Spring Break 2016! Woohoo!

Hello, Spring Break. It's great to see you again.
I have had interesting Spring Breaks over the years. Many were low-key as in staying at home and recharging the batteries, others were amazing vacations- Cayman with Mark and Cath in 2009, Scottsdale with Jack, Wayne, Julie, Sally and Matt last year (both vacations so memorable and fun), Others were a bit traumatic, like sitting through my brother Tom's federal trial in 2004, going to Houston for Tom's radiation for his brain tumor in 2006, planning Tom's funeral services in 2007...
Well, let's just say that Spring Break has had its ups and downs.
This Spring Break is in a class of its own.
I am getting a new hip!
Not to jinx it, because I cannot get a cold or the flu or have anything wrong with me on Monday morning, but if all goes well, I will be having surgery to replace my left hip first thing Monday morning.
I am so excited and grateful and a little bit keyed up (I think that was one of my mom's expressions).
I feel great about the surgeon (trust me, I did lots of research!) and his team. My experience with them has been excellent so far. My doctor has a website full of great information and that has been super helpful to me.
I report to the hospital at 5:45am. That is about 33 hours from now!
Please pray for me that I stay healthy (everyone I work with had a virus with a terrible cough last week!) and am ready for surgery on Monday.
I promise to keep you updated.

Happy First Birthday, Charley!

My newest grand niece Charley turned one yesterday. Kjell and Lisa hosted a party on Saturday and we had fun watching this little sweetheart celebrating. First birthday parties can be overwhelming, but Charley handled all the commotion like a champ. She even demonstrated her cruising skills, walking while pushing around her new dolly in a toy stroller. We also celebrated her big brother Jake's birthday.
It was super fun to be together.

Grammy with Charley and Abbie

Charley with her new dolly and stroller

Sweet girl!

Happy Hour, the Next Generation

On Friday, I hosted a happy hour for Teri, Caylen, Henry, Sally, and Ellie. Jack joined us too because he was done with work for the day.

It was a nice little slice of life to be sitting in our living room with these dear people. We all appreciated the chance to watch Henry (9 months) and Ellie (6 months) hang out on the floor together without lots of distractions. It's the next generation of friendship. We are so thankful. 

Henry and Sally

Henry and Caylen

Teri capturing the moment

Teri holding Britt and Dane holding baby Sally- June1988

Long time, no posting

It would appear that I have hit a dry spell in my blogging. It's been three weeks since I posted anything. I don't even have any drafts waiting to be edited. 

It must be that late February slump. The weather, the lack of sunlight, but most significantly, the anniversary (Feb 25) of Dane's death. It hits everyone in our family every year, each person in a different way. It is difficult to express how awful, how utterly earth-shattering, the sudden loss of Dane was and is. He was funny, kind-hearted, and just a one of a kind guy. We miss him every day. 

I will just leave it there. Grief is a tricky emotion.