Eeeep . . . Are We Gonna Make It?!?

My niece, Kaylee, is getting ready to graduate from college, and we have been planning a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains following her graduation for almost a year. We knew the timing of it all would be difficult, but we also didn't want to pass up on the opportunity to go when we were already in Tennessee for her graduation. One thing that makes it all hard is that Track & Field Nationals in Bolivar, Missouri has been going on this week. Chris took Bri and Bren without me this year because there was just no way I could go AND have us all ready to leave for graduation and vacation the morning after T&F Nationals. 

So today is Thursday evening, and we are supposed to leave tomorrow (Friday) morning for Tennessee. Kaylee's graduation is Saturday morning, so we don't have a lot of wiggle room. I think I have pretty much everything ready to go as far as packing and cleaning goes (which is a HUGE job for a family of six, especially when I have to plan for multiple events), but tonight our plumbing started backing up! Chris (who is still in Missouri at T&F Nationals) called a plumber who was able to come by (at 10:00pm!) and get things flowing again. It has been a stressful mess! 

Chris and the big kids are on their way home right now and should get here around 12:30am. My original plan was to just leave all their stuff from Nationals packed up and deal with it after vacation, but yesterday they had a huge storm blow through during competition and everything got soaked. Chris said all their clothes, bags, shoes, etc are a muddy and stinky mess, and I definitely feel like I can't leave that junk for over a week. As soon as they get home, I'm going to start laundry and just keep it going all night. I used to get up all night long when I had babies, so I can do this, right?!? 

I'm just soooo ready to get on the road tomorrow, but I've definitely had my moments of wondering if we're going to make it or not. 

Almost there . . . almost there . . . almost there . . .

Grand Adventures on Grand Lake!

 About a month ago, Chris and I decided we wanted to take a weekend getaway to somewhere that is fairly local, but also that we haven't really been to before. I started looking for a house to rent on a Grand Lake, and found a couple options that looked like they would be fun for not only us, but for the S family, as well. I sent the listings to Tia and proposed that we plan a short trip away together as a surprise for the kiddos. She agreed, and plans were underway for a grand adventure on Grand Lake!

The house we rented was a little over an hour from our house, so we headed that direction late Thursday afternoon. We arrived at the house first, and the kids immediately ran all around exploring every room. The sky put on quite a show for us that evening!

About an hour after we arrived, the S family knocked on the door. The kids went crazy when they all realized we were sharing the house for a couple nights! The volume was off the chain to the point that Tia and I decided to go to the grocery store to get supplies for the weekend, haha!

After everyone calmed down a bit, we made chili and hot dogs for dinner. The house had four bedrooms . . . two primary suites (one on each end of the house), a bedroom with two sets of bunk beds, and a bedroom with two twins beds. Of course, the little girls were ecstatic to be together in the room with two sets of bunk beds, and even talked Brianna into staying with them in that room the first night. We put them to bed at a decent time, but they didn't go to sleep until almost midnight!

Sadie and Brecklyn

Caroline and Brooke

Girl Crew!

The next morning (Friday), we let the kids sleep in, then served a big breakfast of eggs, pancakes, bacon, biscuits, and fruit. Once Tia and I had the kitchen cleaned up, she and Ross went back to bed for a while. Chris and I entertained the kids with some activities we had brought along. 

Perler Beads for the win!

Bren brought a science kit, and everyone enjoyed watching his experiments.

The girls also brought some clay kits that they put together.

Brooke and Sadie

Brecks and Caroline

Brianna and Bren

The house was great because in addition to a large kitchen and eating area, there was a family room complete with couches, a TV, a foosball table, a ping-pong table, and some arcade games. The boys really enjoyed the foosball table!

After we served lunch, Ross and Chris took all the kids for a walk. We really didn't have any set plans except to relax and spend time together. It was nice for Tia and I to be able to visit uninterrupted while the guys had the kiddos occupied outside of the house.

Bren, Brecks, Caroline, Brooke, and Sadie

Brecklyn, Brooke, Sadie, and Caroline

While the house fit our needs well, it wasn't in the prettiest or nicest area. We really wanted to get a solid view of the Lake, so we all decided to take a drive that afternoon. We drove to Shangri La to see the golf course and then around different parts of the Lake. On the way back to the house, Ross & Tia stopped to get fuel. We drove on and stopped at Grand Lake State Park in Bernice, then got out of our van to take this photo.

