Christmas is here!

While getting ready for Christmas and trying to recover from surgery, things became a little tricky. The girls and Miguel really stepped up to help me. Luckily, I had already completed my Christmas shopping, but wrapping was another story. I had most of it done, but then there was my Mother's box of goodies. We also needed to make our neighbor treats.
My doctors orders was to not lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk. That is a tall order with so many things to do. I also quickly learned that my digestive system was my worst enemy! Every movement felt like it was ripping through my stitches, or whoever they had done in there. It was very painful at times, but I managed to get through it. By Monday I was getting anxious to get out of the house and walk, so I went early in the morning to the Rec center with Miguel. Right at the start, I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to do this. I had some sharp pains, but I persevered and made my way around the indoor track 4-5 times at the pace of a snail. The golden girls were walking laps around me, and I desperately wish I had made a sign that said, "don't judge...just had surgery!" It was quite depressing to see all of the things I couldn't do at that moment and how far it seemed I had to go to get to that point. 
Here are the treats we made this year. It is hot chocolate on a stick. They tasted pretty good, but I don't know that it was worth the price it cost to make, or the trouble. Max was pretty impressed by the amount of trash he was collecting by unwrapping all of the peppermint pieces. They were all pretty helpful.



Once Christmas Eve arrived we were pretty much ready to go. The girls had been telling that they really wanted to open one gift on Christmas Eve, so I told them that I had a special surprise for them. They assumed it was a present from under the tree, but I had a better idea. I told them that they couldn't have the gift unless they were dressed up and presentable. Here they are before the surprise.

Gabriela decided to dress Max up like a true Mexican and Max named himself Brandino. We all laughed pretty hard, except for Max. He was ready to go hang out and help Grandma prepare for the party later that day. 
Once we dropped Max off we headed to Shelley's house to get Annabelle. We then started our drive up to Salt Lake. On the way, we handed each girl and envelope with their name on it and had them open them up all at once. We were surprising them with tickets to the Nutcracker ballet by Ballet West at the Capital Theatre. They were excited and I wanted to expose them to something nice.

Ballet West always does such a nice job and the dancers have some serious talent. Makes me wish I had a ballet background. Afterwards, we were off to our family party at Shelley's house.

I'm officially divorcing Andres. Adios!

Well the day finally arrived. I had been contemplating this decision for over a year, but in October I finally decided to take action and move forward. I had been having issues ever since my last C-section with Max and thy seemed to be getting worse each month. In October things had gotten bad enough that I was having to take narcotics in order to get through the pain. That was at the final straw for me and I started calling my doctors back trying to schedule my hysterectomy. I knew Christmas was probably the best time with work, however my OBGYN didn't think so. They told me I had to wait 3 months to even get an appointment with him, and I knew I would have to wait another 3 months for surgery. Ugh, tell my uterus to wait 6 months!

So I started researching and looking for a new doctor. A friend of mine suggested Dr. Gourley, so I called him up and they got me in within a week. Since I had already had all of the previous work done (biopsy & ultrasound) and had been given the go ahead for surgery at Valley OB, the process was quite simple. He said that we could set the date for whenever I wanted. That's my kind of service! We were set for Dec. 16th.  

I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit nervous for this. Was I really sure I was done having children? Every time I had that thought, I remembered the issues and problems I had with each of my c-sections and it solidified my decision. I've been blessed with 4 beautiful and healthy children, and I tend to over 75 children every day. It just wasn't worth the pain that I was experiencing every month. 

