Surgery Makes for Plenty of Time

Seems like I have plenty of time to sit around these days. On Wednesday morning, I finally got my back surgery. I took a pic for you, but then I forgot to post it.

Day 1

The pain was incredible! The surgery ended up being harder than my sweetie's. More bones to break down and even a realignment to make. My blood pressure was low, so no pain meds until it came up.

Day 2

Still lots of pain because of the low blood pressure. The spasms in the night just about wiped me out, but as you can see, I'm still here. I missed Baby Doll's final band concert, but fortunately Scout went and she took video and pics.

Day 3

I hadn't planned on having a Day 3, but sometimes you don't get to choose. My blood pressure was finally normalizing and going home became the plan. Scout brought me home just after noon on Friday. We stopped at Swig for a drink and Smiths for gas. I hate that there are so many things I can't do!! I know how much Scout dislikes pumping gas, but I couldn’t even do it for her.

Love to be back home though. I hate hospital beds.

Guest Blog: Mother's Day 2026 by the Dog Walker

Sorry we've been having a little bit of delays with our lives. Ever since Mom and the rest of us were trying to get used to the new look of how the Little Miracles people have changed our home, some of us have been dreading the idea that we were going to celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day without Dad for the first time. Mom was a little sad about it, just because she remembered all those good times on Mother's Day that Dad would make her feel special. So we tried to make her day amazing!

For the past few months, ever since Dad's funeral, we have been able to celebrate the holidays and special days while knowing that Dad is up in heaven, probably working on an important job for the eternities. So this year, for Mother's Day, I went to church with Mom, Curly, and Baby Doll. After church, we went to the cemetery to visit Dad's grave. Baby Doll and Mom were singing a little ballad that Baby Doll learned from Girl Scout Camp that was kind of a finale, but she and Scout decided it kind of fit for Dad's heavenly love.

From now on, maybe we will have a new tradition of visiting the cemetery at least every Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Memorial Day. We could visit his stone, along with his other heavenly grandsons.

Afterwards, we got home and got things ready for a little family gathering. Some family members came for dinner, including Bossy, Gamer, and their kids. Even after Gamer spent all day smoking a brisket, Bossy's family still brought rolls, corn on the cob, and a delicious homemade carrot cake. (I would have preferred fewer nuts. But that's just me...) It was a meal Dad would have been proud of! Then, as an extra Mother's Day gift, Gamer helped replace the microwave. It's been operating without any heat and it was annoying, so we got a new one that does heat.

Curly and Sport both brought Mom flowers just like Dad would have done. One of Mom's favorite gifts was a new small vacuum that cleans up after the pets.  A bunch of my siblings bought it together because it was very expensive.  Beauty and The Beast got her a new icemaker for her room and I got her two of her favorites, gummy bears and beef jerky.

I even played Mom's favorite song that talks about Mother's Day, Love Me Like a Rock by Paul Simon. To make it even more special, I would like to show it to you based on one of my favorite childhood movies.

 Happy Mother's Day! Love you, Mom. 

Little Miracles Follow-up

I am sorry I have been a bit gone. 

Honestly, I felt pretty awful about a couple of comments that showed up on the Little Miracles post. These readers didn't think I deserved any of this fantastic gift. I have felt undeserving every day and I am so grateful that this amazing program exists! These people are sweet and kind and they give so much of themselves to strangers; this time, that stranger being me. Not only that, they teach their kids to be sweet and kind as well. 

We need so much more kindness in our crazy world. We need people who love and care for each other; people who give because they know it is right, not because they are getting anything back in their own wallets. 

Yes, I would have been more comfortable on the giving side of this event, but I also understand that in order for some people to give, some people have to receive. This project grew SO much from the way it was initially presented to me. I told my kids, "I feel like I am lying in the river, just waiting for the water to roll over me; still hoping I come up for air in the end." 

I don't know about you, but I hope to be a gracious giver AND a gracious receiver. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ wanted us to be both. We must give all we have and then gratefully receive His perfect sacrifice for us.

Thank you for allowing me to share my truth. I am grateful for you all every day.💕

Wordless Wednesday - Put Me in. Coach!!

 

Little Miracles - Day 4

This was such a beautiful miracle for our family! Here are just a few of the kids involved.

