Thankful Challenge: Day 16-23

Well, I'm just a little behind on my blogging. Sometimes life just runs away with you, and before you know it, you haven't blogged in almost a week! It's a travesty!

Day 16: I'm thankful for lunches with old friends. Today, I had lunch with my dear friend (and former employer), Ali. We always have the best discussions that leave me thinking about how to improve this ole crazy world!

Day 17: Today, I'm thankful for my sweet sister. I came home from work early with a migraine, took a nap and woke up to a massive box on my doorstep. It was Patrick the pup straight from NYC! My sister knew I had been looking at buying him for Cooper, so she ordered him up and had him delivered. Love it! Cooper is going to love his very large stuffed puppy dog AND his Aunt Kelly!

Day 18: Speaking of pups, today I'm thankful Dolce. I know, I know. I've already been thankful for him once, but today's his birthday, and well, dang it, I'm thankful for him again! He's 4 years old today, and he's been the sweetest, most loyal companion I've ever had (well, as far as furry companions go). I just love my sweet doggy, and I'm thankful for him every day!

Day 19: Well, today I'm thankful that football is just a game. Neither of my teams played well today, but you know what ... it's just a game. Those student athletes are still getting their college paid for. We still wore our orange and blue (and royal blue - Go Cats) and life didn't stop with a loss. I'm still proud to be an Auburn Tiger and a Kentucky Wildcat!

Day 20: Today I'm thankful for time with family. I got to spend some time with my niece, Madison, cousin (and fellow soon-to-be mama), Sheldon, my other cousin (Sheldon's mama), Lisa and my favorite Aunt Betty! I've been blessed with the most wonderful, beautiful  - inside and out - family members! And with Thanksgiving coming up, I get to spend time with almost all of my family. I sure do have a lot to be thankful for!

Day 21: Even though today was definitely a Monday at work, I'm thankful I get to come home and find surprises left for me by my sweet, sweet niece, Madi! Over the weekend, Jared and I had a disagreement about whether or not I need another Christmas tree just for my nutcrackers. As you can imagine, he thinks one tree is plenty. I don't. So, on Sunday, I explained my version of the story to Madi. She laughed and laughed at my drama, and on Monday, she snuck into my house like Santa (only she used a key and not a chimney) and dropped off a brand new Christmas tree. Gah! I love that girl! Was that not the sweetest thing in the whole world?

Day 22: Today I'm thankful that Jared and I were able to agree on nursery furniture for Cooper. We debated for a few minutes (in a very respectful way) and finally we agreed and made the purchase! Our little man has furniture and it will be here some time in January or February! Oh I'm just so excited! I can't wait to get the nursery ready for him!

Day 23: Well, it's almost Thanksgiving, and you know what? I'm thankful for Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for delicious food (duh - Cooper has to eat) ... no seriously, I'm thankful for a day set aside with no work to spend time with family. So often, our days pass quickly with all of our responsibilities and to-do lists, and we forget to make time for those we love. Today, I'm thankful that I get to spend time with my siblings and their families (except Wil - dang it ... he should so be coming home), and then we're heading to Al to spend time with Jared's side of the family on Friday. Life is good. And, I'm so blessed that we have somewhere to go and special people to spend quality time with!

Thankful Challenge: Day 14

Happy Anniversary to my sweeeeeeeet husband! Today, I'm thankful for three wonderful years with my best friend! He's my rock, my love, my confidant. I can't imagine my life with anyone else, anywhere else. He's going to make the best daddy, and I couldn't be more proud to call him my husband. I love you, Jared!

Thankful Challenge: Day 13

Today I am thankful for lazy days and my puppy dog! We spent some time playing with Dolce today, and it's amazing how much he loves his mama! He and Jared were playing like only boys do, and every time Jared would run toward me, Dolce would jump in between us as if he was trying to keep Jared from knocking me over. I really think he knows there's a baby in my tummy. He's always been protective of me ... he NEVER jumps on me, he's always very gentle ... it's as if he knew he couldn't hurt my arm ... but now it seems like he's even  more protective. Which I think is wonderful. He wouldn't hurt a flea ... unless it acted like it was going to hurt me. I have no doubt he's going to be this way with our little man too. I can see our little boy pulling and tugging on his ears, and him just laying there looking at him like "I hope you're having fun!". Once we all got tuckered out, I sat down on the patio ... it wasn't long until Dolce was sitting in my lap. I can't tell you how much I love this little doggy!

Thankful Challenge: Day 2

Today, I am thankful for my sweet, caring, funny, Christian husband.

He makes me laugh when no one else can.
He dries my tears even when he has no idea why I'm crying (which is often these days).
He dances with me in our living room when the only music we hear is the sound of each other.
He believes in me when I don't believe in myself.
He reads my mind before I even know what I'm thinking.
He creates secret high-5's that only we're allowed to do.
He tells me how cute I am when I'm pouting, when I'm being silly, when I just wake up. 
He never walks out the door without looking me in my eyes and telling me he loves me.
He's the one God chose for me.
He's the father of the baby I can feel moving around inside my growing belly.
He's my best friend.
And I am truly blessed!

