a prayer for the new year...

Soon the old year will bid goodbye to our world and the new year will make it's appearance... Each year the same process happens with different people ushering in New Year's Day in varied ways... In the years that hubby and I have welcomed new adventures along with new years we have generally tried to keep things simple, especially when it comes to our celebrations and goals... We are simple people with simple needs and wants for the most part... we certainly do not wish for a grandiose lifestyle, and we learned many years ago... that most "Eve" events leave us feeling flat and wishing for our familiar ways of welcoming change...

Each year I give a fervent prayer just before the years exchange places [usually because I am headed to bed, around 10 pm... wink] My prayer is one that I am sure I am not alone in uttering... However in specific, I can say that most often I pray for peace in our world, food for hungry nations and especially children, health and well being for those I love, and quite naturally: joy for my own heart... but I also have to admit that I pray for these things, "among other things..." I have each year [as I get older] noticed that my "prayer of renewal" [for lack of a better name] gets a bit longer... and that what I pray for has less to do with me and lot more to do with those I love...

Very often my evening prayer on this night of change each year focuses on those that are in crisis, at least those that I am aware of... this focus can be for a large group or for an individual... but one thing they have in common is that most of the time the prayer I utter is about all I can do to help them... In my reality my goals are focused on doing, but my prayers are focused on feeling... At times [not always, but at times] these two focuses dovetail... and this year one specific focus of my prayers is also a focus of my goals...

The one focus I am willing to share in detail here is in humanitarian service. This year I not only express fervent prayer for the relief of suffering in the world, but one of my goals is to more actively do something about that suffering... I can't feed or cloth the whole world, but I can do a little something to help someone that is suffering... and I have laid out some specific steps as to how I will achieve this goal that I have made for 2009. All my goals for this year have been evolving for a while now and will be listed in detail, on tomorrow's page in my personal journal, but on this eve of another new year I want to commit to my own mind on this one specific thing I can do... I commit to use up the many spare resources I have in my house, in order to help those those that need help... That doesn't mean that I will give away all my food storage to others... or get rid of all the clutter I wish would leave our house of it's own accord... My commitment is simply to use up all the fabric, yarn, and other resources I kept "saving", year after year to benefit those that need warmth, now. For years I have had stores of yarn and materials in bins that I kept thinking I would "make up" in order to give aid to others... blankets, hats and/or other sources of warmth could be made out of these bins... but I procrastinated.. This year I am really going to use up those resources.

This is in addition to other specific goals of de-cluttering and cleaning I have made for myself... or whatever else I have planned for the coming year... My plan for this personal humanitarian effort does not rely on any other person's participation, it is very specific by week and month, I believe it is realistic, and I am excited about it... in fact I am so excited that I couldn't wait for the new year... I started working on this goal a few weeks ago, when I started to be reminded about how blessed we were to have been guided to prepare ourselves for tough times... As a way to express my gratitude to a Heavenly Father that opened my heart to council to prepare for emergencies and to plan for our needs to a point that we can withstand this difficult challenge we as a family have been facing the last weeks of 2008...

It has encouraged me that even feeling as tried and worn out as I have lately, I was able during December to "convert" one box of "supplies" into multiple items and donate them... knitting and crocheting doesn't take much energy... and this success has left me feeling really happy with this goal, and thinking that since I am off to such a great early start, that I will not just succeed in this goal, I will probably out distance my plan, at least this one... but like the gears of a giant clock this success connects and motivates other prayers and year end hopes, in a meaningful light and gives me greater incentive to succeed in other areas, in similar ways...

Each year I become a bigger believer in keeping to the plan... so I am determined to stay on track, working my plan and goals... to the untrained eye, it might seem like I haven't made great headway on my 2008 goals, and here were are closing the year, but I know that I succeeded at some very important goals I set... and 2009 is certainly starting off with a BANG!

