The Leake's Week-September 30, 2024

 Hello!

Here we are closing out September.  So bananas!  To start with a pessimistic view, I still cannot put weight on my foot, our house is still not done, and I am still not living at home!  BUT, this should all change this coming week...please bless that it will all change!

My next appointment with my surgeon is on Wednesday.  I will hit six weeks post-surgery on Thursday and should be able to start being partial weight bearing this week.  Now, I have no idea what this is actually going to look like, and I have a feeling I am in for a whole new adventure, which I am starting to think is going to be very challenging, but regardless, Thursday signals my halfway point in this recovery with a boot and crutches.  

Also, our house should be done on Friday.  Final inspection is scheduled for Friday afternoon, and by golly, I am not going to let that get pushed back.  My Mom and I have a cleaning and unpacking plan that starts today so that I can finally move home on Friday night and sleep in my own bed!  We are getting lots of help from wonderful friends, and as long as all these sub-contractors can get their jobs done, we should be good.  Please, please, please let it be!

So, here are the highlights from the last two weeks:

Gretchen had her birthday outing with my parents on the 20th, and she invited her dear cousin, Cal, to come along.  Per Gretchen's request, they went shopping at Target and then just came back to my parents' house to play and do crafts and have dinner.  While I have been living here, it has been fun to join in on two birthday outings for my kids!  We all ate dinner together outside and Gretchen and Cal led us in a fantastic discussion about all sorts of things, including the Tooth Fairy.  :)  Loved it. 

Richard and Marshall made it down to BYU last weekend for that crazy football game against Kansas State.  What a game!  What a few minutes of the game!  That evening, my parents were gone, and Bridget and Rachel were off with friends so Gretchen was over here with me.  I told Richard I was pretty sure that between the help of my scooter, and Gretchen, I could make us macaroni and cheese for dinner.  And we did it!  It was so fun to have that one-on-one time with Grizz and she was a great helper in the kitchen.  May this willingness to help stay with her and all my kids for the next several weeks!  

Richard went to an Elders Quorum dutch oven dinner this last Thursday evening and had a great time.  Great food, great company.  I am glad he was able to escape the madness of our life and go socialize for a while.  

Also on Thursday night Marshall was asked to the Sadie Hawkins dance!  The dance isn't until November 9th, so I think to be asked in September is a pretty big deal.  The sweet girl who asked him is that same girl who helped him and his friends ask girls to homecoming.  Bless this amazing girl!!!  Richard was so kind and thought to FaceTime me late Thursday night so that I could join in on the fun.  And turns out, Bridget was in on this!  The younger sister and reached out to Bridget to verify our address and make sure Marshall's car would be parked outside.  Lucky for her, all our cars are parked outside right now, but unlucky for her, Marshall parks right next to the porta-potty that has graced our driveway for eight plus months.  Smells terrible currently.  Anyway, the girls covered up our camera doorbell (smart thinking) and made a trail of chocolates from the front door all the way to Marshall's car.  Marshall's car was covered in yellow post-it notes and on the back windshield the post its notes spelled Sadie.  Then, in little red paper letters, scattered around the car, were the letters of Camille's name.  So, so fun.  I am so glad he got asked, talk about a confidence boost.  

And speaking of cars, Richard got his new car!  He picked it up on the 20th.  It's the brand new Toyota Crown Signia.  He has been driving it for over a week and has really been loving it.  

Marshall has spent his last two Fridays at the symphony with friends fulfilling a band requirement.  The first Friday it was music from movies that he is very familiar with, plus they had brought in Cirque Du Soleil type performers, so it was very cool.  I thought this last Friday was just a regular symphony and when I asked Marshall about it Saturday morning I asked him if it was boring.  He quickly told me it was amazing.  They brought in a guest trumpet player who played a trumpet with four valves and Marshall said it was amazing.  I loved his response!  

Rachel is on student council this year and Friday was their first community service project.  Their advisor arranged for the student council kids to go to an assisted living center and play games with the residents.  Rachel, and two of her other friends had dance, so they missed a chunk of this activity, but they did rush over right after dance and still got some good fun in.  When Rachel isn't at school, she is at dance, or with friends, or both!  Her dance team had a party Saturday night and she had a blast.  

