Friday!

Ok, so I know I said that since my leg is not as bad as thought I will still be allowed to run the marathon, but maybe that just made it to my head because I AM SO EXCITED, I GET TO RUN THE MARATHON STILL! When I found out I possibly would not be able to run, my heart was broken and more than that I feel a responsibility to the children in Africa who need people to run for them. So, now I just want to run again… has it been six weeks yet?


This weekend we are looking forward to a relaxing time of doing nothing! We were going to tear the bathroom out but decided we are going to wait. I have bronchitis again (yes, this is the THIRD time this winter!!) and both thought that the dust we will create would only make me worse. So we have postponed for a little longer, maybe next weekend!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

I lost something, but I don't remember what it is...

Do you ever have one of those days where you just don’t have a brain? I feel like today has been one of those days for me! Every time I am not at my computer I have had great, deep thoughts about life, I mean the really good ones where you think… “This changes my whole perspective” and naturally my next though is, “I should blog about that.” So here I sit with all these great thoughts and perspectives and for the life of me cannot remember what they were. I guess this is where I need to just laugh at myself and move one!

So sorry to disappoint, no great thoughts here today, check again tomorrow, maybe I will have found my brain, I mean, that is if I can remember long enough that I am searching for it!


To better help you understand, I thought it was important to illustrate with a picture of how i feel...

Ok, maybe.  What did you say? How can I feel crazy on a beautiful beach on Mexico with Leo? (Leo is the penguin.... in case you were wondering....) Ok, here is really how I feel.....

OK.... I lied again... here is the truth... man this blog is really pulling the truth from me!!

I mean, the dog makes this pictures even crazier, yes?!

Six weeks....

Yesterday I had another appointment with the Orthopedic Specialist to go over the results of the MRI and to figure out the next steps with what to do with my leg. I knew going into the appointment that I could learn that I was done running for possible a really long time, and had been told to expect that by my doctor. However I learned the best possible news yesterday! There is a break in my tibia, about 5cm long (if you don’t know this is about an inch and a half long) BUT it is in a place that heals quickly!! She told me that if I keep weight off it and do nothing to stress it more it should heal in about SIX WEEKS!!!! I am honestly so relieved and excited. She said that since the marathon is a ways out still she sees no reason why I could not do a modified version of the marathon. (This might mean needing to walk a little so I don’t re-fracture the leg)

For the next six weeks I am supposed to stay on crutches as long as it hurts, but the longer I stay on crutches the better chance I have at being healed more for the marathon, so I am going to try and stick it them as long as I can stand it! I still have quite a bit of pain in the leg, so for now I am still “gimpy” as Phil likes to call me. I am also starting physical therapy next week and will be going weekly for a while, I have been told at least twelve weeks.

Even though I do not like being hurt, because of the injury I am getting training from athletic professionals who are going to work with me so that I am running well and without further injury. Most athletes need to be on a professional level to have trainers working with them, but because of this I will be able to really learn how to not just be a runner for a season of my life, but a runner for my whole life!

After we returned from the doctor I was so excited and thankful…. So what do you do when you are excited and thankful? ….. Make chocolate chip cookies of course! (Man, how did you not know that?!)

Enjoy my documentary of making cookies!!

MMMM, now come over to our house and help us eat the excessive amount of cookies we made!

It’s coming… Spring!

This morning as I was turning through my planner I realized that daylight savings time is this next Sunday! Spring is really coming!! Yesterday as Phil and I pulled into our driveway I also spotted the first visible grass in our yard, I forgot there was such a thing under this grey blanket of dirty snow! Though I keep on reminding myself that March and April can still bring snow, I cannot help but feel excitement for the coming warmth, green grass, trees with leafs, and best of all FLOWERS! (I often think I am living in the wrong climate…)

Though I love warmer weather and green grass and that wonderful smell the earth has as everything comes alive again, spring reminds me of things so much more important. After the snow has melted the world is left with the dirt and grime of the long winter, but then it rains. It rains and washes away the dirt and brings new life to everything. Even though this has been said probably about a million ways and billion different times, it reminds me of how God brings each season for a purpose. In my life I have experienced the winter, it has been cold and dark. There have also been wonderful times like when I can play out in the snow and make snow angels. But when spring approaches I am grateful. When the rain comes to clean the earth I want to stand out with my arms out and let it wash me.

Over this last weekend Phil and I enjoyed a great time with friends, we spent a great day with Phil’s parents, and on Sunday spent the day at Church volunteering. After the busy but fun weekend, I came down with a little cold and decided that I should stay home on Monday, so of course Phil decided he would only work a half day also, and got home about the time I was getting out of bed… we won’t say what time that was! It was so good to relax and catch up on some much needed sleep and just R&R.

The bathroom project now has an official “start date”…. THIS WEEKEND!! We are hoping to get started on Friday after work and get as much done over the weekend as possible. We will be tearing EVERYTHING out, down to the studs, so it will be a lot of work but well worth it in the end! On Saturday morning when I let the Dog out, I was surprised to find a huge box on the front step! Yes, the vanity has arrived! It is now sitting in the dining room ready for a bathroom to go in. I am going to take some pictures of the bathroom “before” and post them soon.

Over the weekend I heard from so many people who read this blog, it is so great to hear people enjoying my ramblings of life! Thanks for saying something, it's fun to hear! I love hearing your comments and thoughts so feel free to continue to comment! I am honestly honored that you would take time out of your busy life to read what I have to say.

