1st week

So, it is almost a week since I had my surgery. I am just now getting around to writing though. The first few days were rough. Luckily pain meds work wonders. I was told by the nurses that I was the overachiever. I walked more than they told me to. Walking makes everything feel better. So, why not walk more?! My mom and husband have been here taking amazing care of me.

I got to have an amazing Christmas. My parents, brother, Jason's parents and sisters all got to be here together. I told them it was just practice for when we have kids in a few years. (We have to wait 18 months after the surgery before we can start trying). It all went really well. We had a good time. I just hope that at some point we can get a house with a bigger living room. This house is wonderful, but a bigger living room would help a lot with seating. Everyone was so great. I had been on liquids for a week, so food was sounding really good. So, instead of making me smell the food they were cooking all day, we went to IHOP for Christmas dinner. It was really nice. We all just talked and laughed. No one was exhausted from cooking. My kitchen still looks great and there was no clean up. We might be on to something here!

This week has been tough though. I have had to drink 5oz of clear liquids (water, diluted juice, decaffeinated tea, or protein drink) every hour. That may sound easy, but when your stomach (or pouch) is swollen from surgery and it only holds 3oz it is not that easy. Plus the things I have to wear on my calves that inflate and deflate are a pain and a half! But I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am going to Wednesday and getting my staples out. Plus, I get to start soft food diet on Wed. I have already gotten the stuff to eat, cottage cheese, sweet potatoes, malt-o-meal, cream of wheat, oatmeal etc. I am so ready to have something of texture to eat. 2 weeks and liquids is not fun, not fun at all.

I do not regret the surgery though. I have already lost one pants size! That is amazing! I will post on Wed. and tell how much weight I have actually lost.

Today is the day!!!

It is finally here! This morning I will go in and have a surgery that will change my life. I will now be forced to eat better. I WILL lose weight. I will become the me I have always wanted to be. I'm excited for me, but I'm also excited for Jason. He has had to take care of a sick wife our whole marriage. I am hoping this surgery helps my fibromyalgia. I know it will give me more energy. I know I will have to feel at least some better with all the excess weight off.

Today is the day that starts the rest of my life.

Dear God, thank you so much for your unending love. Thank you for bringing this day to fruition. You are the God of healing. I pray for a supernatural healing after this surgery. I pray you be with my surgeon, nurses and all the doctors taking care of me this morning. I pray you watch over all of my friends and family who are thinking of me today. Please give them the peace about this surgery you have given me. I pray that this surgery will enable me to further your kingdom in whatever way you have planned. Keep me in the center of Your will Lord. Let me focus on you when I struggle. Let me rely on you for all that I need. I praise your name God! In your Holy name I pray. Amen.

The Night Before Surgery...

Twas the night before surgery and all through our home,

We were nervous and excited, I'm glad I'm not alone.

Well, here it is. The night before my life changes forever. Man, that is weird. Tomorrow I will have the first surgery of my life. It will change my life forever. It will help to make the physical changes to my body that I have been trying to make since the 4th grade. I will lose not just weight, but also the main thing that holds me back from being all I want to be. I will have a renewed energy. I will be able to not worry about fat people stuff. What is fat people stuff you ask?

Not shopping in regular stores or sections.

Not fitting into booths or theater seats.

Bumping into things because your hips are too wide.

Bearing weight on joints that were made to hold much, much less weight.

Not being able to share clothes with friends.

I am so ready. I know it will not all change tomorrow. But, tomorrow is the beginning of the change. I love beginnings. They signal a new and exciting change in our lives. They inspire hope and perseverance.

I have not felt this covered in prayer since I went to Russia on the mission trip. It is an overwhelmingly comforting feeling to know everyone I love is praying for me. I know my God will protect and heal me. I know I have people around me to love me and support me. I am so excited to see what this new beginning will bring. I look forward to writing many exciting things on this blog in the future.

