A Very Shocking Weekend!

I have contemplated sharing this on my blog due to it being a personal family matter, but I realized how much of a blessing the good Lord has given my family and I wanted to share his blessings to our family, with you, because it truly is remarkable.

The weekend started like any other, busy! Friday night the husband surprised me by taking me and Cadence to Charleston to the opening night of James Island Holiday Festival of Lights. If you live in South Carolina, than you already know what this is, but if not, it's an amazing light display all about Christmas. You stay warm and cozy in your car while you drive around the park and look at the hundreds of lights they have on display. There is also a place to park where you can look at their annual Sand Castle themed towards Christmas, Gingerbread Houses, Marshmallow Pits to roast marshmallows, you can even meet Santa or visit two Christmas gift shops. They also have this cute little train that goes around the park, but make sure you bundle up!

We surprised Cadence by not telling her until we got there, she couldn't stand the wait!

This was her face as soon as she saw where we were!

Afterwards we ate at one of our favorite Charleston restaurants, California Dreaming, which is located directly on the Charleston Harbor. The view is amazing, the pictures sure do not do it justice!

The view from our dining table.

Trying to dodge the camera!

After the husbands wonderful Holiday filled surprise it got Cadence and I in the Christmas spirit, so while the hubs went hunting on Saturday, she and I decided to decorate the entire house!

Annually we choose (as a family) an ornament to add to our tree. We call it our special ornament and we get three. One for myself, the husband, and Cadence. This year we chose this fat little snowman!

Cadence has her very own tree in her room and we let her choose one ornament to add onto it each year as well. She wanted a "candy land" themed tree, so each year she chooses an "edible" ornament.

This was last years ornament

and this was the one she chose this year

She saw this donut and wanted it as well, since it was only $1 and she showed her big brown puppy dog eyes, we caved and let her get that as well.

Finished Trees:

Once the hubs got finished hunting, I got ready (snapped a silly pic w/the big rollers) and we went and got some breakfast.

The above picture does not do my hair justice after using these rollers. They truly give me so much body it's unbelievable! I use them daily.

Sunday morning is when I got the shocking news. My dad who has had some awful upper back and shoulder pain, started having terrible chest pains. You'd have to know my dad to realize that the fact that he went to the ER is a testament to how much pain he must have been in, because the man is terrified of hospitals/doctors/etc.

I told my mom, who rushed him there, to keep us posted as to what it was. Two hours later I got the call that they were admitting him to a room and were in the process of running the normal tests they do when a person complains of chest pains. I immediately got in my car and headed over.

It was then we were told that my father had a mild heart attack due to blockages in his arteries. The reason for his months of back and shoulder pain had all along been associated with his heart. They did a procedure where they go in through the upper leg and if there are only a few blockages to the heart, they can remove them with a stint. The doctor came out and told us they stopped counting the blockages at 8. We broke down because this meant he had to have open heart surgery.

This all happened on Sunday evening, his surgery was Monday at 4. After hours and hours of waiting, the doctor came out at 8pm and said that he did fantastic, but how he was still alive and was able to walk into the Emergency Room on Sunday is a miracle because all four of his main arteries to his heart were completely blocked off. My dad had to have a quadruple bypass.

After several prayers and thoughts sent his way, and thanks to the good Lord above, my dad is doing fantastic! He's in a lot of pain, but the surgery could not have gone any better.

I ask that you keep my dad in your prayers for a speedy recovery!