Hi! Marlee here...

I came home from work this morning and found Kami lying unconscious, face down in the hallway. I dropped my bag and the mail and ran over to her and cried her name. There was no response. I thought she was dead. I started screaming her name and she started to move and asked where she was. I had no idea what to do so I grabbed my cell phone and called the first speed dial I pushed. It was Marijka who was up getting ready for school. The poor thing. I am sure I scared her half to death in my hysteria. As soon as she picked up I yelled for her to go get mom or dad or anyone and tell them to get over to my house, that I had just found Kami on the floor. She ran in and gave my parents my frantic message. They jumped out of bed and my mom ran out the door ahead of my dad. She was heading down the stairs when my dad RAN past her and across the yard.
Meanwhile, I am now sitting by Kami and stroking her head. She told me what time she had gotten up and I was able to figure out she had been on the ground for about 15 minutes. I wouldn't let her get up because I was worried she might have hurt herself when she fell. She said there wasn't pain anywhere but I wanted my dad to come over before we did anything. He ran in out of breath from his lovely morning jog and I could see on his face that he was scared about what he was going to find. My mom rushed in a few seconds behind him. Together we got kami up and sitting in a chair. We decided that she would go over to my parents and we would keep an eye on her. My mom took her to the doctor in the afternoon and they said she has a sinus infection and did blood tests but couldn't find anything seriously wrong with her. I guess we will just have to keep an extra close eye on her. She stayed at my parents last night so she wouldn't be alone while I was at work. She doesn't seem any worse for wear after her ordeal. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for me. I have been majorly traumatized.
While I have your attention, I thought I would express my thankfullness for all of the many blessings I have received over the last couple years. As many of you know, my family has been through some horrible trials. It all started about 2 years ago when Marijka and my mom were in a car accident in Salt Lake. I will never forget the phone call I got with Marijka crying and saying my mom was hurt and she was there alone and didn't know what to do. I am so proud of her for the way she handled that situation. Marijka walked away with only scrapes and bruises but my mom's leg was hurt really bad and she is still having problems with it.
Fast forward this last April. Doctors found a weird lump in Jan's throat. She had a biopsy and we all waited to hear about the results. I will always remember when I heard the news. My mom and I had just walked in to our weekly lunch at Burger King and sat down when Susan's phone rang. It was one of the teacher's from the school. She told Susan that Jan's doctor had just called and it was cancer. We all rushed to the school to be with her.
Fast forward about 2 or 3 weeks and we are now on our way home from Mexico. The truck with Dad, Kami, and Marijka are somewhere ahead of the rest of us in the van. We turn a corner to see dust settling from what looks to be an accident. I notice the red truck. Then I notice the trailor and I went numb when I saw the name on the trailor. It wasn't just some accident. It was my family in that accident. I get sick to my stomach when I think of running over to the truck to see if they were alive. I can still hear my mom and Karen's screaming and Jan yelling for Kami. The relief I felt is undescribable when I found them all alive.
The next few weeks were a blur as I took care of everyone. Things were starting to calm a bit when my dog, the dog I got when I was going through a horrible time in my life and he saved me from a dark place, got sick. I had to call in a vet on a Sunday to see him. He wouldn't eat, drink, even move. He was dying. His red blood cells were killing each other or something to that effect. He needed a blood transfusion. It would be $300. At this point some of you are thinking who would spend that kind of money on an animal? I would and I did. If he made it through the night after the transfusion we would know if he would live. I stayed up all night waiting for the phone call that he was gone. It never came. Not only did he make it through the night, he did so well he is known at the Vet's office as the miracle dog.
Looking over these events has made me so grateful. Tyler and I almost lost our entire family. My life could be so different right now. My family is everything to me. We must have an entire army of angels walking with us. I don't know how else we could have gone through all of these things and every one of us make it out alive. I was in the car the other day with my parents, Jan and Kami. I tried to express how much it meant to me that they were still with me but I couldn't find the right words. How do you tell people that they are your world? That without them you wouldn't be the person you are? When I think of how lucky I am to have them with me my heart is filled with so much joy and gratitude. My family IS who I am and this Thanksgiving season I truly have so much to be thankful for.