No Sleep For Mom

Things I'm finding funny while Joseph sleeps his surgery away... 

The room we stayed in last night had a kitchenette with a stove and fridge and cabinets but not a single other thing. No mugs, utensils, cups, nothing. Not even a coffee maker. 

Joseph's surgeon is Dr Short. But he's pretty tall. 

Joseph's anesthesiologist is Dr Yawney. How appropriate! Oh I'm so tired!!!

Pre Loooong Nap

It's early. We are tired. I start to get nervous and I remind myself my sweet son is in the capable hands of a great surgeon. And more importantly he is in the hands of the Lord. That brings me peace. Joseph had a rough night and morning. He's looking forward to a long nap. Situations like these bring such complex emotions. Especially when they ask if I'm the only parent here with him. I shouldn't be, but I am. I worry if I am giving my son what he needs as he develops into a young man. But I'm here. And I always will be. Thank you for your kind words and your prayers. They uplift us and help us feel loved.

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Joseph and the ileocolectomy

Joseph goes in for surgery on Thursday. I'll be taking him to Primary Children's Hospital to have part of his colon removed as part of his fight against Crohns disease. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. We will be there until Monday or Tuesday of next week if all goes according to plan. Pray for me too, I'll be living at the hospital with him. JK, I'll be just fine. I love this kid so much!! :)

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Sweet Service

Two days in a row it snowed and my compassionate daughter cleared off the van before she left in the morning. What a lovely surprise. And with an aching back and broken ribs, I am so grateful that she thought of me. Thanks Annalina!

A furry welcome home

 I think Reina missed Annalina, and to be honest, Annalina is happy to have her snuggles

A good life

 I'm thinking today about how much I love my life. We have had an extra week in paradise, but I miss being home so much. I miss my boys! I miss my kitties and all the responsibilities at the rescue. I miss my job, my amazing coworkers who are working extra hard to cover my absence. I miss my team, my clients. I love my life and realize how blessed I am!

We are flying out tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to being home.

Meeting the Pilot

 Adrienne:

A few days late, but Melanie got to sit in the pilot seat after our plane landed in Houston! She even got to wear his hat. She loved it.

Good Eats

 Well, we have to be here, but we can't go do a lot of exploring, so we look forward to our daily delivery meals. We have ordered from Poke No? a lot. They now know Annalina.  Sometimes the food is brought to us by a bicyclist. We always tip well. We have also ordered from Krispy Kreme a couple times. It is something to look forward to. We had a lovely authentic Mexican meal and ordered way too much. We also had waffles and crepes on night. Life is slow and we have been having a forced relaxing time, watching movies, ordering yummy food, etc. 

Extended Stay!

Annalina and I are still in Mexico. We failed our preflight covid tests. She's asymptomatic and I have the intensity of a small cold. I did injure myself the first full day here and have cracked or broken ribs. That makes coughing a literal pain. But we are making the best of it. Lots of laying around, eating kiwis and watching movies. Oh, and Adrienne got travel insurance for us all, so we are covered for the extended expenses! She's soooo wise! ❤️

More Mexico Fun

A big day for us in Mexico!! Yummy food and great company this past week. Truly blessed! ❤️

Exploring Cancun

 

Lizards and Freckles

 Annalina found a lizard and has noticed her freckles are darkening!

Joy

Sometimes in life we find pure magic. Cancun is beautiful, but the people I am with are what makes it so magical. Annalina is soaking up the sun, ocean and culture. Adventure looks great on her! Jon is not in any of my photos yet, but he's been busy figuring things out for us. 🙂 Melanie is enjoying finding shells on the beach and swimming. Adrienne is being an amazing mom, as always and getting in some relaxation and play. She's taken some incredible pictures. It's so fun to watch my daughters interact. Today I spent hours in the pool watching the ocean. We saw an amazing lifeguard save when some people got pulled out too far. I put my feet in the Caribbean, it is blissfully warm. I sat on our patio and meditated. Jon found a lizard in our villa, which Annalina quickly rescued. Annalina and Melanie bought sunglasses from the beach vendors who walk by regularly. I am enjoying these amazing people and this beautiful place. But I am missing the boys!! Joseph decided to go to All State with his cello and while I miss him, he's having a great experience! Jacob is home working, but will hopefully join us on our next adventure. ❤️

La playa found!!!

Our home away from home for the next week! Since before Covid we have been planning this trip with Adrienne and her family. We were originally supposed to go to Hawaii. But Covid shut everything down, so we had to cancel. Adrienne arranged plane tickets to Mexico. And we made it! We have a beautiful villa right on the ocean, with a private infinity pool that looks over the sandy beach below.

Donde esta la playa?

We'll let you know very soon!!

Another anniversary

I've spent the day fighting off the lowest of the lows. Except I haven't really. I'm too tired. But I cling to my faith that things always get better. Seven years now and it's still so hard to get through this day. Some very sweet people reached out to me today, reminding me I'm not alone, and I appreciate that. Time goes by. Most don't remember and that's ok. But the pain is always fresh for us on this difficult anniversary.

I want to believe

Caaaattttssss

 Some of our permacats, just living their best lives! From the top, Ahi, aka Ahi Tuna Noodle Casserole, Cayenne, aka Cayenne Pepper, Reina, aka Reina and Sugar, aka, Shug Shugs, Sugar Booger, Shugs.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Merry Christmas morning!