Multiple Blessings: Christmas Eve

The day before Christmas Eve, I had knee surgery in the afternoon. I have been having knee pain and a lot of swelling for the past 5-6 months that is exacerbated with running. This is the same knee that I had ACL/meniscus surgery on 10 years ago. An MRI showed a possible meniscal tear as well as arthritic changes in my patellofemoral joint (I know, tmi, but I may need to jog my own memory in the future :). It was scheduled for the 23rd because I wanted to get it done before the end of the year since I had already met our deductible and this was the only opening my surgeon had. I went back and forth as to whether I should get it done, but ultimately I knew that it was the best choice and that I should go ahead and follow through with the surgery.

I had some doubts leading up to my surgery day, thinking of the risks and worse case scenarios that are associated with a surgical procedure; since becoming a mother I realize I'm so much more cautious and worried about things. The day of my surgery, however, God gave me an overwhelming peace and sense of security. I knew I was in the Lord's hands and truly all of my anxiety subsided.

Needless to say, surgery went well and I was able to do the acute recuperation over the long weekend, which was such a blessing considering Scott was home to help with the kids. The surgeon ended up 'cleaning up' my knee, removing scar tissue and loose cartilage bodies that were likely a result from my last surgery. He also removed one of the two screws I had from my ACL graft along with its 'spiky' washer, which was apparently harder to remove than expected (not exactly what you want to hear from your surgeon when thinking about healing/recovery ;).

Despite having knee surgery, I can honestly say that this was the best Christmas I have ever had. Tyce and Shay are at such a fun age right now. They were so excited to experience all of the celebrations that Christmas brings yet they had absolutely no expectations. I have never felt the love of Christ in celebrating HIS birthday like I did over this Christmas weekend.

On Christmas Eve morning, we visited our best buddies for some quality play time and a little gift exchange. The Leigh Family got us a membership to OMSI, which we are very excited about!

After lunch and naps, we made Santa Claus some cookies! This was the first time Tyce and Shay have ever helped to make cookies, so it was a very special occasion.

We then went to our Christmas candlelight church service. The kids got to stay upstairs with us for the first half of the service and sing Christmas songs, which was a lot of fun for all of us!