Quick update on me...I can tell my ankle is getting better and better.  I have been diligent at taking my boot off and moving my ankle (point and flex only).  I wish I could report substantial progress, but I can only report a bit of progress!  But, better than nothing.  I literally could only wiggle my toes at my first check-up, so there has been some progress, but gosh, I know I have a LONG way to go.  For the last several days, I have been doing more and more in the kitchen.  My scooter is a lifesaver.  I can get any meal all for myself now.  This may sound small, but this is seriously huge.  I am back at church, and at my church meetings.  And this is no small feat, because our blasted church is two levels and has stairs.  I don't take the stairs, but instead I get back in the car, and Richard drives me to the lower parking lot!  Haha!  Saturday morning I was stressed out of my mind because Bridget and I had a youth planning meeting at 9:00 in someone's backyard and then the kids and I had flu shots at 10:00, and Richard was working this weekend so zero help to me.  Again, in my normal life, none of this is a big deal, but I am not living a normal life right now!  But, I managed to navigate the grass of this yard on my scooter without falling over, Marshall picked us up on time and drove us safely to and from our flu shots, and all the kids were so helpful to unload and load my scooter and hold doors and just bless those sweet little cherubs.  It actually did my heart a whole lot of good to be with all four of them in the car, we talked the whole time, and I love them dearly.  Richard did take me home last Saturday for a bit.  We had lunch on the deck and then I crutched around the main floor to look at everything.  It was great to be there.  On Thursday evening I was going stir-crazy and thought a walk/scoot at the park might do me some good.  My Dad took me and walked as I scootered around.  It was both stressful and refreshing.  Over a 20 minute walk/scooter-ride!  I did have one little mishap.  My scooter does not handle flooring transitions super great, or cracks in the sidewalk.  Most of our walk was on an asphalt path, and that was great, but we had some short segments on cement.  I was going slow, but at one point, my scooter did not clear the crack, so the scooter momentum stopped, but my body momentum was still going forward.  To prevent myself from falling over, I put my left foot down instinctively.  Both my Dad and I immediately said, "Oops!"  But, I am thrilled to report, it did not hurt!  My boot really protects it, but when I accidentally put weight on it one week after my surgery, I literally wanted to die. It hurt so bad.  This did not hurt!  Later that evening, I could tell my ankle was a little sore, but nothing troubling, and when I woke up Friday morning, it felt totally normal.  So, progress, progress, progress.  And speaking of progress, my ankle still has an ace wrap on it to continue to help with swelling.  My Mom and I take the wrap off every 3ish days.  She has been cleaning it, without getting my incisions wet, to just get off all the betadine and dead skin.  :)  Skip ahead if you don't want to read about the appearance of my ankle these last couple of weeks!  Every time I look at my ankle, I feel discouraged and worried.  My foot is still bruised, it has been so swollen, and discolored because of the betadine.  I have markings on it from surgery still, healing incisions and stitches, zip ties, and tape.  The middle of last week I told my Mom it looked like a cadavers foot.  It looked so leathery and gross to me.  Well, Saturday evening, my Mom unwrapped it and I was blessed to behold the most beautiful sight.  The swelling had significantly decreased in 72 hours.  The coloring was pretty good.  Bruising is fading.  And for the first time, it looked like an ankle.  Oh my gosh, I was SO happy.  So happy.  We unwrapped it again last night because I felt like the wrap was pulling on my incisions and it still looked good!  I am on Cloud 9.  Yesterday was my 6-week mark from when I broke it, and I am just SO grateful to be on this end of things, which is still not even halfway through my recovery, but I am feeling very grateful.  

Alright, I think that is it!  Thanks for all your love, support, and encouragement.  We love each of you.

Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel and Gretchen :)

The Leake's Week-September 17, 2024

 Hello!

This last week has been a HUGE week of milestones!  Here they are...

*Last Monday morning, Marshall had his last driving session with his driving instructor and as luck would have it, at 6:45 am he was able to take his driving test!  For several reasons, we had had a hard time scheduling his driving test, so even though he was very nervous, he was very happy to all of a sudden be doing it!  He passed!  On Tuesday afternoon, my Mom and I loaded up here and drove to our house, picked up Marshall, and drove to the DMV!  I vividly remember doing this with my Mom in 1999-same DMV!  Time is crazy.  Anyway, my Mom dropped us off right in front and I crutched my way in and Marshall was good to hold all the doors for me.  I let him do all the talking as I just tried to focus on not falling over and keeping my tired leg up!  Fifteen minutes is a long time to stand with one of your legs raised!  Marshall did great though.  And the man who helped us was great too.  He kindly reminded Marshall that his parents can take away his license at any time and encouraged him to be kind, helpful, and responsible.  :)  I appreciated his pep talk!  Much to Marshall's dismay, we didn't let him drive to school on Wednesday.  But, he has been living his best life since Thursday morning!  He took Bridget to jazz band last Thursday and Friday morning and then drove straight to the high school.  He drives home from practice.  He drove the girls over here on Friday afternoon.  He drove himself to the football game on Friday night.  He drove himself to Gretchen's baptism.  He picked up his corsage for homecoming Saturday afternoon!  He feels that he has found true freedom!  Haha!  It blows my mind that we are old enough to have a child who can drive a car, but here we are, and I know time will keep flying by.

*Friday morning was a big milestone for me!  I officially hit three weeks post-surgery, which means that I am halfway through my non-weight bearing recovery for this blasted ankle.  Yay!!!  On Thursday morning, Stacie was so kind to swing by my house and pick up my knee scooter.  She brought it over here and put it together.  I worked up enough courage to get on it Thursday afternoon.  I was terrified!  We made some adjustments to the height of a couple of things and I took it for a spin around the kitchen a few times.  I got back on it Thursday night and did much better and was on it for quite a while.  My plan was to use it on Friday for my check-up so I was grateful for the practice.  On Friday morning, just after 8:00 am, my Dad and I were out the door for my check-up!  It is quite the process.  He pulls out the car, loads my scooter, I crutch out the door and down the stairs, slide myself in the car, he takes the crutches.  It is a process!  But, we did it!  The scooter was a lifesaver at the doctor, I definitely still have to focus on balance and be aware of all the floor transitions, but it takes less energy than the crutches!  My appointment was good!  They took off the cotton splint and removed one stitch on the inside of my left leg (where the long screws were inserted-shudder!) When I go back in 2 1/2 weeks, they will remove the stitches from the other side, and there are a lot.  Ugh.  Makes me queasy just thinking about it!  Anyway, after all of that was done, they took me for x-rays.  The x-rays look really good.  Everything is lining up well and looks great.  They put an ace wrap on my ankle just to continue to help with swelling and they gave me a new boot-hooray!  It is still heavy, but it is way better than my other boot.  It fits way better and my ankle is snug and secure in there.  As I have been getting used to its size, the boot has brushed against the floor just a bit as I am crutching or it taps something and I literally feel nothing internally.  Very padded and protected!  They did say that when I am sitting or laying down, and safe, I can take the boot off.  I can ice and heat directly on my ankle, and they want me to start pointing and flexing my foot.  I have been very compliant in doing this!  My range of motion is obviously super limited....my foot had been in the same position for 27 days!  But, I just keep remembering the words from Rachel's PT-"Motion is lotion!"  I know I will see progress each week!  

