2011 started out with a feeling of joy, gratitude & hope. My dad had been diagnosed with prostate cancer late in 2010 which blew me away. My dad is the backbone of our family. He is always the first one you call when you need help, the first one to give spiritual advice (any advice for that matter LOL), the first to tell you when you're wrong and the first to praise you when he feels you're doing right. We clash on our ideas a lot of times but I think it's because I get my stubborness from him and I'm a lot like him. Anyway, anytime you hear cancer a million thoughts run through your head and the thought of losing my dad just shifted the world out from under me. In my mind, Dad would always be there, never going anywhere, never changing and realizing that wasn't reality took my breath for a moment. So prayerfully and wholeheartedly I started then to learn to not take family for granted and to enjoy every moment we have together. Thankfully and to God be the glory, Dad's treatment went well for the most part and was able to have surgery right before Christmas. Dad made a wonderful recovery and is now going as full speed as before.
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| Dad on Christmas morning recovering from surgery 12/2010 |
After Christmas & New Year's, life was busy as usual. Basketball season was going on so a lot of our time was spend going to watch Hannah cheer for the varsity games and watching Andrew play in the youth league on Saturdays. Of course, as always, we jump right into baseball with Andrew and tryouts with Hannah after that. During this time Bunk and Papa's health was on the decline. My mother in law was spending more and more time taking care of them. I have loved those two since Eric & I first started dating. They kept my oldest when she was little and until the end, Bunk would always say that Hannah was hers too because she helped raise her. I could never have repaid them for not only keeping her but for helping her become the person she is today. They had given her so much love and attention and also so many precious memories, I hope she never forgets them. On March 19-24, I was scheduled to go to a conference in New Orleans with my job and we had planned for Eric to go with me. Before we left, Papa was in the nursing home recovering from a fall. When we left for New Orleans he was not doing good and was taken back to the hospital where he was in ICU. He passed away around 3 AM on Thursday morning before we could get home from New Orleans late that afternoon. Two months after that, Bunk passed away. Although she had health issues too, I think it was more of a broken heart than anything. They had been together for 60 years. They left behind such a void but also a legacy of a family who will always cherish their memory.
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| Bunk and Papa always loved time with family & friends. |
Never had I thought a trip would change our lives so much but our trip to New Orleans did. This will be a trip I will NEVER forget. As busy as I am, it's hard for me to remember things and keep up with things at times and I am constantly trying to get better organized, but I'll get to that later... We rode the train to and from NO since we had never done that before. We thought it would be fun. I knew it would be a long 10 hour trip but I was prepared with reading material, snacks & a pillow. Well, I didn't count on the sickness & nausea that came with it. By the time we arrived in New Orleans I just wanted to go to bed thinking it was probably just motion sickness from the ride. Well, I ended up being nauseated the entire trip stocking up on ginger ale & crackers in between sessions. By the time we started home on Thursday the thought finally occured to me, although it still seemed far fetched, that I could be pregnant. So Friday when I spent the day in town getting everyone clothes for Papa's funeral with my sister in law, I picked up a pregnancy test. Let's just say I'm glad my sister in law was with me when I found out because I think I lost it. I had a 15 year old & 12 year old...I'm 36 years old...I can barely keep my nose above water now with our schedules... how could I be pregnant???!!! Come to find out, I was around 8 weeks pregnant at the time! Yep, 8! See where I was going with the "not keeping up with stuff" explanation? Although the news came at such a sad time, I was glad we could share some happy news with our family. Shocking, but happy. It still took me several months to adjust to the idea of a baby but as time went on I was getting more and more excited. I will do a post on Harper's birth and how her little being started a big change in my life later.
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| New Orleans March 2011 (Already looking hefty yuck!) |
We will not forget 2011 and I feel like we were blessed more than we ever deserved even with the loss of two wonderful people. I am looking forward to 2012 with anticipation and also hesitations as my oldest will be turning 16 in about a month! We already have a lot planned for the beginning of this year but I look forward to cherishing every moment. Things are still hectic & crazy around here, probably even more so now with a baby, that hasn't changed but my attitude has and I am working daily to change it for the better. My prayer for 2012 is to learn to recognize each blessing we are given, to be filled with gratitude and contentment with trials or blessings, to cherish every moment, to grow closer to God and work on making a better ME. Let's have a Happy New Year!
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