Merry Christmas Indeed

Sara at Chuck E Cheese's. This was her Christmas present from me and Darrel

Sara passed out on Christmas Eve while she was taking a bath. She didn't even get to make her Santa Cookies, but mommy did and Santa sure did enjoy them;)

My Christmas present to our parents! We are due sometime mid summer

Sara doing a dance at her Christmas party

Me and Sara at her Christmas party. She had such a great time!!


And as you can see the days leading to Christmas Day have been filled with hope and excitement. This has been one of the best holiday's I've experienced in a long while. I hope next year is even better. Merry Christmas to all!!

What a wonderful time of year!!!

I have learned that the busier I am the harder it is for me to fool with the computer and keep up with my blog. However, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving and we were able to get together with all of our family and even pose for some pictures outdoors. Hopefully we'll get the pics by Christmas so that we can post them up;)

Sara really learned about Thanksgiving at her school and even dressed as a pilgrim during their Thanksgiving feast. Now she is planning to celebrate the birth of Jesus and participate in a birthday party for Him next week.

Darrel is performing very well in school and has been elected to the vascular sonography tract of his degree as he so desired. His first quarter of school is winding down and he is in the top 10 percent of his class. How proud we are of him and his work!!

I am really learning to love my job. I can control my own schedule, and I am seeing that my skills are really helping people gain back independence which they lost through one way or another. Now I am working on studying to take my national boards so that I can continue to work and support my family.

We are so grateful for the many blessings we find daily that have been given to us. I am surprised often at how much our Savior and Heavenly Father really love us! What a marvelous gift we have been given to have the restored gospel in our lives and know that our Savior has made a way for us to return to live with Them if we learn to live Their commandments.

Sara's Foot

This is what Sara's leg and foot look like 4 weeks after surgery. The picture is a little blurry because it is from my phone, but you can see the pins on the right side and the dark black lines are dried blood from the incisions.

I know this looks a little gory, but her foot actually looks normal. I wish I had taken a picture of her foot before surgery so that everyone else could see the difference.

She is now in a short-leg cast that is black with a pink spiral stripe going down to her toes like a candy cane. It will still be a couple of days before she can walk by herself because her leg muscles are weak and she is unsure of her abilities. She is progressing great and amazes me every day at how well she is recovering.


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Darrel only has three weeks left to work before he starts school and he is oh so ready for that day to come.

I just received my temporary OT license and I have a tentative start date of September 14th. I am so excited about my new job and being able to apply all that I have learned so that I can help other people!

Sara's Surgery

Sara's surgery was last Thursday at Scottish Rite in Atlanta. She wasn't too happy to be there because we had prepared her for what she would experience, but the nursing and staff did an excellent job in making her feel happy. When they brought her to her room for pre-op they gave her a medication that made her loopy. And boy was she ever that!! She even told her surgeon that he was in the way of her tv when he came in to answer any last minute questions;))

She was a trooper! We weren't able to walk back to the OR with her, but she went on a Dora the Explorer hunt to find her room and did not fuss.

When she came out of surgery she was a little sick, but energetic and kept us laughing.

She has been home since Sunday afternoon and has been off her pain medication since Monday night. She can maneuver a wheelchair like a professional. She has also learned how to scoot on the floor and transfer from the couch to the wheelchair with minimal assistance.

Sara begins Pre-K at her new school on Tuesday Aug 18th. She is very excited and is ready to meet her new teacher. They only attend school until 12 noon and then she will be with the other 4 year olds in the child care center until Darrel or I can pick her up.

Darrel also received his school schedule for the Fall quarter and is pleased as he will be at University Hospital for all of his classes and furthermore doesn't start until 1pm on Mondays.

I have a job awaiting my license through the state of Georgia. It will be a wonderful change to be able to get paid for work.

Boy how time flies??

I never thought I would spend an entire month without once blogging!

I have less than 2 days remaining in my clinical rotations and already have a job lined up.

As you all know Darrel has been formally accepted into the Cardiovascular Technology program at Augusta Tech this fall.

And more importantly, Sara will be having her surgery next Thursday at Scottish Rite in Atlanta. She is not exactly thrilled with this notion, but I think she'll enjoy the time she has to play and people doing for her. Our neighbors are fabulous and have already offered to help in any way while we're at the hospital and when she gets home.

I'll post pics of our beach trip as soon as I get my camera back since I left it with my mother-in-law this past weekend.

It has been confirmed...

Darrel has been accepted into Augusta Technical College's Cardiovascular technology program and will be a full time student this fall!!!

Congratulations Darrel!! We are all so proud of you!!!

A day in the life...

This past Saturday I purchased Sara a pair of flip flops with Tinkerbell on them. And she had to show everyone what was on her shoes (who wouldn't right?) During this outing we also stopped by the local feed store and picked up some treats for our cow friends When it cooled off we took Sara over to the cows and let her share the treats we had purchased. The cows were literally coming through the fence to get the food Sara had. Some how or another the cows ended up with Sara's new shoes on the other side of the fence. And boy was she ever upset! She kept yelling "that's mine...you can't wear them....give it back!!!" It was precious.

Darrel still has not heard any definitive news about his cardiovascular tech program and we were supposed to know something almost a month ago. But he is still having fun feeding the fish and watching the birds come in in the evening.

I am beginning my 7th week of my last clinical rotation. To pass your midterm one needs to make a 90 or above on the evaluation and to pass the final one needs to make 122 or higher. I was fortunate enough to make 122 on my midterm and can breeze through the remainder of my rotation knowing that I will pass. I love what I am doing and hope to find a job soon. I have also been afforded the opportunity to observe in orthopedic surgery tomorrow morning. I am excited to witness the surgical procedures that my patients are recovering from.

We are really enjoying our new ward. It's tiny and full of interesting people. Our bishop came over last week and spent some time just getting to know us. We really miss our friends in the Augusta ward though;(

Other than this, nothing exciting has been happening with us. Maybe we'll have better news for our next posting!!