Scars of Grace

Yesterday, I spent time writing an account of the day I broke my leg. Today, I erased it. I'm not even sure why because there are details I want to remember. My memories of that day 4 months ago are already starting to get fuzzy...it's scary how fast that happens.

Instead of a narrative of the day, I'm going to list the signs of grace from March 15, 2015. Almost instantly, there were things to be super thankful for and I would rather be marked by scars of grace than scars of pain.

 The kids were perfect. G, almost one, is the kind of baby who happily crawled inside with me so I could get my phone. (It didn't occur to me until later to be thankful for that, but I'm beyond grateful that he didn't make a run crawl for freedom.) And yes, I do wish I had a video of G, Izzy the dog, and I crawling into the house. E, 3 years old, went ahead of us and got her doctor kit. Precious. I wish I had a picture of that.

 The neighbors were home and had a key. They were there in moments. Kelly took the kids and Brian took me to the ER.

Everybody I called actually answered their phones.

The emergency room was close by and not at all busy. I was in a bed with a morphine drip in less than 5 minutes after my arrival.

 The ER nurse could not have been nicer. She reassured me, joked with me, and explained everything...over and over.

The ER doc knew exactly what he needed to do.

Did I mention the morphine?

 Gregg and Jessica rushed home from Dallas and were at the hospital just in time for my release. And just in time for Gregg to ask all kinds of questions I hadn't even thought about.

My mom was already planning to be in Oklahoma the next day. She changed her flight so she would arrive in OKC instead of Tulsa.

 My mom's the kind of mom who says, "I'll be here as long as you need me." (13 weeks, that's how long I needed her.)

My mom is close friends with an orthopedic surgeon. A really great one.

Gregg and Jessica got me set up on their couch and took amazing care of me. Jessica worked from home the next day so I wouldn't be alone. And she made sure I didn't die trying to get to the bathroom. (My brother did a really great job of picking a sister for me.)

From this first day alone there was so much to be thankful for, I'm continually overwhelmed by the mercy and grace God has shown me through this experience.

Sisters

Seriously...how do people get through life without sisters?

Feeling Crafty

I am helping to host a bridal shower at work next week and I wanted to make some decorations to dress up the teacher's workroom. I have seen coffee filter wreaths on several blogs and decided to try to make one. It really was pretty easy and very cheap. The materials for two wreaths cost me $2! And I have tons of filters left over.

The (almost) finished product. I need to "fluff" it up a little bit and then figure out how to attach ribbon so I can hang it up.

Auntie

I'm not sure what year this picture was taken but it reminds me of every family reunion in New Jersey. Auntie holding court at the kitchen table on Dayton Road. I miss those days. I miss my Auntie.

Watch out Martha

My friend Pam is a spectacular chef who has graciously agreed give me some cooking lessons. I had a wonderful afternoon learning some of her tricks.

Step One: Have pretty beverages and yummy snacks close by

Step Two: Gather and organize ingredients (Pam set everything up before I arrived. I felt like I was on a cooking show--it was fabulous)

This is the chocolate cake ready to go in the oven. While it was baking, we worked on making the pizza.

The finished products!

Disclaimer: My crust looks nothing like Pam's pizza usually looks. This proves that I really did make it myself. The pizza might look lopsided but it tasted fantastic! Can't wait for my next lesson!

Mission Accomplished

My goals for the summer were to finish a couple of scrapbook projects and organize the closet in my bedroom. I finished an "Italy" scrapbook for Yolanda K. in June and that inspired me to complete the engagement book that I've been putting together for Kaylan. Did I mention that Kaylan and Travis will be married for 2 years on the 16th? Yes, that means I've been working on their engagement book for 3 years. Yikes. It is 99% complete...just need to go through it one more time and add some finishing touches. As excited as I am for Kaylan to see the finished book, I know I will miss working on it. I get a little bit sad when a scrapbook comes to an end. Not sure why--there is always another project to start.

Probably need to thank the leaky water heater for soaking the carpet in my closet forcing me to empty the closet. It was pretty easy to organize after that.

I love that my summer goals got accomplished...with 12 hours to spare. School starts tomorrow...

Steamboat Springs

It's always difficult for me to return home after a great vacation, especially when the vacation included ALL my favorite people. My sisters, brothers, and I spent months planning a surprise trip for our Mom's 60th birthday and it was fabulous!


There was a hot air balloon festival in Steamboat. This was the view from Tree Haus Drive. It was amazing to get up close to the huge balloons and watch them take off.

Chris got everyone tickets to the Rockies game. We went the night before we drove up to Steamboat. It was so much fun to sit in the 'Rock Pile'. The game was great--we got to see several homeruns, including a grand slam.