*Gretchen was baptized on Saturday morning!  Our youngest.  So crazy.  Once again, time flies.  Her baptism was at 10:00 and Richard, Bridget, and Gretchen got to the stake center shortly before 9:30.  I got there soon after with my parents, but sweet Bridget had already helped Gretchen change into her white dress.  I am over the moon that Gretchen chose to wear a dress.  I was baptized in a dress and I could not talk Bridget and Rachel into it, so Gretchen made my day with the selection of a dress over a jumpsuit.  :)  She looked darling.  We spent the next 20 or so minutes waiting for family to gather and taking pictures.  Gretchen did not love all the attention, not at all surprising, so she was not super cooperative for pictures with us, but that's okay.  :)   Gretchen shared her baptism day with our sweet neighbor, Charlie.  They are exactly one week apart in age and we moved in when they were both just 21 months old.  They have been good little friends all these years and I loved that we got to share this special day with the Atkinson family.  As part of the program before the baptism, Rachel shared her testimony, per Gretchen's request.  It was so tender and heartfelt and I am so grateful to Rachel for being willing to do that.  After we moved into the Relief Society room for the baptism, Gretchen was baptized first.  Marshall and Bridget were the witnesses.  Both Richard and Gretchen did a great job.  Gretchen had been real resistant to practicing with Richard beforehand, though he did get her into a classroom for about one minute before we went to the chapel!  But, she did so good!  She walked down the steps and just had the happiest expression on her face.  She let Richard position her exactly where she needed to be.  Between her dress and her hair being down, Richard had a lot to keep track of, but they both did fantastic.  She came out of the water so happy.  Bridget went right back to the bathroom with her and Rachel and I went around through the hallway and met up with them in there.  Cute Gretchen.  :)  Bridget and Rachel did so great helping Gretchen get changed.  I just sat on my scooter.  :)  I will write more about this part in a different paragraph.  :)  After we were back in the Relief Society room, Richard gave Gretchen a beautiful confirmation blessing.  I was so grateful that we could have both of our dads, and two of my brothers in the circle.  Definitely a special morning.  After all of that we just got to visit with Gretchen's friends who had come and take pictures and it was just so great.  We then made our way to my parents' house and my Mom, daughters, and sister-in-laws all pitched in to provide a great lunch for everyone.  I just sat on the back patio with my foot up and people brought me food and talked to me.  :)  Gretchen, the guest of honor, had a great time.  She loves any time with cousins and had a great afternoon.  Once everything was done here, Richard took her to Deseret Book to pick out her own scriptures and scripture case.  She was insistent that she did not want her name engraved on them!  She picked out a darling case and was so excited to show me on Sunday.  Richard texted me last night that Gretchen was reading Genesis.  :)  Such a special weekend for our little Bear Cub.

*Our ward had their primary program the next day, so you bet I went to sacrament meeting for that.  This was Rachel's last primary program.  Rachel, and our neighbor, Nolan, were the narrators, so they each got to speak 3 or 4 different times.  Gretchen's class was the last class to speak and they each got to write their own parts about their baptisms.  Gretchen and I talked on FaceTime Saturday evening about how she had felt that morning.  I was kind of planning that I would have to pull information out of her and basically write her part myself.  But, she and I had the sweetest discussion.  I could tell she had already put some thought into what she wanted to say and she was quick to share with me how she felt that morning.  Even though we weren't in person, I am still so grateful for the FaceTime call and the few minutes she and I had to talk through her feelings from her special baptism day.  

*A lighthearted moment I must record!  As I mentioned earlier, Bridget, Rachel and myself were all in the bathroom with Grethen after she was baptized.  Bridget and Rachel did all the work and I just sat there on my scooter.  As Bridget was helping Gretchen dry off, I noticed that Gretchen's flip-flops were sitting there on the bench!  I asked Gretchen if she really wore flip-flops to her baptism!  I was dying inside!  Gretchen immediately said yes!  Bridget quickly chimed in that she told Gretchen not to wear them.  :)  After Gretchen got her dress on, Bridget was brushing her hair, and Gretchen pulled out mascara and lip gloss from her bag!  She started to put on the mascara, and I told her to wait until Bridget was done brushing her hair.  Meanwhile, Rachel exclaims, "Hey, that's my mascara!"  To which Grethcen replied, "I know."  :)  Gretchen agreed to wait on the mascara, but the moment Bridget was done, Gretchen was going at it.  This was all without a mirror.  Gretchen did her first eye really well, but totally mucked up her second eye.  Without missing a beat, Rachel immediately licks her own finger to step in and solve this mishap, but mind you, Rachel showed up to Gretchen's baptism with incredibly long fake nails on!  Ah!!!  You can guess where this is going.  Mascara smeared allllllll over and Gretchen not that happy about a long nail coming at her eye!  My word.  I sent the girls to the sink to get paper towels and water to clean Gretchen up.  As you know, church paper towels aren't the softest and before long Gretchen was done.  Thankfully, we had a wet towel that helped us with the rest, but good grief.  Gretchen ended up skipping the lip gloss, but she did put on clip-on earrings, and rounded out her look with the flip-flops.  It was comical!  I just had to smile, shake my head, remember that I am not living with my family, realize that I have lost all control, and just be grateful that I did not slip on the wet tile floor when I had to stand up to get back on my scooter.  

*Last milestone...homecoming!!!  Marshall went to homecoming!  I wrote in my previous email that he asked a girl without any of us knowing.  He told me on Sunday evening that what really happened is the Friday before Labor Day, a wonderful girl on the cross country team, convinced Marshall and three other guys to come over to her house and ask some girls to homecoming.  She made their posters, and while they colored them, she figured out which girls could go and hadn't been asked yet.  Bless this girl!  They prepped everything that afternoon and then asked the girls a couple of days later.  Marshall's date was a darling girl named Eliza.  This last week was super stressful for Marshall, but also lots of fun.  They had a group text going between the boys, and then a group text with everyone in the group.  Their initial plan was to do their "day date" on Tuesday evening and go to Top Golf.  They chose Tuesday, because that night is cheaper at Top Golf, but those cute boys didn't realize how early you have to reserve your time on a Tuesday evening.  They had to scramble last minute and decided to just play frisbee golf at the park and then go to Dairy Queen.  On Saturday, they met at a park for pictures, and then went to Dex's house for dinner, then off to the dance (the first time Marshall has ever slow danced with a girl!) and then they went to Gabe's house for apple crisp and games.  Richard picked up Marshall and Eliza at midnight and they took her home.  A success!  Marshall told me he did have fun, and will go to the next boys choice dance.  Two funny things I want to record real quick...I helped him buy a corsage early last week.  When I asked him the color, he said, "Ugh!  Aren't flowers all the same color?!"  Haha!  It cracked me up.  Second, I asked him earlier in the week if he knew how to slow dance with a girl.  He said no, but that Gabe was going to teach all the guys in their group how to dance.  I forgot to follow-up with him on this, so when I talked to Marshall on Sunday he told me that after dinner, the girls went inside and the boys stayed outside so Gabe could teach them how to dance!  I was dying!  Oh how I would have loved to see this play out!  

