AND JUST LIKE THAT...

It’s the last day of the year.

2017 was a year of huge changes for us.
We rejoiced over Howie’s recovery and life.

We decided to do what we have been dreaming and talking about for years.
We sold our house of 29 years in two days.
We moved from a community we had been in for 35 years.

We bought a home on 2 acres.
Beautiful and quiet.
We have formed new friendships.
We have found a new normal.

2017
Wow.

I am thankful.
My goal for 2018 is to live daily in thanksgiving.

Happy New Year

MERRY CHRISTMAS

It's early in the  morning the day after Christmas and I'm sitting here in my quiet dark house.

I have loved this holiday season.
I always have loved this season.

The lights and the music and the bustle.

I love it all.

Yesterday for me was spent in the ER.
I've been a nurse for 23 years.
Of those 23 years, I have spent 19 Christmass or Christmas Eve's working.

Yesterday while I was at work, Howie took Candice and went skiing.
So different than last year when he was 1 week post Open Heart.
So different.

I thought about him all day yesterday.
I thought about all the changes this year brought to us.




















Good changes.
And I am so thankful.

We are so blessed.

Merry Christmas!

UNTIL YESTERDAY

Until yesterday I had my Fall decorations still up.

Until yesterday I had NO Christmas decorations up.

Until yesterday I had NO chocolate dipping done.

For those that know me....I try to have all of that done by the end of November.

But then........

We pulled stuff off the shelf.

Stuff that has been packed since before the move.

Things that mean so much to us.

And new things that I made to match the house we are now in.

And this tree.

Oh my goodness.

I love this tree.

It's nearly a decade old.

It was a prelit tree and gorgeous.

But after a decade of being put away and being smashed.

Not one single light worked.

So my patient sweet hubby suggested we buy a new one.

But we really love the way this one looks.

So he tore off ALL OF THE LIGHTS.

Every single one.

His poor fingers are so sore. 

It took 5 or 6 hours.

And then we strung lights on that we will take off and the end of the season.

I love this Christmas tree.

And I got my dipping done.

This is half of what is there.

I still want to make English Toffee.

But that can wait for another day.

31,565,000 HEARTBEATS

My mind has been racing over the events of a year ago.

I had just gotten to work and heard the ambulance tones go off.

CPR in progress.

Helicopter flight.

36 very tense hours of waiting.

 I was in the front of that helicopter.

Since that day.......December 6, 2016......
He's had about 31,565,000 heartbeats.
I am so very thankful for each one of them.

I am so mindful of a loving Father in Heaven that allowed him to stay with me.
I felt the presence of angels ministering to his body.
I have never prayed harder in my life for anything.
And every single prayer I had was answered.

I don't know why.
I know we are not more worthy than others who haven't had their prayers answered in such a manner, but I am so very thankful.

It made Christmas so sweet last year.

He was in the hospital for 13 days.
8 of those was before they would do bypass surgery.
They wanted his heart and brain to "cool off".

Then he had his open heart on the 14th and went home 3 days later.

His recovery is nothing less than miraculous.

And I still count the heartbeats.

THE BIG WIDE OCEAN

Today we chartered a boat that took us to an Island that is uninhabited.

It is a reserve and small groups of people are allowed at a time.

Before we got there we stopped and did some deep sea fishing.

We were able to catch 3 Mahi-mahi.

The guides told us that it is rare. Often times people never catch anything.

The ocean is huge.

Larry, Gary and Howie with their Mahi-mahi catch.

This has been an amazing experience.

I feel so small.