So what is the deal with colds, croup, congestion and coughs this year? I feel like as soon as one of the members of my household gets all mended a few days later another one comes down with some sort of ill symptoms. Nikia woke up yesterday barely able to breath because she was extremely congested. All she could manage to do was squeek out a croupy cough. I was already feeling lousy the night before as I could feel a sore throat and the body aches coming on. So Nikia and I spent the day together being lazy and laying in bed watching cartoons and reading books. It's hard to build up an immune system when it's right back in the same household within a few days. I have bought more medicine this winter than I ever remember doing before.

Nikia is back in school today and feeling much better. I'm feeling better too. I'm praying this is the last of the winter colds and sick days.

A little of this and that.....

This morning Trevor and I over slept - talk about a panic to get the kids up and out the door to catch the bus. Nothing like shoving food in their mouths and throwing their coats/hats/mittens on. Thank goodness the bookbags get all packed the night before. I think I remembered to comb Nikia's hair - I hope I did!

Trevor left a little later this morning for what has become his annual snowmobile trip with the guys. I'm still trying to think of what I can make an annaul trip for me and the girls. I just know it needs to involve sunshine and a lounge chair - and not snow and a jacket!

Over the last couple of weeks I've been babysitting my little 2 1/2 year old niece, Shayne, for my sister. She is such a little angel and so fun and easy to watch. I don't know a little kid that says "please" and "thank you" or is more polite than her.

This weekend Kale has a basketball tournement. Should be fun! He takes his games very seriously - sometimes a little too intense. We've had a little talk about learning from the mistakes and letting them go and not dwelling on them - cause if he doesn't it just makes the rest of the game no fun for him and more mistakes will happen. We'll see how much he remembers about that conversation. :)

On Sunday our local fire department has their annual fund raiser. I love going to these events not only to help raise money but some of the elderly people who don't get out as much usually find a way to make it to these events and it's always good to visit with them and other friends and neighbors in the community.

I don't know about you, but I love going to our tax appointment. We got that all taken care of last week and the deposit should be made to our account today. YAY!! I wonder if Trevor remembers the exact amount? You know..... if I should happen to go on a little shopping spree while he's out of town if he'll even notice..hmmm.

The school conferences were last week. They went really well. I have to say that I LOVE the teachers my kids have.

The neighbors dog won't go away. Obviously our female dog is a big attraction to him. Let's just say that if she has little black mutt puppies this spring - Trevor will be very upset. In trying to avoid that - I've been letting her stay in the house. If you know me very well then you know this is not something that will become a habbit. I can't stand animal hair clinging to stuff. Ick! She has strict orders to stay in the entryway, however, this morning we discovered a very warm spot on the livingroom carpet where she ventured onto during the night and slept comfortably. Naughty girl! (I could put up with puppies more than dog hair flying around in my house)

I really, really hope winter wraps up soon. I want to go places without a jacket. I want to step outside and feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. I want to see farmers out in the fields. I want to see green shades of spring. I want to hear birds chirpping in the mornings. I could go on but I'll stop with those. I just really want the snow and cold to be over.

Home!...and back to reality! Can I just get back on the plane and head South?

Before I begin I have to say I did a quick read through Heidi's journal of her trip and I could literally just insert our names and faces into her journal and photos. So, I've decided not to post many photos or go into a lot of detail.

We had an AMAZING time and the weather couldn't have been any better. I have the tan to prove it :) .

On the first day when Trevor and I had just arrived at the Omni Hotel in Orlando, we were literally grabbing our luggage and heading into the hotel when his phone beeped (he has the weather forecast on it). It said "windchill advisory for xxxxx, SD". We both looked at each other and started to snicker which quickly turned into a full fledge laugh. Yep....we were definately in the right place. The hotel was gorgeous and so was our room.

Trevor was supposed to have a meeting Tuesday morning but they cancelled it and so it left the whole day wide open for us to do whatever we chose. After my very delightful, relaxing, can't-wait-to-have-another-one morning in the spa.... a group of us decided to go to Sea World. Our way was paid and so it left us with only food and souveniers to pay for (very NICE). It was really alot of fun and the shows were great.

Wednesday..... let's see....I sat by the pool all day and soaked in the warmth of the rays!!!!

Thursday....we headed to Ft. Lauderdale and boarded the ship. Our room had a balcony!!! We left the sliding doors open the entire trip. Nothing like good fresh air 24/7. At night we laid in bed and fell asleep to the sound of the ocean waves - awesome!!!

Friday.....let's see....we laid out and did absolutely nothing! Well, we did get up off our lounge chairs long enough to eat and fetch a few drinks from time to time.

Saturday.....we had one stop on our cruise at Cozumel and left the ship for our mini jeep excursion. Our tour was amazing. We drove along a beautiful beach which our group had totally to ourselves, Trevor went snorkeling (I would have given it a try but as soon as the they were done our guide said we were leaving the beach - which ment no laying-out time???!!!!) Trevor snorkelled about a mile! He loved it, except his float vest wouldn't hold air (which of course he didn't realize till he was way out away from the beach) so he had to work extra hard to stay floating (NO touching/standing on the coral reef!!). Next we headed to a very old lighthouse and ate some tacos -spicy, spice hot - but very good. Then we headed to the saltwater crocodiles. Three of them came right up to us - YIKES! Then off to the ruins - very interesting! Our tour guides were very funny but took great care of us and gave us a lot of information at each stop. All together we were gone five hours - it went by so quickly. We did a little shopping and then back to the ship we headed.

Sunday.....it sprinkled very lightly in the morning - perfect day to sleep in! The sun came out so we headed to the lounge chairs and settled in for the rest of the day.

