It's hard to believe, but one year ago today, I was being rolled into surgery for the first time in my life. I had dislocated my shoulder in a crazy accident, which is a lot more painful than it looks like in the movies. My labrum was torn, and what started out as a fun trip on our longboards to get frozen yogurt turned into a few very, very difficult months. You can read about it here, here, and here.
Call me dramatic (and I know I am), but I remember thinking about all that could happen during surgery. I remember having a brief panicked moment where I realized that people can die on the operating table, and what if I was one of those people?! Thankfully, my surgeon was incredibly skilled, and the outcome was as good as he could have expected.
A year later, I can do about 90% of what I used to. I can carry things, I can move my arm in almost every direction I could before, and my shoulder generally doesn't hurt. While I do have more limits than I used to, overall I am truly thankful and amazed at how far I have come.
The biggest thing Nathan and I learned in the last year is that even during life's interruptions, everything carries on. There were 2 months in 2014 where I couldn't even dress myself, let alone cook, clean, or do anything else, and yet here I am. I survived, and now it is all becoming a memory to me. That time was also so important, because it was the first time in our marriage that Nathan and I started to seriously consider having a family.
And that, friends, brings us to today. So here's the big (or going to be big one day!) announcement: Nathan and I have started the process of adopting a child! We are extremely excited, and nervous, and a lot of other emotions. We are still VERY early on in the process - meaning we haven't even decided on an agency, the state, etc. We just know that we are going down that path, and are starting to make calls and attend meetings, after doing a good bit of initial research!
I was going to wait just a little longer to talk about this, but here's where I need your help. If you are the praying type, then pray us up! Any and all prayers are so appreciated, and mean so much to us. And if you have ANY experience with adopting, fostering, or anything else - we need you! We welcome advice on how to do all this, because right now it definitely all seems a little daunting. So please shoot me an email (mariagracephotography@gmail.com) if you have any words of wisdom!
Whew. So there it is. Thanks for sticking with me not just through this blog, but through the last months and years if you've been reading for awhile. While I want this to firmly remain a photography blog, I do want to keep you updated on my life, the adoption process, and everything else going on. So expect some regular updates!
Thank you again for your prayers and your support. We can't wait to see what the future holds!
