I Believe

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I believe…

... that Jesus died on the cross for my sins
…that a hot cup of coffee tastes much better when someone else makes it
…that there is a reason I am here, that my actions can make a difference
…in the power of our words and their impact, regardless if spoken or written
…in forgiveness, especially to those who you do not want to forgive
…in first impressions, they are important
…that our families are of ultimate importance
…in believing there is only one Higher Power and it's Jesus Christ
…in true love and that it can be both pragmatic and romantic
…that life is too short not to enjoy it
…in being honest, trustworthy and accountable
…in the power of shared prayers each morning
…in order to be true to others, one must be true to themselves
…that everyone needs to relax and let loose occasionally
…that what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger
…in quiet time alone doing whatever I enjoy
…in the joys from snuggling and cuddling
…that if it is meant to be it will be, in time
…that reading is the access to other worlds
…that everyone deserves a second chance
…in the power of intuition, it’s rarely wrong
…in do unto others, as you would have others do unto you
…that bonds of love can be just as strong as blood ties
…in giving for the sake of giving, because it’s the right thing to do
…that trust can be broken by one small lie at a time
…that most hurts can be mended with sincere apologies
…that the power of prayer is the strongest thing on earth
…that a good night sleep is restoring
…in a good cry, and a brief pity party are needed at times to help heal
…in letting go of old pains, and remembering only the good times
…in time spent staring into the ocean waves is good therapy
…in love at first sight and that it can last a lifetime
…that life is all about what you make it
…in apologizing when wrong, and not being stubborn about it
…that we are stronger as one than we are apart
…that we hurt when the one we love is hurting
...that time spent with children can change your view of the world
…that miracles happen every minute each day
…that my daily quiet time with God is very important
…in having good days if you want them bad enough
…in the strength of women who are true friends
…in weekly date nights to keep romance alive
…in meaning what you say, and saying what you mean
…in tender romantic kisses with the one you love for no special reason
…in picking myself up again whenever I fall down and starting over
…in never forgetting where you came from
…that with time all wounds can be healed, no matter how deep
…in long hot bubble baths no matter how old we get
…in being honorable, our name is something we should take pride in
…that laughter is one of the best medicines
…in genuine unconditional love

What do you believe in?

Contagious Attitudes

Something became evident to me during a lunch date with several girlfriends. Within minutes I became aware of something really important that I need to pay more attention to. I witnessed firsthand just how contagious our attitudes really are, and how they can greatly affect and influence those around us. Regardless if they are positive or negative, they are infectious.

Have you ever noticed when you are in a cheerful mood and watch a depressing movie, listen to a few sad songs, or spend time with a difficult person (you know the type) that you soon begin to feel your emotions shifting and you start to feel unhappy? Or those times when you’re feeling gloomy and you surround yourself with cheerful music, or positive, happy people, soon you are unexpectedly uplifted and your sad mood lightens. I saw this happen just by the few words that were spoken and how suddenly the frames of minds of many were changed.

This happens to me sometimes too; my good mood can get dragged down rather quickly especially after being around someone who is down and out and being pessimistic. This is why I don’t like to write entries that are unenthusiastic in my blog. I want this to be a place where I can be encouraging and positive, yet vent if I feel the urge to do so.

I asked myself today if I really listened and paid attention to the way I speak. Do you lift others up, or are you snappy with your words? I realize that I have been guilty of doing both at times.

What drove this point home to me was reading the words ---for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks - Matthew 12:34. What attitude do your words reflect? It’s true that what comes out of our mouths has to do with the condition of our hearts and I want others to know what is truly in my heart by my words and attitudes.

I am going to avoid the sad songs, depressing movies, and wasting my time with negative people. Instead, I am going to load my iPod with upbeat, praise and worship songs, surround myself with only positive people, and pay closer attention to my words.

In light of all the storms and trials that are happening in our family, after spending time this week with my funny son and inspiring husband who are always joking around how can I possibly be sad?

The Knot Prayer

Dear God,
Please untie the knots
that are in my mind,
my heart and my life.
Remove the have nots,
the can nots and the do nots
that I have in my mind.

Erase the will nots,
may nots, and
might nots that find
a home in my heart.

Release me from the could nots,
would nots and
should nots that obstruct my life.

And most of all, dear God,
I ask that you remove from my mind
my heart and my life all of the am nots
that I have allowed to hold me back,
especially the thought
that I am not good enough.

