Quickly Ending 2008

I only have a few moments to get in a post this morning. I just finished a quick 5-mile run and now am off to get showered and have some breakfast. I have a full day ahead of me because we are leaving for STL later today...still not sure of the time because it all depends on how hubby's work goes today. Could be noon, could be 4pm...this stresses me out a little. I'm a planner. But anyway, I have to get kids packed and ready for their 2-overnights and us packed as well. My FOURTH(!!) chemo treatment is on Friday but we are leaving early again to spend the new year with friends who are also having chemo (hers is a 3-day inpatient cycle). So we will be at the hospital with them, then go for my treatment on Friday morning. I am so excited for #4 of 6! I am over halfway done with chemo! Wa-Hoo! I am praying for good test results all the way around, from my echo last Friday to the blood work they do prior to chemo...that all comes back good and we can stay on schedule. Please be in prayer for our safe trip and good reports! Ya'll are awesome!

Oh, and I am so excited to be back in the ownership of a pink laptop...but you can bet I'm not leaving it in the car for ONE SECOND! I hope to get a new Bible this trip, too! And you know a trip to Whole Foods is on my list! Have a great New Years everybody! Stay safe!

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ." 2 Corinthians 3-5

First Haircut!

I know, I know...she's 5 and can you believe she's never had her hair cut, trimmed, anything?! I just couldn't bring myself to cut her beautiful curls, afraid that they may not grow back or whatever. Plus, it is so long... I always said, it took her so long to get hair that I wasn't in any big hurry to cut it! Seriously, she was bald forever!! *lol* So today when I took the boys to get their hair cut, I asked her if she wanted to get her hair trimmed and she was all about it. She just hopped up in Lacey's big chair and was ready to go! She just sat there like such a big girl. She just as beautiful as before, just a little more like a little girl instead of a toddler. And her hair is still very curly, thank goodness!

Here's my big girl with the first cut!

She looks so big sitting in the chair!
She looks stressed out in this picture! But she just didn't want to get water sprayed in her eyes!

The finished product...lovely, lovely big girl Katie!

~Last Sunday of 2008~

I hate to copy fellow bloggers talking about the crazy weather, but it seems that no matter where you live the weather has been just that...crazy! Just last week we struggled to get into double-digits, then had ice, the last couple of days we set record warmth with temps near 70, last night we were under a tornado watch and had severe storms, and now today it is absolutely b-e-a-u-tiful outside and a high of 50ish. I know I sound like a meteorologist, but seriously! But today is gorgeous...better enjoy while I can, it could change in an instant!

I got up this morning and incorporated two of my favorite things: running and Desperate Housewives. My mom got me a DVD box set of Season 4 so I popped it in this morning and ended up watching like 2 1/2 episodes on my 10-mile run. It was wonderful. Not only to have a great run, but to watch one of my fave shows while I'm doing it! The episode I finished on was the one where Lynette's anti-nausea drugs weren't working during her chemo so her mom secretly used some "alternative methods" for medicinal purposes and baked it into brownies so she would "feel better!" It cracked me up! Needless to say, she seemed to feel much better! Ha! It gave me a good laugh!

Our trip to STL was good...quick, but good. I like that an echo is probably the easiest tests I've had. You just have to lay there. And turns out that the lady doing the test is a 2-year breast cancer survivor and she was full of wisdom and encouragement. It's so awesome how God continues to put these people in my path to lift my spirits and keep me strong! Hallelujah LORD! We don't have official results yet, those will come at my chemo appt this Friday. The tech said it looked about the same as before, but a cardiologist has to read it of course. I continue to believe that the results are going to be great! I'm Believing God! (Shout out to those also doing the "Believing God" Bible study by Beth Moore!!)

There is nothing going on here today. My hubby took the boys out for the day and Katie and I are here just enjoying our girls' day and quiet house! We took the tree and all the Christmas decorations down yesterday so there isn't even any work for us to do! Yay! I hope everybody else has a good and relaxing Sunday!

Christmas Exhaustion!

