Jumping the Gun

Sadly, Kolin's job fell through, because the shop owner was unable to get the loan he needed to hire him. So, Kol is still desperately searching for a job as our accounts dwindle. Gosh, being an adult is such a hoot!

I'm working more at Essenhaus, which is nice. My legs are getting stronger: not getting as stiff after I've stood for a long time, being able to walk for longer periods of time, etc. My wrist supination is getting better but bending it backwards seems to be at a standstill. It's not a huge problem if that doesn't get any better but it would be nice.

Keep praying.

Kolin Gets a Job

Yay! Kolin finally secured a job today at The Cake Shoppe in downtown Goshen. He'll start in mid-September.

Not much else is new around here. It was gloomy and a bit rainy today, so my pinky finger was giving me a lot of trouble. When I was in the hospital, no one realized that my pinky finger was broken (even though I asked multiple times for them to make sure), so it healed awkwardly crooked and hurts a lot when it's rainy. Fun!

Mom, Mike, and Jeremy are coming to visit on Sunday morning. Sadly, little Mia (who is beyond adorable and growing like a weed) and Mandy can't make it because Mia has thrush. But I'm looking forward to seeing Mom; I miss her a lot! (I know you're reading, Mama; I love you!)

My job is going well. One of the women I work with asked if I had any kids today. It just reminded me about the crash and how our lives got set back. For those avid readers who don't know (I'm sure all of you do), the original plan was for Kolin and I to move to Savannah, GA in August and start our family together; obviously we were unable to do that. Hopefully we'll get the settlement by the end of the year and can get our plans back on track.

Keep praying.

First Day of Work

Who's your favorite Amish girl?

I had my first day at Essenhaus today. It went pretty well: I caught on quickly and only messed up a few times. Everyone seemed very happy with their meal and service, so I think it's going to be a pretty easy gig. BUT standing for 7 hours on my crippled legs wasn't too fun! I was doing pretty good until about halfway through. I chose not to take a break when they offered me one, because I wasn't hurting yet; I know now to take an offered break from now on no matter how I'm feeling. Kolin gave me a good foot rub when I got home, which was fantastic.

The other job prospect (at Derby Photography) doesn't seem like it's going to happen. I went there Friday for my second interview, and the guy didn't show up. It was so aggravating, because it takes 30 minutes to get there. He called back today and left a message saying he was "on location" and said he would call again tomorrow. I'm just going to tell him that I can't waste the gas to drive there unless he's actually going to hire me. As I said in my previous post, I don't like getting the runaround.

Keep praying.

No Longer Jobless

I've been melancholy the past few days, and I'm not quite sure why. Hopefully it will pass.

Onto happier news: I finally got a job as a hostess/cashier at Das Dutchman Essenhaus, an Amish restaurant in Middlebury (shout out to Trash who used to call this Amish countryside home!). I went in for an interview Wednesday and was hired on the spot - very cool! It's more part-time than full, so I'm hoping to get another part-time position. I had an interview at Derby Photography last week that seemed promising and he wants to see me again tomorrow morning to see how well I know Photoshop; I wish he would just hire me or tell me to forget it instead of (what feels like) giving me the runaround. We shall see...

On the healing front: I'm doing my therapy daily and feel like I'm getting better while I'm doing it but still am skeptical about my wrist; I just want to be able to use it like I could before! It's extremely frustrating, but I'm trying to remain optimistic. It's good to have Kolin around to celebrate tiny victories with me and cheer me up when things don't seem to be going well.

Keep praying and think about how truly blessed you are.

Falling Down

Since I'm having so much trouble finding a job, I might blog so much those who read this will get tired of me...but I hope not! I just had to share this story:

Kol and I spent all day yesterday being lazy: staying in our pj's, lounging on the couch, etc. But around 5 o'clock, we realized we needed to get to the bank before it closed at 5:30. So off we went.

