Our trip in review

Where to start!

Let's begin with this:


Do you ever start a family road trip with prayer? After the last bag is thrown into the car and you get the kids all buckled in. Do ever just sit for a minute? While you're still parked in the driveway, do you hold hands with your spouse and kids and ask the Lord for safety, for good health, for everyone to get along? Or even the tougher prayers....like asking God to do whatever it takes to draw your family closer to Him no matter what the circumstances are on your trip? 


MY ANSWER: I didn't pray and it showed.

That's right. Not long after we left the house things started going downhill. You see, we had this magnificent plan to leave around 7pm on a Friday night. This is usually when the kids go to bed. We suited them up in their jammies and blankies and figured they would fall asleep for the night. We would then drive approximately 4 hours and carry our pleasantly sleeping children into our hotel pit-stop before heading out again the next day.

Uhhhhh WRONG.

They stayed awake the ENTIRE TIME. These were not happy kids either. The later it got the crabbier they became. And the crabbier the kids got, the crazier I became. Don't even get me started on what happened once we actually arrived at our hotel that first night. Getting two children in two different pack n' plays to sleep all in the same room as their parents {they have separate rooms at home} when it was hours past their bedtime and they were overtired...it was a nightmare. And then Greg's phone went off in the middle of the night and woke everyone up. I 'bout lost it.

We still had a long day of driving the next day. To put it nicely, I turned into quite the bleepity bleep. And what was Greg like during all of this? Mr. Calm as usual. I'm so thankful to have such a calm companion in the middle of chaos!

The calmest moments in the car.

Needless to say, we arrived to all our destinations. It just wasn't the most pleasant experience. And I'm ashamed to say I didn't handle it very well. All I can say is I should have started out on my knees. Praying may not have changed the circumstances. The kids would have still cried. There still would have been traffic. I still would not have slept much all week. But, my reactions to all of those things would have been much better had I asked God to give me grace, peace, and guidance. Ahhh, pride. Always gets the best of me.

Stuck in traffic.

The toughest parts of the week:

- I hardly slept all week.

- Mason had a nasty cough the first 3 days and passed it on to Kensie for the last 3 days. Coughing ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT. Super fun.

- Road trips have never really been my thing. And road trips with little kids only makes it less appealing.

The best parts of the week:

- Being AWAY from the computer and TV.

- Watching Kensie ride a horse for the first time.

- Hanging out with friends from church for a whole week.

- Seeing God's work through the hands of people.

- Not having to cook.

- Family time.
- Visiting some friends on the way down that we hardly get to see. 

We did have a good time overall and made lots of good memories. Take a peek at our week!

We first stopped to visit our dear friends, Todd and Julianne. We see them about once a year {never enough!}. 

Their sweet little Jay is just one month younger than Mason. They were adorable together.

We had to drive a few more hours to get to the camp. Once we finally arrived, the kids were in heaven!

Someone definitely has a love for animals!

They spent A LOT of time swinging

A favorite "toy" for the week

Family walks taking in the views around camp.

First ride on a horse! She was fearless and loved it.

She kept saying, "I like a princess Mama!" Oh brother...

She would feed the goats all day

We did some work too. I mostly stuffed envelopes all week. That's about all you get done when you are running after two little rascals. Greg always picks the hardest jobs...like spending all day every day roofing!

My hard working honey! They finished two different roof projects in one week.

This was the last day. The wall has been hit here. They were both DONE. So I took them for lots of walks.

The best view ever.

One of the sheep had two lambs while we were there. Kensie fell in love with them.

Tennessee has lots of hills that's for sure!

So that's our trip to TN! Next time....PRAY FIRST Shannon!

Easter {and we're back!}

We are home from our week long adventure into the hills of Tennessee!

Just in time to wish you a happy and blessed Easter.

We are still recovering from our trip but, I hope to update you all tomorrow!

Here's the short version:

Life with young kids can be incredibly fun.

Watching your kids experience things for the first time can bring so much joy it will make you cry.

Traveling with kids at these ages can also be terribly exhausting.

I want to have an honest and accurate memory of raising children.

So, you will get a little of everything tomorrow.

Feel me? 

Speaking of makeovers...

I'm a total amateur when it comes to this here blog. I understand the "basics" of blog design but let's get real, I know nothing compared to so many other beautiful blogs out there. So, be patient with me as I try to spruce things up a bit. It's time for a little change. Are you with me? Thought so...

Here's a question to those of you that know what you're doing:

HOW DO YOU CENTER THE BLOG TITLE AT THE TOP OF MY PAGE???

I've been trying my darndest and it just ain't working! Help. me. please.

Also, check out the other fun things I've added on my sidebar>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Is there anything else you would like to see added to the blog?

I would love to add some tabs at the top to make things a bit more organized. Maybe after some more research on how to actually do it. Again, a little slow in the tech department over here.

