Long Time No Post

“But thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57

Hey guys

I’m not even going to look to see how long it was since my last post, I know it’s ridiculous.  And I know I say this again and again, but I seriously have had no.spare.time. in which to blog.  I still don’t, but it’s 615am and nobody else is up around here, just me and God.  We are just waiting for another 45 minutes to roll around when this house will undoubtedly spring to life with people, little and big, getting ready to start another day.

By the way, have I mentioned how thankful I am to have “another day”?

Well, I am.

For the past 4 weeks we have made countless trips to STL for all sorts of different scans, which first started out trying to determine WHY I have two broken ribs. BTW-we still don’t know. Humph.

• X-ray of ribs to diagnose 2 broken ribs (9 & 10 if you’re wondering)
• Bone density which would give us a clear reason as to the broken ribs-it was normal
• CT scan to determine if cancer is lurking anywhere else-it’s not PTL!
• Bone scan to round out the scanning regimen-wuh oh. <----hot spot on the ribs, left ankle, and femur
• X-ray of the femur to determine the cause of the uptake shown in the bone scan, looking for a lesion, tumor, fracture, SOMETHING.

So this brings us to the present, where I heard from my dr last night that the bone expert doesn’t THINK the spot on my femur is cancer, but now we have to do an MRI to be certain. 

So you can mentally just add that to the list above.

I am mentally and emotionally exhausted.  I have had so many emotions running through me in the past month, it’s almost like the time of my original diagnosis all over again…sad, frustration, toughness, anger, it’s been pretty much the norm as far as the cycle of emotions goes.

Over and over I keep handing all my fears to God, and over and over I have failed and have picked them back up and tried to take control in my human hands.  And I’ve figured out, yet again, that umm, this doesn’t work so well.  Mentally and emotionally exhausted-yeah, are not characteristics of a child of God.  We are supposed to hand our worries over to Him and let.Him.work.

Have faith.

Don’t pick them back up again.

Let go, and let God.

 

Well, I’m trying.  And I’ll keep trying.  I know that while I have so many unknowns, there are no unknowns with God.  He is not startled by anything and He really does have all this under control!  No matter how much I like to think I am…I’m totally not.  Boy that’s tough for a Type-A control-freak to say!

 

I am so thankful that I serve a Risen Savior who loves me, no matter how many times I fail.  That I can ask Him for forgiveness and He continues to pick me up, dust me off, and put me back up on His shelf where I belong.  SO THANKFUL.  <-----Kinda appropriate for the day before Thanksgiving, right?

So again this morning, I am giving it all over to Him.  Again, I’m going to fix my mindset on

“Erica, He’s got THIS.”

And be SO THANKFUL that He does.

Find something to be thankful for today, smile with hope, and check your breasts.

Love y’all!

xoxo

Yeah Cancer, YOU Heard Me…

…TAKE A HIKE!

 

 

Yesterday was the 1st Annual Tell Cancer To Take A Hike at Van Buren School.  It was the idea of a very good friend of mine (and a fellow survivor), Sue, to raise money for cancer by having kids pay to sign up for a hike.  And we live in one of the MOST amazing hike-able places, ever!

What a great idea!

For their $15, each child that wanted to sign up got a t-shirt, a 4-mile hike, and a post-hike BBQ…and all this started at the beginning of 6th hr, so they also got out of their 6th and 7th hour classes. 

Close to 100 kids signed up and came to hike their booty’s off and raise money, which was then donated to our Lending A Hand Fund!!!!  (I still don’t have the exact totals but I am guessing somewhere close to $1000!!!)

There was a LOT of walking up and down our Ozark hills:

 

And there were several breaks at the top of some of these small mountains! This is some of Zach’s 8th grade class:

 

And what sounds better to 100+ kids and adult chaperones at the end of a long 4-mile hike??

A BBQ of course!  Sponsored by a local bank, there were hot dogs, chips, granola bars, and drinks all waiting for the hungry mob when we returned.

 

I gave little impromptu speech on how “Yes, this hike was hard…but fighting cancer is even harder.”  I also thanked them for participating and showing that they care.  

