Totally and Completely One-Up'd

After my last post, I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty sore and miserable. This week I learned that its easy to feel better when someone you love feels worse.

My poor, sweet, amazing Dad tripped and fell over the weekend. He had gone to bed early, because he has an early morning sealing shift at the Temple on Saturdays. When the phone rang about 10:30 he jumped up and out of bed. As he was walking out of their office, he stumbled on the ottoman that accompanies the reading chair and ended up falling and hitting the side of his face on a decorative metal end table with a glass top. Ouch!
To make a long story short, he ended up in the ER, doing catscans and XRays and ultimately meeting with a specialist who recognized that he would need surgery right away. His cheekbones were shattered into about 17+ pieces and floating inside his cheek. He was in danger of losing his eyesight if they didn't go in right away to stabilize the bones that support the eyesocket.

Monday meant back in for another major surgery. (just 90 days after his quintuple bypass)
End result, 4 titanium plates and 18 titanium screws now fill and stabilize the left side of his face.
That is a lot of hardware! He now has a special letter that he must carry at all times in the event of ever having to pass through metal detectors.

It has been excruciating to see him in so much pain this week. And yet, I am reminded again just a few of the reasons why I love him. Even in his most painful moments, he is considerate of everyone else and concerned about how we are all doing. Dad is not a complainer. He is kind, he is sincere, he is respectful and he is one of the most positive people I know. I couldn't love him any more.

Just a little progression of how it's gone from bad to worse this week...

Dad, you continue to be in all my thoughts and prayers. Keep being strong, knowing how much we all love you.

Mom, you are an angel and the best caretaker in the whole world.

I love you both!

Are you kidding me?

Seriously...can't I just catch a break?!?

When I was a little girl, I fell and had to get stitches in the same spot 2 different times in less than 2 years. That isn't necessarily the unusual part. Kids are always getting hurt and I certainly had my fair share of stitches as a little one. The weird part is that both times, I gashed open right underneath my nose... it has always seemed like an unusual place to get cut.

Well...clearly not that unusual.

Last night seemed ordinary enough. I went to YW's just like every other Wednesday night. Chris took advantage and stayed to work late on a big project he's working on. I got home about 9:30 and started getting ready for bed. It happened so fast that I am still not even sure what happened... but it seems that I just literally tripped over my own feet. Yep, that's me... the picture of grace and elegance. I stumbled and fell forward, face-planting hard, right into the bed frame at the foot of the bed. I think that it took me a minute to come to and realize what just happened. That's when I felt and tasted the blood...lots of it. As I stumbled to the mirror, I realized that my mouth had taken the blow. Not only was there clearly a big bloody gash above my mouth and underneath my nose, but the inside of my mouth was also filled with blood. Although no teeth seemed to be knocked out, I could tell that I had ripped my front gumline to shreds. It felt like I could see all the way to my belly button when I lifted out my bottom lip and oh man, was there blood. I am someone who hates blood and panics easily. Once, in High School, I passed out after cutting myself shaving. The cut ended up being nothing, but the goose egg that followed my fainting was terrible.

I could tell that it was bad, so I quickly called Chris to see how close he was. I am sure that he thought I must have been stabbed with all my screaming about blood and such. He got home just minutes later, just in time to calm me down and not let me pass out. He gave a late night call to our neighbor, who's a dentist, begging for a house call. We were worried that my jaw might be broken. After examining me a bit, he didn't think that anything was broken but knew that I would need some stitches and encouraged us to go to the ER. After a blessing from CJ, off we went for a late night date night to the hospital where we spent the next few hours. The doctors and nurses at LDS were incredible. After once again determining that nothing was broken, he stitched up the outside cut (in that all too familiar spot) and said that the "inside my mouth, jaw and gum" wounds would unfortunately have to heal on their own. He warned me that it would be pretty swollen, really sore and maybe even a little black and blue. Lovely. Oh and in the mean time, I'll probably want to stick to a soft foods/liquid diet. Perfect...I have a few lbs to lose.

So although, it is not too black and blue yet... it does feel like #@!! and is really swollen today. In fact, my lips look a little bit like Angelina Jolie's. I kind of like them and think that I could get a little attached.

Too bad that overall, I look like a cross between Hitler, Angelina and Mr Ed. Nice.