As we were leaving the park, we saw a car and a person who looked like they had collapsed beside it. We saw another person who looked frantic, so Chris parked our van and went over to see if the people needed help. The person on the ground was severely injured from a gun shot wound, and the police were already on their way to the scene. Thankfully, I had stayed in our van with the kids who couldn't really see what was happening. Chris was sending me updates via text.

Ross & Tia were also planning to stop at the park, so I sent them a message and told them to just drive on past. They had to pull over twice for emergency vehicles (which is why they weren't already there with us), not knowing the emergency vehicles were on their way to where we were! While we were there, another car arrived with frantic people who were yelling and acting crazy. As soon as the police arrived, Chris talked to them for just a minute, and we got out of there. That was not a situation we wanted to be part of!

To say we were thankful and relieved to be back at the house that evening is an understatement, and it took us a while to settle down from all the excitement. Once we arrived back at the house, Tia and I got busy fixing baked potatoes and pulled pork for dinner. Busy hands helped settle my mind a bit. 

The dining area was just right for our crew!

The house was nice in a many ways, but I don't know if I've ever stayed in a place quite as unlevel as this house was. The stove and oven were so tilted that when we made brownies for dessert one side of the pan had brownies that were an inch and a half thick, while on the other side the brownies were only a half inch thick. It was quite amusing!

Once dinner was cleaned up, the kiddos got in their pjs, and we had a devotional together. 

Caroline, Chelley, and Brecklyn

Brooke and Sadie

Caroline and Brianna

We watched a bit of TV, then sent all the little girls to bed. The rest of us engaged in a mad game of Mexican Train dominoes. The little girls did not go to sleep in a timely manner, but Ross was being so loud about the game that it was no wonder why 😁.

I woke up on Saturday to find this scene in the family room:

It took everyone a while to get moving for the day, but the that was the beauty of this trip - we didn't have to! 

The kids enjoying the foosball table and ping-pong table

Bren and Daddy at the foosball table

As the adults were cleaning, packing, and loading up to leave, the kids had an epic dance party. Ross decided to join in and almost jumped through to floor. Oooops!

Our plan for Saturday was to explore the area a little, then have lunch at Cosby's Catfish before heading home. We found a lovely spot on the lake that was perfect for some scouting and play.

Brecklyn, Sadie, Caroline, and Brooke

Daddy and Brecklyn

Brenson

Chris taught the girls how to skip rocks!

They were so proud when we let them climb up a cliff!

Chelle, Brianna, and Tia

The kiddos!

Family pic!

These girls always find interesting things . . .

Chris and Ross

After playing around a while, we still had time to kill before lunch. So, we drove over to Pensacola Dam to explore there. Pensacola Dam is unique because it's the largest multiple arch buttress dam in the world. Sadly, the visitor's center was closed this day.

Brooke, Bri, and Sadie

We were able to walk a little ways on the dam. So neat!

Finally, we made our way over to Cosby's Catfish for an all-you-can-eat catfish lunch. This is a restaurant that my family used to eat at when I was in high school, as it was owned by a preacher friend of my dad's. He and his wife are still involved with the restaurant (their daughter owns it now), and we actually got to see and visit with Wanda (the wife). 

Even though it was only a short getaway, we had a really great time. It was the perfect mix of relaxing, exploring, and spending time together, even if we did have some unexpected drama! Life is GRAND with people like mine :-).

Not Again :-(

Well, it's safe to say that this year has not started out quite like we had hoped. Chris has already had a trip to the ER, an overnight hospital stay, and a surgery, and this was all before January 12th!!! The culprit? None other than kidney stones . . . AGAIN!

Kidney stones are unfortunately not an unfamiliar struggle for Chris, although it's been about 7 1/2 years since he's had any trouble with them. You can read all about his experience with kidney stones in the summer of 2016 here. And, even before that, Chris has had several instances of kidney stones dating all the way back to when we were in college and lived in Tahlequah in 2004.

So this time . . . 

Back before Christmas, Chris was experiencing some pretty severe back pain. In fact, he purchased a back massager/heat thing to attach to his office chair to try and get some relief. He would struggle with the back pain for a few days, then it would go away, then come back again, and so on. I even asked him if the pain was possibly kidney stones, and he said no way. It didn't feel like that at all. 

