A Big Thank You

Thank you all so much for all of the prayers and encouraging words!! It is a good thing my mascara tube malfunctioned the other day, because just reading all of the things you wonderful people are saying makes the tears flow freely! I have such wonderful friends and family.

Last night, Bonnie and Caleb and Little Miss Diamond came over and brought with them the most wonderful dinner. Bonnie had worked hard (don't deny it, Bonnie, you know you did!) to make a super-yummy cream of broccoli/celery soup, a tasty dish with herbed rice, cabbage and vegan hot dogs that was a hit with all of the kids, a mixture of fruit that was just divine -- I think there were raspberries, strawberries, pineapple, and blueberries in there -- the fruit juice was Sammy's favorite!

She also used their new juicer to make three different kinds of juice blends. I liked the carrot/apple the best, but the carrot/beet/(???) was my favorite. There was also a mixture of spinach/celery/cabbage/cucumber/carrot/something else that had a very fresh, clean taste.

Thanks for the delicious meal, Bonnie and Caleb!!

Today, Bonnie was going to take me out to get a pedicure, but it is snowing buckets here! I don't think snow and a pedicure really go well together, so maybe she'll just come hang out for a while. It would be cheaper... and I have some episodes of the Food Network recorded. I love Everyday Italian with Giada de Laurentiis, and Home Cooking with Paula Deen. Sometimes I can even handle Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. She makes decorating for a party seem so easy! And everything is color-coordinated... wow.

The boys and Mike are being wonderful. Any time Griffin or Sammy see me crying, they come up and give me hugs and little boy kisses and wrap their arms around my neck and tell me, "I love you, Mama," and make my world all better for that moment.

Mike is doing laundry and dishes galore, and has made dinner for himself and the boys many nights. I am usually tired by 7:30 or 8 and just want to sit in my designated spot on the couch with my blankets and a box of Kleenex. It is so hard to wait, and not know what is going on.

On a lighter note, Sammy and I had a conversation last night right before B, C and D came over.

I wanted to know if he had any grand plans for his life when he got older, so I asked him the age-old question,

"Sammy what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Now, apparently, Sammy has given this a lot of thought, because he had an immediate response for me.

He didn't have to think about it, or weight the possibilities.

He is a man of decision!

His response?

"Taller."

A Setback

I like to post happy, fun things on my blog, but lately I have been going through somethings that are anything but happy and fun!

Last month, in January, I suffered through a tubal pregnancy and surgery to remove one of my fallopian tubes. It was a long process that involved 3 ER visits and multiple doctor's visits, all of which were anything but pleasant. But that experience is behind me, and I was looking forward to what God had in store for me next.

Until, that is, I found out that what He has for me next will take a lot more out of me than the previous experience did.

I found a lump in my neck a few days ago, and after a lot of tests, scans, etc. the doctors believe it is lymphoma. I have several other enlarged lymph nodes as well in my chest and neck area, which may explain the pain I have been in lately. I thought I needed a new purse, because it was too heavy for me! Turns out I can keep my purse. But I may want a new neck before too long.

We visited with the surgeon today, and he will be doing a biopsy of "the big lump" -- the one that I can feel from outside -- and also a bone marrow biopsy on Tuesday, March 3rd. Happy Birthday, Babe! It's an outpatient procedure, but they will put me to sleep, and I don't have a good history with anesthesia. So we'll see. I hope I can walk away from it after a few hours with some good pain meds and a smile on my face, but I have a feeling Mike is in for a loooooong birthday.

That's all I know right now! I have started a CarePage, which you can find the link to on the side of my blog. I will update it every time I find out something new, or any time something happens related to this journey I am going through. Thank you all, my friends and family, for your love and support as we go through this trying, emotional journey!

New Year, New Cards

These are some cards I made recently. I love how they turned out! Although I must say, they looked much better in person. I was in a hurry to take pictures of them, and the last card was a bit blurry. And you can't see the glitter very well... and I'm going to stop complaining now!

Smart Decisions

In this time of economic crisis and nationwide turmoil, with all of the uncertainty and budget-consciousness and I'm-Making-All-Of-My-Christmas-Presents-From-Scratch-This-Year-Do-You-Have-A-Cow-I-Can-Milk?


Yeah. That was weird.


So. With all of the ever-growing awareness of how much things cost, my husband and I have decided that the best decision for our family is... to get a better cable company. With more channels. HGTV! PBS Sprout! And DVR. So we can watch those programs over. And over. And over again!


Seriously. We're doing it for the good of the economy, people! We'll be spending about $9 more per month, and getting a much faster internet connection, phone service and the best selection of cable channels I have ever had in my life. The excitement! Oh, the pizza-ordering possibilities!!


I am in TV heaven. Well, I will be. After they hook it up on the 29th.


I'm so ready to be done with Com "Do-You-Think-The-Internet-Will-Work-Today?" Cast. But I'm not bitter. Not at all.


Because I have visions of sugarplums, you know, the ones Martha Stewart shows you how to make on HGTV (is she even on HGTV?) dancing in my head.


You thought I was a homebody before? Just wait until I get HGTV and DIY and Lifetime and On Demand. I'll never leave the house again!!

First Time Bowling

Snow Play

Yesterday was a lazy day for us. The boys were SO excited to see about an inch of snow on the ground when they woke up!! They bugged me for an hour until I finally gave in and dug their snowsuits out of the storage room. I just love Children's Orchard! I had gotten them for $15 each when they had all of their coats out, you know, in August. Because what reasonable person isn't thinking about frolicking in the snow in the 95-degree humidity of the summer?

