3am

Lately when I wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back asleep I wish I could remember these verses. I found this slide show and immediately thought about how I decided to memorize each one of them. I decided it would be wise to review them again. I still need His Word, more than ever. I hope they Bless you, too.

Love,
Angie

Last stop... Venice

5/11/13 Day Twelve

"Andiamo"... Let's go!

Goodbye Florence... Off to Venice!

We took the "Coach" through the hills of Tuscany and stopped at Verona. The buildings were all brick and so pretty. I love seeing the city walls here. We had lunch at an outdoor cafe and saw the Balcony of Romeo and Juliette. There was a cute couple who just got married there. It was packed with tourists. We shopped a little bit. The stores were mostly the same as we have at home, along with many fine Italian shops. Patty and I had our cappicinos and the guys had their gelatos.

We finally arrived in Venice. We took a boat to our hotel, The Molina Stucky Hilton. On the way there we saw many cruise ships. There was so much activity and so many boats that were all so beautiful!

I had no idea it would be so big here in Venice. We had dinner at the hotel before our evening excursion to what I think is the main island. I wanted to take so many photos at St Mark's Square. We had a little free time before we were meeting the group so we walked the narrow streets a little bit. We spent some time listening to the different concerts in the square. The men were wearing tuxedos. Tom and Patty danced, and so did we.

Since music is my love language and feeds my soul more than anything, I thought I was in Heaven. As I looked around, trying to soak it all in (while trying to take pictures at the same time), I had one of those moments when I remembered... We are in Venice, Italy! I was moved beyond words and had tears in my eyes most of the evening. I have been touched during this trip, watching Larry taking such wonderful care of his wife, Dixie. I have been watching unconditional love first-hand and its almost more than I can handle.

Our group took 3 boat taxis back to our hotel. The ride at night was crisp and chilly, but probably one of the most beautiful, memorable evenings of my life. I want to bottle it up and never forget.

5/12/13 Day Thirteen

Happy Mother's Day!

We took a boat back to St. Mark Square and had a walking tour through town before we toured St. Mark's Basilica. The Rialto Bridge is beautiful! We also saw a glass blowing demonstration and Linc almost bought an expensive glass horse. I found a pretty Marano glass necklace for Meghan. Patty and I bought matching green silk scarves. Linc bought an Italian flag for his new little speed boat.

We went to lunch on another island and I can't think of the name of it now. We had wine, spaghetti with clams and seafood risotto, salad and neapolitan cake with sambuco and coffee. It honestly wasn't my favorite lunch or excursion although it was a neat city with all different colored buildings. We saw some lace shops but didn't find anything we loved. We got back to the hotel just in time before it started raining.

My highlight of the day? I loved connecting with the kids via text messaging and seeing their sweet messages wishing me a Happy Mother's Day! Oh, I also enjoyed taking some amazing photos of the gondolas and watching all of the activity on the lagoons and the Grand Canal. Venice seems like they really rely on tourists and it seems a bit commercial, but it is absolutely beautiful! I think they said they have 26 million visitors per year. They also have 114 churches!

I love following behind our guide, Johnny while he walk with a skip, clasping his hands behind his back. He is so cute and ever-so-jolly! You should see Linc and Tom imitate him! :)

We were all tired, but managed to force (and convince Linc to join us~ Patty sharing her scarf~ha!) ourselves to go out for dinner. It was raining, but we were glad to go for a short walk over three bridges to get to a small restaurant. Linc finally got his polenta and enjoyed it. Personally, I thought it was kind of bland. We walked back to our hotel under our umbrellas. It was windy and freezing! After dinner we went up to the top of our hotel for a drink before heading to bed.

My favorite time in Venice is at night, with all of the lights!

5/13/13 Day Fourteen

Our last full day!

