Kansas City Here We Come!

Last weekend I had the joy of spending time with two great ladies at a great conference in Kansas City.  They are two gals from a women's Bible study and a couple's small group that I am in.  The conference was put on by Beth Moore.  We have done 2 studies in our women's group by Beth Moore.  We were so excited to be able to see Beth in person!  She is so dynamic and real!  Very uplifting!   The even better part was being able to spend some quality time with these awesome ladies!  It was great food and community!  We learned a lot about each other.  Sometimes I forget what it feels like to just be Alana.  Not wife, mommy, caretaker, teacher,  etc.  I love my  life, but need to remember that I need to make time for friends too!  We had some scrumptious food at Oklahoma Joe's (a BBQ restaurant in a gas station) and The Melting Pot (fondue galore).

We are gearing up for graduation here.  I cannot believe that Brynna is going to graduate.  I know it's cliche to say ' I don't know where the time went'.  But I really don't.  I want 18 more years with her at home (my husband is not advocating for this  :)).  I know God has great things planned for her.  But this mama's heart aches thinking about her not being home every day.  Right after graduation we have her college orientation.  Seriously?  Where did the time go?

We have another play to attend this weekend.  Ethan has taken a role behind the curtain for Alice in Wonderland being performed at the children's theater.  He is part of the props crew.  He really loves the behind the scenes stuff!

Ella is still a little mama!  She lugs the baby around and bosses the other littles around. :)  She loves reading and drawing.  Nancy Drew is a favorite right now.  She even made a shirt for herself for Easter.  She wanted to wear it to church, but opted for a pretty dress instead.

Carly has a dance recital coming up.  She really loves her dancing class.  She takes a combo class of tap/jazz/ballet.  Their number for the recital is a jazz number to Dancing Queen by Abba.  Their outfits are adorable!  Hopefully the final production will not be a disaster!

We are working on potty training with Graysen.  All of our kids potty trained right around 3 years old.  Graysen turned 3 at the end of December and could really care less about going in the toilet.  We try hard to bribe him with Cheetos.  I think we have had a total of 5 successful potties in the potty.  At least I don't have to worry about him not getting to go to preschool if it still does not happen for a while.  :)

(I am sure years down the road he will be thrilled that I posted this pic on my blog!)

Nora is going to be one in 3 weeks!  Seriously, where does the time go?  :)  I have been blessed to be at home with her.  The rest of the kids all went to daycare since I was still working outside the home then.  Nora loves hanging out with her brothers and sisters.  She can already hold her own with them!  She loves pancakes and french toast!  She so far is just rolling to get places.  She gets up like she is going to crawl, but no movement yet.  Honestly, that is fine with me.  That is one less little one I have to chase for now!  No teeth yet either!  She still wears size 1 shoes!  Such tiny feet.  She is up to 17 pounds!  We have been so thankful for her first year being such a healthy one!

Post-surgery thoughts

I am 5 days post surgery.

Random thoughts:

1) I have no idea how people are addicted to pain medication.  Honestly, I don't.  I am not making fun here.  I did really well on my pain meds until late Wednesday and then my stomach started giving me fits.  I have been so close to barfing so many times. Ugh.  Luckily, I had some nausea meds left over from my last bout with kidney stones.  Of course, I did not remember that until late tonight, but at least I don't feel like I am going to yak at the moment!

2)  I have the greatest mom ever!  She had just gotten home from a trip to Georgia on Sunday night and she turned around and came down here on Monday morning to take care of me and the kids.  I am so thankful that she blends right in at our house.  She knows our schedules (or lack there of), she read a TON of books to the kids so we could still get school done while I was down for a few days, and she loves on the kids as much as they will let her.  :)

3)  I have awesome kids!  My big kids have really stepped up (even more than usual) this week and helped out.  I am blessed as a mom!

4)  My husband is pretty great too!  Somehow he always manages to stay very even keeled even when our world is tilting just a bit.

5)  I had surgery on my other arm when I was 4 and 5 years old (a story for a different day) and it's amazing how your body remembers those same 'pain'  feelings.  My shoulder felt eerily similar to those surgeries I had when I was 4 and 5 years old.

6) It really stresses me out when I have to rely on other people to help me with the simplest things (i.e. hooking my bra strap).

7) I couldn't feel my right arm for about 12 hours.  That is a very bizarre feeling. I felt like I had a lead appendage.

8)  I had an allergic reaction to the tape they used on the bandage to cover my shoulder.  I was begging after the first day to have it taken off.  Brian took off the bandage and I had to put Benadryl cream on it for several days.  It's still inflamed and red, but not itching as much.  It's great having sensitive skin.  :(

9) I am blessed to live in a country that has easy access to healthcare.  My surgeon is super nice.  All of the nurses and surgery techs I encountered were very kind also.  My physical therapist is a peach!

I truly hope this surgery fixes the pain issues with my shoulder.  I am already able to lift the baby again so for that I am truly thankful.  Certain movements still cause me some pain, but I am on the mend. Thank you for all of the prayers!

This weekend we will celebrate our risen Son!  We have family and friends joining us.  Again, so many blessings in my life. Happy Easter to you all!

Beautiful Flowers and 'Mama' Shoulder

Beautiful daffodils!  These were some of the first flowers that bloomed in our yard this year.

They are on the table in a glass of water because Graysen picked them for me! :)

They are beautiful, but they need to stay in the yard.  'But they are so pretty, mommy!'

This week I am having surgery on my shoulder.  Sigh.  I do want my shoulder to feel better, but I am not a fan of being at the hospital or having surgery (this is probably fair to say for most people). I also don't like having to rely on others to take care of me.  I am the mom, I take of everyone else.  I have been dealing with this shoulder for almost 2 years.  I have already tried physical therapy and cortisone shots.  My official diagnosis is 'mama shoulder'.  Seventeen years of lugging babies around takes a toll on your body.  

Okay, maybe it's not the official diagnosis, but it's probably pretty close.  :)  

We celebrated 2 birthdays in March.  Ethan turned 14!  Still hard for this mama to believe her little boy is now driving!  Ethan chose to go to The Village Inn for his birthday meal.

Ella Grace turned 9!  She has such a servant heart even at 9 years old. 

She picked Texas Roadhouse for her birthday meal!

Both birthday days were great celebrations of these special blessings in our life!