I am absolutely, tee-totally, completely e.x.h.a.u.s.t.e.d!! We have had such a busy couple of days, going to this house and that house, and family and food and gifts..... the list goes on and on! Oy, the FOOD! I have come to the conclusion that there is no way I could run far enough to burn all the extra calories I've consumed in the last two days! I hate that!! I hate that lack-of-control feeling...and it seems I get that way around the holidays! Now I feel bloated and gross. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. But, thanks to my darling hubby, I am managing the exhaustion part by sitting propped up in my bed watching the Parent Trap and typing this post on my NEW PINK LAPTOP!!!! Yep, that's right, he got me another one to replace the one that was stolen a couple weeks ago in STL! I was so stunned this morning when there were these two huge boxes sitting underneath the tree...I knew THIS Santa didn't put them there! The laptop was in one and a cool new pink and gray bag was in the other. I couldn't believe it! I was so happy and surprised!
The kids were up around 7, we managed to keep them in our room until 730am but then it was a free for all! I hate that it doesn't last long...it seems that after only a few minutes we go from Santa's wonderland in the middle of the living room to ultimate destruction as everybody wades through paper and boxes. But it was wonderful! Then we spent the rest of the morning getting things ready for our next destination.
Now we are home sweet home, resting and relaxing...it feels so good. Now I'm going to go for this evening and go to bed early, we have to leave the house at 730am for STL for a repeat echocardiogram. Please say a prayer for my heart that it is strong and healthy. I believe God that He will make this test result come back perfect and I give Him all the praise and glory for taking care of me and always watching over me. He is so good!

Portrait Session

Merry Christmas Eve!

It is finally here...the two days that we wait all year for! Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! Our family plans are rather uncomplicated, thankfully. We do the same things pretty much every year...it's great that way. Today, Christmas Eve, we go to my parents' house. Dinner is tonight, but the kids and I usually go around midday to hang out, visit, help in the kitchen, etc. Just be together basically, it's honestly the best part of the day...before lots more aunts, uncles, and cousins come over for dinner. Not that I don't love that part too, but we always have such a nice day chillin with my mom and sisters! Then we will be back home tonight around 9 or so...depends on how much work Santa has to do tonight. Christmas morning starts early around here, of course! We will open presents here then head out to my in-laws around 11 or so for a noon Christmas dinner. At their house we play the Dirty Santa game...I still have to get a gift for it! Oops! I was trying to be extra creative with my gift, but I've totally given up on that and am just going for a normal gift. I kept thinking about a box of tampons or something that a guy may choose to unwrap that would be hilarious, but meh, I'm kinda over that now. I think I'll just go for something regular. Aka, boring! Oh well. But after hanging at their house all day, we will go back to my mom and dad's and open presents there...we don't do many presents on Christmas Eve, just what the extended fam brings, so we go back to open presents. And we will probably nibble on some food, too. Then we come home, and collapse!! Seriously, we have done this exact same routine for 14 Christmases now. It works great! So let the celebration begin! And in case you don't remember what we're celebrating:

"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.' Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

'Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth good will to men.'"

Santa Claus Is Watching You!

Hello everybody! I hope everyone is being good 'cause Santa Claus is watching! Can I just tell ya, I love that man?! He has single-handedly whipped my 5-year-old into behavioral bliss without so much as lifting a finger or raising his voice! This time of year is awesome for parents because the threat of "Santa Claus is watching you..." is like the ultimate bribe! I'm tellin you, it works so well that when I see the jolly ol' man, I'm going to ask him to come once a month! But seriously, Katie can be acting completely rotten, and at the mere mention of Santa, she is a new person! Love it!