Such amazing and Christ-like people.

Little Miracles - Day 3

Bossy said it looked like I was missing a day of Little Miracles, but if you are a follower, you know that I simply tacked it on to my last day in Reno.

And I know how interested you are in seeing the final results, but I am going to drag this out just a little bit longer...

We checked out of the AirB&B on Saturday morning and we all drove our separate cars to the Lake Break Restaurant in Daybreak. One of the ladies on the Little Miracles board owns this fun and delicious eatery. They let us invite other family members, so we had Sport, Bossy and Gamer and their 5 boys as well as our cute little Bright Eyes (yeah, she ate, just like everybody else...). Curly had his cute girl with us as well. It was quite a crew!

Little Miracles made a video and they also took lots of pics. We were just given access to some of them, but these are mostly the ones Tiani from Little Miracles took, not the photographer. 

Then they sent a car for us...

This is only the beginning of what awaited us when we finally got home.

Little Miracles - Day Two

It has been really difficult to stay off our street while some amazing people create a "Little Miracle" at our house.

We have had some fun here. We played games and did dinner at the firepit.

Traveling as Two - Home at Last

Things went pretty smoothly. We checked out of our hotel and took an Uber to the airport. 

Unfortunately, we weren't sitting by each other, but the flight was fine until we were circling Salt Lake. My stomach was not happy. That is the worst I have felt on an airplane in a very long time.

But back to my real life. I don't think I told you about Little Miracles. They are an amazing service group that works really hard to help people who have lost a spouse. When they first approached me, they made it sound like some weeding and a bit of cleaning. Somewhere along the line. It became SO much more!!

They are doing a mini-flip of my house. Seriously, we are at an AirB&B while they have full run of my house until Saturday afternoon. Then I will share lots of amazing pics, but for now, you get to see where we are staying.

We really enjoyed the hot tub.

This is the bed Scout and I are sharing.

All the other kids are staying in the loft. 

The room is only about 4 1/2 feet high, so that is a little rough for my tall guys. They offered to find us a different place, but we are enjoying the adventure. This is how they get up to their room.

But this light is really cool.

And this is the most amazing bathroom I have ever used.

So much excitement!

Traveling as Two - More Reno

The main part of the tournament was rough for our girls. They had a bye going into the final games which meant they really only got one match. After they lost, the tournament was over.

Unfortunately, we still had a few challenges to overcome. The worst was first...

I accidentally booked Baby Doll to fly home on Sunday and I was booked for Monday. Same time. Same flight. I discovered the problem when I got notifications that it was time for her to board. Freaking out, of course, I tried to get hold of Delta, but with over a thousand people on their phones in the Convention Center, I couldn't get through. The flight was set to leave in 25 minutes!

I was at a loss. I didn't know what to do. So I said a little prayer. Then my phone rang from an unknown number.

It was Delta!!

She assured me everything would be ok and she urged me to call a certain number. They helped me change the flight without a surcharge. It was amazing.

2nd big problem - the first night we were there, Baby Doll realized she forgot to pack silverware, and we ate our Cup-a-Noodles with our fingers. So after Baby Doll ate all of her Lay's Stacks, I made a spoon for her.

I might have meant it as a joke, but she actually used it to eat her applesauce.

Even though we lost, it was still a good day. 

Traveling as Two - Reno

Baby Doll and I have been having so much fun together in Reno. Our friends, T & B have been graciously shuttling us all over because we don't have a car with us. On Saturday, they offered to take us with them to Lake Tahoe since they had never been there and our games didn't start until 4:00.

We got on the road early, before 9:00, and our first stop was Tunnel Creek Station for breakfast. (The 8000+ altitude meant a little oxygen was necessary for these bad lungs.)

The food was amazing, even the eggs, and you know how I feel about eggs.

The scenery was beautiful.

I thought it might be fun to stop by the little cabin we stayed in 2 years ago. It took us a few minutes, but we finally found it.

Baby Doll & B wandered into the water of Lake Tahoe even though it was very cold.

I think they lasted less than a minute!!

We got back just in time for a quick nap before the team lunch and subsequent games.

Baby Doll was amazing!! I even made a couple of videos for you.

They won all three matches!! Now for the final single elimination tournament tomorrow.