So there you have it.  I wish I had a milestone to report for our house...there is progress, but a lot slower than we would like.  One day it will be done and I can move back home.  Sigh.

Love each one of you!

Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel and Gretchen :)

The Leake's Week-September 8, 2024

 Hello again!

Thank you for your outpouring of love after my last email!  It wasn't until hours after I sent that that I realized that email was literally all about me!  But, I guess 30 years down the road, I'll be glad I preserved that story in my history!  Hopefully never to be repeated!  Good grief.  So, let me use this email to write about every other person in my family.  I'll do a quick catch-up and then highlight my birthday people.

*Marshall:  Marshall has a few weeks of high school under his belt and is doing great.  He told me the other night that AP Physics has been a little confusing, but thankfully, he has a small class (six students total!) and a very smart dad-so he tells me he is getting the hang of it.  He has also had four VERY early mornings of driving with his driving instructor.  His first drive was the range, for four hours!  5:00 am to 9:00 am on a Saturday morning.  Yikes!  He's had three other drives, all at 5:00 am.  He just has one left on Monday and then he can take his test, hopefully pass, and get his driver's license!  Very exciting for him.  And given our current life circumstances-quite needful!  Another development for Marshall, is he has a very significant calf muscle injury, that has essentially ended his cross country season.  The week before school started, he started complaining about his right calf, but within several days, that healed up, but just as that was going away, his left calf muscle became a real problem.  The week of my surgery, he saw the physical therapist at school and then cross-trained most of the week, no running.  Last week, he mostly ran, but just two days of cross-training.  The team had a meet in Orem on August 30 and Bob came out to see him run.  Marshall had a great first mile, fantastic pace, but in the second mile his calf got the better of him and he knew he couldn't finish.  He dropped out of the race after the second mile in pretty intense pain.  Poor kid.  Richard scheduled an MRI for him and my Mom took him to that last Friday.  He has a grade 3 tear, which is substantial.  We have coordinated with his coaches to come up with a training plan, which he has followed this week, but feels zero improvement!  Ahhh!!!  We are going to try to get him in with a sports medicine doctor this coming week.  In other happy news, Marshall literally surprised us all and asked a girl to Homecoming on Monday.  None of us knew this until she answered him back on Thursday night.  Unbelievable!  That sly guy.  But, in all seriousness, I am super proud of him and I hope he has so much fun.  He is going with three other cross country friends, and I know the girl Marshall asked is also on the team, but not sure about the other girls.  Regardless, I hope it is fun and lighthearted and just a really great time.  

*Bridget:  Bridget has probably had the hardest time with my absence.  Sweetest girl.  Two days after my break, she came over after school and just laid on top of me for 30 minutes while I rubbed her hair and back.  We both needed it.  We have had some tearful phone calls and tearful good-byes here and there.  Bless her.  Overall though, I think she is doing well and doing her best to stay happy.  She has basically taken over my e-bike and has been riding around our neighborhood, around my parents' neighborhood, to and from friends' houses and to and from the farm.  She has been having lots of fun friend time:  night games, Station Park, and I am sure Target.  Jazz band is underway, and she seems to really be enjoying it, even though she has to wake up earlier three days a week.  Bridget just wrapped up the state fair this weekend.  She competed in showmanship on Friday evening, this is the part where the person is judged, not the goat.  My parents were able to be there to support Bridget and cheer her on and they had me on FaceTime the entire time Bridget was in the ring.  Bridget took first in showmanship!  Yay!  A huge accomplishment for our girl.  She won a huge beautiful belt buckle that says Grand Champion!  Yay!  I am so thrilled for her.  She spent almost all of Saturday back at the fair because it was the goats turn to be judged!  Richard was able to pop into the fair for a bit to see her.  Her goats placed well in the smaller goat classes, but none of them won in the bigger categories.  But, of course, as she always does, she had a great time!

*Rachel:  Dance has consumed most of Rachel's life outside of school these last three weeks.  She is getting ready for a dance Disney trip in October, learning routines for the regular competition season/nationals, and just regular class.  Our lives have seriously revolved around her dance calendar.  It has been nutty.  But, she has done great and is loving it.  She came home from choreography super happy on Friday night because in their jazz dance she gets to be lifted and she is stoked.  I cannot wait to see it.  Rachel really likes her 6th grade teacher, who is young and brand new to the school.  Ms. K as they call her.  She has also had a lot of fun with student council and I am glad she has that opportunity.  Rachel has been able to fill her weekends with some fun things.  The weekend after I broke my ankle she and Jaxon had their birthday outing with my parents.  They grabbed a quick dinner (after dance!) and then went to go see School of Rock at Centerpoint.  By all reports, Rachel and Jaxon both loved it.  After that, they came here for a sleepover. It was so fun to have them here and see them that night and first thing in the morning.  After that, it was back to dance.  :)  Last Saturday she got to go see School of Rock again (different cast) with Sara.  Those two had a ball going together, no parents, and just had the best time.  A big development in Rachel's life is a week after I broke my ankle, we got her a phone.  She is our busiest child and after a few days of coordinating her life through so many people and then asking them to relay all of this to Rachel, we caved and got her a phone.  But, I will say, Rachel is the sweetest.  She texts me every night and most mornings.  She is always texting that she loves me and I gladly take her pick-me-ups anytime!  Sweet Rachel Louise.  

