It is Tuesday Wednesday morning (okay, almost afternoon) and I’ve been up for about an hour and a half now.  There’s nothing like a few little white pills to send you off into the best night’s sleep of your life.  :)  This is day two post-op and I’m feeling pretty good.  I’m very sore and little weak, but nothing intolerable by any means.  It does feel a little funny staring at the computer screen.  I’ve never had to use backspace so much in my life and the text looks 3-D.  Anyways, I want to thank you for all of your prayers, emails, and comments of encouragement.  Everything went well on Monday.  We arrived at the hospital at 10:30am, as instructed.  I think it was about an hour before they even called us back to take my vitals and bring us to our “holding room”.  This holding room was basically a regular hospital room.  The nurse gave me my lovely hospital gown to change into and once I got situated in my rolling bed, she attempted to put my IV in.  Her first two attempts failed and the top of my left hand is now puffy and green.  Luckily, her first attempt in my right hand was a success or I would have let Josh give it a try…he couldn’t have done any worse!  From there, it was a waiting game.  The nurse gave us the remote control to the TV and left.  We watched almost an entire movie before they finally came and got me…by now, it was about 1:30pm and I was FAMISHED!  I had not eaten since 8pm the night before and had lost at least a few cups of blood from the two failed IV attempts!  If they didn’t hurry, they wouldn’t even need the anesthesia for me to lose consciousness! 

Down a few blue and green hallways that resembled an insane asylum, they backed my bed into the furthest corner and several people, all dressed in scrubs, came into my surgical cubicle to ask me the same questions over and over…What is your full name?  What is your date of birth?  What procedure are we doing today?  Wait a minute! What?? You don’t even know what you’re doing to me??  I know it is just a question to make sure the patient fully understands what procedure is being done, but come on!  After the fourth and fifth person asks, you begin to doubt if anyone really knows what’s going on!   I could tell, by this point, my sweet, starving husband was getting nervous.  The moment finally comes when we have to say good-bye.  He gave me a kiss and headed off to find food.  I remember them wheeling me into the operating room…once again, more blue and green.  I remember seeing lots of blue heads and someone with VERY cold hands began sticking leads all over me.  They were telling me to take deep breaths…and then I was gone…ten seconds later, or so it seemed, I woke up in recovery.  The first thing I remember saying to the nurse was, “Oh, I forgot I was having surgery.”  I couldn’t hold my eyes open, but I remember starting to cry as the pain set in and it was far worse than I had expected.  I think I had quite a “tough guy” mentality going into this.  I can handle this…I’ve had three kids for goodness sake!  Well, let me tell you, this was a LOT different than childbirth.  As I lay there in the recovery room, crying, someone appears to my left and tells me that they have to do another scope.  Up my nose and down my throat with a camera to make sure my vocal chords are working correctly after surgery.  It was uncomfortable, but they were quick and everything was working fine.  The nurse then gave me some morphine in my IV and I think I faded in and out from there.  I can remember her shaking me several times, telling me to breathe because my respirations were getting too low.  I felt out of control, and out of my mind, but the pain never seemed to fade.  I don’t remember them moving me back to my room, but I do remember waking up and telling them I had to go to the bathroom.  I can’t believe my legs worked, but they did, and somehow I made it to the little reclining chair in my room.  Josh was there, but I don’t remember anything else.  Each time I closed my eyes, I would fall alseep immediately.  I remember feeling like, if I could just go home, I’ll feel better.  I opened my eyes and grabbed the nurse button.  When she appeared, I asked her if I could go home.  She smiled and said, “Sure!”  Within 20 minutes, I was in the van, on our way home…with a quick stop by the pharmacy for my meds and a new ice pack. 

I did feel much better once I was home in my own bed.  I ate a popsicle and took my medicine.  Josh helped me make a little mountain of pillows that I was required to sleep on for the first week and I slept from 11pm to 7am uninterrupted.  Tuesday was good.  I was pretty sore, but it was absolutely beautiful outside.  I opened most of the windows, lit a few candles, and just relaxed.  One of my girlfriends came over around noon and fixed my lunch.  We watched “The Secret Life of Bees”.  It was a great movie, I highly recommend it.  The day went by fast, and soon I had visitors at my door with dinner.  My dear friend Anna came by after work and brought me some bath fizzies.  They look like giant scoops of ice cream and they smell divine!  I haven’t used one yet, but I plan to tonight.  I’m still not quite sure how in the world I’m going to wash my hair for the first time.  My neck is stiff and sore, but I suppose I can do it carefully standing up in the shower. 

