It's been awhile...

...so be prepared. There are lots of pictures to follow. Quite some randomness too, sorry about that. And there is a REALLY good reason for why I haven't blogged in almost 2 months. I'll get to that a bit later.

So this is Maddie enjoying her new car that Grandpa and Grandma Janzen gave her for christmas. She enjoys giving her dolly rides. On New Years, we finally got to travel to Kansas for Christmas. Because of all the snow, we weren't able to make it down sooner. The kids don't get to see Papa and Nana very often, so when they do, all they want is Papa or Nana. I absolutely LOVE this picture of them.

Christmas with my parents was a lot of fun. We got there on a New Years Eve just in time for supper and then we opened presents right away. After all the presents were opened and played with for awhile, the kids were ready for bed. So as soon as they were asleep, Jay Dee and I took off and went up to my old church for the annual New Years Eve party. We had a lot of fun seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Then we were back to my parents and in bed asleep by 12:20. I know, we're getting old.

Maddie had more fun laying in the bed herself, than putting her baby in it!

The big gift this year was a COOP elevator that my parents built. It looks just like the one my mom works at, which Ben loves visiting every time we're there. They even made one of the elevators so that the kids could dump corn in it, and it would flow down and out a spout into the trucks. Pretty amazing. They love playing with it!

Then when we returned we had another Christmas with my Grandma Burford.

Ben got a play-doh set which he loves.

Maddie got a new rocking chair.

One day when it was a bit warmer and the sun was actually shining, I sent some of the older daycare kids outside to play on the drifts in front of our house.

One evening Jay Dee's brother Brad, wife Kara, and son Braden came over to visit, bringing pizza for supper. It was a nice evening since we really don't see them that often, which is strange, considering they only live 2 miles away. But anyway, the cousins had fun sitting together and eating.

Papa and Nana sent some new overalls for the kids. They were pretty excited. Cute little farmers, right?!?!?!?

One of the days when I wasn't well, Grandma Carol came and got the kids and they played outside in the snow at the farm. Seems like they had a great time.

Now we're going backwards a bit. This is how I spent many days over the last several months. Sick, and laying in a chair or in bed. This picture is actually from Ben's 4th birthday on December 16. Thank you to everyone who came over and made the day special for him since I wasn't feeling so well and couldn't do much for him.

He wanted a Thomas birthday cake, and thanks to Uncle Brad and Aunt Kara, he got one.

Everyone singing Happy Birthday to him. He loved being in the "spotlight".

This was his present from Maddie. A Cars umbrella. He has been wanting one for quite some time and we had to just keep telling him to wait. I think this was probably the happiest he was all day.

He also got a guitar from his Papa and Nana. Another very exciting gift that is about to drive his parents crazy some days.

Now to a couple of pictures I will always treasure.

A picture of Ben and Great-Grandma Elva when we celebrated Christmas back in December.

A picture of me and my daughter at Christmas.

This was at Christmas. Uncle Brad got ahold of both Braden and Ben and tickled them. They loved it!

So back to me... the reason for all my sickness this winter has stemed from my gallbladder and a bacterial infection called C-Diff. I found out finally in early December about the infection, and it is a nasty infection. I can't count the number of times I ended up at the doctor's office and ER over the last 3 months. The medication for the infection is just about as bad as the infection. It makes you very nauseous and causes you to not be able to eat. So then I was on meds for that as well. Also during all of this I found out I was allergic to an antibiotic which landed me in the hospital for a day and a half due to a severe reaction which caused hives from head to toe...even in my ears.

This is also when I discovered that my gallbladder was not working well. I had wondered about that for quite some time, as I have a family history of these problems. However, they could not do surgery until my bacterial infection was cleared up. So, after two rounds of antibiotics, I finally got the C-Diff under control, and a little over two weeks ago, I had my surgery. They removed my gallbladder, appendix, and did an upper GI scope to check for ulcers. Everything came back good, except by gallbladder. It was not so good, which we expected.

So as of today, 12 days after surgery, I am feeling unbelievable!! I am still tired, and have noticed I have to be careful with some foods, but it feels so good to be able to eat again. During the month of December I lost 12 pounds. Not a great way to lose weight, and frankly, I didn't need to lose any. So if all of a sudden I start looking a little chunky, you'll know why...I'm eating again!

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. And if wasn't for my WONDERFUL husband and mother-in-law, and Grandma, I'm not sure what we would have done. But now I'm on the road to recovery...and hopefully Spring. I need some sunshine!!!