Work is halted for one, work in progress for the other

...and this is the picture of Ryan's leg on Monday after the injury. Talk about grossly distorted. You should see it now...it's all swelled up and black and blue. Still waiting about the call about the MRI. I just got a call from the Road Commission and it appears that his 40hr/ week $10/hr. job will not be held for him due to this knee injury. I don't even want to tell him right now. This was the money he planned to live on for the next year. ugh. I feel sick.

The studio is looking so much better than the "before" pictures. Amazing what a few coats of paint can do to the look of a room.
They need to take the For Sale sign out of the window.

There's another half to this week!

I'm trying to optimistic here since, admittedly, this hasn't been the greatest week. So with Pollyanna rose-colored glasses on...this girl trudges along...looking forward to what good things lie ahead.

We're waiting for the results of the MRI today. Surgery should be scheduled this week or Monday. Ryan has two exams on Thursday and two on Friday so if he had his way, it would be on Friday after exams. We'll see how this plays out.

I think today is a good day to do some cleaning...in a cathartic kind of way. I'm really sick of dirt; turmoil, indecision, drama, demands, attitudes, bickering, excuses, control freaks, lack of control, etc. Yes...the physical aspect of cleaning is symbolic of eradicating all the other "dirt" in my life that I am sick of. (literally and figuratively)

Gonna bust out the Pine Sol and pray like heck that God cleans up the other stuff.

Wipe out

Ryan, Jen, and Jordy hanging out...back in the younger days. *sigh* where have those years gone?

I am wiped out today. Mentally, physically, and financially. Gosh I can't wait for payday on Wednesday. It's been a rough week.

I took Ryan over to get an x-ray today. It appears he's broken the head off his fibula and all the ligaments need to be reattached. Yes, this means major surgery. It's quite a flukey injury and the surgeon admitted he hasn't seen many like this. ugh. I guess they have to screw the head back on the bone and suture the ligaments back on or something. Of course, this is just speculation since they haven't done the MRI yet. Hopefully they can get him in tomorrow.

In the meantime, this is finals week and Ryan contacted his Neuropsychology professor to get an extention on his exam. The surgery will be scheduled for next week when the swelling has gone down. It doesn't look too promising for his full time summer job. I have no idea what he's going to do. I'm just praying that God is going to be flinging open windows since so many doors have been closed. The doctor told him this will probably be the end of his sports career. You should have seen his face. It broke my heart.

I know there are so many things to be thankful for. I mean, really. Ryan is a healthy kid and he will rebound from this injury. Jen is excited to start her business. She wanted me to help her paint today but I had to take Ryan to his appointments. So her and Jordy went and painted this afternoon. Before they left, Jordanne wanted me to go to David's Bridal to order her dress since they had a sale and today was the last day. (10% off is a big savings.) So folks, it's official. The downpayment on the hall has been made, and now the dress is ordered. The bride-to-be was elated. No turning back.

Josh sent me a text message from school telling me to check out his grades. All A's, a B+, and a B. He just took two tests today and got an A+ on both tests. I've known all along that he was capable of grades like that but he finally figured it out on his own. Now he's getting grades like Jacob. Like I said, I've got so much to be thankful for... The girls had a ball painting at the studio...when they heard about Ryan's bad news, they brought him over a slurpee to cheer him up and hung out with him. Wow...23, 22, and almost 21 yr. old siblings hanging out together. How cool is that?

hmmm...where to start?

Josh and Jill (went up the hill...) Looking good!
Josh and Nick flashing their bling.
Josh and Jill, Victoria and Nick.
strike a pose!

Josh showing off his newly acquired Football State Championship ring.

Ryan waiting for the doctor to come check out his left knee.

