Things Are Looking Up

I posted earlier this week about Joe's accident and how he was doing at that point (see that post here). Later that day (Monday), a decision was made that he would need surgery for his fractured ribs. The place that did this kind of surgery was a few hours away at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN (just an hour or hour and a half from our former home in the Twin Cities!). This was good news that he could get help along his healing process after he had a few setbacks last weekend (pneumonia, internal bleeding, and infection). 

He was still in a lot of pain so I was very hopeful this surgery could be a very good turning point for him. I believe they took him there via ambulance from the hospital he was at in Des Moines and he checked in and was set for surgery the following day (Wednesday). 

My step sister Tisha has been amazing with having to be the great communicator to keep all of us up to speed with how he's doing, so I looked forward to her updates to see how surgery went, and was very close to Joe in prayer all week. I also was praying through Phil 4:6 (below) to lift up my anxiousness and I really felt amazing peace while he was in surgery. About halfway through the projected 3-4 hour surgery, they let Tisha (who is there with Joe along with a few of Joe's brothers) know it would take a bit longer than expected. I took comfort in the fact that they were doing a very thorough job to help heal his injuries, and they were also being sure everything in that area was looking ok as well.

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Praise the Lord, surgery went well, took about 5 and 1/2 hours I believe and they ended up putting in 10 plates (very small ones) to connect each fractured rib to the next to give his ribs better structure to help them heal the right way. His were pretty darn fractured, especially on his left side. Yesterday (the day after surgery), he was coming out of the sedation a bit more and could talk and be a little more responsive, but was still in pain (after that surgery alone, I'd think a person would be in a lot of pain!) and vitals seemed to be looking better. 

Joe and my beautiful step-niece Kristen (Tisha's daughter) when they visited us in Texas over Spring Break in March, 2011 

I find comfort knowing he has family close with him, he's in the best of the best medical care at the Mayo Clinic, and hopefully will really lay low resting, not pushing himself too much in this slow yet steady recovery.

KCCI wrote a story Wednesday night that was really touching about his impact on the Hispanic community in Des Moines and told his story too, along with some interviews KCCI did with Joe years back which was neat to see too (click here for the KCCI video). 

Video clip of the KCCI story post-surgery

One very positive thing to come out of this accident is the pouring in of love and support for Joe, even hearing stories of young men encouraged by watching Joe to becoming an officer themselves. Like I said similarly in my last post, it's truly one of those "It's a Wonderful Life" type moments to see the impact you have on those around you. He's a great blessing to many people and now he really can see/feel that tangibly. 

The Des Moines Police also set up a fund to help the family with expenses traveling to be with Joe in Rochester (click here for details). 

Joe still has a long road to recovery, but things have hopefully turned a corner and are on a path to healing. Please continue to keep him in your prayers for the phenomena to go away, for his ribs to heal well, and for doctors to find a good balance for his pain levels. Also that he can get good rest for his ribs and lungs. And for the family as they are emotionally and physically exhausted. 

Here's a song I literally had on repeat all day many days this week (Healer by Kari Jobe - try clicking here to see the video if it doesn't show up):

Thank you all for your love, support and prayers!

In other random updates, we're getting closer to what we believe to be Baby Indy's due date. I posted a few months ago about how she was in heat and it was a tough week for the rest of us, well we've come to realize she has puppies in there now. She's had some unsuccessful pregnancies in the past (with her previous owner), so we're thinking positive thoughts for her and doing what we can to help her and prepare for her delivery.

Left: 4 or so weeks ago, Right: 1 week ago

She likes to cuddle and get warmed up after her baths - I like the cuddle time with her too :)

Sleepy girl

Here's Indy's "delivery room" my mom and dad put together. She seems to like it! 

Full belly girl trying to be comfortable. I took a video on Instagram (you can find it here) of the movements you can see going on in her belly. I feel them quite often now when I'm sitting with her.

I'm always on the lookout for cute photos of our nephew, Hank. He seriously melts my heart. Such a sweet little guy and growing so fast! I also love his onesie;)

I've been enjoying my frozen smoothies on these warm summer mornings. It's the best! Nick has been making them for me most mornings:) and he adds: frozen banana, frozen peaches, frozen mangoes, oats, almond milk, cinnamon, carrots, celery, and sometimes peanut butter. Delish. 

Nick enjoyed some quality pool time one evening this week. I was the spectator and was impressed!

Today's Pinspiration: love on the ones you love: 

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Summer Dreamin' & Smoothies

I opened the Netflix this week and was excited to see Nick picked The Lucky One for us to watch this weekend! He knows me well and I was excited to see this one since I read the book a few summers back. Not all of Nicholas Sparks' books turned movies get great reviews, but I'm a hopeful romantic and it's fun to see the movie after reading the books.
Watching this movie took me right back to the place I read the book - my mom's sun room the summer after I graduated college. 

Nick was living in Fort Worth with his first "big job" out of college while I was dreaming of the day we could be husband and wife (he proposed the following year;)). I spent that summer reading nearly all of the Nicholas Sparks books and swooning and swaying in love. I would get home from work each warm summer day, and hit the couch in the sun room, excited to see what happened next in my book. 