So, in true Pollyanna fashion, I express glad attitude that I have the materials available to help others find some warmth... and I am really glad that the church has such a wonderful legacy of helping others that I can be a part of... Watching how the leadership of the church goes about reaching out in crisis to those in need I am reminded that I don't need to be able to feed or cloth the whole world... I just need to do what I can do and add my small offering to a much larger cause... I am also reminded that each prayer is heard and very often answered though the hands of regular, every day people...

wise words, for a new year...

"Over fifty years ago while serving in England as a missionary, I went to the London Central YMCA. I suppose that old building has long since gone, but I can never forget the words that faced visitors in the foyer each time they entered. They were the words of Solomon: 'With all thy getting get understanding.' (Prov. 4:7.)"

~Gordon B. Hinckley, With All Thy Getting Get Understanding, Ensign, Aug 1988, 2–5

rehab update, and other Clan news...

Last week at his follow up with the surgeon hubby got an increase to 90 degrees range on his leg braces, so his Christmas was more mobile... This was way more than we were expecting and now it is easier for him to fit into tight places because his knees are allowed to bend... his legs are VERY long and his turning radius is a lot smaller now... That improvement in his mobility was a wonderful gift... In addition he is now able to kind of "hop" on the left leg and use the walker to get around in the the house more too... so access to the shower is a lot easier, and other areas of the house where before the wheelchair would not go are newly available to him. He is so happy about that... his happiness is contagious. I am really happy for him too... and so grateful for the Lord's blessings in helping him heal so fast...

We are one week farther into this whole process and only 2 weeks from hubby being able to put his weight on his right leg... He started range of motion exercises last week, which are going great, and as soon as he can go weight bearing he can start working on strengthening. He is doing wonderfully...

I wish I could say I am doing as well... I am still more tired than normal, even for me... My anemia is better, but the residual effects of the last few months health issues linger. I am hanging on, but just never feel up to much of anything... even spending time updating this blog or reading RSS feeds and blogs I normally can't wait to peruse are not drawing my attention... For one thing, I keep falling asleep with the keyboard in my lap. [chuckling] But mainly it's because the disease is fully active again and I feel like I have the flu much of the time... so that isn't fun and those symptoms make me want to hibernate... It's really not depression... just exhaustion and that overall sickly feeling of needing a nap all the time. It's a real pain.

We still have help coming in... meals a few times a week and help from the kids are a wonderful blessing... but I admit that the drain on my energies over the last 5 weeks has been a lot for me to handle. That makes hubby feel even more impatient to be well... but he can't rush his recovery too much more than he already has, and we are both trying to be patient... It's been an eye-opener to me how the elderly must feel when they care for each other with very limited abilities and resources... and it shows me that we as a couple need to plan even better for future possible emergencies... Many of the preparations we did make have been life savers... but we need to set more aside... and we need to try harder to live on less, when we have more to save... We can do better than we were doing... we had gotten complacent in some areas...

As far as social events over the last week... we had the opportunity to spend Christmas Eve with family and extended family/friends at Son1 and Sweetee's home for a wonderful Polish menu... I ate way to much and enjoyed every single bite... Sweetee and her mom cooked for days, I think, and OH MY how tasty it was... All we did was provide a couple of simple deserts which I wanted to make anyway, because honestly I simply had to make hubby his Pecan Pie which didn't happen on his birthday this year, since we were at his surgeon's office that day... but I couldn't believe it took me hours to make one pie and one batch of shortbread cookies... what's up with that??? Still it was definitely a wonderful celebration... and we were really happy to be included...

Christmas was very simple and quiet for us this year, and that was probably just what we needed...

do you???

I have a question... Do you "do" New Years resolutions? No matter the answer I would like to know why you feel that way?

Personally, I don't call them resolutions but I do set goals for myself for the next year, and I keep track of how I did... I am in the process of reviewing my 2008 goals and setting goals for 2009... In discussing the idea with a couple online friends through email recently I got to wondering about this practice...