Amen.

Author Anonymous

Storm Chasers

Storm chasing meteorologists astound me at the risks they are willing to take tracking hazardous weather phenomena. They do this to keep the public informed and warned of impending dangers while doing their jobs.

Being raised in the Deep South, I am familiar with the usual springtime tornado seasons. I learned quickly to pay close attention to weather conditions, and seek shelter whenever imminent storm warnings were issued. Today we woke up startled by the sounds of the wailing civil defense sirens and immediately began to take necessary precautions.

Our eyes were glued to the television for the continuous updates as surrounding communities received major damage and deaths. Funnel clouds were spotted nearby and developed into multiple twisters with torrential downpours, high winds, constant loud claps of thunder, and streaks of lightening seen dancing and lighting up the darkened skies.

Today brought back reminders of another frightening situation we experienced last weekend when my husband and I were caught in the mist of another killer tornado. I was driving down the highway when unexpectedly we heard the warning sirens of a looming tornado. Immediately I drove to the nearest building, where we took cover inside a department store until it was safe to leave. From the storefront windows many watched as the skies grew darker and the swirling winds increased and howled louder as it intensified.

That particular tornado was an F-4 with winds of 170 mph that killed 10 people in Yazoo and Choctaw County, MS. Hundreds others were left homeless and numerous buildings were demolished into toothpick splinters as its strength ripped a path of deadly destruction.

I was terrified and was earnestly praying, and reciting Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid I will trust in him.

Without any doubt it was by God’s protective hand covering us that we were unharmed as the tornado’s path changed directions right before it got to us and we were spared any harm.

Not all storms in life are weather related. I know that God is always present, safeguarding and bringing us through these trials when we head the warnings and turn to seek shelter in him through prayer.

In many Bible verses, we see repeatedly that God is there lovingly providing refuge for us regardless of what type of storms we are facing, if we will only trust in him. I have found that God is the ultimate storm chaser for all of my life’s storms, and he wants to be yours too if you will let him.

An answered prayer -- Liver Transplant

I have so much to write about as my beloved husband has received a

         God-size miracle

and received a life saving liver transplant on March 14, 2010.

We're on cloud nine praising God for our many answered prayers. Eric is still in Intensive Care and doing exceedingly well all things considering.

One day I will write more about this, but for now I want to spend every minute with him cherishing every second of this new life together that we've been given.

We want to respect the anonymous donor's family who gave the precious gift of life to my husband and are now grieving the loss of their loved one. We will be eternally grateful to them for this life saving gift. I pray for peace and comfort to this family.

I just wanted everyone to know Eric is doing amazingly well today.

Dazed and Confused

I’ve recently learned all the difference that a just few minutes and hours can make in someone’s life. Today as I sat by my husband's hospital bedside I am so grateful he is alive as I am reminded I could have easily lost him due to serious complications from the terminal liver disease he suffers from.

Eric had slept in later than usual, and I had difficulty trying to wake him. When he did, I notice he wasn’t his usual cheerful self instead he was in a very odd mood, doing things he typically wouldn’t normally do, and saying phrases that didn’t make any sense. That was another warning sign something was just off.

Within minutes, I detected his whole demeanor was very strange, and immediately began suspecting that he was having complications from hepatic encephalopathy causing this behavior. This can happen when your ammonia levels get too high, and the bloodstream isn’t filtering out the poisonous toxins, and they go directly to your brain. I had previously learned about this dangerous condition, and knew to be observant for any symptoms as this.

Eric kept insisting he was ok, but was just extremely sleepy. A few minutes passed and he was becoming more lethargic, and his speech was slurred. Suddenly he wasn’t oriented, and couldn’t remember my name, the correct date, year or even his whereabouts.

I made an emergency call for help right then and starting praying.

A few minutes later we arrived at the Emergency Department at the hospital where an EKG revealed bradycardia, as his heart rate was beating erratically and abnormally low at only 35--39 per minute (the doctor wanted it at a minimum of 80) and his oxygen levels were dangerously low at 84. At times he had low blood pressure along with shallow respirations. As suspected his lab work confirmed that his ammonia levels were highly elevated. Below is a photo of his monitor readings.


The doctors were getting concerned as Eric was getting worse by the minute and becoming more unresponsive. Within seconds; the medical staff began working on him trying to increase his heart rate, oxygen levels, and blood pressure. I could see Eric was fading fast, and for seven long hours he was completely oblivious to the world around him.

