October started off with General Conference weekend!!! I love having two days of talks from the prophet and apostles. I feel much more optimistic about life after conference weekend.
Steve helped Jeremy work on a wood project. Since Jeremy started working in the lumbar department at Lowes, he has become more interested in working with wood. I love to see father and son doing stuff together. Jeremy has an artists eye and a meticulous work ethic which will make him a phenomenal woodworker. Steve spent the day in the garage, after helping Jeremy, making a carver's bench. He is very creative!
October 3 I added Avian to the car insurance. They are scheduled for their driving portion of the process in a couple of weeks and we need to have proof of insurance before then. I cannot believe that my baby will be driving solo soon.
October 4 Avian and I went to the dentist in the morning and the Powderpuff Football game that evening. The juniors were completely crushed by the seniors, but it was fun to watch.
October 5 I had a Zoom date with my dad. He wanted to have a date with each of his girls and the only way we could realistically do it was through Zoom. Thank goodness for technology. We just sat and chatted for about an hour and a half. I miss being closer to my parents, but it was a good chance to catch up just the two of us.
October 7 Steve was back at Woodbadge for his last round before "retiring". I noticed a loose prong on my ring and took it to the jewelers immediately so I didn't lose the diamond. They got it all fixed up and looking amazing. I had forgotten how gorgeous it is when it is all polished up.
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| All shiny and gorgeous!! |
October 10 Avian and I went Senior Night for the volleyball team. There are 8 seniors on the team this year and it was a fun night honoring them. Rachel was back for her first game after breaking her wrist. That was fun to watch as well.
October 11 Steve headed to Nashville for the first ever Incite company conference. He was excited to see everyone face-to-face.
October 12 Avian and went to the church to practice serving and hitting. They didn't want to lose all the skill they had gained in the last six months. It took a little bit to get back in the rhythm, but they looked really good. Back at home, Amanda and Kenny brought their godson over to meet us. Gabe did not want anything to do with me or Avian, but when Nick walked in the door, Gabe chose him to be the new buddy. It was cute to watch the interaction between the two of them.
After the Nowatniaks, Avian and went to join Rose at her volleyball practice. They had a great time playing together.
October 13 Avian and I were at the DMV first thing in the morning for our appointment. I was so confident that I had remembered everything and then realized that I did not have my purse which meant my license was at home. Thank goodness the lady who was helping us with all our paperwork realized she could just look me up in their system to verify my license. Avian passed the driving portion easily. The lady doing the test was impressed that Avian was driving a big truck!
October 18 Nick got a promotion to a semi-flat rate mechanic. He is starting to get more responsibility and is learning all sorts of new things. He is also only one year post graduation from UTI. You go Nick!
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| We now have five licensed drivers in our house!!! |
Avian dropped me off at the school, since I had to work during parent teacher conferences, and drove themself to their chiropractor appointment. This is going to be great having another driver in the house. They came back and picked me up at the end of the day.
October 14 Steve came back from Nashville with stories of how much fun he had and how much he likes his coworkers. They had a great time connecting and got a lot accomplished.
October 15 Avian drove themself to the SAT test. They were not nervous at all about the test. I remember being terrified. Avian is a much better student than I was. They are really good at math and that is what worried me the most on my test day.
After Avian got home, Shea and I went out for one last kayak before the weather turns. It was a stunning day. The sun was shining. The leaves were turning all sorts of brilliant colors. It was so peaceful and much needed. Shea and I came back home much more relaxed and ready to tackle whatever came our way.
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| Perfect water, perfect temperature and the leaves were stunning. |
October 19 Bishop and Laura came over to give Steve a blessing before heading in to surgery in the morning. It is always comforting to have the priesthood as part of our lives. It really is God's power here on Earth.
October 20 Avian drove themself to school so I could get Steve to the surgical center for his shoulder surgery. It was a much nicer facility. Last time we were at the main hospital and this time we were at a smaller surgery center. The staff was much nicer, from the front desk ladies, to registration, to the nurses and anesthesiologist. Dr. Connor was even more relaxed when he came to talk to me about the procedure and what they had done. He said everything went well and Steve should heal just fine and have full use of his should within six months. Last time I had to go back into recovery and help Steve go to the bathroom and get him dressed and wheel him to the car. This time they called me and told me to pull the truck around and they helped load him. I will definitely want to do a smaller surgical center any time I need surgery. It was a MUCH better experience!!! We were home by 2 o'clock. Steve felt great because the nerve block was still in place. He and Avian wanted to go get a drink and walk around Walmart when they got home from school. I didn't let Steve stay out too long because I knew that if he over did it now, when the nerve block wore off he would be in a lot of pain.
October 21 was a rough day. The block wore off about 3 am and the narcotics were not working to control the pain. We spent the day just trying to get him comfortable. Mostly he just sat in the big chair downstairs, with the ice machine keeping his shoulder chilled. Occasionally he would doze off for a little bit and wake up in more pain. I cleaned the kitchen so I wouldn't be too far away if he needed anything.
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| Getting a little relief with the ice machine. |
October 22 was another rough day (which was expected). Both of us only slept for 4 hours in the last 36. The pain was still out of control, even with the Lortab. We just have to make it through days 2 and 3 and then things will get better.
October 23 things started to get a little bit better. He slept a lot better during the night. I, however, did not get much sleep. I got Steve settled and then Jeremy woke up vomiting. Once I got Jeremy down, Nick was up with a sore throat. I got Nick taken care of and was just laying down and Steve woke up needing me to help him change positions because his shoulder was sore. This was like having toddlers in the house again. I survived it once, I can survive it again. I went into work completely expecting to have to run home and help Steve. I got him dressed before I left and made sure he had food to eat during the day. He did okay by himself. Jeremy was home all day sick as well. At least we are to the point with Steve where he can start to alternate Ibuprofen and Tylenol which seems to work much better at controlling the pain.
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| Avian's newest art project. It is hanging on the wall at school. |
October 26 was a busy day for Steve. Work was busy. The passive motion chair was delivered. Parks Heating and Cooling came to do our annual furnace check up and discovered that the roofers had knocked one of the vents that gets rid of the CO2 loose during the roof install. We were lucky that it had been warm and we hadn't been running the furnace a lot. That could have been really bad. We got it all fixed up and don't have to worry about CO2 anymore.
October 28 Steve is getting more self-sufficient and he is sleeping better as well. He even came to the last football game of the season for the first two quarters to hear Avian perform. The band performed a new song and everyone loved it. Here is the YouTube link if you want to hear it. Hey Baby!
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| Marching onto the field for the last game of the season. |
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| It was finally cold enough for the full uniform. Handsome looking crew! |
October 29 both Nick and Avian had Halloween parties. We spent the day getting their costumes together.
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| Nick as Ned Flanders from The Simpsons |
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| Avian as Beetlejuice. We were painting the lines on the pants up until party time. I used a blow dryer to dry them while Avian put on their make up. |
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| They look amazing and had a great time at their parties. |
Preview of Avian's Junior year photos
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