End of June already?!

Wow, June has really flown by! I mean, being stuck inside on the couch was not what I call 'fun' but at least it is starting to warm up and I can now stand up straight again! (Most of the time, anyway!) For those of you who don't know, they think that I will have to have my gallbladder out. That was actually a relief to me! I was so afraid it had something to do with my stomach... but the gallbladder, ah, no biggie! :) I go to the GI doc on the 9th, so hopefully we'll have something to go on then. For now, the attacks have calmed down and I can get along fine.

Now, a little retrospective glance. I am in awe and shock that almost (to the day!) that one year has passed since my wonderful husband came back to us from the middle east! One year! (It'll be a year on July 4th, just in case you didn't know that.) How thankful I am and blessed to have him home with us. Boat life will be an adjustment (whenever we find out when and where that will be) but having that small glimpse of the families who have their significant others gone for 12 to 18 months at a time definitely helped to put things in perspective for us. Life can change in an instant and I am so thankful for each and everyday that God gives me with my family and friends.

The girls 2009 dance recital!

Today the girls had their 2009 dance recital! I must say, I was so proud of them! They both did a wonderful job. Kassy did a tap dancing number this year to the song 'Put on a Happy Face'.



Lilly did a ballet number to a beautiful lullaby called 'Baby Mine'. It was my favorite number that she has done in the past three years of dance recitals.



Needless to say I am very proud of them and just wanted to share a few pictures of them. For a 'break' this summer they both have decided on a new path, jazz class. So that should be fun! I was so blessed as well, to be able to go. Thankfully my stomach condition has calmed down and I am able to now stand up straight! I'm able to start taking in more food along with the antibiotic that the doctor gave me. Test results should be coming back this week, so I'll see what was going on. Thanks for all the prayers, I really appreciate it. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Rawr.

Things around our house are quite interesting lately. I have been down and out for the past week and it isn't showing signs of letting up. I am very frustrated and wish for it to go away. I finally went to the doctor yesterday (thinking I just had some kind of a stomach virus, I decided to wait it out) and they told me I had colitis (duh!) and if it didn't go away in a few days to GO BACK. Argh. I'm not happy. Today I decided I am just going to push through it, I need to take care of my family and sitting on the couch, curled up in the fetal position or in the bathroom is not working. I know that God must have a reason for this, but I'm not seeing it right now and I am very frustrated. Maybe I need to be taught to rely more on Him? I take good care of myself... I don't know. I'm just very frustrated and think it might be better if the doctors just fully took out my digestive system (okay, maybe that is a little extreme). Anyway, sorry I just needed a little rant... hopefully this is just a tiny storm and it will pass.

Memorial Day

I just wanted to write a quick post to say thank you to all of the men and women in military service, past and present. We have lived the life for the past nine years and it isn't an easy on, but we are so fortunate to have our husband/daddy still with us. We pray each and every day for all of the families who have lost loved ones dedicated to serving the US and protecting our freedom. Today, Lilly came upstairs crying... I wasn't sure why. She told me she didn't want to tell me because it was too sad. I was very confused and had her tell me. She said that Daddy told her about Memorial day and then she couldn't get anymore out. I then tried to explain (as well as you can to a six year old) about memorial day and why we celebrate and remember. Then Nic came up the stairs and he was holding Lilly on our bed and they were both crying. I quickly took the little ones (who didn't know what was going on) into another room to give them some privacy. Not sure of what to say or do I tried to compose myself so I wasn't crying as well... Nic got Lilly calmed down and she went off to play with her brother and sister. He then told me that he was trying to tell her the story of two of the men who lost their lives while he was over in 'the desert'. He couldn't finish with the story and Lilly asked that I tell her more about it later. Wow. I was taken aback... I thank God each and everyday that Nic came home to us and he is still here with us, but just never took time to think about how he felt and what he saw while away.

Please, stop and take time to say thank you to a military member, pray for families that have lost loved ones or families who have loved ones in harms way today. It means so much to them... God bless America.

