mom's surgery

As mentioned in the Easter post, I was able to fly to California that night to be there for my mom's surgery on Monday morning.  I could tell that she was a little nervous about the procedure (screws and pins to fix her fibular non-union), so I was really glad to be there for support.  They wouldn't let me go back to the surgery prep area, which I thought was really strange.  After what felt like forever, they came to get me and told me that she was all prepped for surgery and that I could sit with her until they took her back.  As we waited, the anesthesiologist stopped by to touch base, as well as the surgeon.  It was very helpful to talk with them and ask a few clarifying questions. 

The surgery went really well and I was eager to go back to see Mom when she woke up.  She kept telling me how cold she was and she was visibly shaking despite being in some space-looking blanket that they blew hot air underneath.  I was able to see her incision, which was huge!  They also warned her that she would most likely have an "unsightly scar", which didn't sound very promising.  

They made me step out of the room while they gave her a nerve block, but I'm glad she had that to get through the first two days of pain.  Her sisters have both had surgeries and recommended that she get the block. 

She was pretty pain free for the fist day and a half, so we spent lots of time watching shows (introduced them to Poldark), looking at pictures, talking, and enjoying takeout from a few of our favorite restaurants.  By day three, the pain was setting in.  She was on multiple medications, so I made a chart to track everything and ensure that we stayed on top of pain management. I slept next to her in bed so that I could help with anything she needed.  My mom is a very independent and stubborn at times, so I made her promise to wake me up any time she needed to use the restroom so I could wheel her over there in her chair. She had strict instructions not to place any weight on her ankle and I was afraid that she would overdo it and hinder her ability to fully heal.  She does so much for my dad, so I reminded him that he needed to step it up and do more so that she could fully heal.  She is used to serving, so I was grateful that I was there to serve her.  Jeffrey was able to fly out a few days after I left and he stayed for almost 10 days to help. 

I didn't take any pics the rest of the week, so I quickly took one with Mom before heading to the airport and one with Dad before he dropped me off.  I am SO incredibly grateful for the time we spent together and that I was able to help take care of my sweet parents!

easter

I loved the week leading up to Easter as we focused on the life of Christ, but to be honest, Sunday was a little chaotic, which I'll explain in a bit.  But despite the fact that Claire and Grace weren't at their house, the Easter Bunny still filled their baskets nicely...

I had to get a picture of the kids all gathered in Brooke's room in anticipation of going downstairs to find their baskets. Although my kids know that this has nothing to do with the real reason we celebrate Easter, they still get excited for their baskets, egg hunts, etc. 

After a quick breakfast, we readied ourselves for church and took a cousin picture.  Brooke and Colby are used to always getting cousin pictures with the Peacocks, so it was fun to continue the tradition with the Griffiths girls. 

As we drove to church, I kept thinking about the news we received the day before about my mom having ankle surgery on Monday morning.  It was very sudden, but the doctor she met with on Friday felt that they needed to do surgery since she wasn't healing (apparently she had a fibular non-union which they never caught) and he had an opening the following Monday. My parents tried to assure us that Dad could drive Mom to and from the hospital, but I was not convinced that he would be able to help her after surgery and take care of her needs.  Since I have my in-laws close by, it made the most sense for me to go, but it wasn't an easy thing to coordinate.  I hated asking because they had just returned home from a long RV trip, but I texted them at the beginning of Sacrament Meeting and they so graciously said that they would do anything we needed so that I could go on the trip.

   I have never purchased a plane ticket hours before I left, but I felt strongly that I should be there, and with Kevin's encouragement and help from my in-laws, I booked the flight. 

My in-laws were already coming over for Easter dinner, so when they arrived, Bev jumped right in to help Kevin cook dinner, Kimberly hid all the Easter eggs and planned a cute scavenger hunt for the kids, and Josh helped get the guest bed made up for Bev.  While they did all the work, I packed my bags and made a few arrangements to be gone all week.

I did manage to get a few pics of the festivities...

It was cute to listen to my nieces look out for each other and walk past eggs to "make sure everyone else had enough", even though they were the youngest ones.

Brooke found the Golden Egg, which had a few dollars inside. 

I can't remember what we had for dinner, but based on pictures, it looks like some sort of steak or beef tenderloin, baked potatoes, salad, fruit, garlic bread, and a pie for dessert. 

It was really special to have Kimberly's family with us for a holiday, and although I felt a little scattered and lacking as a hostess, everyone was super helpful and it was still a beautiful day as a family.  And I'm especially thankful for Jesus, His atonement, death, and subsequent resurrection.

life in march

Brooke and I snuck away from the "Cousin Campout" for a few hours so she could attend the “try-outs” for 6th grade orchestra.  She showed up wanting to play the violin and left wanting to play the cello.  It wasn't quite as organized as the band fitting/tryouts, but the director seemed really nice and I love the cello, so I fully supported her desire to join the orchestra. 

