Our 2nd Wedding Anniversary

Dinner at Scott's Seafood

Two years and still so in love with you, Joe.  You are everything I want and more than I deserve.  I love you and the life we share.  Thank you for walking next to me through marriage and looking ahead with me at our dreams and pursuits.  So grateful for the ways God is working in our lives and blessing our marriage, and eager for the adventures that await us this next year as husband and wife...xoxo

Sugarland

Last night Joe and I went to see Sugarland at Raley Field, with opening by Sara Bareilles.  Fun!  And good guy that my husband is, he upgraded our seats to the handicap section so we could remain seated the whole time with an unobstructed view of the concert.  SWEET!  That was definitely the most walking/standing that I have dared since surgery 10 days ago. 

 The country radio station 101.9 tatooed us :)

 Glad I didn't have to stand down there all night under my current circumstances :)

What an awesome show!  I can't say enough good things about it.  It was fun to sing along all night.  We had binoculars so we could see the stage up close.  Jennifer Nettles had a crazy but cute costume with a tutu :)  I loved watching her dance--she's so animated and funky.  Joe and I had a blast!

Today is post-op day 6 for me.  Last week I had knee surgery.

~Diagnostic arthroscopy of the left knee with debridement of anterior synovitis and excision of superomedial plica~

I know.  Owie.

Overall, everything went really well and I'm on the road to recovery.  This morning I saw the doctor and got my sutures removed and he told me to just be patient with myself!  I'm trying to be patient, but it's not easy...

I don't like being so helpless and needing to be waited on.  Aside from my knee hurting every time I lift it, bend it, or take a step, what I really dislike is how much my back, neck and bootie hurt from being practically bed-ridden for so many days.  I've had numerous melt-downs, especially at the end of the days when I'm just exasperated and SO UNCOMFORTABLE.  Ugh.  I'm so used to my independence and take my health for granted--this experience has been very humbling. 

Joe has been so concerned about me and so selfless, day and night.  The first few nights, I set my alarm clock in the middle of the night to take my pain medicine and Joe would wake up, too, go to the kitchen and pour me some applesauce in a ramekin and bring it back to me to take my medicine with.  And he tenderly fixes my pillows and ice pack and gathers and arranges all my necessities next to my landing spot in the bed or on the couch.  He speaks words of encouragement, lifting me up when I'm down in the dumps about my condition.  He's always available to rub my back and feet :)  My mom and Grammy visited me the day after my surgery and got to witness Joe loving on me.  It was funny because they kept calling him Saint Joe and ooing and ahhing over his tenderness towards me--but you see, this is how Joe always is, not just now that I'm recovering from surgery :)  I'm so darned blessed :)  Today, since I'm still not getting around as good as we thought, Joe cancelled his out-of-town business trip so that he could take care of me.  What a guy.

Even though I wish I didn't have to have surgery, several good things have come from it, besides getting my knee cleaned up.  I have been forced to slow down, to rest, to be humbled, to trust in God's plan/timing and not ours (as this surgery was not really planned and came in the middle of our other plans) and to count life's blessings--Joe topping the list, of course!

It started out as an ordinary trip to Winco to buy groceries, a trip that I never really look forward to due to the crowd of people and general chaos of checking out and the parking lot...some of you might relate :)  But this time ended differently, and I'm still smiling about it this evening. 

The lady at checkout greeted me with a smile and her eyes turned to the necklace I was wearing--a plain string containing a few of my favorite silver pendants: a diamond teardrop given to me by Joe before he left Reno for Virginia Tech, an aquamarine heart (my birthstone), and a cross.  She admired it closely and commented that I must be a Christian.  With a giant smile I responded, "Yes!" and she said that she knew it by my smile and the way my eyes were lit. 

"I love God, too...Isn't His life good?" she asked. 

She went on, "You know, on my walk this morning, I prayed that at work today I would meet a Christian!  Isn't that something?!" 

It was so awesome to connect with this perfect stranger in what I considered an unlikely place for such a meeting...  

"For God, who said, "let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ..." 2 Cor 4:6 

...being the light of Christ wherever I go :)

Love

...Loving this song...

100K

I captured a historic moment in the life of my ole Mazda Protege, the first and only car I've ever owned...it turned the big 100,000 miles last night.  I actually parked it in the garage last night still at 100,000...I think that's good luck ;)  It's been a great car for me over the last 8 years and has lots of custom dents and squeaks :)  And it still has paint on it in the scratches from being Joe and my "get-away" car after our wedding...Lots of great memories!  Here's to the next 100K!  LOL