The pain continued on and off after Christmas, but started to get more severe about January 6th. Chris insisted that it wasn't kidney stones, and I figured with all the past experience he has had with them then he would know. On Monday, January 9th he went to bed feeling pretty bad, and woke up about 4:00am on Tuesday, January 10th in excruciating pain. He had the telltale symptoms of kidney stones at this point, and we were pretty much sure that's what we were dealing with. I gave Russ a nice early morning wake-up call and asked if he could take Chris to the ER and stay with him until I could get the little girls off to school. He and Lisa are down to one car right now, but she offered to find a ride to school for her and Chloe so Russ could come get Chris. I was so thankful to have someone to call and who could help us out again. Chris and Russ have shared more than one ER experience together!

While Russ took Chris to the ER, I got the little girls off to school and dropped the big kids at Grampy and G-Jo's house. By the time I got the ER, Chris was comfortable and officially diagnosed with kidney stones. While waiting to be sent home, I called Chris's urologist's office (the same one who did his kidney stone surgery in 2016) and got an appointment to be seen at 9:30am. The big kids had co-op that day since it was a Tuesday, so I picked them up from Grampy and G-Jo's house and drove us all to Chris's appointment in Owasso. I'm not really sure why I decided to do that except I thought that maybe I could drop the kids at co-op after the appointment, get Chris home, then go pick them up.

Whatever it was that I was thinking is not how things ended up working out. Dr. T took one look at Chris's ultrasounds from the ER and at the shape Chris was in and immediately sent us next door to Bailey Hospital for him to be admitted. I was pretty shocked by this because this is not how things played out last time. I hadn't really considered that Dr. T would admit Chris to the hospital. 

While we were waiting for a room, Tia came and picked up Brianna and Brenson and took them to co-op and to lunch. While they were gone, I was able to get Chris settled in his room. He was on some pretty good drugs and was still comfortable at this point. 

As soon as I got Chris settled, Tia brought Brianna and Brenson back to me at the hospital. Then, the kids and I went home to coordinate all the other things that needed to be done so I could go back and stay at the hospital with Chris. I packed a bag for myself, helped Bri and Bren pack a bag, and wrote down a basic schedule of the kids' activities for the week. G-Jo agreed to pick the little girls up from school (who had no idea what was going on at this point) while Grampy took the big kids back to their house. I headed back to the hospital prepared to stay the night with Chris. 

I made it back to the hospital just in time to see Dr. T and have him go through things with us. Back in 2016, he had determined that Chris has a large mass in his right kidney. This mass is caused by a congenital malformation of the kidney, and while it is mostly stable, a piece of it had broken off and was trying to pass through Chris's system as a kidney stone. Additionally, somehow he also had a stone on his left side, as well. Dr. T was waiting on the results of some bloodwork, but had tentatively scheduled surgery for Chris for the next morning. 

Dr. T's crude drawing of Chris's kidneys

Chris's parent came by to visit for a little while in the late afternoon, then Russ and Lisa brought us dinner and visited for a bit after Chris's parents left. Chris was feeling pretty loopy on the pain meds, but he was feeling good enough that he wanted to get up and walk. Russ walked with him up and down the hallway a few times. 

After our visitors left, we tried to rest a bit but that proved to be easier said than done (for me at least). Chris was in and out of pain and consciousness.

The things we have to do for some alone time, haha!

The hospital wasn't very busy, so it was mostly very quiet during the night. However, at one point we could hear a newborn baby crying, and Chris woke up and was very upset about the "cat" disturbing his sleep. He kept saying, "Why is there a cat here? Can't you make it shut-up?" Another time, he woke up suddenly and grabbed his phone. I was sleeping very lightly and awoke anytime he woke. I asked him what he was doing, and he said he was going to send some work e-mails. Ummm, nope! I promptly took his phone away from him!

At about 5:00am on Wednesday, January 11th, a nurse came in the room and told us it was time to go to pre-op. I was surprised but also thankful that we didn't have to wait all day. Chris was in surgery by 7:00am, and we were back in the room by 9:30am. Everything went really smoothly, and Dr. T felt like he was able to remove all the things that needed to be removed. He also didn't see any other areas of concern, which was good. 

Chris slept the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon. We were pretty sure he would be discharged that day, but we had to wait for Dr. T to come by and officially release him. The nurses kept telling us he would be by within the hour, which just kept turning into another hour and another hour. Finally, at 5:30pm, Dr. T came by and said Chris could go home! Hooray!