We had a relaxing morning, then had the day to ourselves to enjoy and try to get lost in Venice. Linc and I considered taking a train to try to find some of his family, but it was too complicated and he wasn't able to find out the exact details from Larry. We walked the streets on our own for a few hours, then met up with Patty and Tom for our last meal together. We found a cute restaurant on one of the back streets and had some amazing lasagna. I was able to get one more cork to add to our collection from our last bottle of wine. We ended our lunch with one last cup of cappuccino. :)


We navigated around the streets, up and down stairs, over bridges until we got to the boat taxi. We were snapping our final photos before getting back to our hotel, just in time to quickly get ready to meet the group for our "Gondola Serenade" and "Farewell Dinner."

Our Gondola ride was incredible! We sipped on champagne and took many pictures of each other, trying to get the perfect one. My camera had 8 megs of space and I used every bit of it!

It's amazing how we bonded with all of the group during these past ten days together. Watching all of the guys helping lift Dixie's wheelchair up and down stairs still brings tears to my eyes. They were so appreciative. We all sang songs lead by Mike from Australia.

We said our goodbyes; checked out of the hotel; printed our boarding passes, then the four of us sat at the bar and had one more limoncello together. We reminisced about all of our favorite moments together before heading to bed.

Highlight of Venice for me? Hmmm... It's hard to decide. I loved everything about it! I would probably have to say enjoying it with Lincoln and creating more memories with our very dear friends! We had the best time together and it made our friendship grow even deeper! We had a blast together! I also loved competing with Tom to get the perfect photos. I am pretty sure he won! Yes, Tom... you win... I think! ;)

5/14/13 Day Fifteen

Ciao, Venice!
Ciao, Italy!

We are homeward bound and I am ready! We cannot wait to connect with our kids. This was a trip of a life-time and we will cherish these memories forever!

p.s. None of us were pick pocketed. No one lost their purses or cameras. :)

Thank You, God!

Florence

5/8/13 Day Nine

Tom found his map! :)

Ciao Rome... On to Florence.

The drive through Tuscany was beautiful, although I slept through most of it. We stopped at the greatest winery for what we thought was to be just a tasting and light snack. The lady told us all about the grapes and how rain affects them. She also told us how they make "Oil of Olives." She told us that Italians don't drink wine, they "sip" it with food. They took us to beautifully set tables where we started out sipping, but managed to finish I don't know how many bottles of vino. We all got drunk and were slurring our words. We had cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, salami with fennel, bread with oil. For dessert we had biscotti dipped in holy (sweet) wine for 10 seconds. They were amazing and I couldn't stop eating them. After buying our oil, balsamic vinegar and sun-dried tomatoes, we returned to the coach and were all singing and laughing.

We made a stop in Pesi and saw the Leaning Tower and took photos. It was very touristy. Linc had a Big Mac.

Dixie and Larry bought Tom a baseball cap as a gift for helping Dixie get around. He has been so helpful to her, even though he has less than perfect knees himself.

We got to our room and then all had dinner together, before having an early night. We were exhausted!

5/9/13 Day Ten

Our room here in Florence is nice. The ceilings are high and it's airy and big. Somehow we got a room with a balcony!

We went on a walking tour with a lady, Anna Maria who is 78. Yes, Linc asked her her age. She was hilarious! She had all of the ladies vote on which side of the statue of David we thought was the best and of course we all voted on his back side. :) We saw Michaelangelo's tomb. The statue of David was more beautiful than I imagined it to be and it's 16 feet high. I am loving learning so much history!

We went to a jewelry store as well as a huge leather store where we learned a lot about fine Italian leather. They gave us a coupon, but none of us found anything we couldn't live without.

We had lunch at a nice place overlooking the river and bridge with houses on it. I can't remember the name already. We had a huge two course heavy meal. Tom was sweet to trade meals with me, since I didn't care for mine. ;) After lunch we did some more shopping and stopped for gelato an cappuccino.

We found a great restaurant while on our walk. When we looked in the window, we saw the chef cooking and he invited us inside. We went back there for dinner and had planned to have just wine and appetizers, but ended up having our most expensive dinner yet. It was a bit of a scam, because we thought our waiter was being generous, offering us extras, but we got charged, big-time. He made us authentic salad, table-side and I took many pictures. Our spaghetti was a lot like goulash (dry). The chianti was "better" too, but we have had so much and I haven't had any that I haven't liked yet! I am still not a wine snob.

