from the heart

This week Elena and I went to a strawberry patch. What fun! We were in good company - a bunch of mommies and kiddos from our church came too. Upon arrival one of the little girls kicked off her shoes... Elena followed suit and spent her time barefoot, eating as many strawberries as she could. I tried motivating her to stop eating and "pick some for Daddy". No sooner did I turn around and she was back at it; she was taking it very seriously, so seriously, she couldn't break to smile for a picture... as you can see below. We picked 4.5 pounds... paid around $7.50 and then on the way out I saw a LARGE box of already picked strawberries that were very ripe. The lady said she'd sell them to me for $2.00. DEAL! By the amount of effort it took me to carry the box to the car, I'm estimating there was about 20-25 pounds of strawberries in there. After sharing them with some friends and family, it still took me a couple hours to clean and freezer pack the ripe on...

Somehow it's taken me a whole month+ to sit down and write again. Yesterday I had a Doppler test done and it revealed that I have had an increase in blood flow/pressure to my legs as a result of the surgery. It is not at a perfectly normal level, but my surgeon says that it may take a year or two before that happens. He has seen patients recover to normal levels in their legs. I was pleased to have that good news, especially because I really haven't been feeling that great pain-wise. The first week in January I felt 99% better--- had more energy than I have in years and was so excited for a fresh start, but since that week, I've been experience more soreness and pain. At my appointment yesterday, the Dr. informed me that it could be 1-2 years of intermittent pain, soreness and nerve sensitivity. AH! I'm fighting the idea of a longer recovery... I don't want to whine... but, I just want to be well again. I'm finding that it is hard to share with people what I...