Grateful Hearts

At 5 p.m. Friday we loaded up the CRV and headed west toward Minnesota. Initially we had planned to do this, staying somewhere north of the Twin Cities to be closer to my sister RoAnn's who was hosting Hedberg Christmas today. My brother-in-law Steve altered those plans a bit.

Since he was in the heart wing at Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis, we drove as far as Hudson last night, stayed there (had no time to blog) and drove the half hour to visit him this morning.

He was actually walking in the hallway when we got there and in very good spirits. Still, his harrowing tale of the journey from heart attack to today was sad, emotional, eye-opening and encouraging.

By the time our visit was done, though, a nurse was disconnecting him from his wires so he could shower. Isn't it crazy amazing how far a person can come in 48 hours?

We headed up the Pine City, where my sister RoAnn and her family were hosting. We had just started our meal when Steve, Raylene and their daughter Ashley walked in. Who would have thought that would be possible? As you can see from the photo, he looked good, though, and Raylene was thrilled to have him back in the land of the living.

Of course, no family gathering is complete without food (very good), our annual program (well done and entertaining), games and random family photos.

Had to get a picture of Mom and her youngest grandchild. 

And, of course, the three of us. Yes, he does have some sort of beard thing going.

We hit the road before 6 p.m. and managed to get home in time for the end of the Badger championship game. Dang. That was not worth staying up for.

After this busy and stressful week, I'm going to follow my great-nephew Trey's example and relax, take a snooze and not set my alarm for anything.

Just grateful to have us all together again!