I took my daughter to the pool today. I had asked my son if he wanted to go, but of course he told me no. He never wants to go anywhere anymore. Sometimes I'm concerned about it, and other times I just figure it's because he's a teenager now. *shrug*

In ten days my girl will go off to church camp, and my son will go to grandma's for a couple of weeks. When Morgan gets home from camp, she will join Blake at Grandma's and we will be alone without kids for the first time in a long while. I'm looking forward to some alone time with Eric.

I am also looking forward to that time because that is the time which we go pick out our new puppy. I can't wait to see them and figure out which one fits our family best. I hope it's one of the girl puppies, just because that is what Morgan has her heart set on.

I have been part of a quilting group at my church since we moved down here, and a few months ago we started a "Pizza box Quilt." Each month we pass our materials and " box" to someone else in the group and let them make us a block with our materials, and we make one for someone else. At the end of the 12 months we have enough blocks to make a quilt. It's pretty neat. Here is one of the blocks I'm working on for this next month. It's not completely sewn together, but it'll give you an idea.

Enjoy.

Woes of a mother

It's finally happened. He finally said the one thing I hoped I wouldn't hear from my son, but in my heart knew would come some day. Blake told me today that he "hated me" and then stormed out of the room. I don't know what to do anymore. He's finally understanding that he will probably have to repeat a grade, and now, of course, he puts all the blame on me. That is the ONE THING that I absolutely can't stand that he does, and will NOT let him do around me. I will not sit around and let him push the blame for all his problems on someone else. HE is the one in charge of his own destiny and frankly, there isn't a lot I can do anymore to help him.

I'm tired, frustrated, upset, and just don't think I can go through much more. I worry about his self esteem, I worry about his future, and I worry about him in general. I guess that's all part of being a mother of a teen huh?

8 days post op

Here is an updated picture of the surgery site 8 days post op. The bruising is starting to show and the blister looks more like a blister than it did before, taking on a somewhat liquid form. Both of them look pretty good I think. My leg is starting to itch, but I think it's more from healing and the stitches than anything else.

I go back to see the doctor Feb 12th. He said if everything looks good and I heal enough, the stitches might come out. If not, it will probably be another week till they come out. I am also hoping he will tell me at that time that I can start driving again!! I hate being stuck at home and or dependant on others to get me where I need to go.

Other news. I went to see a head hunter yesterday about a graphic design job, and he seemed pretty excited when he saw my portfolio. Eric was an angel and took me to the meeting and helped carry in my portfolio since I'm stuck with crutches right now. I don't know if anything will come from that meeting, but he wanted me to send him digital copies of some of my work that he could then send on to prospective employers. Sounded pretty good. He also asked one of the other guys in the office to come look at my portfolio and he said that he would remember me when he had possibilities!! Even better right?

I'll keep posting. Each time we change the bandaging every few days I will take photos to see the progress of the healing. Stay tuned for more.

Post op pictures

As I promised a few of you, here are some pictures of the leg and ankle. These were taken on Monday, three days post op. My mother came down to be with me on Friday morning and went with us to the surgery center. I was very glad she could be there with me, even though we didn't get to "visit" much.
I did pretty good, except into Saturday night and beginning Sunday morning, I had some pretty severe pain in my ankle around my heel area. I stuck through it and just rested and propped up the foot as much as I could. By Monday morning though, I couldn't stand it anymore and we called the docs office. After describing the pain, and concerns about me getting to the office safely for my scheduled post op appointment on Tuesday due to the snow and ice, he told me to go ahead and take the bandage off, make sure it wasn't infected or have anything gross going on there, clean it with Iodine, and put new gauze on it and rewrap the leg.
It was at this point that Eric and I thought it a good idea to go ahead and take some photos. He was a sweetie, and took the photos for me while I propped myself on the edge of the tub. I could almost immediately tell why my ankle/ heel had been hurting so bad. Somehow, my heel became constricted by the wrappings, and it was causing some kind of blister or something there. You can see it in the last photo, it's a pinkish spot just below where the stitches are. Anyway, after getting all that stuff off, my ankle felt better immediately, and I haven't had to take but one pill since Tuesday and that was last night. I think I walked on it too much, as it was a little sore and I had been out of house only one other time since surgery to go to the church. The office visit yesterday was good, he said I was healing nicely and that he would see me again in two weeks, probably will remove the stitches then, but we'll have to wait and see how I look then.
Anyway, enjoy the photos.... LoL
Jen

