Love life!

“If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive the week. If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75 percent of the world .If you have money in the bank or in your wallet, you are among the top 80 percent of the world's wealthy. If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but some do not."

It seems like forever since my last post.  We've just been busy......caught up in life......wonderful, incredible life!!

 Let's see....

We've continued to work on weaning Zeta from the vent.  All in all it has been going very well.  She still requires oxygen 24/7, but we are finally making a lot of progress with weaning her from the ventilator.

Last weekend we had the privilege of working with Rebecca and Andrea from Rebecca Willis Photography.  Our friend, Trina, nominated our family for a "Pay it Forward" contest with them. 

Rebecca does fabulous work, don't you think?

I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures!

Zeta has been doing so well that we decided to take a mini-family-vacation to the mountains this weekend.  We spent most of our time in the cabin just enjoying our time together.  No phones, no computers, no distractions - just lots of quality family time!  We were able to venture out a few hours Saturday and take a tour of the Biltmore.

From the looks of the picture you can tell we had fun- although from the snoozing she is doing here it appears that  Zeta may have found it a little boring!

I don't think there is anything in the world I would trade for the memories we made this weekend! It makes all the difference in the world when you feel you've done something right and you know the absolute, unconditional love of- and for -your family!

Life happens.  Every day. Every day, we're in a rush to  get this--- go there---- do that.  Our 'to do' lists seem never ending and sometimes we just wish for rest.  I know, that at least for me, it's easy to lose sight of what's really important and all of the little things that we should be thankful for.

You can't tell me God isn't real.  You can't tell me that everything that has happened in my life hasn't happened for a reason. You can't go through what our family has been through and not KNOW that God has a greater purpose for each of us. I'm so thankful for the times I'm allowed to look at my life through a different lens.....when I am able to know..... and see .....and understand the little things.....when I fully realize how ultimately blessed I am!  

I still struggle to come to terms with the fact that I still let 'life' get in the way of realizing my blessings.....how awful it is that something bad or unexpected  has to happen to make me really focus on all that is good...... It shouldn't necessarily be that way....but unfortunately I think it is the human way for many of us.............

Zeta started running fever Saturday night....with the fever came some (thankfully, only slight) seizure activity (not surprisingly).

 Paranoid....worried....distraught........

.....those aren't big enough words for how I was feeling when I first noticed it.........

I mean, here we are.....in this cozy, lovely cabin.....

in the woods.....

on the side of a mountain.......

with my medically fragile -

 AND NOW SICK- child. 

 Panic would probably be the better word! Mind you, we had been planning the trip and waiting and watching Zeta for a month prior.  I didn't even book the cabin until the night before we planned to leave.  Zeta's nurse and I took careful thought in packing and planning everything - including her emergency medications.  I had already researched nearby hospitals, emergency stations and even contacted local dispatch to let them know we would be in the area.....but when I noticed the twitching in Zeta's eyes and then saw the temperature register on the thermometer I PANICKED!!!  Fortunately, it was just a slight moment of panic.  Fortunately, Stevie reminded me of all our planning, of how we deal with fevers and small seizures at home a lot.....and..... that we would be ok.  

Well, he was right.  We were ok. 

We were prepared, and everything turned out fine.  Zeta actually did pretty well on the ride home yesterday so I had chalked everything up to pure stress on her system.  However, she woke with fever, congestion, and coughing this morning so now I'm wondering if maybe she isn't trying to get sick after all.....It would be nice to think that maybe I didn't voluntarily stress her system out on Saturday.....but it'd also be nice to think that she isn't getting sick............so say a little prayer for us!

“Cherish your yesterdays, dream your tomorrows and live your todays."