Last Weekend Update

Last weekend (9/6-7) was a very busy, active one for me. My mom & stepdad arrived on Friday. Around the time they arrived, I started getting really shaky. I couldn't put my finger on it and started getting nervous that I was reacting to going off Lyrica (it can be an addictive pain pill). But since it wasn't really working for me, I didn't understand how that would be possible. I spoke with a few people about it and was finally able to calm down. Once I calmed down, I was fine! I think it was all just anxiety from reading and hearing too much, and getting myself worked up over it. After about 2 hours of some shakiness, there wasn't another problem with it.

Saturday morning, we got up early (6 am - too early for a Saturday in my opinion!!) and went to the church where our church's school was having a 5k walk/run to earn money for their athletic department. Mom & Jerry (my stepdad) were walking in it. They did a terrific job and came in at 54 minutes, 54 seconds. It was a lot more fun than I expected and we enjoyed cheering people on. I took a TON of pictures and tried to choose just a few to share here... it was a hard!

Here mom & Jerry are just before the race...

Here they are after getting their numbers on
Mom & our friend Julie - who she's met before, in case you couldn't tell by how much fun they're having :)
Heading to the other side of the building to the starting line
Runners... on your mark, get set, go! {bang!}
Away they go
Coming around on their first lap

Pastor Jeff and his kids coming through the finish line

Mom & Jerry entering their final lap
Julie with a friend of hers after they finished the race
Almost there!!
Crossing the finish line - woo hoo!
All done!

Mom with our friend Sarah, who we met at church camp in June (women's retreat)
Mom and Arianne... another Camp Harvest friend
Mom won 2nd place in her category! (Should we admit that there were only 2 people in that category...? - well either way we were proud of her!)
Jerry, mom, & me
We were done by about 9:45 and headed home to rest a bit. Jerry got in a good nap, and we left again shortly after 11 to go back to the church for a big picnic. This month is our church's 20th anniversary so we are having a month-long celebration with lots of fun things. The picnic was a lot of fun. There were those large things kids bounce in, pie-eating contests, sack races, frisbee, mini-golf, lots of food along with cotton candy and ice cream, and our personal favorite... the dunk-a-pastor tank! That was a lot of fun! Here are some highlights....

Pastor Jeff at the dunk tank

One of several pie-eating contests - they were so much fun, but so gross too!
Our friend Julie and her daughter Rebecca
Our senior pastor, James, gave the dunk tank a try...
...with a victory, dunking Pastor Rob!
Another pie-eating contest, this time for married couples

The one-month newlyweds won... this is the guy from the winning couple...
They were giving out frisbees
Mom & I Tim & I

We stayed at the picnic until a little after 2 and then headed home again for a few hours. Jerry took a nice, long nap while I tried to nap to no avail. We relaxed, got ready, talked to my two nieces/sis-in-law/and brother, and then left at 4:30 to head to our Saturday evening service. It was a great service! And we got to see another friend from our camp women's retreat... it was a great weekend to see all those friends and I was so glad mom & Jerry could be here for all those events (it happened unintentionally)!

Afterward, we were very disappointed to find out the latest Baker's Square Restaurant near us closed its doors for good! :( I had been begging Tim to take me there for weeks because I was afraid it would close too. Just last week I am pretty sure we drove past it and it was still there. Now it's gone. I was so sad!! There are only two left anywhere near us that I can find. The company filed for Chapter 11 and had to close a bunch of stores. I hope it's just for a while and then maybe someday they can reopen again. Anyway, so we took mom & Jerry to Red Robin (yum!) for dinner after church and enjoyed the rest of our evening relaxing at home.

Sunday morning we slept in a little and then went on a bike ride. We love going on bike rides together, but definitely prefer morning hours for it (hence why we went to church the night before since Sat morning we already had something planned). We made it about 12 miles. The first few miles, I wasn't sure I could make it. But I was able to push through it and did great! I felt a burst of energy toward the end. I'm not sure where that came from since that doesn't usually happen. After the bike ride and a nice lunch, we relaxed and watched a Cubs game while going in and out of napping, reading, and enjoying a house full of fresh air (I loved that weather while it lasted last weekend/early this week, and hopefully it's returning soon!). Then we got in the car and went to the new L.L. Bean store opening this weekend (it officially opened Friday 9/12) about 15 minutes north of where we live. (We could only peak through the windows.) We are SO excited! Next time mom visits, she'll get to go inside of a real store of theirs!! (She loves L.L. Bean!) Then we drove a few minutes back toward our house to go to the Cabela's. That was fun - they have some really neat things to look at and do inside their store.

STOP READING HERE IF YOU ARE EASILY GROSSED OUT... AND SCROLL DOWN TO THE NEXT PART IN ALL CAPS.

