Monday, December 29th and still here

Well, Christmas came and went and was such a joy to spend great time with my family. It was a special time for all of us. Presents aren't the most important thing in life, it's quality time together that you can enjoy. We enjoyed spending the time together.
I ran into a couple of guys that I used to work with today. One of them, Ken, is retiring before the end of the year and this is his last week at work. Another friend, Stewart, now works for another company but still does business out there. He is there quite regularly. It was good to see both of them and we talked about some OLD times. One thing that got to me was they were both curious with how I am doing. I made a few comments about my pains everyday, but their friendship to me wanted more information. I had to explain what I can do and what I can't do, what creates pains and how I deal with it. It is a good thing to have these type of friends in my life. Stewart said when he saw me at the hospital, he thought it was over for me. I don't remember him being there, but he saw what my family was going through during this time and saw how I looked at the time. He was praying for me to recover but was not sure if I would. He was real happy that God was there with me and helped pull me through this situation. People that see me everyday know when I hurt and what causes it, but these guys only see me once in a while so they really did not know. One of them said that they could tell I still have a small limp. Most people don't see this because with time, they have just gotten used to it. I know that the limp is stronger sometimes than others. They were interested in what I was doing around the house these days. I talked about putting up sheetrock and they were curious how that was going. I do OK with higher spots, but the areas near the ground are tougher to do. I can't reach down like I use to do so I just take the time to sit down and do what I can. Problem with this is when I have to get up to get something or change the size of my piece. They understood how much this hurts and understood how hard it is on me. It never fails, those that know you the best, understand how you used to be and how hard it is to deal with these changes.
That is just part of life that seems to still be there. I smile every day and keeps my attitude moving forward. Life is good and my new name will be with us in a month or so. Megan is due the first part of February and from then on, Grandpa will be a great thing.
Love where you are and enjoy it while you can. Ask God for help when you need it. He was there for me and will help you out as much as He can.
12/29/2008 and probably my last post for this year.... 2009 is coming and all we can do is be ready for it.

Tuesday, Dec 23 and still around

Well, Christmas is almost upon us and the excitement is all around. I spoke in my last note about many people wanting to say Happy Holidays rather than Merry Christmas. I have been paying a lot of attention to this and I guess I was a little hard on the subject. I seem to hear Merry Christmas more than I realized. It is great that, as a group, we take this Birth of Jesus so highly. It is because of Him that we are all here. There was a sign at our Kindergarten that said "Here we still say Merry Christmas". This put a smile on my face when I read it.
I have been waking up in the morning with my back hurting more than usual. I don't know of anything that could be causing this, but I will deal with it. My tailbone is hurting more often, too. Another one of those mysteries when God is testing me to make sure i am still moving forward.
We will be getting together tonight with my family. My niece is in town and the family wanted to get together before Megan and Matt went to Dallas to see his parents. Mom and Dad will be here and everyone but Breanna will be there. Brea had a trip to Colorado planned to go play in the snow while school was out and this was the best time to go. We will miss her tonight, but as long as she is safe and comes home OK, we will live with it.
One of the things about me is my mind will not let me get too involved with the gifting issue. Betty took care of all the stuff for the kids and all I could do was pick up a little something for her. We are doing an exchange gift tonight, but my thoughts would not have been too popular so she took care of it. I am so lucky to have her in my life! Her attention to details just amazes me everyday. I am still here because of her attention to me while I was at the hospital. I will never forget it even though I did not know it at the time.
I want everyone to have a very Special Merry Christmas and let's all take time to Praise Jesus for being in our life. Feel free to talk to God if you need a shoulder to cry on. It is AMAZING just how help He is EVERY DAY. My love to you all.
Mark 12/23/08

