The Year Gone By and The One to Come

Well, this last year has been one filled with a lot of challenges and even more joys. I feel as though I've aged 10 years over this one year, but that the year has ended on a very positive note. My children are happy and healthy, we have our home, Jake has his job and we have our friends and family. We know we're lucky to have all of those things and that the challenges we faced over the last year have made us a stronger family, couple and people. I'm not going to pretend that I didn't bawl my eyes out or want to pull out my hair on numerous occasions, but those times were outnumbered by the moments that brought a smile to my face or warmed my heart.

In the year to come, we have a lot to look forward to. The first big thing on our plate is Emmy's surgery in January. This will mean that Emmy will no longer have a colostomy bag. We are very excited to have a flat bellied baby and to start the next steps in her care. Hopefully we won't be looking at another surgery for at least another year and a half. That would be a dream come true! We have two new babies joining our extended family in 2009. Jake's youngest brother and his wife are expecting a baby boy in April and one of his older brothers and his wife (who happens to be my BFF, I've known her since we were 6) are expecting a baby in July. This means a couple of more cross stitch projects in the new year. We're also hoping to head to the Black Hills for a vacation over the summer. So the year ahead looks to be filled with LOTS of joy.

In other news, I had my appointment with the orthopedist yesterday and finally have a diagnosis. WA-HOO! The one that everyone knows about is the pubic symphysis disruption. The reason I'm still having issues is that my tendons and ligaments didn't return back to normal and are still loose and stretched out from the pregnancy. Because of this I have SI joint dysfunction. Essentially this means that when a normal person's pelvis rotates from to back a little bit, mine moves loosely and way further then it's supposed to. As a result it causes extreme pain while walking and sometimes it will cause the bone to rub my sciatic nerve and cause severe pain through my entire left leg, side and back. I will be starting physical therapy and hopefully be on the road to recovery. My doctor told me that it will be a long process and I will be dealing with the pain for awhile, but that it WILL get better. If it doesn't with physical therapy, there is the option of injections, but she doesn't think that will be necessary.

I hope you all are looking forward to the new year. Let's hope for a less eventful year to come. :)