from the heart

This week Elena and I went to a strawberry patch. What fun! We were in good company - a bunch of mommies and kiddos from our church came too. Upon arrival one of the little girls kicked off her shoes... Elena followed suit and spent her time barefoot, eating as many strawberries as she could. I tried motivating her to stop eating and "pick some for Daddy". No sooner did I turn around and she was back at it; she was taking it very seriously, so seriously, she couldn't break to smile for a picture... as you can see below. We picked 4.5 pounds... paid around $7.50 and then on the way out I saw a LARGE box of already picked strawberries that were very ripe. The lady said she'd sell them to me for $2.00. DEAL! By the amount of effort it took me to carry the box to the car, I'm estimating there was about 20-25 pounds of strawberries in there. After sharing them with some friends and family, it still took me a couple hours to clean and freezer pack the ripe on

The last time I wrote, I wasn't able to emotionally divulge the painful trial our family was walking through. I became pregnant last July and in August I miscarried. I've had friends who've gone through this type of loss and I had always tried to imagine what they might be feeling. As I have come to understand now, it brings out every emotion imaginable - shock, sadness, anger and it is unbearable to go through it alone. Despite all the pain, I was eager to try again to become pregnant. We conceived again in October and I was so excited! So excited that little E would have a sibling. It was also very exciting, as tons of my friends were announcing their pregnancies as well. How fun, everyone being pregnant together & having little ones the same age. This time round, I became very sick with morning sickness, unable to get out of bed some days. My first appointment to check on the baby wasn't until nine weeks and at that point I was pretty miserable. When th

Today marks a year since my heart surgery. Last night I read through a lot of the blog and was thankful to have it all be behind me, to have had such great supportive husband, family and friends and a FAITHFUL God. I wish I could say that I'm not feeling any pain today. I knew going into this that the healing process would be long; but, I don't think I could have wrapped my mind around the concept of enduring chronic pain. Internally, I'm great - better of course because of the surgery. However, because they had to go through my back, my muscles are still weak and recovering. I'm constantly praying for strength and relief from the pain. For the past couple weeks I went to physical therapy, hoping to find relief. I decided to continue the therapy at home (and not pay to have someone watch me do my exercises.) My plan is to dedicate myself to consistently do the exercises that aim to build my muscles back, which will intern cause the spasms to stop. I'll be r

Where to begin when I've been gone so long. I've decided that I'll do a pictoral review of the last 6 months that the blogging world has missed out on. One week turned into two and then months go by... oh well, no apologies needed... will you care to read again? I guess I'll just wait and see. Also, I'll do a general post on the highlights of life and on my next post, I'll give you an update on my healing progress. So, to ease my way back in to blogging.... here's some pictures. I decided to not leave you to wonder what we did for the last six months... so there are lots of pictures! APRIL Easter Bunny Baking with Mama & Elena Easter Celebration My sister, Elena, my mom & me MAY A relaxing reunion with Peter's college friends on Lake Travis in Austin. Mother's Day & Elena's Dedication Cousin Gregory & Elena initiate holding hands - too cute! Attended my brother Mark's graduation from Taylor University... and lost the pict

Friday afternoon Peter and I set off on his birthday adventure.  We'd bought tickets to the Third Day concert in College Station, a couple hours from our home.  Peter got the tickets several weeks ago... before it was forecasted to be cold.  We dropped Elena off with Abuelo and Abuela.  She was excited to spend time with them and the "bacas" (cows).  As we were leaving, she told us to "have fun!".   Earlier in the week I made an executive decision spend the night Friday night in College Station and not drive back at an ungodly hour of the night/morning. I'd found this place called the 7F Lodge located just 10 minutes from where the concert. So, I made our reservations at 7F and luckily they had one cabin left ----- the Sugar Shack ! This place was awesome!!! It was such a needed retreat for both of us. If you get a chance read how this place started on their website. It is such a great story. Their motto is "LOVE SAVES LIVES". In addition t