We got lost on the way, because our Garmin didn't recognize the address. So we stopped at a gas station to get directions. The attendant gave us a phone book instead. We found the phone number of the bank, got directions from the teller, and were on our way with little time to spare.

Right before the road we were supposed to turn on came up, the car in front of us slammed on their brakes and I had my first panic attack in forever. Not fun, but I survived.

We made it to the bank at 5:25. It was raining as we went in the first door. I stepped forward on my right foot as I went to grab the next door handle and slipped, causing my bad left knee to completely buckle underneath me.

I fell to the floor and began sobbing; it hurt A LOT. An old man (I'm not sure if he worked at the bank or if that was just his normal haunt) and a few tellers ran over.

"Should we call 911?" a female teller asked.

"Yeah, go call 911," the old man responded.

"No, please don't call 911," I cried. We have enough hospital bills already!

Kolin explained the situation with my knee and assured them I would be fine once I cried it out. He was right, of course. I was finally able to get up and we made our deposit.

How embarassing; that's what I get for leaving the house, I suppose.

Keep praying.

I'm Not Dead

That's right, folks; I'm still kickin'! Sorry it's been an insanely long time since I updated; I've been busy packing, moving, and searching for a job. We're all settled into Kolin's Dad's basement (1600 square feet all to ourselves: master suite, kitchenette, pool table, dining area, and theater room. Very nice!). Here's the address if you want to send me money ;):

57257 Garnet Lane

Goshen, IN 46528.

The job search hasn't really been going well; there aren't many places hiring around here, sadly. I do have an interview tomorrow at a photography studio where I would edit photos and video, so please pray that it goes well! Also pray for Kolin's job search; he definitely has a job at a bakery in South Bend, but that's 30 minutes away, so he's hoping to find something in town instead. Pray, pray, pray!

Let me rewind a bit and tell you about the last two weekends in July. On the 18th, Kol's cousin Jenny got married at her parents' house in Michigan. We got a hotel for the weekend. Kolin's sister, Carrie, also got a hotel room for her husband, her four kids, and herself, but when she got there, it only had a king bed. So, Kol and I took a few of her kids off of her hands, because they gave us a suite with two beds. We spent Friday night having fun in the hotel pool with all the kids. The wedding was beautiful, but we weren't able to stay at the reception long, because the excess of sitting made my knee and ankle stiff. It's no fun feeling like an old lady when you're only 22!

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Sorric!

Then the next weekend (the 25th) was Mom's side of the family's reunion in Kentucky. These were relatives that I used to see a lot as a child but hadn't seen in years, so it was a lot of fun catching up with everyone, especially our cousin Pam:

(here she is celebrating a cornhole victory).

After the reunion, Pam came back to our (me, Kolin, Mom, Mike, and Rhiannon) hotel room and reminisced for hours; she had us all laughing so hard the entire time!

Cousins!

Now, fastforward to the present. I no longer have to go to therapy; I have a regimen that I do at home twice daily. My shoulder is pretty much back to normal; it gets sore every now and then but otherwise is great. My wrist hasn't changed much since my last post. My therapist said that by the end of August, I should be where I'm going to be for the rest of my life with it, but the doctor also says it will take up to a full year for it to heal. Hopefully if I do my exercises like I'm supposed to, it will get a lot better. If I don't see any improvement in 3 1/2 weeks, I'll get a special splint to help my hand go palm-up.

As far as the legs, I've gotten all of my range of motion back and now I need to focus on strengthening. Because our room is in the basement here, I've been getting a lot of practice with the stairs. Yesterday, I started walking down the stairs normally (instead of one step at a time), which was so exciting for me! It's not easy, but the fact that I can do it really makes me happy.

If you made it all the way to the end of this long post, I commend you. Sorry for being a slacker. I'll try my best to post once a week from now on. I love you all! Keep praying!

