I know it's kind of anticlimactic around these parts, I apologize. Last week was a whirlwind, and although I keep telling myself I need to update here-- it seems to always get away from me. Even when I slack on my duties...YOU never seem to disappoint. Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you for every ounce of love you have shown us since mom's surgery. Your arms always reach far and wide to show your love for us, and we are so thankful for you!

I honestly wish I had come here sooner to ask you to pray for a family that experienced incomprehensible loss right in front of our eyes, last week. Not long after my last post, the only other family in the waiting room with me received word that they had tragically lost a family member that came to have an otherwise routine procedure. It was one of the most pivotal moments of my life; to witness that kind of devastation, is something I'll never forget. On the other side of the waiting room wall, mom was watching the event play out in front of her own eyes. The medical profession has prepared her well to experience such tragedy, so she was making a mental check-list of the event from her recovery room stretcher. A small hiccup kept us from being able to settle into our room until almost midnight-- so by the time we saw each other, we were eager to exchange stories about the chaos of such a horrific event. Out of such tragedy, I know that the Lord somehow grants peace that passes every ounce of understanding-- my hope that this family is able to feel even a small amount of that every day.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ecstatic to see the sun rise Wednesday morning. Arriving at home allowed us to get a little shut-eye before we'd finish out our week with double birthdays. It's no secret that I love sharing my birthday with my niece, and the older she gets...the more fun it becomes. We shared a birthday lunch dining on exquisite cuisine at Zaxby's (she's 7, god love her, and it was her first choice!) and opening loads of gifts. Her skate party went off without a hitch, and she outshined everyone with her perfected skate moves. She'd been preparing for this party for awhile, so she was eager to show everyone what she could do on those skates-- the entertainment value of that night was absolutely unmatched. I'm not sure I've laid eyes on a picture that was taken that day, but if I do-- I'll make sure to pass them on to you here.

Mom gave herself a week to rest before she'll go through the second part of her tune-up. I wanted to get through the back surgery procedure before sharing that she's also having a defibrillator implanted next Wednesday. When she went through cardiac clearance for the surgery, the cardiologist found that her heart has weakened significantly since their last visit. To that end, she decided it was time to go ahead with the procedure and guard her heart against worsening to the point of giving out. Next Wednesday, April 11th-- we'll go to have a defibrillator implanted, in the hopes that it will do the trick to protect HER in the event that her heart continues to change. We've grown accustomed to treating routine procedures as anything but, so we'll be cautiously optimistic until she's out of recovery and on her way home. She's eager to get back to work, so hopefully this tune-up will be the last of any procedure she'll need for awhile. We'll be back here once that wraps up, to let you know how it went.

Thank-you again for standing with us when the peaks become the valleys-- we're thankful to finally be headed back up the mountain.

Happy Easter, friends.