His two doctors said they feared Eric could fall into a hepatic coma as his failing liver could not filter his blood. One explained that most patients who went into a hepatic coma did not wake up, and would not survive. He explained that at this time Eric was too sick to survive a transplant should one become available. Witnessing this was frightening, and my heart broke seeing Eric being attached to the many machines, tubes and wires but I knew they were helping him live.

I was so thankful for my cell phone, and for having friends and family members calling, texting me, while others on facebook were starting prayer chains supporting us, and keeping me sane during this difficult time. My family members were over three hours away, and I felt so weak and helpless, but was comforted by remembering 2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Even though he was non-responsive, I sat by his side holding his hand, whispering to him begging him to fight, to pull through this and praying for him. By the God's grace he did.

I am humbled and grateful for answered prayers as today. He is awake and alert. His MELD scores have increased from 17 to 22, therefore raising him higher on the transplant waiting list, hopefully getting closer to a transplant. We were visited by two additional transplant surgeons who explained more about what we can expect in the future.

I know it’s truly by God’s mercy that Eric is alive today. It’s been emotionally draining, and physically exhausting past few days. We’re counting our blessing and not taking a single day we have for granted. Make sure you tell your loved ones how much you love them today, as life is so fragile and you may not have the opportunity tomorrow. We are learning this first hand.

Most importantly we know that God answers prayers in our darkest hours and he is always there waiting for us to come to him.

Special Surprise on Christmas Eve

Christmas was extraordinarily special this year for us thanks to an unexpected surprise my romantic husband had for us.

Unexpectedly once again Eric re-proposed to me on Christmas Eve and said he wanted us to renew our wedding vows. With only us in a private ceremony at home, we prayed together and with tears streaming down both of our faces, we reread our original wedding vows to one another making a few changes by adding more promises to them. We then exchanged our wedding bands again. (photo of mine is below). We both agreed it was a very special time for us.



It's memorable moments like this that made the holidays this year even more memorable. A time for new beginnings. And most importantly remembering what the real meaning of Christmas is, and celebrating Jesus's birth.

We have been through so many personal trials this past year and with God's help, we’re determined this year is going to be our very best in our lives and in our marriage. It was exactly what we needed, and I am so happy Eric thought of this idea.

We spent a wonderful Christmas Day with my whole family. The food, family fellowship, and the laughter from playing board games were something I will cherish forever. We missed being with Eric's son's and their families who live in PA, otherwise our holiday would have been perfect if we had all been able to be together. But thankfully we were able to talk by phone with them.

Fast forwarding to today, so far it’s been four days into the New Year, and I can not imagine what obstacles we’re going to overcome together this year and the amazing adventures we are going to have. I just know we'll do it with God's help.

I truly believe that we’re going to get the miracle of Eric receiving a liver transplant in 2010 that we’ve been praying for. We’re holding on to our faith, and believing this is really going to happen soon.

Eric's surgeon has requested that he lose 50 lbs, and so far he’s lost over 25lbs in just a few short weeks. We’ve been going to the fitness center working out on the treadmill whenever Eric is able. It feels good to get back into the habit of exercising again, and we’re both looking forward to being able to play golf again, going canoeing, and doing all the things that we’ve missed and want to learn how to do together.

Yeah, 2010 is going to be our best year ever. We have faith!

Opened Doors

To try to sum up the recent events, our lives have been a roller coaster ride these past few months. We know for certain that God works in mysterious ways. He’s opened doors that only He could have for us. We are living proof of this.

Eric’s health has steadily been getting worse over time and his physicians told us in January 2009 they believed because of the stage of his disease he had approximately 18 months left to live and the clock was ticking.

We knew that at our hospital in Philadelphia, Pa there were over 500 patients on their transplant list and over 250 patients with Eric’s O+ blood type ahead of him. And his specialist explained they would never be able to get him a transplant in time, and for us to consider options of other hospitals as they did less than 100 transplants a year.

I was not going to give up on my husband’s life that easily. We prayed about it asking God for guidance and to show us what to do. We were clueless how to do this. There were so many questions that we were concerned about, like what would we do with our home, Eric’s work, our children, and grandsons who lived nearby.

After discussing it I contacted Aetna and found other transplant hospitals they were contracted with and I began my intense homework of delving into each transplant center’s statistics, reputations, and best patient survival rates.

