Mira and Jaisa are 2 Years Old Today!

These pictures are a couple of months old, but I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my sweet baby nieces! "Wassup Mira?" And "enjoy the coloring Jaisa!"

Autumn in Colorado 2008

Well gang, I know I haven't posted anything since May and LOTS has happened since then, but I just don't know how I'll catch up so I'll start over today. Having said that, Dave and I drove up to the mountains today to see the beautiful changing colors of Autumn in Colorado. It was so incredibly beautiful! These were all taken above Central City and Idaho Springs.

Ryan's Graduation

Our nephew, Ryan, graduated from Kindergarten today. The whole family was invited so Dave took a couple of hours off work to attend along with Ralph and of course Grandma (Ralph's mom) and Auntie (me). They sang 4 songs (one about a flower hence the flower head gear he designed) and of course all of us had tears in our eyes. It's just so hard to believe that he's growing so fast as are all our nephews and nieces! Here are some pictures ... enjoy!

Ryan with his teacher, Mrs. Baxter (a friend of mine too from church):













Hayley tried on the head gear too!














And Auntie with the girls waiting for the program to begin:

Dad & Joy

Dave and I met my Dad and Joy in Castle Rock tonight for dinner to celebrate my birthday last week. We had a wonderful time as always and got to catch up on our lives. Here are pictures of us from dinner. Thanks for dinner Dad and Joy!!

Morning Star x2!

Well, our little bird above our front door has two babies now. Dave had read online that morning doves hatch two eggs so we were expecting the second one and she delivered. Here's the latest picture and of course we'll update when the babies arrive!

Welcome Morning Star!

Well, I've been wanting another pet. So "Morning Star" as we're naming the mama, has arrived! We opened our front door today to find a morning dove bird flying away and then we saw her nest. We climbed up and saw her first egg. There will likely be a second egg soon according to what we've researched on the internet. Nature is so amazing isn't it??!! Can't wait to see the baby!!

Vail Weekend May 24-26, 2008

My friend Tina and I went to Vail this past weekend. We had a great room at the Vail Cascade which is where these scenic pictures are from. We went shopping in town, went out for a fun dinner and did some scrapbooking. Then on Sunday we had massages before heading home. It was a nice getaway from everyday life!!

Happy Birthday To Me!

I'm 39 years old today! Wow ... where did the time go??!!

I had a wonderful day! I felt so spoiled all day!! First, my favorite girls and I went to lunch. Jen, Hayley and Mira took me to Chili's. Thank you Jen for a wonderful time ... you always make me feel so special!

Chris & Mira


Jen & HayleyThen I had my first physical therapy appointment and it went well. Then I came home for a little break before Dave got home from work. I had messages from my dad, Joy, my girlie Julie, and Mom & Dad! Then off again ... Dave and I went to P.F. Chang's for dinner. We had a gift card from my Dad and Joy from Christmas. It was a wonderful dinner and Dave surprised me with a beautiful new necklace! Then, one more surprise ... our friends Tina and Mike invited us over for a visit and when we got there ... surprise ... cupcakes with a candle to celebrate my special day!

Isaiah & Chris

And my birthday cupcake!! Thank you Tina!

And then my last surprise ... a birthday email from my nephews and niece up north, Xander, Kyler and Jaisa and a PICTURE of all 3!!! Yippee!!! It was perfect!!

Recovery Update

Well, a week post-surgery, and I'm doing pretty well. I do get VERY tired after a day of ANYTHING unfortunately! Dave's mom tells me this will pass with time. I've been soooo spoiled this last week. Our friends Julie and Todd brought dinner Tuesday the night of my surgery which we cooked on Wednesday night and ate twice. How special we felt! And then our dear friends Tina and Mike did the same on Thursday night. They brought the wonderful meal over, cooked and cleaned, and visited ... I always enjoy having them over and of course Isaiah brings lots of laughs. It was great! And on Saturday night, my sister and family came over and did the same. Another wonderful meal!! I also received beautiful flowers from our old friends Barb and Tom. And on Saturday when Jen and the family came over, I was spoiled with flowers, lotions and cards for Mother's Day! It was terrific! Of course, the best part was spending time with everyone who came over and gave me a break from my pain!!

