Help, I'm going CrAzY!

and yet wait... I am really loving this time.  My feelings go back and forth daily about this time of recovery.  Anyone who knows me very well, remembers that I am a "project" girl.  Always working on something.  Knowing that I would have to stay off my feet off and on throughout this fall of recovery, I planned all kinds of projects that could be done while sitting.  Beside me is a stack of books, my computer,  and things to do.  I was actually looking forward to some down time.  But after a lifestyle of going, going, going... it is hard to switch gears so abruptly. After day #3, I told Mike that I was already getting stir-crazy.  He laughed and said,"3 days down, 27 to go".  Ugh!

I think it's just a matter of getting use to the quiet.  The next day, I sat looking out our window and felt so at peace and so thankful for this time.  It is so quiet up here, the weather has been beautiful, and I don't think I've ever ever had uninterrupted time like this.  It is wonderful to have time to read and get caught up on some things that I have wanted to do. I sound schizo, don't I? Love it- Loathe it!

Visitors have helped a lot.  We have had someone stop by everyday so far and it has been great to just sit and catch up without being rushed.  We have been well fed, too!  The kindness of family and friends in this area is a blessing to us.  Please y'all keep on comin' by!  Probably good to call first, we'd appreciate that- but since we can't come to you, you can come to us!

Yesterday was the one week post surgery check-up and I got a good report that my obedience is paying off with a good healing.  Orders are:  one more week of keeping it elevated 85% of the time, keep it dry, and  no weight on the foot.

 

This little knee scooter has become my best friend.  I go NO WHERE without her and she makes getting around real easy.  Thanks to an old high school friend for lending me hers. Mine doesn't have a basket, but I'm thinking that is a nice accessory that I need to check in to. Thanks for your prayers!

Virtual Staff Meeting

As I type tonight, we have some Thai friends in our cabin with us! Well sort of.... Mike is chatting away with them in the Thai language-- but it is only happening because of modern technology via Skype.  Every Tuesday evening at 8:30, we join them for a virtual staff meeting.  It is 8:30 Wednesday morning for them in Thailand.  They share together a devotional, pray, and discuss decisions and updates.

Somsak, Uan, Sawat, Latee, and Ann report that the children are doing well.  They told us that lately they have been focusing on teaching the children to love their Moken  parents and to express it to them.  This is not natural for them and  part of the Moken culture, but important as they learn more about God's love for them and the body of Christ. We are so thankful for our faithful staff there who are carrying on the ministry and care for the children. 

Bunions: 101

I've had a lot of questions asked me about my bunion!  So for those of you still wondering, here is a little lesson from me:  We'll call it " Bunions 101"!

A bunion  is a bump of bone caused by the great toe deviating or bending toward the lesser toes.

Bunions are caused by different causes but in my case it is  genetic. 

Most bunion corrections require a procedure to narrow and straighten the bunion joint. The heart of this procedure involves a bone cut shaped like a 'Z" configuration.

Bunion surgery recovery is largely dependent on how well you follow doctor’s orders. The less weight on the foot, the better and faster you will heal.

This illustration may help explain it best:

Guess, it may be obvious that I'm home-bound spending quite a bit of time reading on Google!  Just trying to be a good patient until the Dr. tells me that I can get up and around again!

I've been tempted to nap during the day as I get sleepy, but have not allowed myself naps so that I can sleep good at night.  I know myself pretty well in that the more I sleep during the day- the less I will sleep at night time.  I value a good nights sleep too much too forfeit it with a nap! Thanks for your continued prayers... Feeling blessed and thankful!

72 hours post surgery- Day #4

It's amazing!  Still no pain!  No, I think it's God's blessing on me! All the anesthesia has worn off by now and I have had zero level of pain! I am so so so thankful!

I will say though that the no weight bearing for a month may turn in to more of a challenge than I thought.  I have lists of projects to work on and a stack of books beside my chair but I am already starting to feel a bit antsy!  I think my style likes a bit more variety than sitting in one small area! Nurse Mike has been great!

Biggest challenge of today was figuring out how to take a shower in our tiny shower stall and not get my foot wet.  Through much planning and  plotting, I succeeded and feel so much better.

