Pray for a new friend

Okay, I wouldn't normally share this particular information on my blog but it is in the context of how I met my new friend today who needs your prayers.

So - today was my "big" day. Thanks to good genes (I love you Mom & Nan-Nan), I have been blessed with some issues of the female variety that have caused me some real problems this past year. After 2 ultrasounds, my Dr wanted me to get a mammogram at Baptist Hospital that would check out one particular area of concern and give the dr. a baseline mammogram to use for the future. I can't say that I was terribly excited about going but it had to be done. I got to the Breast Center at Baptist and was shocked to see a waiting room of over 30 people at 8:30 am. I finally get brought back only to be in another waiting room with another group of women.

Now, I was already nervous and hearing these ladies talk about their experiences with breast cancer wasn't making my anxiety any less. A few of them got called back and it was just me & a few others. One lady in particular looked very anxious and close to tears. She then started crying as she told us that she had just gotten diagnosed with breast cancer and that today was the day of her surgery. She was overwelmed, scared, and very upset.

I was thankful that God gave me a peace at that moment and I was able to talk to Cathy a little longer. Before she went back we were able to pray together for her surgery.

I have been so focused on my own issues lately that I haven't really stopped to think that there are others, often times right around us, that need a hug from Jesus too. I'm glad that He reminded me of that today.

So - please pray for Cathy from Sparta. Pray that the dr. (also my dr) got all the cancer out today and that it hasn't spread. Pray also that she is encouraged and that God gives her peace.

THANKS!!!

PS - after 4 hours & 4 extra pictures just to make sure I was clear (can you say OUCH!), I was given the "all clear"!! What a relief. God is good.

Check it out!

You may have seen my previous post showing you how I enhanced my guest bathroom using Uppercase Living products and I am so excited about my latest project that I have to post it.

SEE:::::::::



It was SUPER easy. I just bought a canvas, painted it, put the monogram on (one solid piece, easy!) and then attached the ribbon. That's it! It looks wonderful on the wall in my dining room.

I'm finally having my Uppercase Living party on Tuesday, Sept. 30th (the previous one was cancelled b/c of kidney stone surgery). If you are interested in coming, please let me know!

My biggest pet peeve

Okay, I'm sure you don't really care to hear about one of my biggest pet peeves, but I'll put it out there anyway.

Tonight we had the turnover meeting for our homeowner's association. Our neighborhood is now done being built and is in the hands of a homeowner board with the assistance of a management company. There are about 130 homes in our neighborhood therefore 130 possible votes out there. How many people came to the meeting??? If you count one homeowner per house (married couples only count as 1) then probably 30-40. That means 100 homes decided not to participate. MORE THAN HALF. I get that people are busy but I know for a fact that many people didn't go because they just didn't care to be there, not because of other commitments.

At church, school, etc. they are always looking for volunteers, they NEED volunteers to provide the services that they do, that we all enjoy, yet they are often lacking in that department. At the same time there are an abundance of people who will tell you about what is wrong and what needs fixed yet very few that are willing to step up and be part of the solution. "We need to do this" really means "someone else needs to do this."

The presidential election is the WORST. Only 40-60% of those that are of eligible voting age actually do so. WHAT????? There are people in other countries who could only dream of voting for their leaders and we sit here and choose not to exercise the freedom we have to do so?? Really? So, are only 40-60% of the people complaining about how things are going??? I don't think so.

I am a firm believer in this, if you are able to be apart of the solution and you choose not to because you just don't want to burden yourself or take precious time out of your schedule to do so, don't complain (note, I'm not talking about those that are already involved and can't over commit themselves with something new - you can't do it all, I get that).

If you don't vote you have no room to complain about what the chosen leader does or doesn't do. You had no voice in electing them and therefore, to me, you have no voice in complaining either.

So, there you have it. Agree, disagree, that's how I feel.

PS - If you choose to not vote in the election, don't tell me, I don't really want to know.

Sports Fanatic

Our kids, minus Owen, are at the age where they can participate in organized sports. I'm glad for the opportunity for them to do a team sport, I truly am, but I have to tell you, I'm a little over-whelmed by the level of commitment and time involved at such a young age.