Mother's Day was wonderful too. Dave woke me up with a Starbucks latte made as I love it ... nonfat milk, sugar-free hazelnut and decaf ... and cards from him as well as our furry kids. And a Starbucks card for future purchases. He then made breakfast. So spoiled I felt!

My depression has been bad unfortunately. I fell into an episode on Friday, but I'm starting to feel like it might end soon. As I type all these wonderful things, I realize how lucky, loved and blessed I am and that makes me happy!

Thanks to everyone for the emails, cards, and prayers. I'm so very lucky!

Jen & Mira on Mother's Day

Friends Tina & Isaiah

Flowers (from Dave and friends Barb & Tom)

Surgery Complete 5/6/08

Well, my hip surgery was Tuesday and everything went well. The doctor was able to repair a tear in the hip, get a biopsy from the abnormal tissue lining, and clean out all the "dust" in the area. There was a small mass in the back that he wasn't able to get, but he's hoping this scope will be enough. We'll have to find out when all is healed.

Dave's parents spent the day at the hospital along with Dave so I had people to visit with before and after. And it was so nice that they were there to keep Dave's mind off of the surgery.

I got home from the hospital Tuesday night and these roses were on my front porch from Dave. My favorite ... roses!

Dave's New Camera & Austin's Adventure

Dave got a new camera for our anniversary and his upcoming 42nd birthday. So today, being a beautiful spring day in Colorado, we took Austin and went to a nearby park of sorts. It's a little spot off of I-25 and Meridian with little ponds and gazebos.Pictures from the park ... We let Austin off the leash since we were alone at the park and he would run up ahead and then come back. He seemed to have a great time. Then came the funny part! Dave was taking some pictures and I was across the pond from him with Austin and Austin decided he wanted to go see his daddy so he decided to run across to him. Well, that was an adventure because there was a pond which Austin apparently didn't realize and he's NEVER been in the water outside. You should have seen his face! It was like, "oh my gosh ... what do I do??!!" I was scared to death thinking he'd drown, but Dave assured me from across the way that he was a dog and all dogs know how to swim. So we watched Austin quickly turning himself around and swimming back to the shore on my side. It was the funniest thing!! Here are a couple of pictures of the pretty area as well as our wet Austin. Hope you enjoy!
Shaking the water off ...

Chris & Dave w/Austin

Chris' Back/Hip Pain

Well ... not much fun to hear negative things, but I've been asked by several people what is up with my hip/back problems. So here's the latest ...

• Last Monday: MRI ... went fine ... I wasn't scared like I thought I'd be
• Last Wednesday: met with orthopedic surgeon ... he informed me they'd taken the MRI incorrectly. Was supposed to be my back AND hip (since that's where the pain started), but they only did back. GRR! So needed to reschedule for ANOTHER MRI. This MRI showed, however, that I have a disk herniation between L5 and S1 with ganglions (whatever those are) toward the hip. So since he didn't have a full MRI, we don't know if the hip is causing back pain, vise versa, or both. Gotta wait. In the meantime, he referred me to an anesthesiologist for an epidural injection for the back pain (I know, no big deal for you since you delivered Charlie, but I'm scared to death!). The doctor can't get me in until April 17th to top it all off so pain in hip, buttock and lower back stays for now! GRR again!
• This Monday: had second MRI ... they had to inject dye in my hip at the point between the groin area and leg. Because I'm so inflamed, it hurt REALLY bad! And I've been a wreck ever since. GRR!!
• Orthopedic surgeon can't get me in until this Friday to review the MRI and make decisions ... hip replacement, back surgery, pain injections, all of the above? Won't know until Friday so I'll update you then.