We are having yet another spell of bad weather today. It started icing early this morning and now everything is covered in a thin sheet of glaze. It's very slippery out there! My hubby had to call off work for the day and we are all hunkered down here watching movies and waiting for it to warm up, which it's supposed to do this afternoon thank goodness. The weather man said it should melt the ice fairly quickly...I hope so!! We have plans this evening to have a birthday dinner for my little brother, he will be 22 tomorrow. And since his birthday always gets crowded with Christmas, we are celebrating tonight. We usually just give him a card and money, but I'm getting creative (or ornery!) and thinking about giving him a big box of diapers and baby supplies because he and his girlfriend are having a baby in June. Is that a little too rotten of me?! I think it would be funny! My mom may not appreciate it, but...... I don't know, I haven't decided yet what I will do. We'll see!

Have a great day before Christmas Eve ya'll!

Lessons

My friend, Kim, bought me a book before my last chemo treatment "Multiple Blessings" by Jon and Kate Gosselin, from the show "Jon & Kate Plus 8." I don't know if any of you have seen this show, but I LOVE it! I love seeing how they make their lives with twins and sextuplets work; how they manage the everyday tasks that seem overwhelming for a "normal-size" family, let alone their extraordinary family. It's just a really neat show, if you don't watch it already you should check it out on TLC sometime. Anyway, so Kim bought me this book and I started reading it a couple of days ago and couldn't put it down! It is full, of not only their story, but how God has answered prayers and blessed their lives beyond belief; and how He has sustained them during times when they didn't think they would make it. I now have pages dog-eared throughout the book where I was reading and completely struck by a thought that applies to not only me but anybody going through any type of situation where they need God's sustenance. Then, in the last chapter, Kate sums up 6 lessons that God has taught her throughout their journey of having sextuplets. The beautiful list absolutely gave me goosebumps when I read them:

1. God is in control - I love the song by Twila Paris and have sang it over and over to myself the last three months, since being diagnosed with breast cancer.


2. God is gracious and strong - Isaiah 40:31 reminds us that "those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."


3. God can be trusted - "God doesn't give us what we can handle, He helps us handle what we have been given." We must trust and obey Him, for His will is perfect.


4. God is love - Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning." Praise God that He loves us so much that He sees us through the dark times in order to have another chance to give it our best shot!


5. God will provide - God's promise in Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Whether that need is mental, spiritual, and emotional or for finances, strength, and a smile, God will provide. You just have to have faith and BELIEVE HIM.


6. Give God the glory and praise - Instead of asking "Why me?", trust in God's perfect plan that He has for our lives. Trust Him and give Him the glory and praise that He is leading us on a path that will ultimately bring us to His goal: to be closer to Him. Praise God that He loves us so much that He just wants to be close to us! And all He wants in return is that we love Him back! Wow. Hallelujah LORD!

I didn't know until I read the book the depth that the Gosselin family loved God. How they trusted Him and let Him guide them. It was an absolutely inspiring book and I have no doubt that I will be referring to it often for my own reminders for strength. And I also have no doubt that God put this book in my path for a specific reason. And I promise I'm not doing pr for the book, but it would make an excellent Christmas present! Have a blessed Sunday!

"Thank you Lord for again revealing your promises for my life, not only through this book, but every day. Thank you for your perfect plan. I pray for the strength and grace to remember every day that You are in control and that You alone are bigger than anything I could possibly face. Continue to hold me tightly by the hand, pick me up when I fall, and carry me when necessary. In Jesus' Precious Holy Name, Amen."

Let The Sun Shine!

After a totally gloomy and winter-y week here, the sun is finally shining! And it was 50 degrees this morning, too! Talk about a great morning for an outside run! So you know what I did?? Yep, I ran on the treadmill. I very rarely get to run outside because with 3 kids going in 3 different directions and a husband who works crazy hours, it is next to impossible. So I hopped on the treadmill, turned on Desperate Housewives, and ran 6 miles. When I came back upstairs, our housekeeper was here already (did I mention I LOVE her?) so now it's time to begin the day!

We have payroll and such to do today, so I have some office work to do. But other than that it should be a pretty easy day...yay Friday!! I'm not really sure what the plans are for this weekend. Shouldn't be too much going on, just gearing up for Christmas! I hope ya'll are having a good, easy Friday!