Visitors have helped and we have enough food here to last us till it snows!  I had stocked us up the day before surgery and wonderful friends Ron, Vivian, and Diane brought us a weeks worth from the gang at GBC! Here's to a month of sitting, eating, reading, snacking, and growing! Feeling thankful!

A little family time in Arkansas

Knowing that I was going to be home-bound a lot this fall, Mike and I decided to take a quick trip down to see our four girls before my surgery yesterday.  It was a great visit with them.  It is so nice having all four girls in one city and makes our visits so much easier than when they were spread out in four different states for the past several years.  We arrived last Friday night and left early Tuesday morn, so really only had 3 days with them. Jon's parents were also visiting at the same time and since we had most of the summer with the Foltz's in Thailand- we focused on catching up with Lori, Bethany and Michael and Jen and Ben. We all got together for a picnic just one night and I snapped away with my camera as you will see.  Gotta love these times when we are all together.

Daddy and his girls!

Don't forget mother-dear!

First time ever that we got a picture with both sets of grandparents for Collin, Summer, Hayley, and Nathan.

Poppy, Papa, Nina, and Nana! (they named us and amazingly keep us straight)

Sweet Summer loves her Grandma's!

American picnics are yummy and fun!

After dinner dance party where Nathan was showin us his moves.

Buddies!

Jen and Ben

Lovely Lori!

Bethany and Michael

All my girls!

Silly daddy squashing his girls!

A bit of overload on family photos today- but no apologies cuz I love any time our family gets together!

It's Gone

Surgery went great today...in my opinion anyway, because I slept through it.  Dr. Cervetti discovered once he got in there that he did not have to do as much cutting as he thought he may have to.  Instead of cutting the bone in three different places, he cut it just once, shaved it and put in the two pins.  I am so thankful and my recovery will be much easier.

This is the last picture that I  of took of my beautiful hereditary bunions.  The one on the left is no more, but I have not see the new foot yet.

This has been my view today and for the next several weeks.  Elevation of it above my nose level and ice packs are orders for these first few days.  So far there has been no pain.  I think the surgery meds have not worn off yet.  Getting the sedation drugs out of my system has been the task today.  I was very loopy and sleepy most of the day.

I know many were praying and that is why I wanted to get this update posted.  God is good and answered your prayers. I was at peace knowing my Podiatrist is a Christian, along with my anesthesiologist, Dr. Grady (who is my cousins son), and then I had two nurses who were very interested in doing some medical missions work someday soon.  I'll be more prepared for surgery/party #2, after going through this today!

I know the recovery is a long road ahead of me.  No weight on the foot for one month (at least) is going to keep me quite home bound and limited in activities.  After our full and crazy schedules, I am looking forward to this down time and so is Mike. More updates to come- thanks so much for your prayers.  

It's Time!!!!

Tomorrow is surgery day!  It's 11pm right now and we check in at 5:30am for my 7:00am surgery on my left foot.  Still have limited Internet here- but wanted to get this note out to ask for prayers.  Hope to be back home by noon, and will update whenever I get around to it! Thanks for your prayers!

Intended to give- but received more

Last Sunday, after worshiping together with our friends at Bellingham Christ the King Church, we were invited to help out at Camp Horizon by serving meals at a camp for people with special needs.  I honestly think that it was one of the most enjoyable things that we did during our visit.

These kids were so fun to be around because they were happy, content, joyful, and thankful.  There was not one word of complaint or demand.  Their acceptance of everyone was so refreshing,

We enjoyed being around them and interacting with them before and after the meal.

We thought that we were going out to give toward helping them, but they encouraged our hearts much more than what we gave them. I have much to learn from their spirit of joy instead of dissent and  griping. Their week at Camp horizon is a highlight for them- and it was for us too. 

When we got home that night, it was our last chance to play on the lake.  Dusty, Andrea, and Bill showed us how to do some paddle boarding. 

It was our first time to give this sport a try!

We were a bit shakey at it, but it was still a lot of fun! 

