January

On New Years Day, Ryan took the 4 oldest skiing. 

It was Jane and Seth’s first time and they had lessons.  Everyone loved it.  Ryan gushed about what a great day it was.  I hopped (still couldn’t put much weight on my busted knee) around the kitchen and made some homemade donuts that were hot and ready when my skiers walked in the door. 

Faith and I stayed home that day and I got some worrisome news regarding my knee and the test required for the knee.  It was a rough day to be alone, but it led me to some really good prayers and conference talks, so it was worth it, I think.  I’ll have to do a post sometime because these last few months have been extremely trying and spiritually intense, which is necessary for growth, but not always fun.

Speaking of my knee, we found out during the month of January that I’d torn my ACL completely, had a minor tear in my meniscus, had a  possible osteo chondral injury, had to reschedule my February surgery to March 13, and that the repair would be a hamstring graft instead of a cadaver graft.   Lots of doctor appointments and a few tears.  The osteo chondral injury repair will keep me from being able to run longer than a few miles, so we are really hoping that it’s just a bruise instead of a hole in the knee bone. 

On the bright side, I was feeling 90% within a few weeks of the injury and was able to walk (here’s my first walk for exercise:

bike, swim, elliptical and do any kind of housekeeping/childcare necessary.  ACL injuries are weird that way…they feel fine most of the time.  (Makes it a little hard to go under that knife again and re-injure myself, but I know it’s the only way to feel 100% again.)  I also had SO MUCH HELP…lots of meals, rides for kids, childcare, phone calls, little gifts brought in.  When you’re hurt, you realize how much acts of service are needed and brighten your day.  (Filing that away for future use…)

We had a sunny January, though cold, and enjoyed playing on the frozen  lake a few different times.  Such a fun venue for pictures.  In some of the pictures, Ryan is pushing kids across the lake in a contest to see who could slide the farthest.

Gabe gave his first talk in sacrament meeting, Emma played church volleyball, Seth went on a date with me to the arcade in the mall,

Faith started full on reading (she’s got 1.5 years BEFORE SHE STARTS KINDERGARTEN)

and I read and discussed the FABULOUS book Daring Greatly and Ryan went and got this game:

from the Daines and we played for hours one Sunday night.

And that’s January for you:  skiing, comfort food, indoor games, with everyday life thrown in for good measure.