Back to 'normal' life

Well... this week is our first week back to normal. Nic is back to work, I'm back to being the sole caretaker during the day. It feels good to be getting back to normal again. I'm actually going to try a mild workout today. I want to try to get back to normal as fast as my body will let me. And thankfully the sun is shining today!! So we can go out and play and get some of this pent up energy out of the little ones. With the rain all of last week they were like little animals, it was awful!!

As for the surgery aspect of things... my body seems to be healing rather quickly and well! We are very thankful for that. I'm still struggling with food, but that seems to be getting better daily. I actually had my first (very small) piece of pizza yesterday, without the cheese! It was delicious and I actually had no reaction to it! I'm eating very small amounts, but that is not a big deal to me. I actually like to eat this way... now the big thing will be to start losing a bit more weight and keeping the weight off that I lost after the surgery. So far so good. I am still at the weight that I was one week after surgery and haven't budged.

Happy mother's day to all yesterday!! We didn't do a whole lot around here, just hung out. I had a rough morning yesterday, but the afternoon got better. We went and visited with my mom and stayed for two hours. It was the perfect amount of time. It was nice to just hang out and be out of the house again. :)

Nic is starting to play softball tonight (on a Navy league)! He is very excited and I'm excited for him! He hasn't played since we lived in Hawaii. The kids are very excited to see him play. We'll be able to catch the end of the game tonight, after Lilly gets out of dance. It'll be a bit hectic but at least he can now ride his bike, so we have two vehicles.

Anyway, better get back to the two little ones. Kassy has been a bit naughty lately so I'm trying to keep my patience and attitude in check. Hoping the workout will help me out with that. :)

HUNGRY!!!

Bet that got your attention! LOL! ;) But man, I'm super hungry! I had the surgery on last monday and it went great! The surgeon was very pleased with the results. But the first week was horrible. Thankfully everyday seems to be getting better. Nic was off from work for the first week, because I couldn't take care of myself, never mind the babies! He has done such a wonderful job! I couldn't have done it without him. (He also says he now appreciates and understands more about what us stay at home mommies go through, lol!) He goes back to work this coming friday, much to Preston's disappointment. Preston has definitely gotten closer to Nic during the past week and a half!

So now, the recovery still continues. The pain of the incisions is virtually all but gone. (Which really wasn't bad, just felt like I had done a million sit ups and was sore beyond belief!) But the food, well that is a WHOLE other subject. I can only eat pureed foods. Which doesn't leave a whole lot, considering I also can not have beans, acidic foods or juices, chocolate or anything with caffeine in it, to name a few. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow, so I'm hoping that he may add a few things for me to try. At this point, anything I put in my belly blows it up like a balloon, but I know that will go away with time. Just need to reteach my stomach how to eat and process food.

All in all, I'm glad I had the surgery done. I however, was not saying that last week! It is getting better though, like I said previously! Thank God! I also read up today (online) about other people who have had this surgery done, and that made me feel a whole lot better. Like I was normal (well, almost!).

Anywhoo... will keep everyone updated on the progress. Thanks for all the prayers and the help given to Nic and the kids this past week. We couldn't have done it without you!!! :)

Home again!

Wow, I had my surgery yesterday and got to come home the same night! We were all surprised and excited that the surgery went so smoothly. I was told I was in and out of the surgery in just under two hours! They had the surgery room booked from 11 to 3, so that was pretty significant! I totally attribute it all to the prayers of all my friends and family and the fact that I am in good shape physically. I was supposed to have stayed one to three nights. The nurse wasn't very happy I was going home (she was great, by the way!). She thought the doctor was pushing it, but I told her that it would be okay, Nic has two weeks off and he will take such good care of me. I even heard her commenting out at the nurses station that he was one of the best husbands she had seen, so attentive and loving. :) That made me so happy.

So now I'm home in my OWN bed. :) Although I am incredibly sore (and hungry, LOL!) I'm good. Thank you everyone for the prayers and support. We couldn't have done it without you. I'll update again in the next day or two once my head is a bit more clear.