Baby It's Cold Outside~

Teehee! I love the movie "Elf!" It makes me smile. So I thought I would include a bit of it in today's post. I got up this morning and had a great 6-mile run. I think the running helps with my bone pain...either that or it's just starting to wear off. But, really, I think it's just as much from the exercise. Yay!

The boys are back at school today...can anyone say "Hallelujah!" *lol* But seriously, Christmas break starts at noon tomorrow and to add an extra week to it would be a little much! They were starting to get bored already. At least when the official break starts at one o'clock tomorrow there will tons of "holiday stuff" to keep us all busy.

Anyway, enjoy the little snippet from "Elf." Maybe it will add to your Christmas spirit!

More Snow Days, Not So Much Snow

My boys are home for a second-straight full-day. They were let out at noon on Monday for icing/snow that was moving into the area, and then school was called off yesterday and today for light drizzle that quickly turned slippery during the evenings. The boys are so happy for snow days, even we have very little actual snow. They were so funny last night when we got the automated call from the school, they did a little "happy dance!" It's quite funny to see my 13-year old do such a cute little jig for a snow-day! Teehee!
So we have been pretty low-key around here the last couple of days...not a whole lot going on. I started coming out of my chemo-funk yesterday afternoon...Thank You, God! My bone pain is lessening as well. I actually felt well enough this morning to put in a 5-mile run/walk, yippee!
The rest of the day looks pretty boring, really. I don't plan on going anywhere. Katie was asking to go to PB to eat at Maya's today, but I just don't feel like being around people. Do you ever get in those moods where you just want to hide out?? Usually the week after chemo I just want to lay low and not do the whole public thing.
I hope you all have a great Wednesday...only 8 days until Christmas!! Hope your shopping is almost done!

Half Snow Day

We are experiencing a taste of winter here in the lower-midwest. We pretty much knew it was coming by the look of the local radar last night, but this morning there was nothing but COLD. The boys were so disappointed that they had school this morning! But lo and behold, it did arrive; it just took a little longer than they thought! So school was let out at noon, much to my boys' great joy! Right now it is sleeting (ugh)/snowing. The temperature at midnight was around 60*, and it has since fallen to about 18*. That's FREEZING! And it dropped so quick, too!
On another note, I haven't felt very well since my treatment on Friday. :-( I have pretty much felt like crap and I'm having bone pain from my Neulasta shot. My legs are aching, and I'm in a bad mood 'cause I don't feel like running. I wish I did! I need the endorphins that exercise gives me; my runner's high. I miss it terribly when I can't do it! But hopefully this won't last long and I will feel back to normal tomorrow. For now, I will just chill and relax...and let the chemo do it's work. That's where today's verse comes in:

"Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet against them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you perish." Deuteronomy 7:20

Halfway Point!!!

Treatment #3, the halfway point of my chemo is here! I went all decked out in my Cardinals gear for the day...even wore my hair! lol The treatment went very well, in and out and another one knocked out. I thought I would be horribly bored without my laptop or my Bible, but there were the greatest people to talk to in my pod. One lady had both her daughters there and they were loud and funny and cracking me up! They were a hoot! I was hoping to get to take chemo with my friend, but since she was in an inpatient room and I am outpatient they wouldn't let me. Boo. But we ended up finishing at about the same time and they weren't too far behind us coming home. But it was a good day and everything went very smoothly!
As soon as you step off the elevators at Siteman, there is a section of tiles that patients have painted. This is just a very small portion of what is all over the place up there. But I always stop and look for one or two that will touch my heart. The two I really liked this time were:


AND,

So Yay! Halfway through the chemo section of our treatment! Next appointment is Dec. 26 for a repeat echo of my heart to make sure that the Herceptin is not having any effect on my heart. And then on Jan. 2 for treatment #4! Once again, we will be up here with our friends; hers is another 3 day treatment and so we are going to come up and spend New Years Eve and Day with them and have a big ol celebration right there in her room! Sparkling grape juice and pizza sounds just right for us! We will make it fun for us all! They are so special to us! Hope you all have a great weekend!!