Just Call Me THE SUPINATOR

I've been going to outpatient therapy for a week now, and the supination of my left wrist (that's how far you can turn your palm up) has gone from 9 degrees to 41! I was so excited to hear my therapist's surprise at this. I've been extremely worried about my wrist healing, so it was great to hear something uplifting.

On the leg front, I started walking without my knee brace yesterday and it's going well. After I got my legs iced down for about 20 minutes post-therapy today, I was actually walking like a normal person. :)

I went back to my internship at IMA today. The drive went really well despite the fact that the closer I got to Indianapolis, the harder it rained. I missed my co-workers a lot; they are all truly fun to be around! I'm looking froward to getting a lot of editing done and hopefully getting more experience behind the camera as well.

Still looking hard for a job in northern Indiana (around Goshen) starting in August. If anyone knows of any openings, please tell me! I'd like to have a job since we'll be living rent-free, so I don't feel like a bum.

Keep praying.

New Ride, New Skills

We bought a brand new Scion xD for Kolin yesterday. His name is Thadius, but you can call him Tad.


He's the baby brother of my Sandee, a 2005 Chevy Malibu:

What a cute pair!

This morning, I took a shower by myself for the first time! Taking the shower was easy; it's drying off that's hard. But I had Kol help me. It feels nice to gain more independence everyday. :)

Keep praying.

Mia Lynn

My beautiful niece, Mia, was born 7.7.09 at 7:51 pm, 7 pounds 4.6 ounces and 20 3/4 inches long.

She is perfection!

Proud parents!

Hopefully there will be another picture like this in a year or two...but the baby will belong to US. :)

Sorry it's been forever since I've updated. Not much has changed on the healing front. My knee has gotten a lot stronger, so I no longer have to walk with the cane, which is nice.

Keep praying.

All is Well

I went to the doctor this morning and got nothing but good news. He took the external fixator off of my left arm

(this bionic-looking thing),

then looked at my new x-rays and said everything looked good, which was fantastic to hear, because if my knee wasn't healing properly, I would need to have surgery and be down for another six weeks - NOT cool! But all is well, thank God. When I'm at home, I'm allowed to walk around with my splints off in order to strengthen my muscles. All of my splints (that's right ankle, left knee, and left wrist) will be off FOREVER in two weeks, and I will be able to drive again! Yay! I can also head back to my on-campus jobs this Monday.

Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers thus far; they're definitely working! But, as always, keep praying.

One small step...

First things first: I STARTED WALKING TODAY!

rockin' my pimp cane ;)

It's not easy and I can't do it for long periods of time, but it feels so amazing to be able to walk again and not have to ask for help as much. Viva la independence!

The weather has been b-e-a-Utiful the past few days, and we are definitely taking advantage of it. On Sunday, Kol and I hung out for a while by Frog Baby:

And he climbed a tree like a little monkey:

Then yesterday, Kol, Autumn, and I went across the street to have a picnic in the Catholic yard. It was so nice!

Tomorrow I go back to the doctor to (hopefully) get the pins out of my arms and make sure everything is still healing well.

One last thing: we got a 50-inch plasma TV yesterday and Kolin won't leave his perch in front of it. Take a gander at it here. Quit worrying, moms across the land; we got it on sale for $400 less than it should have been.

Keep praying.

Another Form of Travel

Sometimes Kolin doesn't like to put me in my wheelchair to move me, so he carries me wherever I need to go:

It's hilarious!

Keep praying.

Anniversary Weekend

Oh, this weekend was so amazing! We ate lunch at Kolin's grandparents with the whole family on Sunday before all of us headed to the mint festival to see Grandpa in the parade. Here we are in our shirts:


As soon as the parade was over, Kol and I were off to Indy. We checked into our room at the Crown Plaza hotel at Union Station. I'll post a tour of the spectacular hotel once I get the chance. We had supper at St. Elmo Steakhouse (super-ritzy, super-expensive, and SUPER-delicious). We both started with their famous shrimp cocktail, which is smothered in the hottest cocktail sauce ever created. He had a strip steak (of course) while I had halibut. Then, we got free raspberry cheesecake for dessert, because it was our anniversary - so cool!