***

Anyway, we are off on a week long trip today. Our church is heading down south to work at a Christian summer camp in TN. We're leaving a day early to visit some friends that we rarely get to see. We're leaving tonight and I'm still working on packing. Story of my life.

the last time we were there was 2 years ago. Miss Kensie was just 7 months old...such a little peanut then.

The trip will be good for me in so many ways. Time with my husband and kids. A chance to do things outside of our daily routines. And most of all, it will be good to be away from all those Internet portals that so easily entangle me! I have not been very diligent in saying NO to the computer lately. I'm at the point where I literally need to be plucked out of my home and dropped into the middle of a deep forest in no-man's land for it to work. And I'm actually excited about that.

Better get finished packing while the little ones nap!

See you all in a week!

Blue and gray makeover {update}

We're making some progress around here with our mini-makeover and I'm totally loving it! 

Here's what I've done so far...

My Mom helped me make the pillow covers one Saturday afternoon.

She made the pillow on the right {pictured above} in like 20 minutes. Fancy cording and everything. 

She's so talented. Just to give you an idea of how talented....she made ALL five of my bridesmaid dresses.

here's the one Mom made. Don't you love the different fabric on each side?

As much as I loved the cording, I wasn't up for attempting to sew it. So I just made mine without. The striped one is my favorite!

I can't say I made the map pillow cover however. I found it on etsy and couldn't resist. It's a map of Lake Michigan in a subtle blue gray color scheme...say what?! Perfect accent.

The pillows turned out so good I couldn't wait to make the curtains for above the kitchen sink.

These were incredibly easy to make!

This fabric I also used to recover our dining chairs...

And I saved the best for last.

I had just enough striped fabric to make new curtains for the built in.

The coral accents I found at TJ Maxx. Everything else I already had. 

I'll probably fuss with the arrangements for the rest of the week. I'm never quite satisfied when it comes to arranging shelves. 

My next project is painting the hutch and shutters.

And after that, the walls...eeeek!

Linking up to:

***

Thanks for staying tuned in!

Surgery and recovery

Wow. It's been an interesting week over here.

I had surgery on my right leg this past Wednesday to take the rest of those lumpy, bumpy veins out. If you recall, I had my left leg done the week before--I was in and out of the doc's office in 30 minutes flat. Local anesthesia. Drove myself home no problem. I hobbled around in a full ace-wrap, was slightly uncomfortable for three days, but felt fairly back to normal by the fourth day.

I was warned that my right leg would take some more time and that it would need to be done at the hospital. I wasn't looking forward to it by any means but, I went into it thinking, Okay. It can't be much worse than what I've already been through...let's do this thing!! I was pretty positive and totally down-played the whole scenario in my head. 

Wellll, here's the perks and pains of my past three days. This is partially for my own record-keeping and partially for those who like to know details....

(WARNING: there will be talk of some blood. Can't say I didn't warn you)

PERKS:
- A two hour surgery feels like the best two hour nap you will ever take. Seriously. If you want a good, deep, uninterrupted nap...have a surgery.

- After your long nap they will give you some drugs to dull the pain post-surgery. I now understand why doctors have to prescribe powerful pain killers that make you drowsy. And I can also see why people get addicted to them. Whoa. It's like giving yourself a big, warm, fuzzy, sleepy hug for a few hours. Amazing stuff.

- Your friendships will build. The love and kindness you feel from those taking care of you when you come home from a surgery like that will deepen your relationships like you could never imagine. My closest friends just got a little closer over the past few days. Love those girls.

- You tend to rely on God a lot more when you have surgery. No doubt about it.

PAINS:
- Ummm literally. Pain. Lots of stinging pain. Like, someone cut you with razors kind of pain. Intense soreness and swelling for the first 48 hours. Yay for drugs.

- A few hours after coming home, I started bleeding from one of my incisions. Basically, without being too graphic, I had some bulgy veins that were "way up there" if you know what I mean. The incision closest to my lady parts re-opened and just would. not. stop. bleeding. This is where that whole "building-relationships-with-your-friends" piece came in. I literally had to lay flat on my back for several hours while pressing an ice pack to make sure the bleeding didn't start up again. I had instant flash-backs of giving birth just over one year ago. I felt that exposed, and there was almost that much blood. Oiy. Again...those friends of mine took such good care of me during this time.

- Lack of sleep. That two hour nap during surgery only lasts so long. Nighttime sleeping was miserable the first two nights. There was absolutely no position that was comfortable. (again, reminded me of pregnancy.)

- Greg left the night of my surgery to go to a truck show for the whole next day. It was pre-planned but we did not realize the schedule conflict until the week of the surgery. I was not a happy wife about this one. And he felt absolutely terrible for leaving...but, again my friends stepped up to the plate. And honestly, it was probably better that he was spared from all my complaining and sleepless nights.

***

I took my ace wrap off this evening and finally took a shower! Felt So good. My leg looks like what I thought...pretty bruised all over and still very tender to the touch. Instead of stitches, they used sterile strips over each incision (basically like a butterfly band-aid). I carefully pulled each strip off to reveal the teeny tiny incision. I was curious just how many sterile strips there were....I stopped counting after 45. Buh-bye bulgy veins!