We arrived home just as Grampy, G-Jo, and the kids were getting ready to walk out the door for Wednesday evening Bible study. Rebekah P had brought dinner - which was a huge help to G-Jo - and we are just so grateful for all the ways people have helped us and continue to help!

Chris currently has a stint in each kidney, which is uncomfortable, and an appointment for a follow-up visit with Dr. T in a few days. He thought he might be able to work the Thursday and Friday after he was in the hospital, but he mostly just rested (which is what his body needed). He did work yesterday (Monday) and is very anxious to get back to his normal routine and life. He's not exactly a great patient, so I think we're all ready for him to be feeling healthy and good again! Interestingly, he said earlier today that he didn't realize how bad he was feeling prior to all this until he started feeling better. His kidneys were working very hard to do their job, and Dr. T said that his right kidney was actually only working at about 20 percent. He didn't realize what his body was going through just to function!

While I realize that there are much, much worse things that can happen than what we've just experienced, it's still crazy to me how life can turn upside in an instant. I can't say enough how grateful we are for all the people who just dropped their own things to step in and help us manage the kids, schedules, co-op, basketball practice, etc. We are truly thankful to God for His bountiful blessings!

Update on My Ankle

It's been 11 1/2 weeks since I broke my ankle (you can read all about it here), so I thought an update was in order! For the most part, healing has gone really well. I've been impatient about the process, but I've also been very careful to follow Dr. Isaac's orders exactly because I don't want to jeopardize my healing!

I wrote here about how two weeks after I broke my ankle I took a trip with my college besties to Tahlequah. It wasn't the trip we had planned, but it was necessary to change our plans due to my broken bone. While we were in Tahlequah, Amy decided she needed to take a photo of me on my scooter since it was a defining element of our trip. That girl always keeps me on my toes, lol!

The next week (three weeks after the break), I went back to see Dr. Isaac. He took new x-rays and was very happy how everything looked. He confirmed again that surgery wouldn't be necessary (thankfully!) and also emphasized that I needed to continue to put zero weight on it until instructed differently. 

I saw him again on August 9th (5 weeks post break). It was at that appointment that he gave me permission to start walking on my foot with the boot on. All of the bruising and swelling were gone by then, but I was surprised at how weak my leg and foot were. I guess I thought I'd walk right out of that office with no problems, but that was not the case! It took almost a week for me to be able to really walk with the boot on for any length of time. 

On August 25th (7 1/2 weeks post break), I visited Dr. Isaac again. This time, he determined I was ready to start using an ankle brace instead of the boot. Of course, this was also a process that took several days to make the full switch from the boot to the brace.

It was also at that appointment that Dr. Isaac recommended I start physical therapy. He gave me the option to not do therapy, but made it clear that I would heal better and faster with PT. There was no question in my mind that I wanted to do PT to be as fully healed as possible as soon as possible. My first PT appointment was on August 30. 

I had never been to PT before and had no idea what to expect. I thought I'd be there for 15 or 20 minutes and be done, but my first appointment lasted an hour and a half! I didn't have childcare, so Brianna and Brenson came with me, only to discover upon arriving at the clinic that no one except the one receiving PT was permitted to enter the building (so much has changed since COVID!). Bri and Bren waited the entire time for me in the van in the parking lot, which I could see from the clinic. I hated the situation, though!

Since that time, I have been going to PT two or three times a week. I've had nine sessions, and can tell a huge difference. I've also been very faithful about doing all my exercises at home like Rebecca (my PT) has asked me to. Last week, I saw Dr. Isaac again and was pretty discouraged by our visit. He didn't seem happy at all with my progress, and mentioned ligament damage and surgery if things don't pick up a bit. However, when I talked to Rebecca about what he had said, she was not concerned at all. She feels like I'm making great progress and reminded me that at the time I saw him I hadn't yet had even half of the PT sessions he prescribed. I definitely felt better after visiting with her about things!

One interesting thing that I've been dealing with in addition to my weak and healing ankle is that my other (right) ankle has been swelling and bothering me a lot. Rebecca said that it's not at all uncommon for the non-injured leg to start being irritated because it is overcompensating for the injured leg. Rebecca taped me up with kinesiology tape and hopefully that will help soon. 

All in all, things are going well with my ankle and I'm happy with my healing so far. I have about two more weeks of PT, as well as another appointment with Dr. Isaac next week. I anticipate that he'll release me after that appointment, but we'll see. This has been a trial, but I'm so grateful for the resources I have to help me heal quickly and properly!