Life's not the breaths you take, but the MOMENTS that take your breath away

Only two short days after I started this blog, we got the news from Idaho, that Jimi's mother, Debbie was in the Critical Care Unit, and that the prognosis was "not good".

Jimi, Ryder and I took an emergency flight to Idaho so we could go be with her.  It was Ryder's first flight and he was SO good! Everyone commented on it, and he had a lot of fun looking out the window at everything.

Immediately, upon Jimi arriving, the doctors saw improvement. Although she was in a drug induced Coma when we arrived, when Jimi spoke to her and held her hand, her heartbeat would go faster, and we knew she could hear us.

The next several days were really hard for Jimi and I was just beside myself, wanting to be there for him, but not really knowing how. Praying every day for Debbie to get better, to pull through this, and wanting desperately for the opportunity for Jimi to get to talk to his mom.

It was hard for me to see him like this. It was new territory for me. Jimi did not grow up close to his family like I did, and I knew there were things inside of him that were eating at him. Things he wanted and needed to say.

One good thing that I can say about this trip is that we did not have the money to see any of Jimi's boys this year. Two of them live in the same area as his family in Idaho, and so by default, we got to introduce them to their new little brother, and we got to spend some time with them on the weekends when they weren't in school. Another separate post later of all the things we did with them, but suffice it to say that the first day we were there, they met us at the hospital, and I captured this great pic of Jimi with three of his four boys!

It was not under the best circumstances, but after being married to Jimi for 3 years, I finally got to meet many more members of his family on his Mom's side. I took this opportunity to take a family photo- Debbie obviously is not in this one, and neither is her sister, Cat, or her daughter Trena. But everyone else was there. (DJ and Shane were hunting- but in this picture in spirit!)

LtoR: Ruby  (Jimi's cousin), Granny Flanders (Debbie's mom) holding Ryder, Uncle Ken (KC), Aunt Kelly (Debbie's sister), Aunt Melinda (Debbie's sister), Ronda  (Jimi's cousin), Mike Robins (Jim's BIL), April Robins (Jimi's sister), and Jimi and I.

Even his sister, April, with whom he had not spoken in over 10 years, was there. She and her husband Mike actually live fairly close to us, in Texas, and we seem to have a lot of the same interests. It was truly great to watch Jimi re-build a relationship with her while we were there- and it has continued since we have returned home. Praise God! I am so happy about this turn of events.

AND... So was Debbie! It was very touch and go for a while, but by the time we left there, she was breathing on her own, could talk to us, was eating on her own, and doing very well, considering what she had been through. She was VERY happy to hear that Jimi and April were "mending fences".

Although complications have left her in a long term care hospital currently without the use of her hands and feet, and on permanent dialysis, we are thankful every day that she survived this. We know that she has a long road of recovery ahead of her physically, but the emotional recovery that began for Jimi's family  while we were there was amazing to witness.

I am continuing to pray for her every day, and keeping in touch with the family.
I am thankful that Jimi had not yet gone overseas. God knew that he needed to be there for his mom. I believe his presence there really helped pull her through!

I am also thankful to my mom and Jim, for the plane tickets, and my sister April, for taking care of the animals while were were gone. Without you guys, we would not have been able to even go! We love you!

Here is a picture of Ryder meeting his Grandma Debbie for the first time.

Thanks for reading! Now, go call your family members, and let them know how much you love them! Better yet, if you can, give them a hug and let them know in person!

Till next post, keep living those moments that take your breath away, and don't worry so much about the small stuff! Have a great day!