Disney on Ice Field Trip Pictures #1

                                      All in the car, Kelsey's leg across her sister's laps :)

             Trying to hurry to our seats, but I just had to have a before show picture!(thus the dazed and confused look on their faces.. ha!)

                                       Kelsey and mama waiting for the show to start( I sat in the wheelchair section just down from Steve and girls with her)

                                      We had great seats.. Sleeping Beauty. Kelsey's Fav Princess

                                       My Prince and I during the intermission!

                                        Daddy and his lil Cinderella :)

                                       Daddy and his Girls!

                                         She was very excited!

                                              HA.. got my picture not only WITH DA NASH man, but he was pointing at me too.. " Win # 6 baby Win # 5) ha! Hey gotta have a lil fun in life ya know!

                                             This is where they sat..

                                        Awwww Mickey& Mini Mouse!

                                                            Princess Jasmine

                                                

                                          We had GREAT Seats!! All 5 of us did!

                                          The Carpet

A few pic's from Our 15th Anniversary!!

Since I was having so many issues health wise, and had been in and out of the hospital MANY times leading up to the Cardiac Ablation& EP Study, we decided to keep it simple.. We went to an AWESOME  Mexican Restaurant and had a great time on our date. We talked about our dating years, and early married life, mistakes, regrets, but the most talked about were the MANY MANY happy memories we have made along the way. How thankful we are for our family God has Blessed us with, our girls are our pride and joy. The end result of our conversation, we would do it ALL over again, the EXACT same way.. no regrets for starting our life so young, having the kids so close together, even the mistakes we endured, we would do it again. Why you ask? It has made us who we are now, built character in us, and strengthened our marriage. You have two choices to make, either throw it away, or dig through it and keep going and come out STRONGER. We talked about how thankful we are for God's Grace and Mercy  for saving us both and our girls. We love serving Jesus together as a family. We talked about NEW dreams we have now for our future and had just a WONDERFUL night. Was exactly what we needed, a little break before heading into a hectic few months again, or should I say keep going in the hectic time. Many people have made comments to either Steve or I about how we have been through so much ,and how are we still making it, why haven't we given up, our life seemed just almost to much for us to bear. Those comments did not upset or discourage us, instead was an awesome time to testify to GOD'S power, and Grace!! We were not making it on our own, we had our Heavenly Father carrying us through the unbearable moments, and walking right beside us through the steep climb in the tough stuff. Steve and I honestly feel we have seen worse times, no I am not pretending things have been all peachy keen... what I am saying, is that we have had a "peace that passed all our understanding" Every need was met, we never were alone, and how encouraged in Jesus we were... The worst days of our lives were when we were sinners, without a Savior on our way to hell.. I shudder at the thought, yet am so thankful for the reminder where HE has brought us from and is taking us step by step day by day. I use to be bothered to show the cracks in our lives, some people just do not GET IT, they somehow think if you are sick or down and out or whatever the case, your weird or something is wrong with you or we must of somehow made GOD mad at us.. oh but how Jesus has shown me that it is through those cracks, where all our "junk" can be seen, that HE shines the brightest!! I love that.. there is something beautiful to me about that thought. I am so thankful for all the cards and emails and texts and prayers from everyone for us. We felt them, and know God is in control. I have yet to get you all individually thanked, we are working on that. 

A few Random pictures taken by everyone who had a camera.. Day of my Surgery

                                         One last hug before they took me away

                                            So Blessed to have this man as my husband

                                          Always and forever there for me!

  So this is the night before surgery.. and I was OVER these hideous things they call "gowns" I had an ongoing joke with the Nursing staff about designing new gowns. I was not thrilled*can ya tell?* So I thought I would *write* on myself to show my "love" for the gown! HA!! Hey had to amuse myself...

                    Love it when IV Occlusion  occurs . along with taking draws from same side..DOH!

                                      Makes my arm all pretty like this :)

                                       Kaitlyn and Mama

                                       Kelsey and Mama

So there  are a few shots of the AM before I went in for Surgery. I am so Blessed to have such a great family! So thankful for them, I really was surprised they all showed up, they each had their own hectic schedule going on, my sister had to work that night, Grandma had not been feeling well, so on so forth. But they showed up, loved on me, prayed with me and for me. SO SO SO SO thankful to have that OVER with and moving on.

 

 

 

 

Grandma turned 80

So the pictures below are of my Grandma's 80th Birthday in January. We wanted to have a BIG family bash for her, but different one's schedules could not get matched up so we each just did our own thing with Grandma.. My cousin Chris brought his family out to see her after her Birthday, and my sister and her family, our family along with Mother, celebrated one night with Grandma. We had a GREAT time together enjoying and celebrating Grandma and what her 80 years on this earth has meant for all of eternity. I made Grandma a Scrap book photo album. Not a regular Scrap book , but a leather bound photo album with cloth inside the covers, and pages. of snippets from her life ... Started out with Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Lee, her siblings, her life with my Papa Johnson and my mom, uncles and aunt and cousins, her 2nd marriage after papa died.. to Grandpa Simmons and different memories they had with Steve the girls and I.. I didn't fit all the pictures I wanted, but with having surgery in my heart, and everything else that was going on, I managed to get copied over 254 pictures... I enjoyed every bit of it..

While I was doing that, I thought back to my child hood up until now, and what an AWESOME heritage I have, and how Blessed to pass down to yet another generation this awesome heritage. Just like with every family, some of us have drifted apart, but Grandma is the link for us all.. She is the rock.. I have prayed since I was a little girl that Jesus would help me be just like my Grandma.. I will never be able to be JUST like her for I am who God made me to be, but I do have lots of her traits and characteristics, and that is so special.. She helped raise me, and has been a part of every important event in my life. Miles meant nothing to her, she would fly to hold my hand before surgery.. Drop what she was doing to come pray for me, or just let me lay my head in her lap and cry while she would rub my head and assure me that with Jesus and her I would never be alone, and it would all be OK. She has always been my greatest cheerleader, seen my potential, even at my worst, she believed that with Jesus I could become something great in HIM.. And I am so grateful to God for allowing her to live long enough to see me living for Jesus, and living out my dream.. To be a stay at home Wife and Mommy... NOTHING on this earth has ever been so fulfilling to me as this.. I love that my girls have been able to spend so much time with her and learn from her just as I did on how to be a woman for Jesus!!  
Every inch of our life has Grandma;s legacy etched into us to the core. I prayed as a little girl that Jesus would never take Grandma from me, but to let us all go up in the Rapture together, now I hear my girls praying that same prayer.. ( I still do) 
It has not been easy to see Grandma age, and the health scares we have had with her, to think we could loose her.. but this one thing I find hope and comfort in, is, this will not be the last time to see her if Jesus would take her home before us... We will meet again on Heavens shore!! 
SO this I am very thankful for, a Godly Grandmother that loved me unconditionally, prayed without ceasing, and has and is teaching me to love like Jesus wants us to love. ..


I love you Grandma!!
 

Random pictures- from Grandma's lil 80th celebration we had with her.. everyone had turns with the camera!