UGH!!

Still no pics, and no AIM - and having to borrow Big B's laptop to post....

I have had such a blessed week without all the electronics though. I have been ministered to by some very good friends. Old friends. You know - friends who you can go weeks without seeing and yet when you catch up with them again you pick right back up where you left off.

True friendship is a rare commodity these days. If you have a friend you can trust, who truly understands you and accepts you despite your shortcomings, then you are one lucky person. I feel very fortunate to have good friends. Friends who would drop everything to talk me through a rough time. Sometimes an ear is all you need - someone to remind you that everything is going to be alright.

Despite the circumstances surrounding me,
I have a loving God that cares for me,
a wonderful, supportive DH.
3 extraordinary children,
a special family,
and 3 very kind and thoughtful friends that I can share anything with.

What more can a girl ask for?


A friend hears the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails. Anonymous.

Thank you friends for singing to me this week!

I know I know I know....

The pictures have been lacking. I have an explanation. My camera conked out and I have been forced to learn how to use the Canon Rebel that has been sitting in my kitchen desk.

So they are coming. I just need a year to figure it all out. Thank God for the auto function!

Pictures are coming soon.

and Mom is doing okay - she has been having some troubles with her bowels but she says she feels great. I am making a caringbridge site for everyone to be able keep updated on her and send her messages. I will post the link as soon as it is ready.

Thanks for checking up on me.

Repeat to yourself - stretch marks are a thing of beauty.........

"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." - The Velveteen Rabbit


--Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

Old Song with a New Voice

I have been loving this song lately - expect a tear or two......




When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.


It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.


Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.


My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!


It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.


And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.


It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

These are a few of my favorite things..........

at least for right now...... YOu can click on the highlighted words to go to the online sites. Enjoy. These sites have some great stuff!




I have been following this gals work for a while - but have bookmarked these two prints in her shop TskTsk Galleries. I love the detail and the beauty. I am thinking of putting them up in Olivia's room but have been waiting to find the perfect bedding to work around in there.




I love the sweet simple look of these cloth diapers and the feel is oh so soft. They are made from undyed and organic cottons, bamboo, hemp, and velours. You can customize your snap color to suit your style. I loved the berry ones she had last week. These are pure LUXURY I tell you - at a very affordable price!




This is a toy sandwich made out of fabric. How fancy can it get! I love all Haba toys for the obvious reasons- but this is one of my faves right now. The bread is magnetic and helps little hands keep all of the toppings in. Will you take yours with or without cheese?





This sheep is handcrafted out of papier mache - I love the option she gives to have a portion of the 23rd Psalm written on the side. I see this lovely little guy gracing a bookshelf or sitting in a nursery keeping watch. I love him!

Poor Liv

She has had a rough go lately. She got attacked by mosquitoes on her face of all places. One was so close to her left eye that it swelled up considerably. She keeps getting the hives too in little patches all over on her body. They go down with some medicine but return at least once a day. I am trying to find the culprit. Brian and I think it only happens when she gets overheated. Where is the cool Fall weather? We get back in Indiana and it feels like we are still in Florida!

A sneak peak.....

....into my sweet Jackson's heart. This was his bedtime prayer tonight. I started recording some of them in hopes of never forgetting these precious moments.

"Dear Hebenly Father, Thank you for this great day. Thank you for my new room. I bust love it. Be with my nana and take that cancer all out of her so she feels better. Be with Grandma's two new knees. Maybe she can play games with us when she gets done at the hospital. and walk up the stairs to our bedrooms and play toys with us. Thank you for my Daddy working hard so we can buy Legos. Thank you for Bidan and Livvy and Mommy. Thank you for mommy buying the new candy corn. Thank you for Uncle Andy. He is so cool Jesus. Thank you for Nana making our Jabba the Hut ship. We need to find all the parts again. I know Jesus and God and Hebenly Father are the same thing. I love you Jesus. Amen."

Jackson is the first to want to say his prayers when we lie down at night. He has such a sweet spirit and an innocence that just melts my heart. It is so interesting what sticks in his brain during the day and comes out at night in his prayers. He is my tough, mischievious, charming, eager, happy, carefree, loving, little guy - and he is growing up too darn fast!

Picture Overload!

These pics have been hanging out in the laptop waiting to come out!

Sweet Sweet JaxJo....



Future father in training...



Where have I seen this pose before?



Two very bestest friends.....




Who is that masked man?



Mirror Mirror on the wall....



Olivia's favorite place to be lately....


Proof that perfect children throw temper tantrums too........




Mwuah! this drama pic is dedicated to my lovely sisters......



Modeling her new mowman bib....




Livvy Joyce and me first thing in the morning... YIKES!

Update on mom

Thanks to everyone for your prayers. The biopsy results we received were not the best. They found that the adenocarcinoma had indeed metasticized quite severely to include the areas around her kidneys, back, and even up towards her throat. My first thought was to tell the surgeon to simply go back in again and get it out! It seems it has spread too far and in too many areas for that. Please keep her in your prayers. She started chemotherapy and we are praying that it shrinks and stops the cancer significantly all while exhibiting in her as little side effects and discomfort as possible. The oncologist said they will do another PET scan in 3 to 4 months to see where things are at that time.

"take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." matthew 11:30

For those that did not see it live.....

No Chemo for you!

at least for right now...... Mom went in for her chemotherapy treatment last week and they told her that she had some suscpicious areas near her kidneys showing up on her PET scan. He said that it could be the same adenocarcinoma from the colon or it could possibly even be a different type of cancer. He scheduled her a biopsy of this area for tomorrow. She goes in at 6am and hopefully we will know the results shortly thereafter. Please pray for mom as she goes in for her third major surgery in less than 8 weeks - that she recovers quickly and that the Doctors have wisdom to set us on the right treatment path for her. We are anxious to get the chemotherapy going and tackle this beast! Thanks for your continued prayers.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken." (Psalm 34:19)