Monday....arrived back at Ft. Lauderdale and headed to the Miami airport, which we sat for SEVEN hours. It was in the 80's when we left Miami and by the time we arrived back at Watertown, SD the temp was windy and below zero. UGHHH!!! That first step off the plane was a hard one to make (very small airport - you get off the plane outside and walk into the airport). I didn't want the trip to end and I really didn't want frost bite - we didn't have any coats along!!

Every evening on the ship we took in various entertainment but the best was just sitting in a corner of a nightclub and doing a little "people watching". There are some people who think they can dance and can't, quite obviously!!!! Then, there were some who were really fun to watch. We never went to bed before midnight and had so much fun with all the ship had to offer. I'm quite thankful I forgot to weigh myself before we left for the trip. I ate like a pig. The food was really good and it' like never ending and always available - YUMM!

Between laying out and all the airplane/airport time I managed to get through two books and three magazines. I really couldn't have had a more relaxing time.

We were treated to such luxury the whole trip. The company that took us on the trip could not have made it any more perfect for us. Everything was paid for - everything!!! Except the souveniers we bought, our excursion and my spa treatment, but heck, I think we can cover that much!. For our first cruise we were spoiled tremendously. The ship we were on was one of the largest out there - Royal Carribbean - Navigator of the Seas. I would highly recommend this ship if your thinking of a cruise. When we docked in Cozumel there was another ship right beside ours - it was about 1/3 the size of ours. We then realized just how good we had it.

It is good to be back - kind of! We missed the kids but we called them often so we knew they were doing fine. Would it be bad if I told you I've already been on Trevor's case to get selling to meet the requirements (which they increased) for next years trip (a different hotel on the beach in Miami and a longer cruise). Chop, chop honey, Sell! Sell! Sell!!!

Since you asked......

This trip is for Trevor and I. He earned it through work (sold enough stuff), so it's also a free trip. The best kind, right?!!! Well, free except for the morning at the spa Trevor booked for me and the jeep ride/snorkeling excursion I booked in Cozumel. We also get a $100 credit on the ship to put towards whatever. Couldn't get much better, huh?! I know, we're blessed! Times like this I love that my husband is in sales and welcome the perks that come with it.

Even if the weather isn't hot or even if it rains a little, so be it. It can't be any worse than negative degree weather like here. I'll try to bring the sunshine back with me to unthaw everyone - no promises though!! See you when I'm back!!

We've done a lot of talking about taking the kids to Disney this year also but then got to thinking about a Disney cruise. If you've been to/on either maybe you could give me some feed back on the pros and cons of each. Which is better?

I'm back..... for a few days anyway!

Wow, were to begin. I'm not going to go in to much detail about our Christmas/New Year break since it seems like so long ago now and such old news. We did have a great holiday. We were actually home for Christmas and Christmas Eve - it was great!! It didn't seem like such a rushed holiday for once. We stayed home and just enjoyed our family time. Even New Years Eve we were home - but that's because I was sick.

Remember Trevor and the kids were both sick right before Christmas, well, guess who got hit hard during Christmas. I was sick from the weekend before Christmas till about five days ago. For about four of those days I hardly had a voice. The doctor said that it was viral and of course just needed to run its course. However, the day I went in I was really feeling terrible and I think he took one look at me and had pitty because he still gave me some antibiotics just in case they might help. Needless to say, I was completely miserable (healthwise) for the majority of the holidays. I even missed two different basketball games (if you know me at all - you know that means I was VERY sick).

Last week Nikia started to come down with the same thing I had. She even lost her voice for a couple days too. Yuck! Finally, we are all better now!!!!!

Trevor's gone this week for three days at meetings and then next week we leave for our vacation. 3 days in Florida and then a 4 day cruise. I'm already dreaming of soaking up some sunshine. I can't wait!

Before I started this I went through and caught up on everyones blogs - I haven't been on the computer since.....well, I can't remember...but pretty much since before Christmas. I thought about a lot of you and wondered what you'd been up to and how your holidays went but I just had no desire to sit down at the computer to find out til now.


Soooooo...... I am alive and doing fine and it sounds like all of you are too. It's good to be back and I look forward to reading your posts again.

Tis The Season........for the flu, and the croup that is. Yes, those nasty bugs have been visiting our house for the last two weeks. Last week it was Trevor and Nikia with the flu and now it's Kale with the croup. Ugh!!!!

Christmas break officially begins on Friday at 2:31 pm. Needless to say the kids are excited! We'll be having our Christmas with my family this Saturday. My brother and his wife will be just back from their vacation in Mexico so it will be exciting to hear all about that. They've never taken a trip like that before so I can't wait to hear the stories. I love hanging out with my family. We all live so close by and see each other often but I still enjoy being with them whenever possible. Family is so important to me!

Kale has already guessed three of his gifts under the tree (little stinker) and I lied right to his face and told him that's not what the present was. I know, I know, really bad of me for lying, but I couldn't ruin the suprise, right??!!

I'm going to do a little baking this week. I stress LITTLE because I'm just not one who does this often. As I've said before, those goodies always find a good nesting place right on my body and never leave with out a fight. I hate fighting! :)

Remember Trevor and I agreed our gifts to each other were going to be the tv and entertainment center....yep, I found out he bought me another gift. Grrrrrr !!!!! Now what am I going to get him????? Maybe underwear and socks...that'll teach him to stick to our deal!!! :)

I still haven't taken the time to write out a Christmas letter, it's probably not going to happen this year. Hopefully, I'll get a picture out! Don't be offended if you don't get one... I probably just didn't get any sent..

The kids are all done with their Christmas programs (church and school). YAY!!! They were good but between program practices and basketball practices it really makes for some long days for the kids and sure drains the gas tank.

Trevor and I are going on a trip the end of January which means one thing....I should be getting real nice and friendly with the treadmill NOW! Why does it have to seem like such a chore to lose weight? It just figures that the time of year when the calories are higher than normal and the sugar intake is rocketing I need to trim down.

