I am both"  I am married to my High School Sweetheart, and have three wonderful and happy children.  I am blessed.  

For whatever reason, I decided today to start a blog site.  Lord only knows why, I am a terrible writer, but that will hopefully not be a terrible obstacle.  I plan on using photos and brief descriptions mostly to get across my ideas. 

 I will be perfectly honest, I am addicted to Facebook.  I never realized how much I enjoy sharing things with people.  (Maybe that is why I enjoyed homeschooling my children for six wonderful years.)  On Facebook, I always run out of space, and then have to leave a comment on my own post.  What better way to remedy the problem, than my very own blog site? 

I have all sorts of wonderful ideas about things that I would like to share, but  I often sabotage a project, by biting off more  than I can chew.  That being said, I think at first I will limit myself to only  5.......make that 10 topics.  I will start with Home keeping, Home decorating, Thrift Store Finds, Child Rearing, Recipes, My Favorite Things, Marriage, Family and Faith.  See?? That's only NINE topics.  I have plenty of room to expand! :)

BTW, Thanks Douglas for coming up with the name "Raising Home"  I think it is perfect!