Then, in the middle of the Cabela's store, I moved my shoulder bag up a little bit and managed to slice my finger. You know how you sometimes get a little extra skin sticking up by your cuticles? Well I guess I had a little of that sticking up and when I moved my bag, the strap went between my thumb and that part of my skin. I could tell immediately that it hurt but I didn't notice I was bleeding until I realized it was pounding and I looked down to see it bleeding. I showed mom and said I was going to the bathroom to put it in water. So I darted off that way and when I glanced down again moments before entering the bathroom (thankfully it was very close!), I saw that it was starting to REALLY bleed... gushing might be a strong word, but that's what came to mind! I had to put my other hand under it so that I wouldn't drip in the store. I got really nervous and nearly ran over 2 or 3 people just to get to the bathroom. I immediately got it soaking and put several wet paper towels on it to get it to stop. I stood over the sink just shaking and trying not to look up at the people around me. What seemed like an eternity later (but was really just a few minutes probably), as I was wondering why my mom hadn't come to check on me yet, a very nice lady came in to wash her hands and asked me if I was okay. After a minute of talking, she said she was sure her husband would have a bandaid because he's so accident-prone. Sure enough, she brought me a couple of sizes and helped get one on me. It was extremely nice of her. Especially considering that I didn't want to go back out to get mom to help me while bleeding in the store. So once I had the bandaid on, and had pulled myself back together, I went back out. Mom was just a few feet from me at that point and had a concerned look on her face and said "I was getting really nervous". I had to tell her she had a little reason to get nervous because it was worse than either of us first realized. I told her about the kind lady and how it all worked out just fine. But since I was still a little rattled and since we'd been in the store for an hour, I decided it was time for us to go (we were all pretty much ready to anyway although Jerry was really enjoying look at the "museum" aspect of it with all their animals and such).

OKAY, IT'S CLEAR TO START READING AGAIN...

After we got home from our little adventure at Cabela's, mom & Jerry started loading the car with some of their extras in preparation of leaving early this morning. Then mom helped me fix dinner and we enjoyed some time together. Afterward, Tim & Jerry were quite surprised to find the Bears winning over the Colts (which made both their nights). Mom & I cleaned up, played a game, and watched a little football with them before going to bed early. We got up ridiculously early on Monday morning (5:30) to say goodbye to them. (Mom had a noon meeting back home so they had to leave earlier than usual... typically they leave at the same time I leave for work.)

I miss them already, but we had a lot of fun and it's always nice to get back to a normal routine after having guests and such a busy weekend. I definitely feel different now that the Lyrica is out of me - my energy level has increased a little bit again which is really nice! [Especially Sat-Tues the energy was much better.] So even if I can tell the Lyrica worked ever-so-slightly, I'm still glad I went off it. Who really wants to be on a medication that can get you addicted to it even though it's not fully effective? No thank you. Despite some initial discouragement and frustration, not only from going off the Lyrica but also the uselessness of my rheumatologist and the lack of options, I'm feeling MUCH better!!! Thank you all for your prayers and support. God is so good!

I have been doing better recently in my spiritual walk as well. I'm trying to learn and grow and allow God to mold me into who he wants me to be, instead of trying to fight it. My biblical counselor at church and a good friend of mine are both being great inspiration and they're pouring wisdom and God's Word into my life and soul. I'm actually able to get out of bed in the morning now excited about the day and looking forward to whatever God has for me that day! (Most of you know I'm the complete opposite of a morning person, and feeling excited about anything when I wake up is a rarity, beside the fact that I usually cannot usually even get out of bed!!!!!!!)

Monday night I went to our college's local alumni gathering. It was a lot of fun, and I'm so glad I went! I met some great people, caught up with others who I knew, and met a new friend who lives just down the street from where I work! What a blessing. I was tired... but God met me there and carried me through because I was relying on his strength and not my own.

Tuesday night I was finally home and could rest/veg if I wanted to, but after being so active the past few days, I was too antsy and couldn't sit still! What a riot. I stand in awe.

Then Thursday I felt as though I'd been hit by a truck... all my energy was suddenly gone and all I wanted to do was sleep. I felt like my head was going to explode. I took a few hours off work to get some extra rest, and boy did that help! By Friday I was fine, so I think it was my allergies/sinuses acting up, plus my Fibro reacting to the weather shift. Friday I got to see an old, good friend and that was such a blessing. After work I went to the mall to just people watch for a bit, but later learned that was a mistake. Sometimes I like to do that on Friday nights just to get in some walking and because I enjoy it... it relaxes me and I spend some time w/ the Lord praying for the people walking around me. But by the time I got to Target to do a little shopping, I was feeling pretty sick. I had to call Tim and ask him to come meet me there. He did and he was so great and sweet about it... he helped me finish up, and then he loaded the groceries into his car while I immediately headed home. Tim is quite simply, the best.

Thank you for listening to me share about my life, and for putting up with this long post! Blessings to you all, and I pray that you and yours are not directly affected by the recent flooding, and that if you are may God be with you and protect you.