the Best CHRISTmas gift this year...

Well, we are blessed! The past couple of weeks have seen our oldest, Rae Ann, and her husband, Bob, move into their brand new home in Mooresville, NC.

Our youngest, Jaime, and her husband have both been involved in accidents which could have been deadly, but saw no one injured. Jeff had a woman run a stop and his car was totalled. Jaime had a deer come out from behind an oncoming car and was not able to stop with the deer one foot in front of her new car. The entire family was in the car, so God had his protective arms around all of them.

And, our middle, Becky, is recovering splendidly from her 2nd back surgery. She is able to do what most of us take for granted in terms of taking care of our minimal daily needs. She must still have help showering below the waist. She had weined herself off her pain med almost entirely, except for perhaps one in the evening if she had really overdone that day. She is bored to tears. But, it is amazing how well she is recovering compared to the first surgery, even though this one was so much more intensive. Also amazing how well a person can recover when the surgeons do their job right and don't place one of the screws into a nerve and secure the hardware properly.

And this brings me to my best CHRISTmas gift this year--I was able to come home to MI on the 23rd to spend CHRISTmas with my parents and siblings and Jaime/Jeff/Raven/Chase/ Maddie and Ray and his Mom. I had told Becky when surgery was discussed early in October that I really hoped everyone got on the ball so I could be home for CHRISTmas. One of the biggest hold-ups was getting the Army to release Jay to come home. First he was granted the 2-week leave and then he was granted another 30-day leave, but on Friday the 21st he received a call that his command in Afghanistan expected him back there the day after CHRISTmas. He spend the remainder of the day on post and was able to get that changed to Jan. 8. What a blessing to know Becky is doing so well that I felt comfortable leaving her with Jay and the kids. Hee Hee Hee! It is a blessing to have Jay home for CHRISTmas with his family. The kids are in Heaven! Please pray that Jay will be able to stay through the 120 days the doctor has requested to help Becky with her recovery and his children with their needs.

May God bless all of you as He has blessed us this CHRISTmas season!