Asher & Senya

Here are the latest photos of my adorable nephew, Asher, and his new sister, Senya. It's amazing how much Senya looks like Asher did as a baby. Megan and Cody sure do make beautiful, sweet kids!

The Generosity of Others

One thing I am continually grateful for in this life is my network of amazing friends. I was reminded today of just how generous and thoughtful some people can be.

I work with my wonderful friend, Jen Harris, who is constantly spoiling me with coffee, lunch, etc. She is even helping me supplement my income right now by paying me to do research and writing for an educational project she is starting up.

While working this afternoon, Jen sent me a mysterious message saying that a guy named Brian would be calling me. As she's often on the search for my "Mr. Right" (or Mr. Right now...), I assumed this would be a call from an intelligent, funny, attractive man who would tell me he was ready to drag me away from my mundane life and whisk me away to paradise. Good thinking, eh? Well, that wasn't quite the case...Instead, I received a call that went like this: "Deborah, my name is Brian and I'm a massage therapist. Your friend Jen is a client of mine and she would like to give you the gift of massage." Hello, paradise!!! What a great surprise...though I shouldn't be surprised by anything Jen does. This is the same woman who earlier this year took a mutual friend of ours on an all-expense paid trip to Greece to celebrate her cancer survival. She is just one of the most loving, giving and inspirational women I know.

After weeks of stress, my body (and mind) can't wait for Saturday morning so Brian can kneed away the hundreds of knots that have taken up permanent residency within my shoulder, neck and back muscles. It will be a very welcome escape from reality which will remind me never to take my wonderful friends for granted.

Good, Bad and Ugly

Good: The doc says I'm no longer limited to soft foods! PIZZA, here I come!!!

Bad: I sprained my foot within 24 hours of getting the okay from my doc to exercise again, so I have 4-6 more weeks of no lower body exercise.

Ugly: The thought of my butt following the combination of pizza eating and no exercise.

Halloween 2009

I was just getting back on my feet after jaw surgery when I began experiencing nerve pain on the sides of my head and corners of my eyes. It increased to the point that I couldn't even function...I would literally wake up in tears every day. My doctors and my wonderful physical therapist all began running tests and working together to figure out the problem. They finally determined that it's a neuropathic issue. Apparently, when small pieces of muscle were cut out above my ears in order to be used in my jaw, the nerves around the original muscle site were damaged. It's likely that they will heal themselves, but in the meantime I have to take medication (gabapentin) to reduce the pain. I had to gradually increase my dosage before feeling any relief. Luckily, I began feeling better on Friday night and was even able to dress up for Halloween and spend a couple hours with friends on Saturday night. After weeks of being in "recovery mode", it was nice to get out and socialize. I still have some pain but it's not anything close to what it was before. So, life should now return to normal (crossing fingers, toes, eyes...everything that is capable of crossing...).

My adorable nephew, Asher, in his monster costume:





















Asher and cousin Eisley:








Me and Eisley:




A little fun with wonderful friends:

Another family addition: Senya Sophia Smith

My youngest sister, Megan, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on October 28th. Senya Sophia Smith was born at 6:02pm, weighing in at 8lbs and sporting a full head of dark hair. She is the spitting image of her older brother, Asher...she even has the faux hawk! Congratulations Megan and Cody!!

FINALLY meeting miss Eisley Harper Giddings!

My little sister, Denice, and my niece, Eisley, moved back to Salt Lake a couple weeks ago. It was so great to FINALLY meet little Eisley! She is a little drama queen who loves attention...and she is getting plenty of it from me. I can't imagine not having her around now that she's here! She is very sweet and a total flirt.

I am SO happy to have Denice back in Utah. Life just didn't feel the same when she was away. Denice and Eisley - WELCOME HOME!!!