Trip to Cali - so much fun!

Last week we had the best vacation we have ever had as a family of four! We had been talking about taking a trip out to California this spring for over a year to see my sister and her family. Little did we realize, there would be a few factors that would change the dynamic of the trip. Since my knee accident we weren't sure if it would be all of us going or just Brian and the girls. After my surgery the doctor gave me the ok to fly and we were thrilled to be getting away. The timing didn't seem that great, but it turned out to be perfect. We were in desperate need for a vacation and I was in desperate need to get off the couch. Also, my sister and her husband just found out they are being relocated to Cincinnati, OH and decided to make our trip their last attempt to see the some of the greatest southern California attractions.

The flight out was like the royal treatment for me. I called the airline and asked if they could put me in a seat with extra leg room, so they bummed me up to the 3rd row. I was wheeled to the plane and enjoyed free food and movies. When I got off there was a wheelchair waiting on the jet-way to pick me up. Brian was such a great sport with the girls in the 16th row. He managed to keep them occupied for the 6 hour flight. What a great guy!

We spent time swimming in the heated pool, going for walks, driving up the PCH, taking pictures and going to the beach in Malibu. Had a wonderful Easter celebration at church, dying eggs, having an egg hunt and yummy dinner. On Monday our family took a day trip to Griffith park and had a great view overlooking LA and the Hollywood sign. The girls enjoyed playing on the playground and eating ice cream at Chick-Fil-A. Tuesday we all headed to San Diego and went straight to the zoo. We roamed the park with a double stroller, triple stroller and motorized cart. Wednesday we spent the day at Sea World, which we all loved. Thursday we slept in, swam in the hotel pool and headed back, but stopped on the way to have dinner with my uncle. It was so great to visit with him. After getting in late that night, we turned around the next morning and headed to Disneyland!! It was such a blast. Abby loved meeting the princesses, especially Rapunzel.

Even though it was a jam packed trip, we all had so much fun and wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe to extend the trip because none of us wanted to go home and have the rest of our family with us. We all relaxed, took in the sun, loved playing/hanging out with family and soaked up every ounce of it as we possibly could.

Pictures of Malibu along the Pacific Coast Highway












































The girls anxious to start the egg hunt, which Abby dominated.




















Naomi, the most content baby in the world.








































































































Coronado beach.



























































































































































































































The girls passed out in the strollers at the end of a very long day.

We have a new niece!

Emily Grace Blankenship

Road to Recovery

A few weeks back I was picking up Abby from preschool with Leah in arms. It was a wet day and we just stepped out the door and proceeded down a ramp. Just then, my shoe slid on a wet rubber mat, I grabbed onto the railing (thank God there was one) and tried not to drop Leah. I had heard my knee pop a couple of times and when I tried to walk on the leg I just couldn't. In that moment I had to figure out what to do. I told Abby we were going back inside. I was able to hop back in and call Brian to tell him to come get us.
Brian arrived and took us directly to the Orthopedist. My mom met us there and picked up the girls. The doctor was able to extend my leg and felt the pop again. He said it was a torn meniscus and sent me on my way, walking out the door, but unable to bend my knee. I knew I would need surgery, but was suppose to be walking soon after and in a minimal amount of pain.
To my dismay, the MRI would tell me different. I learned that it was not the meniscus, but a big broken piece of cartilage now floating around in my knee. The doctor also discovered that I have Avascular Necrosis (AVN), a disease where there is cellular death of bone components due to interruption of the blood supply. Although it has only been confirmed that I have AVN in my left knee, I'm almost 100% positive that I have it in my right as well and possibly my elbow due to similar symptoms. The specific cause of AVN is unknown, but some known factors are Ulcerative Colitis, steriod treatment and pregnancy. All of which I have had and all at the same time. It's like the perfect storm. There is no cure for AVN, only a few possible treatments, none of which are very appealing. The doctor told me that I would need surgery as soon as possible to fix the cartilage. This would be a temporary fix until I'm in my 50's (if I make it that long) and need total knee replacement. He didn't want me walking on that leg and sent me away with crutches.
The main concern of my injury was the broken piece of cartilage. The doctor told us if bone broke off with the cartilage then he could place a pin in it and repair it. The bone would reattach itself. If there wasn't bone, he would have to take out the cartilage, sew me up and we would discus other surgeries in the future to repair it. He also planned on doing a core decompression, drilling into the bone that would hopefully stimulate new growth for the AVN.
After the surgery we learned that there wasn't bone with the cartilage and it couldn't be repaired. They also found a small tear in my meniscus and stitched it. I was in a lot of pain for about a day. I am still unable to bend my knee since it is so stiff and uncomfortable, so I will have physical therapy. I will have more invasive surgery in about a year. It will really depend on how much pain I am in not having cartilage in my knee. I had a follow-up appointment yesterday and the doctor said there are many options, but not one great one. They need to somehow replace the missing cartilage, so the rubbing won't destroy my bone. Now we need to decide which is best for me.
I am not allowed to walk on that leg for four weeks (3 weeks left). As you can imagine this is a big challenge being a mom of young children and photographer. It has put my life on hold. My in-laws have been taking turns flying/driving up from NC to come help. I really have no idea what I would do without them. Our friends and family have reached out to us in so many ways. The best of which, is just having them come over with a meal and being with us. That has helped me make it through this far.
God has been so good to us and I can't do anything but thank Him. I believe in my heart that He will heal me. I know He will. To think about my physical pain and loss of quality of life does nothing but destroy me. My only hope is to focus on the Greatest Healer there is and know His plan is mighty and I get to be a part of it!