Both Bill and Dusty gave a try to surfing behind the wake without a rope. Another new skill for us to watch and amazing to us!

Thank you so so much Bill and Renee for such a fun and adventuresome visit with you.  We look forward to this new partnership with Christ the King Church and their involvement with the Children's Home in Ranong! We loved meeting your church family and mission's committee and look forward to your next visit to Thailand!

Ski to Sea

While in the northwest, we had the gorgeous privilege of boating out of Puget Sound  through the San Juan islands.

Our friends that we were visiting had come to Thailand where we met last year and we took them on our boat out to visit one of the islands where we work with the Moken village.  This is the boat that we travel in for 2 hours out to visit the village.  They kept telling us after our boat trip with them, that they wanted to return the favor and take us on a trip in their boat too.

Steve was our host and captain of the boat, except when he let Mike have a turn navigating. 

I think Mike preferred to let him have the controls.  It was such a relaxing and gorgeous view all day and the weather was perfect!  Sunny and cool!

The only comparison between our boat and his is that they both float on water.  Just look at the size of that wake.  The island in the background belongs to the owner of Oakley sunglasses.

Once we got to Roche Harbor, we walked around the pier looking at countless varieties of yachts.

 

On shore we visited the famous historical Hotel De Haro.

Lots of famous people had stayed there and I saw their signatures in a guest book.  John Wayne had bathed in this tub.

Lunch with our friends, Steve and Karla, Chet and Lynette.  They are very very fun friends to hang out with.

In fact because of prior schedules, two had to get back into town for a reunion and Bill and Renee wanted to join us, so they simply had a friend fly in to do a swap  of friends for the rest of the day.

It is such a beautiful place that there are weddings there every weekend. One was happening as we walked by.

This little church up on the top of the island reminded me of our little church on the top of our island too.

All good times must come to and end, so we started the dinghy shuttle back to the big boat, Exodus!

 On the way back in to Puget Sound, we cold see the Baker Mountain that we had hiked the day before - hence the Ski to Sea experience.

We arrived back in to Bellingham Bay just as the sun was setting.  Thanks Steve and Karla, Chet and Lynette, Bill and Renee for showing us a bit of your world.  What a fun filled beautiful day enjoying God's creation!  Your turn to come back so we can take you on our boat ride again in Thailand!

I-O-W-A

Our travels are behind us  back to our little cabin in Iowa and we are settling in!  We have more amazing experiences and photos to share from the great northwest- but our Internet is limited right now.  Hopefully that will get worked out.  In the meantime, we are enjoying fresh air, sweet corn, garden tomatoes, tenderloins,  and Dr. appointments.  There is just something about the feeling of Iowa summer air that cannot be described in words to me. HOME?

We met with the foot doctor today and the first surgery is scheduled for Thursday morning, August 23. Unfortunately, we found out that I should not have waited so long to get this taken care of and it will be more extensive than most bunion surgeries.  Because several bones are shifting, he will need to do surgery on my foot in three different places, do a little shaving, and then put pins in.  Ugh!  Let's just  not think about it now!

We've decided to enjoy my last few days of mobility, by visiting our girls and families for a quick 3 day visit this weekend.  One more doctor appointment tomorrow, a lot of cleaning to get the cabin livable again and then some travels to Arkansas.  Life is not slowing down yet- but I am certain it will in one more week.

Mount Baker

On Friday our host and hostess drove us to Mount Baker which is one of the snowiest mountain ranges in the world.

We stopped to look at  Mount Shuksan which is one of the most photographed mountains in the world.  The reflection in Picture Lake was almost as clear as the mountain itself.

Great place for a Kodak moment!

Our wonderful chauffeurs/tour guides/host/hostess...Bill and Renee!

We could not believe how much snow there was for mid-August.  Some years the passage way up to this point does not even open.  There were guys snowboarding the slopes.

This little photo op turned into......

 

a little snowball fight!

 

Mike was having too much fun and quite merciless with me.  Never thought I'd be covered in snow in August.

 

I still love him even when he is mean to me - just gotta let the little guy play in the snow!

 

It was a fun and beautiful day, enjoying God's creation and mighty handiwork's!