Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I have many things to be thankful this year; including my family, friends, and health. This year had held many changes for Kurtis and me, and we could not have made it through without the help of our constant support system - you!

We left Meridian, MS (tear!) in August of 2009 and moved to Oak Harbor, Washington in order for Kurtis to fly the new EA-18 (The Growler.) For those of you Navy illiterate such as myself, this is a F18 designed for electronic warfare. Eventually, what is now called the "Prowler" will be replaced with the Growler.

On September 11th, Kurtis and I made an emergency trip to the hospital due to the horrible stomach pains Kurtis had been suffering from for several days. Within four hours (it took 2 hours to diagnose him from the CT Scan), they had him on the surgery table. He had been suffering from retrocecal appendicitis, which is another term for the appendix wrapping itself around the colon and lodging into the back. His appendix had actually ruptured 2 days before we went to the ER and infection had spread everywhere. After a four hour surgery, we began a week long stay in the hospital. We were blessed with an amazing doctor from Seattle (yes, I wondered if he knew McDreamy) who described this event as Kurtis getting ran over by an 18 wheeler, who then put it in reverse, and ran him over again. We had to jumpstart his entire digestive system and battle medications and side effects from antibiotics. We could not have made it through this time without the help of friends and the major support of our family. After about the 5th day in the hospital, we called Kurtis's parents to come and help. It was an immense relief to have them there. Kurtis's brother, Sam, was also a huge comfort to me during the surgery and the next few days. My mother was also my rock, as every night I laid everything on her. She was my strength when I was absolutely exhausted.

Kurtis has now completed physical therapy and just completed his first few flights in the Growler this past week. It has been a slow process, but he is now 95% healed - Praise God! We will never take our health for granted and my heart goes out to those that daily live with illnesses.

On another note, we will be moving to Anacortes, WA on December 7th, due to the house we are now renting going into foreclosure. Yes, this is a nuisance, but a blessing in disguise as we will now be able to move to the halfway point between the Navy Base and my future job (I start Jan 4th) at Moss Adams in Bellingham. I will send you all our new address when the move is final.

Have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving everyone!