Another Day In Paradise

Okay, I know that is title to a song that means something different than what I am talking about. However, in my sarcastic way, it seems to fit. I spent the day in my room, in pain. The highlight of my day was a visit from my visiting teachers. Yesterday, I had to be out for quite a while. By the time I got home, I could barely make it up the stairs and to my bed. It was all for a good cause. After experiencing that horrible accident, and dealing with car issues lately, we decided it was time to get a safe and reliable vehicle. I had to go because my name was on title of the trade in we were using, so I had to sign papers. No way around it. It was a very long day, but in the end, we feel like we have a vehicle that will be good for our family. We came home with a red Dodge Grand Caravan. It gets the same gas mileage as our little car, but can transport our whole family. Well, at least the family that is living at home at the moment. When Ashley gets back home, we will have to take the big van. Our kids had no idea we were doing this yesterday. Well, I think they knew we were thinking about it. Kerrie had the funniest reaction. She said, "I don't like it. It is too new and does too many fancy things." She has this obsession with old beater vehicles. Her dream is to drive an old beater truck, and if it has a little rust on it, all the better. I told her when she was making the purchase, she could choose what vehicle she drove. She said, "I will pick an older car." Little does she know that when she has children, she will want the safest vehicle she can purchase. She claims she will not, but I informed her she would not be allowed to put my precious grandchildren in her old beater car. I predict that when the time comes, we will laugh about her views on this. Nicolaas and Nathan just thought it was cool.

Slow Going

I was feeling so good on Sunday, but I failed to realize that it took some time for the pain meds to actually be out of my system. Now I am playing catch up to get the pain under control. I guess I need to expect that there is going to be more than a little pain in order to get better. I start physical therapy on Monday. My mom pointed out that I need to realize that it is a rare opportunity to not be busy with anything other than healing. Patience has never been a strength of mine, although I have gotten much better as I get older. I need to update on what my children are doing. Amanda is preparing to be a service missionary. She is so excited about this, and I am thrilled for her. It is a tender experience to be going through the preparations with her. Ashley is in college and loving it. She is enjoying the experience of having a cousin for the first time. Of course she has many cousins, but she has only interacted with them at family reunions. She is living with a cousin now, and they are having a grand time. Her favorite thing that she is involved in is ballroom dancing. She is learning all sorts of different dances. She also auditioned for the University Symphony, and was accepted. It is hard to be so far from her, because for the first time since she started playing viola, I am not at her concerts. Kerrie is a junior, and just to the SAT for the first time last Saturday. She is still playing viola with the local youth symphony. She had a concert a few weeks ago, and I was sad to miss it. Kelsie is a sophomore, and doing well in school. She loves seminary, even at 6 in the morning. Nicolaas is in high school. That is crazy to me, where did the time go. Nathan is in 7th grade. He is very proud of the fact that one of his teachers has assigned him to be the vice president of the get out of bed hair club. I guess you can not join this club, you must be selected based on the state of your hair. I am a proud mom about this. It is funny.

Happenings

I can hardly believe I have been absent from the blogging world for so long. It is more than time for an update. One of the biggest change is that Ashley is now in college. You have never heard a happier college student. She simply loves it. Her latest passion is ballroom dancing. I enjoy hearing all about the fun things she is involved in. All while keeping up good grades. What more could a mother ask for. Along with the good comes challenges, but even in that we have been blessed. James, Nic and I were in a car accident at the end of last year. James and Nic were not hurt and we are so grateful for that. I am a different story. The car hit us right at my door and I have three fractures in my pelvis. Even with this I have been so blessed. I am still here with my family and all of my injuries will heal, most likely without any lasting effects. I have had to stay off my right leg for about a month, but now I am able to put some weight on it and start rebuilding the strength in that leg. The fractures are not completely healed, but are stable enough to start my journey back to normal. As you can imagine, this has been hard for my family, but they have been so great in all of this. That is definitely one of the blessing I have felt. Our family is close but this has bound us together even tighter. We have spent the last month not taking for granted all those little things that bless our lives everyday. Mostly that we are all still together and able to laugh and spend time and love each other. My kids have had to take over a lot of the things in the house and James is becoming a pro at shopping and managing schedules. All are doing well and handling this challenge with grace. Well, I am probably the one who has not handled it as well as the rest of my family. I want to be up and going, but that is not my lot right now so I am learning to be patient which is not my strongest suit. Our ward has been a huge help too. We have had some yummy meals. Adjustments have been made like I can go vising teaching in my bedroom when my wonderful companion and sister I vt are willing to come to me. Friends have come for visits with books and movies but mostly with their happy selves that has brought better spirits in me. Another blessing in this is that I have time to start writing again. My memory is not the best and having a record of our lives is a good thing. My mom has always told me that I should write things down because I will not remember even important things. I have not followed that good advise very well, but I can start now.