it has come to an end...

Well the journey has come to an end. I won't lie it has been a long one. I am certain the officer nor I would have come out of unscathed unless people had not prayed for us.

The journey started over 10 weeks ago. As soon as I heard the news the officer had torn the ligament in his hand I knew we would need prayer. It was going to be a long process. He was going to have the surgery, 2 weeks in a splint, 4 weeks in a cast, and then despite what the officer had heard/wanted/desperately desired 8 weeks of physical therapy.

It started 10 weeks ago with the surgery. That in and of itself went great. We have a big thanks to my mom for watching the kids so the officer could come home and rest.

I am pretty sure I already posted these pictures of the officer in one of the other posts, but he's so cute I need to post them again.

It was hard for the officer to have the splint. There was quite a bit of pain and the splint didn't make him feel as secure as the cast did that he wouldn't tweak his thumb accident. The first week or so we did pretty good. He was very relieved to get the cast on. He chose bright orange for his favorite college team - the OSU cowboys. He had wanted to put a big OSU on the front of the cast. However, he just ended up letting the kids draw all over the cast.

The time with the cast is when I didn't do so great.

I'm not going lie, it was hard sometimes. I did not keep my patience. There were a few eyes rolls. There were several huffy breathes. There might even been some things done begrudgingly. Please don't ask the officer. He'll try to say something nice, but really I failed miserably. :( Good thing the officer is forgiving. He pretty much is the one who always apologizes first. He doesn't hold grudges, like I do.

Finally, he got his cast off four weeks ago. The doctor told him he would have to do 8 weeks of physical therapy. Did the officer listen? No. When the physical therapist told him what exercises to do at home, he did them. Religiously. He always has his stress ball with him everywhere he goes, so he can work his hand.

He went back to the physical therapist on Tuesday. The physical therapist said he looked "GREAT!" He signed a note saying he looked "great" so the officer could give it to the doctor. He went to the doctor Wednesday morning, and the doctor cleared him to go back to work. He went straight from the doctor's office to the gun range to qualify. Of course, he did great.

Only the officer would turn 8 weeks of physical therapy into 4. Well that's not exactly true, he will continue to go to physical therapy to work on the dexterity of his thumb, but he is back at work.

Last night we ate at one our favorite places, Earls, to celebrate.

The french fry is supposed to be a bull ring.

a happy officer

Today was the officer's first official day back at work and.... He loved it.

So .... thank you to Ken, Brandon, Mike, Josh, and Ray for mowing our lawn. Thank you Mom and Grandma with the Sunglasses for watching the kids so we have an occasional lunch date. Thank you Jill for listening to me. Thank you to all my friends and family who prayed for us.

Mostly thank you God for putting your hand of protection on the officer when he crashed that he wasn't hurt more. Thank you God for healing the officer's hand quickly and correctly. Thank you God for always providing for us just when we needed it. Isn't it amazing how God does that?