New Year

I wish I could say I remembered the beginning of this year, but it's already slipping away from me!  We had some friends over to watch football and as all of the had to work the next day, they couldn't stay until CST New Year.  But we did watch EST ring it in!:)  Then of course, we had the traditional pork, greens and black eyed peas on New Years day.

The next couple of weeks sped by somewhat uneventfully as we worked and B continued the job search.  Those couple of weeks were definitely a needed reprieve after Christmas.  Then January hit us like a ton of bricks.

My dad has been having neck issues and needed surgery to remove some severely degenerative disk.  He had this surgery on the books for mid-January and I made plans to be there the day of the surgery.  Though a fairly invasive surgery, everything went well for him and he continues to recover slowly but surely.  The surgeon was glad he had gone ahead with the surgery and the disc were causing narrowing of his spinal chord and would have eventually caused major problems if not corrected.

The day prior to dad's surgery, my uncle had a stroke and was rushed into emergency surgery.  The last couple of weeks have been very difficult for him as he will progress and then have a set back.  The initial stroke seemed to have done some damage, but considering the severity of the clot that was removed, his speech and mobility was miraculously still intact though somewhat affected by weakness.  A few days later, he had a second stroke and a second emergency surgery.  He has been monitored very closely and is currently back in the hospital with an infection.  We would covet your prayers for his healing and comfort for my aunt and cousins.  Every day has been a different day with different challenges, some expected and some not.

The Sunday after my uncle's strokes and my dad's surgery, we had an incredibly sad call.  B's uncle passed away late Saturday.  He had been battling a very aggressive form of throat cancer for quite some time.  We were able to shift things around so we could attend the funeral and celebrate his life.  He touched so many people and had such an impact on everyone's life.  It was heart warming to hear so many funny stories about this incredibly brave man.  He was definitely loved by all who met him and never met a stranger!  It is incredible to think about all he went through these last couple of years and he never lost his fighting spirit or his humor.  He took his illness in stride and continued to live his life to the fullest and loved his family and friends at every opportunity!

We continue to learn daily that God will provide for us in ways we cannot even imagine.  He sustains and encourages us while guiding us in His path and plan for us.  I have struggled some the last couple of weeks trying to make sense of everything, but I realized that would be futile.  I am waiting on the Lord and trusting that He will give exactly what we need and nothing more than we can handle with His help.