So, that was my "super-fun-i-know-you-are-jealous" week! Looking forward to next week and getting out to enjoy some of this beautiful spring weather!!

Not lucky...more like blessed.

Despite my swollen and ace-wrapped leg today...despite my husband working on a Saturday....despite the little sleep I've had the past two nights (from said leg)....I'm feeling blessed today.

Blessed with this unbelievable weather that has struck the Midwest this year. 78* in March? In Michigan?? Best winter/ spring ever. Hands down.

Blessed by the daffodils that are blooming in our front yard.

Blessed by a God who gives us comfort and strength in our time of need.

And blessed by these two little darlings...

Hope you are feeling blessed on this St. Patrick's Day!

{I'm wearing green socks...that counts right?}

Update on my legs...

This post is coming kind of late. Six months late to be exact.Whoops.

If you've been here for a while, you know I have varicose veins. Really bad. Like, wakes-me-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-because-of-chronic-pain bad. Bad enough to make me want to wear a sheet over my legs all summer long. Bad enough that people stare. A lot.

If you are a new follower...whelp, now you know. Fun stuff. This is not my favorite thing to write about. But, my hope is to encourage other women who might suffer from the same thing. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. If you'd like to start from the beginning read THIS first, and then THIS to catch up to speed. This post will make much more sense if you read the background shhtuff.


Now, for the update...

After my three laser treatments last October, I was anxious to see my results. Right away I noticed my legs felt a bit lighter. There was less pressure in my upper thighs and a little less swelling at the end of a normal day. However, while the veins themselves appeared smaller, they were pretty much ALL still there. And a few months later I was waking up in the night again with sharp pain in the back of my knee. What?! Are you kidding me? I just went through a solid month of poking, zapping, recovering, and hobbling around in a bulky ace wrap for THIS? Only to have nearly ALL the same side effects, and for people to STILL gawk at my nasty legs?!! Ohhhhh, was I mad. Mad at the doctor for "lying" to me (even though I clearly misunderstood him). Mad at myself for believing it was actually going to make a difference. Mad at all that time wasted. Wasted on what?! Nothing, that's what. It left me nothing but two legs with the same outward appearance and slightly-less the discomfort. Big whoop.

My follow-up appointment went something like this:

DOC: Well, your ultrasound looks good! [As he's rubbing the gooey gel over my legs] The laser treatment did what it was suppose to. The vein deep in your leg is nicely sealed shut!

ME: [slightly annoyed] Well, that's good 'cuz it sure doesn't look like it on the outside. I thought the bulgy veins would be gone...

DOC: [very matter-of-fact] Remember, we took care of the root of the problem. The veins that have already been damaged will remain damaged until we remove them.

ME: [feeling foolish] Ohhhh.

DOC: Sometimes the laser treatment will reduce the bulgy veins just enough so they are not as visible. But, when they are as large as yours, they won't go away completely until we do a procedure called "mini-stripping".

ME: Ummm okay. [while thinking, "Gee thanks.....as LARGE as mine"]

DOC: Mini-stripping is when I would make a bunch of marks on your leg (with an actual marker) and then go back and remove 2-3 inch portions of the bulgy vein. I would start at the top of your leg and work the way down until all bulging veins are removed. Your leg would then be wrapped in a full length ace wrap for 3 straight days.

ME: Okay. So what does that mean for the future if I were to get this done?

DOC: Like I said before, the laser treatment is what takes care of the root of the problem. It reduces future bulging veins but does not guarantee they won't come back. If you remove your current bulging veins, those ones will not come back. Overall, your pain should be eliminated and the bulging will be gone, for now.

ME: Okay. I'll have to think about it....


So, where does that leave me today?

I mulled over it for a couple weeks which turned into months. I went back and forth. I called our insurance for the umpteenth time and talked things over and over and over with Greg....and in the end decided it was worth moving forward. We will need to meet our deductible which is less now (at $3,000) before insurance will cover anything. But, we decided with all the pain these are still causing and future babies we want to have (emphasis on down-the-road-FUTURE!), it's a good time to get it done.

I just finished the "mini-stripping" procedure on my left leg today. Pretty much the grossest feeling ever. I was totally numb but it felt like someone pulling large noodles out of my leg (which is pretty much what he did!). Sorry for the visual. And NO, I did not watch (which was the first thing my husband asked when I got home...boys!). My right leg is significantly worse and will be done next week. So much worse, in fact, that the Doc said I need to have it done at the hospital because he can only pump so much local anesthesia into a person's body. (meaning I have a TON of veins in tricky places). So, I'll get some laughing gas and not remember a whole lot. It shouldn't take more than an hour he said to do the whole leg. Not looking forward to the recovery on that leg.

Nervous but excited for the results this time! I'm not expecting to look 18 again but would LOVE to have zero pain and feel comfortable in a swimsuit this summer.