Wow a whole month has gone by since I have posted to our blog. So many things have happened since then. Joe and I are still fortunate to have our jobs in this tough economy. We are still able to maintain our four-day work schedules which results in our kids being in daycare only three days a week. That I feel is the greatest gift we could ask for. Spending time with our kids and making memories to last our lifetime is what it is all about.
You might be wondering why I am being so reflective. Well several things have happened this month to really make Joe and I reflect on our lives and what is really important. The first thing to happen is I injured my knee. Do not ask me what happened, because I really do not know. I wish I could tell people that I hurt it in a skydiving accident. I would really settle for something not so exotic like playing soccer or softball, but that too would be a huge fabrication. The truth is one day it did not hurt and the next day it did. I joked about it for a while and told people that my knees were buckling under the pressure of the twenty pounds I have put on since Hayden was born. Then the clicking in the knee was so consistent that Elainea would follow me laughing when my knee didn’t pop when I walked. Then the issue was the stairs in our house. The pain got so bad that I could not walk up and down them. I could not take care of my kids or maintain the house. I went to the doctor and he advised me it was because I needed to strengthen the muscles in my upper leg and then it would be fine. I told him I wanted to start exercising and he told me that was the best thing I could do for my knee. So I started slowly incorporating more exercise into my day. Sure enough my luck would soon change. It was a Monday and I took the girls to camp and went shopping with Hayden until it was time to pick them up. Sure enough I am in the Walmart parking lot and I am no longer able to put weight on my leg. With every step pain would radiate from my knee down to my feet and up to my hip. It was all I could do to get Hayden safely to the car. This time I knew it wasn’t just being out of shape. I went to a specialist and found out that I have torn my meniscus and it requires surgery to repair it. After wearing a brace for several weeks the swelling has gone down and I am once again keeping up with the household. I am postponing the surgery until December.
Next was the flu to hit the house. Elainea came home really ill and was in bed for two days. Anyone who knows Elainea knows that nothing keeps this girl down. She soon passed it to Hayden and then Hannah. Poor Hayden did not know what hit him. For him the flu was more serious as it caused his reactive airway disease to flare up. The poor kid was almost hospitalized when his oxygen levels dipped down to 83%. Luckily we were able to treat him with some steroids in the clinic and bring him home.
Next thing you know we are coming home from Mass on Saturday night and stopped at a traffic light when we were struck from behind by a car going over 35 mph. The kids were buckled in their carseats and are okay. Unfortunately I received cervical whiplash and strained my right shoulder. The paramedics convinced me to go to the hospital in an ambulance to avoid them writing up that I refused medical care at the scene. How traumatic for the kids to have their mom hauled away. We are very fortunate that the accident happened the way it did. Joe saw the car coming and let of the brake so the impact was not so hard.
Next thing to happen is a dear friend lost her battle with cancer. She was living in Virginia with her family and was brought back to Utah to be buried in the same cemetery as Joe’s Mom and Dad. We feel so lucky to have been able to participate in the burial of such a wonderful person. We met Holly when we traveled to China to get Elainea. Her family adopted a little girl from the same orphanage. In fact, many of the baby pictures that we received of Elainea have pictures of the children from the other five families we traveled with. Being able to spend time with Holly and Robert and their dear sweet children was wonderful. When we faced some challenges with the adoption in China they were there to help support us in any way they could. The cried with us and prayed with us. Holly was such a wonderful friend and support for us. Our children have prayed for her each day for the past year. She has become a part of our lives and will live on in our memories.
Just when you think it is all that could happen in a month…wrong! My sister traveled down to Mexico to try to obtain a visa for her husband David so he can come back to the states legally. Not so fast our government told them and advised them that he now has a lifetime ban that may be appealed in ten year if he stays in Mexico. Well how do you like that? Here is someone trying to right a wrong and what does he get?, a door slammed in his face. With this type of law in place where is the motivation to make things right for these people who immigrated here to help their families survive. We also pray for their family in that a miracle can happen and they can be together again.
Then we receive word of a close neighbor that went into the hospital for a routine day-surgery that ended up a major surgery where they had to reconstruct the structure of her digestive system. Doesn’t that beat all? She had a hysterectomy twenty years ago and the surgeon pulled out her intestines and did not put them back in correctly. Thankfully she is healing well and will get to come home soon.
All of these things make me appreciate what our family has even more. I will take our challenges head on as long as we are together that is all that matters. Life is fragile and ends all too quickly at times and we need to make every moment count. I for one will try to remember that each day throughout the rest of my days. I want to say to all of our friends and family that we care for you so much and we appreciate having you in our lives. You make all the difference in this world when not a whole lot of things make sense. We love you all and may God keep you in his loving care….
The Rockwell’s