Another week has come and is gone... Dec 17

Well, this special time of year is upon us and the excitement is running all around. This is a special time of the year for many people, but some for other reasons than the Birthday of Christ. I think in OUR part of the world, it has become the giving of gifts. So many people focus on this. Sales start before Thanksgiving now and with our land in a state of recession, vendor's are fighting for every SALE. Happy Holidays is the common statement made by many people to AVOID using Christ's name. Once He smiles upon us, life has a different meaning. I get asked a lot of times why I am always in such a good mood. HE is the reason for this. Once you are down like I was, He has a whole new meaning. He was an important part of my life before my accident but now He is the center of My Life.
My new position at work seems to working out well, but I have more pains than I did before. I wake up in the mornings and my right pelvic area hurts. I am not sure if I am working it enough to strengthen it or if I am going too far as to make it hurt from this over exertion. I love life and I love waking up every day and will deal with this pain long enough to figure out which way it is going. Time will tell me sometime soon and then I will know what to do to help this matter out. I noticed this afternoon that I can climb ladders at work easier than I could six months ago. This tells me that I am moving forward I just need to make sure it is not too fast. I don't want to go back to where I was a year and a half ago, but I also don't want to stay where I am for the rest of my life, either. Right now, I am working with people that I did not know before and some I have not seen in a while. It is a great feeling to get to know these people and to realize how they see life in general. Trying to sort out all of this information I am taking in is some what difficult at times, but this is a challenge for my mind, too. I don't feel like I am helping this project out much, but the guy over it tells me how great I am doing. I am doing a lot of comparing drawings to data and trying to figure out if it is right or not and make changes to it to make it right.
Betty has, as usual, or house dressed up for this time of year. Getting the stuff down from the attic in the garage is a lot harder than it used to be, but I can still help a lot with it. Matt is big enough to get in the attic area now and I am closer to the ground to lift it down to Tiff. That is a great thing to be a part of. This makes our time during this month feel special. Betty has always been one of those people that enjoys celebrating His Birthday.
Life is great and I am here to bother all the people that I love. It is a great thing to be a part of.
My love to you all. Talk to God if you need some help dealing with problems or just a friend to talk to. He is there and will listen. He made my life more pleasant and can do the same for you. PLEASE don't go there the same way I did, but allow Him to be there if you need Him.
Thanks. Mark 12/17/08

Thursday, December 4 and moving on

Well, another month is upon us. It is a time to celebrate for me. This week, one year ago, I had my last surgery and spent 6 days in the hospital. I am so glad that this is behind me and I can still breathe on my own. That is a great thing to have behind me. My boss looked at my backlog of jobs to do and was happy with what I have done lately. He asked me if I could help with the upcoming turn-around that is being planned right now. It does not start until August of 2009, but they want it completely planned out before the end of the year. This is one of those BIG things that I have not had a lot of experience with. I got to climb up a couple of towers to get pictures of stuff up there and put a job together to get the item taken care of. It takes me a long time to get up and down these, but I made it. My boss was not happy that I did this because he knows how I am and how I will push to do things. I told him I was OK with it even though I am slow at it. It does make my shoulder hurt, but it is progress that I can do it. One of my co-workers said he was so glad that I was able to climb again. It is not as easy as it used to be and makes me hurt, but making it is a feat for me. He and I talked a lot about how I was when I was down and he knew some of it, but had only heard a little bit of the truth. I talked to him and explained a lot of things in detail because I know him well enough to know he could handle it. It is tough thing to talk about when someone can't handle it, but since I lived through it all and know MOST of it first hand, I don't mind telling the story. He said he has noticed my mood and how I have such a good outlook on things. I went back to the "train story" that I have told before. (If you don't know my "train story", don't be afraid to ask...) I told him how when I first woke up that I did not know my wife and kids at first, but they tell me that they could tell when I did. I was so sure at that time that I could do anything. I just needed someone coming to see me to help me up so I could "escape". Of course, they all loved me enough to know better than to try this. I finally was able to get up on my own and try to walk out. Betty came in and found me passed out in a pool of blood on the floor. I just knew I could make it. The truth hurts sometimes and the floor does, too. This did not convince me I was not ready but the net bed they put me in helped get me around.
Some of these memories will be with me forever and I am proud to say that I remember a lot of them. God was with me then as he is now. He helps me daily to move on and move upward. My mind is not quite as good as it used to be, but I hope with time, I will be better there, too.
My love to all of you. Have a safe of joyous Christmas time this year. Just remember WHY this is a holiday. This is the time when our Great One was born. Smile and appreciate every day.
Mark 12/4/08