CHRISTMAS 2012 AND NEW YEAR 2013!!

Christmas 2012 will be a Christmas we will never forget. I have always wanted a white Christmas...I sure got my wish this year. Kimberly came over on Christmas Eve and we grilled steaks and she spent the night. We got up on Christmas morning and I cooked breakfast and we opened gifts and visited awhile. There was a threat of bad weather...we weren't really expecting much, as usual. It started raining and the temperature started dropping, so Kimberly left so that she could get back to Little Rock before the weather got worse. About 2:00 or so, we lost our power. Then, we were granted our wish for a white Christmas. It was truly a blizzard...about 10 inches of snow fell in a time period of about five hours. It was beautiful, but oh, so cold. Brother-in-law, George, came over Christmas afternoon and spent the night, without power still. The temperature continued to drop, and it didn't look too promising on having our power back on. George got out with his truck and then we loaded up the dogs, CPAP machines and clothes and found a motel room. We stayed there from Wednesday until Sunday afternoon. Came back home, hoping that we would have power back soon. We had power for about an hour, then it went out again. Very cold, but we got under enough blankets and made it. We finally got power on that stayed on, about 1:00 yesterday afternoon...Praise the Lord!! What a blessing to wake up this morning to a warm house, able to make coffee...I will never take electricity for granted again! 2012 was a challenging year for us...losing our home and 42 years of our belongings last January in the fire, but we have been so blessed and are so grateful and humbled by all the blessings we have received from God's Angels that helped us start to rebuild our lives, we have made new friends, rekindled older friendships and been so blessed by the kindness and generosity of strangers. I am CANCER FREE, have a stronger desire to help others, want to follow God closer....I know that the little things in life are the most important...the love of friends and family is the best gift. Yes, we have had many challenges with Pete's health, the loss of family members and friends and we will face more of life's challenges. The one thing I know for sure is that God is good and He is good ALL the time, He is in control and He has the plan for each of us! My sweet Mother always told me that with each of life's struggles, you become stronger...she was so right! I pray for 2013 to be a good year for all of us! Take time to let the people in your life know that you love them and how much they mean to you! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!