Busy, busy

It has been a long time since I posted anything, but that is not because nothing has been happening! Rather, we've been so busy (and I've been so tired) that I've had a hard time finding time to sit down at the computer to compose a short blog post.

I'm going to try to be better about posting pictures here, but only when I find that elusive free time. Maybe when Dale can walk and drive again?

One reason I haven't had time to post much lately is Dale's knee surgery. The surgery was almost three weeks ago now and was (according to the surgeon) a great success. The surgeon removed part of Dale's patellar tendon and used it to fashion a new ACL for him. He was also able to repair the torn meniscus in his knee, which makes his short-term recovery harder but will allow Dale better use of his knee in the long term.

Dale did great after the surgery -- his only job was to lay on the couch and let us take care of him for two weeks, which he did fabulously. Of course, I couldn't have managed those two weeks without my mom and Dale's mom's help -- they both came out to stay with us and did most of the work around the house: cooking, cleaning up, serving Dale, playing with Adelaida, and just about everything else that needed to be done around the house. Thank you so much, Mom and Charlotte!

After the first two weeks, Dale was able to get up and move around quite a bit more, although he was still on crutches and will be for another week. He also went back to work last week, with mid-day rests to ice his knee and do his physical therapy exercises.

Here are some pictures of Dale's surgery and recovery:

the "before" shot -- note the lack of incisions and presence of leg hair ...


I was able to sit with Dale after they prepped him for surgery but before they started cutting on him. We tried to talk about anything other than the upcoming surgery!


Dale's knee about 24 hours after the surgery. His eight incisions (one long incision to remove the patellar tendon, four small incisions for the arthroscopic meniscus repair and ACL replacement, two small incisions to drill holes through his bones, and one small incision to drain excess blood) are held together with staples. Has Dale mentioned yet that they drilled holes through his femur and tibia?


Dale's knee surgery has been one reason I haven't been able to post; the other reason is that I'm just tired all the time right now! Of course I knew that gestating babies is hard work, but didn't appreciate how physically exhausting it is! I'm now 29 weeks, and my doctor assured me on Monday that if the babies were born right now they would be just fine with no long-term problems. At only 29 weeks, they aren't really ready to be born yet and I'm certainly not ready for them to be born yet, but it is reassuring to know that, if they were born now, they would be OK.

This is a picture of me at 28 weeks. Just imagine what 12 more weeks of pregnancy will do to my belly!


Of course, I wouldn't dream of leaving you without one cute picture of Adelaida. Here she is in March showing off her ability to put her hands in her pockets. She had to pull her shirt up to her chin to find her pockets, but she is getting much better at finding them now!