Happy Fourth of July! Happy Birthday America!!

 Hello everyone. I will be sharing my daily photo challenge of SPARKLE (todays) and GRASS (Sundays) tomorrow. 

Until then.... If you are from the USA... Happy Fourth of July! Let's take time to thank the Lord for blessing us to live in this country as well as prayers for our future as so much has changed in 250 years (not all for the best). No country is perfect and putting politics and other things aside we live in a BEAUTIFUL FREE nation, and I am thankful for that. 

This verse RIGHT HERE!!! Let this be our desire and purpose!!!!

With Love,

Chrissy T

Photo Challenge ~ FOOD

🌞Hello everyone. I had a hard time today with this theme of FOOD. I can't cook really right now. I am truly at the mercy of others. 😇 I ate my normal eggs and bagel this morning and I wasn't going to share that AGAIN. My husband picked up these cookies for our family gathering tomorrow. I love these UNHEALTHY LITTLE things! 😏 Nonetheless... while it may not be healthy FOOD or really TRUE FOOD...😆 it will work for today! I ate it as an afternoon treat! 

Here are the daily themes for July! Again, this is not my creation. I found this on Pinterest. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I will be posting my daily photo challenge still throughout the weekend. 

With Love,

Chrissy T

A Little of This and That...Flowers~ Photo Challenge Day 2

 Hello everyone! Day 2 of the July Photo Challenge that I found on Pinterest is FLOWER!

I will say that I cannot just do ONE FLOWER!!! I mean HOW COULD I?!

I ate my breakfast (well....brunch) outside. I did eggs and a bagel again. It seems to just do my stomach well for now. I strolled over to my roses to capture their glory!

Here is the photo challenge list if you would like to join along on your own blog!

Now.... what is going on here? A little of this and that. I am really still limited with activity so it has been a lot of reading, coloring, blogging, resting, watching a little of this and that. Oh, I have also been doing my crossword puzzle book and sticker book fun. 

This week I worked on our seasonal newsletter for our ladies at our church. The theme is on Freedom, Fullness and Fruitfulness. It was a fun one to create, write and stuff the envelopes. I had to work on this a little at a time  every single day for energy sake. I did get them all mailed yesterday. I always put a little surprise in the envelopes. Winter/Spring I added a sticker verse and for Summer I did a neat tea bag bookmark with flowers embroidered on them. 

I love the color! It is so summery like. I will have to share the bookmark later as I forgot to get a picture but I had some leftover so I will share later on. 

Today, I started working on thank you cards for those that have brought meals, gifts and blessed me with mail. I found these cute cards that you can color. I felt this would be a way to be creative and fill in lots of this TIME I have on my hands.

I was also so surprised by a wonderful friend with a package. I couldn't believe this treasure she sent me. You all know how much I love Anne of Green Gables!

She sent me this bag and an Anne of Green Gables Cookbook. I love it.

I am so excited to read through this and maybe this fall I can make some of the recipes!

I will leave you with this quote above! I hope you all have a beautiful day!

With Love, 

Chrissy T

Outside~ Daily Photo Challenge

Hello everyone. For those that visited last I shared a little simple daily photo challenge I had seen on Pinterest that I thought I would try here and there this month. These will not be fancy photos or anything as most of you know I am limited physically for the time being. I am just going to share my day to day life that fits the daily challenge. 

Today's Challenge is OUTSIDE. 

So, this is me eating OUTISDE! I was able to make up some scrambled eggs, and I could do a bagel easily because it was easy to reach. My toaster was not and I could not stretch to use it, so I had to make do. :) While it definitely is not picture perfect and looks extremely bland it was good for me. I am still eating sort of bland foods still. I enjoyed sitting OUTSIDE for a few minutes to eat my breakfast.

I could not stay out there very long because of the heat. Oh, but it was nice getting outside and listening to the birds, feeling a very and I truly mean very light breeze, seeing the sun and sky. It was a truly felt like a treat. 

Yes, I could have shared so many other BEAUTIFUL OUTSIDE photos. I could have been more creative and took a picture of the sky or what have you BUT I felt this was just right. 

                                          (Reminder~ This is from Pinterest and is not my creation)

You all have a wonderful day!!!