We came back to our hotel and sat outside to enjoy the beautiful evening out in the courtyard. We played charade's, acting out everyone on our trip so far. We must have been having a little too much fun because all of a sudden a man yelled out his window, "SHUT UP!!!!!!" We decided it was time to call it a night. :)

5/10/13 Day Eleven

Okay, I'm not going crazy, eating and drinking too much today! We'll see...I must say though, I haven't had one headache yet, so it might be true about sulfates causing headaches. ;)

We did an excursion with the group which took us to a cute city called San Gimignano, where we had cafe and some amazing lemon biscuits. We shopped around, took photos and the guys had gelato at the world's best ice cream shop! Linc said it was the best chocolate he has ever had.

I loved the ride through Tuscany listening to Andrea Bocelli. We stopped for a visit in Siena, where we took a walking tour with another guide. She told us about the big horse competition and how the different areas were divided in Controdas (sp?) and all have their own flags. It appears there is still competition between them. I think she said she was a caterpillar and she married an elephant against her parents' will. It turns out they were right, meaning she was divorced. She also told us that to be a guide you must know 3 languages. She spoke English, Italian, Portugese, Russian, Latin and Greek. Wow!! We took a nice walk through another church. Oh, and she complimented me on my outfit! Yay! At the end of the tour she told us that when we see a caterpillar back home we should think about Siena.

Dinner was at a cute place by the big market where I found a cute navy purse for me or Meghan. Tonight was our least expensive, but our best dinner yet. The owner was a one man show. We watched him cook and serve. Soooo good!

Noteworthy: not a lot of garlic, no butter, no golf courses and no meatballs in their spaghetti.

Highlight of Florence for me? The wine and oil tasting... And of course, seeing the statue of David.

Rome

5/5/13 Day Six

Ciao, Positano... On to Roma!

Awesome train ride from Naples to Rome (super clean and spacious). We were a little nervous about going to the bathroom (which we had to pay first), since we heard there were a lot of pick pockets there. Getting from the bus to our hotel was a bit challenging, but we did it.

After we got settled in, we took a walk and stopped for a glass of wine/appetizers before we met up with our tour group. Linc had spaghetti with meat sauce. Of course it tasted just like Nona's. Dinner with the group was fun. We had huge personal pizzas and wine. After dinner we were entertained by a woman Opera singer who was fantastic. Afterwards, Linc and I took the bus ride tour excursion through Rome. It was beautiful seeing the Forum and Coliseum at night. Tom and Patty took a walk and found Trevi Fountain and The Spanish Steps. We had an early night in our little room.

5/6/13 Day Seven

We had a quick breakfast before going to the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. I loved our tour guide, Franca. She was a very nice, classy Italian lady. We were so glad to be with our group because it allowed us to go ahead of everyone and avoid the 3 hour long lines. Once again, words fall short in trying to describe the beauty of St. Peters Basilica. After lunch we toured The Coliseum in the rain. I have never really enjoyed history until now, but I'm excited to get home and start reading The Old Testament and more history. Even though it was rainy, it didn't prevent us from seeing anything. We all had our umbrellas.

"Aloora" (sp?) was the word our tour guide kept saying over and over again. We finally learned it means okay! :)

We came back to the hotel to re-group and rest for a little while. I had a cafe (while texting Meghan back and forth) in the lobby bar before we walked the streets of Rome. We took pictures of Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps and The Pantheon. Linc was determined to have a Big Mac at McDonald's and he enjoyed it! :) We had an amazing dinner at a small restaurant that the Peru couple recommended. It was in the basement and was their wine cellar. It was my favorite meal of our trip so far. Patty and I loved our pasta with fresh pepper. It was a long walk back to the hotel.

