hOmE iS wHeRe YoUr StOrY bEgInS

        A few months after we got married we ended up with our house. Knowing we were probably purchasing it soon after we got married I held onto all of our wedding gift cards so that we would actually be able to afford to do some decorating! This was and still is one of my favorite purchases that we bought with a gift card to Kohls. It was also something we actually agreed on! 

      It has been almost two whole weeks since Aaron has been home, hard to believe! Overall it's been great, we have had a few moments and a few mishaps but I keep reminding myself that I should expect it until things settle down! I have been a little on the tired side but I wouldn't have it any other way!

     I have had to really play nurse a few times, not my favorite job but a job I have learned to do well. We had some scheduling issues due to some paperwork issues...you know how that goes! One day Aaron was forced against his will to go with me and sit and wait while I got my nails done, he also ate the meatballs I had taken to out to thaw for dinner before I got home one afternoon! 

    Our home health aide (or whatever the official title is because I can never remember and it always seems so impersonal) is fabulous and I am not just saying that because she makes my bed! She cooks, does laundry, and cleans up around the house too. Oh...she helps Aaron too and hangs out with him! She also takes the dog (and Aaron) for walks lol!

       Some coworkers invited us out on what ended up to be a quadruple date. One of our sweet friends brought over McDonald's for dinner one night and hung out and played games with Aaron so I could go meet up with other friends for dinner by myself, which was a nice little and much overdue little get away for some me time! We have also learned to love Netflix! 

    We are also noticing that Aaron is more self sufficient at home. The other morning he was in a white t shirt and I set a polo shirt out to help him put on in a little bit after I finished getting ready myself. I happened to look out and there was Aaron with the shirt half way on all by himself. He even had put his socks on too, those are still pretty tricky with one good hand! Then last night I went to the other room to do something and gave him the job of emptying the silverware out of the dishwasher. Well he totally surprised me and when I came back out he had unloaded the whole dishwasher and put what he could away and it was even in the right places! Pretty cool if I say so myself! 

    The cupboards are full and I now buy a dozen eggs and a gallon of milk and I actually have to put it back on the grocery list before the end of the week. I have bread that doesn't get moldy and all kinds of yummy snacks to eat! I even have more than cereal as a choice for breakfast but I still eat the cereal!

     Last but not least, I LOVE our lazy evenings around the house. As you can tell in the picture, so does the dog! Our story is finally beginning (again) now that we are home! 

cHaNgEs

     Our life is going through many changes again, all of them good this time! As we started the process to transition Aaron home I kept thinking about all of the things that were going to change in just a matter of a few months and now it's finally here and I am happy to report that we survived the first week! 

Here are some of the new changes happening in our house...

1. No more driving back and fourth too many times to count,  I have been home before dark and so far before 5pm each night! 

2. All laundry is home, I don't have to pick it up and take it back and fourth and no more overflowing hampers!

3. I have cooked dinner more this week than I have in as long as I can remember, crazy I know, no more drive through! (Well at least not as often!)

4. With dinners come groceries, I actually have some substantial groceries in the house! I have to shop a lot differently than I have been since I don't think Aaron can live on cereal and milk!

5. I can actually turn my cell phone to off, well after I get home from work at least! I don't think my cell phone has been turned off in 5 1/2 years unless I was in an airplane! 

6. I no longer have to talk to the dog at night like he is a human and understands everything I tell him, sometimes I don't know what I did before the dog lol! 

7. There aren't any more late night calls or wake up calls from Aaron because he is bored, he is sleeping when I am! PS This should also be a perk for some other family members since I know they have been blessed with some of these calls too! 

8. I have time for naps in the afternoon, I actually got one in already this week! 

9. Our home health caregiver makes my bed, the last time I remember that my bed was made was when I lived at home with my grandmother! 

10. Last but not least, I am learning to share a bed with Aaron and Jasper. This is probably my least favorite since I have been sandwiched between the two of them all week long! 

ThErE iS nO pLaCe LikE hOmE...

It's been a few months...and a few years in the making but we are excited to announce that we have reached another milestone. 

Aaron is MOVING home...effective immediately!

If you know me well or have asked me about this particular topic then you know this was always a part of MY plan! 

     I'm thrilled to share our BIG secret! I have been avoiding phone calls with Aaron's family for months in order to surprise them with this exciting news! We even visited with his brother and sister in law a few weeks ago and it was all I could do to keep it quiet! And even Aaron didn't know the news until this morning, I figured it would be better that way (if you are Facebook friends with him and have seen his posts then you know exactly what I am talking about)!

     Even though it has come up in conversations many times, in January I received THE call to make it official. I actually got a message first telling me not to worry but we needed to talk about Aaron! There had been a recent care plan meeting and there was good news and bad news. The good news was that he was doing well and he actually surpassed the level of care that the rehab offers! Them the bad news, which wasn't that bad, we needed to find a better fit for him.  So we started talking about all of our options. Without thought, I said no to a group home setting, assisted living was another idea (and still can be if we need it in the future), and last but definitely not least was the option of coming home with help. 

     It has taken a lot of coordination, I am so thankful and beyond blessed with an amazing team of people to help us throughout this process! Just for starters we needed to have a doctor and nurse available as needed, get prescriptions in order, find someone to stay with Aaron and help Aaron at home if I am not there, and find backups to stay with Aaron just in case! (There's actually more than that but I won't bore you with any more details, you get the idea!)


     One of the obstacles we still have is that Aaron still needs 24 hour supervision.  Part of this is due to safety and the rest is because he still needs help with a lot of things like showering and getting dressed. Our most important job was finding the right person to care for Aaron and help him when I am at work or when I am gone. (Cool job right?!) We will also need to have a few back up plans of course.

