On January 1st,2012 we drove down south to Oregon together.

My mom, my dad, my husband and myself.

As the scenery changed and the hours fell away, I couldn't stop thinking about last year.

Jan 1, 2011.

I will never forget the call I got.

It interrupted our morning routine and quickly threw us, heart first, into the scariest day of our life.

Dad had a heart attack and was in the hospital.

For the next few hours, I was beside myself.

I went from hopeful and praying to weeping and doubting, then back again.

12 days in the Intensive Care Unit, countless tests, unlimited tears.

He is alive. It was not his time.

This year, we are celebrating life together. We are celebrating by running around outside, even if its raining and windy and we are freezing.

We are celebrating by eating, laughing, hot-tubing, and spending endless hours talking.

We are celebrating because we don't know how much more life we have left to enjoy.

This New Year, Im thankful for all the things we did not lose last year.