We have never travelled with friends for this long, and we are learning a lot about each other; this is where the rubber meets the road; I hope they aren't getting sick of us. ;)

5/7/13 Day Eight

We enjoyed our private (12 person) tour of the Scavia below St Peter's Basilica. We had made our reservation months in advance. It's amazing that they really know where the bones of St. Peter remain today. I got a little (lot) claustrophobic and almost had to leave, after our tour director told us it was going to be very humid and dark. What a great opportunity and I'm so glad I didn't miss it!

We had lunch at a real authentic Italian restaurant before climbing The Holy Stairs on our knees. It was humbling to say the least. I thought it would be painful emotionally/Spiritually, putting myself in Jesus's shoes, and thinking about Him climbing them. They had areas shown where His blood had dripped and people stopped to touch and kiss them. I was surprised that it was also vey painful, literally. All I could think of was that I never deserve to complain about anything again. My knees where killing me. It was so nice sharing the experience with Patty.

We went to the last part of Mass at another church. It was special having communion. One thing I love about the Catholic religion is that no matter where in the world Mass takes place, it is exactly the same.

We stopped for wine and appetizers at a restaurant on the street. Dinner was a little disappointing. Patty and I split Lasagna, and it was just okay. We found some better spots we wished we would have found earlier. Oh well... We had desert and cappuccino with sambuco at a cute place and sat outside.

Our weather today was "Moody," as our our tour guide, Giovanni puts it~rain off and on.

Highlight of Rome for me? Definitely the Sistine Chapel. I could have stayed in there for hours!!

Come with me to Italy! Beginning on the Southern Amalfi Coast

When I was trying to decide which books to take on our trip to Italy, a friend recommended I just take a notebook and a pen to journal instead. I thought it was a great idea and took her advice, except for the fact that I wrote it on my iPad. I got up every morning and wrote while my husband was still sleeping.

Our trip was really like four different vacations. We started out in Southern Italy on the Amalfi Coast, then met up with our tour group in Rome, then took a tour bus through Tuscany to Florence and our final stop was Venice. I decided to share my Travel Journal here in four parts. You will probably be bored to death by the details, but I really just wanted to get them down for me. Feel free to read if you have the patience.


Our Trip to Italy

4/30/13 Day One

We picked up Tom and Patty at 2pm. Started out at Vino's for a glass of wine and a sandwich in the Delta terminal in Detroit. Smooth sailing to Paris. On the flight to Paris Linc enjoyed Jim Gaffigan and he laughed so hard that he was crying.

5/1/13 Day Two

It's actually day three as I type this and I am sipping on my first cup of Cafe Americano; yes, its amazing! I had always known I would like Italian coffee and its better than I imagined. It is strong, but doesn't taste burnt. I added some hot milk to it. We are in Positano, Italy, staying at Hotel Eden Roc. I am sitting on the balcony overlooking the Mediterranean Sea while I make this journal entry.

I was pretty confused by what time it was for most of the day. I didn't sleep very much on the flight over here. They served dinner and before we knew it, they turned on the lights and served breakfast. I think that's how they help get you acclimated to the six hour time difference (by serving another meal). Anyway, we had a very short layover in Paris. It might have been my only trip to Paris, so I wanted to take full advantage. I was so excited to have a real macaron (even if it was just in the airport!). Really? A macaron stand next to a coffee stand? Tom and Patty didn't really get my excitement, but I loved it because it was mine and Meghan's thing! We had a raspberry, rose, caramel sea salt and coffee one, in case you were wondering. :)

The flight from Paris to Naples, Italy was only 2 1/2 hours. I slept the entire way. We were happy to meet our driver, Pasquale, who held a sign, "Hop****." He was to take us to Pompei, to explore the Ruins, then pick us up afterwards, to take us to Positano. He didnt speak a lot of English, but he told us our tour guide might try to shorten our two hour tour if we let him get away with it. Sure enough, Carmen tried, but we let him know our expectations and he gave us more than our money's worth. Linc overtipped him; I think because he reminded him of his friend, Mark T. He liked his Italian mannerisms, and how he called certain people, "The Barbarians." Linc could impersonate him perfectly. It was very interesting to learn about the Ruins, and the history (before Christ!). We took a lot of pictures, but I already can't remember what they were to explain them to you.