I Love Halloweenee!

Well, this Halloween may go down in the books as one of my favorites! Here are a few reasons why:

1. Who doesn't have fun when they dress up as KISS for their work Halloween party?

Party All Day and Rock-N-Roll All Night!

2. We definitely saw Halloween in a new light with Baby E on the way! Who knew all the little costumes could be even cuter than we thought they were before?

Baby E's first Halloween (sort of) ... And, ignore the house shoes and tired face! It was a LONG Monday at work!

3. It was our first Halloween in our new house ... in a neighborhood with lots of kiddos! We pulled chairs up to the front door with our big bowl of candy and had the best time handing it all out! I think we probably had at least 200 little goblins, princesses, Nintendo characters and football players.

Our BIG bowl of candy that even had to be refilled!

Waiting patiently for 6:00 so we could start all the fun stuff! Happy Halloween!

 Oh! And, I have to tell a couple of our favorite stories from last night ...

One guy rolled his little kid up in a stroller to our front door. No trick-or-treat bag. Sleeping child. Asked for two pieces and put them in his pocket. I'm pretty sure the candy was not for his child. Props for a cute costume though. The kids was a pirate. And a really cute one at that.

One kid came up to our door, and I was about to hand her a tootsie roll, she said, "No, I want to pick!" Then, she walked past the next little kid (who was waiting patiently) and looked in her bag and said, "Man! She's got a lot of good stuff in there." This trick-or-treating is serious business.

And, our favorite trick-or-treater of the night was the super cute little lion who toddled up to our door and picked out a Resee Cup, squooshed it in his little baby hand, plopped down on our sidewalk and began to examine the wrapper as if he was trying to figure out how in the world he was going to get that yummy goodness into his little lion belly. So stinkin' cute!

Hope all of you had a Spooktacular Halloween too!

Cheers!

Jared's New J-O-B!

Jared started his 2nd week at his new J-O-B today, and so far, we are BOTH loving it! Most of you already know that his last job at Nestle was tough on both of us. Check out this schedule:

2:00 a.m. - Jared wakes up (and I usually did too which made for a REALLY long day)
3:00 a.m. - Jared leaves for work
3:45 a.m. - Jared gets to work
3:30 p.m. - Jared leaves work
4:15 p.m. - Jared arrives home
6:30 p.m. - Jared starts trying to go to bed.

I usually don't get home until 5:30 p.m., so we only had an hour to see each other in the evenings. And, not to mention that he had to work almost every Saturday. Ugh! We're so glad it's over!

His new job is at Pilkington here in Lexington (yay! no more 45 mile drive - one way - to work). They make all kinds of glass, but his plant makes windshields and other glass for cars. He's the Logistics and Materials dude with Safety responsibilities too. He's so happy to not be working in production anymore. And, the best part, he goes to work at 7:30 a.m. and gets off around 4:30 p.m. AND no Saturdays! Yay! We have our life back! It's fabulous! Can't wait to be able to tailgate on Saturdays now.

So, all of you who know not to call our phones after 6:30 p.m. ... now you can call until 10:00 p.m.! LOL!

In all seriousness though, we're blessed beyond words. Thank you, Lord, for giving us this new opportunity. It couldn't have come at a better time.

ABC's of Jared

Finally got Jared to do this ...

A – Age: 26
B – Bed size: Queen
C – Chore you hate: Dust
D – Dogs: Dolce and Diesel
E – Essential start to your day item: Shower
F – Favorite color: Blue
G – Gold or Silver: Silver
H – Height: 5’11"
I – Instruments you play: Drums in 6th grade
J – Job Title: Team Leader
K – Kid(s): None
L – Live: Kentucky
M – Mom’s name: Patricia Ann
N – Nicknames: J-rod
O – Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Appendicitis
P – Pet Peeve: Being late
Q – Quote from a movie:  "You can't handle the truth"!
R – Right or left handed: Right
S – Siblings: 2 brothers
T – Time you wake up: 2:18 a.m.
U- Underwear: Boxer briefs
V – Vegetable you dislike: Green beans
W – What makes me run late: My wife
X – X-rays: A bunch!
Y – Yummy food you make: Breakfast
Z – Zoo animals: Tigers (of course!)

My Bionic Arm ... Well, sort of ...

Most of you know the journey I've been on with my arm  for the last (almost) 12 years. For those of you who don't ...

In 1999, I was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma. Shortly after the diagnosis, on May 28, my doctor's performed a somewhat experimental surgery on my left humerus (they had only done 5 before mine) where they took my bone out and replaced it with a cadaver bone. From the ball of my shoulder to about my mid humerus is not my bone; it's a dead guy from New Jersey's bone. (As you can imagine, I'm a big proponent of organ donation, but we'll get to that later.)