We went in bright and early in the morning and they drew blood, tagged me, and started me on some antibiotics. Miguel was a good companion, always calm and steady. They finally wheeled me off to the holding room where I met with the doctor one last time, as well as the anesthesiologist. I told I was good and that I would be fine as long as they didn't hand me a baby when I woke up. They reassured me they could find me one, if I wanted, but I think I'll pass. The last thing I remember was moving onto the operating table and looking to my right to see this giant white spender looking robot with 4 arms. I know they were playing music, but then...I was out.
When I woke up I was in my room. I happened to pull back my gown and it looked like I had been in a drive by shooting! I had 5 incisions and they were really high up? I hadn't expected that. Pretty soon, Miguel returned and there we were. What's done was done. I was free and liberated. Now the hard part...recovery.
While I was chillin' in the room, I decided it would be a good day to finish the Book of Mormon. It had been one of my New Year's goal, and I was happy to accomplish that as well on this monuments day. We also decided to have a Survior finale there at the hospital with the girls. It was great. Max even came to visit with Grandma. I went home the following day. Surgery stinks but overall this was a much better experience than having a C-section. I was able to get up and walk the same day and it actually felt better to stand than to sit.  We'll see how the following week goes.

And we'll ascend together!

In preparation for my Himlayan expedition in two weeks my professor gathered our group together to spend the night up at Brighton in order to help us better acclimatize for our trip. I knew we were going to hike and then find a place to spend the night, so I prepared my things to backpack up in the mountains. Our little family has been helping me prepare by taking hikes up along the Wasatch front here in Utah Valley, so I thought I was pretty prepared for what was about to happen. The group had decided to taste some Himalayan cuisine so we met first at the Himalayan Kitchen in Salt Lake and then headed up to the cabin. By the time we arrived it was well after 7:30 and my professor thought it would be best if I stayed in the cabin, but Miguel insisted we have this klondike camping experience, so we loaded up our packs in the dark and started out on the trail at about 8,000 feet of elevation. As soon as we got on the trail it was dark and Miguel was leading the group with me closely behind him. The trail was a vertical incline that headed straight up the mountain with patches of snow. That distance between Miguel and I got further and further apart because my asthma always kicks in with climbing at fast speeds uphill, and this was definitely uphill! I paused and let the members of the group pass me. I was burning up and ready to throw my pack over the cliff I was having such a hard time breathing. At that moment, all I wanted was for everyone to pretend I didn't exist and keep moving forward so I could deal with my challenges alone....all except for Miguel. I had two members of the group trying to coax me up that mountain, while I'm insisting for them to go on without me. I knew I could do it, but I needed some space and to go at my own pace and the peer pressure was so intense and I was embarrassed. All I kept thinking in my mind was "Where is Miguel! When is he going to come back for me!" Eventually he did come and it was such a relief. I didn't have to pretend, and he grabbed my hand and together we walked up that freezing cold dark mountain together. Hand in Hand! I didn't know if he felt like he was dragging me up that mountain, or what it was, but it was so much more doable hand in hand. At one point he handed me the end of a short rope and he held the other, so we were tethered together. He claims it is all psychological and that he wasn't pulling me, but whatever it was, it worked. It was in this tender moment that I was highly aware of how much I needed him. I knew that together we could do all things, including surviving the night on this mountain.

We eventually caught up with the group and that was when we decided to start finding a place to stay the night. The mountain was still at an angle so we dug around, and walked around by flashlight trying to find a flat enough spot to try to put up a tent. I stood there and froze as I watched the scoutmaster find a makeshift hoe out of a tree branch and dig us out a spot on the side of the mountain. We put that tent up, propped one end up with our backpacks and fallen trees, and burrowed down for the night. As I lay there frozen in my sleeping bag the thought came to me that if you want to see your spouse shine, put them in their element, and watch them go. He was my hero that night.

What was it that Miguel could satisfy verses the rest of my team? I think it was because I knew he wasn't thinking any ill will and that he had a genuine concern for me. It wasn't a race up the mountain, and that he wanted me to make it. He knew my challenges and was sensitive to them. I could be open and honest with him. My heart grew three sized that night, as I watched him take care of me, and we were both able to rejoice in our success the next morning. I did take comfort in the fact that he said his scouts would have cried doing what we did that night.

What can I say...I'm in love with Miguel!