Thank you for all of the comments from the past two posts. It feels great to have so many people tell me to keep going. :) For all the people who have just "stumbled" onto the blog, thanks for stumbling. I hope to make this a regular spot for you. And for the 2nd grader who posted (at 10:52 on a school night by the way), I love caramel popcorn, just let me know when and where and I'll be there. :)
Betty from Louisiana. Where have you been? I hope your journey is getting better for you!
So what is new with me? Nick and I woke up this morning to 10+ pink flamingos in our yard. It is in support of my step son's school fund raiser. We now have to pass these on to someone else. It was a great and funny way to start the day. As this is somewhat of a slow week for me, I thought I'd put you all to a challenge.
As I have experiences everyday (questions, figuring out how to pick something up, understanding what "wheelchair accessible" really means, etc.), I want you all to find something over the next few days that you can pass on to the next person. Pay it forward. Find someone that may need help getting through a door, may need a hug, may need a few extra dollars, may need a ride, or whatever else!
Then, post your experience and watch what happens. If you don't post you may miss out.
Love,
Jen
Tuesday
Friday
The Bloggin' Continues!
The blog is here to stay unless you tell me otherwise. :) Always feel free to ask me questions, let me know what you want to hear and to use this as a way to get to know me in a way that I may not have shared.
I went to OKC this week with mom and have my "official" legs. They now have skin on them and toe nails waiting to be painted. Any suggestions on colors? It's amazing what they can do with veins, freckles, hair, etc. just amazing.
For those of you that are not aware, I am in the process of getting a service dog ― very cool. I can thankfully do quite a bit; however, who wouldn't want a dog to do your laundry, take off your shoes or pick up anything that you may drop? It will take approximately one year to train the dog, and because of this, several people are donating time to help the training process ― people I don't even know. This is so special.
So, I had lunch with these wonderful people this week which really warmed my heart. I can't wait to have lunch with you all again soon. Thank you!
I will write early in the week from now on. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Love,
Jen
I went to OKC this week with mom and have my "official" legs. They now have skin on them and toe nails waiting to be painted. Any suggestions on colors? It's amazing what they can do with veins, freckles, hair, etc. just amazing.
For those of you that are not aware, I am in the process of getting a service dog ― very cool. I can thankfully do quite a bit; however, who wouldn't want a dog to do your laundry, take off your shoes or pick up anything that you may drop? It will take approximately one year to train the dog, and because of this, several people are donating time to help the training process ― people I don't even know. This is so special.
So, I had lunch with these wonderful people this week which really warmed my heart. I can't wait to have lunch with you all again soon. Thank you!
I will write early in the week from now on. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Love,
Jen
Monday
Full of Hot Air, Question
Wow! I had such an awesome experience this weekend, of which, I encourage everyone to do at least once in your life.
I had the opportunity to ride in a hot air balloon on Saturday (with about 50 other balloons) with my great hubby. It was such a beautiful and peaceful ride; we were up for about 45 minutes. I was able to balance myself for almost 3/4 of the ride. My mom and the gang was able to stand below us for a great view.
I have been sky diving before and feel that that my next adventure is a combination of the two, ha! We shall see.
We also celebrated my youngest brother's 23rd birthday. He flew in on a break from KU and we had a really fun time. I hope you all get to meet him as he will give you a new perspective on life.
I have a question for all of you. This blog has been going for months and I have loved every minute of it. However, I would really enjoy feedback regarding whether or not this is something I should continue or suggestions of what direction I should take this.
Please give me your input! :)
Love,
Jen
I had the opportunity to ride in a hot air balloon on Saturday (with about 50 other balloons) with my great hubby. It was such a beautiful and peaceful ride; we were up for about 45 minutes. I was able to balance myself for almost 3/4 of the ride. My mom and the gang was able to stand below us for a great view.
I have been sky diving before and feel that that my next adventure is a combination of the two, ha! We shall see.
