The One Where My Life Is A Whirlwind

Okay, so whirlwind might be an understatement right now....

Remember that one time when I said "What are the chances that all 3 of us need surgery within a few months of each other??" Well... let me rephrase that...

What are the chances that all 3 of us will have surgery within 2 1/2 weeks of each other?

Yep... you read right.

I had my sinus surgery (on Friday the 13th might I add) and it went well. I have been able to tolerate the pain, that is until my follow up appointment on Tuesday. I swear they tried to turn my nose inside out. It was the most awful sound, and I feel like I have been punched in the nose. But, other than that, I have been recovering with flying colors.

Rick got his call this week... the one saying there was a donor available for him. It is scheduled for a week from Friday. He will probably have to take 6 weeks off of work, but luckily, it looks like he has that much pto saved up. He will be on crutches for about 2 months, and it will take him a year to get back to where he is now.

Paige's next surgery is scheduled for June 1... yes, less than a week after his surgery. He won't be healed enough to go to hers even. If all goes as planned, this will be Paige's last surgery (at least until she's almost in kindergarten), so we are so happy about that. I have been way more nervous for her surgery than I was for mine.

Needless to say, we have met our max out of pocket from our insurance, and the next 2 surgeries will be on the house. Every week that goes by, I feel more and more confident that the job that fell into my lap, fell there for a reason. That doesn't necessarily mean it makes me like it more, but it makes it more tolerable. :)

And that's just the tip of the ice burg... wanna know what else has been going on at our house? :)

• we sold rick's car
• we bought him a "new to us" car
• my laptop crashed (thank heaven I had almost everything backed up)
• i am helping my sisters throw a shower for my sis-in-law this weekend
• paige finally cut her 4th tooth (she had 3 teeth for like 2 weeks... it was so cute & funny)
• we have a duck in our front yard that has been sitting on her nest for 3 weeks now. i named her ducky. the dad (who we hear more than see) is named mr. ducky. we feed ducky bread every morning.
• i was able to do a mini photo shoot for my newest nephew
• paige will walk if she's excited about something, but if she is thinking about it, she is scared to walk.
• rick joined a flag football league and basketball league, so he has at least 2 games each week (that is, until his surgery)
• we found out that paige loves nick jr & disney jr. how does she already know to like cartoons? olivia, yo gabba gabba, puzzle time & mickey mouse club house are her favorites.
• paige says diaper, baby & ba ba (for bottle), and if we ask her where things like her book, ball, or doggie are, she will get them and show us. it's been so fun.
• we have a cricket in our kitchen. it's very loud, and we can tell around where it is coming from, but can't find it.
• paige loves to get into the laundry... the other day she found some diaper covers/panties and put them on her head.

And I am sure I am forgetting a couple of things. Life has been so crazy lately, but I am the happiest I have ever been. With all of this lining up the way it has, just strengthens my testimony, that God is aware of us and our needs, and he is taking care of things for us.

The One With My Little Easter Bunny

Happy Easter!

The One Where I'm A WAHM

Well, I ended up getting a stay at home job. It's a temporary (through the fall, weather pending) receptionist/scheduler job. I'm still training (due to the rainy weather). I am supposed to be available (by phone and internet) for ten hours a day, and every other Saturday. Supposedly the phones ring off the hook in the height of Summer.

I had a really hard time with it the first week or so. I have a lot on my plate already (who knew being a stay at home mom would be such a busy job), so I was super nervous.

I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to give Paige the attention she needed.
I was worried it would cause stress on my relationship with Rick.
I was worried that the house would be even messier than it already is (only ALL of the time).
I was worried I wouldn't learn everything I needed to for this job.
I was worried that I wouldn't be able to take Paige swimming or to the zoo (or other fun summer activities now that she is getting older).
I was worried that I would be jealous of all of the other SAHMs that get to do fun things with their kids.
I was worried that I had just lost my freedom.

(I'm a worry wart... can you tell?) :)

I expressed my worries to Rick (I may or may not have had a break down), and he gave me a blessing. It was such a special blessing, just what I needed. I now know, that even though it's not something I necessarily am excited about doing, it is something that God has provided for us. It is just temporary, and I am so happy that I can help take some of the burden of providing for our family off of Rick's shoulders for a few months.

I am so very grateful to have a husband who is worthy to hold the priesthood. Some of you may know that there was a brief time in my life when I did not have the priesthood in my home. There was an emptiness inside of me during that time. I knew that something was missing and that I wasn't as happy as I knew I could be. I won't go into details, but I am just so grateful for Rick.

On a very random side note, I just called the insurance, and found out that Paige has met her out of pocket, so we won't have to pay anything else for her until July. Yay! Also, we are $1,000 away from meeting our family out of pocket. Think we can make it? ;)

Another One With An Update

Sorry for another boring post. People keep asking about Paige, and this is the best way to get the word out.

We had her follow up appointment with Dr. Hoffman yesterday. As of right now, it seems she won't need any more eye muscle surgeries which is probably the worst of all of the surgeries we've had to consider. We are very happy about that. We will, though, still need an eye lid lift surgery as of how things look right now. Her eyes are still tearing, after having the tear duct probe twice. I am not sure what we will do for that, though. We have another appointment in 4 weeks to just make sure everything is going as well as it seems. Dr. Hoffman has been really great to work with.

I also had an appointment this week, and it seems there is a high chance I will need surgery also.

What are the chances that all 3 of us need surgery within a few months of each other??

I have had 8 sinus infections within the past year and a half, so I finally decided enough is enough. I have loved my doctor, and we are trying to see if medicine will help enough that I will not need surgery, but she thinks surgery will be in the books for me. Honestly, I am happy to try anything, even if it means surgery. Most days it takes all I have to stay awake, and I just found out that is because of my chronic infections. I am so happy that there are options and that there is help out there for us.

Our insurance is up at the end of June (it lasted a year and a half this time...), so our goal is to have all of our surgeries done by then. We're close to meeting our out of pocket deductible :)

After going to both of our appointments this week I am very optimistic, even if it means surgeries, it will also mean that things will be better in the near future. I am so grateful for insurance & smart doctors!

The One Where She Does Tricks

Paige has learned so many fun new things lately. It's been so much fun. I love this age.

I took this picture the day after her surgery. She's showing you where her head is. She's such a little smarty pants. :)


This video sums a good chunk of them up.