A Weekend to be Thankful For

Thanksgiving has come and gone and the house seems extra quite tonight. I miss everyone already. We had a lot of fun this weekend celebrating Thanksgiving. The De Jonge family came over on Thursday and we had a huge turkey dinner. It was nice to see everyone and we had a good time getting caught up on each others lives. I can't wait for Christmas so that the entire family, including Jayme and Dan will be home. We missed them this time around, but were excited to have shared the weekend with them via my new sweet web cam ;) Here are some pics from the weekend!

Birdy getting ready for the party!

Birdy seems to like the sweet stuff in life. If it is not sweet and sugary good luck getting her to eat it. Dan you might have to knock some sense into her at Christmas! Aunt Betsy and Birdy look so cute in this pic!

Physical Therapy Update

Today I went to physical therapy for the third time. It has been going well so far. I am going every other day so that I can really see if it is going to work. I have been getting ultrasounds, and a ton of painful massages while there. They also assist me with stretching and exercises. My PT told me today that I had "crunchy" muscles a.k.a. you have a TON of knots in your muscles girlfriend!!!! Hopefully once those are worked out, I will feel somewhat better. Other than that I have been keeping busy helping Grandma B. with her Christmas cards. I am really looking forward to the holidays, as I can't wait to see everyone.

Update

I had my consultation with the physiatrist today and it went well. I was referred to a physical therapy place in Holland. I start actually working with the physical therapist on wednesday and will continue with that for 6 weeks about 3-4 times a week. The week of Christmas I go back to Dr. Kremer and back to the physiatrist for a check up. Hopefully by then I will be making arrangements to get back to work and moving back to Petoskey. Please continue to pray for improvments. I have a long way to go before I can get back to work, and I want to really bad. Thank you in advance for the prayers!

Fun Weekend

Lance was in town this weekend for a wedding. It was SO good to see him! We had a lot of fun, went to the aquatic center for a swim, and had the wedding last night in Saugatuk. I start my rehab program tomorrow so I am getting ready for that. Here are a few pics I took this weekend.

Update

Today I went to the neurosurgeon for my 12 week check up. I had my x-rays reviewed and so far so good. He said that my disc space looks good and is starting to fuse! He also so said that my spine has a normal curvature now, something that was not there prior to surgery. On Monday next week I start "aggressive" physical therapy with a physiatrist right in his office. I will follow that plan for approximately 6 weeks and then return for another visit with the doctor. I am still having a considerable amount of pain with movement and sleeping, so this is a concern to me. It is the doctors hope that this will improve as I get moving again. We are optamistic that I will continue to progress without having another surgery to fuse my other bad disc. This is an option if things continue to be so painful. That being said, I am encouraged and ready to start the next phase of the healing process. I was able to celebrate the fact that I am fusing with a haircut tonight.

Lance and I have a wedding this weekend so I was excited to sit in the chair and get my haircut. Here are some photos of the new look. Please continue to pray for healing and patience. I am still unsure about what will happen with my nursing job; I don't know if I will be able to work the floor like I had hoped to. Pray that I can stop worrying about that for right now and focus on getting better.

Thanks for checking in on me......I appreciate my family and friends SO MUCH!!

More Indy

Here are some more pictures from my trip to Indy. Yesterday we went to the zoo and had a great time. We saw a ton of animals and even got to pet some sharks! Not to mention it was great exercise for my back. Enjoy the pics!

PK and Birdie enjoying the elephants. Birdie is an animal lover for sure.

Spaghetti night means all children eat without their shirts on and then go straight to the tub after dinner. Too cute!

Emily, Birdie and ummmm.....Birdies baby. This pic actually makes Birdie look big, something that does not happen very often!

Getting some love from dad. Birdies favorite place to sit is on the bottom step. It is a perfect size for her.

Makes me want to snuggle!

Update

I just got back from Indy after staying about 5 days longer than expected. I had a great time and I didn't want to come home. Emily and I had some quality sister bonding and I just couldn't get enough of the girls. I will post pictures later. Right now I am off to Holland Hospital for some x-rays of my back. I have to get a flexion x-ray so pray that I can bend. Monday I go back to the doc to see how my back is fusing. I am hoping it is all fused and that I can finally start some rehab to get me back into shape for work. I still have some pain, but I am a lot better than before. I will keep everyone update as I know more!

Trip to Indy

Just a quick update of my Indy trip for those of you who care. I am still here and am having a great time. So far I have carved pumpkins, attended preschool with PK for a costume parade and Halloween party, trick or treated, passed out candy, went on several bike rides, organized the room of a 4 year old, attended church, changed a few diapers, read a ton of books and played a lot of games. I love it! Not to mention I have been getting some great tips about important stuff like ebay and blogger hot spots. Enjoy just a few pics of the past few days.

Piper was a "Purple Princess" for Halloween. Emily and I helped out with her preschool class party in the morning. I had so much fun and at the end she and all her classmates has a costume parade.

On the way to church today. Check out the ponytail on the top of her head....so cute!

Post Trick or Treating sugar high. So excited she couldn't sleep!

I asked Emily to borrow a baby sling so I can try it with Smokes when I get home. We decided to give it a try with Peggy. She actually tolerated it quite well. Spoiled kitty!!

Cutest little pumpkin alive! She was a big hit on this block!