We also celebrated my youngest brother's 23rd birthday. He flew in on a break from KU and we had a really fun time. I hope you all get to meet him as he will give you a new perspective on life.
I have a question for all of you. This blog has been going for months and I have loved every minute of it. However, I would really enjoy feedback regarding whether or not this is something I should continue or suggestions of what direction I should take this.
Please give me your input! :)
Love,
Jen
Sunday
Life Isn't About Waiting for the Storm to Pass; It's About Learning to Dance in the Rain
It's Sunday night and I'm watching a little T.V. and reflecting on my day. I had a really rewarding experience that has given me strength.
A great friend of mine is a preacher, and he invited my family and I to hear a sermon today. During the sermon, he spoke about me without using my name. What was so interesting was being able to watch people's reaction as they were not aware that I was in the audience.
He got to the part of my story where my life changed forever and I would loose all four extremities. All I heard were gasps in the audience. Being as though this is my life and very, very real for me, I realized how detached I was from the "gasps".
This is very tragic situation but what I realized was that the gasps were so far behind where I am today. It was such a sense of joy to be in the audience while he was preaching, knowing that I could get up and walk to the door.
No matter what your "thing" is, realize that we ALL have them even if you can't see them. Everything we have gone through has made us who we are today, good or bad.
The next time you have a feeling that you are being "exposed" with a part of your story, just focus on where you are today and take pride in how much work you have done to get there.
It's the here and the now, not yesterday. You all keep me going everyday.
Love,
Jen
A great friend of mine is a preacher, and he invited my family and I to hear a sermon today. During the sermon, he spoke about me without using my name. What was so interesting was being able to watch people's reaction as they were not aware that I was in the audience.
He got to the part of my story where my life changed forever and I would loose all four extremities. All I heard were gasps in the audience. Being as though this is my life and very, very real for me, I realized how detached I was from the "gasps".
This is very tragic situation but what I realized was that the gasps were so far behind where I am today. It was such a sense of joy to be in the audience while he was preaching, knowing that I could get up and walk to the door.
No matter what your "thing" is, realize that we ALL have them even if you can't see them. Everything we have gone through has made us who we are today, good or bad.
The next time you have a feeling that you are being "exposed" with a part of your story, just focus on where you are today and take pride in how much work you have done to get there.
It's the here and the now, not yesterday. You all keep me going everyday.
Love,
Jen
Thursday
Making Up for Lost Time
I first want to thank everyone for the comments on my last post. That was a special day for me and all of your comments have really inspired me as well.
This may be a short post but wanted to share some fun information with you all ― the girls . :) I have tried several times this week and have finally accomplished putting on makeup ― by myself.
For anyone who wears makeup, this is such a rewarding experience to be able to do this on your own ― and look normal. :)
The really fun thing this has done for me, besides the obvious, is to never look at things at face value again. The tools that I use for makeup now wouldn't be what would be obvious to others.
Once you start thinking that a pen is not just a pen, a hook is not just a hook, or Velcro is not just Velcro (my new best friend by the way), life starts to open up and can become a lot less mundane.
Enjoy the creativity of what is truly out there ― I am really looking forward to what I can do next week and what God will bring.
Love,
Jen
This may be a short post but wanted to share some fun information with you all ― the girls . :) I have tried several times this week and have finally accomplished putting on makeup ― by myself.
For anyone who wears makeup, this is such a rewarding experience to be able to do this on your own ― and look normal. :)
The really fun thing this has done for me, besides the obvious, is to never look at things at face value again. The tools that I use for makeup now wouldn't be what would be obvious to others.
Once you start thinking that a pen is not just a pen, a hook is not just a hook, or Velcro is not just Velcro (my new best friend by the way), life starts to open up and can become a lot less mundane.
Enjoy the creativity of what is truly out there ― I am really looking forward to what I can do next week and what God will bring.
Love,
Jen
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