Blessings for Today

August 17, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

I read a really good reminder this morning in the book, Jesus Calling.

“Accept each day just as it comes to you. Do not waste your time and energy wishing for a different set of circumstances. Instead, trust Me enough to yield to My design and purposes. Remember that nothing can separate you from My loving Presence; you are Mine.

I love it.

I love, even more, how God knows exactly what I need each day…and how He always gives it.

It doesn’t always look the same.

Sometimes His measure of mercy, from an earthly perspective, looks far bigger for one day than it does for another. On days like Wednesday, when I was fighting pain and desperately needed healing, it was more tangible.

Today is different. Yes, there is pain, but it’s more manageable and isn’t the type that I spend time crying to God, begging for healing.

He knows my needs each day and gives according to what He knows I need…not according to what I think I need.

I love that about Him.

The rest of today, and for at least the weekend, I’m going to intentionally focus on those blessings…however He chooses to give them.

Today they came in simpler forms, but were no less than blessings…a friend offering to take Maelie for the morning. A nap. Tobin being able to work half a day in the office. A shower and the energy to do my hair and makeup. A visit from a friend. A facebook note from a friend. A chocolate banana smoothie from my hubby. Friends who are bringing us dinner tonight. A chance to slow down and reflect. A smiling girl who understands mommy’s “owie” and continually reminds me that Jesus will make it better.

Tell me that I’m not one of the most blessed people on the planet.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! Lotsa love to you, my friends.

:)

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, friends, just life, Maelie, Tobin, what I'm learning, where I am

There’s No Place Like The Purple Couch

August 16, 2012 by · 2 Comments

I’m back. :)

So I ended up taking a two day hiatus from the blog. And that’s ok. I need to give myself permission for things like that.

Especially when abdominal surgery is involved. :)

So the gall bladder came out on Tuesday.

The surgery itself was fine…I cried a little when they took me back to the OR and made me say goodbye to Tobin. But they gave me some type of sedative that had me floating within seconds, and before I knew it we were in the Operating Room. I vaguely remember them moving me to the operating table and strapping me down, and the next thing I remember is coming out of it all and doing something totally Mel.

Yeah, when the nurse asked me what I needed, I told her I wanted a hug.

Thank God for nurses who oblige strange requests, and even better, don’t make the patient feel like a complete idiot for asking in the first place. 

She totally gave me a hug and then held my hand ’til I came to a little more.

:)

At the time I thought it was completely normal to need a hug…now I roll my eyes at myself. However I suppose it IS better than spending the entire operation talking to my surgeon about something obscure. (Which, to my knowledge, did NOT happen. Another thank You, God.)

Tuesday afternoon was full of morphine and naps and a visit from my daughter and some sweet friends who were definitely good for my heart.

But since I was still in pain, the morphine continued to be administered.

By the next morning I still couldn’t eat anything or keep more than a tiny sip of water down, and I had a headache on top of all of that.

They figured it was the morphine making me sick, and I had to wait it all out for several hours before I could have anything more for pain. Or nausea. Or my headache. I’ll spare you the details, only to say that it was a miserable 4-5 hours.

I remember lying in that bed having a conversation with God. There was a lot of pleading with Him just take the pain away. I’m so thankful that in moments of weakness like that…especially when praising Him and giving thanks to Him were the furthest things from my mind…that He still hears prayer and answers it.

He sent a few things…a text from a friend, a phone call from my pastor, a quick chat with a nurse…to help take my mind off of the pain, too.

Once they were able to give me different pain meds and they kicked in, I perked up. I actually ate jello and crackers and even half of a turkey sandwich around 11 pm. (That is SO me…again.) :) I watched part of the Tonight Show and managed to get a decent night’s sleep, which I think is what really helped.

Today was ok…less pain, though it is still there and will be for a few days. I was blessed with some pretty great nurses who were there, for the most part, all three days I was in. It was nice to be on a first-name basis. :) Though when Tobin and Maelie came to get me around 1:30 this afternoon, I was definitely ready to go.

