Bummers and Blessings

Things have been rough the past couple of days. I'll start with my Grandpa. I posted earlier about how he had 3 surgeries on his gallbladder and to remove a gallstone last week. I forgot to update last weekend and let you know that his last surgery (which was slightly risky) went very smoothly, and he was supposed to get out of the hospital 5 days afterward. I believe today was day 3 or 4. Well I got a call from my mom this afternoon, and found out that during physical therapy this morning, my grandpa had a stroke. This is his second stroke...he had one about a year ago. But they had to rush him to another hospital. They said it might have been brought on by the stress of the surgeries. But we're just all very worried about him. He needs prayer. I do have one blessing to report from the situation: after the stroke, he seemed to be paralyzed on his left side. Luckily, after awhile the feeling came back to him. He loves to work outside and has a beautiful garden (he used to own a floral/nursery business). It would have been awful if the stroke had caused any paralysis.

If you could say a little prayer for him if you think about it, that would be wonderful! He's been through a lot this year. In addition to all of this, he also had heart problems that were discovered the day before my wedding. He had to miss the wedding because he was in the hospital having surgery to have a pacemaker put in. He was so upset to miss the wedding, and the situation was the only cloud in an otherwise perfect wedding day. I just feel bad for the poor guy. I hope he heals quickly!

Okay, I've got another bummer. I had a little bit of an emotional moment yesterday. Luke's been very busy lately, and hasn't spent a whole lot of time with me. I've been struggling with loneliness a lot lately, too. I had a bad day yesterday, and Luke was too busy working in the yard to spend any time with me when he got home, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I just began to sob while he was outside. I'm not really a needy or high maintenance wife (at least I don't think I am!) so this was a big deal. When Luke came in I told him that I just really needed to be with him and spend time with him that night.

Okay, now for the blessing part :-) Luke saw that I had been crying, and that I was genuinely needing him, so he dropped everything. I had pretty much exhausted myself with my melt-down, so after our dinner of spaghetti, we decided to forget all of our obligations, and just spend the night relaxing together. We cuddled up under the blanket upstairs, and watched "Modern Marvels - Walt Disney World" together. It was 2 hours long, but we were totally into it. It's a good one! lol...Luke loves "Modern Marvels", and I love Disney World, so it was a good choice. It was just nice to focus on spending time together, it didn't really matter what we were doing. After that, we both fell asleep watching Sports Center (No wonder we fell asleep :-P) It was such a blessing. I feel totally different about life in general today (my love language is quality time, just in case you were wondering. ha!)

Okay, time for some pictures since the rest of this post is pretty long and wordy! Today I had a fun time grocery shopping. I'm trying to introduce a lot more fruits, veggies, and natural foods into our diets. I spent a lot of time in the produce section today! Here is our weekly menu. I tried to make it a little more natural and "homemade" than normal! It's probably too small to read unless you click on it, but oh well! I just like the paper that I wrote it on. I found a book full of this paper at Walmart for less than $6! It's actually scrapbook paper, but I'll probably just use it for memos and notes. It's too cute!

And I decided to make a snack that was "healthy." I made my own trail mix with mixed nuts, pretzels, and m&ms. I know I'm fooling myself here, guys. It's full of fat, chocolate and sugar. But it just seems healthier than the oreos or chocolate bars I usually eat way too many of! Hey, it's a step in the right direction, right?

Of course it's in one of Luke's huge Ohio State bowls. I really need to buy some prettier bowls! lol...we're newlyweds, what do you expect? :-P

Well I think I'll go and try to finish "The Other Boleyn Girl." It's due back at the library on Friday along with "The Atonement Child." I want to finish them so I can get some fresh, new books!

Thank you for your prayers for my grandpa. It means so much to have people I've never even met before praying for him. God bless you all :-)