I'm Getting Married!

So I told you that we would post family stuff and something pretty big happened last Wednesday! Chad, my boyfriend, asked me to marry him! He got my friend at work to help him and he proposed at my school. All of my first graders were holding up the sign that said "Will you marry me?" My parents and his were there and a few of our family friends. I was completely shocked! A friend took video of the whole thing but I can't get it to upload. It is on Facebook so if you need to find me it is Amanda Lee....but I am private so you might have to find my mom and then me if you can't find me in a search.

It was the last day of school and my kids were watching a video because we had to pack up EVERYTHING this year since we are having construction in our classrooms this summer. My principal came down and asked me to go to her office and help with next year's class lists. Then we got called down for help in my pod so I went running in and was so confused as to why there were so many people in my classroom. In the background on my SmartBoard, you see the Bellagio in Vegas. I always wanted to get engaged there so he did the next best thing. :) I will keep working on uploading the video.

A year ago today...

We have made it to the one year mark. One year ago today, we were all planning on going to Kansas City for my nephews birthday party and dad was driving to get grandma to take her with us. One year ago today, I got the phone call from my brother telling me dad was in a bad car accident. One year ago today, dad was walking around and never knew his life was about to change. One year ago today, I never knew how strong my dad and grandma could fight for their lives.

We are blessed and so lucky to have survived the last year. But truly, our family could not have done it without all of YOU! Your support through this last year kept my mom going and kept all of our sanity. So thank you for everything you all have done for us!

Dad "graduated" from seeing Dr. Canada last week so we are officially done...finally! Dad just has to continue going to get fitted for new legs every few years. Grandma is a lot slower these days and is a lot for my aunt but she is still hanging in there. She can barely walk anymore and can barely respond to you when you talk to her. This is just with age and we are lucky that she has held on this long.

From here on out, I will continue to post things if something happens, but I am also going to post about our family and their happenings. We have kept in touch with so many family members this way and since we are in the clear now, I figured this can be a Greeninger blog so all our family can keep in touch.

We love you all so much! Thank you again for your love and support this past year!

Happy Mother's Day!

Spring has sprung and we are moving things out!

Dad is walking all of the time now and it is great to see! Since he isn't wheelchair bound as much any more, dad had me take the ramp that our neighbors made and put it in the garage. It was a great feeling to do some "spring cleaning" and put the ramp away!

Dad said the hardest thing is still breathing and being able to take a deep breath. Hopefully once he gets used to moving about on his own, his stamina will come back!

No news is good news

Things are going great for dad. He is really starting to walk a lot more. He is using a cane to help him balance better. I'm not sure how many more weeks he has at rehab but I know he will be happy when those are done. All of this nice weather, he has enjoyed cutting the grass with the riding lawn mower and bbq'ing.

Grandma is about the same. She moves pretty slow and just seems out of it. It just seems that the accident sped this whole "Getting old" process up for her. She still has an amazing smile and enjoyed spending time with Sandy (Aunt Nancy's Daughter). Her and her family were all in town last week because Lawrence is getting deployed soon. Grandma enjoyed seeing her grand kids.

Hope you are loving the Spring weather!

Beautiful Weather

This has been the warmest winter I can remember. It is March and it is suppose to get up to 75 this week. Dad is enjoying walking around outside with his leg. He told the Dr. he wanted to practice on a treadmill and they told him no. So we took a pretend picture of him walking on our treadmill to show them at rehab Monday.

After this, we all went outside to enjoy the weather. I got a good pic of mom and dad.

Enjoy the weekend!

Rehab!

Dad has been going to rehab this week. So far, no blisters! He got mad the first day because it was a lot of sitting around. So on Wednesday, he told them to get him up and walking! They said the doctors told them to take it easy so he wouldn't blister but you all know my father! He is determined to walk and drive again. I can't believe we are almost at a year since this crazy journey he has gone through. But man, he has come a LONG way! We know if he were younger, his recovery would have been faster. But we are all so happy that he has come this far. The other day he even tried to walk up and down the steps with Fred. Mom and I stood in front and behind him but he did a great job! Keep praying the blister stage is done!

Words With Friends

Dad is doing great. He taught me how to ride the new lawn mower and has been practicing with "moms" iPad. This weekend I taught him how to play Words with Friends. So if you want to ask him to play a game, search for his name Kgreeninger. He loves to play it!

Dad goes to Canada tomorrow to see if she will have him start rehab with Fred. He has been putting Fred on a lot and practicing a little. He still isn't weight barring so hopefully when he does there won't be any blisters!

So anyway, if you have Words with Friends, feel free to play him. I keep telling him these games take a week or so to play but he plays right away :) What else is there to do?!? Also, if you know any fun games I can put on the iPad, email them my way! Have a great week everyone!

More Doctor Visits

Dad went to the prothestic doctor today. He was allowed to take Fred home last week just to put the leg on and to wear it around for a few hours at a time. He isn't allowed to put much weight on it but he has been practicing standing a little here and there. He didn't get a blister from the leg being on so we are hoping that his skin is getting tougher. Hopefully when he puts full weight on it again it won't blister. Dave, Kelly, Jeff, and Cindy all came in town this weekend to visit since it was a long weekend. Dad was in great spirits.

Jack, Dave's littlest guy, relaxing

Dad putting Fred on

I went to Dobb's to get my car worked on and my old boss let Chase and I have some fun with some tires

Chase helping Grandpa taking Fred off. Jack watching as his big brother pulls really hard!

Just realized

After talking with people and them wondering what the accident was like, I don't think I ever put up a picture of dad's car. So here are some pics that I forgot to upload through out this process. There is one more of the actual picture of dad's leg the day of the accident but I have to check with dad before I put that up. It is a crazy picture.

Kind of blury but funny when we all had to wear these outfits due to the MRSA infection

Dad's car

Always be thankful for family

Sadly, we went to MN last week for Uncle Ron's funeral but on the flip side, it was great to see everyone. Dad was in wonderful spirits being around his family. We never got up to MN because dad always had to work and only got vacation time in the winter. The winters in MN are usually bad so we never drove up. But now that dad is "retired", we will be able to get up there more often. It was wonderful to see how happy he was and how much fun we all had even given the circumstances. It was great seeing family and for me, meeting family I only met when I was little. Now I can officially put faces with names that I have always heard so much about! It was also great to hear how many people this blog helped stay updated. I mainly wrote it hoping his brothers and sisters would follow it and found out many of my cousins have been checking up on him through here. Thank you, as always, for the support!

Dad has been working hard to wear parts of "Fred" So that way his leg will be ready in March. I just hope the blood thinners don't keep him from getting to wear Fred around. We will keep saying our prayers. Grandma was in the hospital over Christmas and then went to rehab. She is back at home with Aunt Nancy and has day nurses to help her.

After this week and Uncle Ron's passing, it always serves as a reminder to always feel blessed for who you have in your life and around you. Our prayers go out to the family and know that we are always here to support you!