I discovered I have a few friends that are on either "extreme side" of the idea of yearly resolutions/goals... I was thinking before that a lot of my friends were more middle of the road on this topic, like me... making goals and trying to complete them, but not beating themselves up over unfinished ones... but now I wonder... it seems I was wrong, maybe... at least about the way most of the people I call friends think of goals.

I know that quite a few that read my blog only use email to share online, so feel free to let me know what you think, that way... I am really intersted in what you think, and why...

have yourself a merry little Christmas...

...ours will be spent celebrating with family, friends, and food like most peoples... perhaps a bit quieter than in some years past since hubby and I are neither of us 100%...

I pray that all travel safely, and enjoy the time they have to share...



May the Savior be not just included in your festivities... may He be central and an important part in each home and heart...

amazing grace...

At my father's funeral in the spring of 2007 there was a piper at the cemetery. He played Praise to the Man, Amazing Grace, and Oh My Father... among other hymns. When I saw the last scene from the movie Amazing Grace a few months after his passing, I burst into tears, simply from the memories that were evoked in my heart...

Music was one of the ways that my earthly father communed with and taught his children to commune with Heavenly Father. It was one of the things he shared with his children and it was one of the ways he comforted his own heart after my mom's ability to remember him left her, he loved the great old hymns and he really liked this one especially...

He also loved all things Scot... but especially the musical heritage of the pipes... I thinks his Scots ancestors reverberated in him the deepest... often that part of me... my Scots heritage... touches me very deeply too, and the haunting strains of a piper truly speak to me as it did to my father...

There are many youtube videos of this song being played by talented pipers... none of the renditions I have heard are more moving to me that the one from the last scene of the movie Amazing Grace, alas this embedded link to the scene



may no longer be available on youtube due to copyright issues, by the time this post is read... which I suppose is only fair... but really if you want to see a perfectly complied version of this song, just buy the movie and watch the last scene as often as you like... (it's scene #24, you can go right to that scene...) Why the production company never created a music video out of this scene, I don't know... but I can't find one anywhere to link to here... Personally, I believe that the movie Amazing Grace was one of the best films of 2007, and since that happened to be the year my parents both passed away, I consider that to be somewhat interesting...

Similarly, I can't say enough good about the film. I bought a copy the day it was released on video... I was brought up to love all men and women... some of my dearest friends have come from different nationalities and cultures, and the story of this fight to stop the trafficking of others brings tears to my heart... I have been similarly moved by stories of the Holocaust and other stories of oppression... I believe that our Father in Heaven wants us to be good to each other... he wants us to reach out and love and care for each other... and I think that the author of this song captured the feelings we all have that too often we fall short of that goal. It is then that we reach out to "Grace". Amazing... this grace that the Lord provides for us.

On this day... which would have been my daddy's 97th birthday I would like to dedicate the song Amazing Grace to him, for he lived with just such a faith in Grace and a willingness to reach out in love to those that he was able to come in contact with... He was a man of service and love to many... He had a faith with which he was able to "move mountains" and call upon "miracles" during his life... I am one of those small miracles... today I really miss his presence... and I am grateful that he taught me about my Savior's Grace...

I leave you today with one quote that I love from one of the men connected with that amazing movie I spoke of above...

“My prayer is that you will internalize the life of William Wilberforce and make a difference in your world, whoever and wherever you are.” ~ Ken Wales Producer of the movie Amazing Grace

more food for thought...

If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give.

~ George MacDonald; Scottish, Novelist

exercise!

Hubby got a trip to the mall yesterday to "power roll"... he was able to roll himself around for quite a while and managed to make it up 6 "ramps"...

His opportunity for upper body exercise has been limited to weights because we have had freezing rain in our area which made outside too cold even during the day and our house is too small for much movement by him in the WC. He really enjoyed his short trip out... He has been trying to stay busy, but the bloom is off the rose and he is bored when things get too quiet...

