PROM

Seems it's that time of year again...break out the dresses and tuxedos...Prom is here again! This year is Katie's senior prom. She is going with a fine young man from church (Chauncy), her friend Carly, and Carly's date Joe. I have to say after all the years of taking pictures for dances. This afternoon had to be the most fun! Katie and her date really got into it making all sorts of fun poses and faces. Carly and Joe followed suit. Now they are off to the dance and John, Blake and I are left behind to fend for ourselves. I am having fun posting pictures- which I hope you will thoroughly enjoy as much as I do.

Lives Turned Upside Down

This past week has been one of amazing and immediate loss. First one of my closest friend's husband lost his stability. Observing the tragedy of a family going through so much strain breaks my heart. The next day my kids came home and announced that their school counselor had lost her husband to a sudden and fatal heart attack. He was only 47. If that weren't enough sad news my mom called me and let me know that my dad's best friend and golfing buddy had passed away due to a stroke. The same week they found out that another one of my dad's friends has liver cancer and only 6 months or so left to live. Tragic. Sad. Heart wrenching.
Life. In a flash it can change. Lives that were once so seemingly fine are now turned upside down. I know how they feel because I have suffered loss of many kinds too. What this reminds me to do is to embrace life. To taste its sweetness and to remain aware that it is not mine to count the days I have. Each day is a blessing. Each day is a gift.

Hosanna!

Today is Palm Sunday. A day when many churches celebrate and remember the entry of Jesus Christ as King into Jerusalem. This was one of my father-in-laws favorite Sundays. As Pastor he always led us in a special celebration service. The highlight of that service was the marching in of all the children in the church carrying palm fronds and shouting"Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!"
I have to say, I miss those days. I wish I had a picture of my children all dressed up, coming down the aisle, waving their palm fronds. This is a day I always remember my father-in-law. It is a day I celebrate my Savior. It is a day I shout "Hosanna"!

Nuclear Stress

Sometimes we all get stressed out. Well, today my stress went nuclear. That is I had a nuclear stress test this morning. It was no fun...to begin with it was at 7 am (fyi....I am NEVER up at 7 am! Not even on Christmas Morning!), then they stuck me with a needle because I had to get an IV, and finally the medication they gave me to induce stress on my heart gave me a headache. The rest of the test was a breeze though. I even got to listen to some Taylor Swift while the machine did its work!

I suppose the logical question you are asking is WHY did I have to have a nuclear stress test in the first place. Well, unfortunately I have been experiencing a litany of symptoms that prompted my doctor to order a variety of tests on me in order to figure out what is going on. Hopefully this will give us some answers. I pray it does.

Well...Here I am....Again (sigh)

No really this has been the blog that turned into a blog that is now a blog again! If you can follow that then my congratulations to you. Anyways, I once wrote a blog titled "A Spirited Vein." It was all about my trials with Katie. Then I tried to continue the blog, by the same title, just adding more content about my life. But things got in the way. So...Here I am Again...with a NEW blog with same OLD name. Why? I love to blog. I love to journal. And I think somewhere in my mind that someone might just want to read it! :) (other than me). And the name....Something about it just resonates with me. It speaks a truth about my writing. For me writing is a vein through which I am able to express myself. It is a vein through which I am able to communicate to God. It is for me, at least, "A Spirited Vein."