With Friends...

Amongst everything that my family is going through right now...I was able to slip away for a few hours and go to church this morning (which was well needed and wanted). Our friends Raemi and Janelle were in town for a wedding that was at our church this weekend!! It was sooo GREAT to see them. We didn't get to spend alot of time with them but we were able to go to lunch after church today!
In the picture is: Myself, Sarah, Janelle, Venita, and Raemi!
Love you guys!!

Update...

Today has been one of the most stressful and emotional days. I got a call at work this morning that my Dad's heart stopped for 8 seconds. All the Dr's and Nurses came running in there to check on him. I guess Dad was sleeping and he said that he was kinda dizzy and it was like he was trying to pull himself out of his sleep but couldn't really. Then everything was 'fine' again....and it happened again this afternoon that his heart stopped again for 7 seconds. After the second time, they decided that he was going to have to have a pacemaker put in. So he went in for surgery this evening and they installed the pacemaker. It has been so hard on me not to be able to be there with him, but thankfully all the rest of my family was there with him. I talked to Dad several times today but especially right before he went in for surgery and Dad was crying (Dad never cries)....so of course I started crying. The surgery took a little over 2 hours. They had a little trouble connecting the wire but they had no complications. So Dad is doing better. Thank God!! As of right now, if they can get him stablized...he "might" get to go home tomorrow...assuming that everything is going okay. I talked to my sister a few minutes ago (1am) and she said that the since the surgery took longer than expected that Dad felt all the tugs and pulls and everything from the surgery. He is in a lot of pain.

I also got a call this morning...they rushed my grandma (she is 89) to the Emergency Room. They have given her less than 24 hours to live. At the nursing home this morning, they let her sleep in as they sometimes do, and at 10:00 they went to wake her up and she was not responding. They rushed her to the ER...and come to find out she has bleeding on the brain, pneumonia, and 101 fever. I have been at the hospital most of the day today and she is not responding. She did open her eyes at one point but they were very glazed over. When we would talk to her, her heart rate would go up a little bit. So she knows we're there whether she can talk or respond or not.

Thank You everyone for your prayers....We can definitely feel them and feel God's love and peace wrapped around us.

Prayer Request

Late Christmas night...on my way home from St. Louis I got a call that they were taking my Dad to the Hospital. He wasn't feeling good and he had shortness of breath. He has heart issues, so it concerned us that it could be that. His blood pressure was high and his heart pulse kept going down. It had gotten down to 40. So they decided to take him in. As of today he is still in the hospital (in St. Louis). Thankfully his heart pulse numbers have gone back up...but they still aren't letting him go home until they get everything under control. When they do let him go home he has to go directly to his doctor here and he can't drive home to KC. Please pray that everything will go back to normal.

Christmas in St. Louis!

We had Christmas in St. Louis this year because my brother in law and sister couldn't get off but 1 day. We had alot of fun!! The kids were hilarious when they opened their presents! The looks were priceless! Mom and Dad weren't feeling good all day but overall we had a great time together!! I had to go back to KC on Christmas night so I could work on Wednesday...so that was a bummer. Everyone was playing games when I left. lol That night before I had to leave we went to this Winter Wonderland and it was amazing!!! It was a park and they had over 1 MILLION Christmas lights! It was AWESOME!!! Then we went to this house that was totally decked out...and the Christmas lights danced to the music on the radio!! It was awesome!!

Merry Christmas!!!

I truly LOVE Christmas!! It is one of my most FAVORITE times of the year!!! All the festivities, the lights, the SNOW, music, decorations, putting up the tree, spending time with family and friends, making memories, and everything else that goes with the season. I LOVE every minute of it!! But not only all of this...we must remember the true meaning of Christmas...Jesus Christ!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas!!!!! Love you all!

What It Meant...

