1 Year Anniversary - January 22, 2010

Wow, can't believe that it's been one year since the car wreck. When we talk about things in the family it's always, that happened before the crash or after the crash! Our lives changed that day and we will forever remember that date. Jennifer had taken the time to plan a fun evening for all the adults in the family. She emailed everyone and called the Sandpiper, a really nice restaurant here in Idaho Falls, and made reservations for 5:00 pm on the 22nd.
Friday,January 22nd came, it was cold and snowy, and the doorbell rang about 11:30 am. When I went to the door, I saw Tory Alldridge getting back into the car, he & Ashley waved and then drove away. On my doorstep, I had a gift bag and a garbage bag. Inside the gift bag were 2 plaques & 2 wooded cubes. One plaque said, "Miracles Do Happen" and the other said, "We Have Shared Together the Blessings of God" One cube had the same design as the plaques and one had pictures of Neil and I on each side, tied with ribbon. Inside the garbage bag was a darling scrapbook with all the cards, letters, emails, pictures and memorabilia from the accident. She had made the nicest book, I was so touched and emotional. She had a letter in the front of it and when I started to read it, I cried. Stacey came just then and read the letter and looked at the book. She had come to do me a favor and cut my hair, which has gotten so curly since the accident it was driving me crazy. I was glad for the interruption and put the book away to read it by myself when no one else was around. Shayla brought her girls over for me to watch and I was glad to stay busy and play with them. Jenny & Jerod came over before they headed to the Sandpiper and brought me a gift. When I opened it, it was my leather jacket. I had received the jacket for Christmas 2008 and had it with me in the car the day of the accident. I had taken it off, and put it on the seat by me. I had not seen it since the accident. Jennifer had told me that she had it, it had a lot of glass all over it and she was getting all the glass out of the jacket. There was my jacket, all the glass was gone and I was so happy to see it again. That made me cry also, which made Jenny cry. What an emotional day already and we hadn't even gone to dinner yet! Neil and I went with Ashley and Tory to dinner and we had such a nice evening. Travus and Marci were there, Tricia (her hubby is a basketball coach and he had a game that night) Stacey, Jennifer & Jerod, Ryan & Marsi, Tyson & Shayla, Nick and Lisa, Ashley & Tory, My mom and Carlee (Stacey's daughter who was with us in the accident). We visited and laughed and were all so grateful to be together and all of us doing so well. Tricia had the rod taken out of her leg a couple of weeks before and she is doing really well, just taking it a little slower when she walks. A lot of us came back over to our house after dinner and visited. What a special day. I am grateful to Ashley for the time and effort that she put into making the scrapbook for me. It holds many memories, and as the first page in it says, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." That saying really sums up how I feel about 2009. Many hard times, but also many blessings and good times. Thanks to my family and my Heavenly Father for all I have, I am truly blessed. To celebrate the anniversary, Neil and I are headed to Oahu, Hawaii with my brother Gregg, and his wife Anna. We are flying out of Idaho Falls, so as not to jinx our trip!