Happy Birthday Julia

 
 
 
 
Julia had a great 6th Birthday!
She had a big road trip to Atlanta with her Gram, with 2 birthday celebrations while she was there.
On her actual birthday we had a day of festivities....Cake and Presents, then the circus.

Where has my baby gone?

My baby girl is turning 6!
I cannot believe how fast time has gone. It seems like just yesterday we were in the delivery room. Every year has been so precious and wonderful.
Julia is turning into a beautiful young lady. She loves to dress up and be the center of attention. Her brother is her very best friend and conveniently the prince to all her role playing. I am so grateful for my precious girl.

Elmo loves you!

You Are Elmo

Sweet and innocent, you expect everyone to adore you. And they usually do! You are usually feeling: Talkative. You've got tons of stories to tell. And when you aren't talking, you're laughing. You are famous for: Being popular, though no one knows why. Middle aged men especially like you. How you live your life: With an open heart. "Elmo loves you!"

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Hanging in there!

So it has been 11 days since my knee surgery. I think I am doing pretty well. The doctor was pretty impressed last week with where I was.
I am back at the Y walking on the treadmill. (Hard for me to not do my usual amount of cardio) Overall I feel pretty well. The last two days I was super tired and resorted to napping both afternoons. I think that was partly because I am not sleeping well at night. I also woke up Saturday with a horrible fever blister that is driving me crazy.
I start physical therapy tomorrow. Hopefully we can work on getting me back to being able to put pressure on my knee and fully bending it.
I know I am expecting a lot from myself in such a short period of time. I know I need to give myself some slack and let it fully heal. I just hope that the surgery will have fixed the problem. My fear is that I am still going to have the same pain that I was having before.
So that is where I am at the moment.

Update

I finally did have my surgery on Friday afternoon. I ended up having to stay overnight in the hospital. I got really sick from the anesthesia. Man, I have never felt like that before. My dad was super wonderful. Since Paul had to work Friday, my dad spent the whole day from noon to almost 10 pm sitting in the hospital with me. It was nice to have him there. I can't thank him enough. I know it was a really boring day just sitting. I remember those days with Paul. My parents helped out with the kids and left early Sunday morning. Paul took over and has been wonderful taking care of the kids and me. I am up a little bit today. My body is a little achy from laying in bed so long. I need to walk around some more today. I can't remember the last time I have rested this much, probably at least over 6 years ago - before children!
It has been a good break and I think the kids have been great. They needed this bonding time with other people. They were getting way too attached to me.
Hopefully I can get back to my old self soon. I go back to the doctor on Wednesday to see how I am doing. Thank you to everyone who has checked on me. It is nice to have such great friends and family.

The wonderful world of insurance!

Well, after a long day today sitting in the surgery center --- No surgery today.
I had several complicated insurance issues that were very frustrating.
Thankfully I have the most wonderful doctor who was able to work things out and I am now scheduled at the Hospital tomorrow at 3:30 pm (have to be there at 12:30 for some reason!)
So, I will let you know if I actually have the surgery tomorrow. I won't believe it myself until I am in the recovery room.

T minus 19 hours

Tomorrow morning I am having surgery on my left knee. I have been having issues with it for about the last 2 years, but seriously the last 6 months.
I am not real nervous about the actual surgery (at this moment anyway). I am more nervous about the recovery. It is going to be very difficult to slow down and take it easy. It will be hard to not get up and go to the Y in the morning. Hopefully I won't be out too long. Working out has been a great outlet for me. Besides the fact that I am in the best shape of my life (minus my knee and other hormonal issues!), it has been a nice break from kids and also a social outlet.
My parents are coming in today to help take care of the kids for a few days.
I am so blessed to have parents who love me and are willing to help.
So think about me tomorrow at 9 am. I will update after the surgery.

Who am I?

Today after a conversation with a good friend I have begin to ponder the question "Who am I?"
I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, neighbor, acquaintance.
I could go on and list all the things those positions do, but I won't.
I find myself in an identity crisis. What do I like to do? What are my passions? What are the things in life that give me the desire to get up in the morning?
I realized today that I miss my social worker role. Why?
I miss really helping people. Being in their lives and making a difference.
I miss getting kudos on a job well done. I miss having a reason to get dressed and having people complement your hair, outfit, a job well done.
Being a mom is pretty thankless. There are moments when the kids say thank you, but it is usually prompted by "what do we say..."
I don't have an overwhelming desire to go back to work. I know that is not where I am suppose to be right now. I think I have just lost some of my identity as Amy. I have become Mommy and have let all the things that Amy was passionate about go.
I do have a strong desire to do women's ministry. I enjoy being with other women and battling through struggles such as these. I know God placed desires in women's hearts. We long to be desired and loved, noticed and lavished with attention. I see how strong that is by watching my daughter prance around the room dressed up and practically screaming "look at me." Or asking her brother "how do I look, am I pretty?" Then he answers, "you are fretty." Very cute!
Anyway, that longing never goes away. Even an 80 year old woman wants to know that she is beautiful and longed for.
"Captivating" by Stacy Eldridge was such a great book that every woman, husband and father needs to read.
So, Who am I?
I am not just a mommy, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, neighbor, acquaintance.
I am who God created me to be. I have a heart that longs to be beautiful.
I have a heart that desires to be intimate with Christ. I have a heart that is full of love and compassion for people. I think I have just in the midst of being all of these other things, forgotten my heart.
"In the end, it doesn't matter how well we have performed or what we have accomplished-a life without heart is not worth living. For out of this wellspring of our soul flow all true caring and all meaningful work, all real worship and all sacrifice." ~Brent Curtis and John Eldridge

Shaggy Boy is Gone

After hiding in his room, then much kicking and screaming the boys shaggy hair is gone!
He looks so handsome. His reward was an ice cream sandwich (tofu) which he insisted on eating in the bathtub immediately after his haircut.
(if it is not real even that is because it is really hard to cut a moving target!)

Happy NEW YEAR!!!

We had a great party last night with our friends. It was fun to hang out and play a great game of Cranium and Guitar Hero. I pray that 2008 will be a better year for us!