One week after my surgery, I walked out of the hospital in a huge brace (named Kenny after my doctor) ... it wrapped around my torso and held my arm straight up in the air like the statue of liberty. That was fun. I wore it for about 10 weeks if I remember correctly. It seemed like longer. I can't complain though. Other doctor's told me the only option was to amputate my arm. I knew that wasn't what God had in store for me, so we prayed for a miracle ... and I got one!

Then came nine months of chemo, but that's a story I'll get to later too.

For several years, my arm was great. I had limited range of motion, but nothing I couldn't deal with. I still lived a pretty normal life. Then in 2004, I broke it. Yes, I broke the miracle cadaver bone. The worst part is that I did it playing golf ... we think. I started having a pain that continued to get worse over the span of about four days. Finally, I went to the ER, and they confirmed what I was afraid of.

So, I had another surgery. This time the doctor put a steel rod down the center of my broken cadaver bone and sealed it with bone cement. He had to take out four of my eight screws to do this, but he left the metal plate that acts as a shield to my bone. It's amazing that I don't set off metal detectors at the airports. I have a pin in my shoulder, a steel rod, a metal plate, 4 screws and a weird rubber band holding it all together.

Since that surgery, my cadaver bone has continued to deteriorate. The cement didn't work, and I have more breaks. For the last six years, my family and I have been praying for another miracle. Specifically, we prayed for the medical engineers to create a new type of metal that will allow my soft tissue to attach to it. This will allow the doctors to go in and remove my cadaver bone completely and replace it with all metal. Without the new metal though, my rotator cuff can't attach to anything and will cause my shoulder to pop in and out of socket.

Fortunately, God didn't stop performing miracles back when He healed the blind man and the lepers a long time ago (these are some of my favorite stories in the Bible). In 10 days, I'll be going under the knife to have another experimental surgery. My doctor and the medical engineers believe they have gotten the metal created that we've been praying for. Praise the Lord! I'll be the first person to have this particular surgery ... EVER! It's a little scary, but I've always said that if my experiences can touch one person's life, it's totally worth the ride. And, who knows, maybe this surgery will pave the way for future advancements for amputees. That would be pretty awesome!

Here's what my arm looks like right now:

There are also 4 screws in my orginal bone. You can only see 1 and part of another one in this xray before the picture ends. Those will be coming out. Yay! But, they're going to have to heal like a broken bone would. The only part I'm keeping is the saucer looking thing in my shoulder.

Here's a diagram of what my arm will look like after my surgery:

The really skinny part at the bottom will be inserted into my original bone. The part right above that where it gets bigger will eventually heal to my bone, so it will seem like one solid structure.

This is a picture of the new metal that we've been praying for:

This will be at the top of my arm, right before my shoulder starts. The part that looks like thread is the suture that will hold my rotator cuff on.

My surgery is at Vanderbilt Hospital on March 3. The plan is to spend 48 hours there which means I'll get to come home on Saturday. I'll be in a sling for about six weeks, and I should only miss about 9 or 10 days of work. Not too shabby for such a crazy surgery!

My only request is this: Please say a prayer for my sweet husband, Jared. He is one strong Christian man, and I know that he will take excellent care of me. And, I'm trusting that the Lord will take care of him, ease his mind, comfort his heart and take away all concerns. This will be our first big "thing" to go through as husband and wife, and I know it will bring us closer to each other and strengthen our faith. And, of course, please remember my family in your prayers too. My sister and my brothers have been through this with me for the last 12 years, and they know all too well what is to be expected. I know it's hard for them to see me go through this. My sister has been my rock, she still is and she always will be. I've seen her nearly take a nurse out for not giving me my pain meds on time. LOL! But, in all seriousness, they need prayers of comfort as well. I truly have the most amazing support system a girl could ask for!

I'll keep you all posted on my progress. Thanks so much for all the prayers!

Love,
Rian

War Eagle! Fly Down The Field ...

WE'RE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! Wow! The game last night was intense down to the last 2 seconds! Coach Chizik and Cam Newton were so classy during their speeches. They always give glory to God, and that makes me so proud to be an Auburn Tiger! War Eagle!

 

 

 

2 days worth of KY basketball?

That's right! We're going to watch the Lady Cats play tonight! Wearing royal blue two days in a row feels pretty good! Pictures to come later ...

Love,
Rian

Tiger Fans Hangin' Out at Rupp

Thanks to my amazing sister and brother-in-law, Jared and I got to go to the UK basketball game tonight. We had awesome seats and a great time cheering on the Blue and White (it wasn't that big of change since we're used to cheering for the Blue and Orange). Cats won 91-61. Here are some pictures of the game:


Basketball. True. Basketball.



Just a little mascot fun.

The dance team!

Cheerleaders in action while the team warms up ...

UK Cheerleaders are awesome!

A PGA Golfer and Former Cat was in the house!

He looks pretty good in royal blue!

I ran into Scratch as we were leaving!

We may be Tiger fans, but we love the SEC too! Thanks sis for the tickets! There are very few things that compare to the atmosphere and the history in Rupp Arena! Ahhhhh C-A-T-S! CATS! CATS! CATS!