I'm ready to just settle in for winter and not leave the house except for an occasional basketball game. Yes, I know...pathetic and lazy, but it would be nice! I love to admire the snow and cold from the warmth of my home.

Well, I need to go. I kept Kale home from school today. That croupy cough is a nasty bugger. How long do you let the croup go before taking them to the doctor anyway? I'm going to go get a good book and let my big boy cuddle up with me in the rocking chair and read him a story. Then maybe we'll play a good competitive game of Connect Four. Even though he's miserable I love having him here with me.

I know this was a big hodge-podge of a post but I just wanted to give you an update and let you know I'll be back after the new year. Take care my friends and be safe.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Enjoying December!

It's not even Christmas yet and I've already been enjoying some new things.



I took some of the money I got for my birthday and went and bought myself a Braun Tassimo. What's a Tassimo you ask? It's simply God's creation of the perfect Latte, Cappaccino, Tea, Espresso, or Hot Chocolate maker. Trust me, it's divine!!!



Trevor and I decided that our gifts to each other this year would be a new entertainment center and tv. We bought a 42" HDTV flatscreen and a smaller corner entertainment center. I could stand out in our garage and watch tv now if I had to (just kiddin). The tv is huge, but very cool and the entertainment center gives us more space in the living room (especially with the Wii).



Trevor has been wanting a PlayStation or Xbox for years now and I've talked him out of it...... up til now. I finally gave in and he went and stood in line at Shopko at 6 am the other day to get a Wii. So guess what our whole family has been doing in the evenings?! Last night Nikia and I were playing tennis....what a hoot to watch her get into the game. I've decided it was a good purchase as far as getting some excerise. Each game really gives you a workout (at least the ones we have so far).


And of course, I'm still loving my iPod Nano. I think I have around 300 songs so far. I've been downloading Christmas songs on it now. It's such a cool little techno-gadget!!!

I don't think I'll be back on here until next week. I've been busy deer hunting and working at the farm and just haven't had time to post anything lately. Thursday morning we're heading to Minneapolis and either coming back Saturday night late or Sunday morning.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and loved ones.

DON'T EAT TOO MUCH!!!

New Do............


Some of you may think that it really doesnt' look much different from my profile picture but it is. I have been trying to grow it back out because when I asked Trevor what he wanted me to do, that's what he said. Well, I gave up trying to grow it back out. I couldn't stand that in-between stage of long and short. It was right below my shoulders and looked ridiculous. I dreaded everytime I had to fix my hair. I couldn't do anything with it.

So here are a few pictures and my idea of a video blog (since I'm uneducated in that area). I love photo opps (it's a great way to show you just how much of a NUT I am), so much so, that to risk any embarassment I went upstairs into my bathroom to hide from the kids. I'd hate to have them walk in and ask what the heck I was doing.




Side view.















Front right.

Ugh...phone call.....

it's Trevor....blah, blah, blah.....obviously he doesn't know that he's interrupting my photo session of my new hairdo....blah, blah, blah....

Oh, it's serious.....he has a flat tire.....he's in the middle of nowhere....he can't get the spare out from under his truck....he's been out in the cold for over an hour...no flashlight...can't see a thing.....he's freezing....he finally reached some farmer to come help him...

he'll be fine....now....what was I doing.... oh yeah...new do, photos...

Front left.

Straight on.










However, I think tomorrow i'm going back to have her take a little more off the back. I'm also getting it colored darker tomorrow. So you just may have to sit through another video/ photo session! Totally kidding!!! I think this one was ridiculous enough!!

UPDATE..the guy showed up at 12:30 and I had to leave at 1:00. The original appointment was 11:00. I rescheduled for tomorrow at 10:00am. We're still living in a messy kitchen. So what's a Mom to do... I brought home Kentucky Fried Chicken and we had a picnic in the living room.



Grrrrrr..........

Today I get a free carpet cleaning for my livingroom, stairs and hallway. Trevor helped me move everything into my kitchen (complete mess) before he left this morning.

I get a phone call saying their car broke down (yeah right) and will be at least a half hour late. They are now, one hour late. I have to leave here in one hour for a hair appointment that i'm not rescheduling.


Grrrrr........

Sorry this has taken so long. This is the last of my story. It was typed with many tears and emotions and took longer than I thought it would.

......continuation and finale.

October 2002

Let me tell you a little about Dr. Rieber, an orthopedic doctor. Out of all our local Dr’s, I wouldn’t have wanted any other one on call that night. It was the other Dr’s that were pushing for me to be sent to Minneapolis. Dr. Rieber was new to our area but had been working with some specialists in a Minneapolis practice prior to coming to South Dakota, so he had excellent training under his belt.

Dr. Rieber decided to admit me into a room for the night and send my ex-rays and MRI to some of his previous colleagues in Minneapolis for advice on the next step for me. They finally moved me off that stinkin hard board and onto a soft bed, however, a lot of sand and dirt moved with me. Again, the pain was there but lessened by the meds. His last words that I remember that night to the staff was “Do not move her!” I remember getting settled into my new room which would actually turn out to be my home for the next fourteen days. Trevor stayed in my room for quite a few of those days, so a portable bed was also wheeled in for him. They set me up with a morphine pump so I could regulate when I could get a better shot of pain medicine then they already had pumping into me.

Shane had come into my room feeling so bad and responsible for what had happened. He apologized so many times to me. I tried to get him to understand that in no way whatsoever did I blame him. It was such a fluke accident; there was no way he could have known it would happen. I promised him I would get back on a horse again someday. However, I never dreamed it would be as hard as it actually was.

I can still remember so clearly my Dad coming in my room that night too. He walked up to my bed and with tears in his eyes and told me he wished it was him laying there instead of me. It meant so much to me to hear him say such kind words. Dad and I have always been close and have had a great relationship. I knew he honestly meant that.

