Ok, Woo!!! I'm finally trying to get back into the swing of things after a long holiday hiatus!!! To to give you the short story of it... our family all live out of town, so we always go trompling all over creation during the holidays so we can see everyone... it all starts with a trip to Paducah, KY the week before Christmas, then back to Knoxville, TN for the real deal, then off to Middletown, DE for the week after Christmas.... well, then this is where things got a little chaotic... 2 days after we got back home from Delaware, I found out my dad had to have emergency open heart surgery, so I hopped back in my car (by the way, we DROVE to all of those previous destinations I mentioned) and drove up to Nashville to catch a direct flight to Phili since that was quicker and cheaper than getting a last minute flight out of Knoxville (where there are NO direct flights to ANYWHERE!! note:that may be just a slight exageration) so the family is very nervous about how this open heart surgery is going to go, but 4 bypasses later, my dad is good to go!! :) SO! I fly back to Nashville, then drive back to Knoxville, where we are getting a nice little wintery mix mess and about 20 cars are parked at the bottom of our subdivision because every time someone tries to go up our big hill at the entrance, they are playing ping pong with the parked cars on the side of the road as they slide back down. Well, by golly, my neighbors warned me, but I had 4 wheel drive and I had a big suitcase of stuff that needed washing so that I could repack to leave again the next morning.... yes, I said the NEXT MORNING!!!! We had a planned trip to Disney... a bunch of family, including hubby, were running the Disney Marathon.. (most of them 1st time runners of a full marathon)... they all did GREAT... then we stayed for the week for a very rare family vacation at Disney with a bunch of my uncles, aunts and cousins... great, great time!!!! Started off VERY cold, but warmed up by the end of the week... and had a blast! Even got to stop in Macon, GA on the way home to see one of Alex's oldest and best buddies from Preschool, Peyton and her family... great visit there too (although ended with Alex yacking all over their couch... ummm, that part, not so good!)
And so, believe it or not, thats the short of it.... we are back now... trying to get our heads back into reality again... catching up on things we missed or fell behind on while gone for so long (like taking down the Christmas decorations... eek!! we are thinking about just leaving them up 'til next year... its only 10 more months until they have to go back up!!! ha! just kidding neighbors!!! :) Not to mention I am chomping at the bit to get started on these Spring skirts... its been a killer to have my fabrics for 3 weeks now and not be able to do anything with them... so this week is the week... yippeeeeeee!!!!!
Meanwhile, my heart continues to circle back around to a couple things... The Restaino's.. a family of a guy, Mike, I used to work with at Goody's Corp... they just lost a son to cancer... Diane, the mom has been journaling her daily thoughts at www.caringbridge.org/visit/joerestaino Im not sure why this one hits my heart so hard.. I wasnt very close to Mike... and people die of cancer all the time... but this is a good family... a really good family... and Diane's words are so touching and graceful in her journal... you just cant help but extend your heart out... I just cant imagine. And then there's the Haiti earthquake... and our close friends have direct ties to an orphanage over there... some of them were in the middle of adopting some of the girls... one of the girls died in the quake... I think they are trying to get the rest of them over here to Knoxville until things calm down and improve over there... I pray that all goes well.... and my heart goes out to the family who lost the little girl... again, I just cant imagine. And then there's a little 6 year old boy from our Sunday School group at church... John Henry... another sweet, sweet family... they found a 5lb cancerous tumor in his abdomen that they just had to surgically remove... last I heard, tests were being done to make sure it had not spread... again, I just can't imagine. Maybe it's because these are our children... and being a mom of an 8 year old daughter... well, again, I just cant imagine.
Now, I did not intend to leave this 1st post of the year depressing everyone... but I needed to share whats been weighing heavy on my mind... but it sure does make me give extra thanks for my family and the blessings we have been given... I seem to have that little whisper that stays in the back of my head... "my time will come... of something tragic... that will test my faith... test my strength.... please God, help me when that time comes" I think my biggest fear (as it is for most mothers I think) is for my child to pass before my time.... so today, I suggest we all give our children an extra tight squeaze at the end of the day... tell them how much we love them... and celebrate their life... what better time to do this, than today? Hugs to you'all.... have a wonderful week!
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