Picture Thank You

Thank you for all the prayers and encouragement this week. I am doing better.

 A friend came over yesterday morning and we had silly fun trying on wigs together (sorry, no pictures). I just learned from email that another friend tried to stop by later in the day, but I was at therapy. Sorry I missed her. Yet another friend (and possibly my mom, but she just had oral surgery yesterday so I told her to take care of herself) is coming this morning to bless me by helping with the house. The kids will come home for the weekend, starting this afternoon. I am so loved!

Here's the sweet surprise from a friend in Maryland that I came home to find after therapy yesterday:

The purple butterfly matched my shirt!

There were many comments on my last post, especially through Facebook and private email. Thank you all! One issue that came up more than any other was women sharing their own baby aches with me. A passage that's been playing over and over in my head is Proverbs 30:15-16 (NIV,1984):
“The leech has two daughters.
   ‘Give! Give!’ they cry.
   “There are three things that are never satisfied,
   four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
 the grave, the barren womb,
   land, which is never satisfied with water,
   and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’
 This is proving to be true in my life, though the heartache is no where near the level I felt the first time. I think it is directly because of our years of infertility that I'm having a hard time feeling fully satisfied now. The barren womb still speaks and calls out "Give." God knows His plan for our family and while I may have seasons of longing, overall I choose to be content in that.

I walked several more steps, unaided, yesterday in therapy. We couldn't get good video as I was laughing too hard and had to stop every few steps. (I do a LOT of both laughing and crying with little provocation these days. As my mom says, both emotions are very "close to the surface" now and the entire staff at the rehab center knows me by my laugh. Whenever I am working hard at something, like therapy, I burst out in uncontrolled laughter, I think just as an emotion outlet even if nothing is funny.) I've told my therapist we would get a lot more accomplished in my hour of therapy if I didn't spend so much time laughing or recovering from laughter, and there are times he obviously doesn't know what to do with my hysterical self, but generally he takes it pretty much in stride.

What girl doesn't get a lift from a little shopping trip (or as my mom now calls it, "retail therapy")? I've had my tennis shoes for about 5 years, including my stay in the rehab hospital and ongoing therapy. As a result, they were falling apart! Immediately after therapy yesterday Rick took me to a shoe store and while were lots of cute but impractical shoes I could have tried on, I left with two new pairs of much-needed tennies.

One with a flat soles for now:

And a rocking pair for the future, in hopes that I gain enough balance in the future to wear them:

I know it seems kind of silly to buy a pair of shoes I can't even wear yet, but I've wanted to try this style for years, and it is good to both have goals and expectations of the future.


I did have a different gal work on my jaw yesterday. She didn't press as hard so it was slightly less painful. She is a student in training so I haven't decided yet if the lower pain level is because she wasn't as effective or if I am actually seeing improvement. Thank you for the anonymous tip in my comments suggesting I try capsasin cream.

On Tuesday I did graduate from my old walker for at-home uses:

to a newer, lighter style (accessorized with my weight to help me keep my balance):

Our bird is clear in her preference for the older walker:

 It's funny the things that excite my now. I know I can complain a lot, but I am thankful for these aids and for the ability to walk at all!

 I keep thinking of those who had strokes even 50 or 100 years ago, and I am so thankful for the equipment, technology, tests and level of understanding we are blessed to know today!

And I'm thankful for YOU. I know it is God's grace, through the power of your prayers, that allows me to keep getting up each day. Thank you for your faifulness.