CJ stayed home from work today and took really good care of me. I love him.

The stitches should dissolve and fall out in about a week. Hopefully, I'll be eating solids again by then.

It certainly appears that all the wounds will heal.

I can't be so sure about my pride.

Food for Thought

It was the perfect spring day to meet some of my favorite people for lunch at one of my favorite quaint, little lunch places. If you haven't been to Food for Thought in Draper... you probably should go. It may be a little out of the way, but that's what makes it so great and I promise...its worth the effort! Delicious food, fun little boutique-y treats and yummy desserts, all in a quiet little old house nestled in Old Town Draper. Really...you should go. And... you should invite me, too.

M & D

Love them.

Also loved this.

And her too.

Didn't get a good pic of Bree and Mae.

Love them too.

When Did This Happen?

When did my little girl grow up?

How did it happen so fast?

Where have I been while she has been turning into a woman, and a really beautiful one, no less?

Being the youngest in my family, my nieces and nephews have always been such an important part of my life. They are the little siblings that I never had and I am closer in age to many of them than I am my older siblings. I have always felt very lucky and blessed to sort of be the link between the 2 generations. Today was my sweet, little niece's Junior Prom and I was lucky enough to be there for the all of the primping and excitement...

Mom and Big Sis

I seriously could not love this girl any more. She has kept me laughing in even my toughest times! Oh how I love her!

Holy Smokes (as Grandpa would say)...she's beautiful!

T and her oh so cute date, as they do the bouttenier/corsage exchange.

I still can't believe it's time for her Jr Prom...

It literally seems like it was just yesterday that I was changing her diaper and babysitting her before getting ready to go to my own Jr Prom...

Oh my, how the time really does fly.

I love you girl! Thanks for letting me be there today!

Just what I needed...

I had the incredible opportunity to attend Womens Conference at BYU this week. It was two jam packed days filled with encouragement, love, laughter, tears, pedicures, dinner with the girls, Brick Oven rootbeer, lots of needed time with Jill, ice cream from the creamery (of course), a sleepover at my parents, beautiful messages from Sister Beck, Elder Perry, Camille Fronk Olson (our Israel guide from last year) as well as timely and appropriate workshops and messages that seemed to be directed right to me. Although, I intended to and thought about taking pictures many times...I just never actually did it. It was such a great experience and it really was just what I needed.

and i thought that i liked it alot...

this hyundai driving, self proclaimed "theatre geek" seems to clearly have me beat.

i don't even like rocky road!

hmmm... profound statement of the obvious from a little weekend fortune cookie:

Family Night - and a win

Last night, we were lucky enough to have tickets for the last Jazz home game of the regular season with our good friends Danni and Dylan. I'm pretty sure that Dylan's Jazz jersey (Harpring, no less. Last night was his first start in over 2 years. Coincidence? I think not.) and the banner that he waved madly like any 8 year old would was just the good luck charm that they needed to end the crappy streak they've had these last several games and come away with the "W".

(Clearly CJ and I don't both look our best in the same photo. He hates the top one and the double chin that it looks like he has, but I like it better of me. I'm not crazy about the bottom one and think the angle is wierd. We compromised and I posted them both. If only I knew how to do a "head swap")

It just so happens that in addition to Danni being one of my dear friends and Young Women's pals, CJ is also lucky enough to be their hometeacher.

I believe this counts, CJ. Nice Work. I wish I could tag along and that every monthly "visit" was this much fun.

It's Glinda...the G-A is silent.

YEP... I loved it just as much the 2nd time as I did the first time!

CJ and I went to Chicago to see Wicked for my birthday 2 years ago. We loved it so much that I wanted to see it again the following night, but we already had too much packed into our short weekend away. I've been dying to see it again ever since.

It finally came to SLC and it did not disappoint!

Once again...I came home wishing I could see it again every night this week.

I'm so glad some of my girls came along this time.

Such a fun night. Thanks Ladies!

An Apostle's Easter Thoughts on Christ

I have always loved Jeffrey R Holland, but this was one of my favorite talks of all time. I am humbled to think that it was nearly a year ago that CJ and I had the incredible opportunity to go to the Holy Land and walk in the literal footsteps of Jesus Christ. I cherish those memories, thoughts and feelings as I contemplate this Easter weekend.






Have a wonderful holiday!