So, day 2 (Wednesday) was really rough. I had to stay home from work because of a migraine. I guess it was withdrawals from no sugar and no carbs. But then day 3 of the liquid diet (Thursday) was great. I felt really good. Yesterday (Friday) was a little rough. We had Christmas Parties at school. The smell of pizza and the sight of those cookies with all the icing was rough. Luckily I have great moms in my room that helped by handing out all the food. I didn't really come close to breaking down, but it sure did make it tough. Today is pretty good too. I really don't get hungry until late at night. I just have a protein shake or liquid yogurt and call it good. I am excited for my mom to get here tomorrow. I still can't believe that my surgery is only 2 1/2 days away! Thanks for all the prayers. I really feel covered in prayer.

I'm Back!!

I started on an all liquid diet in preparation for my gastric bypass surgery. I thought about it and thought it might be good for me to blog about my progress through this transition time in my life. I have my surgery on the 22nd, next Tues!!!!! Today was okay. I think the first day of liquid is a mental game. There are no withdrawals from sugar or carbs yet. I expect those late Wednesday or Thursday. I am feeling encouraged and supported by everyone around me. I know tons of people are praying for me. I want to ask that everyone pray for Jason too. He is going to have to put up with me, a food addict, on a strict liquids only diet for 2 weeks. Then it is only soft foods. Plus he will take care of my after the surgery next Tues. Mom will be here to help of course, but I just want to make sure he gets plenty of prayers as well. Well blogging world, until next time, I'm off to make a protein shake!

It's A Girl!

Well, of course I'm talking about my GPS! Her name is Stella. She is great fun. We had such a good time in Brownfield. I will put up pictures of us with Gavin our new cousin, but we are calling him nephew, later. On the way back, I talked Jason into taking me by IKEA. Let's just say we have found our new favorite store!!! If you haven't been...you have to go!!! I'm pretty sure we are going to buy all presents from there in the future. We found great things for the house and our classrooms.
Here is another trip tid-bit. Well, we were traveling down the highway going through Clyde, TX. I casually glanced at the windows of the Goodwill, as I always do. Now, the Goodwill was beside the highway, but there was a lane, a median, an access road, and a parking lot between us. I said, oh, that looks like a good Goodwill. Oh, hey, they have one of those papasan chairs I have been wanting. Well of course we went to look at it. They had not one but two. No, I only got one! But, it was only $13!!!!! That is compared to the 80-100 you would pay in the store. I am now going to go to Peir One to see if there is a cushion for it on sale, if not, I did discover a way to make my own cushion for it online. Now, for those of you who don't know, a papasan chair is one of those way rad circle chairs. It is made of bamboo like stuff and the big bowl swivels around on its base. I am super excited. Jason is still in unbelief that I can't see words on the TV but I could see a papasan chair from the highway.
I am excited because we are going to get to see baby Gavin again soon. They are coming this weekend!! But, that does mean I have to get the house clean. So, that should be fun. Anyway, more later. I will keep you updated on the papasan cushion situation. I hope all is well wherever you are.
God bless

GPS

Well, I got my new Navigon 2100 GPS system in today. My husband let me overnight it so we would have it for our trip to Brownfield today. I am so stinkin' excited!!! It is s cool. I input our house, my parents, and his parents. It can get louder as I speed up. It lets me know if I am going too fast. It even has a 3D image of complicated intersections. I can't wait to use it today!!! I'm not sure if the voice will be a male or a female. So, I came up with two names. Stella if it is a girl voice and Issac if it is a boy voice. Stella is just fun and Issac is in honor of my hula dancer, Issac Mahi-Mahi, from my VW Beetle. I will let you know what it is! I may not be able to write this weekend. We will be with Jason's family in Brownfield.
I am so excited about seeing all of them! They just opened a family fun center with a cool pool there. I'm sure we will be going there at least once. We will also get to meet Jason's new cousin Gavin! Bonnie and Ryan had their baby boy last month. I am excited to meet thier cutie. I will let you know all about the trip.
God bless.