From Our Home To Yours...

Wishing you a very

Merry Christmas

and a

New Year filled with

love, laughter, and joy!

C'mon Ring Those Bells!

In a previous post I mentioned my recent medical journey. I haven been undergoing radiation on my leg for the last six weeks. In the lobby of the treatment facility where I go, there is a bell and a plaque with the following poem inscribed on it:

Survivor's Cheer
Ring this bell
Three times well,
Its toll to clearly say;
My treatment is done!
This course is run!
And I am on my way!

I had never seen anyone actually ring the bell and begun to wonder if anyone actually did. Then one day last week as I came in for my treatment, I heard the bell. I saw the joy and relief on the face of the lady who rung it. Her friends and family, along with the facility staff, were gathered around cheering her on. It was an amazing sight. The nurses later told me they've had people who were treated at other facilities ask to come ring the bell once they completed their treatments. (Of course they let them.)

Today I got to ring that bell. I completed my final radiation treatment. I didn't expect to feel so emotional, after all I have been doing this every day for the last six and a half weeks. I figured this would be just another day. But it wasn't. After ringing that bell, seeing my husband smiling from ear to ear, and hearing the staff cheer, I walked out the doors with a new outlook on life: I am now a survivor.

If you are undergoing treatment for cancer, I encourage you to find out if your treatment center does any type of celebration when your treatment is completed. If not, create your own. Invite family and friends to meet you there. Bring refreshments (I'm sure the staff would appreciate some, too!). Or simply arrange for a celebratory dinner afterward. You've earned it.

If you know someone undergoing treatment for cancer, buy him or her a bell. Attach a copy of the above poem. Offer to celebrate with them...and be prepared to clap, cheer, shout, whistle, and carry on for your loved one. You'll never know how loved it will make them feel.

Extreme Thanksgiving

Many of you may remember the story of Baby Zoe, my nephew who was born a couple years ago with a very rare and severe condition. My sister and brother-in-law were told he would not live and if, by chance, he did he would not have a normal life. Well, they were right about one thing, Zoe's life (and that of his family) is anything but normal!

Zoe (or "ZoBug" as Little Man calls him) is a now thriving 2-year-old. This year, he and his family will spend the first of many Thanksgivings in their new home....compliments of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I was able to fly down to Savannah, GA last week for the big reveal. The show will air sometime after the New Year. You'll have to check back for an exact date; I'll let you know as soon as I hear. In the meantime, here are some highlights from my trip.

Extreme Makeover's Paul DiMeo and Tracy Hutson (background) warm up the crowd
before the big reveal. Both were instrumental in the design of the new house.

The man himself...Ty Pennington


The true hero in my book...Tripp Turner of J.T. Turner Construction.
He and his team were phenomenal!

Two-time Olympic gold-medalist Shaun White helped design
8-year-old Isaac's room.
Isaac was floored that Shaun was there in person!

The bus is in place and volunteers gather to MOVE THAT BUS!

Welcome Home, Simpson family. Welcome Home.

Paula Deen was also a huge part of the entire process, including the design for my sister's new kitchen! You'll have to wait until the show airs to see shots of the inside as well as many other amazing things they did for my sister, her family, and their community. Trust me when I say, it will take your breath away!

To watch the local coverage of the build, click here.

And as they say in Savannah...Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Move that bus!

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

I am on my way to Savannah, GA to help Ty Pennington and ABC's Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition say, "Move that bus!" for Baby Zoe and family!

More details and pics to follow!

Sent from my iPhone

Fall Is In the Air

It's taken awhile for the weather to feel like Fall here, but that hasn't kept us from enjoying some of our favorite Fall activities. Here's a peek at what we've been up to:

Corn mazes

Train rides

Pumpkin painting

Face painting

And our favorite, a trip to Big Cedar Lodge, where there is no end of activities
like life-size chess and checkers.

Amazing restaurants

And endless fall foliage that provide perfect backdrops for photo ops!

Iced Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last week, a friend of mine brought me some pumpkin cookies. Little did she know that I am a lover of all things pumpkin...pie, bread, muffins, cheesecake, lattes, brownies, etc. (it's almost like chocolate for me...almost.) Well, the cookies were delicious, but only lasted long enough to make me want some more! So this weekend I dug out a recipe I've made only once. They were a hit at the time, and I've beeen looking for a reason to make them again. So to celebrate the end of Daylight Saving Time this weekend, I whipped up some of these:

Iced Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon babking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 cup sugar

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups semi-sweet morsels

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Vanilla glaze (see below)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, bbaking
powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in a large
mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually stir in
flour mixture, semi-sweet morsels, and nuts. Drop by spoonful onto a prepared
baking sheet

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until edges are
lightly browned. Cool on a baking sheet for 2 minutes then remove to a wire
rack. Allow to cool completely. Drizzle or spread with vanilla glaze.

