What an ending to the year...So long 2010!

We had some violent storms blow through our area today, which produced several tornados.  The most recent news report stated the most damaging tornado was an F3, with 160mph winds.  The damage is unreal. 

Instead of me telling, I will leave you with some links so you can see the photos for yourself.

The first is my friend Kelly's blog.  She lives in the area that was hit, thank GOD she and her family were not affected.  It hit one street over from her home though...there by the grace of God...

My Purple Brick Road

The next link is to a local news station's website, where there are many photos sent in by viewers in the tornado hit areas. 

Fox 2 News

Please keep everyone affected by these storms and tornados in your prayers.  There will be much cleanup, repairing, and healing ahead for all of them.


I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!

A mysterious Christmas blessing

Matt and I apparently have a Secret Santa.

A package was left on my parents' doorstep last night.






No return address.

No indication of who left it in the quiet and dark of night.

Imagine my surprise when I opened it to find this nestled inside:









We obviously are blessed with an amazing, generous, selfless benefactor who knows we are struggling to make Christmas happen.

I am overwhelmed, to say the least.

Incredibly grateful.

Humbled by the generosity of this beautiful person.

So I send out through the universe my deepest heartfelt THANK YOU.

May you and your family be blessed many many times over.

To all of you sweet souls reading this, may this story remind all of us of the true meaning and spirit of Christmas. May each of you feel this very spirit working within your lives each and every day.


In His love,

Rebecca

Answered Prayers

Today is definitely a day for thanksgiving. 

Join me in thanking God for answering our prayers regarding Matt's pending surgery.

We had an appointment with his hematologist today, and he told us that he does not think his condition warrants the splenectomy at this time!!!

Yes, his circulating levels of platelets are very low.  But...it's a "false low" according to the hematologist because his spleen is hoarding the remaining platelets.  He has no symptoms that they would normally look for when preparing a patient for a splenectomy.  He doesn't have spontaneous bleeding (internal, from any bodily orifice, gums, etc).  He hasn't had an inordinate number of infections that he hasn't been able to fight off.  (Of course, it takes him longer than usual to fight colds/flu because of being diabetic and having the blood issue, but nothing out of the ordinary.)  He hasn't lost a significant amount of weight, he hasn't developed intolerable pain in the splenic region.

For now, we are status quo. 

He will continue to be monitored closely by his regular physician and hematologist, with blood tests every month and CT scans every six months to monitor the levels and spleen size.  Any significant changes and they will proceed with surgery. 

But for now, THANK GOD, he does not have to have surgery!!!

Thank you to everyone who has kept us in your thoughts and prayers.  Your support and friendship means the world to me!!!

An Award!

Here's how this works:

~Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.

~Share 7 things about yourself.

~Pass the award along to 7 other bloggers who you think know are fabulous, inspiring and beautiful!

I was given this award by my sweet new friend Suzy at Not A Fertile Myrtle.  If you don't follow her, you should!  She's funny, sweet, compassionate, generous, talented, and has the most a.dor.able doggie evah.  Seriously.  And she knits.  I mean really...how much better could she get???  <3  Thank you, thank you, thank you Suzy!!!

7 things about me:

1.  I recently quit smoking after a 15 year habit.  It's been 22 days and I'm still going strong! 

2.  I still haven't mailed my Christmas cards yet.  

3.  I have a serious addiction to hand lotions and lip balms.

4.  We're having a "home-made" Christmas this year.  No storebought gifts (except for my stepson, because really, what 10 yr old wants handknitted crap from his stepmom for Christmas?)

5.  I think I am one of a handful of women in existence that cares nothing about shopping, fashion, shoes, accessorizing, etc.  I'm so not girly it's not even funny.  I'm a t-shirt and jeans/sweats, carry the same $15 purse from Wal-Mart, own only 4 pairs of shoes and only one of them are dress shoes, don't wear make-up unless it's going to church or I know there's going to be a camera unfortunately capturing my ugly mug on film kind of gal.  I'm simple.  And I like it that way. 

6.  Conversely, I adore getting manicures and pedicures.  Go figure.

7.  It seriously took me over an hour to come up with six things I thought would be the least bit interesting to anyone.  7 is pushing it.  LOL 

And now I would like to pass this award along to:

Kelly at My Purple Brick Road

Mrs. Gamgee at Hobbitish Thoughts and Ramblings

Rain at It's Always Raining

Photogrl at Not The Path I Chose

Loribeth at The Road Less Travelled

Lisa at Three Cats and a Baby

Janis at Open My Ears, Lord

And as a bonus 8th wonderful bloggy friend:  Sweet Pea at Hopes and Dreams and New Beginnings

That's it...I QUIT!

Eleven days ago I quit smoking.

I had been smoking almost a pack a day for 15 years.

And I quit cold turkey.

Surprisingly, I'm doing quite well. Praying daily for God's assistance in keeping me strong and "staying quit" is helping.

Other than a few "hmm, I'd sure enjoy a cigarette right now" moments, I really haven't had horrible withdrawals or cravings. It's been a lot easier than I thought. It's been a little bit of a challenge, I'm not going to lie, but I really feel the physical part of the addiction is past. As with any habit, I believe the majority of my smoking addiction was psychological. It was routine. It was pattern. It was comfort. Breaking those patterns and recognizing the triggers has been key. I believe I used smoking to avoid a lot. When I was bored, I went outside and smoked. When I was irritated or frustrated, I went outside and smoked. When I wanted a few minutes alone, I went outside and smoked. Now the key is confronting those times when I am bored, irritated, frustrated or avoiding something and working THROUGH it rather than stepping AROUND it in a cloud of smoke.

I'll have more to say about all this later, along with a few other topics, I just wanted to drop in and give a quick update on me since it's been a while.

I hope you are all well!