Love, 

Chrissy T

Made It

🌻Well, hello everyone. I made it just fine yesterday being alone. I actually slept in really late. Well, really late for me. My body needed it. I had a hard time getting to sleep the night before. I have been still pretty uncomfortable today but not terrible.  Our daughter popped in for a few minutes on her lunch break. I was thankful because a package was delivered for our oldest son that I was unaware of and it was perishable. We had a heat advisory. There was no way I could get it in as it was over 10 pounds, and I can't bend down at the waist and lift anything yet. 

This spot at my kitchen counter is about the only other place I can sit beside my bed. The chair is the right height and firmness for me to get up from and sit down on. After my shower (it was adventurous) and my bowl of soup at 11 and medicine I started my Bible study. I am also working on our Ladies Newsletter for our church. Something new we are trying this year. We are bringing back some nostalgia of the good ole days. So far, the ladies love it including the young ladies as well. 

I came across this photo challenge for July on Pinterest. This is not my graphic or idea. I love the simplicity of it. I think it would be a nice thing that gives me a creative boost while I am not able to be very active and I will have a jumpstart for having something to share here on the blog. I can only talk about my recovery so much. :) 

If you would like to join in feel free to do so. I don't know if I will post daily or at the end of each week.

Again, another Pinterest graphic. I love this and thought I would share. It is fitting for me at this moment. 

Have a good day!

Love,

Chrissy T

Sweet Happy Gifts

Hello friends. I wanted to share a big thank you to Amy at Exquisitely Unremarkable for sending me a sweet happy in the mail. It was such a sweet blessing. I love it and have already been reading through it! Oh, how I needed this little treasure of a book. The first 10 pages spoke to me in such a rich way and truly gave me a reminder of the Beautiful Comfort I really do have during this season in my life. 

Thank you, Amy, for thinking of me and taking time to wrap this and mail this so beautifully to me. From the mailer, to the wrapping and to the sweet book and card it made me smile and feel so loved. 

I felt a little better emotionally today. I appreciate the encouragement from my last post. I also didn't realize that post op blues is a "thing" and then it made sense after I did a little research. So, I do feel like I understand a little more as to why I have been feeling the way I have.

Today, I didn't to go to church as normal. It is weird when you miss as a Pastor's wife. The hubby said service was good. I on the other hand worked on my personal Bible study, prayed through my prodigal book for our children and then listened to a Revive Our Hearts podcast on Psalm 113 about Praise. It was exactly what I needed, and it lifted my heart. 

I did get back outside for about 5 minutes to sit in the garage area (in the shade because there was a heat advisory today and possibly up to 105 degrees) I did take a quick look at my swamp flower that finally bloomed. This is a native plant to our area, and I got it free about 3 years ago at our local nature center that sales and gives out native plants for free on occasion. 

Isn't it beautiful?! The stalk can get to about 6 in half feet tall. The hummingbirds LOVE these flowers and once they begin blooming, I get to see more hummingbirds swing by for a visit. 

I am moving a little better as far as my walking as of today BUT I did feel more pain and discomfort today in my abdominal area. I believe all the pain medicine is actually wearing off, and things are "waking" up as they say. Up until today the pain has been very mild to moderate. There were times this evening I had tears due to the pain. 

A family from our church brought us pizza and cookies Friday evening and also gifted me this huge bouquet of flowers. They are so lovely. My husband trimmed them up and put them in a vase to display in our breakfast nook area. 

My mom sent me the neatest books ever for my birthday!!! They are cozy mystery books WITH CROSSWORD PUZZLES at the end of each chapter. I mean, how genius is this?? 

I love crossword puzzles if you do not know this about me. Like, I am the lady at the doctor's office doing a crossword puzzle or looking at a magazine. I love a good clean cozy mystery book and a puzzle.... so it could not get any better! 

She sent me three books. I am currently reading and working the puzzles in this last one above! So far it has been such a fun little book.

My husband goes back to work tomorrow. He has left me for very short times but tomorrow he will be gone almost 10 hours. I will be alone for a long bit. To say I am not a little apprehensive I would be lying. I got a little emotional tonight thinking about it all. So, we did ask if my daughter would pop in on her lunch break tomorrow to make sure I don't need anything or help with something. You all if I even drop something I can't pick it up! I did get one of those handheld grabber things, but it can't pick up everything. She said she can pop by Monday and Tuesday because she works at the Orthodontist office in our area those days. The orthodontist she works for has three different locations and she travels to two of them weekly. One is in our town and the other is 28 minutes away.  I am glad she can pop in tomorrow though. 

