So the reason I had a hysterectomy is because my uterus was falling and taking my bladder with it. Although it wasn’t causing me pain, I didn’t want it to progress to that point. I had a TVH (total vaginal hysterectomy, sparing the ovaries), and stayed in the hospital overnight. My mom was here taking care of me for the first week, then dh, my dad, and the kids took on all the household chores for another few weeks. I feel blessed that I could rest well so my body could heal this fast. Now it’s four weeks post-op, and I feel great! I’m starting to do my regular work around the house.

My dad moved in at the end of January when he started his new job. This area is home to my parents, but they moved 500 miles away five years ago for another job after he was laid off. My mom has stayed behind to sell the house and dad goes back almost every weekend. He’s been fixing everything around my house to earn his keep—the downstairs toilet now flushes, the pantry and closet doors now open and close easily, there are no more holes in the walls where towel rods used to be, and a section of ballusters that have fallen from the porch banister will soon be replaced. I haven’t showed him the water damage around the shower in the master bathroom yet.

The kids are growing fast–they’re 9, 6, and 4. We took them on a plane to Alabama to see "Granny" in October and she spoiled us rotten. We received a few compliments from other passengers about their behavior on the way there, so they earned a little bit of extra spending money (we have a rule that if anyone tells me how well-behaved they are, I have to give them a dollar, but the compliment has to be sincere and unprovoked). Highlights of the trip include visiting the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, the McWane Science Center in Birmingham, and Lookout Mountain and Rock City in Chattanooga, Tennessee.