I went straight to our purple couch and have been (mostly) resting there since. A couple friends have stopped by, and those visits were definitely spirit-lifters. Life is good.

It’s always good to look back after a few not-so-easy days to see God in the smallest details. Gallbladder surgery was nothing earth-shattering, but it was still nice to have those reminders of His love and care.

Well, it’s getting somewhat late, and I can’t wait to crash for the night.

On the couch.

Oh, there’s no place (at least for now) like the purple couch. :)

Thanks for your prayers, friends.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, encouragement, family, friends, just life, prayer, what I'm learning, where I am

Coffee?

August 13, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Mmmm…caffeine at 10 p.m.

Why, yes, I am.

Honestly, I don’t know how long it will be before I have another cup of coffee. But, let’s be honest, in Mel’s world, even a day or two seems like eons. I’m just guessing that doctors who remove gallbladders don’t really suggest that their patients drink coffee after the procedure.

Man, that stinks.

Somehow…SOMEhow…I’ll survive, I guess.

😉

So, tomorrow’s the big day, and as much as I don’t want to think about it, it’s pretty much impossible to NOT. I’ll admit to you, though, that I’m fighting the strange paradox of being potentially mortified yet slightly entertained at the strong possibility of me talking in my sleep during surgery.

When I had foot surgery in ’00 I spent the entire time talking to the doctor about skiing. He told me he was quite entertained. But I? Was completely embarrassed. And sooooo very thankful I never had to see him again. Well, after the follow-up when I got two cortisone shots in my feet to pour a little more salt into the wound.

Oy…

Does anyone else have a fear of that? I wonder if there’s a name fear of talking in your sleep during surgery?

There should be. :)

Ok, now that I’ve let that lovely thought re-enter my mind, we’ll move on.

Though I’m not sure to what…

I realize that this has zero to do with me, really, but I think it is utterly ridiculous that kids are going back to school so stinkin’ early. August 13th? (I have friends down South whose kiddos went back LAST Monday. The 6th.)

REALLY?!?!?!

Summer is winding down…it’s always a tiny bit depressing. On the up side, I have another year with my girlie before she heads off to PK…she’s growing up so fast! I’m excited for our year together, though…there will be so much more we can do…trips to the library, parks, and maybe, just maybe, she’ll learn to sit through a coffee date as well!

One can always have a bit of hope. :)

She was such a cutie today. We had a pretty busy morning with a hair appointment, a Target run, late lunch, and then a nap. (Throw in there that I went to the hospital at 6 a.m. to get my pre-op bloodwork done.) When I woke her up from her nap this afternoon, she recounted the entire day for me, telling me all kinds of details. We had the following conversation:

Me: What did we do today, Mae?

Maelie: Mommy…haircut. I love haircut. Mae-Mae needs a haircut.

Me: Maybe…not yet. :) And then what did we do?

Maelie: Shopping! At Target!

Me: What did we buy?

Maelie: Um…goldfish. (No, just Cheez-Its, but she thinks all crackers are goldfish. :)) And baby doll!

Me: And then what did we do?

Maelie: I take a nap. Mommy sing. Cover up. (blanket) Larry Boy! (Veggie Tales music)

Seriously, I think she’s brilliant. She doesn’t forget a thing…which, ahem…is not always good. But a good reminder for me that she is always, always watching. Learning. Repeating.

I feel like I blinked and my baby girl grew up.

I know that in sixteen years, I’ll be saying that again. And probably a lot more times in between, too.

I love her…the goofy, jumping-up-and-down-in-her-crib, spirited, fun-loving, a bit crazy but oh-so sweet girl that she is.

I’m so blessed.

And on another random note, I heard this song on KLove today. I loved hearing it on the radio though I found the music video slightly cheesy. However, I have never in my life seen someone look so incredibly UH-dorable while singing and playing the guitar. In clunky shoes. Maybe that’ll be me one day. Hey, I can dream. :)

Have a listen!

