sorry to deceive and confuse so many of you - the posterior picture of that lady on my last post is not me. i don't have shoes like that. well, or tattoos like that...

so i've been "good for nothing" this last week. the pain from my surgery was a lot worse than i've expected and the vicaden (sp?) has been more necessary than i anticipated. every time i take it, it makes me fall asleep. so i've been taking 2 couple-hour-long naps each day before and after i watch a movie. yeah, i feel pretty worthless, but i am enjoying relaxing (and not having to wake at 3:30 all the time!).

Landon has been tirelessly and unselfishly taking care of me. like painting my fingernails, taking me to the post office, renting chick-flicks, grocery shopping, scrubbing out the tub, cooking dinner, making me coffee, refilling my water (over and over and over), giving me a sponge bath, and that's just the first dozen acts of love off the top of my head. God has really blessed me through Landon's servant's heart these past 2 weeks. He has been so sensitive to my needs and so not burdened or bitter about taking care of me.

I've decided that tomorrow will be my first day back at ACSI. My trip to the post office and library today exhausted me and threw my ankle into throbbing pain, so i know that i don't have much endurance for much, but i'm going to try.

Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers.

ankle surgery

Thanks everyone for your prayers and loving support. We got hope from surgery last night around 10pm. The doctor spoke to landon and said that everything went fine.

I'm pretty sure i have been experiencing the most excruciating pain in my life these last 24 hours. For some reason i thought that the healing process would be less painful than the breaking process. boy was i wrong! but i do have some heavy pain meds that usually do the trick pretty well so far.

the story, since i left it out of my last post: I broke my ankle last Friday night while landon and i were riding our motorcycle around town. we had to slam on the breaks while making a left turn which caused the bike to slide out from underneath us (and on top of me!). we both have road-burn on our left arms and legs. landon is fine otherwise (besides having to gracefully put up with his hurting and trying-to-not-be-too-demanding wife). we were calling a taxi when an ambulance pulled up and gave me a ride to the ER. the guys in the ambulance thought i just sprained my ankle since they were able to take my shoe off without me wailing or putting up much of a fight. welp. i was very disappointed when my doctor told me that i had broken 2 bones, one on either side of my ankle. but mostly, i have just been so grateful to God for keeping us safe through that accident.

so last night he cut me open and screwed the bones back together and screwed a plate into my fibula. and it's sort of strange, but i definitely feel like that is exactly what happened. all the bones below my left knee feel like they've been traumatized. every time i stand, i can feel my ankle re-align like a wooden doll or something strange. i don't know, it's sort of weird feeling. it's amazing though - only 10 DAYS in a cast and then i get the stitches out and they put me in a boot (still have to use the crutches though). so i'm hoping that though i'm using these pain pills like crazy, that i won't have to get them refilled - seems to me like this thing is supposed to heal quickly.

well, thanks again, friends, for your prayers and encouragement - i've really needed that. i will keep you updated.

linds, i was going to include someone else's picture of their ankle stitches to hold you over for mine, but when i was looking on flickr, it really freaked me out. so instead i'm attaching a picture of this lady's ankle "scars" instead.

broken ankle

so to all of you who don't know (and it's not because i don't love you, it's only because i can't keep track), i broke my ankle this last weekend. i went to the doctor yesterday and he said that i need to have surgery on both sides of my ankle. he will insert screws and plates to make sure the bones reconnect and recovery properly. He was actually late for my appointment because he was doing this same surgery on another patient. Glad to know that he's had some experience.

so i'm supposed to get in the OR within the next 10 days (i SOOO hope that it's sooner). For now, my ankle is in a splint and i have a pair of crutches that have become both my constant companion and my nemesis. ice and elevation (Dr. says, "toes above nose!") are my main priorities right now. as Starbucks is a wonderful company, i will receive however many weeks of medical leave that i need without it affecting my insurance. I may even be eligible for some sort-term disability. that's cool.

The only downside to my leave (besides missing out on that tiny bit of income) is that I am also being transferred to a new store that is opening in town. By the time i'm recovered, i will already supposed to have started at this store. So unfortunately, i never got to have my "last day" at work with my wonderful partners and dear customers. that abrupt ending is a bit sad, but i'll still get to visit and say hi - just a bit different than being on the "A team" as many of our customers call our morning crew. I'll miss them a lot.

just last week i was telling my sister how awesome it would be if i just had one week off of starbucks so i could concentrate on ACSI only. so, that's a blessing in disguise! Though right now it is really hard for me to sit at the computer for lengthy amounts of time, so i won't be putting in any extra ACSI hours until my leg is a bit more stable.

