Book Review: The Shack

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a big reader. It takes me a lot of time to finish a book and it has to be REALLY good for me to get into it.

Well, I found a book that met my requirements: It was thrilling and captivating as well as educational. The Shack, by William Young gave me a new understanding of God and the trinity through the story of a man named Mack who, after the brutal murder of his daughter Missy, encounters God in a shack at a time in his life when he needs answers. Mack's experience is magical yet so down to earth. The descriptions of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are mesmerizing and their answers to some of life's basic questions like forgiveness, joy, and relationship are eye opening. Through the journey, Mack is able to heal from the tragedy and learn to again find happiness and love in a God he only thought he knew.

I finished this book in under a week and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting read or who is searching to better understand God and improve their relationship with him. I wish I could buy this book for everyone I know and convince them to read it. So please, pick up a copy. Read it with an open heart and be prepared for some surprises.

Try, Try Again

Ronnie had another follow up appointment this morning to look over his chronically open donor site from his last surgery. Initially, they just restitched the incision, but when it came open again, they found that there was a large open area under the surface. Stuffing the wound with anti-infection cloth did not seem to help so today the PA attached a Wound-Vac to the site. The Wound-Vac provides suction which not only removes the infection but helps the skin to heal. We are praying that no surgery is needed to close up the incision. :(

Fun with friends

We had a little birthday party with a few local friends tonight. It was a lot of fun to have everyone over. It's nice to feel connected here. We had a lot of fun and ate A LOT of food. Thanks everyone, for helping us celebrate! Happy 22nd birthday, Hubby!

Ronnie's New Toy

I'm just hoping to keep it out of my hair. Mia just hopes it wont eat her...

Ronnie Turns 22

A few months ago, we all wondered if this day would come. Life seems so much more precious now. We spent Ronnie's birthday in downtown San Antonio. We had a two night hotel pass to use, so we did some site-seeing. We were able to walk along the river, visit the Alamo, shop at the mall, see a movie, take a river boat tour, and go through Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum. It was an action packed early weekend. Happy Birthday, Ronnie!!

The Wax Museum at Ripley's

The Alamo

River Tour

South Haven, MI Vacation

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Touring the Town

Today Ronnie and i took a tour of the San Antonio Missions. It is a tour that i have really been wanting to do. There is something about knowing the history as you walk through a old architectural wonder. Our guide took us to Mission San José and Mission Concepción. He guided us through the lives of South Texas Native Americans in the 1800's. He showed us where they lived, learned to be craftsman and farmers, and where they worshiped. The tour was amazing and after it was done, we headed to San Antonio's famous Magnolia's Pancake Haus for lunch. Delicious.

Mission San José

Mission Concepción

Ronnie's Surgery 7-6-11

Ronnie had surgery to open up the palm of his hand that had been pulled closed by a scar band. Dr. L used full thickness skin grafts taken from Ronnie's left and right groin to fill in the gap in his hand. While the 3.5 hour surgery went very well, the nerve block put in place during the operation did not take leaving Ronnie in excruciating pain when he woke up. An increase in meds however brought on the unwanted side effect of unbearable itching. Anesthetists soon came into the ICU and again put in a nerve block.

The new nerve block however was short lived and soon Ronnie needed more pain meds and more itching meds. It took a couple days to get the meds right and the pain under control. It was not until Ronnie's fourth day in the hospital that he began to see a noticeable decrease in pain and could begin to decrease his meds.

Today is day six in the hospital and also the last day. Ronnie will be discharged this afternoon.

Ronnie's hand after surgery. The bolster will stay on for another few days.

Opie's Revenge

Though Mia had a great week with Ms. Terri while were were gone, she was quite happy when we came home. She always looked for a lap to sit on.

When she wasn't sitting on someone's lap, she was wreaking havoc for poor Opie. After chasing him through the house a hundred times, Opie finally stood his ground and fought back. He cornered Mia in a bedroom, hissing and batting at her. Then he chased her through the house. Panicked, Mia sought out anyone that could protect her from the little monster. But Opie wouldn't give up. He continued to pursue her and chase her whenever she was alone. Mia learned a valuable lesson and now has a healthy fear of the cat.

Grandma and Pig Tails

I am so blessed to have two amazing sets of grandparents, one set that lives just a couple hours from our home in Indy and another set that lives way down in Panama, Central America. My Grandma Olga made the trip up to the U.S. from Panama for several weeks so we couldn't miss an opportunity to see her. Whenever Grandma Olga is in town, we have to make my FAVORITE food; Almojabanos.... or Pig Tails as we like to call them. They are a delicious mix of corn and cheese that only Grandma can make. :)

South Haven, Michigan

Ronnie and I were so blessed to be able to take ten days to travel with my family. My grandma Olga was in town from Panama and Mom planned an amazing vacation for everyone. After dropping Mia off with a friend from church, we all piled into the cars and drove from Indianapolis to Ft. Wayne. We spent one night there to celebrate my cousin Bobby's birthday (we wont say how old) with my Grandma and PawPaw Meyers.

We headed to Michigan the next afternoon. The Seahorse cottage we stayed out was so cute. There are a hundred things I could say about the trip. It was simply amazing and I loved every moment I was blessed to spend with my family and grandparents.

Here are a few of my favorite things:
Walks on the beach, sunsets, quaint little shops, handmade icecream, watching PawPaw's ice cream melt way too fast, playing board games, s'mores on the back deck, speaking spanish with my Grandma Olga, shopping with both grandmas, being silly with my sisters, 70 degree weather, buying old fashion candy, old Disney movies, foosball, and so much more.