It was during this research I found out about the Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute in Memphis. I found it was nationally recognized for its outstanding work and was listed as a center of excellence with Aetna. Once again I started making numerous phone calls to our insurance company, the doctors, and finance department and made the arrangements for Eric to be evaluated in Memphis.




If this hospital was good enough for Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs then it would be good enough for us. So I made an appointment for Eric to be seen by Steve Job's surgeon.

Immediately his current specialist helped by staying on the phone all day making phone calls personally. We made the 10 day trip down to Memphis to meet with the specialist and after tons of tests each day, the doctors gave us the thumbs up that they could help. This was sweet music to our ears, such a huge blessing!

His physician in PA has since transferred Eric's health care to the transplant center in Memphis where we’re expecting for him to get listed soon for a liver transplant hopefully within the next few months if all goes well. His MELD score (blood tests) have took a huge jump in the past two weeks, and this isn’t good news. It is good in the one sense that it moves him higher up the transplant list, --- but it also means he’s getting worse. Time will only tell. But we have faith.

Once again God has answered prayers, and opened a lot of doors for us that we could not have done on our own. Within one months time Eric has officially retired, we have put our home on the market for sale and had numerous friends and family helped us packed up our belongings, rented a 26’ moving truck and moved 1,000 miles way on Thanksgiving Day from Pennsylvania to Mississippi. The best part is that we’re now living only three short hours away from my whole family instead of 18 long hours away and can see them often.

Moving was bittersweet, saying many tearful goodbyes to all of our friends, church family, and leaving our other family members was heart wrenching, especially to leave our two grandsons five-year old Zachary and six -month old Owen. That broke our hearts leaving those two boys.

There have been so many highs and lows we’ve experienced this past year, and it’s brought us closer together and we are celebrating every day we are given. We have so much to be thankful for, and I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving.

The Sweetest Gift

If someone asked you, what was one of the kindest, most thoughtful things that anyone has ever done for you that you have never forgotten, what would come to your mind?

A memory of this came to me as I was going through the contents a box of items I had stored away, I began reminiscing through the memories years ago, and a treasured reminder came back to me.

As a timid child, in the first grade my teacher was Mrs. Nicholson. She made it a point to assign each of her student's seats in the classroom alphabetically. My seat was the last one on the last row in the very back of the class, and her rule was there would be no changing of seats.

Our art and coloring activities time were immediately after lunch each day. Mrs. Nicholson would call us forward, row-by-row one at a time to select our crayons of choice from the large plastic gallon ice cream bucket that served as a communal crayon container. Because of the appointed seating arrangements, I was always almost the last child to choose mine.

Imagine the disappointment day after day when I selected my crayons knowing those of us who were the last in line only got the leftover broken crayons, while those who went before us always got the better ones. It hardly seemed fair and I felt deprived. I asked our teacher if she would consider reversing this order to let the last row go first occasionally but she held steadfast to her strict way of doing things, and wouldn't budge at my suggestion.

I soon began disliking coloring class because I never got my favorite colors, which were shades of midnight blue or navy blue. The only blue crayons I ever got lucky enough to pick out were short nubs, broken ones with the paper peeled off them. I managed to pick out the best I could of any leftovers blue ones. Blue was my favorite color back then, and still is today.



About thirty-five years later I received an unexpected package in the mail and as I began to unwrap it I was surprised to find huge boxes of crayons-- hundreds of crayons. I thought to myself, what will I ever do with all of these crayons. It was when I opened up the individual boxes the tears flooded my eyes, inside of each box revealed only blue crayons -- not another color -- only beautiful, brand new, never used perfect blue crayons with the wrappers still intact.

How my heart sang at 41 years old to receive this thoughtful gift, and read the touching letter that was enclosed. Surely no one else in the world could ever relate to this special gift.

Years earlier, I had told my then fiancé about the story about me disliking to color in elementary school, and he remembered this and took it upon himself to make sure I would never have to use another ugly broken blue crayon ever again. My sweet Eric went out of his way to buy up tons of crayons and hand pick out all of the blue ones to give to me.

When I asked him what he did with all of the other crayons, he laughed and replied, "I gave them to a daycare center, and apologized because there were no blue crayons in the boxes".


That was one of the sweetest, most romantic things anyone has ever done for me. I will cherish his kindness forever. Even today, when we take our grandson with us out to eat at restaurants and Zachary is given crayons and paper to play with while waiting for our food, Eric sometimes will reserve the pretty blue crayons just for me to save.