The ride down the Amalfi Coast to Positano was incredible. I had seen YouTube videos, but to see it with my own eyes was unbelievable. I wished I wasn't exhausted so I could have enjoyed it a little more. Pasquale was so helpful. As he took us down the very narrow, windy road he gave us restaurant tips and other useful information. We arrived at our first hotel, Eden Roc, and it was beautiful!

We quickly got cleaned up (exhausted, but forcing ourselves to stay up) and walked through the streets, filled with beautiful shops. We had our first dinner at Saraceno d' Oro Resrorante-Pizzeria. Pasquale recommended it since his girlfriend, Theresa worked there. When we asked our waitress if she was part of the family who owned the restaurant she told us, "No," but she was "in love with the owner's son." How sweet and romantic to refer to her boyfriend like that! It was family owned and was excellent! They served us dinner across the street of a very busy road. It was a beautiful evening. We sat down and they served us a complimentary glass of prosecco. It was so hard for me to hold back the tears. I couldn't believe we are really in Italy! It's been a life-long dream of mine. To be here with our special friends who had waited until they retired to come here was more than I could take. Anyway, the bruchetta had the sweetest, tastiest cherry tomatoes I have ever tasted. I'm not kidding. The warm, antipasti (best I've ever had!) and the pizza pie was terrific. Linc had waited 30 days (preparing) to have pizza and he enjoyed the Margarita pizza the most. I have a feeling we are going to have it every day. The house wine was great. We were stuffed, so we passed on dessert there. We ended our meal with complimentary limoncello. I loved the glasses that both the wine and the limoncello were served in.

On our walk back to the hotel we stopped at another restaurant to share yet another bottle of wine and some tiramisu. I was never more satisfied when I hit the pillow.

I better hop in the shower to get ready to be served our first breakfast and another cup of cafe. I can't wait!

5/2/13 Day Three

We had a slow start, then a nice breakfast at our hotel consisting of cold quiche, scrambled eggs, pastries, fresh fruit, more cafe americano and grapefruit juice. I really liked the apple/pears. It was great!

We took a bus to Sorrento. It took longer than expected to get there because there was road construction. The very narrow road made it difficult to maneuver around the traffic and construction. It was entertaining, but tested the guys' patience a little bit. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous! We spent the afternoon shopping. After lunch (cute restaurant in an alley restaurant- pizza & wine), I had a pair of sandals custom made while we shopped. It was hard to decide on a color and style, but with the group effort, I settled on natural, classic brown ones with straps and a little heel. I couldn't believe it only took1.5 hours to make them. It was fun meeting the shoemaker. Patty found some scarves for the girls and a leather bag. We bought John a football shirt. I also bought a nice scarf and the lady taught me how to tie it a new way. We had our first gelato at a great ice cream shop covered with pictures of a lot of important people all over the walls and ceiling who have enjoyed gelato there as well.

We met a sweet, friendly couple from Peru at the bus station. The wife is a chef and owns 5 restaurant/bakeries. They gave us suggestions to their favorite restaurants in Capri, Rome, Florence and Venice, since they did their trip the opposite of ours. They were on a 17 day vacation. They told us how important they think it is to get away alone every year or so just as a couple. They go on a vacation anywhere around the world. They were ready to get home to their kids. They were ending their trip in Positano. We wanted to help them find their hotel, and tried to tell them where to get off the bus. We were worried that they got off the bus too early, but somehow we missed ours and ended up 10 km past Positano. We still don't know how we missed our stop.

We took an evening stroll through the beautiful streets up to a seafood restaurant that Pasquale had recommended. Our very fresh jumbo shrimp was mediocre, but the wine was good and so was the dessert spot we found afterwards!

