Still learning...

The more patients I come in contact with the more I realize just how fine the line is between remaining optimistic and being realistic. How can you tell someone that there is a strong possibility that they may never walk again, or that there is really no way of knowing how much longer they may live...
The only thing I know for certain is that lately my patients are teaching me a great deal more than I could ever teach them.
And I still believe in miracles and in the One who performs them.

Happy Birthday Brett!

And here's to decades more to celebrate together
You are my everything!

We celebrated in Gulf Shores this year

Me & my sister
(yes, she IS in fact wearing long sleeves at the beach...)

And these are a shout out for Baron :)

Happy Leap Day!

Here are some pics of my sweet niece Emily... who just so happens to have the greatest Mommy & Daddy ever, dear sweet friends of ours! They are experiencing some camera issues so I thought I'd post a few shots from our visit with them in January. Love you Karen & Derek!

check out that awesome shirt! :)

Derek & Brett in the CA car

she loves playing in her Daddy's cars

Karen & Judy
{okay, so this is from Sept - only Karen would know that without the date stamp!}

Em & Brett heading to Blue Coast Burrito {where else?}

The Biggest Loser

Who knew that boy night would bring the most tears?

To my Belmont family

Anna and I have decided we need to have a Belmont ski trip next winter. Maybe Jeremy could ski more than two runs at Breckenridge this time :) Or you could just come to Honduras with us June 28 - July 7.
Either way leave a comment and let me know. How fun would a reunion be?

Sprint bites the big one...

Is anyone else feeling betrayed by company mergers? Brett's first cell phone was with Sprint and we had such problems with them we vowed never to use them again. Enter Sprint/Nextel merger. And once again I am a Sprint customer by default, and they have financially raped me... well, sort of....
The first time they refused to give us back a refund cheque that was $200+, claiming that it kept "returning" because of an incorrect address. After six months and countless hours on the phone with their "customer care associate" I finally sent them a pleasant letter explaining my refusal to continue paying my account with them and that they had my permission to take the funds out my refund cheque. If the accounting department issuing the cheque needed the correct mailing address, they could contact the billing department, since somehow, the bills seemed to arrive without any problems whatsoever.
Fast forward to this month after my Nextel account miraculously became a Sprint account with the merger. Then my phone is stolen and the "thief" decides to downlown a bunch of junk using my sweet little i830. Which convienently Sprint can't detect what day the items were downloaded, and although I deactivated the account, I didn't do it soon enough, and am caught footing the bill.
Thanks Sprint. How can my credit card look after purchases that occur before I'm able to report it's disappearance, but you can't remove charges from my phone not done by me because "unfortunately" you aren't able to know when they were downloaded? How is it then that the absolute SECOND I go over on my minutes or answer my phone in Canada you are all over it... hmmm. I feel a new "pleasant" letter coming on...

Colorado

3 days
+
3 resorts
=

1 awesome ski trip

Denver airport

Tenderfoot Lodge

Keystone Resort

Yeah, visibility was low at Vail...

Vail

When can I go back?

Could this be the year?

Guess who watched the Leaf game last night right in their very own living room?

HealthSouth Makes Me Drink

Coffee. With cream. Lots of cream. French vanilla {is there any other kind?}
You would have thought the addiction would have happened lightyears ago. My whole life has primed me for this...

• both Mom & Dad drink it every morning and I know just how to fix it for them - milk and half sugar, just milk, respectfully
• raised where Tim Hortons is literally found on every street corner, but make mine a cafe mocha and bring on the whipped cream!
  
• worked in a coffee shop learning all the tricks when I was in high school, and on my breaks home from college
• lived with Mary Alice freshmen year at Lipscomb who introduced me to Bongo Java - 'nuff said!
• was a pre-med major which included immunology, virology, a & p, not to mention ecology & genetics (ironically my favourite class)
  
• took organic chemistry I & II the first year Boone started teaching it... can we say all nighters?
• worked as an RA for three years in Fanning
  
• worked as residence hall director in Yearwood {may she rest in peace} and Johnson for five years
• worked for Scott McDowell - aka "Mr. Starbucks & I-take-mine-black-brew-me-four-more-pots" (wait, maybe I should say "favourite employee of instead of worked for?)
  
• spent countless hours driving in a car sans sunlight between the TN-AL commutes and traveling across the border
  
• went back to grad school and became a surrogate "mom" to an entourage of young whipper snappers! {love you guys! happy mother's day!}

So why the recent addiction to coffee after making it through numerous events necessitating serious caffeine jolts you ask?
HealthSouth... the only answer I can come up with! I blame the fact that it's free and there's a creamer machine with french vanilla.. supplying me with a cup of small liquid heaven if you will. And the fact that I need to get some sort of quick jump start to my day where I work with patients that have been up since before the sun. Gah.
Maybe it's not a coffee addiction afterall. I think I just prefer a little bit of coffee in my morning cream. Yeah... that must be it..

