Girls Day-Fill Number TWO!

My sister, Jessica, were up and at ‘em bright and early yesterday morning for our day of doctor’s appointments in STL.

I had an appointment to get my second fill and Jessa had her annual mammogram.  It really was a “Girls” Day!  Ha!

We loaded up with plenty of coffee and hit the road.  My appointment was first, at 10:30.

First of all, I got to see my “sister” Ally, her Mom Cindy, and her boyfriend, Justin!  That totally made my day!  Ally and I talk and/or text all the time, so how on earth we did not know that each other were going to the PS office today is beyond me!  We had our “Oh my gosh!  Hiiiiii!!!” moment in the waiting room and since the appointments were running late, we got to have a little while to visit.  Yay!  Somehow, we managed to completely forget to get a picture...humph.  Imagine that…us forgetting something?!

I got to visit with my favorite nurse, Marilyn, while she put 60cc in each side.  Let me just say again, I am SO GLAD that I can’t feel the huge needle that injects the saline into my expanders.  Whew.

Hey, I have some shape!  Sweet!!

Marilyn said that everything looks good and I’ll come back in two weeks for my next fill.  I actually made my appointment for 2 1/2 weeks because on the 14th I go to see Tim (oncologist) to get checked out.  Two appointments in one day…score!

Jessa’s mammogram appointment with Julie was up next.  I used my mad city-driving skills to get us downtown only 10 minutes late for her 11:30 appointment.  Here’s what that appointment consisted of:

1. Mammogram
2. Get called back for more mammogram pictures
3. Go have a 3D mammogram done to check out a specific area.
4. Ultrasound of that area to verify that all is well.
5. Visit with Julie to get the news that “All IS well!”

Dense breast tissue (which is common in young women) was the area they were checking out repeatedly.  They want to be sure that they get all the best images so they can see through the dense tissue.  So while extra pictures also mean extra anxiety for a few minutes, extra pictures also ensure that nothing gets left unnoticed.

But everything was perfect and she’s good to go for next year!  Yay Jess!!

We headed to eat around 2pm…we were starving!  We scarfed down salads at Cheesecake Factory and then each ran a couple of errands. 

Can you guess which store I was heading to?
 

While I’d actually love to visit all these stores (!), I really needed to grab a couple of things at Whole Foods and get going.  We had a long drive home, after all.   Ack.

Unfortunately our long drive home started out like this-

Gah.  Love 270.  Not.

We eventually made it home around 730pm; I was completely exhausted. 

And I still am.  Seriously, I have had four cups of coffee throughout the day today and they haven’t done a thing.  I was able to have a pretty great walk this morning though, despite my tiredness-

6.5 miles of pure freezing bliss! 

NOTE: It’s now about 445pm.  I started this blog around 1130am.  Coffee, a mini-nap, and chemo-menopause brain have all interrupted me today. 

Love to all.

xoxo

Current River Challenge-Bulldogs vs. Seymour

I am back with a second post today so I can get in a post about ANOTHER BULLDOG WIN before I get any further behind!  Uh, like I have ever gotten behind before…

…never mind.

Anyway, I’m here to update that we are now 3-0 !!!!!

(This is a cool shot of us watching Tyler with the ball.  It may be harder to find us in this picture because we look like all the other calm fans. What can I say, I was tired.)

The boys defeated Seymour, 48-38, in the second game of the Current River Challenge on Saturday night!  Again showing a lot of heart and not one ounce of quit, all five starters played the entire game.  No subs, no foul trouble, just lots of hard-played minutes.  Tyler had 15 points!

 

We are SO PROUD of our BULLDOGS!
Keep working hard, boys!

xoxo

Birthday Girl!

I can hardly believe that our baby, our BABY, is has celebrated her last single-digit birthday!

Yep, Katie is NINE!

We have successfully managed to spread her birthday out over the past several days, with today being IT.  I mean it, no birthday stuff tomorrow.  Seriously…I hope.  Today is cupcakes for her class at school, ending all the celebrating in style!

It really seems like yesterday that were blessed with her arrival-

My how fast time flies!

 

And it seems like we’ve been partying for DAYS!  Well, I guess we have!

Happy Birthday to our sweet girl!  Our little princess who we prayed for, and were blessed with nine years ago. 

To our spunky and spirited girl, who is growing too fast, we love you SO much!!

xoxo

Current River Challenge-Bulldogs vs. Clarkton

A Thanksgiving tradition for those that involved in high school basketball around here – of which we are up to our eyeballs in! – is the annual Current River Challenge!

The Challenge is not really a tournament, but rather just a shootout where teams come from all over southern Missouri to play teams that they normally don’t play in their own district and/or conferences.  Teams from the bigger schools and smaller schools all come out to play Friday and Saturday following Thanksgiving.  The games start at 9am on both days.  So for anybody wanting to get a good dose of high school boys basketball, Van Buren is the place to be right now!

Our boys played their first game of the Challenge last night.  Being the home team, we were the last game on the day’s schedule..same is true for tonight’s game.

It was worth the late night, too, because WE GOT THE WIN!!!!!!!

And of course, our extreme excitement was caught on camera…again.

Oh my word.  Our poor kids.  And in the digital age of things like Facebook and Twitter, there is nowhere to hide.  Wow.  We can’t help it, though!  Our boys did so GREAT!! They are 2-0 and play their hearts out.

 

Tyler never sat down last night, playing the entire game and finished with 11 points and I lost track of assists and rebounds.  Zachary had some good minutes as well, coming in to be a key reliever off the bench.

It was a great first night of the Current River Challenge for the Bulldogs!

xoxo

Give Thanks

Hey guys!!

