I'm having surgery

Around the time of my birthday I went on a couple out of town trips - one to Indy and one to Chicago. Around that time I experienced some abdominal pain. I brushed it off as a reaction to the unhealthy eating I was doing. I had another bout of pain on Wednesday night of this week. It lasted a few hours and then passed. I didn't really eat poorly that day, but wondered if it was a reaction to the Indian buffet I was at the day before. And then last night I started to feel the pain again. I took a couple of Tylenol and noticed that the pain subsided for a bit. I thought I was in the clear. But then it came back...with a vengeance! This time the pain was far worse than before. I called Mom and asked her to come take me to the ER. When I got there I was doubled over in pain and began vomiting. It was HORRIBLE! They started me on an IV as soon as I changed into the hospital gown and gave me a nice dose of morphine....it was wonderful! My stomach calmed down and the pain began to gradually subside. They did some blood work and did an ultrasound. They found that my gall bladder is full of gall stones. I received a prescription for pain killers and was sent home with instructions to contact the surgeon.

I went to Dr. Murphey today and learned about the gall bladder surgery. We scheduled it for Monday, July 7th. This will be my first surgery and that makes me a bit anxious, but the idea of having the source of this hideous pain gone far outweighs any anxiousness I am experiencing. The surgery is a fairly routine procedure that is done in the out patient area of the hospital. I should be home in my own bed by that evening. It is throwing some of my summer travel plans off course, but it's actually good timing since it means I won't have to miss any work. I'll keep you posted on how things go!

Chad and Caren got married

My co-worker Chad got married on Saturday, June 21st. It was a beautiful wedding and a fun reception. I really like his new wife Caren and am looking forward to having her on campus with us next year. Here are a few photos from the blessed event...

Caren and Chad

Think she's happy?! :)

The wedding cake

The groom's cake

Caren & me

My boss Launa and her boyfriend

Shirley (our adminstrative assitant), Chad, and me

The happy couple!

Another week of summer is gone...

The week of the 16th went by quickly. Some of the things I did...

-I baby sat for Lily & Gavin again.
-I went out to dinner and looking at Barnes & Noble in Mishawaka.
-I went on an hour and a half long walk with a friend from home group.
-I was part of an arbitration committee for a judicial issue on campus.
-I had two of my former RAs over for dinner and to play Cluedo.
-I catered a retirement reception for a GC employee.

Friday night my home group met. We had moved it to a different night than normal because one couple had a schedule conflict. We decided to forgo our usual lesson and just played together. We ate dinner, play life sized Dutch Blitz with the kids, played an adults only game of spoons (I WON!), and then had a gals only gabfest in the hot tub until 1:30 AM. It was a wonderful evening. I really love these people! :)

Summer routine?

I don't really have much of a routine this summer. I was not able to land a part time summer job for various reasons, but am working hard at staying busy in the midst of no schedule.

The week I got home form Florida I did several fun things...

-I went to the Parade of Homes (an annual showcase of new homes in our county) with my childhood friend Amy. We've been doing this together every year since I could drive....thus it's been over 20 years now that we've done it. Wow - I'm getting old!

-I babysat my great niece and nephew (Lily & Gavin) for two days. It was a lot of work, but also lots of fun!

Lily & Gavin

Checking out the turtle we found..way cool!

I think this is beautiful!

-I hosted one of my summer monthly poker nights. It was good to hang out with my buddies and to see that I haven't forgotten how to play the game...in fact I played really well and was one of the final two playing, but I didn't win. My friend Megan (who taught me how to play last year) won.

-I went to Pottery Schmottery with my friend Amanda. It was a belated birthday gift for her. We had lots of fun painting...followed by dinner at Chipolte and shopping.

Amanda and her bowl

me with my bowl

-Sunday the Rissers came over for the evening and we play Cluedo. It's the British version of Clue - one of my favorite games of all time! Rebecca had bought it for me as a birthday gift when she was in England this spring. We had a lot of fun playing Cluedo - it's a fun twist on the regular American version of the game.

Mom's birthday...part 6

Our final day in Florida was Monday. We didn't really do much other than pack up, check out, and do some final shopping. One treat for me was when I found a Buca di Beppo's in the mall where we were shopping! You may have read in previous posts how much I enjoy their food. This was no exception. It was Mon's first time, so I enjoyed introducing her to one of my favorite places. Our flight home was pretty uneventful and we were both happy to get home to our own beds that night.

A few last photos of our trip...