It is difficult to swallow.  I can’t successully clear my throat because I can’t use those muscles.  I can’t blow my nose or cough either.  Thankfully I am sleeping well at night.  The pain is tolerrable enough for me to only take my pain medicine at night.  Today I decided to make bread.  It doesn’t take much effort on my part, my house smells great, and I needed to use that flour by today because it was milled in Sunday afternoon.  Ashley had taken the big boys to the park this morning and Owen was content playing out back for a little while.  By the time she returned with Joshua and Jesse, I was ready to feed them lunch and put Owen in bed.  Another friend is picking the big boys up in a little while to have a play date and take them to church tonight. 

I’m sure I’ll feel better and better each day.  This weather certainly helps!  I think I will take a nap now.

 

~audrey

Today was going to be a busy day, but I had everything planned out (go figure :), so I was expecting everything to go smoothly.  I had the boys’ clothes laid out, sippie cups were full, diaper bag packed, directions to my pre-op appointments, etc…  I went to bed exhausted at 11pm last night…3am Owen woke up crying.  I gave him a little water in a cup and went back to sleep. I, on the other hand, could not!  I tossed and turned for an hour and a half.  One of the reasons I could not get back to sleep is because I had a dear family member on my mind.  Josh’s cousin Michael was killed two weeks ago in a tragic bull dozer accident.  He was 36 years old, married, and has three children ages 11, 6, and 3.  Jill is his wife’s name.  Everytime I think about her and the children, I cannot help but cry.  So as I laid there in the dark, my mind began to wander.  I thought about all the things that Jill has lost.  Never again will she be able to rest in her husbands arms as they settle into bed after a long hard day.  She no longer has her very best friend at the dinner table each night.  She now kisses her dear children and tucks them in bed at night and goes back to her room, where she must sit and listen to them cry themselves to sleep, knowing that in a few short years, little Sophie will probably not remember much about Daddy at all.  As I laid there in bed, listening to my husband snore like a helicopter, I thanked God for my sweet husband and precious children.  Our pastor has always taught us never to ask “Why, God”…but rather, “Why not me, God?”  It is only by God’s grace and mercy that we awaken each day to our families, our children, our spouses…all that is normal to us.  All that we hold dear could easily be gone in an instant.  I strive everyday not to take anything for granted, but to cherish each slobbery little kiss, each sleepness night because of the helicopter laying next to me, the mounds of laundry and piles of dirty dishes.  I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the whole world.

I finally got out of bed at 4:30am and gave up on sleep.  I cleaned up the house a little bit, put some laundry in the dryer, started the coffee pot, and began to get ready.  It was actually a good thing that I chose to get up because I was ready in plenty of time to wake up the kids, get them dressed, and leave for the babysitter, while still leaving time for school traffic.  I arrived at my appointment only five minutes late…that’s pretty good for me.  I waited and waited and waited all morning long.  Luckily I had a good book with me that I am now almost finished reading!  Four and a half hours later, I headed to pick up the boys from our friends’ house.

 

Just a side note:  Before I left anesthesia pre-op, I had to ask the anesthesiologist if a certain medication I had taken was safe before surgery.  His response, “I don’t know, I’ve never heard of that medication.  Let’s see…”  He sat down at his computer, right in front of me, and GOOGLED IT!  I’ve always knowing I could be a doctor!  I google EVERYTHING related to my health!!  :) LOL!  Kidding.  Let’s hope he has more sources of information and experience than Google, or I might be in trouble Monday morning!  :)

 

~audrey

I heard a great message on prayer last Sunday and I’ve been wanting to share it, so here it is:

In the “church circle” we often hear people say, “We are hungry for more of the Lord”…or “We are hungry for revival.”  It is probably accurate to say that we all value our dental hygiene, right?  We prove that we value it by brushing our teeth a few times a day, flossing, and going to the dentist at least once a year.  When we are truly hungry, we feed ourselves right?  If it is 12:30pm and I’m hungry…I eat lunch!  So what are we doing to “prove” that we are truly hungry for God?  Are we feeding on His word and in His presence, through prayer JUST on Sunday mornings?  If I am truly hungry for more of Him, I cannot be passive.  I can’t expect God to do something amazing in my life without  my participation on some level.  You don’t pray for the battle…Prayer IS the battle.  You don’t “pray” for the ministry…Prayer IS the ministry!

Prayer is a humbling act.  Through prayer, we’re confessing that we can do nothing without God.  Prayerlessness births busyness, but when we live a life of prayer, we’re MORE productive.  When we seek God’s face and not just His hand, it takes our focus off of the circumstances surrounding us and allows us to focus solely on Him.  As a result, we get more accomplished.  Run the race to win the prize.  Stay focused on the goal. 

When I have a “to-do” list for the day, I can easily get distracted by other things in my house and hardly get a thing done.  But when I stay focused on the final goal, whatever that may be, I get more accomplished and I’m able to do it faster. 

