A Winter's Morning....

The other morning when it was still cold enough to preserve ice I took some pictures. It was so still and quiet and cold. I could see my breath and the morning moon was like a small smile in the sky.

It was as though Heavenly Father smiled at me on that cold, quiet morning. I think the small smile in the sky was His... giving me the encouragement I need to keep going.

The Bucket List Goes On....

Thursday night we went to

Tony Roma's

...one of Tim's favorite

places! I can say that I think

it is one of my favorite places

too!

We both had baby back ribs and lots of napkins!

Tim tried to slide the wine list away from him but what he didn't know was that the pepper shaker was tucked in one of the pages (it was standing upright) and when he slid the wine list the table was so slick the pepper shaker went with it... right off the table and onto the floor! BWHAHAHAHAHA!

The perfect end to the evening....once more my head is cut off! :)

BWHAHAHAHAHA!

Get Well Wishes....

What a surprise yesterday when Abigail came home from school with a stack of construction paper cards made by the students in one of her classes. As I read each card I had a lump in my throat to see what these sweet 6th graders wrote to the father of their classmate. There were lots of get well wishes, promises to pray for him and words of encouragement for "Mr. T". :) It was so sweet.

Today Abigail called her dad to ask if he could come to her class tomorrow -- to the class of the children that wrote him the cards. Of course he would love to go tomorrow but another doctor's appointment beckons. He asked if maybe he could do it on Tuesday -- the day after chemo and radiation begin when hopefully he is still feeling well enough to be on display for "show and tell" before the effects of chemo set in.

It is truly amazing to see the outpouring of love and friendship from those around us -- those we know and those we don't. I think it is those angels "seen and unseen" -- what a lesson in love this whole experience is teaching.

Kentucky Snow....

Ahhhh, snow.... I love it. Unfortunately, Kentucky snow seems to be afraid of daylight. It comes quietly in the night but doesn't stay around to be enjoyed for the waking world to enjoy it for very long.

We don't seem to see much snow here but I still hold out the hope for a good, measurable snowfall sometime before winter turns to spring.

Come on snow...... :)

Next Stop On The Bucket List...

The next stop on the food train...
Sal's Chophouse

(one of the great places in Lexington

we were told... and they were right!)

The food was great and the company I had was even better.....

Can I just tell you how wonderful so many people have have been to us? Family, friends, people we work with, people we go to church with....It overwhelms me to see the kindness and generosity that has been extended to our family. Thank you doesn't seem to be enough to express our gratitude, our appreciation and love for all they have done. Although it doesn't seem to be enough, thank you.

BWHAHAHAHA! We keep attempting to get a picture of us at the places we have been but we aren't successful! We were blurry (probably because we were shivering from the cold!!!) and we still can't get me in the picture! :)

RED (Lobster) ALERT...Restaurant Bucket List...

Friday night we went to another place on the Restaurant Bucket List... :)

We got a kick out of the "You're in the Right Place" sign....we thought we were in Utah! :)

Is he hiding behind the menu? :)

So this is the problem when it's just the two of you going out and you try to take a picture of yourselves! :) One of us is just too short! We just couldn't get it right -- this was the best we could do!

Tether Ball Moments...

tether (tet̸h′ər)
noun
a rope, cord, etc. fastened to something to prevent drifting, escape, etc.; a rope or chain fastened...so as to keep it within certain bounds
This is a first for me....the first time I have not used one of my own pictures in a blog post! I'd love to use my own picture but we don't have a tether ball pole anymore.

So why did I need a picture of a tether ball pole?

I have been thinking a lot lately and to be honest, I have times that I feel picked on by life. I know...my problems could always be worse and I know that for many they are. It's just that the more I think about the trials and challenges that life brings to each of us, the more I think that it is not so much the magnitude of the challenges we face but rather the attitude in which we face them. What is a mere annoyance to you may be huge for me and vice-versa. It is all in the attitude we have. Some days my attitude is good and some days it really could use an overhaul. I believe it's that way for most of us.

But, today I was feeling pretty beat up by life. My emotions were hard to keep in check but I managed to put a smile on and answer "we're doing good" when people asked how we are. I think that "we" as a whole are good. It's the me that doesn't feel like I'm doing good. But experience tells me I will live through the emotional pain that I feel and eventually I really will be "good"; it's just gettin' there that is hard.

So as I thought on the things that our family is facing I thought that through all of this, no matter what I am feeling, I KNOW that I am Connected to my Heavenly Father through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Right now I feel very much like a tether ball being hit around, tossed to and fro, slammed by a fist out of nowhere. But in it all I am Connected -- I am solidly Tethered to a loving Heavenly Father. I'm not going anywhere because I am connected to the Father through His son, Jesus Christ, by the power of His atonement. So while I can't escape the trials we are going through, I am Fastened -- we are Fastened. We are safe because He is the Anchor. We are Tethered.