Foot Update

Ugh...just thinking about my foot issues brings tears to my eyes every time.  I wish I could say that, since my last update, things were progressing in a positive direction and my foot is getting better.  Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. 

Here's where we are at:  I went for an MRI at the end of May to see why my foot wasn't getting better with just wearing the boot.  I found out that, not only do I have tendinitis, but also tendonopothy (thickening of the tendon) as well as a tear of the tendon.  The MRI showed some other issues also, but they are apparently "non-issues".  The doctor gave me a list of options:

1. More time in the boot.  (Ugh...)
2. Fully immobilize my foot in a cast and/or us a knee walker or crutches.  (Seriously?!)

3. Surgery.  (He really isn't a fan of surgery since the tear is (apparently) not that bad.  I'm totally ok with that!)

We scheduled an appointment for a few weeks out to see how my foot was progressing in the boot.  I just prayed that by the time I went in, things would be better.  Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.  My foot just continued to hurt.  I went to the doctor not sure what he would say.  I was pretty worried.  He's not sure why my foot isn't healing and said that the next step is to not put any weight on my foot.  He explained that this is a process and I have to realize that I have a broken foot.  Having a torn tendon is very similar to having a broken bone.  It just takes time.  He still isn't in favor of doing surgery as surgery on a tendon is not easy.  It is tricky and a very long recovery.  

Sooo...in comes the knee walker.  I have dreaded this since the very first mention of it.  And yes, when he talked about it at this visit, I cried.  I have three kiddos.  We are busy people.  How in the world am I going to use that thing all of the time?  I guess I just have to suck it up, figure it out and continue to pray for healing.

If only the smile on my face meant that I like the scooter...

Please continue to pray with me for complete, miraculous healing of my foot.  This has been a long process and I am weary of it.  The emotional toll has been huge and I am SO ready to be done and feel normal again.  I will update again as soon as I go along this crazy adventure.

Boot Makeover

 So...I've been wearing this lovely boot for the past (almost) three months.  I'm a little over it.  I, however, have some great friends that wanted to "bedazzle" my boot.  This old boot sure could use a facelift.  How could I turn them down?  I couldn't!  I said, "Absolutely!" without any hesitation!

 Deborah, Kathryn and Lanae couldn't wait to jump on the bedazzle bandwagon!  Lanae ran to her craft room to grab the goods!

 Here is the very dull, boring before picture.

 And the after!

Thank you, friends!  I'm already getting great compliments!

I'm sure my doctor will love this one!

Ugh...

I'm not sure what the Lord is trying to teach me. Patience? Trying to just get me to slow down? I don't know, but I do know that this process has been frustrating and emotional. I feel like I have dealt with foot pain for so long. I often wonder, "Is this just something I should get used to?" "Is it ever going to go away?"


It started out with a brace on my left foot and some special tennis shoes to help heal some tendinitis in my left foot and plantar faciitis in my right foot. I did that for a month and then returned back to the doctor still in much pain. He informed me that the brace usually takes care of the tendinitis 80-90% of the time. Hmmm... The doctor was very apologetic when he told me that my foot needed to be completely immobilized. Yep...I had to go into the boot. ): I'm pretty sure he could see that the tears were welling up in my eyes as he told me that I would have to wear the boot for three weeks (all day long!) and then come back and check things out again. He also mentioned that the next step was one that I probably wouldn't really enjoy. Crutches or a knee scooter. What?! Have you ever seen these knee scooters? Here you go...
Mmm-hmm...can't you just see me rolling around my house on this thing? Ugh...

Please pray with me that my feet (especially the left one!) will be healed and I can move on from this! I never realized how emotional pain can be, but it truly is! I would love to be able to just slip on some cute shoes and go out or put my normal tennis shoes on and go back to the gym! I really have missed all of that!

I go back to the doctor on April 19th and will hopefully have good news to report.

My Birthday

I love my birthday! I want to everyone to make a big deal out of my birthday and I want it to last the whole week! I always have high expectations, which is not good for me or my husband!

My friend, Melanie, invited me to her house to have lunch on my birthday. This was nice because it meant that our boys could play together and her little one could take his nap. Adult conversation has got to be one of the best gifts a stay-at-home mom can get!
Sorry for the blurry picture!
Melanie made me these delicious chocolate covered strawberries for dessert!
They were DELICIOUS!!
Thank you SO much, Melanie!

One of the things that I love most at my birthday time of the year is getting mail! I was thrilled when I checked the mail on my birthday and found a package from my BFF, Karen! She's the BEST!!
Not shockingly, I cried! This was the best gift all day!!

This is how I spent the evening on my birthday:
Yep, Abby's softball game. Exciting, isn't it?! I love watching Abby play softball, but this game was especially brutal. The team they played was excellent and we lost really bad! (14-2) Abby had fun and Jon took care of Luke, so that counts!

I am told that my family will be celebrating my birthday this weekend. (:
I love my birthday!

Look What I Learned!

A while back I went to a yarn store in Tulsa with my friend, Deborah. In their front window they had some super cute wreaths that we both thought we would like to make. It was just a styrofoam wreath wrapped with yarn and then had some super cute crocheted flowers on it. Well, Deborah is a knitter and all I know how to crochet is the blankets that my mom showed me. I decided that it was time to learn how to make those cute flowers! Thanks to youtube.com I found tons of videos that show how to make flowers. Finding the right one took some time, but I finally found the one I liked best and came out with this:
I was pretty proud of myself!
So, (on another snow day, of course...) I set out to perfect my flowers and attempt recreating the wreath I saw at the yarn store.
This is how it came out. Not to bad for a novice crocheter!

I AM Doing This Thing!

Ok, so Jon and I made a goal for ourselves to run a 5K this year! Call us crazy, but it's something that we really want to do. And I KNOW that we can do it!
I started the Couch To 5K program last week and have actually really enjoyed it so far! Last week the program was to warm up for 5 minutes and then run for a minute and walk for 1 1/2 minutes for 20 minutes and then cool down for 5 minutes. I made it! Having never run before I was a little bit nervous as to how it would go.

Today I started the second week which means that I warm up for 5 minutes, run for 1 1/2 minutes and walk for 2 minutes for 20 minutes and then cool down for 5 more minutes. Being new to this whole exercise thing (Sad, I know!), Jon and I figured that I would just do Week 1 again. That way I could get used to it more and the two of us would be at the same point. Well, I am happy to say that when I went to the gym this morning and did Week 1, I really felt like I was ready for Week 2! I was disappointed that I didn't even try. I ended up going back to the gym tonight with Jon and Abby and did Week 2, Day1. And I did it without any trouble! I was quite proud of myself!

I am really excited, right now, about this process! I know there are going to be hard times (Yes, I've looked ahead to future weeks...) but I am committed to finishing this and being able to complete a 5K without walking! Abby is really interested in running too, so I think this could be a great family activity! I would love for my family to do a 5K together! (Well, maybe not Luke. ;))

I have received so much encouragement from friends and family! That sure makes me want to go out and do more! Thank you so much for all of the encouragement!

My prayer right now is that the Lord would continue to give me the motivation to do this and to keep my body healthy and free of injury!