    We have decide to hire a home health care aide through a local agency. We hope to have one main person that will be with us full time and be with Aaron as much as possible when I can't.  One of our back up plans is an adult day care that the county we live in has. It sounds really funny but it's actually a pretty cool program that we tried out a few summers ago! 

     There will definitely be an adjustment process for everyone and we are all still figuring it out! We are hanging out with our new home health care aide for the new two days, she's great by the way. The dog loves her too which is a plus, our silly dog seems to like four legged friends much better! 

     We will spend the next few days working on the transition from the rehab to home. Aaron will need to do another trial at the daycare (it's their protocol) since it's the back up plan during the beginning of next week. Then we will go from there! 


     

    Thanks to all who have been and continue to be a part of this journey and have prayed and continue to pray for Aaron! Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance. 1: Cor. 13-7


     I also couldn't forget to give a very special thanks to our amazing friend, Beth Carter, who I can always count on to help take pictures to celebrate these special memories! You can check her out at http://www.bethcarterphotography.com 

OuT wItH tHe Old...

        Now that I have a little free time, otherwise known as Spring Break, I planned to try to do some updating and possibly add some updates here! I am also working on my Spring Cleaning, which is how I got to this post! 

     Just another small blessing that reminds me of how far we have come and puts a smile on my face...

        When Aaron first started traveling after his accident he required a rather large reusable shopping bag filled with stuff. I imagine it is much like a diaper bag for a child except with adult sized items which requires a much larger (or more full) bag! This bag was one of about three that was stocked completely full of many things including a change of clothes, medical supplies, and even a few bottles of water! I carried it everywhere with us and when it wasn't with us, it stayed in the car in case we needed it! Just recently my bags wore out so I was in need of at least one replacement. 

Old...

      For Christmas, one of Aaron's aunts surprised us and got him a super cool new bag! It is much smaller and holds only the necessities that we absolutely need. As I emptied the old bag out, I realized most of the items were obsolete! I still carry a change of clothes...just in case but I can't tell you the last time we needed them. There are no medical supplies in this bag, did I mention there were no medical supplies in this bag?! It's looks pretty cool if Aaron wants to carry it around too, well if you are an OSU fan! 

New...

cRuSiN'

      A lot of you know that for Spring Break 2006, Aaron and I went on a cruise with a bunch of friends from work. We had a blast and that also happened to be the place where Aaron proposed! I posted a few pictures of that cruise below!

Bon Voyage 2006!

Just after we got engaged in 2006! 

      Fast forward to 2013…a few days before Thanksgiving I got this crazy idea to go on a cruise over Christmas break after I saw advertisements for inexpensive cruise deals. That was all it took, along with Aaron's doctors approval that is! So we booked a 3 day Royal Carribean cruise to the Bahamas! It was kind of a late Christmas gift but early anniversary gift to each other. Other than a birthday trip to Ohio almost three years ago, and a last minute spring break trip to Virginia last year to visit with family, we really haven't gone on a vacation so that made this trip pretty exciting!

Away we sail 2013! 

      We spent our three days eating of course! I think the rest of the time was spent at the pool (my favorite) watching the bowl games on the big screen (Aaron' favorite)! Oh and don't forget an unlimited supply of soft serve ice cream that was only a few feet away at all times! Aaron also enjoyed the Coke machine and all of the different combinations of drinks he could refill at any time! 

The perfect way to watch the game! 

Just a few of our favorite snacks!

Pool time! 

      Another favorite was formal night, there was quite the dilemma getting the dress I ordered thanks to all the Christmas orders online and I ended up having to get something else last minute unfortunately. Aaron lucked out on a clearance deal along with some of his mom's Kohls cash and we found him the perfect suit! Silly me thought maybe we could at least salvage the jacket of his old suit…that was definitely NOT happening lol! So here we are all dressed up with someplace to go! 

All dressed up!

The new suit! 

     We decide to stay on the ship this trip but there was plenty to keep us busy! We went to the movies, a magic show, and a broadway show. We even did a little shopping at some of the stores around the ship. Aaron loves to walk so we spent a lot of time exploring the ship! We even found time to sit around, hang out, and enjoy the view! 

Walking around the ship! 

Hanging out on the main deck! 

     At the end of our weekend I was thankful for a fun vacation away with my hubby! It was uneventful (which always makes me happy) and full or rest and relaxation…perfect! It went so well and we enjoyed ourselves so much that we are talking about doing it again next year! 

Happy Vacationers! 

mAkInG a MoUnTaIn OuT oF a MoLe HiLl...

      I found this on Pinterest this weekend, where else?! Well this was me ALL last week, my mom says I come by it honestly lol!  I was miserable in every aspect last week and all I did was worry. The picture above tells the rest of the story as well as the title of this blog!

     I may have mentioned that I have "those" weeks once in awhile. I try to be strong and keep the big girl pants on but it just didn't happen this week. I know how blessed I am but I was feeling blah. I tried so hard to fake it, a skill that I have come to per-fect most of these kind of weeks, but it was an epic failure. A sweet co-worker, aunt, and two of my "moms" got me at my very best! Even though I felt like a fool while trying to explain my crazy feelings, I was thankful they were there to listen to me cry…literally! And the best part, they didn't judge, they just listened and loved me in that moment.

    In the middle of this I was lucky enough to enjoy a three day weekend to catch up on some me time and chill out. Aaron and I also got to visit with some family from out of town and I got to catch up with a friend at dinner another evening. Again, thanks to Pinterest, I found a great quote.

        I don't want to leave you hanging, however, this was how I felt the end of the weekend. Things are feeling back to our normal and I am feeling more like myself. I realized that even though I only feel like I am tiptoeing at this point,  I am at least going in the right direction! It's funny how everything just seems to make sense all of a sudden, I just wish I could remember this each time I start to make a mountain out of a mole hill!