Life is Precious

Well my mom officially moved down about 3 and a half weeks ago, and my sister moved down this past weekend. It's been an adjustment trying to balance the life we had in near-order and making changes to incorporate spending time with my family now, but I know that will get easier with time. It has been really nice having my mom close though, and I'm so excited that my sister lives down the road from me now too! Carly's birthday was last Thursday, so a couple days ago I took her shopping and out to dinner...some sister time. We had a really good time, and I'm looking so forward to being a bigger part of each other's lives and becoming good friends too.

In the midst of getting my mom settled and Chris training for his marathon, we found some time to join in some Halloween festivities. My good friend Alli had a costume party, so Chris and I dressed as Peter and Lois Griffin from Family Guy. I was a little concerned about how it would all come together because, despite having decided on our costumes a month or so in advance, we didn't get the needed items for our costume until the week before the party, and didn't get my wig until the night of the party (I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a little stressed about it). But once we were all done up, it all came together really well and we had a great time with some great people!

On Halloween morning before church we got a phone call that Chris's Aunt Cheryl had passed away at age 51 after a 6 week struggle in the hospital. She had a hole in her heart/leaky valve and they were unable to do the recommended surgery because of something that was wrong with her kidneys. They decided to put a balloon in by going through her leg, and when they went in they found an infection in her leg, as well as a second hole they didn't know about. Needless to say it was a downhill slope from there. She was so sweet, and I so wish I had gotten to know her better.

I had only gotten to spend time with her on two occasions, and her and her husband Sam tried really hard to make it up for our wedding and were unable to due to car trouble. Chris and I both agreed we would always remember her hugs though...she gave the best hugs. The following Wednesday and Thursday we took off work to drive down to West Virginia for the viewing and funeral. The trip was really bittersweet because while we were there to say goodbye to Cheryl, there were also some "bright sides" to look at. As cliche as it sounds, Cheryl is in a better place. She never got a fair shot at life...was what you would politically incorrectly call "slow", suffered a lot of abuse and heartache, etc. About 6 years ago she married Sam who treated her like a queen and loved her so much, but through dying, Cheryl is finally whole in heaven for the first time ever. No doubt that she leaves a lot of people down here with a hole in their own hearts though.

The other positive to going to West Virginia was to be able to see the land that Chris's family

owns there and meet some family members that I've never met before and who Chris hasn't seen since he was about 12. It was quite an experience that I am so glad I was able to take part in! Some other highlights that can be seen on my Facebook album are: D&D Motel, Choo Choo's Restaurant, The Jug, and Thompson's Farm/Holler. Below is a picture of Chris, me, Melinda, Denny, Cindy, and Grandma Stone at The Jug, the most amazing place on earth.

Before leaving for West Virginia, we celebrated Chris's birthday on November 1st, which was also the night that the Colts played Monday Night Football. So we got together with our Life Group, I made homemade carrot cake (Chris's favorite) and we enjoyed some good food and good company.

Then last Saturday, to prove that 26 isn't old (kidding), Chris ran his first marathon--the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. He ran it in 4 hours 18 minutes, which especially considering it was his first one, I was very proud of him! It was below freezing when the race started...good thing he had invested in some cold-weather running clothes! But he warmed up quickly once he started running...I can't exactly say the same as a spectator, but it was so worth it to cheer on my own biggest fan. I spend the day driving around Indianapolis to cheer him on at different points in the race...about 6 different places along the 26.2 mile course...and I have to admit that although I was by myself, I had a really good time going from place to place! A mile from the finish I met up with Chris's parents who had stopped into town on their way back from West Virginia to see him cross the finish line. Saturday night before Denny and Cindy left to go home we went to the Eagle's Nest downtown for a nice steak dinner to celebrate Chris's birthday and the completion of his first marathon. It was really nice to relax and celebrate after such a long week.

Bottom line is that life is precious and we are so thankful for our families, those who are still with us and those we have had to say goodbye to.