Next week is a follow up with the surgeon and he is hoping for a small increase in his range of motion even though we suspect that he still won't be allowed any weight on the right leg. Just being allowed to bend it a small amount would enable him to start doing a few more exercises... He really wants rehab to start.

All in all things are okay for him but my "doer" hubby really wants to be DOING something!

that smells just like...

...... my memory of...

I like candles, and other type of ways to make our home smell nice... I use them on a warmer, so as not to have a burning flame going... some of my favorite candles are the Christmas ones that remind me of pies or cookies baking... I have quite a few of those... Then there are the ones that remind me of my mother's home... smell of orange spice, lemon zest, and honeysuckle... Each of these candles have come out for a few days this holiday season as I revel in some of my family memories... unfortunately the potency of the candles are fading... Maybe next year we can get a few new ones...

I was thinking that yesterday afternoon I would feel up to baking a few cookies, just to get the house into that lovely cookies and cocoa mood... but the energy to do that alluded me... Then I thought... maybe hubby could help if we brought the mixer and all the ingredients to the dining room table??? Now there was a great idea... success!

Definitely one of the nicest parts about the holidays for me is the memories that are triggered by certain foods and the pleasant smells that this time of year brings... So this morning we have treats for visitors and are inviting all to come on over for a cookie and a mug of cocoa or herb tea... It's on US!

Michael tagged me for this:

RULES:

1. Go to your pictures
2. Go to the 4th file & upload the 4th picture
3. Post & tell about the picture
4. Tag 4 friends

So here is what I have to share:



This is a picture of the view standing outside the Arizona Tucson Mission Home. (Just at the driveway where our car was parked.) This was taken just after breakfast with the Mission President and his family. We had taken a tour of Son1's mission as a family that year for our family Christmas gift, and this was our last day of that trip. I can hardly believe that was 2 years ago... in fact 2 years ago yesterday our son was arriving home at the airport after 25 months of faithful service in the Lord's work. What a great trip that was, we had so much fun as a family... I find it interesting that this was actually the last picture I took on that trip, but because of the naming rule I use for my pictures, which includes the date, [year/month/day/subject] it ends up being the 4th picture in that 4th file.

I tag: Lady Ozma, Beefche, Melinda and Nikki :) [Let's hope they read this]

we are maintaining...

but that is about it... Between the anemia (which is better than it was, and improving slowly again...) along with the other "regular" issues of my disease I struggle every day, just to get through the basics. Hubby is doing well physically and will be more than ready for rehab when the time comes, probably another 3-4 weeks on that though. He was in amazing health before the accident (considering he is not a young spring rooster any more...) and is becoming very proficient at taking care of some of his needs without much help at all... With Son2's help we even made it to most of church yesterday, and that really was a lift he appreciated.

A few friends have expressed concern that I try so hard to stay "upbeat"... The truth is that my desire to keep private most of my personal struggles is selfish... for instance... right now I don't even share many of the details I face with small groups, in private... because frankly the energy that is required in order to accurately share is too high... and I simply don't have the energy reserves to do that. It is easier to just be quiet... There are people that know the day to day struggle... Our children... visiting teachers... home teachers... the Bishop... and a few very close family members... we are not living in a vacuum, but I have to be very careful to reserve energy, and many who want to help end up causing more energy drains for me... just in trying to reassure them. I know that sounds ungrateful, but it is a truism.

The second reason I work so hard at staying upbeat is that after long years of dealing with a debilitating disease I have learned that the opposite is a recipe for disaster, at least for me. I have not dealt with depression in years, not since I started to refuse to wallow in fear and self-pity. Perhaps that is a simplistic view... but it works for me. I stay as busy as I can doing non-energy draining things most of the time... And, I carefully pace myself through the day... That is what it takes to stay fairly independent... I gave up guilt about all the things I can't do, a long time ago... and I stubbornly hang on to what I CAN still do... until a new challenge has to be faced.