A close friend of my sister had found out about the accident and being such a kind and thoughtful person that she is, she quickly made up ham sandwiches and hot chocolate and coffee and brought it all to the hospital for my family.

I remember lying there that first night so scared to go to sleep. What if I moved in my sleep? I never sleep lying on my back. I’m more of a sleep-on-my-side-or tummy kind of girl so this was not comfy at all. The nurses had to come in every couple of hours and wake me up to check my vitals and check my blood count.

The next morning my family all came and were in my room visiting when in walked Stephanie, a physical therapist. She said that she needed to turn me on my side so that I wouldn’t get any bed sores and to get my circulation going in my body. What? Are you kidding me? Bed sores? I haven’t even been on this bed for 24 hours yet! I told her Dr. Rieber said no one is to move me. My whole family pleaded with her to not move me. She kept insisting that this needed to be done. She said she’d have a nurse sent to talk to Dr. Rieber about it. We found out later he was actually in surgery at the time. In the mean time she was gathering nurses into my room to help move me. I was getting very nervous and very mad because she wouldn’t listen to us. (While I’m typing this my hands are shaking because I can remember this moment so clearly). She placed the nurses all around my bed so that they all held a part of the bed sheet I was laying on instead of actually touching me. Without waiting for the nurse to come back with the information from Dr. Rieber they lifted the sheet so that my body would begin to turn onto my side. As they did this my whole midsection totally collapsed due to the bones not being attached. Naturally, the pain was there and I screamed out loud. They set me down quickly and one nurse went running out of the room crying and Stephanie ran out of the room too.

To say that my family and I were mad would be an understatement. About a minute later, the nurse came back and said Dr. Rieber said not to move me. TOO LATE!! On the back side of the pelvis there are three little holes where the nerves come through the bone. On my pelvis, all those holes had cracks running through them. I was already very, very close to nerve damage and being paralyzed. Also, my pubic bone was free floating; it wasn’t attached to anything. I didn’t need these particular bones being damaged anymore than they already were. Later, Stephanie came in and apologized. Her apology meant nothing to me. We all told her not to do it. I don’t know what she was trying to prove. This was probably more traumatic for me than when the horse fell on me. I didn’t remember what all happened in those few seconds with the horse but with Stephanie I knew the situation with my bones and the pain it would cause. To this day, it still makes me furious what she did. Dr. Rieber was very upset with her as well. Of course since my body and bones moved this meant they had to, yet again, move me back on that board and take me down for another MRI to make sure my bones didn’t get messed up even more. This time, before they moved me they made sure I had plenty of pain medicine to make it easier on me. Thank the Lord my bones weren’t really messed up more than what they had been.

When we got our bills from the hospital, Trevor made sure that we didn’t have to pay for that MRI. I really wanted to sue her butt for the extra pain and everything else I went through because of her, but we didn’t. I still wish we would have tried to do something more about her – like get her fired! I still harbor bad feelings toward her?

The accident happened on Wednesday, the first ordeal with Stephanie happened on Thursday and by Saturday morning it all finally hit me. I woke up that morning crying. I think the whole reality of everything became real to me. My emotions overcame me and I cried most of the day. It was so hard not to be able to hold and barely hug my little 1 ½ year old girl. It was so hard to know what Kale witnessed and not be able to hold him and tell him everything was going to be alright, simply because I didn’t know if everything would be okay. I knew this was all still a big burden on my brother. I knew my husband was going through a lot of stress and agony worrying about me and about our kids. The doctors were still discussing surgery and how to go about everything but no plan was set yet.

My room started to overfill with so many bouquets from friends. Pictures that the kids would color when they came to visit we hung on the walls. The nurses said they’d never seen a room with so many flowers. When someone would walk into my room they’d say it smelled and looked like a flower shop. I loved it! It meant so much to me that so many people cared about me. Trevor brought a little tv that had a vcr built right into it so I could watch movies and someone gave me a tape player to listen to books on tape. It was so wonderful to have these items to help pass the time. I’m not sure of the number of visitors I had over the two weeks but it was amazing.

Finally, on the following Wednesday morning, seven days of laying flat (and NO bed sores I might add) Dr. Rieber walked into my room and announced to me that he was going to do surgery in about a ½ hour. He explained what he was going to do but none of it really made sense to me. It was either this or they would send me to Minneapolis for the procedure to be done. There I was all alone. My family was actually moving cattle that day and Trevor was at work. I didn’t want to go to surgery without anyone knowing or being with me so I desperately made phone calls to everyone’s cell phones. I finally reached my Mom and Trevor and they came up immediately.

When I woke up from surgery I looked down to my waist area and there were these metal rods sticking up about a foot above my body and crossways across my waist. They were all attached to four screws that were drilled down into my pelvis. I began to cry. It still makes me very emotional today. It was so terrible to look at. Dr. Rieber said that this would allow me to be able to move better without my pelvis collapsing every time and allow the bones to heal in the correct place. The whole contraption was called an Exterior Fixator. There was no way to cover it up or hide it.

I had received a card that had a scripture on it that caught my attention.
Isaiah 40:29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. It goes on to say vs. 31 those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. I knew these scriptures were just for me. I began to confess them every day and claim my healing. I also began to confess 1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. Once I began to say these scriptures every day I never had a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to walk or run again normally. I knew God had healed me and took care of everything when he died on the cross for me. I just kept claiming my healing every day.

When they had taken me down for surgery they moved me to a different bed (when I was put under) which was wonderful since I still had a bunch of sand and dirt under me from the riding arena. I hadn’t been able to wash my hair for a week so it was terribly dirty. It still had the sand and dirt from the arena as well. Since I still had to lye flat this was not an easy task. The gal who did it did a terrible job but at least she got it cleaner than it was.

When I found out that Stephanie was going to be my physical therapist again I told the doctor making rounds (Dr. Rieber was gone a few days) that I really didn’t want her. He basically told me to suck it up and that she was very good at what she does. He’s been known for having no bed side manners. I could have choked him for the way he talked to me.