5/3/13 Day Four

We wanted to get an early start to take the first boat to the island of Capri. Down at the beach, an Italian lady who worked at the boat rental place talked us into taking a private boat there, with our own captain. She was talking kind of fast, so I was worried she was trying to make us spend a lot of money for no reason. The guys thought it was a good idea and they were right. It cost us 125. Euros and was worth every penny!

The one thing I am already learning is that I don't have proper words to describe the beauty. I need more adjectives. The boat ride was something I have never experienced. It was seriously breath-taking. At lunch Lincoln said it best... "Of all the art we will see in Italy, nothing compares to God's Artwork and the natural beauty He created for us to enjoy." (Or something like that.) Our captain took us into the White and Green Grottos, which are beautiful caves.

When we stopped to see the Blue Grotto we had to pay a separate fee. There were boats everywhere and it was pretty chaotic, but a well run operation. There was a team leader who told us when it was our turn get on our little row boat, where our driver took us inside. It all happened so quickly. He was singing and taking pictures of us in the dark. It was quite an experience!

Right before we arrived in Capri, Lincoln thinks he broke a rib when we hit a big wave and he came down on his elbow. He had a hard time breathing, so he was moving very slowly when we got off the boat. We took a taxi ride up to the other side of the island to have lunch overlooking the water. The views were spectacular! I had the mixed fried fish. When I asked our waiter what kind of fish it was, he said, "Watch," and he threw a piece of bread over the railing and into the water. Tons of fish immediately swarmed the bread. He said, "That's the kind of fish." He was right. When they were served to me they looked exactly the same, with heads on and all. I had to ask him how to eat them and he showed me how to filet them, then he fed me. Good thing, because I was about to eat them whole, bones and all. :)

We rode down the ------ (what's it called?) to catch the big boat back to Positano. It was nice ride, but nothing like our private ride there. When we got back, we all put our feet in the Mediterranean Sea. We sat on the rocky beach for a little while, then had a drink overlooking the beach.

We had dinner on Tom and Patty's balcony. We had picked up some wine, cheese, bread and meats. Later we took a walk to get some tiramisu and limoncello.

If I haven't said it yet, the first thing I will think about is the wonderful aroma here at Positano. We aren't sure what it is exactly, but I bet it is the lemon trees. I want to bottle up the scents and take them home. There is absolutely no wind or bugs.

5/4/13 Day Five

Yesterday I swore I wasn't going to leave Positano again, but changed my mind. We took a bus to Ravello via Amalfi. The bus was packed so we stood for much of the way. It was difficult to hold on, especially on the windy roads. Again, the views were spectacular. It seems like the roads were built for only one lane, and I'm amazed when two buses pass each other. We walked the busy streets of Amalfi for a little while, before catching a bus to Ravello.

It was so peaceful in Ravello. It was so quiet that we could hear the birds. We had lunch at an elegant restaurant with fine linens and silver. The view was spectacular and our lunch was delicious. The gardens were a photographer's dream. Tom has such an eye for the perfect picture, so I followed behind him, trying to capture a good one too. I found myself trying to compete with him. I will never win though, because he is so talented!

We squeezed on the bus to get back to Amalfi. We were happy to finally get back to Hotel Eden Roc. We all decided Positano was the perfect location for our time on the Amalfi coast. The location couldn't have been better! The hotel is beautiful. Linc was determined to take a swim when we got back, so he did just that, before we quickly got ready for dinner.

The very sweet and helpful front desk men recommended a wonderful restaurant on the top of Positano for our final dinner. One of the family members came to pick us up. The view up there was again breath-taking. We ate and drank like it was the last supper, from complimentary appetizers to pasta and mussels (Patty's favorite), to dessert and four different kinds of Limoncello. We loved watching a family that was there for a rehearsal dinner. They were a typical Italian family of all ages. At the end of the night, rain was gently falling. It was emotional hearing about how long Patty... and Tom had been planning for this trip. I am so honored to be here with them. People think we are family. :) I really wanted to buy Tom and Patty a candle holder, but the owners were sorry to tell me they didn't have any extras to sell. They sent us home with some spices; so sweet!