They were soon (soon is a relative word... about 30 minutes later) bundled up and ready to brave the elements. They headed out the door with much gusto... and came back inside less than 20 minutes later.

It was really cold, I had to agree.

But the smiles on their faces...er, whatever face that is that Griffin was making... were worth all of the work it took to get them out there.

Have fun playing in your snow!

A Leafy Story

Sammy was a bit pouty at first. But he's 2. What's new?

He was upset because Griffin got to use the rake first.
But then it was his turn...

and boy, did he have fun!

Then Daddy brought the dump trucks...

and filled them up with leaves!

The leaves were flying everywhere!

Sammy thought they were soft and comfy...

and they made a great hiding place!

Griffin liked to pick them up and throw them...

but Sammy just wanted to jump in and burrow down.

Griffin decided that sounded like fun!

Then, Daddy threw Griffin into the leaf pile!

He landed... thud!

Then it was Sammy's turn!

Plop! He landed on his tummy.

The End

Late Halloween

The house across the street. He loves Halloween! I wish I had a tripod, because without the flash, the picture always came out blurry if my hands shook even the tiniest bit.

Our jack-o-lantern this year. Yes, I traced around the boys' hands...


And then I cut out the hands, and placed those hand cut-outs and placed them on the stairs leading up to the house. I wish I would have had some pumpkin-scented tea lights to put in the jack-o-lantern. I only had lemon. At least it smelled clean!

My tired trick-or-treaters! Sammy (in case you can't tell or just aren't familiar with kid movies)
was Mr. Incredible (from The Incredibles), and Griffin was Buzz Lightyear (from Toy Story)

Do I Really Need to Say Anything?

Fall Porches

http://theinspiredroom.net/2008/10/19/front-porches-a-fall-drive-by/

Check out this link for some great pictures of porches decorated for fall! We haven't gotten our pumpkin yet; we'll pick it up next weekend. We're getting a free one from Hen House for being CSA members! Yippee!! I can't wait. This will be the first year the boys have decorated a pumpkin. We may carve it, or we may paint it, or a little of both... should be fun!

Slowing Down

I don't want to leave any faithful readers hanging, so I'll just say that I am taking a blogging break, and I will continue blogging in November. Life has been quite busy lately, and I need to not have the "Oh, I really should write a blog" feeling hanging over my head! When I do resume blogging, I may decide to only write a few things every month. I need to focus on my family right now!

Homeschooling (and reading about homeschooling, and thinking about homeschooling, and talking to other people about homeschooling) and discipline (mine and my children's) are taking a lot of my time these days, and caring for my house, husband, children, pets -- making sure they are all fed, clothed and getting their needs met -- it takes a lot out of a girl.

I will probably get on and post pictures infrequently, and maybe blurb about something here or there, but for the most part I will not be posting regularly.

Have a great week!

Take A Breather... If You Can

This beauty was my grandma's next door "neeeeeigh"-bor (now that was a bad joke) before she moved closer to us. I thought the picture was dreamy and relaxing, kind of like our weekend would be... if I could only breathe.

I think I may be getting asthma.

Ugh... I sure hope this is just allergies, but I may be going to visit the doctor on Monday. My throat feels like it is "swollen", for lack of a better word. It does not hurt at all, which is weird, it is just hard to swallow food, and I have had a few episodes when it was hard to breathe because it feels like my airway was being constricted. And I have a lot of phlegm.

And of course ALL of our Tylenol Allergy is expired.

You'd better believe that I'll be picking some more up tomorrow when I do my Walgreens shopping.

Oh, and Mike got the closet in the loft done, and I finally got the shelf liners tacked on today, so I have started loading it up with our "overstock" stuff. A whole new closet!! It's like a dream come true. Our bathroom is going to look a lot better, that's for sure.

I don't know what it is about fall, but for me it is even more motivating than spring as far as cleaning and decluttering. I start to feel claustrophobic with all of our "stuff" surrounding me all day long. Maybe it's because in the summer we're outside so much more, and then in the fall we can't go out as much and have to spend more time indoors, so I notice it more? I don't know.

Well, we have church tomorrow, so I'd better go throw in a load of laundry, because I'm out of nice slacks. I got myself a soft, comfy pair of brown sweatpants last week, and I can't wait to wear them! It's still too warm for me. I want to be cold!

Speaking of being cold, I got my holiday mini catalog from Stampin' Up! in the mail a few days ago. Ahhhhh... I love the Christmas stamp sets!! I think I may need a couple of them. Yes, of course, need. Because the six Christmas sets that I have aren't enough.
And all that talk about decluttering and getting rid of stuff? Yeah. That most emphatically does NOT apply to my stamps. I love them all. And I have a whole shelf in my stamp cabinet that is not being used. Yet.

Mowing Train

Last night, Mike mowed the yard. The boys first had to pick up all of the toys that were all over the yard from the day's playtimes, and then when Mike entered the backyard with the mower, the boys ran and grabbed their dump trucks and followed him around the whole yard. So fun!



Don't you just love the trail that runs around the yard? Courtesy of Gordon. Well, Gordon started it, but the boys happily play on it for a large portion of their outdoor playtime each day. They kick a ball up and down the slight incline on the trail, and shovel dirt from one place to another -- which involves filling up their dump trucks and then hauling the dirt to its new destination and then, of course, dumping it.


We walked to DQ after the boys were done mowing, and Mike and I were laughing most of the time we walked, watching Griffin hike up his shorts and hold them up in the back. Note to self: take the Levi's out of Griffin's wardrobe until next year.