Is it possible...

that tomorrow is the first day of December and my 'exchange surgery' day?!

To be honest, once I got the drain tubes out and was able to drive again, the rest of this process has seemed to fly by.

This whole year has seemed to fly right on by.

I can't believe in a little more than 3 weeks we will be celebrating Christmas!

Dawnetta is coming up to stay with us for the remainder of the week, and the girls are going to have a fun-filled week-end with Mamaw and Papaw Richardson.  They get to see Santa and go to the movies to see Tangled.  They are super excited!

I can not express how thankful I am to my entire family, and many of our friends/neighbors for helping out so much during the past few months.  You all have truly made a tough situation A LOT easier.  We're definitely blessed beyond measure.

I know I made the decision to no discuss a lot of the details of my treatment, struggles, etc on this public blog, but I also know there are a lot of people who still follow along here, and pray for our family.  And I want to say, "Thank you!  To all of you."  There have been many days that would have been much harder to make it through if we hadn't felt the power of those prayers and God's hands holding us up.

And while I wouldn't wish this on anybody, I have to say that being in a situation where you stare the possibility of your own mortality in the face, it changes you. 

You never truly know how strong you are until being strong is the ONLY option you have.

Someone once said to me, "Always remember that just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, a person is only as strong as their weakest dimension.  Push yourself."  

Push yourself to be your best you, push yourself to keep fighting when the winds of life want to knock you down, and realize that God's grace and the love of your family and friends are the weight that will allow you to stand tall during the storm.

I feel very at peace right now, but please pray these feelings remain as I prepare for surgery tomorrow.

ps....I'm sure dad and Amanda will keep Facebook updated throughout surgery.