One YEAR!

I almost let it pass me by........almost! Realized as I was heading to meet my Mom for dinner tonight that the date was the 26th. I then began to reflect on this date one year ago........and was humbled.

One year ago I had my first implant turned on. I'll never forget the emotions/thoughts running through my mind and body as I sat in the chair at Envoy Medical anxiously awaiting my activation. Being completely scared out of mind that the device may not work, or I may not like it. So much was riding on the moment; Lari's $30,000 savings mostly, but also 29 years of wholehearted desire.....Desire so strong I was scared my expectations were too high.

You see.......at this point  I was so very tired; tired of missing so much and tired of working so hard to get so little. I was becoming angry; angry at what I was missing out in my social life, but mostly with my kids. I was starting to find myself 'checking out' a little on my life. This was not me, this was not how I am or how I usually looked at life. Over the 29 years until that moment, I've rarely let myself get down.

Melinda turned the device on, and for me, time stood still for a few seconds. The moment it was on, I KNEW. I knew before anyone spoke, before any noise was made, I knew I was 'complete'! She told me to set the remote down, and I heard the 'clack' of it hitting the counter and I snapped back to reality. Instant relief flooded me.........Lari's money was well spent.....I liked my new ear right away! All the fears I had diminished and was replaced by joy like I've never felt. Then began me hearing my internal noises, then hearing my voice and freaking out, then crying, then freaking out over how weird all these things sounded inside my head.

Life has not been the same from that day......I have blossomed into this whole new person spiritually, mentally, etc. One year later I still experience new noises. I still play the 'what's that noise' game. I still am finding new joy in music and nature. The path I have had the opportunity of taking this last year has been an incredible one. I've met so many cool people, I've made new friends, I've traveled, I've done exciting things, I've written a book, I've built closer relationships with those around me. Most importantly........ My faith has only been strengthened furthermore. The words God gave me when my father n law died 'Hold Fast' have become a daily mantra of sorts. God blessed me with $60,000 dollars worth of new ears in a matter of hours through a matter of crazy events............nothing is impossible to me anymore! Nothing should seem impossible to any of us!

To all who have followed me on this journey, thank you so much....

Much love and blessings,
Sarah <3

PS- People constantly ask me about music........I love an eclectic mix from 80s rock to jazz and everything in between. I'd like to take this opportunity to ask you to help me bless a good friend......Josh Weathers! Check out his music online. He just released a new album 'Josh Weathers Band, Big Night in the City'. My girls and Sloan and I literally jam out and dance all over the house listening to Josh. I feel like if I were a musician......I'd be him. I love his sound! Please, go help a brother out and go buy some of his music, I promise you'll be glad you did :)

Wowsa!

Been busy! I'm not sure how often I've mentioned it before, but I sit on a small committee that puts on a roping annually in my father in laws memory. Ross Churman passed away in Jan. 2010, and our small group has managed to pull off a spectacular roping the last 3 years! We paid out over $70,000 to ropers, and raised thousands for scholarships for college kids. It's nice to be a part of something like that. People have asked how we pull it off, how it's successful, etc. we truly believe its because we don't get a dime, yet do it for the ideology and to honor a man who touched so many in his life. We have a website if you want to know more or attend next years roping: www.rosschurmanmemorialroping.com and there's even a Facebook page.

Anyway, that was last weekend and we spent the week recuperating. Lol. Last weekend got off to a rough start.......my English Bulldog, Bruno, died :( this is the first pet we've lost that the girls bawled about....it was hard. This Saturday morning however, we woke up to find that our Momma cow had her baby! The new little guy is so cute and small and the girls are obsessed with petting him and checking on him. We have to drive around the place looking for him so they can 'see that he didn't get dead'. Lol. Oh to be so young and awed by nature again :)

Next weekend I am so excited that we were blessed with the opportunity to take Olivia to see Kooza, a Cirque du Soleil show! She has been begging to go for a year now but tickets are expensive! We were recently blessed with some extra money and decided to splurge :) I will also be throwing a housewarming party for some friends of ours next weekend who were recently given a house! Andrew was presented with a house from the Wounded Warriors Program while visiting the ballpark in Arlington on Military Appreciation night :) So nice to see God working in other's lives. The weekend after that I'm celebrating my 30th birthday selfishly by hosting a party at our house. Lol. Hey, I'm feeding everyone and even baking a cake ;) That makes it ok right? On October 13th we will be flying to California to the Crystal Cathedral for an interview with Hour of Power. We subsequently we're able to delay our flight home so that we can visit friends and take the girls to the beach. We figure if we eat Ramen Noodles the whole time, we can afford a few extra days to make memories with the girls.

I'm cracking down on my last chapter in my book currently, rushing to get it all together and to publishing. I'm just so over the moon excited about this new journey. Well, not exactly 'new' since I've been writing for the last 6 months, but I guess more so a 'phase 2'............the fun phase! The phase where I get to experience something I never imagined possible in my wildest dreams! I'm a freaking author :) A blessed, crazy excited, anxious, nervous, writer. Someone was talking to me the other day about hosting a book signing for me and I nearly cried at the prospect of actually doing something like that. I still wake up every day and go 'this is really happening!' And it's happening because of people like YOU. The ones who have reached out to me, the ones who read this blog, the ones who pray for me, the ones who have been my cheer leaders all along this crazy path life has had me on the last year. To each of you, I say THANKS! From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I didn't realize how much sharing a testimony can affect millions..........I pray that everyone would use their own testimony to help others. We all have one ;)

Good night folks......I'm starting to ramble.

<3