Grateful

First of all I have to say the boot is off. It's been less than three weeks since I broke my foot, but I got these great flat boots for Christmas, and when I wore the left boot to my orthopedic appointment last week, the doctor liked the way it fit my foot. So he told me to try taking the "big boot" off of my broken foot this week and replacing it with my Christmas boot. It really hurt to get the new boot on, but now that it's on my foot, it feels just as supportive as that other big clunky boot, yet it's a whole lot easier to get around on. Walking around with one foot higher than the other gets old fast, and I don't even think I noticed how annoying it was until I went walking around the house today in two boots that are the same height. I think I even got more done today because I wasn't bogged down by a stupid gimp walk. I really hope when I go in to see the doctor next week that he tells me the Christmas boot is doing a good job because I just don't think I can ever go back to that other boot.

The last few weeks have really been hard for me. Because I broke my right foot, I couldn't really drive. So I've been stuck in the house for the past two weeks slowly going crazy. I'm so used to my independence and being able to go get what I need when I need it that it was really hard to go back to having Kevin and my family drive me around to appointments and other places I needed to be. And to top things off, I had the flu this past Saturday and Sunday due to a flu shot that my doctor gave me because of some flu symptoms I started to have before my prenatal appointment. The weekend sucked due to fever and achiness, a hurting foot with a big clunky boot on it, and a big huge belly that is starting to get hard to maneuver around. It just seemed like things kept getting worse and worse.

But I have to say that when things seem to get really hard, Heavenly Father sends his angels to help take care of us:

• Like today, and this is silly, but I really want to include it, I went to Taco Bell (because I can now drive in my new smaller boot) and got food for the kids and a medium cherry Pepsi for myself. The guy at the window gave me a large cherry Pepsi, and said, "Here's your medium cherry Pepsi" with a wink and a smile. I don't think he knew how much I really needed those extra few ounces of caffeine, and I know he doesn't know how much I truly appreciated his extra kindness.
  
  
• My in-laws took care of my kids the whole time we were in Reno so that the kids could still have a fun vacation in spite of their mother's broken foot.
  
  
• Two weeks ago, my friends from high school and Hot Dog on a Stick Laurie and Kim called to have their kids come play with my kids. I had had a whole week of being stuck in the house with only kids, and I don't think they realized how nice it was for me to finally have a little adult interaction. Laurie showed up with breakfast for me and my kids, and Kim came back later with a nice cage for the backyard for our bunnies to run around in and some dinner for our family.
  
  
• My sister Jodi took me to my first orthopedic appointment way out in Henderson and watched my kids while my other sister Denise sat at the office with me for an hour and a half while I waited for the doctor. Then my mom treated us all to a nice lunch after my appointment. And Jodi came back later in the week to bring us some more dinner.
  
  
• My neighbor and good friend Emilee took Rebecca to dance class last week and offered to take her for the rest of the month until I could drive, even though she is about six months pregnant and has her own four-year-old and two-year-old to take to the class. She also brought us some delicious taco soup last night for dinner.
  
  
• One of my oldest, bestest friends in the world Julie came by with a big dinner and some Anderson Dairy ice cream last Friday even though she and her family were getting ready for her husband to start a crazy year of paramedic school this week.
  
  
• My mom took me to my second orthopedic appointment last week and sat in the car with a movie on for my kids to watch while I was inside the doctor's office.
  
  
• And last of all, Kevin has been so wonderful through all of this. He carried me around in Reno, pregnancy weight and all, before I could really walk around in my walking cast. He helped me get in and out of the tub and helped me get dressed before my foot was stable enough to let me do these things on my own. He's been making dinner on the nights that we haven't had leftovers from our friends and family, and he's been cleaning the house so that it hasn't become too much of a disaster. When I had the flu he took care of the kids all weekend so that I could sleep it off. He even took both kids to church by himself. He knew that I really wanted to mop the floor, so he mopped the entire downstairs. He's been taking care of all of the grocery shopping since we got back from Reno, and he's been willing to go do anything I ask him to do to help me out.

I'm so grateful for you all, and I really don't think I could have gotten through this tough time without all of your help. Thanks for being my angels.