I know it will all be okay! I am not normally needy. My husband has actually said I am stubborn because I forget to ask for help and just do things and then I start hurting. He says that lovingly. Smiles!  I am stubborn. That is truthful. HAHA!!! 😆

You all know that I hike alone, cave explore alone, stay in tiny homes and cabins all the time by myself. I travel by myself often but for some reason this surgery and recovery has me all in my "feels." I don't want to be alone. I mean some of the time I do but 10 hours seems a long time when I have a hard time still getting out of bed. BUT I will survive and this too shall pass. 😊

Anyhoo.... time to wrap up this post. I do plan to get up tomorrow and try to set me up an easy and resting routine to help me have some sort of flow for my day to help me feel a little more grounded. 

Have a super week ahead!

Chrissy T

 

Flowers & Tears

Hello friends. I am post-op 6 days after my surgery that I had on Monday! I thought I would do a little update. I am doing well on the most part. Yesterday and today has been the hardest so far. The pain is mild and not really that bad thankfully.  

I went outside for about 5 minutes today to see the outdoors, get a change of scenery, and hopefully brighten my mood. I will be honest today has been emotionally hard. There have been tears. Lots of tears today. I am not sure why, but I feel so DONE with this all and I know I have so much longer. I think the fact that I know how much longer I have and I truly do not have a choice is weighing on me. A lot of people keep saying embrace this time. I appreciate the sentiment but to be honest I feel I have embraced this season fairly well and truly I am ready to embrace something different. I will be obedient to the Lord's will for me and embrace this stillness. He is Sovereign and in control and knows the plans He has for me. But it is okay I have tears at times.

Isn't this lantana beautiful?! My granny always had lantana on her porch. When I see it, I always think of how much she loved it. 

I love this pot with the mix of lantana and other flowers. It brings a smile to me every single time I see it.

Anyhoo... back to the recovery. My incisions so far are doing well. I do have some pain but in places I wasn't expecting. I will say my stomach so far (as of today) just feels bloated and a little crampy. Coughing has NOT been easy nor fun. I often forget and go to laugh and cough and it is very uncomfortable. I FINALLY got to wash my hair today! Showers are very exhausting. Who would think it would feel like you ran a marathon after a shower. Well, I can testify this is the case. Imagine me and my extremely long hair being washed and dried. NOT FUN! But I am glad it is washed and feels a lot fresher. 

Back to the emotions....I think the fact that I know I will be down for a while and already have been down really has truly been getting to me. It is getting old. Very old. I have tried to be joyful in the midst of it all but today I just want to allow myself to be okay with the feelings that I am sad, tired of it and ready to be back to normal. I don't even know what normal feels like to be honest. From March until now my health has not been good and it has been a long journey. One that I have tried to handle with positivity and grace. Today, I just want to be okay with the tears. I want to be okay that I am frustrated and tired.

(This Wandering Jew plant aka...Tradescantia zebrina... we have had for years and I love it)

Wandering outside and taking some pictures of our small flowerbed and potted flowers was nice. Guess what..... I was crying while doing it. LOL! I was thankful for the peace, the beauty of flowers, and being able to even get outside. My situation could be worse. I was emotional and wanting to get back to normal. 

This is the thing.... I wish all I had going on that was trying and difficult is recovering from surgery and a long stint of health issues. For personal reasons there are things I will not share on my blog. I will say, that while I have been dealing with this, I also have had some major personal things going on as well that has been life changing and difficult. We all have stories! Some we share and some we do not. Grace is always important. 

Oh, this flower turned out so good. Seeing this reminded me how much I love taking pictures in nature. I miss my hikes and nature walks. I have so many beautiful images from my times on trails.

As you know if you are a regular visitor, I try to keep my blog positive as can be and share how I overcome life's hard moments finding little joys and embracing each season that comes my way. Today though for my own journaling and remembrance I want to share that this part of this surgery and recovery has been hard. You know what.... that's okay. It is okay that I am being raw and honest. 

I am so thankful for all of you that have emailed me, commented and blessed me with a happy mail package. I am beyond grateful and treasure you all. I have been so blessed and reminded I am not alone. I will share some of the Love Packages I have received in a different post soon. JUST KNOW I AM BEYOND THANKFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to end this post and finish my movie I am watching. I watch a little of it and then I pause and do something else and then watch some more. 

It is called Sheep Detectives. It is interestingly neat. :) I will let you know my final thoughts. 

Tomorrow is a new day! 

With Love,

Chrissy T