Alive and Kickin'

Well we all made it! We actually had a very nice Christmas, and other than being pretty tired in the morning, I felt pretty good all day! YAY!! I'm SO amazed that even THIS body healed so quickly...with all the issues I have with my immune system, it still simply amazed me how quickly my body recovered from such horrific illness. God made us fearfully and wonderfully, indeed! Oh, I was so sick. Ug. Never been that sick since I've had MG. Had to go down the stairs on my butt. Ree-DIC-ulous! I'm just super thankful I didn't end up in the hospital.

SO....my three favorite gifts this year: 1. The same as every year, the gift of salvation. That Jesus would leave perfection to be born in an animal feedbox, lying in straw, among the donkeys and chickens...for ME! Unfathomable.

2. Jacob got me a locket that says #1 Mom, and there are two tiny pictures of him on the inside.

3. Doug gave me my birthday present early. You KNOW he was excited about it because he NEVER lets me open ANYTHING early, NOT EVER by HIS suggestion! So he brings out this ginormous tube. I'm like, huh? He opens it, and pulls out some rolled paper about 14 inches tall. I'm thinking, "He got me wallpaper for my birthday? He couldn't wait for me to see WALLPAPER?"

So he starts unrolling it, and it's my name...Kerri Sue...in huge purple letters. (For those of you who don't know me, purple is MY color. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!) I was still like, "You got me my NAME in wallpaper??" (No, I didn't say this outloud, of course!)

Finally he's like, "It's for the boat!" So....I get a boat named after me! How cool is that? Our fishing vessel will officially become The Kerri Sue when we get to Florida. It has to be about 60 degrees to put the letters on. I thought that was one of the sweetest things ever!

Oh, AND Doug got me all kinds of fancy syrups and flavored coffees from some gourmet place in Texas. Yum yum!!!! He's so thoughtful!

Tomorrow we go to Doug's folks for Christmas now that we are all better...Jacob will be staying overnight since we will be headed to Ann Arbor Monday morning.

I hope and pray you all had a blessed Christmas!

I'd like to end with a poem a dear friend sent to me via e-mail:

If You Look For Me At Christmas
you won't need a special star--
I'm no longer JUST in Bethlehem,
I'm right there where YOU are.

You may not be aware of Me
amid the celebrations,
You'll have to look beyond the stores
and all the decorations.

But if you take a moment
from your list of things to do
And listen to your heart, you'll find
I'm waiting there for you.

YOU'RE the one I want to be with,
YOU'RE the reason that I came,
And you'll find Me in the stillness
as I'm whispering YOUR name.

Love,
Jesus