Whew! It’s been a hectic few months for this family!! With the holidays nearing … and I’m talking back in November, my mom had a heart attack. Rewind … she had knee surgery, due to a torn ACL, from waaaay back! Doctors had no clue as to how she was even walking, so they went in and fixed things up. She had her ACL repaired and got a new meniscus. We thought that was that, some strenuous rehabilitation for her and she’d be good as new.

Wrong.

Not too long after her surgery, the phone rang … the tone was different, and I just knew something was wrong.  My brother Jordan was calling, in tears, and couldn’t even speak. I was trying to stay as calm as I could … I could only think of my Grandmother. “Jordan, you gotta calm down, what happened?” Then he spoke …. and all he could say was “She had a heart attack … they don’t know if she’s going to be ok.” I was in shock … our grandma? Who is “She” ??? “Mom. Mom had a heart attack Jaime.” I felt my heart skip a beat; I lost my breath. I was thinking was ‘No, not my mom, no way’

She was kicked in the head by a horse as a teenager, lost a good portion of her brain …. and she beat the odds then! She used to joke that it only took her 3/4 of a brain to do what it takes everyone else a whole brain to do. My mom’s tough as nails.

Despite what I was thinking … all that came out was “No.” Well, of course news travels down the grapevine in this family of 6. My parents spoke to Jared, who told Jordan (they’re roomies in Alaska), who called me … and I called my sister. She couldn’t even breathe. I just sat there, bewildered that MY mom was capable of having a heart attack. Then, I got it … her surgery, something had to have gone wrong in the re-coop stage. It seemed like days had passed before the phone rang again … this time, my mom. She was acting like it was nothing … but a heart attack is NOT nothing. She was with a friend’s daughter, Cassie, to whom I’ll forever be grateful to … she saved my mother’s life by dialing 911. Had she not called when she did, the doc said she probably wouldn’t have made it. I thank God … it wasn’t her time to go.

Thank you Cassie.

Mom scared the bee jeezuz out of us all … and what to do when she’s so far away, in the Alaskan bush? It was a really hard time for us all, not knowing what was going on, why it happened, if she was going to be alright. When her test results came back, I was even more afraid that I had been before. They Skype’d us from the hospital — Blood clots. Lungs. Scary stuff. I was so afraid for my mom … and my dad … for my whole family. I never knew how I would react in any type of situation involving my family members … no one does, until the unthinkable happens. I sat down with the littles and told them what had happened, and they were sad. They drew their grandma a picture, and e-mailed it to her (yeah, my mom doesn’t even travel to the ER without her laptop).

It wasn’t too long after Thanksgiving that they released my mom with a bazillion medications to rid her body of the blood clots, and then they were back to the Alaskan bush (or at least, that’s what we call it). December passed and Christmas came. We Skype’d with my parents, as we do every year, so that they are able to see the girls open their stockings and presents. It makes us feel as though the distance is somewhat less. This year, I was thankful, more so than most years, because my mom was still with us.

The unwrapping never lasts long with these girls … they are quick!

Outgrew the old jean jackets … mommy finally found some! 🙂

I totally, completely <3 the bug’s face in the next one …

And the byrd’s look of surprise after her new Princess bicycle (from Grandma & Grandpa) was unveiled …

Not long after … Miss Byrd was back to watching the parade in awe …

And seems Miss Bug got her hands on some Craftsman power tools!! LOOK OUT!

After the parade ended, Miss Byrd was off to make ice cream cone with her new Melissa & Doug Ice Cream Set!! Such a fun toy — even I like it!

We joined forces with friends for a late Christmas dinner … and spent the rest of the year getting ready for the hubs to take off for his latest deployment. Boo.