Christmas 2018. Well, it's been just over 8 months since Lory's stroke and surgery to remove the brain tumor. We have come a long way from those days in the hospital when just to sit up in a chair she needed a sling hoist to get there, or the later days in the rehab center in Escondido when walking unassisted for 50 steps was a huge accomplishment. She can now regularly get up to about 8000 steps, and our evening walk of 1800 steps (about 3/4 mile) has become a habit again. After months and months of getting up once or twice in the night, she is now pretty regularly sleeping through the whole night. She continues to get physical and speech therapies, at this point to recover strength and stamina and to speak at a more normal volume and with natural inflection. Driving is still months away, but self care around the home has improved substantially. 
In the photos below:
A Christmas photo! taken on our front steps. She's had a haircut and looking good!
Post-Christmas dinner with her sister Sheryl and husband Marshall at Summers Past farms
A hike up the hill behind our house - a steep hill that is therapy and a confidence builder
Shopping for a purse and wallet. Just before the stroke, her wallet had been stolen from the classroom where she was teaching. Even simple things like having a purse and a wallet again helps bring back that sense of normalcy. 

Best holiday wishes to you all, and prayers for a 2019 of renewal of strength and confidence!