*Gretchen:  Gretchen is the one I have worried about most through all of this, just because she is so young, and while she is fairly independent, still needs help/oversight of quite a bit.  I have reached out to her school teacher, music teacher, and dance teachers to tell them of the craziness that is our life right now.  All of them have been so complimentary of Gretchen and said they could not tell that anything was amiss in her life.  Sweet Bear Cub.  I do think her dance teachers might have had to do a couple of buns in her hair, but that's totally fine!  Gretchen has been amazing at practicing the piano with Grandma Becky and I am beyond grateful that Becky is very musical and is excellent at making things like this fun for kids.  I am certain piano is going better for Gretchen with Grandma Becky by her side instead of me!  Gretchen has also been doing great with dance.  She has dance Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so it's a lot, but I think she is handling it well.  The other night, Richard was here and we got a notification from our doorbell.  Richard pulled up the video and Gretchen was doing one of her dances on our front steps.  I loved watching her.  Gretchen got to celebrate her birthday at school this last week.  We printed out lots of pictures and she got to take a treat on Tuesday.  She loved it.  Gretchen has filled her Fridays with her friends, Afton and Evelyn, and she always has a ball with them.  

*Richard:  Richard has been a superstar these last three weeks.  We are getting so much help, but still, so much still falls to him.  He has gotten Marshall to all of his 5:00 am driving sessions and Bridget to 7:00 am jazz band.  He runs to Costco and the grocery store after work.  He helps with the dance carpools after work hours.  He is keeping on top of laundry.  Putting all the kids to bed each night (Gretchen has slept in our bed every single night since I have been gone!).  He has wrapped all the birthday presents for Gretchen and Marshall this last week.  He has pruned the peach tree, mowed the lawn, stained the retaining wall, and done the majority of the communication with our builder, especially while I was on narcotics.  :)  He has had his highs and lows, just as I have, but he really is handling it all remarkably well.  He and Marshall were able to go to the BYU football game last Saturday evening and had a fantastic time.  I am so glad he could get away.  He also enjoyed watching BYU's ugly win against SMU this last Friday.  One downer of his most recent week is he had to have a molar pulled on Thursday!  Yikes!  A few weeks ago he got an infection and after consulting with his regular dentist and an endodontist, they all agreed the tooth needed to go.  He went in early Thursday morning to get it pulled and to have a bone graft placed.  Yikes!  All went well and he seems to be doing pretty good.  Bottom line, the Leakes are falling apart...physically.  

Okay!  Birthdays!

Gretchen turned eight last Sunday.  Eight years old!  My word.  Time flies.  We did a friend party for her the day before her birthday.  She talked me into a three hour birthday party, which one hour in I was regretting; however, the last hour proved to be the best!  Also, I didn't give her a cap of friends, because for years we have been doing birthday parties for Marshall and Gretchen during Labor Day weekend and there are always kids who can't come.  Well, I could hardly believe it when the only RSVPs I got were yes's!  We had 12 little girls running around!  My Mom was so great and ordered the cake and picked up balloons.  Richard, Bridget, and Rachel, plus each one of them had a friend, basically ran the party.  It was really hard for me to sit there for 3 hours, hardly able to do a thing, and there were some tricky moments, but all in all, I think it was a good time.  Gretchen did have fun and felt very loved.  She got awesome presents.  Highlights for me were watching Richard man the pinata and dish up cake.  Oh my.  That was chaos.  He is not used to being surrounded by a horde of little girls demanding certain pieces of the cake.  I just sat back and took it in.  I have pulled off quite a few birthday parties by myself, so I love that he got to have this experience.  :)  

Sunday we celebrated Gretchen as a family.  Everyone came over after church and she opened her presents from us.  Gretchen has never liked the spotlight that birthdays and opening presents brings.  She has kind of grown out of this, but I think due to the chaos of our current life, and opening presents over here, all those feelings came back with a vengeance.  She was basically like a wild animal opening her gifts.  It was quite the scene!  After that, we had cinnamon rolls and we introduced my parents to baked eggs.  My Dad fell in love with them!  After lunch, the Bishop came over to visit with Gretchen for her baptism interview.  The rest of the afternoon was spent playing and relaxing.  Her only dinner request was cornbread.  :)  My Mom filled in from there!  Gretchen had made me promise that the only time people would sing to her would be at her friend party.  We kept that promise and no one sang happy birthday to her at all on her actual birthday.  For dessert, we finished off a variety of birthday treats and desserts people had been bringing over!  Ha!  

We sure love our little Gretchen.  She is independent.  Shy, but also spunky.  And SO stubborn.  She adores her friends, and would spend all day with friends if she could.  She enjoys school, is loving dance, and is tolerating piano.  I feel like she is a pickier eater than ever these days.  For the last month it seems she is constantly telling me, "I don't like that anymore."  What does this child eat?!  I have loved my two sleepovers with her since breaking my ankle.  She remains a snuggler and lets me kiss her still squishy cheeks.  She loves Ziggy with her whole heart.  She is a light in our lives and we are so happy we have her.  