Hopefully I’ll be on the blog for at least a little while tomorrow, but we’ll see how things go. Thanks for your prayers, friends!

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, coffee, hair, just life, Maelie, music, where I am

Little Blessings (Pt. 46)

August 12, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

:) A super-successful, first-of-many, 5k event yesterday. YAY!

:) Snuggling with my girl while we sing songs together.

:) Friend chats with chocolate.

:) Music that lifts my soul and honors my Father.

:) Friends who will go out of their way to help me.

:) Double Stuf Oreo Cakesters. (Yeah, DON’T read the nutrition facts. Really. They won’t be a blessing anymore if you do!)

:) A hubby who will go grocery shopping so I don’t have to. He’s a keeper.

:) Words that are slowly returning. (I think.) 😉

:) Having a God Who is not limited. Ever.

:) Prayer and how powerful it is…thanks to each of you who have prayed for me. God is Good.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, just life, where I am

Just Writing

August 5, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Sometimes it’s good for me to go back and read the archives of my blog.

I did that recently.

It brought a lot of emotions…joy, amazement, gratitude…to name a few. Oh, and there was a teeny bit of embarrassment in there, too. ‘Cause there are always those days when I share too much. Oh, well. :)

But for the most part, it was good. :)

And I also came across a few blog prompts that I’d do again.

So tonight is going to be one of those nights…maybe tomorrow I’ll start heart-spilling. There’s a lot of that to be done in the next few days, I think.

But more on THAT…later.

Here’s the random of a Sunday. And of life.

Yesterday…Oh, how I love Saturdays. I woke up in a beautiful hotel because Tobin and I went away for a night to celebrate our 10th. It was nice. We watched some Olympics on one of the two big-screen TV’s in our room (crazy!) and then went out for coffee before going home and picking up Mae, who stayed with our sweet friends across the street. The rest of Saturday was just…the three of us. It was good. Normal. Well, as normal as we are. :)

Today…Not my favorite day, but I suppose those happen sometimes, huh? I just felt like I got hit from all angles…physically (bad headache), emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually. Sleep will be good. It always helps. :)

Tomorrow…A new day, for which I am very thankful. I’m hoping (if the headache is gone) to get up and run the 5k route for Saturday before Tobin goes to work. (I’m not actually running the race on Saturday…too busy with other 5k details, so I’m going to run it a couple times this week and try to break my goal of under 27 minutes. I’m c.l.o.s.e.)

Next week…I’m guessing is potentially the week my gall bladder will come out. (Or the week after…) I’m still processing how I feel about the whole thing. I think maybe I’m NOT processing it…just stuffing all of that deep down and hoping that it won’t hit me too hard. It’s just surgery, right?

Next month…My biggest goal for fall is to work my way up to 13.1 miles. I’m not planning an official half marathon this year, but I want to see if I can run the distance. It’s going to require some major discipline and a lot of early mornings. I can do it. At least I tell myself I can. :)

Next year…About this time, I hope to be training for the Chicago. I even have a training partner already…she’s running it this year, so it will be nice to have her expert advice. Hopefully my hip and knee decide to cooperate with my plan. :)

Somehow this turned into a post about running.

Life is full of other things, too…and it’s good. Looking for the JOY in each day and trusting that my Father is always good.

More tomorrow.

Love you all.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, just life, random, where I am

10 Years!

August 3, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

From this…

…to this…

…I. LOVE. IT.

Special thanks to our friend, Kelly, at Stick People Productions for the awesome family photos! :)

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, being mommy, blessings, family, just life, Maelie, marriage, remembering, Tobin, where I am

Olympics, Surgery, and Coffee (of course!)

August 1, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

So if we’re being honest, it’s hard for me to think about anything but the Olympics right now.

Maybe because it’s going in the background? As it always is every night from about 8-11.

We might be slightly pathetic.

Or, possibly, extremely devoted fans.