On top of all this, as I said on my last week, I opened Sammy's crate Thursday morning and he just laid there. Then once he got out, he walked completely to the right. So I was certain he'd had a stroke. Dave came home from work and we took him to the pet ER ... ends up he pulled his back in the same place mine is messed up. Guess he didn't want me to feel alone! :) He's on 3 meds ... 2 are the same as what I take! He's doing a lot better now though. Thank goodness.

A Night of Play

The kids came over tonight for dinner and play. Ryan and Hayley were "big kids" eating at the breakfast bar. Dave then watched "Peter Pan" with Ryan and Hayley while Mira and I ran around like goofballs! A great night as always!!

Our 7 Year Anniversary

Dave and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary last night. Gabriel's is a quiet little restaurant in Sedalia, CO about 40 minutes away from our home. This is where we also went for our one-year anniversary 6 years ago. It was still just as wonderful! It started out as a rough day as our dog, Sammy, injured his back somehow so we were at the pet ER for a few hours, but we got him taken care of and were still able to go and enjoy our special evening. Can't believe it's been 7 years already! Time sure does fly!!



D

Happy Easter

Howdy Everyone! So ... update on our lives since I last blogged. We've had both bad and good news. First, Friday before last, March 14th, Mom (Karen) was admitted to the hospital after having had chest pains and shortness of breath for several weeks and a pacemaker was put in. She did really well and was released from the hospital on Friday, but then on Sunday, the 16th, she was having horrible pain in the middle of her chest, shoulders and chin so the doctor said to meet him at the ER. Dave and I went over there as well and after several tests, it was determined that she had 2 blood clots in her lungs. They may have come from the pacemaker surgery, but it's not really known. Luckily they saw what was wrong and were able to put her on some blood thinners. She finally left the hospital last Thursday, the 20th, and seems to be doing really well now overall. Praise God!!

In the midst of all this, I saw my doctor for some odd pain I've been having in my hip. My hip has been "giving out" if you will for the last year or so at odd times when I'm walking. But in the last 3 weeks, it has become more and more frequent and I also started having pain in my lower back. Probably caused by the odd limp I have when walking. So ... saw the doctor and based on the symptoms I gave, he guessed arthritis and possible hip replacement surgery. Wow! That was a shocker! So he sent me down to the x-ray lab and the tech told me he saw the joint out of the socket and very little cartilige left, but he'd let the doctor diagnose. I went to the orthopedic surgeon the next day (last Wednesday the 19th) and after another set of x-rays from right before my appointment, he said I had moderate to severe arthritis, very little cartilige left, bone spurs and will likely need a new hip. He ordered an MRI to confirm everyone's thoughts which I had this morning (March 24th) and I see him again Wednesday afternoon to discuss options. The cool thing is that if I do need the surgery, he and his partner are the only doctors in the state of Colorado and only 5 nationwide that do a minimally invasive procedure and I will have the surgery and be out of the hospital the next day and then trade in my cane 2 weeks later! How fortunate I am to have been referred to these guys!! I'll keep you posted on the final decisions made after Wednesday's appointment.

On to happier things ... Happy Easter! Ours was beautiful! Mom & Dad went to church with us and sat with Dave ... I somehow managed to stand with the choir and sing even with my pain. I wanted to repeat the performance on Sunday AM with the 3 services, but decided it was just too much. But Saturday night was terrific! Then Mom & Dad came back to our house for an Easter Eve dinner. And then yesterday, Easter, we went to Jen and Ralph's and watched the kiddos hunt their Easter eggs and open their Easter baskets. We had a wonderful brunch with French toast, turkey bacon, fruit salad, banana bread, and juices and coffee. It was great! And we had a wonderful time. Here are some pictures of the kids.

We then had our friends Liz & Geoff over for a traditional Easter dinner last night which was wonderful fun as well. What a great weekend!

Hope everyone else enjoyed the time with family and friends too. Talk to you again soon.