Congratulations to the new Grandparents!

Look at their Grand Pups!

We are so happy, because our dog Cooper will have some new friends to play with when we visit.

Blossom is the mom and her two pups are still waiting on a name. I see nothing wrong with Earl and Duryl.

I love this picture it reminds me of when we were young and we thought our lives would go on forever. Now all these years later I still love you and I am so thankful you are mine.

Yes He Can, And He Did!

There was a point I began to wonder if I would ever get my husband back. His back started hurting about a year ago, it got worse and worse and the week before his back surgery, he was using a walker to get around our home. The surgery went well, the recovery, not so much. A little over a month later, after a blood clot that almost claimed his life, and two weeks in rehab he is up and walking and Yes He Can Walk, he is a little slow, but he is working so hard to get back to the life we once shared. I have already said thank you, now you can see for yourself what your prayers did.

Last week I wrote about courage. I had ask for courage, hoped for courage, and little did I know it would take more than courage to get us through the next few days. On Wednesday morning, my husband had a Pulmonary embolism, it is commonly called a blood clot.The clot went through his heart and splintered off into his lungs. When the doctor came into our room in CCU he told me, my husband had survived the clot that is known as the drop dead clot. We held our breath and trusted God that he would protect him through the next few days. It was, to say the least the most difficult time in our life. If I am to be honest somewhere in this process, faith took over. I believe in prayer, I believe that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can say to the mountain move, and it will move. I believe this, but I have not seen this happen all that often. I have now seen with my own eyes that nothing is impossible with God. The prayers of God's people carried us through the days that we were both unable to pray or even think. I said thanks before, and now I say it again. Thank you for your kindness, your prayers and holding us up in this difficult time.

Thanks!

What do you do when you can't think of a single verse, or an instance when God gave courage to those who had no courage. How is it that you can read and study the Bible for years and in the midst of a storm your mind is blank. That's what friends are for. To remind us, to hold us up and to pray for us. I can't thank my friends enough for all the prayers that were sent up for my husband. I am so glad that he found a small amount of courage and rememembered that God is faithful when we hang on to courage.

Well it's beginning to look alot like Christmas. The presents are bought, almost. The menu is planned, the food is bought and for a little more than 24 hours there will be no more shopping, no more wrapping presents and lots of eating, laughing and football. The people in the picture above is really what Christmas is to me. Spending time with the ones you love. I am so thankful for each one of them. My mom, has had 85 Christmas day's. I have had 58. How lucky am I that I have spent over 50 of them with my mom and sister, and more than 30 with the rest of the family. How lucky am I that I can spend yet another Christmas with my husband and son, my extended family and friends to numerous to name.

I will not take for granted, this gift that can't be wrapped up with pretty paper and fancy bows. I will not take for granted the fact that many years ago, more Christmas days than I can count, a baby was born in a manger, and grew to live a perfect life, then he willingly gave up that life so that I might have one. I will not forget that it is he that gives peace in the midst of turmoil. I will remember what he has given me. What a present..... I need not ask for more.

Merry Christmas from Earl, Betty and Cooper

Merry Christmas from Earl, Betty and Cooper. What a year this has been. We are still trying to figure out what God wants us to learn, Earl is smiling in this picture but he has been suffering with back pain for months. Cooper is getting more spoiled every day. JiYeon is helping with that. I have been cooking, decorating, and making gifts for days. This is my favorite time of the year. I love the hustle and bustle, the crowds and the planning. I don't want to think about the recession, or the bailouts. I just want to think about the reason I love this time of year. Christmas is about the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives. It is the celebration of His birth — the gift that God gives to all people if they will accept it. It is a time when we give because we have been given.

I love the gift giving, the thought and work put into each gift. I love the time spent with family and friends, the lights and the trees that light up the homes we pass each night. Our prayer this year is that you will find the presence of Jesus Christ in your life, and that you will Celebrate JOY however it comes your way!