In the days to follow Stephanie taught me how to place my hands and elbows to assist myself in sitting up. I felt like such a child having to learn all this but I new it was necessary if I wanted to get around. I had one of those bars attached to my bed that had another bar that hung over me that I could grab on to. Can’t recall what they’re called. I was also taught different exercises using that bar and a little elastic band that could help increase the muscle tone and strength in my legs and arms that I had lost from not moving for so long. What ever the physical therapist told me to do a day I at least doubled it. I was determined to move again.

My occupational therapist told me that if I couldn’t sit on the edge of my bed and brush my hair I couldn’t go home. This meant that I would have to be able to use one hand to balance myself and hold myself in place on the bed while the other hand held the brush. Sounds simple enough but it was very hard for me.

The first time I was able to sit up I was very week and nauseous. My body was not used to being in the upright position. I could only stay up for a few minutes at a time. After a couple of days of just sitting on the edge of my bed (with help) Stephanie decided that I should sit in a chair. Again she had a bunch of nurses come in and slide me onto the chair. She said she would be back to check on me in a bit. I sat there for two hours! They had taken out the catheter to put me in the chair so after this amount of time I had to pee. My body was getting week and I desperately needed to lay down. The nurses couldn’t find Stephanie (turns out she had left the building and forgot about me). They had to get the doctor’s approval before my nurse could put the catheter back in. My nurse was an angel. She was so concerned for me and did all she could for me. Since Stephanie wasn’t there, nobody knew exactly how to get me back into my bed. I was so stressed and had to go pee so bad. I was getting nauseous and my body began to shake uncontrollably. Finally, they reached the doctor and were allowed to put the catheter in. What a relief! I don’t recall how they got me back into bed.

I wasn’t going to mention it but it was part of the whole ordeal. The whole situation with going to the “bathroom” from the very beginning was so terrible. I felt bad for my nurses and what they had to do for me. It was more than embarrassing for me. The catheter was a good thing, however, using a bed pan is an experience I NEVER want to go through again. Even when I finally got home, it became my mom’s job to aid me with this. After a while I was able to use a commode, but that was still disgusting. Someone else always had to empty it for me.

It came time that my insurance wanted to get me out of the hospital. I wasn’t ready. They talked about putting me in a nursing home. NO WAY!! I laid the law down and told them I would never go to one of those. I worked even harder on my exercises so I could maneuver my self better. I finally was able to get my self up and slide onto a wheelchair. Finding a wheelchair that was big enough so that the screws and bars sticking out of me didn’t hit the sides was a task. Dr. Rieber decided that I could probably go home since my mom would be there with me. I was taught how to give myself shots (blood thinner). I was given a good prescription of Vicodin (pain meds). I would have to get a hospital bed along with one of those bars that helped me lift myself up. Trevor had to build a wheelchair ramp, which, was not an easy task. He’d never done such a thing before so he had lots of questions like, what degree of an incline should it have? How wide? He miraculously was able to get the lumber from his work – which they just happened to have lying around. He built it and it worked!

When I was finally able to go home the fresh air felt like heaven. My family had my room all set up for me. I almost didn’t get the wheelchair through the door frame because the chair was so big. I couldn’t get it through the bathroom door. I still couldn’t spend much time in the wheelchair because it was pretty painful to put any pressure on my pelvis. I laid in my at-home hospital bed most of the time. I continued to work on my exercises and get stronger.

Finally I was able to use the wheelchair all the time. Once I had that mastered I moved on to a walker. This wasn’t easy with the bars and screws sticking out of my pelvis. Finally I was able to use crutches, which again, was not an easy task with screws and bars sticking out.

When the day finally came that I had the Exterior Fixator removed I had gone in for a simple check up and Dr. Rieber decided that it could come off. There are no words for the joy that I felt that day. It was basically another surgery and I was put under because they had to take the screws out of my bones. When I came to, I looked down to my pelvis and it was flat. No bars or screws. I cried. It was such an emotional time for me. No more odd looks from people. I could finally hold my kids on my lap and give them a real hug. I could get around without worrying about people bumping into me. I finally looked normal again.




This is a picture of the actuall screws that were screwed into my pelvis. Two on each side. About two inches of the screw is what stuck out of my body and then the bars were attached to that. They stuck out about a foot from my waist. Dr. Rieber let me keep these as a momento. I put the paperclip on there just to give an idea of the size.


I continued to use the crutches for quite awhile. It was still very painful to put too much pressure on my pelvis. For years I couldn’t sit for very long at all. My pelvis became very sore after such a short periods of time. Going to basketball games or softball games, or sitting in a tractor was difficult.

Throughout this whole time not any of Trevor’s family came to visit me. This hurt Trevor too. He and the kids could have used them for support. Thank God my family was there for us. When we finally went to visit his family, Trevor’s sister in law, who never even saw the Exterior Fixator, made a comment about how I should have hung tinsel and Christmas balls from it for Christmas. They all thought it was so funny. This hurt me so bad! How could she make such an awful comment about something she knew nothing about. This was something that was painful enough to deal with. I really found out just how much they all didn’t care about me or my family.

I don’t recall the length of time all this took. Someone told me I should be writing all of it down and taking pictures but I didn’t want to have any memories of it. It was a time in my life I just wanted to forget and move on and never look back. I know now I really should have documented things better. Throughout many years it was so hard for me to go through a day with out visioning the horse falling on me and the whole ordeal with Stephanie. I went at least three years with this going through my mind everyday. After that it was at least every week. Now, it’s a few times a month, but I still get extremely emotional over it all.

