Catching up!

         Happy 2013, I am only 48 days late!! It has sure been a  long time since the last time I wrote. I always promise myself that I will write more often but for whatever reason I fail to meet that goal every time I set it. So this time I am not going to set the goal and hope reverse psychology works here. Now were to begin. Since the last time I have written more then I can ever write in one post has happened. First off there was Christmas, which was fantastic. To me Christmas has become so much more important then the things I receive or the things I give. It has become a time for me to spend time with my loving family and treasure all the moments that I have with them. For me the smallest moments can be the biggest most important moments of my holidays. Simply spending time with the people I love and cherishing each day as if it is the last, and let me tell you this Christmas that was more true then ever for me. 

         Just a few short days later my world was turned upside down and once again my unpredictable life took a new turn. My family had a huge scare with my Dad and his Alpha-1. People always say you don't know what you have until its gone, well let me tell you I found out very quickly what I had and while there are moments it seems like things cant get any worst, I wouldn't trade any of it in. If I didn't have the amazing people and the amazing support of the people around me I wouldn't be who I am. If it wasn't for Alpha-1, although a terrible part of my life, I wouldn't be who I am today. In those moments and days that I felt like I would never get my Dad back I realized how much I have been blessed. I have been blessed with the most supportive and loving parents someone could ask for. My parents are my best friends. They pick me up when I am down, encourage me to do well in whatever I decide are my hopes and dreams, and love me for who I am. I am my fathers daughter. There are so many similarities in how I approach situations and how I think sometimes it scares me. Without him, I wouldn't be who I am and that comes with the good and bad. This 13 day journey we took was a new experience for my family. While it is not one I want to repeat it bought us together in the most loving ways. Things were said that needed to be said, things that never had been said before. It allowed us to show our true colors. I am not going to sugar coat the whole situation like it made things so much better for my family. It didn't. It made things more complicated in so many ways and brought out fears that I never thought we would have or show publicly. This journey was the start of an even larger journey that we now will continue to face. The alpha-1 journey. Each persons is different and unpredictable. We don't know whats next and that makes us have to leave each day at a time. Which for me is good. I need to live each day at a time, otherwise I get way to far ahead of myself in planning out each detail of a future I truly have no control over. While my Dad is getting back to a somewhat normal way of life there are still complications and obstacles to cross. 

             During this journey my family endured and continues to endure we were met with a new year. I spent the last moments of 2012 and the beginning moments of 2013 with some of my closest friends from high school. Friends that have been through so much with me and continue to be support system for me that is irreplaceable. I also started something new with the new year. It was something I had found on pintrest, which is my new obsession. Each day I write one thing good that happened down on a sheet of paper and put it in a jar. At the end of 2013 I will look back on all of the amazing things that happened over the year. I find this to be a humbling experience for me. Some days I have to write the simplistic things down, such as just waking up in the morning and other days I write down more complex things about an event or something that happened throughout the day. I can't wait at the end of the year to look back at these cards and see what I have written. I think it will help me to have a positive outlook on my day, on my week and on my year. It makes me stop for a moment to appreciate the amazing god given things that surround me. 

            A few short days after my Dad returned home from our crazy journey in the hospital I returned to LVC. A place that over the last 6 weeks has become even more special to me. The amount of support I have received from the amazing people that surround me out at school is indescribable  Their never ending love and support touch me tremendously. They have taken care of me. When I need to break down and cry or talk something out they are right there with me. When I need a pick me up, or a tire changed because I have a flat, a trip to the ER in the middle of the night, or someone to 'babysit' me because I am on crutches/in a wheel chair, they are always there. And yes all those things have happened in the first 5 weeks of my 2nd semester. Lets just say I keep things interesting for everyone around me.  I am once again truly blessed to have amazing friends both out at LVC and from home. Thanks to all of them for the never ending love and support!!! Love you guys!! 

          As for everything else in my life it is going fairly well. I can't believe that I am 2 short weeks away from spring break and being half way through my second semester. It is crazy to think that in just a little over 2 months I will no longer be a college freshman. Time is flying by and my life is a never ending bit of chaos but I would have it no other way. Continue to appreciate the smallest moments, they can some times be the moments with the biggest impact!! 

"Its not the number of breaths you take but rather the number of moments that take your breath away!"