I don't want to forget our breakfast waiter, volcanic Tony. When I ordered an espresso, he got all excited when he asked if I wanted... a single? Or double?! He is so animated and cute!

So far I want to bottle up...
the scent of lemon trees, the views, the tomatoes and bread, the lack of bugs or wind... and the color of the Mediterranean Sea.

Now on to Rome.

Italy (Part One of many...)

Did I tell you/brag to you about the fact that we had the opportunity to go to Italy this past Spring? Things got so busy since we got home that I haven't really had a chance to talk about it on here. You would think I would have posted several photos either here or on another social network. It was an intentional decision to be "totally in the moment" when we were there, and now I honestly haven't uploaded them because I took 1200 photos. Yes, you heard me right; I took 1200 photos! I took my (completely full, 8GB) memory stick to Costco and printed them all out. It's way too hard to delete fuzzy photos on the tiny screen and I didn't want to lose any that might be frame-worthy. I also didn't want to take up that much space on my computer. I thought it might explode. When I picked them up there were four full boxes and I haven't sorted through them yet. Stay tuned and maybe one day I'll share some of my favorites.

Speaking of exploding, the whole trip was amazing! All of my senses were on over-drive. We got home a month ago today, and as I think back to it all right now, the aroma of Positano (on the Amalfi Coast) was just like perfume. It took us awhile to discover it was the smell coming from the lemon blossoms. I wanted to bottle it up and bring it home.

It's my husband's day off today, so I will be back to share more about the trip when I can.

Alora "Okay."
Love,
A.

medical hx Thank God!

Okay, so now that I got the first post out of the way, I'll share something else that I've been up to:

This is my 3rd week off of work while I've been recovering from shoulder surgery. No big deal; it was for my frozen shoulder. A word from the now wise before I forget to tell you: Don't ever EVER youtube a medical procedure you are about to have! Now I've made PT my full-time job. It's not bad, just pretty time-consuming. I'm glad it's over but I've spent the past several weeks taking care of all things medical. I had my eye exam, yearly medical check-up and I have one more test tomorrow. Oh, and I had a cold, too. Aren't you glad I shared? ;)

But, the one thing that stood out most was my mammogram. It was the first time I've been called back the next day by the nurse, whose voice sounded a little too concerned for my comfort. They should teach them to be a little more cheery when they make the calls. I had paid close attention to the look on the girl's face who took it and felt a little uncomfortable with her question, "Have you ever had a biopsy?" Well, they called me first thing the next morning. Apparently they needed me to go to the main facility to get a few more views and possibly have ultrasounds to make sure something suspicious was checked out a little closer. I have to tell you that when I heard the message on the phone I began to get super nervous. My imagination went a little crazy. I took a deep breath and asked God if it was my turn now. With my family history it was impossible to take it lightly. Thank God, they got me in the very next day and the girl squeezed a little (lot!) tighter and the spot disappeared! It was a scary couple of days, but deep down I remember reminding God (Haha) that He is still God, so whatever happened was up to Him. I wish I would have popped on here to share the good news, but I guess better late than never!

Girls, if you need this reminder: Go get your mammogram if you are due!

In love and with MAJOR Thanksgiving,
Angie

p.s. Right when I got off the phone this song happened to be on the radio: "Save A Place For Me." Not yet, though! :)

Forever In My Heart

Hey!

Have you ever had a friend you really wanted to talk with, but it had been so long since you talked that you know you'll need a lot of time to properly catch up? Unfortunately you keep putting it off while waiting for the perfect time? Well, that's how it is with me and my blog. So much has happened since I've been gone that I was tempted to just give up completely, not knowing where to start.

This past Saturday night we went to see Kenny Loggins in Manistee with our friends. As I heard his final song, I remembered how much I need God in my life. I know I am so much better when He is in my life daily and I look to Him for guidance and true love.

My plan is to come back here real soon to share what God is doing in my life.

Love,
Angie