EXHALE...

Goodness, I am guessing that this is the way our lives will be. We will hold our breaths and exhale after receiving results. Fortunately, answers are as prompt as possible. Ralph went to a renal specialist who did a sonogram of his bladder and kidneys...only to order an MRI, because he wanted a clearer picture of a spot on his kidney. After a little more than a week to get approved by insurance (He had already had 2 MRIs this year.), we have news that it is a cyst. PHEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Today is a good day to CEleBRaTe LiFE! ENJoy!

One year ago...

January 12th is the day that our lives changed. Adversity brought about a lot of really positive things. We reconnected with old friends and family. We are awed and humbled by an outpouring of true concern and the desire to help by an entire community. Our nuclear family's bond strengthened. Issues and things that once mattered seem trivial. Our needs and wants are totally different. We relax. We appreciate staying at home. Sounds we once took for granted seem like music. We truly take our time to smell fragrances that were ignored. The seasons need to come and go more slowly. We no longer live for someday; rather, we enjoy now.

Ralph spends a lot of time at doctor visits and check-ups rather than at work. He also spends more time at home and with our children and me. We watch television together rather than in different rooms...we compromise. We are more considerate of one another. In the hustle and bustle of life, we had lost what is most important...we have found it again! In the back of our minds, there is a gray cloud, but for the most part, this year has been life altering and we have found peace. Praise the Lord!

2010

It was an emotional ringing in of 2010! Ralph was feeling the blessing of life and the fortune of celebrating a new year! I have been haunted, this holiday, with thoughts and feelings of the beginning of 2009. No, nothing and no one is taken for granted at our house. We talk to God a lot and give Him thanks. We are hoping for a healthy, safe, and peaceful new year for ourselves, our families, and our friends!