Richard's birthday was on Wednesday.  Even before I broke my ankle and our lives got even crazier, we knew we would hardly see Richard on his birthday.  His work shift started at 7:00 am in Ogden and then he had a work dinner/meeting that evening.  So, to still give him some sort of celebration, I pulled together a birthday dinner for him on Monday evening (Labor Day).  We gathered at my parents' home and Bob and Becky also came out.  We ordered most of our dinner from R&R BBQ and had a fantastic dinner, complete with peach cobbler, made by Richard.  :)  We went around the table and everyone said something they love about Richard and Marshall (we did this with Gretchen the day before).  The birthday boys also opened their gifts from Bob and Becky.  We ended the evening with Play Nine and just generally had a really great time.  In general, our Saturday and Sunday last weekend had been quite rough, for a huge variety of reasons, but Monday was better for all of us.  After everyone left, even my parents came into my bedroom to say everyone seemed to be doing better, and they were exactly right.  Living through a remodel that seems never-ending and to have me almost entirely out of commission has brought a lot of stress and so many emotions for all of us.  So, needless to say, I am really glad we had Monday.  Spirits and emotions were better that day.  :)  On Richard's actual birthday, he got home around 9:00 pm.  Some of his presents had arrived, so I FaceTimed with the family as he opened his available gifts.  I didn't get to see him in person at all that day, but I am glad the kids did.  

I am so thankful for Richard.  He is loyal, a hard worker, a great dad, takes great care of me, and has kept our family going the last three weeks.  I know it has been far from easy for him, and he has had his low moments, but I am beyond thankful he gets up day after day and takes care of all that he does.  I love him so much.  

Marshall turned 16 on Thursday!  I vividly remember my 16th birthday and my Mom made a huge deal out of it, which I loved.  It killed me that I could not do that for Marshall, but he actually probably prefers it that way!  He says he had a good day at school and cross country (did anyone wish him a happy birthday?!  Did anyone even know it was his birthday?!) I can't even ask him.  It kills me though.  Anyway, about 6:15, Becky, Richard and the kids (minus Rachel, dance) came over for a Cafe Rio birthday dinner.  We had ice cream for dessert and Marshall opened his gifts.  Praise the heavens Richard is a shopper and all of Marshall's presents had been purchased for weeks!  His gifts were soccer jerseys, plane things, and tikis.  All of his favorites.  

Marshall at 16.  He has his last driving day tomorrow morning and then his test!  It has obviously been weeks since I have driven with him, but he is a good driver.  He has grown SO much this last year, and while he still has a lot more growing up and maturity to do, at his core he is a great kid.  Even though his cross country season has been drastically altered, I am beyond grateful for the group of friends that has come to him through this sport.  They are kind, good, inclusive kids and I am grateful for each one.  I cannot wait to get our house done, in hopes that we will get that great crew at our place sometimes.  I cannot believe he is a sophomore.  We love him a lot!

Okay, by golly, I think that's it.  Oh, maybe a quick house update.  Painting is currently happening.  Huge deal.  The builder says they will be done by the 20th of September.  I don't believe them, but I am certainly crossing my fingers for the 27th.  Please, please, please let it be done!  

Love you all.

Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel, and Gretchen :)

The Leake's Week-September 5, 2024

 Hello, hello.

Well, just mere hours after I sent our last family email on Sunday, August 18th, I went and broke my ankle.  This is especially ironic, because in the email I wrote about the relief Richard, Rachel, and myself all felt after finally getting the all clear just six days before, that Rachel's fracture and growth plate were 100% healed and there was no longer cause for concern.  Clearly, that relief was short-lived!

Right after I sent the email, we packed up and went to my parents' home.  We had a lovely Sunday dinner with them.  We all talked in the kitchen and the living room as my Mom and I worked on dinner.  My Dad and Marshall played Skyjo.  It was a great afternoon!  We ate just before 5:00 pm because my parents had to leave about 5:30 for a fireside for Bountiful Temple ordinance workers.  We said our good-byes to my parents and enjoyed a bit more time at their home.  We cleaned up the kitchen together, the girls played, Marshall kept working on laundry, we cleaned up toys, and then we all gathered in their family room.  We hopped on social media and read the kids Pres. Nelson's birthday wish, about reaching out to the one.  We talked about ways each of us can do that and then we watched a 15 minute virtual tour of the John Johnson farm.  This is the one place we didn't make it to when we were in Kirtland, but we were happy to see the church has a video online, so we finally watched it!  The kids did great!  Once all that was done, we did one last final pick-up and everyone scooped up things to take to the car with them.  It had been raining earlier, but when we left, it was just a light drizzle.  Because we knew we would leave after my parents, we parked on the street, which we have done countless times before!  Their parking strip is small rocks with big pavers interspersed every few feet.  These pavers are a tad slippery, not the same texture as cement, and I have slipped (never to the point of falling down) a couple of times here and there.  I was the last person to head out.  I had Ziggy in one arm and a bag of grapes and my phone in the other arm.  The kids had just finished getting in the van, Richard was in the driver's seat and I went to hand Ziggy to Marshall.  I was wearing dumb slides from Target, which have zero traction, but I have lived in them this summer.  Just as I stepped on the pavers to hand Ziggy off, I slipped/fell and it was disastrous.  One second I was facing the van, the next second I was falling over my right shoulder.  I landed on my stomach, on the rocks, and as I was falling, I felt a shift in my left ankle/leg.  I have rolled my ankles countless times and this felt so different.  The second I hit the ground, I knew I had broken something.  I screamed as I went down and Richard flew out of the car.  I think Marshall got out too-poor boy was the only one to really see the whole thing.  I was in SO much pain.  I was immediately nauseous and dizzy and just felt so much pain and pressure in my left ankle and leg.  Richard immediately started palpating it, but I was in no sort of state to respond to him if it hurt.  Before I knew it, a woman I didn't know was on my other side.  She said she hadn't seen my fall, but they turned the corner just in time to see a minivan with a woman lying on the ground!  She was so sweet to stop, but I told her Richard was a doctor and would take great care of me!  That right there was enough motivation for me to get off the ground and into the car.  I think Richard and Marshall helped me a bit, but by pure adrenalin I got in the passenger seat without putting an ounce of weight on my left leg.  I felt simply awful.  I was dizzy and sweaty and so nauseated.  I reclined my seat back as far as it could go and we just blasted the AC.  Richard handed his phone to Marshall and asked him to look up hours of urgent cares close by.  It was just a little before 7:00 pm.  We drove home, the kids and dog scrambled out, and Richard and I left for Layton.  With regard to the dog, I should say, no one knows if I actually passed Ziggy off to Marshall, or if he jumped out of my arms as I was falling...we have no idea.  But, somehow, the dog was uninjured, and got himself in the car before we drove away!