As you see, I missed posting yesterday. It was such a busy day with it being prom weekend and all. I did Jill's hair at noon and things were going well until we got a phonecall from Ryan. He had a rugby match in Grand Rapids against Grand Valley. He knew going into the game it was going to be a very hard fought battle...but he just had a feeling he couldn't shake. The game was going great- Ryan was blowing by everyone...having the game of his life. Until the hit. It seems his body went one way and his knee went the other way. Searing pain tore through his body and he was down. This was in the first 15 minutes of the game. The athletic trainer told him it was torn ligaments in his knee and he needed to see a specialist as soon as possible. Only problem is, the guys he rode with were still playing the game and he was 2 1/2 hours away. It made no sense for us to drive there and back so he waited until the game was over and had them drive him back home. Thank goodness Ryan has a very high pain threshold (like me). Someone gave him Tylenol with codeine and it helped until he got home.

In the meantime, Jen called Patrick's dad (who happens to be an orthopedic surgeon) and he said he'd come over and take a look at him. (hello, Marcus Welby, MD!) He said his LCL was torn and we went over to his office (closed on Saturdays) to fit him with a knee brace. The athletic trainer from Ryan's college football team was there to fit him with a brace. (Jen babysits for his 2 yr. old son.) Gosh it pays to know the right people. He walked out with a prescription for vicodin, crutches, and a knee brace and never had to sit in a waiting room. It would have been a long weekend of waiting in pain until he could get in to see a specialist otherwise.

The worst thing is this week is finals and Ryan has exams to study for under the influence of narcotics. He was supposed to take a drug test for his new job on Monday...I have no clue how he will drive his tractor or his car since his left foot is his clutch foot. Everything is up in the air until we find out the extent of the damages and if he has to have surgery to reattach anything. He needs this job at the road commission to pay his bills and save for classes. ugh.

So this was all going on while Josh was getting ready for prom. Jen went over to take pictures for me since I needed to be here when the doctor came. Jake had to go and coach a hockey game and I had to run him up to the rink. Jordy's fiance brought him home. There was some major "prom-a" (prom drama) going on... won't go into details but it wasn't exactly an "enchanted evening"... Josh said he made it a good time for himself. Famous quote from Josh?

"the best part about prom was me"...

Glad he had fun for as much money as we dropped on Prom. Mmmboy, he sure looked good.

In full bloom

I just had to take a picture of these beautiful tangerine colored roses that Patrick got Jennifer this past weekend. I'm so glad she is sharing them with us all. The color is perfect in my living room.

Jen's studio pictures

... french doors to the back changing room, office, and bathroom.
Um... this is not proper body mechanics, Jennifer. No wonder you have a bad back at 23. Ya gotta love "The Duke" in the foreground. He was a little bored.

... an air conditioner in the middle of the wall? Just as lovely as Jen in all her goofiness.
...scrub that pukey baby food squash- colored trim so we can prime it already....work in progress.
The front door and one of the window seat areas.
...the other window seat.

Wouldn't you know it...my memory card was full so I only got the "before" pictures when we were cleaning.

After encountering the paint ladies from hell at both Home Depot and Walmart, (how on earth can you be that crabby on the job at 10:30 am is beyond me)... we picked up some lunch, a 12 pk of diet pepsi and headed to the studio to begin some serious work. If you click on these pictures you will see that the walls in the front "showroom" part of the studio are stucco. What a major paint in the arse to paint these walls. We literally had to scrub the paint into the craters. (and yes, we did use Purdy rollers for rough surfaces) I wanted to cry after a half hour of painting. After an hour, I wanted to go home, put on an apron and bake cookies...but Jen is a slave driver. We worked for 12 hours. We had a mission to accomplish. We got all the walls in the front area painted, edged, and primed all the trim and doors. She went back today to do some more work before she had to go to the rink. (her other job) I can't wait to get back there to help but it's Prom weekend and I've got some "prom-dos" to create. Will keep you updated.

Work day planned

Today after my morning walk, Jennifer and I are driving out to her new Studio to start working. We're packing the painting clothes, supplies, snacks and beverages. Gotta remember a radio and of course, the camera. It should be a fun mother/daughter day. Will post pictures when I get back.