Since some of you may not be regular readers of our blog, I've decided to highlight some things in our lives this year. By all means explorer different parts of the blog, but this is a good summary of us in 2007.
Our year started out very stressful and sad. On January 2nd, we rushed my mom Grace to the ER because she had been having trouble breathing and it got progressively worse. They took some x-rays and noticed that she had fluid surrounding her lungs and her heart. She was also retending fluid all over her body. She stayed at the hospital and they performed a thoracentesis to remove the fluids surrounding her lungs. She felt much better after that and went back home. However, the doctor at the hospital told us that the cancer had spread to her lungs and she didn't have much time left. That was the first time that we all realized that my mom was terminal. That was really tough news to swallow. The next few days were very difficult for us, especially my dad and me. It was hard to know how to behave in front of each other and in front of my mom. Dad would sneak off to grieve by himself. I stayed at my parents house for a few days and then I went home. Once home, I fell apart and cried for about two days. I called my church to talk to a pastor who could counsel me. I talked to my best friends Meera and Sally extensively. Of course, Todd was there for me anyway he could. Over the next two months I spent as much time as I could with my mom at my parents house. She declined very fast. Three nights before the Lord took her to heaven, she initiated a heart to heart chat with me regarding my feelings. She wanted to know how I felt about her leaving us. How Dad and Joyce felt also. It was a difficult conversation and I cried a lot, which I had tried not to do in front of her. But she didn't cry at all. She was very calm and told me lots of things that she had been wanting to make sure we knew. I spent time in the middle of the night that night writing it all down, as much as I could remember. Three days later, on Valentine's Day morning, she went to be with the Lord.
I hadn't written about all this in my blog, because at the time it was happening, I was too sad and too stressed, plus I wasn't blogging so regularly back then. My mom's illness and death took a toll on all of us, especially my Dad and me. We spent the next couple of months just physically recovering. It took me a while to just be able to sleep well and to eat like a normal person. Towards the end of my mom's time here, I had lack of appetite and when I did eat, I got heartburn/sour stomach really bad from the stress. I was better by about April. I started to feel alive again, like I could be happy about everyday things again. That was when I started blogging regularly on this blog.
Lots of things happened to us this year. Through the many trials, I feel that God has blessed us tremendously. We know that He is continuing to shape us to be people of character, whom He can use to further His kingdom.
2007 Highlights (click links to read):
- how I ate a hot dog to spite healthy eating
- see Todd's musical performance with Kim Divine on KUSI San Diego
- the Giants vs Padres game at Petco Park downtown
- see how much we ate at the 2007 Taste of Hillcrest
- our fabulous day off to go to Pacific Beach and Sea World
- our next door neighbor's very caffeinated Cinco de Mayo
- my tribute to my mom on Mother's Day
- our trip to Ohio for Todd's dad's birthday party
- we saw John Mayer in concert
- how I suddenly started having panic attacks
- our 13th wedding anniversary
- see how I improved on my digital scrapbooking skills
- remembering my mom's birthday
- our stupendous adventures in Seattle
- our first visit to Knott's Berry Farm
- Todd making his 10th speech at Toastmasters
- our friend's 80's style birthday party
- the incredible San Diego fires and our evacuation from our house
- Todd's parents visit us in San Diego
- our Halloween costumes and decorations
- our Thanksgiving in Dallas
- touring the USS Midway aircraft carrier
- our random fun date
- our last trip to Sea World for 2007, and pics of all the animals
- our Christmas Eve Eve at Disney's California Adventure
- our Christmas Eve at Disneyland
- and our traditional Christmas on the Beach
We wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and a great beginning of 2008!
Love,
Christine & Todd
happy new years to you guys! i like your '07 recap and may just have to copy it :)
ReplyDeleteVery fun recap of '07. I remember visiting Knotts Berry farm as a kid...a lot! So fun. My family and I used to live in Cypress, CA when I was younger.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that your home survived the fires! Scary!
I have enjoyed reading your blog from time to time & especially love seeing your new digital scrapbook pages. I've just recently started doing a Creative Memories book. Not as good as yours though!
Have a great '08. Are you going to the Ohio State game this year? I always think of you both when they are playing. Take care.