Yeah...it's been a while...again. Sorry!

My momma keeps asking when I'm going to write again and I keep getting side tracked which is actually par for the course right now. So let's catch up!

Since my last post I finally finished all my surgeries and procedures. Yay!  Since the car accident I've had 3 major surgeries and 3 semi-surgical procedures.  Not to mention the countless massages and chiropractic appointments.  Yeah, it was a busy 7 or 8 months.  Glad to be done with all that!

My last procedure was a couple of nerve cauterizations on a Tuesday morning.  Things went really well, but I felt a little off afterward.  Two days prior I all of a sudden had to get my hair cut right then and there.  This is very out of the norm for me considering I am crazy picky about who cuts my hair.  My stylist lives 4 hours away-like I said, crazy about who touches my hair.  Well, I got it cut by some girl at Cuts by Us.  She didn't do the worst job, but it also wasn't "woohoo!"  I tipped her $7 on a $13 cut.  That should have been my first clue.  The off-ness on Tuesday should have been my second.  I brushed them both off and went about my week.  Then came Thursday night.  I was at church as usual when at the end I felt sicker than a dog and almost began crying, because I couldn't find Isaac to take me home.  Again, not a typical me thing to do.  On the way home as my stomach feels like I'm about to barf everything I've eaten since Monday and I'm crying hysterically, I notice I'm freaking Isaac out.  :)   As I'm crying and he is trying to figure out if I need to go to the ER, I'm trying to think what my problem is.  As we are almost near the hospital (it's on our way home), I see the sign for the Women's Pavilion.  Then it hit me as I'm yelling at him to take me home and I'll explain when i can calm down.  Poor guy, i felt like I almost gave him a heart attack as I was completely fine the entire day up 'til then.  We get home, I pray to the porcelain gods, Isaac is pacing, and after 10 minutes of "prayer" I can finally catch my breath.  I told him, I thought I was pregnant and was peeing on my dollar store prego test first thing the next morning.

Keep in mind, I have been told for a number of years that it would be very difficult if not impossible to get pregnant.  I had also had 3 surgeries in the few months prior.  With that much anesthesia, it throws all your hormones (esp the chick ones) way off.  I hadn't had my period for 5 months.  Then had it and 2 weeks later had a surgery (typically when I would ovulate).  So amongst all of that craziness God just might have pulled an "I told ya so."  Friday morning came and I sprang out of bed and grabbed that good 'ol dollar store pregnancy test.  As I was watching the test and it was drawing the fluid up to the test and control line areas, that sucker light up like a Christmas tree.  I showed positive before it even got near the control line.  Holy cow, I'm pregnant!  I jumped in the shower to get my day started...and began yacking again.  Yup, I'm pregnant all right.  I told Isaac as soon as we got home from the gym, told my mother about a week later, and the rest of the world a bit after that.

Just one little glitch, I was starting a new job in a week.  Oops!  I had an appointment with my OB a couple weeks later and then told my new boss.  That one was a hard conversation to have.  She just kinda looked at me like I was crazy when I told her the date.  All she said was, "That's COM graduation day."  Oh crap!  That's our second biggest project in my new position.  The biggest is orientation, which is 1-2 weeks later.  I just quietly got up and slinked away.  A few days later she was a lot calmer about it and is now really happy for me.

Since I found out, we have had some awesome moments regarding the pregnancy and finally settled on the car accident.  It's been almost a year since the accident and I'm glad it's done and the Lord has created a miracle or two in the midst of the storm.  I know I kept this one short.  I think it was more for my sake than yours, because I needed to stop and remember that even in the hard and crazy storms, God is still with us and will even throw in a miracle or two when we wait on him.

It's been a while and life can change in an instant

Soooo, It's been quite a while since I have sat down to write and I miss it.  Recently I have had the lesson about how life can literally change in an instant reiterated in my life.  About 7 weeks ago I was in a fairly serious car accident.  One moment I was driving to work down a semi-back road (they are usually safer, right???) and the next thing I know I am on a different road facing a different direction and there is pain.  I know people's first thoughts in an accident are usually along the lines of "OMG!"  Not mine.  My thought was, "You've got to be kidding me.  Someone needs to call Isaac and my mom.  Oh and can't forget to tell the boss I won't be in today."

Let's back up a little bit.  Before the accident, life was going pretty well.  I was doing great at work and learning new things.  My back pain was minimal and pretty stable.  Husband and I had just gotten back from our anniversary trip to see Mickey (where else would we have gone?).  We had booked our cruise for the week before Christmas and came up with a payment plan.  My pups were sweet as ever and having a great time playing fetch at the puppy playground.  Life was good.

Then I see something out of the corner of my eye and focused on this teenage boy's face with a look of shock as he is barreling toward me and careening into the front driver side of my car.  **Insert info given above** At first I thought the kid had driven off.  Apparently when he realized that there were at least 5-10 witnesses of road work crew right there, he pulled over in a drive way.  My body instantly hated me and shortly there after I found myself being pulled out of my car and onto a backboard.  They are less fun than they look.  :)

As I'm lying in the ambulance, the EMT leans over me (mind you my head is strapped down to this board along with the rest of my body) and says, "Some guy just tore in here on a small scooter thing. Do you know him?"  I laughed and announced that he was my husband.  She responded, "What? You didn't want to be transported to the hospital on that?"

At the hospital I was poked, prodded, and drugged.  Since then I have seen 3 different specialists and had 3 different MRI's.  Next up: Nerve conduction tests (I can't feel much in my arm) and more nerve cauterizations. Yay for me!  LOL.

I share all of this to say, "Life happens".  One instant life is peachy.  The next, you now have 2 herniated discs in your neck, have a lower back that's worse, and have almost no strength or feeling in your arm and it's turning funny colors.  I could sit here and be cranky and all "woe is me", but I don't play like that.  Yes, I have my down right painful and crappy days sometimes where I just can't muster a smile. It happens to us all.  On those days where we have the strength to fight the "crankies" that come one, we have to fight with all our might.  I was born a fighter.  My body is messed up.  I know that.  The difference is, I'm not going to let these possibly life long issues (I say possibly because I'm waiting on my miracle) get me down and make me a cranky pants.

One of my awesome aunts sends me letters every so often.  A few years ago she jotted something down on one of those cartoon with a saying notepad things you stick on the fridge.  You know what I'm talking about.  Well, this one had a great saying.  "Put your big girl panties on and get over it."  I laughed when I got it and she said she didn't even realize she sent it on that.  I loved it and now apply it to as much of my life as possible.  Everyday I have a choice.  I can A) let the pain take over and catch the crankies OR B) Put my big girl panties on and take on the world.

Life can and will change in an instant.  How bad that change can be partly depends on how you choose to deal with it.  Today, I put my big girl panties on!