It has been too long

Hello, I know I have been mia for quite a while.  This last year and a half has been quite a journey for us.  My husband has been sick with a bad heart for several years, Dilated Cardiomyopathy,   This last fall he became real sick and not able to do anything including sleep or eat.  We ended up in the hospital and on his way to a scan he crashed so they rushed him into surgery and he received an LVAD, which is an artificial heart and then was put on the transplant list for a new heart.  He was in the hospital through the holidays because his kidneys had taken a hit and because of insurance reasons he couldn't come home on dialysis.  God was so good to us, he repaired his kidneys to the surprise of the doctors, he came home on January 5th of this year.

He slowly worked on getting healthy again to help his body prepare for a new heart.  On May 5th we got the call!!  We had been praying for God to bring the right heart for him.. Also praying for the family that was losing a family member.  The surgery was 14 hours long, and when the surgeon came out at 4:00am and had such a discouraged look on his face I knew in my heart what had happened.  His new heart was not working, see we had experienced the same thing with our daughter when she was 15.  But God had started hers and she has grown into a beautiful young woman who is married and has two little girls now.  I knew God could do it again.  His heart started beating 5 days later, the longest five days of my life.  After many many complications, another emergency surgery on his intestines, waking up completely paralyzed, he came home miraculously on July 2nd with a walker.  He is now able to do most of what he used to do.  He still has a ways to go, but OH GOD WAS SO GOOD TO US!!  I tell you all of this to give Him the glory for all he has done.  I am so thankful for His love and mercy and grace.  Because it was grace that carried us through.

In saying all of this I hope you can understand the nostalgia I have for decorating for the seasons especially Fall and Christmas.  I didn't get to experience it last year and God has given us  a renewed excitement for it this year.

Here is a couple of photos of some vignettes around my home.


                       My faux fireplace mantle:

Dollar store pumpkins I painted white.

                                              A cute chalkboard pumpkin from Michaels,