Our time in California was a bit of an oasis for me. Its been almost two years since I've had an extended period of good health. I've had some good times, but kept reverting to more lung and sinus problems. It's been a tough road to say the least! It was finally decided that I needed extensive sinus surgery. I was so disappointed but hopeful for some improvement in my health. Surgery was scheduled for 3 days after we returned from our trip to CA. I knew tough times were coming, so I did my best to soak up good times in CA. I had so much help around me which made all the differnce. I was able to spend time with family and laugh a lot (which is what I needed most).
I usually get a little excited at the end our CA trips to get home and settle back into our family life. This time was different. Every time I thought about going home, I felt sick to my stomach. I knew surgery was lurking ahead!
Grandma Shelly came to the rescue again. I can't even count how any times she's come out to help us due to my health issues (starting back in Missouri with a hysterectomy and then a bad infection). Thank you, Mom!!! Mom was scheduled to fly out Tuesday afternoon. With lightning and thunderstorms in Denver, her flight was cancelled! This was stressful for all of us! We needed Grandma for the very next morning. Mom was able to get on another flight to San Diego that would connect to Denver. We were nervous all afternoon that that flight would get cancelled, too! We all said many prayers. Nate went to say a prayer that Grandma could make it safely and that the flight wouldn't get cancelled. I snapped the shot a second too late after Nate finished his prayer but I thought it was so sweet to see this little boy praying for his grandma. We were so thankful that Grandma flew in around 9 that night. What a huge, huge blessing! We enjoyed time with Mom and then I nervously said goodnight and felt so apprehensive for the next morning.
Thankfully, I felt pretty peaceful the morning of surgery. I woke up (in a daze) and heard people talking to me about the surgery. I remember them talking about my eye and asking if I could see, if I was seeing double, etc. Then I heard that some parts of the surgery weren't completed because there was 10x the amount of bleeding due to the amount of infection. That was discouraging. The doctor was able to clean out all 6 sinuses in my head (I think there are 6) so that was great news.
Due to the doctor's concerns about my eye, he decided to keep me in the hospital overnight to watch my eye. That was another disappointment but it turned out to be a good thing. I was in so much pain much of the time and it was nice to be in one spot while hardly moving. Being at home probably woudl have been harder on me. I had a hard time getting the pain under control for a quite a while. It was by far one of the hardest weeks of my life. Not sure what would go down in the books as the hardest, since we've had a lot of hard things, but this was near the top. Dave was with me most of the day and then went home to see Nate and the babies (Ash and Sadie were at girls' camp) and then he came back to sleep at the hospital. It was so comforting to have him there, even though I know he had a bad night of sleep!
Grandma got really good at juggling two! It's a new experience, for sure! They loved having her here. We did, too! Mom took such great care of all of us. She even surprised me with different ways of making my bed a few different times...like a hotel. It made me smile each time.
Seeing Anna, Audrey and Nate brought so much joy. I hurt so badly but my heart was so happy to have these kids surround me. We thought it might be too much to have busy toddlers all around me but it was just what I needed. Audrey and Anna loved to wipe my nose.
Nate has a lot of tenderness amidst the wild boy in him! I think it was hard for him to see my face all banged up. He kept snuggling up to me and telling me he would do anything in the world for me...including cleaning anything.
Ash and Sadie were busy having a blast at girls' camp! It made me happy to think they could be off having fun instead of seeing their mom miserable at home!
Dave took some of the kids out on a run and they picked these wild flowers growing out in the yard. They brightened my whole room up.
Grandma has a tradition of taking every grandchild out for milestone birthdays. So far there's been a 5 year old date, 8 year old date and 12 year old date. We are yet to see if there is another date coming but I think I heard something about 18? The kids treasure these dates. While here, Mom took Nate on his 8 year old date. I love this picture.
Nate loved to change my bandage. It was kind of gross but he did it with such care. I loved watching his eyes so carefully check to make sure it was done just right.
This is a new way to use the blocks! So many little things like this that cheered me up SO much.
Nate asked what one of my favorite things to do was. I mentioned the piano. So he built "you are the best" with a piano in front. So creative!
Anna and Audrey loved wearing Grandma's socks. They each had one on while playing in the garage.
Recently I read an article about the pioneers that traveled across the midwest to settle in Utah. They suffered so much on their journey, but had a solid foundation of their purpose. They sang a song with a chorus that included the phrase "All is well, all is well". They were able to see so many blessings and they had strong faith. Despite their many, many trials, they still felt that all was well.
This article hit home to me. Sometimes all I can see is the trial after trial that's staring me in the face. This past weekend I've had so many quiet moments where I heard the words "ALL IS WELL" in my heart. Despite the horrible week and a half filled with many tough times, I have so many blessings surrounding me. All is well.