Take your pick. :)

The Fab 5 was awesome last night. That was fun to watch…crazy to think that it’s been sixteen years since the U.S. women took the gold. That was almost half my life ago, and I remember that night in ’96 very well. Time flies.

More like travels on a high-speed jet.

So it’s been awhile since we’ve just chatted, and words just come easier when there’s caffeine involved. :)

Especially since it was an early-ish morning.

Dr. appointment.

7:30 a.m.

I didn’t even know that kind of thing existed.

Sorta like 7:00 a.m. college classes…they only existed at my college. True. (I think.)

Anyway, my new doctor confirmed what I almost would have bet the farm on…

Buh-Bye, Gall Bladder. It’s been fun.

Or not.

I meet with a surgeon on Tuesday, and hopefully it will all be over with soon after that. Not a fan of hospitals or anesthetic or horribly revealing hospital gowns…so you kinda get where I’m goin’ with this. It IS interesting how I remember that pain from the other night, though…and I remember it enough to be willing to go through with this. I’m even a little more willing after this afternoon when I got to experience it all over again…thankfully for a much shorter time period. But still.

Ok, way too much info for you all, I’m sure.

Whoever knew a (just about completely useless) random organ in the body could cause so much trouble?

That might be one of the first things I ask God when I get to heaven. :)

So Mae’s vocabulary has been completely exploding lately. She’s been pretty good with complete sentences for awhile, but she threw us a shocker the other night. She was watching an episode of Strawberry Shortcake (yes, yes, judge me now…) on Netflix, and one of the characters said, We have to go to rehearsal. She looked at Tobin and said, Daddy, they have to go practice!

Say, WHAT?!?!

So not only do I have a girl I can chit-chat with all day long, I now have a walking, two-year old thesaurus.

Wowsers.

I have to admit that watching her grow and learn and become the coolest little girl is totally FUN. Best time in my life ever.

She is just such JOY, and my life is blessed beyond measure simply because I have the privilege to call her my daughter.

And, speaking of that daughter, I need to head upstairs, turn off the lights, and tell her it’s time for bed.

She stayed up, with the light on, reading.

:)

G’nite, friends. Thanks for being here. :)

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, coffee, Maelie, random, where I am

Little Blessings (Pt. 45)

July 31, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

:) Olympics!!! Love me some gymnastics. (And swimming and diving and water polo and volleyball and…)

:) Almond Joy coffee creamer. Mmmmm…

:) Complete-sentence conversations with my girl.

:) Coffee drinking and playtime in the backyard in the morning.

:) Time (and motivation) to work on my book. Thinkin’ there was some progress yesterday!

:) A stinkin’ scary moment that turned into something we could laugh about a few minutes later.

:) Truth spoken in love.

:) Guitar-strumming and tune-belting.

:) Bedtime giggles, songs, and prayers with my favorite little girl. Hearing her say, Amen, is the best part.

:) Ten years on Friday.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, just life, Maelie, marriage, Tobin, where I am

That Post Where I Talk About My Gall Bladder

July 28, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Seriously.

This time, I’m not kidding.

Which is kind of a bummer.

So it’s been a strange couple of days.

I think I’m usually pretty good at rolling with the punches…I’ve learned that in the multiple, multiple times that life has thrown me curve balls. You just kinda go with it.

And yesterday was no exception.

For the past few weeks, I’ve felt a little off. I had some issues I wasn’t particularly worried about but were still present. (And annoying.) Nausea (mostly), some abdominal/back pain. A couple times it was bad, but you know…it went away.

Thursday was especially rough. It was really hard to smile and be myself when I just felt like crap. Which was pretty much an accurate description. That night I came home from Praise Team practice around 9:15, and I was hungry. That’s not abnormal…I kinda like to eat. Hence the reason I run. 😉 I had a cookie, a glass of milk, took a few minutes to blog, and went to bed.

