February 2014: Let it Snow!

Happy Valentines Day!

I love that Kristen still likes to do homemade Valentine cards!

 

Joe totally forgot it was Valentine's Day but then he gave me his iPhone so I totally forgave him;)

Here is the first picture I posted to Instagram.  Allie has a smartphone!  What!

 

Snow, Snow, and More Snow!

 February had record snowfall!  I am the treasurer for Daly Estates subdivision and I have already had to call and pay the snow plow 5 times this month at $125 per pop!  Yikes.  Oh well.  I had a ton of awesome things happen this month but my favorite thing was making snow angels with my little Kris!  I love my new slow lifestyle!

 Kristen has done such a great job taking care of our Mr. Whiskers!

 Nothing like making a snow angel on the trampoline!

 Snow brings out the kid in everyone!  I hope Kristen never loses her enthusiasm for life.  I love her energy and sheer delight in life!

Life is Precious

This month both Joe's Dad and my dad had a contest to see who could scare us the most.  

Marv won!  He had over five TIA strokes in one week and at one point had a pulse of 37 bpm!  Yikes!  Here is a picture of him after a few days with his new pacemaker.  The pacemaker is pumping his heart 97% of the time.  Holy Cow!  We are so happy to see him full of life again!

In the meantime, my Dad decided to have a heart attack!  He had been preparing for back surgery but unfortunately giving up his daily aspirin regimen triggered a heart episode.  I am so thankful to my brother Jordan for sending us real time texts as the events unfolded.  The following picture (to be loaded soon) shows Dad being loaded into the ambulance.  

I am sure Jordan was trying to reassure us as dad is sitting up on the gourney, but since I didn't have a smart phone yet, all I saw was dad being loaded into an ambulance in what I thought might be the last time I would see him.  When I started crying, Joe trying to lift my mood stated, "What?  My dad has a stroke or heart attack every morning for breakfast.  You have nothing to worry about!"  Haha Joe...not.  It did not help me at all!  Thankfully, Dad survived the ordeal but unfortunately now that he is on blood thinners he will not be able to have back surgery for 3-6 months!  I am just so thankful that his heart freaked out before he was on the operating table.  Blessings in disguise!  The lesson we all learned:  You don't get to eats what you wants to eats when you wants to eats it!  I love you Dad!

Oh and my little sister Caitlin decided to join the fun by getting the H1N1 virus otherwise known as Swine Flu!  She ended up with a nasty secondary infection from it so she was knocked out flat in bed for most of the month too. 

Here is what I posted on Facebook that crazy week:The windows of heaven are being poured out upon our family! My dad suffered a heart attack this past Saturday but is now recovering at home, Joe finally got paid (first paycheck since November!), tithing is paid, the bills are paid, and I learned a new song (Say Something) on the piano. Life is so good! It's a beautiful day
http://youtu.be/uPy0ctqMwE0

Dancing Out Loud!

I had a deadline of February 14th to complete the editing of the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo in order to be awarded a free hardbound proof copy of my book.  And yes....I did it!  I am so excited!

 In the meantime, I have posted the chapters of the book at www.dancingoutloudbook.blogspot.com.

 I am extremely proud of my finished product.  I have some copyright issues to work through now since I am quoting various lyrics so I can't put it up for sale quite yet although I have several people ready to buy it.  (And yes, I know that was a run-on sentence but I am burned out from editing everyday!)

I did it!  I wrote a book! 

I had so many highlights this month but one of them deserves it's own post...I got to go to the Hits Deep Tour Concert with my sister in-law Erica!  Stay tuned! 

My Soren! 
Lest I forget the other highlights...did I mention I adore my nephew Soren?  He is seriously the most adorable kid ever!

 We love it when Soren comes to play!

 He and Kristen are best buds!