On Monday, we spent the entire day at the zoo. I LOVE zoos (as does Kolin), so we had a blast.

If you'd like to see more pictures, check out my Facebook album. I'll post some videos when I get the chance.

Keep praying.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME!

I have spent the first year of forever with Kolin Dean, and I love him so much! Let's take a stroll down memory lane:

the first picture taken of us as a couple,

my 17th birthday party (pre-knee surgery when he could still give piggy-back rides),

Happy New Year 2006,

first trip to Savannah (May 2006),

engaged 2006,

in the bean 2007,

married June 21, 2008,

off to see the Cubbies May 12, 2009,

dancing with his crippled wife June 12, 2009.

It's gone so fast! I hope the next many years slow down a bit, so we can enjoy each other a little more.

Keep praying.

Lazy Saturday

I have yet to get out of my pajamas today, and I'm loving every minute of it! Kol and I stayed in bed until around 2, then I started using my scooter for the first time - very cool! Here I am doing the laundry:


Kol is working an event at Horizon tonight, so I'm on my own until around 9 or 10. I get to make dinner for myself and such; I'm excited!

Tomorrow is a big day: our first anniversary!

Remember this?

We're going to the mint festival with Kolin's Dad's side of the family; his grandpa is going to be the grand marshal fo the parade, so we're all wearing t-shirts:
Then, Kol and I are spending the night in Indianapolis, so we can spend Monday at the zoo. :)

Keep praying.

Insomnia

I can't sleep (again), so I started writing down ideas for the documentary. I'm really excited to dive into it. Since I haven't been able to be at my IMA job, filming and editing, I miss film-making, etc. A LOT.

This weekend was (mostly) a blast. Saturday was Dominic and Veronica's wedding, and it was formal and beautiful, as expected.

The table,

the cake,

and the beautiful couple!

After all the wedding fun, we went to Peru to see No Identity close out the Cole Porter Festival.

Jeremy and Mandy before the show.

Mama was there!

Lovins!

Cotton candy is yummy.

The best shot of the night.

Sunday, however, was not fun. I decided to take it easy since I'd had such a busy Saturday and was feeling EXTREMELY tired. But all I was doing was sleeping; I literally could not keep my eyes open for more than 30 minutes. Then Jeremy decided to get some Chinese food. I was super-excited, because earlier in the day I had told Kol we should get some China Lane. So, Jeremy ordered China Lane for all of us around 7, and I suddenly felt sick. I threw up everything I had eaten 24 hours prior (which included LOTS of good wedding food, a corn dog, onion rings, etc.); it was BAD. I didn't feel sick at all, though, so I was still looking forward to the Chinese. A half hour later, I puked again. Then, after I had a few bites of my delicious Chinese, I puked a third time. It was really disheartening.

I woke up Monday feeling fine and haven't thrown up since. Must have been something I ate...

Keep praying.

Jeans, Friends, and Weddings - OH, MY!

I got to wear jeans for the first time yesterday!

Kirk came to visit last night, and we hit up Fazoli's then came back home to watch Walk Hard. It was relatively funny; the boys enjoyed it much more than I did.

Today we're heading to Logansport to see two of our high school friends, Dominic and Veronica, get hitched. We might also check out No Identity at the Cole Porter Festival in Peru (they play at 9 pm; you should come!).

Time to take a shower and shave my legs for the first time since the accident (yes, I am a hairy beast). Keep smiling and keep praying!

Where to Begin...

Welcome to my blog! I'm going to keep you posted on what's going on in my life, especially in regards to the insane accident I had three weeks ago.

Yesterday, Kolin and I bought a Sony HD Handycam so I can document my process of healing. I had my first doctor's appointment today since leaving the hospital, and he said everything looked great and I can start walking June 30th!

That's all I've got for today. Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming documentary snippets and keep praying for those you love!