As many of you know, my dad had surgery last week. He's battled with cancer for several years now, and last week my parents drove to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to do surgery to remove a tumor in his abdomen. 

This was my dad's second surgery at Mayo. It was a little deja vu for all of us... I felt like I photographed this all before. :)

My in-laws were sweet enough to join us for a few hours in the morning while we waited for dad to be admitted. 

Once we found out when dad's surgery was going to be, Sunil and I made plans to be there. Our drive was a nightmare: the road conditions were awful, the blowing snow gave us visibility that was next to nothing, and the whole trip ended up being so long that we didn't even arrive until 5am. 

And I'd do it all again in a heart beat. 

Once admitted, the gown goes on, the tests are run, and the waiting game begins. 

Waiting for doctors. Waiting for the operating room. Waiting for everything to begin. 

Since dad has had surgery there before, we were able to connect with some doctors that have worked with (and on) dad in the past. We will be forever grateful for their skill. 

Another room to wait in. Another hour goes by. 

Waiting is the hardest part. 

Then someone walks in. "Sir, a nurse is coming up here to take you away." 

Dad makes a joke to make my mother laugh. But we're all holding back tears. 

Hugs.

We say goodbye and watch him walk off. Afraid. Anxious. Ready for it to be over. 

Then the nurse takes us to the room he'll be in after surgery. Sometimes God makes us laugh - it was the same exact room he was in almost 18 months ago. 

We wait. We pray. We watch movies. We cry a little bit. 

We hear the good news - he's done. We wait for his return. Everything moves in slow motion until he arrives... then it's all a blur.

Too intimate for photos. Some things are just too close to the heart to photograph. 

The following day we celebrate little victories: his first meal, his first time sitting up, his first walk. 

And we Skype with grandkids to cheer him up. 

A few hours later, it's time for us to leave. We need to go home. 

But we leave knowing he's safe. 

And we trust that God will bring healing. 

Happy Sunday! Today I have three new announcements for you! :)

Announcement #1: Yay! Today is the day I unveil a fresh, updated look for my blog! I try to update things about once a year... and this year I decided to switch some things up entirely. If you poke around, you may see some new galleries, options and organization! Maybe you'll even see some of your own lovely faces... :) I'm still importing some blog posts from my previous blog, so please be patient. I'm not completely done with everything, but I hope to be importing all of my blog posts very soon! 

Announcement #2: As some of you know, my dad has battled cancer for the past several years. In fact, he's been cancer free for the last year! However, last Tuesday his quarterly scan revealed that there is a new tumor under his rib cage near his liver. The last few days have a been a whirl-wind for my parents with all of the doctors visit and options, but a final decision has been made. My dad will have surgery tomorrow morning (that was fast, right?) to remove the tumor. There are a bunch of other details, but I won't post them here. Sunil and I are headed up to MN today to be with my mom during the surgery tomorrow. If you want to follow along with his progress, feel free to visit his Caringbridge here - I'll be posting updates regularly. Don't forget to leave some love in the guestbook - they would really appreciate that. :) 

Announcement number #3 is much happier: For a limited time, I'm offering a huge discount on my normal sessions! For only $150 you get one hour on location, and the high resolution images for you to print and use! Click on the "contact" page above to send me an email and reserve your playdate! (Note: It doesn't have to be on a Saturday morning - it can be anytime!)

Have a lovely weekend!!