Our sweet kids were so good.  They do great in crisis mode.  They are cheerful and kind and happy to chip in.  Both Marshall and Bridget were texting while we were at urgent care.  They all took care of each other great while we were gone and were very helpful when I eventually came home for a bit.  I know they were worried, but they did great.  

I felt awful on our drive to Layton.  We debated back and forth about going to urgent care or the ER, I was not sure I could sit up in a wheelchair without passing out!  When we got off the freeway, I did sit my seat up and felt okay.  I had Richard pull up right by the doors.  I said if they have a wheelchair and no wait, I could go in.  When he ran in, the lobby was empty, so he grabbed me a wheelchair and took me in.  While I was checking in and he was parking the car, a handful of people arrived, so I am very grateful we got there when we did!  The lady checked me in and asked if I had hit my head when I fell, or if anything else hurt.  For the first time I took inventory of the rest of me and realized that I was totally fine everywhere else!  I was certain my head did not hit the ground and I was so relieved to not be dealing with a head injury as well!

In less than five minutes they had taken my vitals and I was in a room with ice on my leg, which did feel wonderful.  The doctor came in and palpated all over, and it really only hurt in one spot.  For a moment, I had a glimmer of hope!  Before long, I was being wheeled away for an x-ray.  Richard and the tech helped me hobble from the wheelchair to the table.  Richard, of course, positioned himself back by the screens.  After the first x-ray, I looked at him and he looked away from me.  Ugh.  I knew right then it was broken.  After the second x-ray I looked at him again and he mouthed the word, "Broken".  I was not at all surprised, but I was also crushed.  The tech did one more x-ray and then took us back to our room.  We had to wait for 30 minutes before the doctor came back in, but I am SO glad I am married to a radiologist!  Richard told me it was for sure broken in two spots, but he didn't get a good enough look at the third image.  He prepped me that 3 fractures definitely requires surgery and 2 fractures sometimes needs surgery.  I had 30 minutes to sit and process what my immediate future was going to look like, and I am glad I did because when the doctor came in he did not have the best bedside manner!  He came in 30 minutes later, said I had 3 fractures and that basically my soft and connective tissues were keeping my foot attached to my leg and that I had to call a surgeon stat in the morning and I could not put an ounce of weight on my foot.  Before I knew it, I was in a blasted boot, they gave me crutches, and I was being wheeled to the car!  It was a whirlwind!  

We texted the kids at home to set up a camp chair and stool for me in the entryway...that is the only place we have light on the main floor!  After that, we called my parents.  I had not cried once during this whole ordeal, but my Mom got on the phone and within a few sentences, I was close to hysterical.  My poor parents!  

When we got home, I just sat in the camp chair for 30 minutes.  I hugged the kids, I started to problem solve our life, and I started having the kids gather some things up for me.  Richard had already talked to his parents and arranged for his wonderful mom to come and stay with our kids.  She missed all of Education Week with friends at BYU to come and help us.  Richard had also reached out to an acquaintance from MCW who is an orthopedic surgeon here in Davis County and they set me up with their ankle surgeon in their group for a visit the next day.  It was honestly a huge whirlwind.  I hugged each of the kids one more time and then Richard and Marshall took me to my parents' home.  When I got there, my Dad had already cleared out all of his office stuff from the second bedroom upstairs.  We talked for a short time, Richard helped me use the bathroom-that was borderline terrifying doing that for the first time on one leg!  And then Richard and my Dad gave me a blessing before I gave Richard a tearful hug good-bye.  By this time it was after 10:00 pm.  My parents helped me get ready for bed and got me all situated.  What an evening.  

The next afternoon my Mom drove me back up to Layton to see the orthopedic surgeon.  The radiologists in Richard's group were wonderful that week.  They swapped locations with him so that he could work at Layton Hospital that day and be there for my appointment.  I was very glad to have Richard and my Mom with me to ask all the questions I wasn't thinking to ask.  We left that appointment with surgery scheduled for Thursday.  

Richard was able to get Thursday off, which was so nice.  It was a long day.  Because I was an add-on surgery, I was scheduled for much later in the day.  We left my parents' house at 1:30 pm and checked into the hospital at 2:00.  Before long, I was in my paper gown, had an IV in and had answered a million questions that I felt like I had answered multiple times since Sunday!  Ha!  The nurse said the surgeon using my scheduled operating room was behind schedule, so they told me it would be a bit of a wait.  This was around 3:00.  Well, one delay after another between the previous surgeon and availability of an anesthesiologist.  I occupied myself by sleeping off and on, fielding texts on my phone, playing games and talking to Richard.  It was a long wait.  I was very nervous.  And I was starving!  And so thirsty.  Finally, at about 5:15, the anesthesiologist arrived, he put something in my IV to help me relax and then using ultrasound, he placed two nerve blocks in my leg.  As soon as that was done, I said good-bye to Richard and the anesthesiologist wheeled me out of the room to the OR.  I was silently crying.  I haven't had surgery since 2004, but I did calm down when I got to the operating room.  Some wonderful man, I don't even remember what he was, helped me move onto the operating table.  I remember him putting a strap over my hips and then he covered me in warm blankets.  He placed my arms where they were supposed to be and then I don't remember a thing after that.  So bananas!   

According to Richard, I was in surgery for one hour.  The surgeon came and talked to him at 6:30 and said everything went well.  He did find a 4th fracture while they were in there, but he said it is a common fracture with my type of break and hard to see on x-ray.  Just as he expected, he only need to fix two of my fractures with hardware, the other two will now heal on their own as everything is now properly aligned.  They didn't have to put two pins horizontally through my ankle (do not ask me the bone!) so that is good.  The surgeon said that bone was rock solid and Richard was relieved with that because he said that is the most common place to have the hardware fail because of the type of motion the ankle does at that particular spot.  Anyway, all in all, a great report!

