It was the best of times; It was the worst of times

Oh, just being a little dramatic here. :)

Dad came by yesterday (Tuesday) morning to install our brand new dishwasher (WHOO HOO!).

He had a faithful helper, and not the one I imagined would be glued to his side and talking his ear off...but she covered the former and the latter, too, all while wearing high heels and tending to her baby Emily.

See?

Presenting...the end to washing all dishes by hand, at last! (And, again, I say "WHOO HOO!")

Thank you, Dad!!

After Dad left, things went downhill quickly. I was planning on getting us out the door to go to ALDI (Dad not only installed our dishwasher, but left us with his car while he took our second car that was having problems home with him to fix it); instead, Robert talked me into playing a few minutes of pseudo-soccer (kicking the soccer ball across the yard). We kicked it back and forth a few times, and then as I readied myself for a "big" kick (obviously too big for my abilities), I felt a "pop" in my lower leg followed by tremendous, blinding pain. I limped as quickly as I could into the house, simultaneously demanding that Grace get inside the house with us, asking for an ice pack, asking for the recliner to be cleared off so I could sit down, and asking for the throw pillows to prop up my leg. Seriously, I was hurting so badly that the sounds of the children's voices were fading away softer and softer, and then suddenly I popped back to where I could hear them again.

I don't know exactly what happened, but it's nothing so serious that it required a visit to the doctor. There was absolutely no change in color in my calf--just a little swelling and a lot of pain to walk or with most movement. Today (rather, tonight) I am moving around much better, which is perfect timing considering that my hip and knee on my "good leg" were beginning to hurt from all of the hobbling around in a strange way to minimize movement on my "bad leg."

Fortunately, the kids have been very helpful with doing and fetching things for me, and have (gasp!) even been fussing less amongst themselves. Grace, however, still can't understand why she can't climb all over me with a big stack of books...I am, after all, sitting down, so why can't she climb up for story time???

Praise the Lord, wasn't it perfect timing to get a working dishwasher?