Movies and more movies

Friends/family,

Today was very calm compared to the past week - and it was a great Wednesday compared to last Wednesday! :) I realized I'll be watching a lot of tv and movies over the next 6 weeks. Sitting on the couch is a weird concept for Brent and I. Our relationship has always been built around being outdoors and active and over-committed. Brent's cardiologist told me once that Brent is a typical congenital heart disease patient: an overachiever and a go-getter. I don't think either one of us knows how to sit still! I'm kind of excited to see how God is going to use Brent's time during this recovery - I know God's got something big planned! I have to keep reminding Brent to slow down, sit still, nap, stop trying to help, etc. I think it's very weird for him to just sit around and watch me do everything - and I have to admit, sometimes it's hard doing everything alone. I keep telling him I am starting to understand what new mom's go through - endless amounts of laundry, constant cleaning, bathing, cooking/dishes, waiting on someone all the time, no sleep, etc. :) But we do enjoy being able to spend so much time together and we're getting in a lot of quality time on the couch watching movies! It's a big difference from our normal, stressed out, over-committed lives - perhaps we both needed to slow down a little bit. I wish God could've slowed us down differently though - maybe next time not with a heart surgery. ;)

As a side note, it's horrible not being able to hug Brent after everything that has happened. We have to sit on different sides of the couch so I don't move him too much when I move and thus cause him pain - and then at night I help him into my bed and can't even halfway hug him - I just kiss him on the forehead and hope he sleeps. I need to ask the surgeon when we can hug again! :( It's not fun being so close and not being able to even hug. I never imagined my first few weeks of living with Brent would be 1. unmarried 2. we'd be unable to hug and 3. I'd be sleeping on my couch. :)

Today was nice because we slept in (ok, I slept in - apparently Brent woke up at like 6:00 am) and then we basically did nothing all day. We discussed wedding plans, the changing of wedding plans, and how our futures would be impacted. Tomorrow we have the daunting task of calling Delta and seeing if we can convince them to waive all of our friend's change fees for so many tickets that have already been booked from San Diego and Chicago. I think it's a long shot, but you never know. We are very anxious about putting all of our friends that already booked tickets in a bad situation with change fees and increased fares, so we're going to try the sob-story tomorrow over the phone and see what happens. Anyways - we watched a lot of TV and movies today - and I decided I'll start running again tomorrow (by myself - sniffle) or I'm going to go nuts and get fat sitting here. I think Brent is to the point where I can leave him for an hour and he'll be ok, so thank God for that!

We also had some visitors this afternoon, which was so nice! My boss and his wife came over to help me with a few things around the house and to bring Brent a recliner to sit more comfortably in. Brent is much more comfortable reclining - he can't lie flat nor is it very comfortable for him to sit up straight. We were both very happy to have a recliner for him to use for a few weeks. After that, our "San Diego Mom" came over with food and a wedding gift! San Diego Mom is a very sweet woman that we both served with at the Rock Church 2 years ago. She knew way before Brent did how much I liked him and I still remember emailing her about our first few dates and we were both so excited. :) It was so nice of her to bring over food because I certainly don't feel like cooking or even going to the grocery store - and it's so nice to be taken care of! Normally I love to cook - it's very therapeutic - but I'm still a little tired from the whole ordeal and it's so easy to just throw something in the microwave or oven. I was very grateful for both of the visits we had today - it's great to see familiar faces!

So tonight we just ate dinner and watched a movie...which will probably be how most nights are. :) Brent felt very good today - which is amazing one week post-op. He did have some pain and naturally he's uncomfortable - but he keeps telling me he feels great and is recovering so well. Praise God! I can't believe how different I feel today than I did just one week ago. I'm so happy he's ok and is doing so amazing thus far. Something tells me in another week or two, he'll also be stir-crazy. Poor guy has a lot of time spend sitting at home in front of him. :) As I said though, I'm excited to see how God will use this time.

Please continue to keep Brent in your prayers - tonight I ask for peaceful sleep and rest for Brent. He did have a nightmare earlier - I was sitting here typing away and I heard him mumbling. I went in to ask him what was wrong and found him sitting up on the side of the bed. I don't think I ever quite woke him up completely even though he was sitting up and talking to me. He was really sweaty so I wiped him off and put him back to sleep because his talking was making no sense. Luckily he's still sleeping, but it was a bizarre experience. Please also pray God will guide us over the next few days about what to do regarding our wedding.

Thanks for the continued thoughts/prayers; we truly appreciate you all!
~Rachel