 

I could probably stop with the pictures now, but since It’s my blog and I’m a little biased, here are some of my favorite hikers  I love and need their support more than they’ll ever know.

It was a perfect day to tell cancer to…

…TAKE A HIKE!

xoxo

State XC Video

Annnddd, here it is.  Ok, this is pretty cool.  Almost as good as still pictures.

State XC

After bragging on my kid for qualifying for the State Cross Country Meet last week, I fell flat on my face and did not take a single picture of my kid at the meet this past Saturday.  

< insert pitiful mom award here >

I DID take video, but no pics.  Grrrr, I’m so aggravated at myself right now.

Nice, Erica.  You didn’t manage to take a single picture of your first-born, but you DID get a shot of the sign.  Nice. 

Geez.

 

Anyway, I can report to you that in a field of 190 boys in Class 1, Tyler did great!  He was the second runner for VB and represented the Bulldogs well!

 

 

He finished 82nd and we are beyond proud of him! He, of course, saw where he could have done better, but that’s just part of it being his first experience at State.  Now he knows what to expect for next year!

 

So now that Jr. High Basketball and HS Cross Country seasons are over, bring on some HS Bulldog Basketball!!!!  Our season kicks off with a 2-day round robin the day after Thanksgiving.  Less than 3 weeks and counting!!  Let’s go boys!  I still can’t quite believe that Tyler’s a sophomore.  Wahhhhh! 

You know what’s even harder to believe…next year I WILL HAVE TWO BOYS IN HIGH SCHOOL. 

Whoa.

Please, time, stop now.

Alright, I’m going to try to upload the video from this weekend and we’ll see if I can get it to post.  If not, then I’ll quit taking videos and go back to pictures 

Love y’all!

xoxo

Halloween Fun

Wow, I feel like I’m actually starting to get a little caught up here on the blog!

Whew!  ‘Bout time, I know.

Did you do anything fun and/or amazing for Halloween??

Well, when you have kids it is all centered on two things:

• the costume, and
• the candy

Our boys have long since grown out of the dressing up stage (), but Katie is in her prime!  So finding the right costume was a BIG deal.  After much searching and choosing, she finally decided to be a   “Groovy Girl” and she looked so cute.

I am the room mom in her 2nd grade classroom and we had all the fixins’ for a good Halloween Party!  Cupcakes, cookies, candy, and games were all planned and made. 

We played musical chairs using fun Halloween music, and then let them wrap each other up like mummies.  So cute!

This is such a fun age for Halloween.  

I hope lots of fun was involved with your Halloween, as well!

xoxo

Like His Momma

On Saturday, my oldest boy made his Momma so proud.

I mean, he does this regularly, but Saturday morning was Districts for Cross Country!  And boy, did Tyler SHOW UP. 

Cross Country Districts is held on a golf course, and is a TOUGH run.  The boys’ meet was first, followed by the girls’. 

And they’re off!

 

Jack and my Dad walked around and saw Tyler at different points on the course and were calling me telling me how he was doing.  I was waiting at the finish line.

 

The last tenth of the course finishes uphill…and my boy gutted it out at a dead sprint to finish in 18:58!!!

 

And he took 7th place and QUALIFIED FOR STATE!!!!!  The state meet is this weekend in Jeff City and he’s going!!!!

 

I am so stinkin’ proud of this kid!!!  And I’m telling him that as I’m kissing him and probably embarrassing him.  I also have my iPhone in hand so I can text everybody I know to tell them how well he did!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tyler showing off his 7th place medal!

 

The boys’ team qualified for state with a 2nd place finish; 2 of the runners (Tyler and Kenny) also qualified individually.

Katie always manages to get in the picture somehow!  Notice Zach and Elijah aren’t anywhere to be found but Katie gets in there to proudly snap a photo with Luke. 

 

Tyler and Luke with their team trophy.  Good job, boys!!

Look out, Jefferson City, Missouri!  The Bulldogs Cross Country team is on our way this weekend!!

xoxo