Find JOY in the JOURNEY : THIS & THAT

On June 11th I had surgery. I had been needing to get my bladder

fixed for awhile. It was planned for February/March when I finished nursing Brodie, but

the closer it got, the more I put if off. I finally made an appointment with my Surgeon Dr. Griffeth and got scheduled to do a 5 part surgery that included lifting my bladder and putting in a sling. My surgeon also suggested taking out my uterus as well because I was having problems. I was SCARED and extremely ANXIOUS about having surgery. I have never felt so much anxiety in my life.

I honestly did not tell very many people about my surgery because well it was kind of a private thing, but also because my mom had died from a similar surgery and I did NOT want my brother and dad to worry about me. I had just told a few of my closest friends about the entire surgery but it seems like

everyone that came to see me asked if I had a hysterectomy and so the word got out.

I am almost 2 months out now and feeling really good. I still ache on days I do a lot and I definitely don't have my energy level back but I am happy to out of the recovery... it was long and not fun!!!

The poster that was up when I came home from the hospital... made me cry

I needed lots of help while I was down and Brodie just loves to sweep and mop.

I was SO GRATEFUL to all the friends and family who helped out with meals and taking the kids so I could rest. I am also thankful to the friends who just came in and started cleaning. It was hard for me to let them do it, but it was much needed and much appreciated.

Griff, Gav & Kara playing doctor and Gavin taking his puppy (sis) for a walk with his jumprope.
The kids just had their bikes, the backyard and their imaginations for the most part while I was recovering. They had their days when they acted out (I think they could tell mom was struggling/hurting) but they were really good to just play and entertain themselves and each other.

My beautiful flowers from family and friends... sure cheered me up :)

AND... a bunch of RANDOM things that have happened this summer and during my 6 week recovery...

We took an overnight adventure to Heber to this beautiful place called Daniels Summit Lodge.

Bry was the photographer at a wedding and really wanted me and the kids

to go with him and stay the night. I was not sure if I was up for it (3 weeks after surgery) but I thought I could lay around at home or at a lodge. The kids had a great

time running around and it was nice to breath the beautiful mountain air :)

Pretty girl out on the deck of our room

Fathers Day was the Sunday after my surgery. I surprised Bry the night before my

surgery with a new barbecue that he loved... but I had a few more surprises for him all

ready to go including this picture and a questioner "all about dad" from all the kids.

Another thing that was HUGE this summer was all the fires Utah experienced.

The news said it was the worst drought in 100 years. Everywhere was

extremely dry. Every day I heard of a new fire starting somewhere. It was sad

to hear about how many houses and cabins were burning down. The fire fighters

had their work cut out for them this summer.

This is a picture of Huntington Canyon during the fire.

This is a picture after the fire on Gentry mountain.

I took this picture at the Huntington Lake the night of Griffin's birthday.

You can see tons of smoke and the orange sky.

We had an exciting day with BEES one afternoon.

Bry had stopped by for lunch and when he went back to get in his truck,

there was THOUSANDS of bees above his truck. We did not know

where they came from but we got the kids in the house fast. A little later a neighbor said he saw a bee

hive fall from our tree on the corner when a truck drove by and flipped a stick up into the tree.

Julie Barnett happened to come by while all this was going on and she mentioned that Brad Giles is a "bee guy" after she left, it wasn't too long and Julie and Brad came over. It ended up that they were honey bees and Brad said that is one of the biggest hives he has ever seen.