I know that God was very active in this whole ordeal. I healed so quickly and I know it was because of Him. After five years, I am finally back to my self. However, if I sit on a hard surface very long, I still get very sore. I give God and Dr. Rieber all the credit for mending and healing me. I am so happy I can walk, crawl, run, jump, play basketball and softball. It’s amazing how I used to take for granted all the simple movements my body could do – not anymore!

~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY ~

to me!

What could be a better present than being done with harvest?...... How about an iPod Nano?!!!! Trevor and the kids gave me one for my birthday this morning.

YAY!!!!

~ TRICK OR TREAT ~

Found the camera - YAY!!!


Here are the two munchkens in their costumes. Thanks to Rose for giving us the great pirate idea. Kale loved it! I think they had fun running around town. I know they got enough candy so that when I steal some out of their buckets they'll never know. Ha Ha!! Heck yeah I do that! Don't you?




































Thought I 'd show you pictures from a few years back... wow, the kids have really grown up fast!!!

2004














2006

~ HAPPY HALLOWEEN ~

I CAN'T FIND MY CAMERA! UGH!

I WANTED TO TAKE A PICTURE OF MY LITTLE TRICK OR TREATER'S THIS MORNING BEFORE THEY HEADED OFF TO SCHOOL. YA NEVER KNOW IF THEY'LL COME HOME LOOKING AS GOOD AS WHEN THEY LEFT. I GAVE STRICT INSTRUCTIONS TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF THE COSTUMES . HOPEFULLY, BY THEN I'LL HAVE LOCATED THE CAMERA.

MAN, I'M BUMMED!

Good Morning, Afternoon, or Evening!!! ....depending on when you read this.

I thought it would be nice to have a little chat over a cup of coffee. Ha ha, get it?

I've been up to my eyeballs in corn kernals and calf poop. Not literally, of course. We've been very busy combining and sorting off the calves from the cows.

So, how you been? How are the kids? Kale had a terrible ear ache yesterday. The teacher tried to call us but when you're working in the boonies there is nothing for service around here.

Do you have big plans for the weekend? I'll probably be in a corn field somewhere.

Do you have Halloween costumes for the kids picked out? Nikia is going to be a leopard and I have no idea what Kale is going to be. He's getting too old for those store bought costumes so it has to be something that we can put together at home. I could really use some good ideas. Last year he was a hunter - camo from head to toe along with a duck call and a deer grunt hanging around his neck.

I know this was a really short visit, but my coffee cup is empty and I really need to get going. I need to get the combine fueled up and greased and empty a couple of grain carts before we get started this morning I'm sure you're very busy as well. It was nice chatting with you. We should really do this again sometime. Take care!

Please know that I may go into a lot of detail that may seem a little repetitive at times, but to me, this is how I remember what had happened. I need to get this out for me, so if you find the writing a little weird or dragging at times, it's just how it needs to be.


continuation .........

October, 2002

The horse was still loose in the arena and Kale was still screaming and crying. I told Shane to get the horse so I wouldn’t be in danger of it coming near me again. He said it would be fine but I insisted he do something with it. Knowing I couldn’t move made me very nervous to have the animal running free so close to me. After Shane grabbed the horse and tied it up he came back to me and asked if I could move. I told him no but he thought I just had the wind knocked out of me. I said no it’s more than that. You need to get me help. He told me to just try to relax, catch my breath and then try to sit up. I said “No, Shane, you need to get me an ambulance.” Once I finally made him understand that I knew I was hurt he told Kale to run to Grandma’s house and tell her what happened and to have an ambulance sent right away.

Thinking back, I can’t even imagine what my little four year old boy went through and what he was thinking as he ran about a quarter of a mile all by himself to the house.

I should point out that Trevor and I and the kids had moved to South Dakota from Minnesota and we were having a hard time finding a place to buy or build. Mom and Dad were kind enough to let us move in with them until we got settled in a place of our own. With the events that unfolded, it couldn’t have been a better situation.

When Kale reached the house Trevor could tell that Kale sounded like he was in a very traumatic state and ran up the stairs to ask what was wrong. About all Kale could get out was that Mommy was hurt by a horse. Trevor told him to go tell Grandma and he jumped in his truck and raced to the barn. Kale relayed the message to my Mom and she called for an ambulance.

In the mean time, back at the barn, I laid on the fine layer of sand in an enormous amount of pain lying partly on my side. It was so painful lying like I was but I couldn’t move to get more comfortable. I wasn’t allowing myself to cry because I knew it would have only made things worse for Kale and Shane. Shane is a volunteer fireman and so while we waited in the arena we heard the ambulance being dispatched on his pager. This was a big help for me knowing help was on its way and listening to everything that was being said. I tried to keep my sense of humor to help relax Shane because I knew he was feeling so responsible and awful for what happened. So, I said to him, “I really hope my underwear is clean.” Of course he didn’t realize I was joking with him at first and he told me that’s nothing I should be worried about right now. I told him I was just kidding and he did get a little smirk on his face, however, I don’t think he thought it was very funny at the time. We did laugh more about it later.

When Trevor arrived at the riding barn he stayed by my side while Shane took the horse back to the other barn and moved his truck to make room for the ambulance. When Shane returned we listened to his pager and heard the ambulance driver state they were almost on site. Other area volunteer firemen, who are neighbors, overheard the page and went to the end of our driveway to make sure the ambulance didn’t miss the driveway and got to us quickly.

When the EMT’s arrived they put a neck brace on me, which I new wasn’t necessary but was required anyway. When they put it around my neck they also inadvertently scooped in a bunch of sand, horse hair, and whatever else had landed on that ground over the years. Like my body wasn’t uncomfortable enough, I now had that stuff irritating me too. They cut off my cowboy boots and part way up my pants. Next they wanted to get me on a flat board so they could lift me up and on the stretcher. The thought of someone moving me scared me because of all the pain I was in and because I knew I couldn’t move. I told them to let me try to slide onto the board first, but when I tried I couldn’t get my body to move correctly. Since I was unable to do it they had to move me unto the board. Someone grabbed up by my shoulders and someone down by my feet. When they slid me unto the board and laid me completely on my back, my whole bone midsection kind of collapsed. The pain was so intense but I still refused to cry. They lifted the board unto the stretcher and off to the ambulance we went. The stretcher going across the bumpy ground was so terrible, I could hardly stand it. Trevor jumped in the front of the ambulance with the driver and off we went.

