Southern Living Yankee

We didn't go to the Indy 500 for our wedding anniversary. But here's the key to our happy marriage: Tom and Aaron went and I stayed home! You can see pics of blurred race cars below. Here's where Tom and I went for our anniversary: www.glenlaurel.com It was a beautiful facility, our 5-course dinner on Friday was delicious (good-bye South Beach diet!). We stayed in a Scottish "croft"--a tiny house. Loved the screened-in porch and the outdoor hot tub overlooking the treetops. The weather was great and we had a wonderful time! It was a 2 hour drive from here. We left Friday afternoon and returned Saturday. It's about 50 miles south of Columbus, in case anyone wants a 50% off coupon in the next few months. E-mail me and I'll send you one. You'll love it! Yesterday while Tom and Aaron were at the race I spent the day putting my manuscript together. If I go to the writers conference I'll have to have the book proposal and a chapter in the mail by June 15...

Hannah goes to her home (not another hospital) TODAY! FINALLY! Just over one month ago, the whole family thought they'd be safely home within a few hours . . . Please continue to pray for "peace that passes understanding." Pray for safety and freedom from anxiety on the long car ride from Rockford, IL to MN. Thanks for doing your part.

EXCITING NEWS! You know how people watch pre-schoolers, then sigh, then say "Oh, to have that energy! Wish I could bottle it!" (Probably not those exact words, but do you get my gist?) Here's something better than the little yard apes energy: KEEP A GRATITUDE JOURNAL What??? Here's a quote (with my highlights) from an article by Drs. Blair & Rita Justice regarding research on being thankful: "Psychologists Robert Emmons at the University of California at Davis, and Michael McCullough, at the University of Miami, are foremost researchers in field of gratitude. What they have learned so far is that gratitude is good for you, really good for you. In an experimental comparison, people who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events (Emmons & McCulloug...

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THE SMITHS HANNAH (age 11) Hannah hasn't had any food or drink since the accident. Imagine how life-altering this is for an active and petite 11-year-old with a very healthy thirst! Sat. May 5 was a very difficult day because she was soooo thirsty---and very scary because she ruptured something and lost a lot of blood. She was given 3 pints of blood, closely monitored, and was a candidate for exploratory surgery. But, PTL , surgery wasn't necessary since the blood levels began to stabilize. As stated previously, her tummy area is like a jigsaw puzzle with all sorts of tubes coming in and out of it. I hadn't realized it, but this is because they are not letting anything touch her intestines, trying to let them heal. The good news is that she is now allowed an ice chip every half hour, and she also had a Popsicle . She also has been allowed to start walking a bit. RUTH (mother) Had her broken ankle set this week. She's in a wheelchair and now ...

ANOTHER UPDATE This is from my mom again. "I talked to Anjee regarding the Smith's, and Praise the Lord... prayers are being answered... Izaac and Zoie have gone to Grandma Bonnie Smith's house and there is talk they may all go home to Minneapolis next week where Ruth may have her broken foot taken care of. With prayers from all parts of the world (amazing reports of christians upholding them for which they are most thankful), Hannah is gaining strength each day. They had her sitting up yesterday and plan to do so each day. She had to have water removed from her lungs yesterday and that was pretty hard to go through. But today's another day." Please continue to pray for their situation and recovery. For now, I will email you with any urgent news. I think the blog has served a good purpose in this, but now we can go with "No news is good news." Thank you for your part in the prayer coverage. Be sure to follow the example of the one out of ten lepers w...