Seven Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 5) STL edition

1. I am back in St. Louis this week, leaving today. The reason for the visit was for some minor surgery related to infertility and its underlying causes. Since getting married, infertility has been something we've struggled with, but I know God has a plan, and right now, this is His plan. And no matter how much repeating it takes for me to really believe it, His plans are always good. I don't talk about IF (took me forever to realize that stood for infertility!) on the blog, mostly because it's not anonymous. Maybe I will more, we'll see, but I didn't start out with an IF blog and don't think I should turn this one into one. If you've seen the first 10 minutes of Up, or the scene from Julie and Julia when Julia Child gets a letter from her sister, that pretty much covers the emotional range. Back to the surgery, it went well, I am recovering better than expected, and would love any prayers you can spare to be aimed in my general direction. 

2. Leading up to surgery, I walked the fine line of trying to convince Mark that the surgery was not something to be too worried about, and also emphasizing that in spite of that, I was going to be a real invalid who would need a lot of taking care of! I've been really particular this week with all my needs. "Could you point the fan five degrees lower? Could you put more ice in my drink? I wanted the other socks..." He bore it all with the patience of a saint; I'm having his halo polished as we speak. He also sent me the best medicine to which my faster than expected recovery is owed: medicinal cake pops!

Medical claims on this blog are not the opinion of anyone
with medical credentials, but I think these things really work!

3. A nice part of the trip was getting to see a lot of my family. When you have 10 siblings, most of whom are grown up, living all over the country, having children of their own, it's not very easy to see them as much as you would like. Trips for the holidays are great, but so hectic for any real visiting to happen. This time, Mark and I got to see the St. Louis contingent, including some of my nieces, who are always so much more grown-up than the last time I saw them. Prior to my surgery, my 3 yr. old niece, E. was very concerned that I couldn't wear any nail polish. After the procedure, all she wanted to know was if the doctor said I could wear nail polish yet. Once she saw that my nails were painted, she knew I was on the mend!

The precocious E. and I this past summer. No, we didn't have jaundice

4. It's been 10 days since I was in Houston, so I didn't get to enjoy all the rain down there, but something tells me that spring Texas is won't be nearly as luscious as this

My parents' backyard, daffodils abloom and all

5. Another highlight of the trip was a glorious visit with the lovely Grace. I was glad I got my fill holding the adorable chunky Sebastian pre-surgery because holding him now definitely would be a violation of my weight restrictions. I don't have any pictures from the visit, but head over to Camp Patton to enjoy the tales of their adventures.

6. This St. Patrick's Day, Mark and I are relieved not to be living across the street from the city's largest Irish pub. Here's to a much quieter St. Patty's Day this year!

7. Yesterday, some pretty big things happened for my dad. My parents aren't used to the trench warfare of the comment box, so keep 'em in your thoughts, and join my sister and I in the St. Michael Prayer.

Go see Jen for more Quick Takes!