The Ankle Saga Continues....

As most of you know I twisted my ankle pretty badly in 2011 and it wouldn't heal. By the summer of 2012 I had re-injured it 3 times and was in physical therapy for 12 weeks and was diagnosed with tendinitis. 

The TENS unit. (electrical therapy for pain management) 

You can see the swelling under the left pad

This past January I was finally able to stand without pain and walk without my ankle brace. However during the bad snow we had I turned my ankle and cannot stand for long once again. 

I am at my wit's end about my ankle and this is quite frustrating as it was FINALLY getting better...and now it's back to square one.

 I would greatly appreciate prayers.

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Hooray!

It's my Birthday today! 

My sister drew this for my birthday!!♥

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10 Tips for a Happy Marriage

This is the SWEETEST thing ever! : )
I just watched this video and had to share it with you all! 

This will be going on my other blog soon. 

Enjoy! 

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Hi There Everyone!

My birthday is this week! 

Kind of exciting, kind of scary- I can't believe I am turning 24! 

I have known Justin since I was 18.... that was 6 years ago! 

Still no specific birthday plans yet. I have been so indecisive. I think I am afraid something will go wrong if I make plans. Plus who knows how I will be feeling that day? I might be very sick. 

Speaking of sicknesses- I had to up the dose on one of my medications like the doctor told me to. 

I tried to but- oh my- I was miserable. So back to the small dose. 

I just want to get better. 

  

We started thinking about where we want to go this summer- we probably will end up going out to Pennsylvania as my husband has family out there and we have a gift certificate to Sight and Sound Theater. 

We are also going to try to visit Katy and Jason  again this year. 

Might be traveling out-of-state a few times for weddings.   

We shall see. 

My in-laws did invite us down to Myrtle Beach with them again this year. However I don't think I can handle that 14 hour car ride ever again. I get car sick and let me tell you after the first 8 hours I was DONE. 

So that's a general update... 

Oh! And my other blog updated today too! 

Click here to read more! 

God bless, 

~Rebecca

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Before the Veil- Blog Update!

Just a reminder that my other blog "Before the Veil" updates every Monday!

Check out some of the latest posts! 

Are You Good Enough? 

Manners Matter! 

What Love Means To Me

How to Find the Right Guy

How Do You Know if You Are In Love?

And don't forget to check back every Monday for a new post!

You won't want to miss the upcoming posts on "The Chronic Dater", "Is Fighting Ok?" and "It's Complicated"

God bless, 

~Rebecca

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Winter Storm Snowman

I forgot to post these photos from Winter Storm Nemo! 

We tried to build a snowman and well...he fell over. So I made him a snowman with clip art. He probably looks better than our attempt anyways lol.

Apparently we are due for more snow this weekend.... 

God bless, 

~Rebecca

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Crazy?

I am turning 24 next week.... how crazy is that? 

Seems like I JUST turned 21......

Next year will be worse... five years away from 30.... woah. 

No birthday plans as of yet. 

My ankle is doing a tiny bit better today-keep praying everyone! 

God bless, 

~Rebecca

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Well....

So......I maybe...sorta...kinda...turned my bad ankle in the snow last week.

:( 

Anyways.....

Yeah....it is definitely hurt again. 

source

*sigh* 


It's not badly hurt-but there is a definite soreness and it is slightly swollen. I am just worried about the tendinitis flaring up again. 

Back to a heat and ice regimen... 

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Valentine's Banquet 2013

My husband and I were invited as alumni to NEBC's Valentine's Banquet a few weeks ago. Winter Storm Nemo caused the banquet to be postponed until this past Friday. 

When Friday night came around we hopped in the car and got VERY lost on our way to the banquet hall...but with the help of cell phones, and of my father-in-law we were only a little late! 

The centerpieces on the table were adorable! That's a candy filled vase with rice crispy hearts on sticks and heart shaped cookies too! The meal was delicious I should add! 

This was on half of the banquet hall. It is a very beautiful building. 

Justin participated in a game where you had to make a tower of those candy conversation hearts.

He was doing pretty good but the smallest tap on the table would knock it over so sadly he didn't win. He even tried to lick them to help them stick together! lol

Dr. Charlie Horton was the guest speaker. The banquet was also for his birthday- 81 years old! He has been fighting cancer for years now. He used to teach at the college for a considerable time. We even had a birthday cake for him!  

