She's come a long way!

Wayne I left for our family vacation to Lake Powell on Friday August 14th but not before spending Thursday night in the ER with my mom. 2 weeks into her fractured pelvis and now she's looking either to have a UTI or just dehydrated. An ambulance ride to the ED and a general workup and they weren't too much closer to a diagnosis. With mixed feelings I went ahead and headed on vacation Friday morning. By Saturday morning they had moved her to the ICU because of hypotension. An abdominal CT would eventually reveal a surgical emergency. Basically mom was septic and very sick. These first pictures are of mom immediately post-operatively Saturday night. She was septic from diverticulitis. It wasn't until days later that the surgeon was open with mom and dad and told them that he really didn't expect her to make it and here she is just a short 2 weeks later in her bright orange scrubs learning to walk again. She's actually a fisty little thing. She is doing so well it's just amazing! She says she isn't smiling because she hates her picture taken. You should have seen her the other day when she had the biggest case of the giggles ever! We are so blessed to have mom AND dad here to enjoy with us.

Have you ever stopped and thought "Hey this is where I live!"

I went for a walk last night with Wayne and we walked on the new walking path around the lake. It's beautiful here in Mantua and I love living here but sometimes I forget to notice or appreciate all of the beauty. We had our dog Hank with us last night and we passed many neighbors and friends out doing the same thing - exercising and enjoing the beautiful scenery and weather. At one point during the walk I just kept repeating - "I live here." I LIVE here" "I live HERE". After 17 years of living in this beautiful valley, I think it finally set in that this is my home. This is where I live. It's small town with a country store and a little town hall. A cop that everyone knows no matter where you go! I never in my wildest dreams thought I would live in Mantua or Brigham or anywhere around here. It wasn't until I was an adult that I really stopped to think that this is where most of my family is originally from. I actually have Great Grandparents who came to Mantua in the late 1800's and are buried right here in the Mantua cemetary. Here are a few pictures I've taken these past few weeks of "where I live".