Mommy

 Hello!  I am writing again for Caden... this post seems to be about some major things developing in my life.  First off, I was shocked to receive a phone call last Monday from our building principal.  She shared with me that there was a "miscommunication" and the two current job share teams will be allowed to continue job sharing with their current schedule (full days on/off) instead of the new requirement for teams which is to teach 5 days a week, half days.  Heather rescinded her resignation, I declined my leave of absence request, and once again, team Sullivan/Klay is back!  I posted the above quote a few weeks ago when the "you know what" hit the fan.  In hindsight, God had me all along.

My surgery... I had my surgery two weeks ago today.  I was mentally and physically prepared for it.  The soccer injury took place on March 9th, so the bruising and swelling from the dislocation had healed. At the same time, if/when I took off my brace, my knee would hyperextend and buckle.  It was a disgusting feeling and of course I knew that surgery would be the only way to fix it.

 I had surgery at St. Joe's hospital.  My ortho surgeon was Dr. Berg, he is amazing!  The surgery was about 2 hours long.  The above picture is what my knee looked like prior to surgery.  The surgery was a success- the nurses and doctors were all wonderful to work with.  Even with a nausea patch behind my ear and nausea meds, I woke up and was throwing up for the rest of the day/evening.  It is a common side effect from anesthesia, but it was unpleasant to say the least.

To our surprise, I ended up with a screw in my knee.  The surgeon removed part of my hamstring (I have pictures of the entire surgery, ewww!)  He placed the hamstring muscle where my ACL was but needed to use a screw to attach it since my bone was soft.  We do not have osteoporosis in my family and with my activity level, this came as a surprise.  He speculates it could be from the injury but to be on the safe side, I now am taking Vitamin D supplements.  The screw added in some extra pain/recovery but it is something they can easily remove if it continues to be problematic in the future.

 This is what my knee looked like for the first week- it had lots of compression, my ice/water line to the cooler (constant icing), and my hip to ankle brace.

In the past week, I have now started Physical Therapy and Chris removed my stitches (he specialized in wound care, so he enjoys this type of thing).  I did not enjoy it, but the 4 puncture sites along with the big scar down the face of my knee all look healthy and are healing well!

 Since Chris and I decided we wanted to stay married, he is not my Physical Therapist.  He really doesn't even treat patients with his administrative responsibilities, so I see one of his PT's who specializes in sports rehab and is also an athletic trainer.  This little kneehab unit is a perk for having such a smart team of rehab therapists.  It fires my quad with these little electro vibrations.  Apparently it worked for Adrian Peterson, so I figured why not.  I am carted to PT 2-3 times a week (I am not driving yet) and then do my PT exercises 3 times a DAY at home.  It is like a full time job doing this rehab.  I am hopeful it will get me back to my usual routines more quickly!

 I have learned to let some things go... I can't be the most active Mom right now, but Cooper and I still have fun in our afternoons together (4K in the mornings allows me to go to appointments and PT when he is at school).  Here we are, per Cooper's request making silly faces.

 Afternoon cuddles are the best.  Caden joins us when he gets home from school too! Now, don't think that I am in bed all day.  I was the first week, last week I was more mobile, but my knee swells like a basketball anytime I am up for more than 2 hours.  I am almost always connected to my ice machine yet.  I have read about 12 magazines, keep up with emails/Facebook/Pinterest via laptop, and I can do "small" little things around the house, like throw dishes in the dishwasher or switch laundry.  Everything for housework is REALLY hard and the full flights of stairs is a major pain.

 I have felt the love... Chris takes excellent care of me.  He has learned the ins and outs of my dresser.  The first week he was able to stay home for 2 days but then would check in with me during the day.  He brought Jimmy John's (yikes, I needed a shower) and he must think I am starving because he brings me a tray of breakfast with enough food for the day.

To this amazing husband, I love you.  Thank you for taking such good care of me, the boys, Liberty, the housework, errands, and more.  I wouldn't be able to heal if it weren't for his support!

Beautiful flowers from the Kindergarten team brightens my kitchen and my spirits!  I have also enjoyed visits and meals from friends, neighbors and family.  I am blessed.

In other random news... our favorite crabapple tree blossomed.  It is our favorite tree and per tradition, we took a picture of the boys in front of it.  If I had the energy, I would find a picture from when the tree was first planted.  The tree was a gift from my aunt Lynda (who passed away over a year ago) and she gave it to us as a housewarming gift in Chris' Dad's honor (he passed away 13 years ago).  It is a very special tree.

While I relaxed at home, Chris and the boys went to Lois' resort for "dock day."  There are 6 docks at the resort, so it is an all-day event.  The kids had fun playing and their aunt Jill brought a pinata for some added excitement.

I received an email about an annual fundraiser and what do you know, Chris is a celebrity.  There he is in the bottom right in the picture modeling his golf stance at last year's event.

Mother's Day~ It was a sweet day with my favorite boys.  I was 6 days post-op, so this was the first time I had showered (I wasn't allowed up to that point) and it was my first day to get out of the house.  We went to church and then to brunch at the golf course.  It was a great outing with my loves.

Caden painted a jar this wonderful blue color.  he made the giant tissue flower in class with his teacher.  It was very sweet of him.  Here is the card he made me at school....

 I love how he always draws himself with big ears, rake hands and wow, I have huge hair :)  The 5 things he loves about me.... "we get Mommy days, we get cuddles, we get to play with Mommy, we snowmobile with Mom, we get to go to Florida with Mom."  Of course, his phonetic spelling made it all the sweeter.  The Mommy days got me as at this point, I still didn't know of the exciting news about our job share continuing.

Cooper made a special card and he planted a small viola for me too.  Here are his two cards...

I love that he thinks I am best at working (ha), smart because I know when his bus arrives back home from 4K, and I look prettiest with my tall boots on, hahaha!  It's so funny to hear what they think about life/Mom!

And an added bonus, he wrote... "I like my Mom because she goes barefooting with me in the water."  I see lots of water, wipeout!?!?

This final card came with beautiful stacking bracelets with small charms that describe me. Caden wrote the words, Cooper did sign his name and added a little illustration (must be me lying down).

Happy 8th birthday Bennett!  We had a busy Saturday with soccer and then two birthday parties.  We went to Bennett's party in the cities for bowling, laser tag, and arcade games.  We can't believe he is 8!

 Future guitar player!

Chris had just as much fun as the kids!

And finally, a soccer update!  The boys received their soccer pictures back and I was shocked when I compared Caden's soccer from last year to this year's picture.  Chris thinks it appears he went through puberty already.  He definitely has filled out into a young boy.  He is still so handsome.  

Caden plays U-8 soccer with a coach who has playing experience (yay, since this is the first time I haven't coached).  They had their 3rd game on Saturday.  Caden has been playing more offensive minded; he scored 1 goal and 1 assist the first game, scored 2 goals last week, none this week (it is all about the goals at this age!)  He says he likes soccer, but mostly he hangs out and then just finished the job when the ball is near him.

Cooper is in his second season of soccer.  He played in the fall and has returned for the spring season.  He is a natural and can play all positions.  He scored 5 goals in Saturday's game, and he has scored two goals in both his first and second games.  He is very proud when he scores.

 So, there you have it... our latest and lengthy update.  As you can see there has been plenty of excitement and things to celebrate these past two weeks.  We are thankful for everyone's support and prayers this past month.  We look forward to sharing more progress in the weeks ahead.  Have a great Memorial Day weekend!