Almost A Year Later...

Wow, this has been procrastinated for a while. College has kept me busy, but lately I have had more time since I have been taking on-line classes.

What has happened since last april? haha. Not too much to say really.

My biggest event was sadly back surgery. :( Its funny my last post was last april and that is when it all started. I came home from winter semester in rexburg, and had the worst lower back pain. (Right when my mom had her blood clot too!) So I went to the chiropractor a few times, but then hit the road for the summer semester. Well I got an MRI and was told that I had two herniated discs and spinal stenosis (spine narrowing). So the next step was therapy. Well that went for quite a while, no deal. Then a back specialist which consisted of spinal epidural injections x2, steroids, temporary relief, and then no better. Then fall semester came. I went to a chiropractor and also tried acupunture, had another MRI, and more roids. Right around halloween I actually went home because I needed surgery. Clearly nothing else was going to work. Surgery so far has helped. They performed a discectomy. Basically they shaved the herniated part of my discs off. The recovery wasn't too bad and had a lot of loved ones around! I did lose mos of my credits for that semester but Im okay with it. I can make up a semester of college, but I need my back for my whole life!

Those 6-7 months were pretty discouraging. I was limited, and at the end I couldn't really walk. Even through all the pain and suffering I did see blessings from Heavenly Father. That winter semester before all of this started I prayed, and it felt right to stay in rexburg that semester, even though I was off-track. I know now that it was because The Lord knows the beginning from the end, and knew that about a year later that I would need to withdraw for a semester. So I was able to get a few credits ahead, and now I am not too behind. I am taking 7 credits this semester, so now I am pretty much on schedule! I look forward to going back to school in april.

Another big event.. IKE! Ike is my orange and white tabby cat! We got him the day after my surgery, november 4th! Michael texted me that day and said that he had a suprise for me. I was thinking that he would come home with a blizzard from dairy queen, but he brought a kitten home. Well, lets say that he definetly is part of the family. Mom and dad were not too happy at first, but after a day, he had everyone in love with him. Well, now he is not so much a kitten anymore. but he is the prince of our house! And if anyone knows my dad he has plenty of nick-names: Ikey, Ikey Dykstra, Dykstra, Bickis, Bick, Liddy, White socks, Mr. White belly, Ike the pirate cat, pirate boy. They kind of all evolve. haha who knows what will be next! We love him and he brings the family alot of joy.

Hmm. other exciting things would be another neice is coming in July. Christie is pregnant and expecting July 11th and its a little girl! Thats exciting! Being an aunt is soo much fun. I just got home from a trip to California. Katie and Hailey came to Wisconsin, and then I flew back with them. It ended up being a good thing for more than one reason. Hailey has started having seizures. She had one while I was there. Katie has been fortunate that every time Hailey has had a seizure someone has been there with her. This time I was there. It lasted about 30-40 minutes. I had to hold her in the back seat while Katie drove her to the doctor. From there, the doctor had her go to the ER via ambulance. She was in the hospital for about two days, so I was able to help take some relief off Katie and Ricky by being in the hospital and helping out. Nothing is wrong, so that is good. The seizures are just caused by high temperatures when she is sick. So basically they just have to watch her fevers. We did have a lot of fun besides the hospital. Hailey is such a dolly and has the biggest personality ever. She is so active and hillarious. I miss her already.

Anyway. here is a little bit of info about my life the past year. If I don't blog in atleast two weeks, somebody yell at me! I like to read everyone else's posts, and figured I needed to keep blogging too!