I want to encourage you, when the Lord puts someone on your heart, or if you’ve been thinking about someone in particular a lot lately…pray for them!  The Lord may be giving you an incredible opportunity to pray someone through a really tough situation that you don’t even know about.  The power of prayer is indescribable.  It only takes a moment.  How do you get to know someone if you never spend any time with them; talking and communicating?  How can I know the promises that the Lord has for me if I never take the time to read His book?  It’s all there!  New parents are often told, “Don’t you wish they came with a manual?”  They DO!  The manual to life, marriage, love, parenting, servanthood, relationship…it’s all in there!  The Bible holds the keys to life and how to live it more abundantly…how bad are your hunger pains?

 

 

~audrey

Thursday night I had the priveledge of going out with my dear friend Ashley.  We decided to get pedicures because it was going to be a beautiful spring weekend and the fact that we couldn’t remember the last time we got our toes done meant that it had been WAY TOO long!  There is a local place called Nail Pro that gives the absolute best pedicures I’ve ever gotten in my life (for $20).  I don’t know about you, but there is something about having pretty toes that lifts my spirits.  I’m a girly girl if you haven’t caught on by now.  Having freshly waxed eyebrows seems to have the same affect, but you all know too well what happened to my wax last weekend, so I won’t be enjoying that luxury for a while, or at least until I get a new pot of wax.  :(  Anyways, back to the story…I got a pedicure, my feet looked beautiful and my parents were taking all three of my boys for the entire weekend starting on Friday morning!  My sweet hubby laughed as he saw that I had a LONG “to do” list for our “relaxing” weekend.  :)  He knows me well!!  Friday I had my consult with the surgeon.  Everything went well and after reading his long ‘bio’, I know I’m in VERY good hands.  They stuck a scope up my nose and down my throat in order to take a look at my vocal chords and they let me watch.  That was pretty cool.  My surgery is scheduled for Monday, March 23rd.  Thanks to advances in medical technology and surgical procedures, I’ll go home a few hours after surgery.  I don’t know any details about recover except that I’ll have to take it easy for about a week afterward. 

After my appointment, I had about two and a half hours before Josh would get home from work.  I was in heaven!  At home, all by myself.  I had that place spotless within an hour.  The entire house was vacuumed, swept, mopped, dusted, clean sheets on all the beds, windows open, candles burning…it was amazing.  I need to send my kids to a babysitter for about two hours one day a week and I’ll be good to go!

Friday night Josh and I went to the mall, grabbed a bite to eat, and wandered around Barnes and Noble for a good two hours.  It was pure bliss.  We sat and sipped our iced lattes while skimming through a few magazines that had nothing to do with parenting, homeschooling, or discipline.  On Saturday, we had praise band practice in the morning, but after that we hit the ground running!  Here is a glimpse of what I got accomplished on Saturday without children there to interrupt every ten minutes…or five:

~put the boys’ winter clothes away and swap with spring clothes

~weed the garden and lay new mulch

~drop my steam cleaner by a friend’s house 

~clean out the garage and re-organize the shelves

~take a load to goodwill

~order/pick up contacts

~clean out the “shoe closet”  (this is the coat closet in our foyer…yikes!)

~dust chandelier in the dining room (those things get mighty dusty and I tend to not notice until we have guests around the table!)

~clean out the cabinets under the kitchen sink (throw away empty bottles, straighten cleaning supplies, make a list of things I need to replace)

~clean out the vanity in the boys bathroom

~wash the new sheets for the guest room

~sanitize the bath toys and throw the yucky ones away (I don’t do this near enough!)

~put mattress pad back on Jesse and Owen’s bed

~clear clutter off the top book shelves

By Saturday night I was pretty exhausted, but I can’t even begin to describe to you the feeling of accomplishment and relaxation knowing that my house hasn’t been this clean in a very long time.  I still have a few loads of laundry to fold and put away, but overall, it was the BEST weekend I’ve had in a LONG time!Â
My boys are home now and I missed them very much.  It’s definitely important for married couples with kids to have some weekends alone a few times a year.  Sometimes we need reminding why we got married in the first place.  Not that we forget, but it’s easy to get “lost” in the role of Mom and Dad and forget that we were first husband and wife and we still love each other more than anything in the whole world…and with a little peace and quiet, we still have LOTS of fun together.  Thanks Mom and Dad for keeping the boys this weekend!!! I love you!!!

…tomorrow we are heading to Atlanta to visit a friend who just had her second baby.  I’m so excited to meet the new arrival!!  I’ve had a bit of baby fever lately!

Have a Marvelous Monday everyone!

~audrey