I was slow to wake up from anesthesia, so I didn't start coming to until about 7:30.  I started waking up with the nicest nurse right by me and the outside of my ankle was in intense pain.  I told her it was an 8.  She gave me some percocet in chocolate pudding, which tasted divine.  :)  And gave me some fentanyl through my IV.  15 minutes later I was still in quite a bit of pain so she gave me a second percocet.  :)  Yes please.  :)  After that, she wheeled me back to my room where Richard was.  I was still pretty out of it.  My eyes weren't open much.  Richard tells me I didn't say anything crazy, but I did ask him the same questions multiple times.  :)  I stayed in that room for about another hour before I felt ready to get dressed and go home.  The sweet nurse kept asking me if I was ready and I just kept telling her no!  Haha!  I felt so sleepy!  Finally, I agreed to leave...though I probably would have been happy to sleep there all night!  Richard helped me get dressed and the nurse and Richard helped me get into the wheelchair.  Thankfully, by this time, my pain was down to just a 2 or a 3, so significantly better.  I did well on the drive back to my parents' and we arrived sometime after 9:00.  Richard and my parents all helped me get up the stairs and into the house.  I felt so unsteady.  Not dizzy, but just very unsteady.  My parents had made me two soft boiled eggs and sourdough toast.  Richard stayed with me while I ate and talked to my parents.  When I was done eating, Richard left and my Mom went to bed for her early temple shift the next morning.  My Dad was so sweet to stay up with me.  I was supposed to take another percocet at 10:45, so he kept me awake until then.  He also helped me use the bathroom-I was so out of it!  He tucked me in and said goodnight and I was out.  It was a bizarre sleep, in that I felt so heavy.  I felt like I had totally sunk into the mattress and my whole body just felt so heavy.  I know I was breathing, but it just felt like heavy breath, not labored.  I don't know, it was bizarre.  But I seriously don't think I moved all night.   I just laid on my back with my leg elevated and slept and slept.  My wonderful Dad woke me up at 4:45 for more pain medication and ice.  He took such great care of me all morning while my Mom was gone.  He rotated ice packs on and off my leg, helped me use the bathroom again, and fed me breakfast.  It was a day!  

Per the surgeon, he wanted my leg elevated above my heart for 5-7 days post-surgery.  I was all-in for this, anything to aid this recovery along!  On day five and six, I did come out and eat dinner at the table with my parents, but other than that I was in bed with my leg up!  The Saturday after surgery I was in intense pain.  My whole foot and lower leg just felt SO swollen and so there was so much pressure in my cast.  It was honestly excruciating and the pain medication did little to help me.  That was a rough day and the only night I have woken my parents up for help!  Thankfully, by Sunday the swelling was subsiding and I was doing much better.

The rest of my recovery has been filled with good days and bad days.  Some hours where it feels really good and sometimes where I can tell the swelling is localized and then it does feel irritated with my cast/splint.  The first few nights after surgery I did sleep really, really well, but towards the end of last week I was hardly sleeping at night.  I had three very, very sleepless nights and those were awful.  Last Saturday I had a misstep, trying to get up one stair, and even though my Dad was right  behind me, telling me what to do and holding onto me, I put weight on my left leg and wanted to die.  Oh man.  I made it to my bed and broke into tears.  My cute Dad brought my Tylenol and ice and Richard just sat with me as I sobbed and sobbed.  I wasn't crying because of pain (though I was hurting!) but because I was so mad at myself for doing that and also very worried that I had done something awful!  This was also at the height of my sleep deprivation!  Richard really did help to calm me down, but I basically cried off and on the rest of the weekend!  This has been a rollercoaster!  

This week has been better.  Today is a milestone day for me.  Two weeks post-surgery.  Which means 1/6 of the way done with my recovery, 1/3 of the way done with no weight bearing, and first post-op check-up in just one week.  One must celebrate all the things!

Through this whole ordeal, our family has received SO much help.  Becky has now come out and stayed at our house for 3 weeks.  She comes out on Monday, drives home Friday afternoon and then repeats and repeats.  She has been a lifesaver with the kids.  She helps Gretchen practice the piano, gets everyone off to school, takes care of Ziggy, has filled my spot in carpools, and is trying to help everyone survive in such chaos.  We have had three weeks of people bringing in meals, and while I hear our house is quite overrun with food, I am grateful that most nights, Richard and Becky do not have to think about what to do for dinner.  So many moms have helped shuttle my kids around, so as to lighten the load on Richard and his Mom.  

My parents have taken exceptional care of me.  The first seven days after surgery I was in a constant rotation of ice on for 30, and off for 30.  They were exceptional at it.  They tracked all my pain medication so I didn't even have to think about it.  They have made all my meals for almost 3 weeks now.  They tuck me in each night with a hug and a kiss and are there for me as soon as I wake up bringing in more ice and pain medication.  I have cried on both of their shoulders.  They have both helped me in the bathroom.  My Mom has washed my hair in the sink and gets sponge baths ready for me.  This last week I have started to go outside in the mornings.  They set up a chair for me and hold onto me as I get up and down the stairs.  They make sure to not leave me alone too long and I am just so, so grateful for them.  

The last thing I will say about me is I am very, very thankful for every person who has reached out via text, phone call, Marco Polo, sweet packages in the mail, or stopped by for a visit.  Each one has brightened my day and I feel very lucky to have such thoughtful people in my life.  Just another reminder to me that even the smallest gesture of service and love can have a huge impact.

Okay!  I am going to leave it there for now.  There is too much to write!  With any luck I will send another email on Sunday with updates on everyone else and the three birthdays we have celebrated this week!

Love each of you.

Richard, Jenny, Marshall Bridget, Rachel and Gretchen :)