I SO excited about the beach!

This has been Ivan's refrain for the past 5 days and tomorrow we finally leave for the beach. Ivan is looking forward to spending time with two of his favorite cousins, his favorite aunt and uncle, and of course with Nana and Papa Wayne. He is also thrilled about the beach house that my parents have rented for all of us for the week. Of course he is looking forward to playing in the sand and surf and everything else that accompanies a family vacation at the beach.

For me however, there is all of that and so much more this year. My Dad will be with us. There was a time, not too many months ago, when I was not sure that would be possible ever again. In fact, when my Dad was unconscious my sister and I would sit with him and hold his hands. We would tell him to "keep fighting Daddy" and to think about the beach this summer and to think about the kids piling sand on his feet and calling them frog houses or crab condos. It was one of the things that we would remind him of almost every day. I know that Daddy survived his pancreatitis because of God's grace and his strong will to live, but I also know that part of that will to live comes from the desire to see his grand kid's grow-up. He doesn't remember anything about his time while he was unconscious or much from when he first regained consciousness. However, I do believe that this week will be very rewarding for my sister and me as we watch our children do exactly what we told Papa Wayne they would do with the sand and his feet. I know that I will be emotional this week at the beach just thinking about how we almost lost Dad this year - and never saw it coming. I don't mind though, because I So excited about the beach too.

Bless Her Heart...

I really mean that too. My best friend gave birth to a healthy baby girl at 12:01 this morning. It was a very difficult labor. After pushing for over three hours she had to have a c-section. The baby turned out to be 9 pounds 3 ounces (the Dr's had all predicted a 7 pound baby - oops). This combination of events was S's worst nightmare come true. Throughout her pregnancy that was the one thing that she feared and dreaded the most. In the end the c-section was a blessing as they discovered some cysts on her ovaries. Had it not been for the c-section then the cysts would have gone undetected and "unremoved"; who knows what would have happened. I praise the Lord for this turn of events because it very well may have saved her life.

Mom and baby are OK now, tired and trying to get used to one another. When I spoke to S at 4:23 this morning I heard a voice filled with pure love and joy for the one she was holding while on the phone with me. It was awesome.