Shane quickly ran to the barn to let the horses out so they wouldn’t be locked in all night and when he came out Mom and Dad and my kids had left without him. Of course they didn’t realize it till later what they did. Shane drove in to the hospital all by himself. This is about a 20 minute drive so I’m sure he had so many feelings and thoughts running around in his head of what had just unfolded. Since it was Wednesday night, he stopped by our church to tell my sister what had happened and to have people begin praying for me and then he went directly to the hospital.

In the ambulance, I had never felt so uncomfortable and in so much pain in my life. Every little tiny bump that we went over was so incredibly awful. That board was so hard that the whole way I held on to one of the EMT’s hands and squeezed as hard as I could. I was actually trying to hold pressure off my waist by pushing or lifting my body up with my elbows. It was the only way I could find that gave me any relief from that board. I don’t remember how many times they poked me trying to start an IV but failed to get the needle in my vein. I’m sure it was at least four times. Of all the needles I despise those the most. Since they couldn’t get an IV I couldn’t get any pain medicine either. Literally, right before we pulled up to the emergency room, they finally got the IV needle in. Thank goodness!

Again, all the movement and bumps of getting me out of the ambulance and into the ER about made me pass out from the pain that the hard board caused me. Right away they took ex-rays and then got me some morphine. I could feel the morphine go all the way through my body. It at least helped me to be able to relax from trying to hold myself up off the board. By now my arms were shaking from getting week from the pressure.

One of the hospital employees saw how hard this was for Kale and gave him a stuffed bear. Kale has slept with that bear every night for almost five years. Just this summer he finally said that he didn’t need it anymore. He said it was something he could cuddle with and a special thing for him that helped him know Mommy was going to be okay.

Out in the waiting room my family sat patiently along with some people from church that had heard about what happened. Needless to say they were praying for me.

The doctors reviewed the ex-rays and counted the breaks and fractures in my bones. There were six in all. I had parts of bone that weren’t attached to anything anymore which is why when they put me on that board my pelvis basically collapsed. The Dr.'s were shocked that I didn't have any internal bleeding (usually this kind of bone breakage has a lot of bleeding involved) and only one little bruise on my leg which I think came from the saddle hitting me. After the Dr.'s sent me in for an MRI and reviewed it, they were thinking of having me sent to Minneapolis because they were unsure of what the next step should be. The thought of that brought tears to my eyes. I didn’t want to be sent away from my family. This, of all times, was a time I needed them to be right with me.


to be continued again.......



Sorry, to keep doing this to you, but this is all I have wrote so far. Wait till I tell you what happens next. Yes, it gets worse. I'll try not to make you wait so long this time!

Pheasant hunting season opens tomorrow! I have to be honest with you though - if this weather doesn't start shaping up, I'm not leaving the house! I'll wait till we're combining corn and stand at the end of the field and wait for my colorful feathered victim to fly over.

Kaboom!! Got him!!

IF YOU WANT THE RAINBOW YOU GOTTA PUT UP WITH THE RAIN

darn it.

Wednesday, October 16th, 2002

What I thought was going to be just another Fall day at the farm turned quickly into the most traumatic days of my life.

I had been out chisel plowing in the field all day and brought my tractor into the farm yard to park it and call it a day. I happened to notice the door to the indoor riding barn was opened. Of course I knew it meant that my brother was once again working with Sensation, a two-year old horse, training it to become broke to ride. I decided to see how it was going and made my way to the arena. Upon entering I noticed my son was already there observing and admiring his uncle and the work he was doing with the horse. The saddle was still on and I could tell by the sweat on the horse that he had already ridden him awhile. My brother, Shane, asked if I wanted to get on Sensation. He said he’s nice and smooth and that he was probably wore down enough that I wouldn’t have to worry about anything. I told him no, as I’ve never been one to enjoy getting on a young horse with very little riding time on it. Nevertheless, when Shane said that Sensation had never bucked, ever, and he would guarantee that he wouldn’t this time either, I began to entertain the thought of getting on. Then, when Shane made the comment about being the only brave one I knew I had to give it a shot.

We led the horse out to the middle of the arena. Kale stayed back by the front of the barn, but still in perfect sight. Shane said he would hold the horse up by the bridle as I got on. With the reins in my left hand I lifted my left boot up to the stirrup. I began to swing my right foot up and over...... and that’s all I remember about what actually happened.

Shane and I later discussed what we both remembered and came up with this. As I was about to swing my leg over Sensation took two steps back and then stumbled. This made me lose my balance and go right up and over. Since I still had the reins in my hand I basically pulled the off-balance horse right down on top of me. I didn’t land flat on my back though. I was a little on my side which is possibly why so much damage happened.

I do remember the horse falling down on me, right at my waist level. The feeling I felt inside is indescribable. I knew something happened inside my body. The horse tried to get up but being all four of its legs were sticking straight out it basically rolled right back down on me again to re-position its legs to get leverage. Again, I had that indescribable feeling inside. This time the horse was able to stand up and trot away.

As I laid there with horrible pain I could hear Kale screaming at what he had just witnessed. My brother was right by my side immediately. The first thing I did was wiggle my toes to make sure I wasn’t paralyzed. I was able to do that but I couldn’t move my legs or any lower part of my body. I knew something was seriously wrong.




to be continued till next week............

See ya tonight!!