And here are our beautiful children growing up so fast!!!

San Antonio

This past January Brian and I took a trip to San Antonio for Professional Photographers of America's photo conference. Brian's parents came up to watch the girls while we slipped away for about four days. It wasn't exactly a vacation as we were up at 5:30 some mornings getting ready for our 7am seminars, but we were excited to be away none the less. We loved every minute of the conference. We took so many notes and soaked in as much as we possibly could. We even took a couple hours to sit quietly, brainstorm and dream big of what we would like to do with our photography business. We returned pumped and ready to hit the ground running.

We had never been to San Antonio before. It is a great city and worth visiting. Our cab driver gave us a quick tour of the city as she drove us to our hotel and told us all the best Tex-Mex restaurants, yum-yum! The hotel was a 20 minute walk to the conference center, so we walked a lot, which was so great! Below are some pictures of the infamous river walk. We saw a horse and buggy carriage that looked like Cinderella's pumpkin and we immediately thought of Abby. She, of course, went crazy when she saw the picture. The next couple are of the Alamo, which we both imagined would be in the outskirts of the city. We were walking around downtown the last evening and to our surprise, there it was. There was a gorgeous glowing moon above and it was 70º out. That may not seem like a big deal now, but back in January we left 2 feet of snow, so it was great to be out without coats, hats and gloves.

Our Girls

I came across this image today as I was looking for some color inspiration. It reminded me so much of our girls, I just couldn't stop looking at it.















Our girls share a room, so I have been looking for a white bunk bed (bunken bed in Abby words) for their room. Notice the girl on the top bunk. This is honestly how Abby looks whenever we are at home. She absolutely loves pink, skirts, dresses, all things princess, all things fairy and all thinks ballerina. She would wear her tutu everyday all day, anywhere/everywhere if I let her. As soon as she walks in the house she runs upstairs and changes her clothes into a skirt.

I thought this was a fun pic from http://www.sarahjanestudios.com/blog/.

snow, snow and more snow

It's been snowing A LOT this winter. We have had a snow storm just about every week this year and it's not just a little bit here and there. It's 12 inches one day and 24 the next. The mounds of snow just keep getting higher and higher. Driving on the roads isn't so bad, it's all the mounds of snow that are difficult to see around.

I must say, we have been enjoying all this snow. It's fun to watch it peacefully falling and cover everything in a white blanket. It reminds me of when I was little and the endless hours I would spend outside sledding on snow days, ice skating on the lake and skiing up in Vermont. What fun memories I have from the snow. I love it!