Surgery

Hi all. Surgery went well and I got home right around 3 pm yesterday. Pain is pretty bad, but nothing I can't handle. When my foot swells up I know it's time for a fresh bag of ice behind the knee.
My mother came down yesterday morning before we left for the surgery center. We were able to visit for a short time before heading over and getting started. The place didn't really feel like a surgery center when we got there, but once they took me back behind the scenes it felt like it. I didn't have to wait very long to go back either, in fact, I was still doing the paperwork when the nurse came to get me. I was a little surprised. We got there about 11:15 or so and the surgery was scheduled for 12:30. I figured it would be around 1 or so before they actually took me in, but it was before 12:30 when they wheeled me back.
The doc told Eric that two of three spots in my ankle were tight and constricted, and the place up in my leg was constricted as well. I'm glad I decided to let him go ahead and do that while we were in anyway. Otherwise, i would have had to make another trip in for that later. When I get a chance I'm going to ask Eric to take photos of my leg. It's very comical!! The bandages are about twice the size of my leg and goes up to my knee. I feel like the Michellan man on one side.
Going to go back to sleep now, but I wanted to post for all of you that I was ok and the surgery went well.

Things are getting better for us. God has answered some of our immediate concerns. Eric got a job. It's not the lifestyle we had before, but that is ok with us. We kind of got used to living a more simple life, and it seemed almost more peaceful.
The picture above is one of Momo, from where we lived at the house in Joplin last. I still miss her. We tried to bring out other cat inside, but he apparently has lived outside too long. He used the litter box most of the time, but felt perfectly fine doing his business in the hallway near the kids bedrooms, and we simply can't have that. We gave him three passes, but after that, it just wasn't going to work out. I was really hoping he could be in the house with me during my recovery from surgery, he is such a snuggle bunny and great to cuddle with. Oh well.
So, Eric started his new job today. He's working for a consulting company for IT work. Seems pretty interesting, I hope he enjoys it. We have both been praying for a job that not only pays the bills, but a job that can allow God to use Eric for his will. That is a new prayer for us, but Eric said he really wants to do God's work, so that is our focus. Can't ask for a better desire if you ask me. I'm so proud of him!
Surgery for me is tomorrow, and I'm getting a bit nervous about it. I've had surgery before, but nothing that cut tendons and such, and it will be a different and more difficult experience that just cutting some fatty tissue. I won't be able to drive for a while, and found out that if I drive with my left foot and get pulled over or in an accident my insurance can drop our policy and deny any coverage. I guess I won't be driving at all now.... I'll probably run to Wal mart today to get my pain medication today, as the doc wanted me to have it filled before surgery.
Pray for us in our new job, and for my nerves tomorrow as I go to surgery. I'll post as soon as I can after surgery for all of you who actually read the blog.
Chao.

The last few days have been kind of rough, and the stress of having no income is starting to really lay heavy on our family. We still have our home, but we are beginning to view our options as far as pulling out our 401K money and trying to lower some of our monthly obligations.

The loss of one of our cats has hurt, and with neither of us working we notice her abscence even more than we normally would.

Eric has left this morning for a job interview, I wish him lots of luck, we really need to get him working again, not just for the income, but for his self esteem. He is such a smart man, it's killing him knowing he is not bringing in money for his family. I have also been looking, and thought I had a job only to have it taken away again before I could start due to the economy. I am hoping that option will still be available later, when the company recovers in the future.

I will be having surgery on the 23rd of Jan and I am more than a little worried about how long the recovery will take. I'm going to think positively that it will be quicker than I think!

Anyway, later today Eric also has an interview with another company and this will be his second interview with them! I am very hopeful about that position and pray we hear something from somebody soon.

Good luck baby! Things will get better soon...

We miss you MoMo

I don't know what to say, or how to say it even. Our cat Morgan, or as we called her most often, MoMo, passed away last Friday after the kids left for school. She has been ill for some time now, not eating, laying around, labored breathing.... She acted different this morning, and I almost didn't want to leave her side, knowing, somehow, she wouldn't be around much longer. We (Eric and I) called the vet to see if there was anything we could do, knowing full well we would probably leave the office with an empty crate.
He said she was in a lot of distress, and no amount of money would be able to make her better. He did an exam on her, and as he was doing the exam she went into distress. As we talked about putting her down, she stopped breathing. Her heart was still going, but it was a matter of time, and we didn't want her to suffer, so we gave the doctor the ok to give the shot. We are going to just tell the kids she passed away quietly without suffering. I cried much more than I thought I would. I love her so deeply, but I never realized how much a part of my life she had become. I will miss her so much!
In the coming days I will find old photos of her and post one here. I think I will make a memorial of her so we will never forget how much we loved our kitty, and what she looked like.
God bless you MoMo, may you sit at God's side and keep him company for us.
MoMo Price 6-01 /1-9-09