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Roman 8:28

Whole Foods!!!

Wow, so in St. Louis I had my first, but definitely not last trip to Whole Foods in Town and Country!! I was so excited to go there and Jack kept making fun of me the whole time...bah. But as soon as we walked in the store, he was like, "This place is awesome! We've got to come back!" Woohoo! I could have just looked and walked and looked and walked for hours. I could have bought out the whole store! But I filled my basket with a little of this and that; things that all my bloggie buddies have raved about. But I was most impressed with the section of bars!

Check these out!!! I stocked up on Larabars, Prias, Luna bars, ohhh I was in heaven! But I didn't want to totally freak the hubby out by running up a huge tab so I tried to pace myself! And when I heard that we were going to come back next time when we had more time, it was all good.

Here is my basket at the checkout. See that Chobani in there??! Yes, our hotel has a refrigerator in the room so I got ONE to have for breakfast the next morning before treatment. How on earth did I decide on just ONE?? I wanted 3 in every flavor!! *Note to self: We are coming back, next time we will bring a cooler!* But when I had this morning, it was AWESOME! It totally lived up to all the hype! Thick and creamy with sweet blueberries...ohh, wish I had another one right now! I also heard a lot about the granola planks so I am also very excited to try those out, too!
Yes, this stop made this girl very happy! Just as happy as going to a mall! And the fact that my hubby liked it as well made it even better. And next time I know what to expect and will have my list in hand...and try not to drool and look like I'm starstruck. The hot foods and salad bars they have there are soooo impressive! If we hadn't been in a hurry to get back to the hospital to eat with friends, we totally would've eaten there...bummer. Ok, next time! I've finally experienced a Whole Foods...I feel like I'm one of the gang! Teehee!

Violated.

OK, so very eventful day today in St. Louis. We are here for my 3rd chemo treatment which is on Friday, we came up early to Christmas shop. So we went to St. Louis Mills outlet mall as soon as we got into town, ate at Chevy's there, and shopped for about an hour and a half. When we got back out to the car, we realized that our car had been broken into! As I got closer to the car, I noticed that 2 boxes of granola bars were dumped out in the seats and my consoles were open. Uh, yeah, our car had been broken into. They pried off the door handle on the driver's side door and took a checkbook and my laptop bag containing my pink laptop (some guy will be walking around with a hot new pink laptop), my Bible study and my Bible (I'm most upset about that), and all my dr appt papers. I am so upset about my Bible being gone. It was given to us by my parents on our wedding day and was engraved with our names and wedding date; in it was my last letter from my Nana who passed away a year ago, the last letter from my friend Amy who was killed in a car accident with her husband and 1 year old son 9 years ago, and many other mementos and papers that I have just stuck in the back pocket that can never be replaced. But at least it was just material possessions...at least we are ok. It could have been worse. But anyway, here we are in St. Louis with our friends who are here for 3-day chemo, I'm using her computer to post here so it may be a little while before my next post. Anyway, moving forward...we are going to go finish shopping tomorrow and I'm going to get a new Bible. God is still the same as He was before this happened, and He will be the same tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. I find much comfort in this. Have a good evening.