I can never look at another blue crayons again without remembering this precious memory of all those beautiful new blue colors my wonderful husband gave to me many years ago.

Singing with Delirious

My life as of lately has been somewhat chaotic, and filled with multiple hurdles to overcome. I haven’t wanted to chronicle all of the tremendous negative emotions I have been experiencing, instead I chose not to write anything.

I won’t bore you with details of the past few weeks suffice to say it’s been filled with doctor appointments, my extended 8-day hospital stay, and numerous obstacles with the Transplant center instead I want to focus on how good God is and the more positive things that have happened.

Eric and I were blessed to go to a Christian Conference again, and we thoroughly enjoyed the messages taught. We left with our souls refreshed, and with our faith increased. Even through all of our trials, we both know that God is Sovereign and will see us through this.


We sang along with the Christian praise and worship group Delirious? with lead singer Martin Smith. This group is incredible. We were blessed to be sitting on the sixth row, and was very close to the stage. It was so exciting. This was the eighth time we've seen them.

Over the past few weeks Eric has had his share of ups and downs, and when he felt up to it, he has been busy working on his novel. I can’t wait to read his final draft, and see it finally published. It’s quite interesting.

Now that our summer is winding down Autumn will soon be upon us and we will be enjoying the beautiful colors of the fall foliage and all the many daily blessings we receive.

Battlefield of the Mind

A recent event caused me to take a step back and re-evaluate things as I had perceived them. My thoughts had been mentally distorted about a particular matter. I was negatively thinking with my emotions about a burden and wasn’t able to be open-minded.

It’s so easy to lose yourself to cynical thoughts and have poor perception about things when your life is filled with chaos, anxiety and a lot of uncertainty. Yet, as a Christian, I know that I should leave all my burdens in God’s hands. When will I ever learn God sees the big picture, and that His timing is always perfect?

It’s when I am feeling helpless in the middle of a trial and facing difficult situations that I tend to ask, "Why Lord? Why are You allowing this to happen?" God doesn’t mind me questioning, He understands my fears.

It’s fair to say I should not be worrying about the future, but rather focusing more on the present. Regardless of the situation, I have repeatedly seen God's gracious, protecting, and loving hand working in each and every circumstance I have encountered in my life. He isn’t going to change today. He remains the same, and will always be there for me, I can depend on Him. God has demonstrated to me over and over again that His way is the best way, even though I can’t always see it.

I had been praying about this particular issue when I got a gentle reminder from God revealing His truth to me, opening my eyes. He knows what is best for us, and immediately upon acknowledging His truths, I felt a shift in my attitude and my thoughts completely changed and I was able to see things clearer and felt a calming peace about my burden.

This is the times that I can tell I am growing in my spiritual walk, this reminds me that I need to be constantly re-evaluating things in my life, and I pray I never stop doing this.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Odd things happening at home

No much to report today, other than there is never a dull moment around our home -- only a dull looking flower bed now.



We live in a suburban area that is inundated with groundhogs and Whitetail deer and it’s not uncommon to see them in walking through our yard late in the evenings year round, more especially in the wintertime.

Never have we experienced a problem with either of them until recently. I have found evidence of hoof marks inside my now flowerless flower bed. The deer have obviously visited our yard during the night and had a feast from all of my flowers as a midnight snack.



All of my beautiful stargazer lilies blooms are now gone, nibbled up, with only stems remaining. I salvaged the last few blooms and put them in a vase on my table so that we could get a little enjoyment out of them. Other foliage has been torn and my azalea blooms and buds stripped, gnawed and sampled.





The deer completely ignored the green plants that I wasn’t fond of, leaving everything appearing as if it was all shrubs and weeds now.



...................................................................................

Something strange happened the other night. My son Adam was over for dinner, and as he was helping me set the table with the dinnerware, he also lit a candle as he knows we sometimes enjoy having candlelight with dinner.

Within minutes the three of us were eating and sharing conversation, when unexpectedly the overhead light went out leaving us with a dim flame produced by the burning candle. Our first thoughts were that the power was going out, but then we noticed the lights over the island bar a few feet away were still on.

Within two minutes the lights came back on again. We were all intrigued by this and discussed how odd that only one set of the light fixtures in the kitchen went out and then... it happened a second time.

This time we were laughing at how eerie this was. Of all the lights in the house that were on at that particular time, the only one to go off was the one that was above our heads.

