Sunday, August 1, 2010

Silent Sunday

Vacation Fun...

Thursday, July 29, 2010

My new favorite pic....

My hubby shot this of J on the beach at Lake Michigan during our vacation. I love that he is looking back at his footprints and the fact that he is not in the exact middle of the pic (Jim is not usually the kind to shoot something off center, he thinks some of my pics are odd that I shoot differently...)



So I had to just take this pic and do something with it... it reminded me of a poem I have always loved... Footprints So I sharpened the image a bit and added the end of the poem which is my favorite, and created this:



Turned out great, and I have an 8 x 10 on order from Sam's to hang on my office wall.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

A PSA

Today's PSA is brought to you by Jay.

"Lock your car doors or big spiders will get in there and mess with your stuff."

Good to know.... I don't want those spiders messing with my stuff... unless they clean my car. If that is the case I'll leave the doors unlocked and they can come in all they want.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Happy Birthday Jay!


To my little man,

4 years ago today I was headed to the doctor for a check up after an ultrasound that was measuring you at over 10 pounds. I was still 9 days to my due date and was tired of being pregnant and anxious to meet you, though you seemed pretty content to be hanging out inside me kicking me and moving round quite frequently just to let me know you were still there. :)

It was decided that I would go to be induced because a scheduled c-section could not be done for another week and I refused to be miserable that long. When we got to the hospital we were pleasantly surprised that the doctor was willing to do a c-section.

So, approximately 4 hours later, we got to meet you. Here is my first view of you after you were born:



You looked bigger than you actually were, you only weighed 8 pound 14 oz. You were such a handsome little thing and with your addition our family was complete.

Now you are turning four and you amaze me every day. You are a smart, delightful, funny and sometimes crabby boy, but I wouldn't change you for the world. You are very literal minded and very interested in how things work. I joke that you have OCD tendencies (a joke only a social work mama can make because she loves you so much, and she has been told she was like that a little as a child). You are interested in lots of boy things: trains, trucks, cars, tools, and everything else, but you still love to cuddle with me.

You know how to spell your name and Tommi's, you can pick out some letters (K is a favorite thanks to the Kmart commercials) and can write the letter J. You are great little brother and your sister loves you as you love her even as you tattle on each other.

You are healthy, though a little small for your age, but you are growing and that makes me happy in ways you don't realize. We survived a Gluten Free Diet for a year and tubes in your ears. What a champ you were to go through ear surgery, a colonoscopy, upper GI and countless blood draws. Whew, I am glad that it is over.

You are excited to start preschool in the fall and I am excited to continue to see you learn and grow and embrace the world. I love you Jay Bird. Happy Birthday. :)

Monday, June 7, 2010

A family update...

As I promised, I am back with an update on the medical status of my father in law and my sister. Who to start with? Hmm.... there is much to tell about both.

My father in law physically is doing fantastic since his fall. He is done with occupational and physical therapy and is only now receiving speech services. His headaches have almost disappeared due in part to a great massage therapist and new glasses (he went to a new eye doc that specializes in TBI's and it was discovered the eyes were a little off kilter so his muscles were working overtime to try to bring everything into focus...hence the headaches).

As he continues to improve physically, he gets more frustrated and a little depressed. He is realizing just how much he lost memory wise. He learns and remembers a lot, but gets upset if people expect too much. On the other hand, it has been fun reintroducing him to some things, like taking him to Greenfield Village when we took the kids to see Thomas and seeing how excited he was to ride the train himself. We are taking him to his "first" Detroit Tiger's Baseball game on Father's Day.

Sometimes though it is sad to hear him talk. He will openly tell you he was "born" in December and is only 6 months old. But other times, he has some amazing insight seeing things with new eyes.

My sister is doing remarkably well to, she has had her downs and challenges... but the news is a 6 cm tumor shrunk to 2.7 cm after 1 round of chemo! Instead of waiting to lose a lot of her hair, she ended up shaving it and sports her wigs and scarves with pride. Her second round of chemo has given her a symptom of neuropathy which is interfering with some of her daily life and is scary since it makes her hands and feet numb and if it gets worse could be permanent. Thankfully she has a great oncologist that is taking everything seriously and taking precautions.

She is scheduled for surgery in July and then the plan is for radiation and then reconstructive surgery. If all goes well then she will be cancer free by Christmas. :) So we pray and wait and pray some more.

Another update soon!

So I am not a good blogger....

Something I knew but since it is June and I haven't posted since January... it really proves the point. Not that anyone actually reads my blog anyways..LOL.

I need to come back for an update on my sister and father in law, and I will do that later. But for now... in the spirit of summer and grilling I give you BBQ in a Jar.

Found on Craft Gossip, I love their site, I have bookmarked a bunch of things all lovely crafty goodness. To hopefully get to someday. :)

Monday, January 18, 2010

Stuff...

So, here it is January 18, and I am writing my first post of the year. I could use the excuse that I am busy and stressed... but since my last post was in November, I am right on target for my blogging style...nonexistent.

What can I say though... it is 18 days into the new year and 2010 kind of sucks so far. Two major medical issues have happened with extended family members. I'll just do a rundown to catch up.

On Dec. 30, my father in law suffered a fall at work and now has what is termed a TBI (traumatic brain injury). He has lost most of his memory for people, places and things. He is home and able to do things like dress and feed himself. He can read and is accepting of what he is told for the most part, and little memories have come back. It is sad to see and have conversations with him sometimes... I just can't imagine the heartbreak that my mother in law felt when she walked into the ER and they had to tell him that she was his wife. He is in rehab though, and prognosis is good...and each day that passes brings more hope.

And 5 days ago, my 39 year old sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not many details are known yet, she is undergoing testing to find out exactly what type, stage and everything else that they need to know to begin treating it. It is aggressive and she has an 8 mm lump in her right breast. After the initial shock has worn off.. she has a great attitude about it.. no matter what has to happen in terms of treatment, "death is not an option". So they are finding out whatever they can that can be done, and putting everything in God's hands, as it should be.

So, prayers for my family and Jim's... it has left us all emotionally drained.

And, the normal stresses at work and all.... but that is nothing new.

On a positive note, I bought some material to make myself something... I will post about the details later.

I am going to make Jim a gift for his birthday... he has been complaining that I have not made him anything.

T got all her spelling words right last week. Yay!

J has been doing well sleeping in his bed all night..(hope I didn't just jinx it....)

And, I actually participated in one of the Smartypants Quizzes on The Pioneer Woman and am hoping that I am eligible to win one of the Amazon giftcards ... there are a ton of books that I want. I have been following her blog for a while and decided to try a quiz. I hope I got the answers right.. there were quite a few that I actually knew.

It's back to work tomorrow for me... my vacation in February can't come quick enough.