I had kind of an ache in my chest and was hoping I’d sleep it off. I fell asleep for a few but woke up around 11:30 with the most pain I’d ever felt in my life…back/chest pain that brought me to tears. I tossed and turned for awhile before waking up Tobin. I got up, walked around, and at one point decided to lie down on the floor (THAT actually helped) before going downstairs and lying on the couch. Around 2:30 the pain subsided somewhat, and I was able to fall asleep.

I woke up around 6:30 feeling…ok. Definitely not great and still in pain, but I wasn’t sure what to do. I had some things I needed to get done, and being a very I-don’t-go-to-the-doctor-unless-it’s-absolutely-necessary person, I had a hard time choosing that over what I felt was more important. But after several minutes of going back and forth with Tobin in an, I-don’t-know-what-we-should-do-do-you conversation, we decided I needed to get checked out. I made a phone call, got Maelie up, and we took her to a sitter before heading to the hospital, (in)conveniently located way too far from our house.

Thankfully the ER was empty…I do not handle places like that well. I also learned that when you walk into one and say the words, chest pain, almost immediately you are hooked up to an EKG machine. That was a first for me. Thankfully, that came back clear.

But I still spent several hours in a room in the ER in one of those horrible, flash-the-world hospital gowns, hooked up to a heart monitor and I.V. while the doctor asked me questions, ordered a chest X-ray, asked more questions, and finally ordered an ultrasound to check out my gall bladder and a few other organs, but the gall bladder was the suspect.

And the doctor was right.

A nasty gallstone.

UGH.

It does explain the nausea and pain I’d been experiencing for awhile, though. In all honesty, I was thankful to finally have an answer even if I’m not excited about what that means.

I’ll have a follow-up with my regular doctor this week and then will probably meet with a surgeon.

Really, I’m frustrated, but I’m kind of at the whatever point…let’s just get this taken care of so I can get on with life. (And feel better.)

It makes days like today hard when I carry Maelie up the stairs and am so exhausted I just want to crawl into bed. When the sun is shining and it’s a gorgeous day and I’d rather lie on the couch. Granted, the Olympics ARE on. Thankful for that. :)

Funny story from when I was in the ER yesterday. I seriously couldn’t stop thinking about the opening ceremonies and how much I wanted to watch them NOT in a hospital room. I guess I should have been more worried about my health, but admittedly, that thought raced back and forth through my brain the entire time. :)

I am thankful, though.

Very.

The real reason we went in is because I was worried it was my heart. I kept telling myself, There’s no way it can be your heart, Mel. You’re healthy, in shape…you’re fine. But the pain I was feeling suggested otherwise, and I was scared.

If I had heart issues, it would have meant a huge life-change. (There’s definitely a spiritual parallel there…maybe I’ll touch that again another time.) :)

Gall bladder? Definitely inconvenient, but it can be dealt with. I’ll get my energy back. I’ll still be able to run. Chase my daughter. Laugh with her. Share ice cream sundaes with her. Be my old self. :)

I’d appreciate your prayers over the next couple of weeks…hopefully it’ll only take that long. :)

God is Good.

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, blessings, just life, Maelie, Tobin, where I am

Little Blessings (Pt. 44)

July 25, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

:) Singing and dancing with my girl.

:) Flip flop shopping. (FYI…should you be a sucker for a good deal, Target has some uber cute ones on clearance right now…)

:) Starbucks gift cards. (Thanks, mom!)

:) A swimming pool in the backyard for those days that teeter around 100. TOO. HOT.

:) Chats with a good friend.

:) Making new friends.

:) This. Hop over and watch my two best friends sing their hearts out. They’re amazing, and I’m not just saying that. Should you want to vote for them, if they win they’ll be singing the National Anthem to open the Iowa State Fair. Awesome. :) (And, you can vote five times a day!)

:) Chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. AND having friends/neighbors willing to take most of them off my hands so I’m not forced to eat them all. :)

:) A good pace during my run this morning.

:) Coffee and some time with my Father this morning. He’s Good.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, friends, just life, Maelie, where I am
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