I am off to the orthopedic specialist today for some long awaited answers… ok I know it has not been that long, but I am more than ready to hear how long the healing process will be and what is actually going on! I have also figured out another possible reason this happened… but that will have to wait for another day!

Oh and did you notice?!?! We finally changed the slide show! (Thanks to Phil!) These are pictures from our wonderful trip to Akumal Mexico over Christmas!

And the results…. More waiting!

You know how when there is an area in your life you need to work on it always comes up? Its like praying for humbleness, as soon as you do over and over again you're humbled! Well in my life this is patience and giving God control. If you know me well, you understand where I am coming from. I am a very planned organized person. I like to know what I am doing, when I am doing it, what will happen next… blah blah blah… Phil jokes all the time about the lists I make. When we moved I made a list of lists I needed to make. I know to normal people this seems, well, odd, but let’s face it, I’m not normal. Ok, and one more confession while I am at it, yes, my planner is color coded for each thing. Ok, I feel better admitting that!

So as you can see I tend to be a control freak and yes, this is something God is working on with me! I do want God to have the control in my life, and even though I still struggle with this, I have learned SO much over the last few years how life is really totally out of my control. Even though I am getting better at trusting God with my future I still have a long ways to go and I am continually reminded that I need to give everything over to the one who has the control!

Lately with this injury I have struggled with letting things go. Honestly I do not understand why God would tell me to run for kids in Africa only to allow me to get hurt. But I am in a place where I can say, “ok God, you allowed this, let me trust you with what you are doing.” I do not know what is going to happen, but I do trust that even if I am unable to run, God has something planned, even if that is just taking time off and running again next year…

I am still waiting to find out exactly what is going on, even though I BEGGED the lab tech (literally, I begged laying on the MRI table to tell me, yes he thought I was nuts!) to tell me what was going on, the only thing he would tell me is that he saw something and that I would have to wait to talk to my doctor on Tuesday about the results. So I wait… and I am honestly working really hard at trusting God in this time!

Though I still do not have any concrete answers I did find something out about my doctor that I thought was really cool. After my MRI the lab tech said something about my doctor being the best Orthopedic Specialist in the state, I thought he was just being nice and said something like, “yeah, why?” He said that she was nominated and selected to be the DOCTOR FOR THE US OLYMPIC SWIM TEAM!!! How cool is that?! I was really excited to learn this, and know that I am in really good hands also! (I MEAN SHE WORKS WITH MICHAEL PHELPS…)

So despite not understanding why this happened, I am learning to trust God through yet another thing… maybe I will get it right this time!

Happy Thursday!

OK, first let me say how grateful I am for friends and family who have supported me over the last few days. I appreciate knowing you all are there so much! Just so you all know, I am doing a lot better today!

Next, I must say how sore my hand and arms are from crutches! Unbelievable! :) I in no way want to pretend like I understand what it might be like to permanently have a disability, but wow I have gotten a great appreciation for what some go through everyday. Even just getting to and from work has been a challenge, much less stairs or opening doors. Even though this is not what I would have liked, I am grateful it is only temporary!

Tonight I have my MRI and will find out what the prognosis is for my leg… and yes, I am still praying that they will find nothing and say “oops we were wrong” and they let me run to my hearts content… and yes a few people have said I must be crazy… I’m not, I would just like to run!

Today is the first day of spring break at Northwestern, meaning that I have the place to myself for about ten days! I love it when students are hear, but there is something nice about the peace and quite when everyone is gone also. OK, I also love it because SPRING BREAK TIME IS HERE! That means we are getting closer to summer (I know I said I would enjoy where I am at, and I am… I just love SPRING!). Obviously since it is now getting warmer (Yes, 45 seems like a balmy sunny day) I am thinking about pulling out the summer shoes. *Phil, please do not try and stop me!*

Enjoy the sunshine, I hopefully will have a great update tomorrow!

Crutches

Sorry I did not post yesterday, I have to admit all day I was struggling with what to say. Sometimes I guess there are just no words for the things going on in your life.

As most of you know this last year my parents divorced and to be brutally honest, this has been one of the hardest things I have had to face. Though I cannot share details at this point, some major developments have happened over the weekend and yesterday that have forced me to make some extremely hard choices. If you think if it, I would greatly appreciate prayers for me and my siblings. At some point I may be able to share, but right now there are open wounds that must heal.

For an update on my leg… I went and saw the Orthopedic Specialist yesterday and was able to get a few more answers, unfortunately not the ones I was hoping for. She took more x-rays and is certain that I have fractured my leg. There are two places on the bone where you can fracture it from running. One is on the side, this is a fairly common injury in runners and takes about 6-8 weeks to heal. You can also fracture the tibia on the front on the bone (if you feel your shin this is the place I am talking about). This injury is a much longer recovery time. So of course she believes it is the front of my tibia the is fractured…

I have an MRI tomorrow to figure out how bad it really is and from there my doctor will be able to give me a time line for recovery. In the meantime, I am on crutches and not allowed any weight on my leg. I will also be doing physical therapy to help recovery. She said I would run again, but that I would not be running the marathon. More to come soon….

Even though these last few days have been a struggle I still feel a peace about everything that has happened. I have been on the verge of crying many times and am grieving the loss of a dream, but through it all I do know that God has a plan. Phil has been amazing helping me get around, doing things for me, even putting my socks on this morning for me! Megan our trainer is willing to work with me still and gave me a lot of hope that I will be able to continue even with this injury.