Friday means football! Kale has been the ball-boy on the sidelines of the varsity football games. He LOVES it! After almost every play he runs out or throws out a new football to the referee. There was even a picture in the local paper last week of him running off the field after handing a ball to the ref. He has the best view of the game cause he's always at the line of scrimmage. I keep telling him that I'm going to take his job or at least come stand by him and act like I'm helping him. He just says "No way!" I would'nt rain on his parade but I am jealous of his job. I love that he has to pay close attention to what's happening on the field and gets to be close to the players. I know he's heard a few choice words that he can't repeat but I guess that just might come with being so close to the action.

Tonight at half-time his flag football team plays a scrimmage and then Saturday morning they play a REAL game against a neighboring town. Should be fun and exciting. I really hope the rain holds off.


I LOVE this picture! It was actually taken by his school teacher. She takes a LOT of pictures of the school activities and is a great photographer.

I made a quick trip over to see Shayne this morning before I headed to the field. I wanted to run to town to get a bunch of balloons for her first but ran out of time. So before I left the house I grabbed a sucker so I could put a little smile on her face when I saw her. I got to her house and she had just woke up. You know that feeling that runs through your body when you see something that is just so heart wrenching - yeah, that one. There she was with her arm taped and her little bed head hair and a sweet little look on her face. I wanted to hug her but didn't want to hurt her so I gave her a kiss instead.

Shayne~ Hi Amy!
Me~ Hi sweetie! How are you doing?
Shayne~Ouch! (as she points to her shoulder)
Me~I know. I brought you a surprise! Guess what it is?
Shayne~A puppy?!!
Me~Nope, just a sucker! (my ego went right down the drain)

Boy did that make me feel like my dumb little sucker was a pitiful attempt of being her favorite aunt. Of course she ate it and loved it and made a big sticky mess that I left for her mom to clean up. :) Did I mention that I had her eat it before breakfast? That was my other attempt of reminding her I'm her favorite aunt.

Since I didn't get to bring her balloons I had Trevor pick her up a bunch in town and bring them out. He also found a little pet carrier (like a purse) that had a little stuffed kitty in it. When he gave her the balloons and kitty guess what she said?

PUPPY????

Strike out again! Oh well, she still loved it all and played with it today. Too bad we don't have puppies instead of kitties all over our yard!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you ladies for all your prayers. She has to have her arm taped for 3-4 weeks, so your prayers are still welcomed and appreciated.

~Prayer Request~

Please say a prayer for my little 2 year old niece that was playing and fell off a bed and broke her collar bone last night. Her arm is now taped to her body so she can't move it around - allowing it to heal correctly.

This isn't a very good picture of her. It was from this summer at a parade. Isn't she sooooo cute!!!

FARMING ~ need I say more

If you need me - I'll be in my office.

Apple Crisp Please !

After eating a bowl of apple crisp flavored oatmeal this morning Trevor turns to me and says.....

You should get a good apple crisp recipe.

Hello! I have a good recipe and I've made it several times before. Maybe not for quite awhile - like..... maybe two..... or three.... years ago. But I have a good recipe. At least I thought it was good.

My thought about baking sweets is that it than has to be eaten. And, being I'm the one who is at home guess whose butt it attaches itself to. So, I very rarely make desserts that are going to be sitting around calling my name all day.

I suppose after taking a couple years off, a pan of apple crisp might actually be okay. Now, if I can just find that recipe. Hmmmm.



Oh, wouldn't you know it - I'm out of apples!!!

I KID YOU NOT !!!!!

I went into Shopko today and guess what I saw. You're never going to believe it or guess it. I saw Christmas bulbs and ornaments adorning the shelves. AAHHHHH!!! Didn't Fall just get here????

We have a wonderful family that has taken some of our kitties off our hands this summer. Due to a few mishaps they were requesting a few more. You can see how helpful this has been, as there is no more room at the milk dish. And it just so happens I refuse to get a bigger dish. :)

So, a few days back when I noticed that our mama calico cat's belly was beginning to get large and lumpy, I talked to our friend about the opportunity of taking a cat that was pregnant. She thought this would be a good idea. I talked to Trevor about it and of course he said "get rid of it". So, yesterday I gave our friend a jingle to see if I could bring Patches over and she said that I could any time today. Imagine my excitement of getting rid of a whole batch of kitties, although, not as thrilled about getting rid of Patches. She's been a really good cat - just a little too fertile.

Yesterday afternoon I realized I hadn't seen Patches much and this made me very nervous. Last night when we got home from church I see Patches and I immediately start to inspect her because she does NOT look nearly as poochy as she had. I even asked Kale for a second opinion - in case my eyes were playing tricks on me. He agreed and thought she looked pretty skinny. We proceeded to carry all the groceries in the house and put them away, making me forget about investigating it further.

This morning before the kids headed down the driveway to wait for the bus I asked Kale to make a quick run-through of the barn to look for a litter of kitties. To the pain of my ears, he came running out shouting "she had them, there's five baby kitties".

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me??? Could her timing be any worse! Ridiculously, I knew I believed Kale but for some reason I had to see it for myself. Yep, there was Patches, the good mama that she is nursing not five but SIX kitties. 3 black, 1 calico, 1 orange, and 1 white.

Look at her - she's looking at me like "WHAT? What did I do wrong?"

Knowing that there's no way I'm going to move brand new kitties to a brand new home I grudgingly made the call to our friend. I told her the news and told her the number in the litter - of course I had my fingers crossed hoping she'd still want all of them. It sounds like she will still take them all, which is so nice since they have other kitties already. We decided that in about 5 weeks we'd try to make the transfer again.


So, for the time being, Patches and her new family still call this place home sweet home.

Lord, watch over and protect them. Keep them safe. Help them to be good friends. Help them to listen carefully to their teachers. Lord, give them wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Help their teachers to teach in a manner that is easy for the kids to understand. And Lord, I ask that they have fun today. Help them to put a smile on someone elses face today. ~Thank you!