Perfect Traditions

Last night was Christmas tree decorating night at our house! My hubby did get the elk moved down off the wall so the tree could go up. Can I just say that "I LOVE a pre-lit tree?!" No more untangling or stringing lights...ahhhh, very nice indeed. Our Christmas tree is 12 ft tall. Growing up we always had a huge tree that touched the vaulted ceiling in our living room; a real tree, mind you. It was tradition. My dad would go out in the woods, sometimes we would go with him, and we would cut down the p.e.r.f.e.c.t. tree. And when I say perfect, I mean it. He would start looking around in early fall to find the perfectly shaped and sized tree. My dad is cool that way! It may take him forever to pick something out, but when he does, it is perfect. So to make it really feel like Christmas in our house, our tree has to be HUGE! We have a 20'+ vaulted ceiling in our living room so we have room for a very large tree. The 12' one is, yes, perfect!Our ornaments are not your everyday ornaments, either! I am the oldest grandchild on my mom's side, and when I was born my grandparents started a tradition of getting each grandchild a personalized ornament every year. The ornaments range from a beautiful, etched glass piece for my 1st Christmas, to ornaments from Germany from when they traveled there for the 50th anniversary of D-Day, to these beautiful handpainted ornaments seen in the above picture. These are extra-special to me because they are made from the actual slate tiles that my grandparents had on their roof when they were young parents raising their children, back before they had a new shingle-roof put on their house. My Nana sat and filed and shaped and smoothed each ornament to her liking, and then would take them to a lady she knew that would paint what she wanted on them. Then Nana would tie color-coordinated ribbons on them and wrap them ever so carefully to give to us. She made these for each of our first Christmases. There is one from 1995 that says "Jack, Erica, and Tyler Ray First Christmas." Zachary's says "Zachary Robert 8-7-97," and Katie's says "First Christmas Katie 11-25-03." They are my very favorite on our tree and make me think of Nana each time I look at them. She passed away last year on Dec. 16. She hadn't been quite as mobile in the last 5 or 6 years, so my mom has been doing ornaments for everybody since then. She looks far and wide, early in the year, for the perfect ornaments for us all. I'm telling you, we are getting quite the collection! But each ornament has a name and a year on it and is perfectly suited to that year.

Here is Zachary hanging ornaments!

Tyler decorating the high parts of the tree!

And he got in on the ground-floor action, as well.

Katie loved finding all of her ornaments and putting them on the tree!

Here is one of my favorites, from 1996.

This is another favorite, from 1997. We own our own log home manufacturing and contracting company, so of course our little log home ornament is perfect for us! I just love this one! Who am I kidding?! I love them all!

Sunday = Lazy Day

Today is turning out to be a lazy day...except for the 8, yes 8!, miles I ran this morning! Can you say "Woohoo?!" It felt great! But now I am in comfy lounge-wear, pulled up to the computer, checking out what's going on in blogland, getting ready to break open my Bible study, and THEN watch some football. Sounds like a fabulous day, huh? My goal for the weekend was to get out Christmas tree up and decorated. But since it is still sitting in the box in the middle of the living room floor waiting for an elk to be taken down from the wall AND my hubby's dozing on the couch, it looks like it may not happen! He's kinda cranky about taking it down so he's taking his time! In all fairness, I guess it is pretty heavy and it looks like it's going to take an act of Congress to get it down. He's just not as motivated as me!

When I got out of bed this morning, it was FREEZING in the house! Like, 60 in the bedroom and 58 in the living room! I crawled out from under the covers and promptly jumped right back in! Turns out, the fire in the boiler had gone out last night and we didn't have the backup heat turned on. But on the other hand, once I managed to get out of bed and get my running gear on, the run itself felt cool and wonderful! Tyler went outside and got it going again, so everything was nice and toasty in no time. He's such a little man, and a GREAT kid!

Yesterday, we had a mini-girl's day! Katie and I, and Michelle and Hailey went to PB and ate at Maya's, the BEST mexican food you could ever drool over. I was craving it so bad for the last 2 weeks so when the men decided they were going fishing, we took off! We hit Walmart, too and got a few things and looked at a sporting goods store for a cute new "treatment outfit." (Hey, if I can't use it as an excuse to get new clothes...!) I didn't find anything, though. But we are headed to STL on Wednesday afternoon to get our Christmas shopping finished up so I figured I would find something cute up there. We are also leaving early to spend "chemo time" with our friends who has her treatment for 3 days at a time. So we are going to be there with them, also. Then my 3rd treatment is Friday....I will be HALFWAY done with chemo after that! YAY! Praise God that He has carried us this far and I know He will continue to carry us! Hallelujah! I am also excited about having more STL-time because I want to go to Whole Foods! They have 2 in STL, and I am excited about going there! I know I will be so overwhelmed when I get in there though, so if anyone is well-versed in WF shopping I am open to advice for must-haves or whatever!