I admit, this new challenge of ours has been a hard one, but it is not insurmountable... it is a tall mountain we must climb and we are getting lots of help climbing it... but WE have to actually climb it... we cannot allow others to climb it for us, and part of that climb is staying positive about one very important fact... Heaven Father knows what we are able to bear... He is in charge and will give us the strength we need... we lean on Him, and He encourages us to stay positive. He also reminds me daily that He can turn this into something that is for our good... I hang on to that, though I know that I may not see the result in this life.

Sure everyone hits lows now and then, and I have had blue moments and discouraging hours... but not days... I find that answers are generally right around the corner when the blues happen for me... I do not fear the corners... even though sometimes I don't understand all the detours we have to take.

Not sure this makes any sense, at all... But I do thank all my friends and family for concern and prayers. For the many acts of kindness and for the service to our family at this difficult time. This post is an effort to relieve the minds and hearts of those that worry for us... We are being held in the Lord's palm... and are content to let Him lead right now...

Christmas movies in a box...

Seasonal favorites galore to watch... These are are a few of my suggestions for true classics in case anyone missed them...

The Bishop's Wife [1947]

Blossoms in the Dust [1941]

Holiday Affair [1949]

Holiday Inn [1942]

Miracle On 34th Street (1947)

Boys' Town [1938]

Christmas in Connecticut [1945]

Note: there are sooooo many more than this that I have seen and liked enough to buy... my collection of "classics" is extensive, and holiday classics are a specific draw...many of the ones I like the best are not well known at all...

more anemia...

...warning, if you are a male family friend reading this, you may not really care to know the info below, even though I tried very hard to be as circumspect as I could... this may be TMI...

I guess I really should have suspected a few days ago when I started feeling really puny again that I would soon be dealing with more female stuff... The PMS is less noticeable the older I get, but the actual effects of continued female cycles is really becoming a serious concern for me. My doctors had planned to complete the hysterectomy I need in late December or early January. That schedule has to be postponed until hubby is more well, because I will be unable to do much for either of us if I am recovering from surgery, and he is unable to fetch and carry. Unfortunately the reality is that each time I go through this (about every 4-5 weeks) the anemia becomes very severe again and I spend the weeks between these cycles trying to rebuild my strength. I don't think I completely got back to ground zero after the last time... and I used so much energy in November on the trip to the in-laws and then hubby's accident, that right now I have no reserves at all...

Heavenly Father gave me great blessings to do what I needed to do during hubby's crisis, but right now I am actually worried by how puny I feel... I can barely stand up. My labs would no doubt indicate that I need a transfusion, but for someone with my health concerns... foreign blood cells carry their own challenges... My body rejects my own tissues... so adding unfamiliar blood to my system might be the worse thing for me... hence the reason I have not already had a transfusion. I have been praying for understanding and help in deciding what to do... but I don't recognize any answers... I feel like I am standing in front of a wall with no doors in it...

Like the critters in "Over the Hedge", I wish I could give this wall a name so that it was not so intimidating... but trying to make light of my health lately is not working... I have tried to keep my sense of humor over the years... but this morning that ability has left me... it's all I can do to just combat the symptoms of the anemia...

I may change my mind later about publishing this journal entry... but for now I'll be honest that I just do not have any idea where to go from here...

simpler times......

Within the last few days (I don't really remember which day...) I saw the movie Spencer's Mountain again... About once a year I borrow it from our library... it's one of the movies that reminds me of the kind of family I came from...