 

After the banquet comes the fun part! PICTURES!!! 

This is my brother Collin and his girlfriend Sarah. 

They are an adorable couple! I LOVED their pink and silver theme. 

This is my gorgeous sister-in-law Jessica and the ever-beautiful Danielle, one of her college friends.  

Danielle and Jay- I thought their gold theme was awesome! I can't remember any other couple ever doing a gold theme. 

Jessica and her boyfriend Andrew. The classic black theme is not often done and they really looked stunning. 

Jessica and her best friend Melanie

Jake (Jessica's cousin and Melanie's boyfriend), Melanie, Jessica and Andrew! 

Kris and Yessenia! Also Alumni, and traveled from out-of-state to visit. It was wonderful to see them again. I haven't seen her since October!! 

Justin interrupting the pictures lol

We ventured out into the snow for more pictures and man-alive it was cold! 

Jay didn't want to bother with pictures he wanted to sing opera.... 

Three very sweet and adorable couples. 

I love watching my brother and Sarah together, they are such a sweet couple. She really is a wonderful girl! 

And it's fun to pay back Collin for ALL HIS TEASING when I was courting. lolol. 

See? This photo is from Christmas Day 2010... and Jessica was in on it too!

Anyways...back to the banquet....

Look how cute.....awwww

Well that didn't last long... here we have a full tilt snowball fight

Jessica was making Andrew nervous....

But then he jumped up on the railing too...

Jessica and Andrew

Cousins!!

Casey and Emily minding their own business

Jessica and Andrew jumped into the photos

It went from cute...

To scary!

A very pretty photo Andrew took of Jessica with my camera

Janierra and Allison! 

When Justin was in the college eating HOT hot peppers was "the thing" that all the guys did. Now with this group it is all fedoras.

Frances and Dan

Randall and Alyssa

And the best photo of the night!


All in all, it was nice to catch up with friends we hadn't seen in a while. I was very sick that night so I enjoyed it as much as I could- but it was very hard.

I hope you enjoyed the photos,
God bless- Rebecca

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Life with Anxiety Attacks

(source)

I have never made an official post about this- but I live with anxiety (panic) attacks. 

The panic attacks started during my teen years. At the time I didn't now about anxiety attacks, I simply assumed that I was either overly upset or just more emotional about things. I reasoned that this was probably just how I dealt with things. 

When I turned 18 and started college I first found out about anxiety attacks, also known as panic attacks. Because I knew so little about them, it often seemed that these college girls who suffered from panic attacks were "emotionally unstable" or just "seeking attention"- it didn't help that most of them came across as the more boy-crazy students. 

By God's grace I met a young lady in one of my classes (we will call her "Jane"). She quickly became one of my friends, and even after she left college we stayed in touch via email. During our email conversations the subject of anxiety attacks came up. Jane had suffered from them for years. This was amazing to me as she was not like the first girls I knew associated with anxiety/panic attacks. She was a sweet, godly, down to earth young lady. She had a stable relationship and was even soon to be married! 

As our conversations continued and she explained more about her anxiety attacks I began to understand that  the panic/anxiety attacks were NOT a "sin problem" like I had assumed and had been told by various people.  Even at this time though, I didn't realize that I too was suffering from occasional attacks. 

Fast forward to the time I turned 21. I was in a relationship with Justin by this point. One night while we were on the phone discussing a problem I was dealing with, an anxiety attack started. Justin knew what they were and helped me calm down over the phone. The next day when he called he talked to me and asked if I was feeling ok after my "panic attack". 

I was so confused and asked him to explain... 

Long story short after he explained and some internet searches and more emails to my friend I realized I did in fact suffer from anxiety attacks. 

At first I was SO EMBARRASSED. I couldn't be like one of those "unstable" girls! I assumed it was JUST worrying. But even while trying to conquer my worrying it didn't change my anxiety attacks. I went to counseling, memorized verses on trusting the Lord, and so on. 

Jane and Justin helped me work through most of this with such patience and understanding. It wasn't until after I was married that I finally was able to accept that I was getting anxiety attacks and that it was ok- it wasn't a sin problem. 

As I have grown older, my anxiety attacks have gotten more frequent and worse. 