I hope everybody else is having a WARM and GREAT Sunday!

Thursday

Yay it's Thursday! Two reasons I'm glad it's Thursday:

1. Tomorrow is FRIDAY and
2. Survivor comes on tonight!

I am so glad this week is almost over! I have been so busy this week: bookkeeping, helping friends move, and now dealing with a sick little one. I put Zachary to bed last night with motrin and a low grade temp but he woke up this morning fine. But I just had to go to school and get him because he is running a fever again and says his tummy feels funny. Ugh! Michelle was here for lunch so she checked him out before she went back to the clinic and said it's probably viral, nothing else seems to be going on. Hopefully it's a quick virus! And we have watched Survivor since it began several years ago, and we really like it. It's good family time for us!

Things I still need to do today:

1. Bible Study
2. Load of laundry in the dryer
3. Take care of my little ones
4. Get three more bookkeeping items sent to our CPA
5. Check mail
6. Pick up Tyler from school
7. Fix dinner (don't know what we're having....hmmmmmm.......)
8. Maybe walk for 30 more minutes later if I have time...not motivated to run today!

Wow, my list is bigger than I thought! Better get off here and get busy!! Happy Thursday!

"Whatever you do, do everything for God's glory." 1 Corinthians 10:31

Tough

Good Tuesday Morning everybody! I've had a busy couple of days around here, therefore, no posts. Sunday, I went for a 7 mile run (yay!!) then we went to PB and got groceries...I took the hubby and the kids so it was not as quick a trip as I had hoped! But the trip accomplished what it was supposed to: we have food! As soon as we got back we headed to my mom and dad's to eat Sunday dinner, we had steaks (!), with the WHOLE fam! That doesn't happen very often because we are all scattered and are busy, you know how it goes. So my parents and my brother and sisters and their families were all there....it was a great Sunday afternoon!

Yesterday was crazy-busy! I started off the morning with an 8 mile run, the furthest I've ran since my diagnosis 2 1/2 months ago! I felt so good afterwards! There's nothing like the runner's high! So after that, I got into paying bills...good thing I had the runner's high thing going on! Haha! That led to other computer work and bookwork that took me to midday. After I made Katie and I lunch, I made baked ziti so I could just pop it into the oven when we got home from PB from Tyler's eye dr. appointment, which was right after school. It takes 35-40 minutes to get there, and we drove straight there and straight home. The kids were wanting to stop at Dairy Queen and get snacks and treats, but I was sooooo worn out by that time that all I wanted to do was get home! After I cooked dinner, I piddled around with laundry and pick-up stuff, but nothing too serious...I was ready to collapse! But when we went to bed, I couldn't fall asleep (uh!!), but I felt so drawn to my book of Bible verses and a little talk with God. So I got up and read through some verses and thanked God in my prayers that He is ALWAYS available for us to talk to and He always hears us and listens. He is so faithful! After that, I went back to bed and slept like a baby until 6am when my hubby woke me up with a kiss as he was leaving for work. I went ahead and got up and did some more laundry and put away dishes, got my runnin' gear on and cranked out another 5 miles! Woohoo!

So far today I've had my run, done my Bible Study, "Believing God" by Beth Moore. If anyone is looking for direction or a closer walk with God, this study is a.m.a.z.i.n.g. I highly recommend it! My friend (who I requested prayers for last week) texted me this morning telling me that there was a song I just had to hear..."Tough" by Craig Morgan. I had heard this song before, but as I watched the video on YouTube I actually listened to the words, and it is beautiful! I tried to post the video here but it says it was "disabled by request." But if you have a chance to click over and listen to it (and watch!)...you will see what I'm talking about. My favorite verse of the song is as follows:

"We sat there five years ago

The doctors let us know, the test showed

She’d have to fight to live, I broke down and cried

She held me and said it’s gonna be alright

She wore that wig to church

Pink ribbon pinned there on her shirt

No room for fear, full of faith

Hands held high singing Amazing Grace

Never once complained, refusing to give up

And I thought I was tough"