Landon calls me "princess" these days and treats me accordingly. He washes my hair, fixes my pillows, makes me all 3 meals each day, drives me around, buys me starbucks (!). Yesterday he went to the library and picked out a bunch of movies that he thought i would like - so sweet. and before he left for work he left a glass of water in each room. i've discovered that not only can i not walk, but since i'm putting all my body weight on my crutches every-other step, i really can't carry anything that can't fit in a plastic bag. so each room has water enough for me and my camel-like needs. i'm so grateful to have a husband with such sacrifical love.

Duvick has noticed no difference and is insensitive to the fact that i can't play andi don't want him licking my scabs or laying on my foot.

Climbing La Plata: 14,336'

(click picture to see a panoramic view from the top of la plata from 14ers.com)

Our hike began pretty early in the morning in some pretty cold and beautiful woods. We walked beside a beautiful stream with waterfalls. I love Colorado forests in the morning (or pretty much any time). This hike was outside of Buena Vista while we were at a cabin down there. Dad and Justin and Anna joined us for this hike. Really fun time together.

I thought i felt someone stepping on my heals! i needed it at the pace i was going. notice dad's dog: Rusty.
A picture of me amidst the beautiful wildflowers just above the woods before the marsh on our way up La Plata.
woopsie - that was a mis-step in the marsh.
Landon is an amazing mountain climber - here he is, keeping me company as we tackle the hundreds of feet of boulders on our way to the summit.
almost there!
Landon making his mark on the summit.
the summit team: Landon, Justin, Anna, Hannah, Dad, Rusty.
here is landon and i celebrating at the car with some Blue Moon. we're soaking wet. wow - on our way down we got caught in a terrible storm. I was scared for my life. We got caught in a downpoar of hail, but more terrifying, the storm was very electric! We ran and ran and ran from the bottom of the boulders down through the marsh and into the woods - probably 2 miles. When i got to the top, i was so tired that i wondered if i could actually walk the entire way back to the car. It's amazing what your body is capable of when you enter the "fight or flight" instincts. Mine was flight!

look closely:

Anna and I had a lot of fun together while we were visiting she and Justin in Durango.

update from "home"

being back in Gurnee is nice. sleeping in our own amazing king size bed is great - no more elbows to the head, fists to the neck, and kicking of shins. the cooler weather is so refreshing. i've had my windows open all day each day and we've even started to get a bit chilly at night.

i was going through the shoes in my closet and found 2 pairs with mold on them! what!? i had no idea that humidity made shoes moldy. these are shoes i haven't even worn since last summer - so it's not like they were wet and i left them there to rot. gross. no bugs in our house right now, though. and gurnee has sprayed for mosquito's 3 times this summer, so we're doing pretty well.

getting back on the 3:30am schedule has been a challenge. i've made it a goal of mine to try to get to sleep before 10pm this year. i've done a good job about half of the time so far. it's nice to return to some normalcy. it's nice to return to my co-workers and customers and yummy coffee. i walked into our store and the smell of coffee was so wonderful to me (i had grown to be so sick of it - can you imagine?)
since my return i've been training for a supervisor position at starbucks. that's going pretty well, except for the 8 hour days at the store have me rackin' up the hours as i still have plenty of work to do for ACSI when i get home in the afternoon.

Landon's working a lot at erehwon. he's purchased his books for his classes and will be going to trinity this week to do his final registration. he's been pre-reading some of his material and finishing up some fun summer reading.

Sunday we went to Lakeland - a church that we had visited most during our year of church hunting. This summer we have decided that Lakeland will be our home this next year here. It was so wonderful to go to church and sit there and not be wondering if this was a good fit - and is the preacher teaching biblically, and what is their mission focus, and how to they implement prayer, etc... we had met with the pastor for lunch awhile back after one of the services and got to ask him all of our questions and he told us about how things work at lakeland. it was great to just show up, be greeted by the 2 people there that we know, and join in the body of Christ to worship, pray, and grow. i was so blessed by our time there and i really look forward to this next year as we grow within that family of believers.

after church we took the canoe on the river - it had collected dust with our being gone so long. it was wonderful and relaxing to ride the river together. we brought duvick and landon paddled 10X as much as i did, as usual. it was the perfect day for it: low humidity, clear skies with a slight breeze. so we didn't fight sweat and mosquito's. it was great.

also, my best friend out here, courtney, left for gradschool in PA. I was so sad that my only friend that i see outside of my mornings at starbucks has now joined the ranks with the rest of my friends "i'll call you when i have time and hopefully see you at christmas". yeah, every friend that has ever been dear to me including my family have become phone friends. how precious it was to have a friend in my daily presence, to rattle on about silly things, hug and pray with. i miss her already and find myself on higher guard when it comes to making more friends. i don't like this about myself right now - i tell myself (as i have done so many times before) that we only have 9 months left here. no sense in getting really committed to anything.

i still have a itch to purge and pack. though yesterday i bought cloth napkins for our kitchen table - no more throwing away of paper. not like i'm doing much cooking these days anyway.

today is a quiet morning. i love to wake when the sun has already risen.

we wish we had a tv - would so love to watch the olympics!