 I did find out that PCOS can also make them worse. Anxiety attacks are not merely a medical problem, or just a worrying problem... for me it is a horrible and toxic blend of many issues. 

My anxiety attacks are triggered by fear about something new/something I don't understand, by stress, lack of sleep, unable to sleep, by feeling like I have failed someone's expectations about me, the room being too warm, and occasionally being around people I feel uncomfortable/nervous around. I have had attacks out of the blue, I can be thinking about ice cream and have a random attack! 

If you do not know what an anxiety attack is- let me describe it for you. 

Your heart rate which was beating normally a few seconds ago suddenly escalates, your breath is harder to catch, you feel a strong desire to run out of the room you are in. You feel like something is threatening your very existence. Thoughts become irrational. Nothing makes sense. A terrible sense of fear sets in. It turns into a struggle to regain control.

"Sufferers of panic attacks often report a fear or sense of dying, "going crazy," or experiencing a heart attack or "flashing vision," feeling faint or nauseated, a numb sensation throughout the body, heavy breathing (and almost always, hyperventilation), or losing control of themselves. Some people also suffer from tunnel vision, mostly due to blood flow leaving the head to more critical parts of the body in defense. These feelings may provoke a strong urge to escape or flee the place where the attack began (a consequence of the sympathetic "fight-or-flight response") in which the hormone which causes this response is released in significant amounts. This response floods the body with hormones, particularly epinephrine (adrenaline), that aid it in defending against harm." -Wikipedia 

Justin is very helpful when I get an attack. 

We are working on any spiritual or emotional issues that are triggering my attacks. 

We have figured out some things that help me calm down, and usually it can be over within an hour. 

We have also started to talk to doctors, just due to how often I get them. 

Writing about my anxiety attacks is not easy, but I want to help people who also struggle with these attacks- I also want to help them realize that attacks do not make you inferior or weak, and to help others understand that this is not a "sin" problem.  

If you would like to know more here are some links that Justin and I found helpful..

How to Identify a Panic Attack

How to Handle a Panic Attack

How to Help Someone Having a Panic Attack

How to Care for Someone With an Anxiety Disorder

God bless, 

~Rebecca

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Winter Storm Nemo

This is the view off our back porch by 3 pm today. The snow is as high as our cooler! 

That hook is from a hanging basket.....

Charlie and Daisy don't like the snow I guess

My mom sent me these photos... her car totally buried

My brothers helping brush off the cars

My dad trying to snow blow...

We are currently snowed in, the parking lot at our apartment complex has not been plowed yet. So far our church services have been canceled for tomorrow.
The funniest part is the fact that we hardly got any snow last winter! 

For those in the storm area- keep warm and safe!

God bless,
~Rebecca

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Thanks!

Thankyou so much for everyone's suggestions and ideas! 

Oddly enough (and to my personal relief) the banquet has been postponed until next week due to winter storm Nemo arriving this weekend. 

We are expecting alot of snow, I hope we don't lose power! They have said anywhere between 1-2 feet. Eek!

Again, thank you so much for your comments everyone! You have all been so kind. I always feel like I'm the "sore thumb" at events due to my weight and well, I don't want to be under dressed and drawing unnecessary attention. I know it's probably dumb to think this way.... *sigh* but I still struggle with these thoughts. The older attendants of the banquets (teachers and staff) are so lucky that they can wear just nice church clothes! 

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Need advice!

So my husband and I have been invited as alumni to the college's valentine banquet this year.

We had attended this banquet all 4 years of college.

I personally am very stressed about this. Every year I dreaded the banquet for one reason- it Is a VERY formal event -we are talking prom and ball gowns.

Finding a suitable dress in my size was always a challenge- not to mention expensive.

Plus making it modest adds to the complications

I wore a borrowed bridesmaid dress once....

This dress was a last minute purchase and it didn't fit me well. It was too baggy

Eventually my mother and I found a much better dress and I wore it for the banquets for the next two years...

I have gained weight now and I can not fit into this dress. Which stinks so much....

This event is very formal.......

This is what I mean by formal and prom gowns.....

I personally would rather stay home than attempt to find something in my size let alone price range. I KNOW if I wear "whatever" I will be very self-conscience and won't enjoy the evening at all.

Deep down inside I still want that ball gown I never got a chance to wear.... But I know that it is far too expensive and ridiculous.

The banquet is on Friday- any suggestions??

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