Why is it necessary for a 4 year old (playing on a 5/6 year old baseball team b/c of his birthday) to have 2-3 games a week with 2 practices (unless they fall on game days)? Does that seem a bit much to you? It does to me. I can see one or two practices with one game on Saturday but 2-3 games per week?

Drew really wants to play football when he's old enough but from what I understand they have 3-4 practices a week that are 2 hours long plus they have to travel around the area for games.

When I was a kid, it wasn't like that, at least as I remember it. I just don't get it. Why is it necessary to be so hard-core with little kids? I fear letting Drew do all the athletics he wants now and decide he is tired of it later.

I heard about a young man from the area that was a very promising athlete and was on his way to a college scholarship in his chosen sport. Well, he quit in his junior year because he was burnt out, he had been playing since Kindergarten.

So, as a parent how do you balance your child's desire to participate in sports without getting sucked into the craziness that seems to be starting at such a young age?

What are your thoughts on this?

1st grade here she comes!

NOTE: Okay, so I am a bit behind in updating this blog with actual photographs. I've had computer issues, health issues and have just been plain busy. I apologize to both set of grandparents & other family members.


Morgan started the first grade this year. She was excited because she got the teacher that she really wanted. Here's a pic of her on her first full day of school.

Before school starts party...

NOTE: Okay, so I am a bit behind in updating this blog with actual photographs. I've had computer issues, health issues and have just been plain busy. I apologize to both set of grandparents & other family members.

The night before school started for Morgan, she had a fun night at Justice making t-shirts,getting her hair & make-up done, listening to Hannah Montana & The Jonas Brothers, and just hanging out.

Priceless...

69 days + over $1000 (out-of-pocket, after insurance) + 3 x-rays + 1 CT scan + 2 trips to the ER + 1 surgical procedure = ONE large kidney stone that has FINALLY PASSED!

Oh my goodness. I am SO glad that this is finally over.

After getting lithotripsy done yesterday morning and being in excruciating pain last night for several hours, the infamous kidney stone is out!!!!!!!! The minute it came out I felt instantly better. I'm a little sore from the lithotripsy but not bad at all.

WOOHOO!!!

GNO

If you're a GIRL & you need a NIGHT OUT (don't we all) and you live in the SMYRNA area then you MUST come to GNO at First Baptist Smyrna!



Read all about it:

The daily grind for a woman is full of appointments, expectations, errands, meetings, practices, phone calls, and the list goes on. Simply put...your schedule is on overload.

What if you had an evening where there were no demands, no expectations, just an evening to be with old and new friends. An evening where you can be with your friends, have fun, play games, get up and move and then top all of that off with a chocolate fountain!

Girls Night Out will be that and more. You can purchase your ticket and pickup invite cards in the concourse on Sundays and Wednesdays beginning August 31. Tickets and info will also be available in the church office Monday through Friday. For more call 615-459-3311.

Tickets are SUPER AFFORDABLE & not having a babysitter is NO EXCUSE (check out below!
Cost $10
Special price of 2 for $15, details at the GNO booth
tickets go on sale August 31 on Sunday and Wednesdays in the Concourse and in the church office
Childcare is available during GNO for $3 per child ($9 max). You can register for childcare when purchasing a ticket. Deadline for childcare registration is September 14.

Happy Birthday ERIC!

My hubby turns THIRTY today! I know, I know, I robbed the cradle (by 4 years, if you're wondering). I couldn't help myself. :)

If you see Eric around, tell him HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY!

The Lego-Man is also thirty today: LEGO DUDE TURNS THIRTY (CLICK TITLE)

China Confiscates Bibles

I was doing my normal rounds of websites and came across this story on foxnews.com. It caught my eye for several reasons, one of which being that I happen to know the person being interviewed, Pat Klein.

Take a read and learn about China's "freedom of religion".

LINK ------> China Confiscates Bibles from American Christians.

Butterfly Garden

Every time the kids saw the commercials for the Butterfly Garden they would beg me to buy them one. I finally gave in and we got our Butterfly Garden in the mail. Then we sent off for the caterpillars. This has been interesting. About a week ago the caterpillars made their chrysalis's and we moved them from their caterpillar home to the Butterfly Garden. This morning they started to come out. This is pretty cool. I don't think I've ever seen this before. I'm kind of sad that Morgan is at school and missing this part of things but she'll be excited when she finds out that we now have butterflies. I am trying to take some pics but it's hard through the white mesh of the Garden.