Littleton

While Landon was climbing Longs Peak, I got to get together with my home-town family. Denae and Nicole are two of my all-time best friends. Denae and i have been friends for the vast majority of my entire life. Nicole and i became great friends through Denae in high school. We have supported each other during some of the most difficult years in each of our lives. These ladies both stood beside me when I promised to God my commitment to Landon in marriage. They visited me when i moved to Cali my freshman year of college. And if there is anything remotely cool (or very weird) about me - it is because of their influence! Denae and Nicole are having babies and it is such a joy to share in their births and pregnancies (Though i am so sad that i can't be closer!!). In these pictures, I'm meeting little Ashlee for the first time, and I don't have any pictures of Nicole and I with her big-mama belly, so i've posted one from her blog. Love these lovely ladies.



Thursday i got to go to Boulder and meet up with two of my friends from college: Jamie and Emily. These ladies are so sweet to me. I met them both through campus crusade for Christ at UCCS. We all lived together my Jr. year along with 2 other friends. We grew in the Lord together. Em and i got to lead bible studies together, prayed for each other, did womens ministry, were accountability partners, and shared the joy of starbucks. The three of us met up and walked around Pearl Street in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. We talked about what we are learning and where our lives are taking us (we are all doing very different things these days!). It was a joy and encouragement to see them!

That evening, my father's family came to visit me. here is a picture of my cousins: Zach and Kortney. Kortney just graduated high school - i can't believe we are all finally grown up. Makes for a lot of fun when we get together. I'm so grateful for family.

Longs Peak

sorry it has been so long since my last posting - I've been SWAMPED at work - long, long days. Welp, these are pictures from Landon's solo trip to Longs Peak (see stats here). Longs peak possesses a face that climbers call, "The Diamond". According to Alpinist magazine, the diamond is the "El Cap of Colorado" - the best climbing in Colorado. So besides being a challenging and beautiful mountain for Landon to climb, it was a chance to get a glimpse of the Diamond.

He hiked on Wednesday and spent the night beside a lake. Thursday he summitted Longs and hiked the entire rest of the way down the mountain to his car. He took the long route up Longs (you can do it in one day from many other trails) and said that it was peaceful and secluded - he didn't see anyone else until late Thursday (which is really comforting for a wife when this story accompanies a picture of Mr. Big Bear).





The lake Landon camped beside.


Hiking on snow

Longs Peak elevation 14,255.



Landon at the summit looking over the beautiful expanse of the Colorado Rocky Mountains!

Colorado Springs

First stop: Sheldon's Luncheonette for breakfast with Philip and his new wife Anna:

Next stop: mini golf! McBrayers won - Woods style!




Then lunch with Britta and Travis at Chipotle
can you believe that both Anna and Britta are going to be having little babies in December? Wow!

After lunch: Rock climbing with Linds at Red Rocks Canyon - we love love love it here!

seeing the rockies nowhere but my rear view mirror is heartbreaking. i feel like i'm always leaving the place i most want to be - i told landon that returning to gurnee is like walking backwards...

sorry, what a bad way to start a post. we spent the last 2 weeks in colorado with friends and family and mountain majesty. our schedule was packed with people we love amidst colorado fun. landon climbed 3 14ers (one was a 2-day hike), and we went rock climbing 3 different days. we spent 2 days in durango, one in colorado springs, 4 in Buena Vista and Salida and the rest in Littleton. we saw everything between the NE corner of CO (Sterling) to the SW corner (Durango). IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!

we left CO at 7:45 yesterday morning and pulled into our driveway at 1am this morning. i requested work off at starbucks today (thank goodness!!!) so i'm just catching up on some things here at home and diving into 2 weeks worth of catch-up at ACSI.

contratry to the first few sentences of this post, there is a simple peace about being where we live. It was nice to wake and spend my morning alone - haven't been alone in a very long time. and i woke to a violent thunderstorm with dense humidity and temperatures in the low 70's (quite refreshing after being in 90 - 100 degree temps these last 2 weeks).

Welp, i'll be updating for a few days with pictures from our wonderful trip "home".