What started out to be a great Christmas ended up very different for us. It was the Thursday before Christmas and I was at Natalie's Christmas party at school. I had offered to help at the party and had brought some little cups of Jello for the kids. I bent down to pick them up and I knew instantly that something was wrong. The pain in my back and leg were terrible. I called Jeff and immediately went home to lie down. I missed the party, but here are some photos! While I was homing laying down and Jeff was at the party, my Dad was driving up from Austin to spend the holiday with us.
My Dad arrived just fine. Monday morning though I couldn't really move and every time I did the pain was excruciating. I was also having numbness and tinkling sensations in my right leg and foot. Jeff and Dad felt like there wasn't another choice so they called 911 and had me transported to Wesley. Dad and I spent about 7 hours in the ER where they tried to manage my pain, but nothing would help. They ended up admitting me, planning to do an MRI first thing Saturday morning. While I was waiting for my MRI the girls were busy at home with Pa Pa decorating sugar cookies. Here is a shot of what I got to look at and me and lot of photos of the girls decorating the cookies.
And after the cookies were done Dad let them dip Vanilla Wafers into the icing!
And here is the finished product! Awesome!
And here was my view Saturday morning.
And the pic I sent to the girls.
They did my MRI in the morning and a neurosurgeon came to talk with me. He said that I had a disc that had hemorrhaged and was laying on a nerve totally cutting it off. He said that if I didn't have the surgery some the pain, numbness and tingling I felt would be permanent. I couldn't believe it. He told me they would do the surgery Sunday at 7:30 in the morning I should be going home on Monday.
Here are some beautiful flowers that I got from The Weavers:
And Jeff stopped by with a gift from the kiddos. Yum!
Kendra stopped by to chat which was great and she brought me this adorable balloon!
It hurt so bad to move that I quit drinking so I wouldn't have to use the rest room. The plan backfired when my original IV fell out and my poor nurse had to dig for a new one.
The surgery was a success and I was no longer having pain in my leg, but I was still having numbness in my calf and foot. They told me there would be lots of PT and they were hoping it would come back to me. Here I am shortly after surgery.
I loved the High Risk bracelet. I think I should wear that all the time now.
Monday morning I woke up with a fever and a headache. It was terrible. They decided that I would have to stay another night. Someone texted me and asked me how I felt. I sent them this photo and told them it was worth a thousand words.I was bummed that I wasn't going home, but I really didn't feel good.
Tuesday morning I had another headache in the night and another fever. I was determined to go home. It was Christmas Eve and the only place that I wanted to be was home with my babies. It didn't happen. They wouldn't discharge me. I did get a new room because the toilet in my old one broke, but that was my excitement. I was up and around with a walker and really trying to get moving on my own. We did let the girls open one gift that night, their gifts to each other. Here is Julia riding the horse that Natalie got her. She says it is her favorite present still.
Christmas Day I finally got to go home. I couldn't wait to see my kiddos and just be home!! When I got home my Dad had made my entire Christmas Night Menu, dessert and all. I couldn't believe it. It was amazing! My Mom, Jared, Don, Suzanne, and Jana were all here too and we decided to open up some gifts!
I am not sure what she is opening, but I love her face!
Yep, this was the ONE gift she wanted and Aunt Suzanne came through. Love her smile here.
Julia holding the little crystal dog Dad got her.
Don said he wanted chocolate cake for Christmas, so that is what he got!
A new bed for Fable.
Yea! Stacking cookie sheets!!
Julia with our Texas shot glass for our collection!
Not sure what Natalie is doing, but it is cute!
My Mom coffee cup!
Julia behind the tree!
Love hugs!
School wear!
My diva.
A very cool "W" that holds wine corks. Hmm..wonder how long it will take to fill?
I think this is the look of "I had a rockin Christmas
Uncle Jared and Julia playing with "sand"
Anna!!
Julia with her horse stable from Pa Pa Don.
Natalie with her Anna from Pa Pa Don.
Yep, this is how mom and I rocked Christmas. Her with a broken pelvis and me with back surgery.
And just because Santa was a day late, didn't mean he didn't come!
I love my bike!!!
So excited!
Horse night light!
Doll house
I love that the camera caught how fast she was opening gifts!
Max in his sweater
Ugg.....I wish I was at 100%, not 15%!
After a week or so of being home, I decided I needed to get out of the house. It was New Years Eve and the perfect time to do something fun! We went to a bowling alley close to the house where they had bowling for 2 hours, pizza, soda, noise makers and a fake countdown. They also had an apple cider toast. It was too cute. We went with Kendra and her family and Natalie's friend, Clare, and her family. It was good for the soul to get out of the house!
Natalie and Clare
Love that Natalie even spins when she bowls.
Kendra and I with her youngest, Ilias.
Conner, Natalie, Clare and Julia.
The Amy's
Happy 2014!
Silly girls! r
Julia wanted me to take a photo of the scores because she was beating Daddy in this one!
And finally, we got to celebrate Christmas at Mi Mi's house. Unfortunately, Mi Mi had a broken pelvis and pneumonia and I was still sore from my back surgery. The girls had a great time though.
The Ridder's stopped by for a little gift exchange before we got started.
Natalie with her Godmom, Jenny.
Let's open up some presents!
Pa Pa with his pictures the girls colored.
Mi Mi with some perfume.
Jared with a KU Cooler.
Carol made us matching scarves and we love them!
Julia with her horse blanket Mi Mi made.
Me with my girls!
Julia taking a time out to check out her new books.
Julia listening to Uncle Jared tell her about her horses.
Here are the girls opening up their mini Ipads from Mi Mi!
Merry Christmas from us!
The next day the girls played with the Magna Tiles and they made a couple incredible structures!
Natalie attended a birthday party for Clare over the break. They had a spa day!
I love how worried Natalie looks under these cucumbers!
Later that day we opened up the Baby Alive and she was a hit! I mean who doesn't love a doll that poops!
It was time to say good bye to the gingerbread houses and the girls were pretty sad. I told them I would take photos, so here they are.
And some random photos just for fun.
The girls hanging out with me in bed watching TV.
Our Elf on the Shelf, Twinkle and her crazy ideas!
My friend, Amy, found this on her phone from the summer and I just thought it was too cute not to share!
We did get to make sugar cookies as a family and here is what we created!
Julia playing her new game, Cheeky Monkey.
And Julia sleeping crazy in her bed!
Jeff adding the first cork to our W. It has two now.
The girls are crazy about the new Disney movie Frozen. Here the are reenacting a scene. They are so hilarious.
And I think that is all! Finally caught up just a little bit. The girls are going to school full time now. With my back injury and the restrictions that came along with it, I just didn't feel like it would be safe for me to watch them alone. I am hoping it is only temporary and i can once again spend 1/2 the day with my girls! I miss them so much. They are doing great and adjusting well. Here is a photo of Natalie with her afternoon class at lunch.
Here is hoping for a wonderful 2014!
