Family Day

My brother visited this week from Menominee and he stayed at the local hotel. He has 4 kids and it is difficult to find a place for his entire family to sleep so this works out well. Since they had access to a pool at the hotel, it turned out to be a great place to hang out. Especially since March weather makes a pool especially desirable. It is always a great time for my granddaughters to bond with my nieces and nephews. There's always time for family!

Chloe's Birthday

We had Chloe's birthday party at my sister's house. Since my mom hasn't been out of the hospital for very long, it seemed like that would be the best thing for everybody. I baked a chocolate cake that was fantastic. I found the recipe on Pinterest so I was a little worried but it had chocolate frosting on it and as long as that was good, the birthday girl could care less.

The cake was better than good: it was fantastic. It was so good I had to share the recipe with everyone. The recipe I used can be found here. I am certain this recipe will be used more than this one time.

The birthday party was a nice, quiet one. Usually a 5-year old party includes many other 5-year olds but Chloe didn't seem all that interested so her mother let the day go by with the intimacy of close family. I think we all like that best. Even Chloe's little sister got some new bling today.

Rotator Cuff Surgery

Jeff had rotator cuff surgery at the beginning of December and our friend, Dick had the same surgery at the end of the month. We couldn't resist taking this photo of the both of them right after church today.

My Rebuilt Cervical Spine

Today was my 3-month follow-up appointment for my neck surgery. Even though my surgery was really 2 and a half months ago, I figured squeezing it in while my deductible was met seemed smart.

Everything looks good as far as healing is concerned. I wish I could say that I thought it was working but it's a bit too early to tell. Physical therapy continues and I find moving my head awfully painful and the crackling of the scar tissue sure sounds gross.

I can only hope for better things in the new year!

A Visit from my Granddaughters

I love spending time with my granddaughters. I am so very happy when they come to visit. And during this post-surgical time, I really need their uplifting spirits around me. They try to be so careful around my wires from my bone stimulator. I hope they aren't worried about me, I just want them to spend time with me without any worry.

Carpal Tunnel Surgery

During my cervical spine surgery, I had my surgeon do carpal tunnel surgery on my left hand. After all, I was already under general anesthesia so he might as well take care of that as well. Unfortunately, it did not heal well. I think I spent so much time concerned about my neck that I didn't pay close attention to my hand. So now I have extra physical therapy to look forward to. The scar tissue in my hand is so bad, I can't close my hand. I am so disappointed.