Last Thursday at work, I had to make 2 Police Department runs to get some Police Reports for my job. Anytime during the Christmas Season I always try to make a point to tell people, not Happy Holidays, but 'Merry Christmas!'. Afterall, Christmas is what it is...So, after I received the police reports, I told the lady 'Thank You!' and 'Merry Christmas!' She stopped, looked at me and smiled, and said "Thank You...I think that is the first time I've heard that this year." I stopped and couldn't believe that was the first time this whole month that she has heard that. I looked at her and truly meant what I said, "I hope you have a VERY Merry Christmas!!" She smiled again and said, "Thank You...Thank You So Much!!!" And she just continued to smile and just stand there until I left.
That meant so much to me...just to think that I possibly could have made her entire day. She truly was thankful to have heard someone say "Merry Christmas!". And even more so...gave a whole new meaning to this Christmas Season.

My Birthday!!

So, I celebrated ALL weekend long!! LOL Thursday night Mom and Dad took me out to dinner to Cinzettis....one of the best Italian restaurants ever!!! It was sooo good!! :) Then Friday night after choir practice Kacey threw a party for me at her apartment! It was so much fun just getting to hang out!! I ended up staying the night with Kacey that night....and it ended up snowing alot! It was sooo beautiful!!! I loved having a WHITE birthday!! :) After ensemble practice on Saturday evening some friends and I went Ice-Skating! None of us knew how to skate but we had sooo much fun!!! Venita, Michelle, and Sarah decided they were going to embarrass the daylights out of me...they whipped out 2 different hats and told me I HAD to wear it on the rink. LOL They are insane...and no I didn't wear it! lol It was already embarrassing enough having to stand there in front of all these random people. We were laughing so hard! And yes...I fell not once, but twice! LOL It was hilarious! We were laughing so hard we couldn't hardly get up off the ice! The poor guy that worked there kept coming over asking if we were okay! haha We were literally numb by the time we left because we were on the ice for 2 1/2 hours! lol Then we went to The Cheesecake Factory afterwards...so I didn't even get home till 2:30am! lol Needless to say I only got 3 hours of sleep for church today! ha Then today, we went out to eat with a couple of friends. It's been a wonderful birthday and one I will never forget!!! Thank You to all of you that helped make it special! :) Love you all!
(You can click the "x" on the music and it will let you view the pictures more.)

Ice Storm

For the past week we have been having some crazy weather! We were iced in all last weekend. We got some snow...then it started icing and its been raining. The rain finally stopped today but the roads were pretty slippery! There are about 20,000 or more people without electricity just in the KC area....way more than that throughout the state. Here are a few pictures from today.

NYC Pictures

I finally got the NYC pictures posted!!! Sorry it has taken so long!!! To see the pictures....you will need to scroll down to the blog "Thanksgiving in New York City". There are 3 different slideshows. Have Fun!!! :)

The Perfect Winter Day...

So, this weekend was the Perfect Winter weekend...especially today. Although I was completely bummed out that they cancelled church due to all the ice. :( But...it felt so much like Christmas today. We got up and we had our annual Father/Daughters trip to the grocery store. Yep, we were there for 2 hours! LOL We usually go closer to Christmas but we're going to be in St. Louis at my sisters house for Christmas so we went today instead. Then when we got home, Dad made a big pot of Chili. YUM!!! He makes the BEST chili ever! :) Then my sister and I baked alot of Christmas goodies and delivered them to the neighbors. We also had some friends over and we had so much fun!!! We laughed and laughed until we were crying! lol The weather was crazy....the roads were icy, it was about 19-20 degrees outside and you could smell the fireplaces burning outside. It was perfect! *sigh* I LOVE Christmas time!!! :)

It's SNOWING!!!

I absolutely LOVE snow!!! :) It started this morning while we were at work and we got about 2 inches! This isn't very much snow compared to what we usually get but I'll take it! :) It really felt like Christmas today! :) This is our first official snow that has actually stuck. :) Anyways, Mom and I went Christmas Shopping today and we had alot of fun! Before we went shopping...Mom took some pictures of me! ha

Surprise Visit to New Orleans!! :)

So this weekend I made a surprise visit to New Orleans for Lori's Bridal Shower at her church. It was a blast!! I flew in Friday afternoon and went and helped Lacey decorate then we surprised Lori at her apartment (at the Christmas party they were having)! It was hilarious and her expression was priceless!! I also met some other great people!! :) I am SO thankful that I got to go down...it was an absolute amazing weekend!! :)