My birth family was large (8 children)... my mother was amazingly creative in her ability to see to all our needs... we had little, but I never felt poor... my father was very caring and loved to have his children under foot, to see them happy... and it was also very obvious to all of us kids that he loved our mother very very much, and that momma loved him in the same way, but like the mother in the story referenced here, would whisper that daddy should not be "frisky", because some child was always around... One of the main differences to note was that both my parents were strong in their LDS faith... There was no drinking or gambling in, or out of our home by my daddy... but daddy WAS a wonderful story teller and he loved to have fun... and he had dreams... most of which he never realized in his lifetime... I suppose he could have thought himself to be a failure, but by the time he had finished his life, he knew he was a successful father, and no worldly accolades could match that success... just like the father in the movie, he saw some of his children attend college (and in daddy's case graduate)... my own father was able to know about his many grands that graduated from colleges and universities, some quite prestigiously...

One of the things that I am always impressed with in many old movies (and it's a big reason I like old movies) is that there is a sense of faith that people had... that faith is present and considered a positive thing in all walks of people... Also extended families were connected in a more tangible way than they are now... In this movie especially children are presented of as a blessing and one of the things that enrich our lives... I like how the generations help and bless each other... the children of each family care for those that are older, and younger... the whole family attended to life's challenges together...

The stories (both movies and books) I love are of a simpler time when faith and love for one's family were virtues to be cherished and sought... When I really enjoy a newer movie these days it is because the focus is on the good in people, or the world, or on faith and family... our times are not simple now... but is that because we insist on making it complicated...??? What really matters has not changed... love, family, joy, and faith, hope, charity... these are all virtue that matter... I am thinking that it's time for the simple to become my focus... I know I am not alone in thinking that our current generations needs to rethink why they chase so many dreams, not just the ones that are important...

That is one of the things that Christmas is really about, isn't it??? Don't we feel the joy of the season best when we keep it simple???

Christmas will be GLORIOUS this year...

Because of our current challenge of hubby being off work for the next few months we have to be very careful with money during this Christmas Season... not that we are huge seasonal consumers during these months any year... but now especially we have to say no to wants and not spend for anything that is not absolutely necessary... this is so that we do not become a burden to anyone else... If we are really careful, I believe we can make it through this additional financial crisis without destroying our budget... unfortunately my health issues have already strained our budget quite a bit this year. But we will survive this... we pay an honest tithing and generous fast offering... we have followed council to avoid unnecessary debt... somehow the Lord will help us work this out.

Some people I have spoken to have bemoaned that fact that this challenge will put a damper on our holiday... but I disagree... Over the last few days hubby and I have been talking about Christmas, and now best to celebrate with our family... Family for us is a much broader term than it is with many people... But we will give more from the heart and less from our pocketbooks this year... and we normally gift shop through the year and so we have most of what we had planned to give away already purchased, where that was important. We will fill in with a few homemade gifts and some IOUs for later, on one or two things that we had been wanting to still do for our children...

Because hubby is allergic to pine spores we never have real trees so we already have our pretty tree and more decoration than we could possibly ever use... In fact I have been trying to give some away over the last few years but was finding it hard to give away things that have memories attached Christmas... still, I AM going to do a LOT more of that, this year... I will be gifting/sending these as my token of love to my friends and extended loved ones, with a note regarding the story behind the ornament, or decoration... (if you are a friend and reading this... try to act surprised when you open yours... [wink~wink])

We are going to concentrate on "making some joyful noises"... playing games we already have... doing things together when family members are here with us... and feeling gratitude for the Savior in even MORE deeper ways than we knew just a few short weeks ago.

One of the things that we are going to focus on this year even more is the knowledge that life is a wonderful gift from Father in Heaven... As hubby and I watched a loaned to us copy of Prince Caspian last night together, we were wrapped up in the story and cuddled together on our bed... holding hands as we like to do and then suddenly I was crying because I was so glad to be able to hold on to him... to know he was still here with me... Very little that we as humans work so hard to try and gain in this world meant much to me at that moment... even a house is simply a place to be warm, a place to feel loved and safe in... It does not need to be fancy... just clean and hopefully in good repair... that is something we have been working on and will continue to focus more on over the next year, more order and less stuff to clutter our hearts.

