Road Tripping!

I can barely contain my excitement right now!  Mike and I have been talking about taking a real vacation for months!  We have talked about going on a cruise, going someplace warm in general,  blowing the budget and going to New York (ok really it was just me talking about going there, but a girl can dream right?).  Well, we FINALLY made a decision!  The boyfriend and I will be road tripping to this beautiful city........

Oh yes!  You are right!  That is CHICAGO!  I have always wanted to visit and now I get to spend Memorial Day weekend 2011 there!  The plan is to leave Wednesday evening the 25th (after work and all of that good stuff) and make it part way there before stopping.  Then we will finish the drive on the 26th and check in to our fancy hotel.....

before running around the city!  We will spend Thursday through Monday exploring and taking in the sights and then come back home to Oklahoma on Tuesday.  The hotel was really inexpensive and still not scuzzy, and driving was just a cheaper option for us.  Even with the amount we will pay to park and on gas, we'll still be coming in almost 300 less than if we had booked a flight.  No worries, though.  I get email updates from Southwest now, so if a killer flight deal comes up, I will take advantage. 

So there you go.  My exciting vacation plans!  I am definitely up for any Chicago advice anyone can give me (Kendra I know you have to have some!  You love this place).  So please, if you know of good restaurants we should eat at, sights we should see, or other random knowledge you can bestow on me, please do!  I am all ears!  Anyone else have any fun vacation plans coming up?

God is So Good!

Well update on my dad... His surgery went really well, the doctor was able to do the triple bypass without any complications at all, and they actually had him up and walking in the halls 24 hours after his surgery was finished.  Relief can not begin to describe how I feel.  I am so beyond overjoyed by how blessed we really are.  We were so close to losing him again and now I feel like he's been given a whole new opportunity.  Granted he is in a whole lot of pain and will be for a few weeks, but that is a small price to pay for the gift he/we have been given.  Its just so wonderful. Thank you to those who prayed for him. I know that made a huge difference!

Another great thing about this weekend was my amazing Valentine's present from Mike.....

 

The most beautiful orchids ever.  I love them!  One reason why I love them, other than just the fact that they are GORGEOUS, is that they aren't just your typical valentine's day flower.  They are my favorite flower, and he actually listened those many times that I talked about them!  Just knowing that he actually listens and remembers those little things was a present in itself.  We are going to a lovely Valentine's dinner tomorrow night and I am excited to spend this sappy holiday with him, even if it is just a stupid greeting card holiday :) 

Well anyway... Happy weekend to everyone!  I hope everyone has had as blessed of a weekend as I have!

Sooner Than Originally Thought

Well, the surgery is actually going to be tomorrow, Friday the 11th.  The cardiac surgeon just came in and let us know that the blood thinners my dad was on are already out of his system, so they are going to take him back tomorrow.  If you are up and around at about 7 am, please just say some prayers that everything goes all right.

Preparing for a Long Road

On May 6, it will have been 2 years since my dad had his heart attack.  It was a serious heart attack that almost killed him.  We were terrified and so grateful that he is still with us.  Well last night, my dad had another heart attack.  After a night in the hospital and a trip to the cath lab to have a less invasive surgery, it was determined that my dad needs to have bypass surgery in order to recover from this one. The surgery is going to happen on Monday, February 14 and he has to stay in the hospital until then.  It will take him approximately 5 days to recover enough to be able to go home, which is absolutely driving him nuts.  Hopefully though, after the surgery, he will have much less heart problems and he will also be able to go off of some of the medications he is currently on for his heart.  Even though the benefits could be really great, we are still really scared about the surgery.  It is open heart surgery, and there are some serious risks, especially since he is diabetic. 

Anyway, most of you know how close I am to my dad, so obviously this has been really hard for me to deal with.  I am trying to stay upbeat and just have faith that everything will be ok and this will hopefully keep him with us even longer.  I just ask that everyone please pray for him.  Please also pray for my mom.  She is trying to be strong, but I know that she is barely keeping it together.  Honestly, I'm not really up for talking about it, so I'm sorry for not letting people know or messaging people after this.  I'll update everyone on how the surgery goes after Monday.  I hope everyone is doing well, and staying safe in this crazy weather.