& baby makes... four Mills!

Congratulations to Jamin & Ashley
and big brother Aiden
on the safe arrival of
Emerson Lilly Mills
7 pounds 6 ounces
20.5 inches
And a whole lot of sweetness to cuddle!
{although Aiden is not too keen on me holding "Mommy's baby"...}

16 years...

since we had our first date... Hard to imagine my life without him, and wouldn't have it any other way!

Something to ponder

"If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation for the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great."
-John Piper

Still thankful..

So what's not to like about thanksgiving? Food, family, friends... no pressure with gifts, and taking time out to reflect on all the good things you've been given. In the spirit of the first Thanksgiving we had a true international meal this year, having some of the soccer boys over to eat. Canadians, Africans, Chinese, Brazilians, and one token American all came together to celebrate this year.
Going along the lines of "better late than never" I wanted to be sure to send out happy, healthy Thanksgiving thoughts & prayers to everyone. And especially after this morning's sermon, I wanted to be intentional about making a "list"...
This year I am especially thankful to be living under the same roof as my sweet husband... after three years apart I am amazed that I am still married to my best friend and one of the greatest gifts God has given me!
I am blessed with amazing friendships with people across this continent. I love how we can get together after not seeing each other for months, even years, and everything picks right back up again like we'd never been apart. I love how the internet makes it possible to communicate with people I love dearly that, although we no longer live side by side, we can still be a part of each others lives.
I have a wonderful family. It is impossible for me to think about past Thanksgiving without remembering my cousins, aunts & uncles, grandparents & great aunts... They have all loved me for being me, and supported me even when they haven't always agreed with my decisions... I am blessed to know they will always be behind me.
One of the greatest things that has become a reality for me this year is my "job" as a physical therapist. After years of wondering what I would be when I "grew up" {still waiting for that!} and years of school ,I get to help people on a daily basis work toward having a better life. I feel purposed and appreciated for what I am able to do for my patients & their families. I have no doubt that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, and that it was God who brought me to this point.
And I am continually in awe of a God who constantly pursues me. I will never understand how He could choose to pitch His tabernacle tent in the middle of my stubborn, stiff-necked desert, but oh, how grateful I am! And because of love, grace, mercy, and a willing sacrifice I will never receive what I deserve.

Cheaha State Park

How many "hoodies" does one person need?

Apparently I need eight..! Brett and I are still trying to organize some things around the house... and I made the mistake of getting out the "winter clothes" containers... I am now struggling between feeling completely overwhelmed as well as spoiled beyond what I deserve... Any suggestions on how to "pare down to necessities" or simply the art of "letting go" would be appreciated.
And now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to crawl out from a pile of clothes a mile high & try to find my bed...

I'm an "aunt"!

Please join me in welcoming
Kate Valentine Watkins
7lbs 8 oz
into this world where God has a purpose & plan for her life!

Momma Dawn is tired, but doing well and Daddy Aubrey says he's doing well too!

TN... sounds good to me!

Was in Gatlinburg, TN this past weekend for what I described to Jeff Wilson as "the people who know & love Terry Reeves" retreat... AKA the Torch board meeting. {go figure, after years of not seeing eachother Doak & I end up on the same trail the same day... love you guys!} We spent 100.8 hours in our board meeting, got a lot accomplished, AND got to hang out in the mountains... what could be better? It was an awesome weekend, well worth the griping voiced on the hike I drug everyone on with me. Got to spent time with people who are part of my "cloud of witnesses" and have some alone time with God.

Loved getting to see you guys {Lester-Margaret-Terry-Nater-Steve-Mark-Brian}. Let's go to the beach next year! Oh wait, I'll just meet you in Roatan ;)

Leslie & I at the "waterfall"

Judy, Margaret, Leslie

El Presidente

Margaret getting busted for tight rolling her jeans... oh no wait, they're just rolled?

my little 'bro Nate ;)

Happy 41st Mom & Dad!

Deeper Still - The Event

If you ever get the chance to attend such an event - DO IT! I can not adequately put into words what this weekend meant to me. Not only did I get to meet up with some **not all... sorry :( ** of my dearest of friends and their sweet little ones - I experienced worship like never before as God carved out a special moment for just the two of us during the conference... just me & my God in amongst 26 000 other women...

My spirit is still soaring!

You learn something new every day...

Today I learned that Brett does not like Chick-fil-A lemonade... but will still drink mine anyway.

AND fat pants do not always fit... :(

**If you do not own or understand the purpose of fat pants you are not welcome to comment on this post. Thank you.**