Update

Well, I went to the doctor a week and a half ago and things are going great. My incision is finally healed and I no longer have to change dressings, we are going down on my steroid dose again, all my other medication doses stayed the same, and I can now jog. I went jogging the same day they told me I could, and I have to say that it hurt my abdomen. So, I have been easing into the process of increasing the intensity of my work-outs. I hate feeling like I could do more, but I want to be cautious with my body because the main complication of post-transplant surgery is developing a hernia. All the men in the waiting room talk about how much the hernia repair surgery hurts. I know this was a bunch of men and men tend to be way wimpier, but I really don't ever want another surgery if I can help it. The doctor said that my hair falling out is a side effect of the Prograf (my main immunosuppressant), there is a different one we could switch to, but the side effect of that drug and facial hair growth!!! As soon as she said that I pictured Paul and I sharing the mirror shaving together and I sain "no thanks!" So, I am just going to deal with it, in the big scheme of things, it is not that big of a deal. I go back to the doctor on April 26th and that is when we will re-evaluate me being able to travel more than a couple of hours away. I do labs once a week and this week I will go on Wednesday.
   Thomas has a big appointment this week too. His left leg is bowing, so naturally, he has an appointment at Shriners to check out his leg. He is in the 93% for his height, so I think he will grow out of it, but we will see. I love Dr.Scott and I trust her opinion, she is not only a wonderful doctor, but a stellar person. She can remember everything about her patients, she cares about them, and she is probably the fairest person I know.
    I have been a bit emotional lately, I can hardly talk about my cousin Karen without tearing-up, and I feel so blessed. My Aunt Kim had a garage sale at her house this past weekend to help us out and she simply amazes me. She helps so many people every day of her life. My mom, sister, husband, aunt Kay,and cousins came out to help too. I had forgotten how much work a garage sale is, but we had a great turn-out.
    I have been keeping busy with my work-outs, cleaning, deweeding, and I started the task of thank-you cards. I have so many people to thank that it is almost an overwhelming task, but I am steadily working on them everyday. Thomas loves to try and "help" me with the cards, but that does not always work out for momma! I am going to the eye doctor this week because I feel like my vision has changed and I am out of contacts. I am trying to squeeze in all the appts I can before I go back to work in May. I have also started sewing a little bit, which I really enjoy, but I am not too great at it yet!!!
    Easter weekend was wonderful, if you live around here, you know that the weather was PERFECT!  Thomas went to several egg hunts, he is so fun this year because he knows what to do. We went to an egg hunt at his Mother's Day Out program on Wednesday, one at our bank on Friday, and then the big one at our church on Saturday. He of course hunted eggs Sunday morning at our house and then again at my cousin's house Sunday afternoon. On Saturday, Paul's parents came to the egg hunt at church, as well as my mom, my sister, my cousin Lisa, and her daughter Charlee. It was a lot of fun. After that, we had a picnic at the park with Paul's parents and Thomas fed the ducks. He loves animals, which I know comes from me. I am sad that I can't be around animals or have close contact with them right now, but hopefully in the near future, I will be able to handle animals again. Saturday before Easter, we went to dinner with Paul's family and then we headed over to his Aunt Celinda's house to visit with Nana and Papa! They came in town from Alto, Tx. I love Nana, she is one of the most godly, loving, and wisest people I have ever met and I soak-up every minute I am blessed to spend around her. It has been hard not being able to travel up there to see her. We visited for a while and then we had to leave because I still needed to go to the grocery store for Easter supplies, color eggs, and clean-up. Saturday was super busy, but tons of fun.
     Easter Sunday was beautiful! It is so fun to dress-up Thomas. We all wore navy blue and white for Easter and my cousin Lisa, her children Charlee and Noah, her mother Jeri and Jeri's friend Charlie all came to church with us, which was super nice because it was Paul's week to work in the nursery during the service. After Sunday School, I went home and made deviled eggs for the first time in my life, they turned out okay, but I will improve this skill soon. I gathered all my stuff for Easter lunch and we headed over to my cousin Deborah's house. The kids played in the sprinkler, on the trampoline, and with the slide and toys all in the backyard. We hid a buch of eggs, some with $$$ inside, and the kids had a blast trying to find the GOLDEN EGGS. Lunch was great, but the company was even better. My cousin Karen took some great pictures of everyone, so I will try to put one on here if I can.

     Yesterday, Paul, Thomas, and I went to the Bluebonnet Festival and had a blast. I love seeing all the home-made stuff, people are so creative. After the festival, Thomas and I went up to our church for the youth choir auction dinner. It was a ton of fun and Thomas even won a water gun in the raffle. I was so impressed with the decorations, the talented entertainment, and with all the stuff up for auction. I love our church so much. We are having a Women's Night of Worship this Thursday at 7:00 pm if any of you ladies are interested. I am so pumped about this special night of praise.

     I am so excited about this coming up weekend because my soulmate friend Pree is coming in town from Los Angeles. I cannot wait to hug her neck! She is coming in for my Birthday weekend and we are going to the Astros game on my big day, and guess who they are playing, The Dodgers!!! Anyways, I hope to do a bunch of fun stuff with her while she is here. I miss her like crazy and it has been since my brother's wedding this past summer since I have seen her.

     I was extra blessed this past couple of weeks by a wonderful group of fifth graders from Fairmont Elementary School. They raised over $300 to help pay my medical bills by selling candy. They also sent me the sweetest cards. My heart was so touched by this wonderful kids and a reminder that you are never to young to make a difference in the lives of other people. My good friend Beth Williams is their teacher and organized it all, so a big thank you goes out to her!!

    

The picture above is from the Bluebonnet festival, my little cowboy is growing-up! I hope this blog cheers you up and I hope I bump into you soon.