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Some weekends, I'd take my book and join my mom fishing and lay in the sun reading my book. 

Summer 2008

This movie took me back to that place and made me realize how many of my dreams have come true since then. Marrying my love, traveling and exploring together, waking up side by side, and learning more about who we were made to be. That summer just about convinced me to be a small town librarian. Haha, so many of his books draw up such sweet pictures of cozy life in a small town, one was about a woman working at the library and the way he wrote it just about led me in a new career direction;) laugh if you must, but I swoon for romance. 

I enjoyed the movie, although I was quick to tell Nick which parts were very different than the book. The music was great, just my style too. 

This cold long winter has me longing for those sunny summer days too. It will come, hopefully sooner than later:)

Here's a song I've loved for a few years that was in the movie. I've been singing it ...a lot... since then:

This morning, we had his and hers smoothies for breakfast (this made two smoothies):

1 frozen Banana

5 ice cubes

Handful gluten free oats

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1 Tbsp chia seeds

4 baby carrots

Handful chopped celery

A variety of frozen fruit (strawberries, blueberries, pineapple)

1/4 cup or so prune juice (keepin' things regular;))

1/2 cup or so almond milk

I also got my hair cut yesterday and it feels wonderful.

Now it's back to watching ISU vs. Ohio State in March Madness! Go Cyclones!

Today's Pinspiration:

At the salon yesterday, there was a great Audrey Hepburn table book. This quote is from that book.

Smoothie Recipes & Catching Up

I've been eating delicious smoothies each day so will share the recipes below! Just a few things to share first. 

On my way home yesterday, I enjoyed sunshine and blue skies. In the Midwest (especially the farther north you go I'd imagine), these sights are more rare, so I lived in the moment, appreciating the beauty.

January 29th was Nick and I's 7 year dating anniversary. I woke up to this sweet note on the bathroom mirror:) 

I thought I'd share one of the delicious salads we've been loving. 
This is fresh romaine, chopped with sliced ham, crasins, walnuts, and eggs (microwaved for quick preparation) and Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette. This dressing is delicious, but I will say it bothers me that too much dressing comes out at a time, and I feel like we end up wasting some every time. At some point, I'll get a container to keep it in that controls how much comes out at one time. 

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Now that they're out, I wanted to share a glimpse of the invites I helped put together for my sister in law, Amber's card baby shower. The invite theme was "little man" and had a mustache on it, so I went with the mustache theme. These mustaches were just too cute! I got the stamp at Paper Source (thankfully - I went to many other crafty stores around town and this was the only place I could find one!).

 More mustaches for you:

We're excited to see her belly grow and meet this little guy in April! 

 I took this photo a few days ago after we had some more fresh snow fall. At least it looks pretty! 

Smoothies:

Ever since getting my Ninja for my birthday, I've enjoyed smoothies for breakfast each morning, and yesterday, even whipped up another when I got home from work. They're so good and you can make them so many ways with whatever ingredients you like. I thought I'd share what I've been making so you can try them too! You can easily make these in any sort of blender I'd imagine.

These are dairy and gluten free, though you don't have to make yours that way.

I had this smoothie after work yesterday when I really wanted to come home and eat chocolate. I decided to make a smoothie and add some cocoa powder (a friend gave me this idea) to make my treat healthier. I don't measure these, I just toss things in and it always works out! 

Ingredients:
-Frozen strawberries
-Frozen blueberries
-Peanut butter (1 heaping tsp or so)
-Almond milk
-Vanilla (coconut milk) yogurt
-Cinnamon (1/4 - 1/2 tsp)
-Gluten free oats
-Cocoa powder (the unsweetened kind for baking) (1 tsp or so)

Blend it until you like the consistency and try it, see if you need to make any adjustments. Then you're good to go! 

 I had this one for breakfast this morning. 

Ingredients:
-Frozen blueberries
-Frozen strawberries
-Frozen Mangoes
-A banana, torn into smaller pieces

-Almond milk
-V8 Fusion juice I wanted to use up
-Cinnamon (1/4 - 1/2 tsp)
-A pinch of pumpkin pie mix spice (why not? I like to experiment)
-Gluten free oats
-Chopped walnuts
-1 tsp Chia seeds (yep, the same kind the were the plant sensation. Check out their health benefits! They're a great superfood and are super easy to add and eat in the smoothies - they get a gel around them when you add them to the liquid, so you really hardly notice them, especially with the fruit pieces, etc.). Here's a visual of what they do:

 I just use a little bit of each of the frozen fruits (they're organic ($) and I just need a little of everything in these). I add the liquids at the end, and most of the time, I add about as much liquid to come about to the top of the rest of the ingredients. If you want it to be thicker (like eat with a spoon), add less liquid. I've been taking them in a cup and drinking them through a straw on my way to work so I like mine to be easily drinkable.

Nick has been more adventurous adding some carrots and greens to his, although I've added celery to a few of mine! We'll keep experimenting, but I haven't tried a bad combination yet. It helps to start my day with such a fruit and vitamin rich drink rather than the breakfast bar I was used to. I've also pinned lots of recipes I've yet to try, see my Pinterest page for drinks here for many more ideas.

Today's Pinspiration:

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