Do you ever have problems with animals in your yard, or strange things happening in your home?

My Birthday

It seems the older we get our birthdays tend to come around much quicker than when we were young children and we were looking forward to them. I feel blessed to have been given another year. I was never one who needed a big birthday party to celebrate, instead I prefer the quieter times doing things with my loved ones to make my day to feel special.

Eric has made sure that my birthday has been a fun day for me. The day started out with phone calls with birthday wishes from several family members, and friends. Later my oldest son, Adam and Eric took me out to lunch where we all stuffed ourselves, and I enjoyed a slice of delicious chocolate cake.

After returning home to open my cards and gifts of a pretty bracelet, a nice wall plaque, and two books, Eric and I spent the whole day at two places that we love to visit. The Chester waterfront is located underneath the Commodore Barry Bridge and the other is Bartram’s Covered Bridge. Coincidentally on the day we got engaged we visited both of these places, so there are lots of great memories for us at these places.







The scene of the waterfront is now changing as a new Major League Soccer stadium for both the men and women’s teams is being built on the grounds and much of the former park area and many of the trees have now been removed. The existing boat landing, short boardwalk and fishing pier and places to picnic will remain. We enjoyed strolling along the waterfront spending time on the pier watching the numerous boats go by and children playing.



Bartram’s Covered Bridge is another very special place to us for several reasons mostly because that is where Eric proposed during a romantic summer picnic. This place is hidden off the main path, and it's a picturesque setting complete with an uninterrupted creek flowing underneath the bridge that travels downstream for miles. We have spent many hours talking while having picnics and skipping rocks across the brook while making plans for our future. We love this place so much we have a photo of it above our fireplace mantel.



I think all couples have “their own special place” they like to call theirs and visit frequently. Where are some of your special places?



Doing the simplest things with those I love at memorable places make the best memories on special days for me. I am already looking forward to turning 50 next year.

Special doctors and hospitals

Do you have confidence in your health care team?

Having trust in your physicians can make all the difference in your recovery as you should be partners in your treatments especially when you have a chronic medical condition. We have been blessed with have a special team of doctors, and an excellent hospital treating Eric.

Eric had an appointment today with his main Hepatologist at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). His doctor gave us some much needed encouragement and some good advice for his complications from the cirrhosis. We felt her aggressive cutting edge expertise, and experience in the liver disease specialty field is without question. We left feeling more hopeful that we normally do. Perhaps it was due to her kind emotional support from a physician.

She gave Eric the approval to once again be able to add meat back into his diet, and hopefully with another change in his medication he will soon start to feel better. She is genuinely concerned about Eric’s condition, and has given us her private phone line to call her personally with updates on him whether he is experiencing a good day or a bad day. This only adds to our trust in her medical care.



We have every confidence in HUP, their staff, and the transplant team as they have an extraordinary reputation as a world-renowned clinical and research hospital. It was ranked as the # 8 Best Hospital in the United States out of thousands by U.S. News & World Report. HUP has a Level 1 Trauma Center and a fleet of 6 helicopters called PennSTAR used to transport critically injured patients to the hospital. It has 697 hospital beds and a team of 1,663 physicians on staff, in addition to being the nation’s first teaching hospital.

Eric’s doctors are located in the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine. It is a state-of-the-art, 500,000 square foot facility that’s attached to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania through a glass crosswalk. This outpatient center cost $302 million to build, and is very impressive.






The professionalism shown by the staff is overwhelming. The staff is especially helpful to keep families updated on patients who are having surgery as they update the boards every 20 seconds on a television monitor of the patient’s status. It reminds me of the airport terminal boards and waiting for a loved one to arrive. It shows the patient’s pre-op status, what time their procedure began and ended, what time they were moved into the recovery room, and their destination if the patient is expected to be released to either go home or if they are to be admitted. Now that's pretty cool to a small town girl like myself.



If you ever need an excellent hospital, we highly recommend this one, but be prepared the valet services are not cheap, expect to pay around $15.00 for your visit.

Falling in love again

I’ve fallen in love all over again this past week. I’m not sure exactly how or when it happened I just know that I’ve caught myself staring and smiling at my husband more than I have in a long time. Perhaps it is just from spending quality time with the one you love and this has made a difference in my attitude.

