It's Friday.....Changes....

...Church..the ward is huge... and so we split....we will know this Sunday where the new ward boundaries will be......I also have a meeting with the Bishop after church.

the Rt Knee....Much as I like being at home ..I really can't wait to see which intervention will work to give more time until the inevitable happens as much as I would love to... so....out with the old....in with the new...I will be having the knee partially replaced as soon as it can be scheduled....

WORK.... I missed our monthly upc meeting. For many many years we have worked "mother/baby" separately and now the process to combine those roles of post partum and baby nurse is to begin....The NICU will have a dedicated staff....meaning we stay in the NICU..(we rotated to the well baby nursery) .We will be"applying" for the NICU positions ,the decision being made on experience, ability and annual evaluations. I wonder where I will be....NICU is where my heart is....although I do like to assist/educate with the breastfeeding piece.

I am having a quiet day today...doing what I should be.....not stressing too much... working the muscles holding the knee to strengthen and improve the outcome of the surgery....and wishing someone could bring me dinner....

DR visit.....Bad,bad,very bad left and right knees!

Meet my surgeon, Dr D Craig Loucks of Peak Orthoepedics. He is Canadian..therefore he understands my language!...yes, even after all these years of living "abroad" that early English education is embedded in who I am..how and what I say and write.There are many letters after his name,extensive further education and research in everything boney..and adorable 5 yr old twin girls....

it will be 6 weeks on Friday since the operation...(I couldn't count last week and have corrected it) a relatively small procedure that has a recovery period of anywhere between 1 and 6 weeks..the average being 2-3....well, this knee was told that and is not listening....The original symptoms were minimal for about 5 years until last October when my knee absolutely yelled "Help!"...it is still yelling...Dr Loucks drained approx. 50 ml synovial fluid today.. now the patella is not so cushioned and restricted..it pops and slips around ...it shouldn't be doing this...

The left knee is yelling at me too.......and if it is as bad as the Doc and I think..."I don't want to look in there"says he jokingly.....lol....After the MRI is done maybe I am in for a double partial knee replacement..I do not want conservative RX ..I have to be aggressive ...I have to get back to work....

In the meantime... what is happening to my job.... unfortunately ...the unit is busy...my position is government protected for 12 weeks....6 more weeks to go .....then they can advertise ...... I have no doubt that there will be a position for me....it will be back to nights ... in that particular environment is not the best for me ... however,I will do it for the patients and my career, Hopefully it won't come to that...

6 weeks post-op.....oops..5 weeks....

My new best friend....put in the freezer and wrap around the hurting art....
my life has been busier than when working full time!!

I have..... Physical therapy twice a week... joined a gym ..cheaper than PT...lol
Been to Dr's appointments
Health Screenings
Mandatory STABLE re-certification.....it expired in February and I wouldn't be allowed to work until it got renewed....yes..whoever said that it would be a good idea not to get it done...However it would be without pay.....hang on,though...I'm on Medical leave and don't have to step inside work at all.....catch 22....Mute point..I did it....I love the STABLE program....it is mandatory but no pay.... as I did not have to go to work to do it...understand?..nor do I....it isn't my brain that is on leave..well, I didn't think so... maybe it is....
Jordi has had lots of walks,park visits...attention...training classes...and has she grown... 73 lbs....tall, slender..cute face...
been trying to walk normally... and maybe it is finally coming together..though lots of pain that shouldn't be there...
every day PT... cleaning out the storage unit... boxes and boxes... and more boxes.... of STUFF.. where did I get the STUFF???oh yeah..some things are still in their original unused state... BACK to the store they go... yippee!!

A result of the health screening..... Daily readings and a review with the Doc next month!!

Happy Days...Happy sleep...remember your morning prayer.......

Preparation for Master William's Blessing.......

a few months ago( I remember Mel posting that she was 25 weeks),I caught Peter online.I instant messaged with a question....
"What are your plans for a Blessing Outfit....Is there a Family Heirloom .....?"
"well,no....we haven't thought about it......"
"I'd like to make something for you...better check with Mel to see if she has something in place.."

....I should have but didn't start anything..I had it set in my mind to wait until the birth....as Peter and Mel had decided not to know if they were going to have a boy baby or a girl baby....
I know we all eagerly awaited signs of labour as Mel got closer and closer to her confinement.The day arrived... I knew by friends' comments on Mel's Facebook Wall....I then verified with Jenny who told me that "Yes!..Mel told me you wanted to make something for the Blessing...She was reaped!"......so..."will they have the Blessing next Sunday,as you will be still there?".......oh no, it will be in March, we'll come back over " (Mel and Peter live in Melbourne now....Jenny and Derek in Tasmania)...Just a hop,skip and a jump across the Bass Strait!!
I thought...ok.... My preference would be to make a smocked romper ,white with a touch of baby blue ....then Mel posted photos of William...and although a baby romper would be cute, I remembered that Dylan had been a companion to this young gentleman in the quiet and safe Pre-Existence...A suit was the answer ..... with time an issue.. the Denver Temple being closed...so was the Beehive shop,I googled "blessing outfits"....all sorts of web sites came up ..I browsed them all and found many of the same on Amazon.com....I ummed and ahhed....smiled and turned my nose up... one wasn't quite right...
I finally went back to the first one I saw...lol! Yes!.... this is THE one....It was ordered ... wonderful....I had been thinking of what i could MAKE.....a cardigan.....not really....it is Summer and HOT over there.....knit a blanket?....not enough time....ahh... I could sew a blanket .....I have enough material......well, my design needed a little help from,actually..Walmart and Hobby Lobby.. I could also sew a romper..if its finished in time.. a plus..if not..Mel won't have to decide which one to use....

Tonight I will continue.....ummm.... Photos borrowed from Mel's posting on FB, and from the albums of Bob Barff...and Michelle's too......Thank you!!..
Michelle holding her daughter in the Blessing dress she wore for her own Blessing .....
I was browsing throgh the "people you may know" page on FB...and the dress in this photo jumped out at me... was it possible that someone else had this pattern ,too.. of course it was..I did pull it out of the English Woman's Weekly almost 40 years ago...it felt like one of the dresses I had made....I then checked how we could be linked...several mutual friends popped up...among them Mel and Chelsea...I had given a Blessing Dress to Gwen when Chelsea was born 21 years ago...the same pattern..and Chelsea had just used it for her own daughter's Blessing a short while ago....?maybe she had let Michelle use it ...hmm, just now I thought how nice it would be to have a photo of (my) Blessing dress....that I would have made for Mel if Will had been a girl...I looked again for Michelle's profile...I happened to glance down at her friend list...her family members..a sister Cherie Smith ...wait.. smith... Sue Smith.. what were her daughters' names...I clicked on her friends' list and sure enough.. there was Sue... and Michelle is her first daughter..wow... I remember my friends' kids as still kids...not all grown up ..married with babies of their own...logic and common sense tells me otherwise..I'm really not that daft...
so...if I may "borrow" the photo,Michelle....please... yes..it is one of the dresses I had crocheted lovingly for a young mom to place on her newborn child for the Blessing of her name...Enjoy....courtesy of the Smith Family....
and the Barff Family......below is Little Nasia......and then Nasia with her Mom, Chelsea who originally wore the dress..and her Mom, Gwen