Did you have a Happy Thanksgiving?  I hope no matter what or where you are in your life, you were able to find something {even if it’s little} to be thankful for. 

I know we sure did.

We had a much smaller turnout than usual at our house, with Jack’s parents being out of town working, and other family members having their take-turn-with-other-family year, but it was wonderful nonetheless.  We had a great day and into the late night eating, visiting, eating, watching football, eating, and visiting.

Some shots from the day-

We ended up with enough food for an army, but that’s always a good thing because that means I don’t have to cook for a couple more days because of all the leftovers!  Awesome.

Most everybody finished out the day like Tyler-

 

We always celebrate Katie’s birthday family-style on Thanksgiving, since most everybody is all together already.  She opened a couple of presents and LOVED both!

Sweet girl.  I can’t believe she’s almost NINE!

I also can’t believe that Thanksgiving is over and now it’s time to get ready for Christmas!  Holy cow!  Where has this year gone?! 

xoxo

Happy, Thankful, & Busy!

Morning!

A bit out of our normal routine today because the kids are out of school since tomorrow’s

THANKSGIVING!!! 

I LOVE Thanksgiving.  It’s seriously my favorite holiday.  I love that there is none of the pressure of gift-giving or shopping.  We can just come together as family and friends and enjoy each other’s company!  Love that.

The only pressure I have is getting our house company-ready!  Right now I have the only who is awake (so far), my Zach, washing windows.  Gosh, he loves me. 

A black and gold explosion is happening in my laundry room as I try to get all the boys’ uniforms washed up from Monday night’s game, and prepped for Friday night’s game.  Two boys times two sets of uniforms for each boy, plus warm-ups equal a LOT of the B&G!  Awesome!!

 

I updated the calendar for the next week or so-

Per usual, craziness!  Wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

I am thankful.

And happy.

Here’s to a busy day of preparations!

xoxo

Tradition Starts Now

I am hoping that last night’s basketball game by the Bulldogs (Lady Dawgs, too!) is a sign of what’s to come this season!

Yes it was exciting.

Yes I was filled with anxiety.

And yes, WE GOT THE WIN!!!!

 

And before I go into the photo collages from last night, can I just share this with you?  From my phone:

It was such a moment for us, as parents. 

From the time that they were little, they have played together.  They have played trucks, they have played guns and army, they have played countless games of basketball in the driveway…but to see them playing high school basketball together was almost too much for this Momma’s heart to handle.  I was so filled with pride for my boys that, yes, it somehow started to bubble up and water my eyes.   Not a sobbing boo-hoo, but just a “wow moment.” 

When Coach brought Zach into the game in the first half to shoot two free-throws (which he made), Jack and I just looked at each other and, I know, felt the exact same thing at that exact moment.  Wow.  Our boys.  Together.  On one court, in the same game.  I grabbed my phone and quickly typed the note above because I wanted to remember just exactly how I was feeling at that moment. 

Tyler, last night in the first game of his junior year, was as impressive as we ever thought he would be.  He has practiced to start Varsity Basketball his whole life.  And while he started quite a bit last year, this year he came in with a renewed focus.  He is co-captain for the team and he is so driven to work hard and do well.  He had 18 points last night and showed his determination.   

 

How did these kids get so big?!  They will always be my sweet babies no matter how big they get.  

Ever since my breast cancer diagnosis, I appreciate every moment I get to spend with my kids because I have been faced with the harsh reality that life is so short.  Every single second is a gift.  But this is not just for me, guys.  None of us are promised tomorrow, so things need to made right and enjoyed TODAY.  I am so thankful for each and every moment our family has together. 

I am praying for a long lifetime of “wow moments.”

Love you guys.

xoxo

A Model Weekend & An Inspirational Model

Hey! 

How was your weekend??

It was absolutely gorgeous here; you can bet Katie and I took full advantage!

Our Saturday and Sunday adventures outdoors were pretty much identical!  We took Katie’s bike and hit the park.  She rode about 3.5 miles (but who really knows because she was riding circles around me and having a ball!), and then ditched the bike to run a mile and a half.  Both days.  This girl has her Momma’s love of movement.  We had a really great time!

Sunday tweet-

 

TWO THINGS I’M EXCITED ABOUT:

1) Bulldog Basketball starts TONIGHT!! Of course it’s an away game (dang), but even the one-hour drive into the middle of nowhere isn’t enough to quell our excitement!  TRADITION STARTS NOW.

and

2) A clean pathology report!!

Benign!  Seriously, that is the prettiest word ever.  Thank You, Jesus!

This morning I went for my walk after I dropped the kids off at school, and while it was much chillier than my walks the two previous days (because we had gone mid-day), it felt really good to me because I was quite the hot-flash machine all morning.  I was ready for some chill!  I walked six miles this morning.  I’m picking up speed a little!  No running though, like I said before, I don’t want to mess anything up. 

I like my gloves with the fingers cut out so I can still use my phone and mess with my music while I’m walking, but my fingers can get pretty cold!  But I saw some gloves advertised the other day that have some type of special something-or-other on the fingers and thumb so you can still use a touch-screen with them.  Score!  It’s on my Christmas wish list!

Another thing on my wish list,

This book by Lauren Scruggs and her family-

If you haven’t heard of Lauren Scruggs, or even if you have, watch the piece below.  Her story will absolutely touch your heart.  I identified with her on so many levels.  I can’t wait to read her book.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

(source)

She is an absolute miracle, and her faith is an inspiration to so many.  What a beautiful reminder of thankfulness on this week of Thanksgiving.

Find something in YOUR life that you can be thankful for today.

xoxo