We want to focus on service too... remembering how much every single act of kindness and help we have been given has meant to us over the last couple weeks especially... We have been so blessed by small acts of loving service... cleaning, small home repairs, help moving furniture around to accommodate a wheelchair with a pair of legs extended (a man of 6'3" has very LONG legs) and a few meals brought in for us so that my energy could be spent taking care of hubby... each act of service is huge to us at this moment... and I want to remember that when I get to be on the other side of this gift again... Even an email message of love and prayers is so appreciated... no act of support is little, really...

I won't kid anyone... It takes almost all my energy every day just to take care of both of us... just doing the necessities... but I am so very grateful that hubby's injuries were not more serious than they are... and that eventually he will fully recover... that I will cheerfully do all I can to help him through this now and we will find what joy we can in this challenge... I don't say I will try to do it alone, or that I don't feel tired every day. We are accepting much physical help where it is offered... but our personal needs so far we are more comfortable with myself or our older son doing for hubby, if I can't...

So now my musings circle back to the Christmas Season and the reason for our celebration... Our Savior has given us so much... we have our family and good friends, we have the gospel and a forever perspective of life... so this year Christmas will be more special than ever, because we have been given gifts of love and life... In the last year we added a daughter-in-law and son-in-law and we love them so very much... and we are glad they will be part of our celebrations...

pollyism 444:

we can be so very glad that awful week is over...

We are doing better this week... Still feeling the effect of 2 surgeries over two days to repair all the damage (a total of more than 7 hours and multiple tendon/ligament graphs...) But, he is healing now... though more slowly than he would like... The normal rehab you would expect after knee injuries had to be postponed because we discovered over the weekend after the post surgery Xrays were taken that his right knee hemorrhaged so severely through fractures from the center of the kneecap that this ends up being a much different healing process than straight knee repair/replacement... His injuries seem to indicate that the right knee was kind of "smashed" during the impact as well... but there was not actually a loss of bone structure, just multiple fractures... this too is better than it could have been in such an impact... and again a miraculous lack of damage... I have said many time, over the last week, that we will gratefully accept the many miracles we were given, and I will keep saying it!

Anyway... the best news is that Monday I was able to bring hubby home with equipment (a double raised leg wheelchair, transfer aids, etc) and home care nursing orders for anything family cannot do for him. Now his job is to heal for about 3-6 more weeks... Until a certain level of healing takes place he cannot put any weight on the right leg. He can fortunately put weight on the left leg for pivot transfers into the chair, and does quite well with that process... Our house is actually pretty well set up for his needs and home was the best place to bring him, since he could not start rehab... here he is resting better than in any other place and I can get the much needed rest I need after the last week+...

We are still sorting out all the insurance stuff... as he will be off work for at least 3 months, worse case is probably 6... He is already starting to go a little stir crazy, so we are working on finding things for him to do to keep busy... for now the pain meds and healing process both force him to sleep more than he would normally... (to tell you the truth, his knees look like road maps from all the initial injuries and repair surgeries... but he is not in a lot of pain, he is down to Percocet every few hours...) As you could see in the picture... he has braces on both legs... is not allowed to even bend the right knee and the left is limited to 30 degrees of motion... also, no exercising until more healing takes place... he will need to learn to "walk" again, and will be dealing with muscle and other soft tissue atrophy by the time he can exercise the legs... right now he is limited to butt-tucks and toe/calf pulls to stretch his achilles tendons... despite how hard and long his rehab will be we continue to be exceptionally grateful for the Lord's blessings... he is still here with us and we feel blessed that all his injuries are recoverable... we know this could have been so much worse... We've been through tough times before and we will make it through this, and we will be stronger for it, I am sure... Not a lesson we wanted, but one I guess we can use...

The kids have all been great and we are managing pretty well considering... Our support system from the ward is wonderful... We are at the "this too shall pass" stage... not a bad place to be, while you wait on one part of a healing process... ~PA