I saw several of these kits on the clearance aisle at Wal-Mart the other day and I would definitely recommend it - it's fascinating.

Beijing Olympic Preview

A friend of ours put together a video highlighting the things you can expect to see during the Beijing Olympics and the things about China that you won't see. It's a MUST WATCH. Thank you TODD for letting me share this here.

Uppercase Living

My good friend, Suzanne, has recently started selling a fabulous product from Uppercase Living. You seriously need to check this out. They have a wide range of products that you can put on your wall (as seen below) and use in many other ways. It's VERY versatile! The thing I love about it, it's not permanent. If you were to paint something like this on your wall it would be time consuming and harder to cover up.

I will update this post with Suzanne's website when it goes live, until then, check out her blog SUZANNE'S BLOG.

OHHH - Edited to add - I am going to be having an Uppercase Living party the first week of September!!!! Put it on your calendars - I think it's the 3rd or 4th (whatever is the Thursday).

I put this in my guest bathroom downstairs (rather, Suzanne did - THANK YOU!)

Grrrrr..........................

To be honest, I'm having one of those days. Just thought I'd put that out there.

Birthday in July!

Living so far away, we don't often to get to celebrate birthday's with family. Aunt Marcie decided that she wanted to have a little party. Instead of "Christmas in July" she had "Birthdays in July". I thought it was a clever idea.

World Hope International

A ministry that our family has been very involved in over the years is World Hope International. Both our family and my brother & sister-in-law's family sponsor a child through World Hope and our extended family is very active in helping where they can. One of the areas of need is to provide student & hygiene kits for children of all ages. World Hope provided a list of items to include in each kit and you can fill as many as you want and send them in.

On Thursday we went to Aunt Marcella's house and they had a project set up for all the cousins to do. The kids put together a bunch of different kits for kids. The ones pictured below are the Older Student Kits.

I think it's so neat that my Mother-in-Law and Aunt put the time into this and are teaching the kids, with more than just words, what it means to serve & love others.

Cousin Camp-Out

We are spending some time visiting our Missouri relatives (Grandma & Grandpa, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.). Tonight is our Cousin Camp-Out. The kids have had a blast together. Here are some pics of them making their Cousin Camp-Out t-shirts.

Different perspective

Death is not a subject I care to talk about or think about to be honest. I struggle with it at times. I know we all have to walk through death before we can enter the eternal life that God promises us but I still just don't like the subject. To be honest, it scares me. How will I get there? Will it hurt? Will I be old or young? The list could go on and on.

Well, I've been reading this blog for about a year now and it really gave me a different perspective on death and dying today. You see, the author, a Christian pastor's wife and author was diagnosed with a brain tumor back in Oct/Nov 07 and she passed away on Monday. Her husband has kept up her blog as she has been too ill to write and today he wrote about her death. You should read it - it's amazing.

CLICK THIS LINK ---> Christian Love Stories - Kristy Dykes

WOOHOO!

Well, today ended up being a great day. It started out a bit rough as I was pretty sure that I was going to end up having surgery to get rid of this kidney stone (the ongoing saga of my life since camp). The xray tech told me that she thought the stone was still up pretty high so I thought that sealed the deal. I'd already made peace with the idea so that was okay.

I got a phone call from the dr. tonight and he said that the stone was almost in my bladder and he didn't think that surgery was going to be necessary and that it would pass soon!!!!!! PRAISE GOD! Do you know how happy that makes me????? YAYAYAYAY!!!!

Another good thing - I lost my prescription sunglasses at church yesterday and was BUMMED. I went by today and the wonderful facilities guy, Jim, went and looked for me and HE FOUND THEM!!!!! It seems like a small thing but it was huge to me today.

So, there you have it - two good things, one day.

YAY!

Morgan's beach trip

Morgan comes home tomorrow and we are SO EXCITED!!! It's been a long week without her but she's been having such a great time.

I just received an email with a link to all the pictures (194 of them - thanks Lisa!) and I wanted to share a few of my favorites.