Mom by a pretty flowering tree that she liked

Me at M&M World in the mall

Mom at Buca's

Me being silly by a statue at Buca's

Mom's birthday...part 5

Sunday we did another thing that Mom had never done...we went to the ocean! We drove 1 1/2 hours East of Orlando and went to Cocoa Beach. We were only there for about a half hour, but it was enough to walk in the sand/water a bit and take some photos. We then travelled back to the Orlando and spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the condo.

A few photos...

Mom & me in the ocean

The grandkids call her Nana

The traditional shot in front of Cracker Barrel!

A t-shirt that I ALMOST bought! :)

Mom's birthday...part 4

Mom & me at the Magic Kingdom!

Saturday, June 7th was Mom's birthday. We went to Walt Disney World that day. My sister in law Linda told us to stop at the townhall and get a birthday pin for Mom. We did and if was so worth the extra 2 minutes! She got a big round pin to wear all day that said it was her birthday with her name on it. Everywhere we went people wished her a happy birthday. On a couple different rides they mentioned her by name, the restaurant gave her a free chocolate/mint cake for desert, and at the Monster's Inc attraction they flashed her photo up on the screen! It was SO fun! She commented that more people wished her happy birthday than would have if she had been at home. I'd guess that at least 75 different people did. It was fun to see her celebrated like that.

Mom opening the mailbox at Minnie's house

Mom, Donald Duck & me

Mom on the Flying Dumbo ride

Mom was excited to meet Goofy!

Me looking at home in Minnie's kitchen. :)

Mom in some mouse ears

Me in mouse ears

Me & Mom

Mom's birthday...part 3

Mom & me

Friday evening in Florida Mom and I went to a shopping district called "Downtown Disney". There were lots of shops selling Disney stuff, a Lego store, a Ghirardelli chocolate store, live entertainment and lots of assort shops. We walked around there for a couple hours before heading to a less touristy area for dinner. We opted for a comfort food dinner at Pizza Hut...a common Friday night meal during my childhood. We both fell into bed that night and slept soundly!

Some photos to share...

Mom looking cute in a Goofy hat!

Mom & me by some palm trees.

Some life sized Lego creations

Mom's birthday...part 2

My brother Gary and his wife Linda donated lodging for the weekend at their timeshare condo at the Bonnet Creek resort. It was a great set up all around...the place was nicely decorated, had a private bed & bath for both Mom & I, was in a great location, and just for listening to the timeshare sales pitch we got one free admission to Disney World! Here are some photos of the condo...

Pretty flowers & fountain

Front office of resort

Living Room

Bedroom

Kitchen

Master bathroom tub

Mom dozing on the couch

Me by the main fountain

Mom's birthday...part 1

My mom turned 70 on June 7th. My siblings and I chipped in to give her a gift of dreams come true. Mom has not travelled much in her life (only 8 states total!) and she has always talked about wanting to fly somewhere and wanting to see the ocean. So, we chipped in for a weekend in Florida. Since I have the summer off and a desire (ok, NEED) to travel, I got to be the one to escort her!

Mom & me on the plane

We left on Friday morning at 4:00 AM from Goshen. She absolutely loved flying! There was a bit of walking between terminals at the airport in Detroit, but she was a trooper about it. She thought the people-movers were a great invention and used them at each opportunity. We arrived in Orlando around noon. Our condo wasn't available until 4:00, so we headed out find some lunch and do a little sightseeing. We saw many sights on our afternoon about town...

a Harley Davidson store
tons of palm tress

lots of signs with Goofy (Mom's favorite Disney character) on them

Home group

One of the best parts of my life these days is my Home Group from church! We meet each week on Thursday nights and I look forward to that night with much anticipation. We know how to laugh and have fun together and we also know how to cry with and support one another. I've only been in the group since February, but I feel as though these people have been in my life forever. On the 5th we went to one of the boy's baseball games as a group. Here are a few snapshots from that evening...

Pat, Amber, & Bonnie...the photo doesn't do these beautiful women justice!

Dalton...you can't capture the degree of cuteness this kid has on film!

Chad & Caren's shower

Me with the tasty chicken & pineapple with my fancy lei.

Monday, June 2nd I threw a wedding shower for my co-worker Chad and his fiance Caren. I invited the entire Student Life department and a few other GC related folks that I thought would enjoy the gathering.

Chad's mom Susie, Chad, & Caren with one of many sets of towels they received.

Chad is a HUGE fan of the beach, so we had a luau themed shower. Everything from the Hawaiian shirt shaped/printed plates and grass skirt around the food table to the grilled chicken and pineapple sandwiches set the theme of the tropics. We really had a fun time and the couple received some nice gifts.

Chad, Caren, & me!