We attended the last Whiz Quiz match of the year and although Brooke still wasn’t feeling 100 percent,I’m proud of her for showing up and finishing the season with her team. It was a tough loss against Alma Martinez, but I loved the pep talk their coaches gave them at the end.

We had a late night getting the boat back in the marina for Jeffrey's upcoming Spring Break visit..

We had a little going away party for one of my sweet Activity Day girls, Andi Onkes. Her family is moving back to Idaho and we are gonna miss them SO much!!.

We attended Open House for Brookie and were quite impressed with all her work.  She was most excited to show us her completed coordinate plane drawing of Hei Hei (from Moana), and her huge math project named “Cookunut”  Somehow she won the honor of bringing the giant thing home, so it’s now living in our exercise room, haha.

I loved seeing all her work and hearing praise from her teachers 🩷 She’s rocking 5th grade!

I had to take a few pictures on the Onkes' last Sunday in Texas. It’s amazing how quickly you can create special bonds of friendship and I truly loved Dani so much.  We just connected right away and although they weren't here even two years, our friendship developed quickly. 

Brooke was a few years older than her girls, Andi and Ivie, but they became quick friends as well.  Their time in Texas wasn't long enough!! 

I can't remember the details of this boat outing, but it was obviously still cold since I was wearing a wetsuit :)

I knew that Daulton was hosting their annual Career Day, but it was a fun surprise to see that Colby made the class Instagram page.

Mansfield ISD announced that the kids could wear Rangers gear for Opening Day of baseball, so Colby opted to wear his entire uniform.  Go, Rangers!!

I say this every month, but March was especially packed with fun since we started the month with a cousin campout, had visits from both of my siblings, and were heavily involved in sports!!

spring break with fam

Spring Break with my brother and his family started off with a pickup order at Pepper’s Street Tacos and a boat outing!  It was 55 degrees outside and the water was in the 60’s, so we most definitely used our wetsuits and it was still quite shocking to our bodies. 

We rarely get to see him and his family, so we were super excited that our Spring Breaks aligned and that they wanted to drive down from Indiana to spend the week with us. 

My brother hates Sunday pics, but he was a good sport about it. One day he’ll appreciate them, right?  (Kevin was still at church and missed all the pics.) 

We played pickleball the next day, which was also sadly the day my brother creamed me in tennis.  I blame it on all the pickleball we played right beforehand, but I definitely want a rematch.

It was a little rough trying to all play together because Colby was being inpatient with Owen and it was getting uncomfortable.  He gets so competitive at times and I'm trying to get him to recognize when he needs to just let things go. But when we were all hot and sweaty, we called it quits and headed to Bahama Bucks for sno-cones.

The next day we went hiking at Cedar Ridge Preserve. The weather was beautiful and we loved seeing the bluebonnets popping up along the trail!

Colby requested that we take a pic from the lookout tower and my brother made some comment about how I was sabotaging my kids.  Trust me, it’s rare that they ask for pictures!

I enjoyed the time to just walk and talk with my brother, and I especially loved this picture Madi took of us with my kids.

Spring in Texas is beautiful and I was grateful for the weather that allowed us to enjoy all the signs of new life. 

Madi loved the purple flowers just like I did, so we took a picture with them :)

On the hike back, we stopped and played in the little creek...

We had a few issues fighting over walking sticks at the end of the day, which led to Jeffrey throwing one of the sticks into the bushes.  Colby was NOT happy because apparently he was saving that one, but thankfully he was able to eventually drop the issue. 

Kevin took Wednesday off from work and thankfully, it was the warmest day all week.  We were back at the lake by 11, but due to a dead battery, our boating adventure didn’t officially start until nearly 2. But we enjoyed the next few hours together and made all sorts of fun memories. 

Colby’s hair was pretty epic, so I had to get a quick pic with Uncle Jeffrey.  He’s definitely a fun uncle and my kids loved having him at our house.

Ellie was a little nervous to try the Zup, but after her dad's pep talk, she gave it a shot and did really well. 

Brooke outgrew Kevin's old wetsuit a year or two ago, and this is probably the last time Colby will be able to wear it, haha.  The vintage thing is literally busting at the seams.

Our last full day together was spent at the Perot museum. Apparently 3 hours wasn’t enough time, but they closed at 5 PM so we had to leave. 

The kids were sad to leave the museum, but were totally fine when I told them that Uncle Jeffrey wanted to treat them to Bahama Bucks.  It was our second trip that week, but Jeffrey didn’t order right the first time, so we needed a redo.

I'm so grateful for all the memories we made together during Spring Break and I hope we can do better at fostering a relationship between our kids.  Living far away is definitely not ideal, and I see the benefit of living near cousins since we have that with the Peacock cousins, but I'm sure we can figure out a way to stay more connected between visits.