We have been dealing with Eric’s illness on a daily basis for months now, so it’s only natural for it to create some tension within our relationship. Yet, through it all it’s important we remember what our priorities are and to not lose sight of them and deal with the stress productively.

We have felt blessed as Eric has felt a little stronger, and had a little more energy than usual for an entire week. We have taken advantage of this time and were able to do several enjoyable things together that we’ve missed doing. It’s the simple physical things that we take for granted and we realize this when they are removed from our daily lives.

Some of the things we did this week, in no particular order were.

Another cookout – or as some northerners call it a BBQ with lots of good food.

On the 4th of July, the weather was absolutely perfect so we bravely decided to spend the night out under the stars since we hadn’t done this in ages. Instead of camping out in the woods in sleeping bags on the hard ground, we brought outside a mattress, bed sheets, and blankets and slept on the deck next to the burning firepit. This was my idea of roughing it.



Eric kept the fire stoked as the temperature dropped down to 58° by early morning. It was a miracle in itself there were not any annoying bugs out that night. As we lay warmly snuggled up in our covers, staring at the northern sky in search of the big dipper, we noticed the constellations of stars in view were dimly hiding behind the clouds. The noises we heard were very faint in the distance. There was a low flying jet overhead, some late night firework displays, and a barely noticeable motorcycle sound. A few crickets chirped softly nearby, singing us to sleep. It was a fun night, and we’re looking forward to doing it again, but only when it gets warmer as Eric claims.



We’ve spent several late night hours watching the first season of the China Beach series cuddled up on the couch. I never watched the show when it was originally aired, but I’ve come to enjoy this series now and I can’t wait to see how it ends.

On another night, we had the pleasure of entertaining six young men from the Christian Academy of Arts as our overnight guest. This was the second year they have stayed with us. What a blessing these talented guys were, and the play they preformed was awe inspiring.


Today was an adventuresome day as we went to the park with our 4 ½ year-old grandson Zachary, and we took our three bikes to ride on a bike trail. I’m looking forward to riding the entire distance of six miles one day soon. We couldn’t complete it today as unfortunately one of our bikes got a flat tire.


We also visited a historical site in our community of an enormous 400 + year-old Weeping Beech tree that was incredible. We never knew existed until now.

There was something very special about this week, yet I can’t seem to put my finger on it. I just know that God had his hand in it and tonight as I lay my head on my pillow I will be counting my many blessings and thanking him for my handsome, wonderful husband and the love we share in addition to the time we have to cherish together each day.

A Walk In the Park

For such a long time I have not known how to deal productively with the raw emotions that have overtaken and plagued my mind. Instead of expressing them in a positive manner, I’ve internalized and repressed them. It’s easy to do when you are faced daily with all of the unknowns and the uncertainties that occur from living with my husband’s Cirrhosis. This disease is something I will never understand.

I genuinely want to change these negative feelings and be able to vent to get them out in ways other than tears. I realize this isn’t healthy, and its taking its toll on me emotionally. I know that something has to change, I can’t continue like this. Perhaps this is why I’ve not even had the heart to blog.




It’s been an especially difficult week physically and emotionally for both of us. I have spent numerous hours in prayer seeking God's guidance.

I am grateful that today we’ve turned a corner and have been able to get out of the house, and have some fun together. Escaping the sadness and trying to temporally forget about Eric's illness was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Eric and I went out to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and spent some quality time adventuring around the park overlooking the waterfront and sightseeing. The weather was perfect as the sun was shining and a cool breeze was blowing as the sailboats sailed smoothly down the river. The view was extraordinary and relaxing.




I’m looking forward to tomorrow and the adventures in our lives it will bring.



The Ben Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia is beautiful at night time.

Pieces of me

What are some words that represents you and your life?

Go to http://www.wordle.net/ to create your own words.

A strong faith

I wonder if those two woodpeckers ever worried Noah.
I highly doubt it.

I pray that one day I will have faith as strong as Noah had.

Happy Father's Day

May each of you fathers out there have a very Happy Father's Day, and this goes for those mommies who have to be moms and dads both. You deserve an extra special day.

It is sooo me

It is sooo me. Don’t you just love the looks of my new blog? I do too. It’s soooo “me” with my pink laptop and cup of hot coffee. :-)

I have to admit, I cannot take the credit for this awesome makeover, as I am not the talented person who created it. I only selected the image that I wanted put on it. My sweet friend Danielle designed this for me.

Yep, anyone that knows me, this design fits me to the tee.