An update and an afghan.

Okay. I'm back. Thanks for all your kind words and prayers. I really appreciate them. No. I'm not better. But I'm getting there. Slowly. And I'm finally okay with that. Sure, I'd rather have gotten better right away, but I would have missed out on so much of life if I had. I spent the past several months feeling like I had to get better so that I would stop missing out on life. I was wrong. I had it backwards. Yes, I am missing out on some things. But I'm enjoying so much more. The important stuff. Lots of time with my husband and children. Lots. I love my morning walk with my kids and my evening walk with Allan. I love having time to read. I've read a lot of books these past five months - and I'm reading the Bible more often, which has been... So. Good. I'm living life like crazy. Just at a slower pace. A healing pace.

Photos from our walk yesterday morning. Today that bee hive was knocked down when we walked past and the bees were buzzin' around it. We picked up our pace a bit.

I've seen some more doctors and found out I have some more food allergies - which was difficult news. Eggs, almonds, and dairy were big ones added to my list. But it's okay. I've had my cry. And really, it's just food. And there is still so much that I can eat and I am thankful for that. Like coffee. I'm so thankful that I'm not allergic to coffee! And turns out, it tastes pretty good with coconut creamer. Yum.

I'm still not working. I'm not sure when my doctor will give me the go ahead. I'm hoping once the kids are back in school I'll be able to do some work - even if it's minimal. It's still impossible to know how I am going to feel from day to day. While I am having way more "good" days, I still have "bad" days. I can only do so much in a day before I am exhausted. And lifting things? I tried to pull a basket out with a bunch of chipboard alphas in it. Couldn't. I immediately felt pain in my rib cage. It's frustrating, but it's okay. I will heal. I will be doing push ups again before I know it! Okay, I didn't do too many before I got sick.

I finished this afghan. I love the splash of blue it adds to our living room. I was asked about the pattern that I used. I didn't really use a specific pattern. I just looked through my crochet books for circle motifs - most of these were actually taken from square block patterns that start as circles. Almost all of them I modified and didn't write out those modifications. It was really just a fun experiment that worked. I wasn't sure how the circles would come together but thought it would be fun to try. I highly recommend making one of your own. If you do, I'd love for you to link it up in the comments so I can see it!

Time to get back to watching the Olympics. Is your television on constantly too? We've been lovin' the games in the Tobey household! Elijah was actually inspired by the bike racing and wants to make it to the Olympics someday. He started riding bikes with Allan each evening. I love that.