Vanilla Glaze
Combing 1 cup powdered sugar, 1-1 1/2
tablespoons milk, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a small bowl; mix well.

Happy Halloween

Halloween festivities have been in full swing here. We are headed out soon for a fantastic party at our church. There will be great games and an abundance of sugar! Another highlight every year is going to Hubby's office the week of Halloween to trick-or-treat among his co-workers.

Our little fairy and train engineer

Fun at Daddy's office

Inspecting the loot

So much candy!

*************************************

If you have a child with food allergies, as we do, you know how difficult Halloween (and other holidays) can be. That's why I was so excited to find this web site. Alison at Sure Foods Living posts a comprehensive list of common candies and their ingredients (including allergen information). Her list has come to my rescue many times. She has recently posted the newest list for 2010. I hope it helps you as much as it has us!

Have a Happy and safe Halloween!

Love Never Fails

Love Never Fails

as sung by Brandon Heath

Love is not proud

Love does not boast

Love after all

Matters the most

Love does not run

Love does not hide

Love does not keep

Locked inside

Love is the river that flows through

Love never fails you

Love will sustain

Love will provide

Love will not cease

At the end of time

Love will protect

Love always hopes

Love still believes

When you don't

Love is the arms that are holding you

Love never fails you

When my heart won't make a sound

When I can't turn back around

When the sky is falling down

Nothing is greater than this

Greater than this

Love is right here

Love is alive

Love is the way

The truth the life

Love is the river that flows through

Love is the arms that are holding you

Love is the place you will fly to

Love never fails you

To my wonderful Husband,

Thank you for your love, your friendship, your strength, and your faith. We're only eight years into this; I'm looking forward to the many decades to come. Happy Anniversary, Babe!

I love you!

Life Interrupted

Interruptions come in many forms...an unexpected phone call, a neighbor dropping by for a chat, the cry of "Mom!" from the next room, a trip to the emergency room with your child. Some interruptions are welcomed; many are not. Welcomed or not, interruptions have a way of making you stop whatever it is you were doing and focus entirely on something else.

My interruption came with one word...cancer. I had noticed a lump on the back of my thigh earlier this spring but dismissed it as a muscle knot since I had recently started working out again. However, no amount of stretching and massaging would make that knot relax. A few months later I noticed it had grown larger and decided it should be looked at. Multiple doctor visits and one MRI later, I was headed almost four hours away for surgery to have a significantly-sized tumor removed from my leg. A biopsy revealed a fairly uncommon, aggressive form of cancer.

I have had friends and relatives who have battled cancer, and my heart has always gone out to them. But it is an entirely different feeling to hear the word "cancer" related to your own body and health. It's as if the rest of the world stops and all you can think about is, what does this mean and what can I do about it? There were weeks of waiting before we had answers to all our questions, and those days were filled with emotional highs and lows and lots and lots of prayer.

During that time, things that had previously seemed so "urgent" were now not even on my radar. It didn't matter to me whether the laundry was folded, the kids got to bed on time, or I found the best deal at the grocery store. What mattered most was soaking up every moment with my kids, re-connecting with family and friends, and making sure everyone in my life knew how much I loved and cared for them.

The doctors are now confident they've removed all the cancer from my body and have pronounced me "cancer-free." I have to do some radiation to lower the risk of the cancer returning, but considering what I thought I'd be facing, radiation is a cake walk. So now life is beginning to return to normal. Family has returned home. Doctor's appointments are fewer and farther between. My strength and energy are returning. Life is beginning to look like it once did.

On the one hand it is a relief to return to "normal." On the other, I don't want to forget what I've learned. I don't want to get so caught up again in the details of day-to-day living that I forget to drink in the laughter of my children, make time for family and friends, and tell those in my life how much they mean to me. Of course I can't let the laundry go forever, and someone still needs to go grocery shopping and make dinner, but I'm hoping I can remember to keep those things in perspective. To remember while they maybe urgent, they are not necessarily what is important.

Little Man Turns 3!

It's been a crazy couple of months (more on that in another post), but I'm finally getting around to posting pics from my Little Man's 3rd birthday....more than a month later!

The Birthday Boy

With his two favorite ladies...Nanee and Grandma!

Time for presents

Little Man finally gets his train tracks

And he's ready to play conductor

It's serious business

Finally time for cake!

Happy (belated) Birthday, Little Man...Mommy loves you!

First Day of Kindergarten

This is it. The day I've waited for since we came home from the hospital with a tiny, pink bundle more than 5 years ago. I remember in those first few extremely-difficult days of parenthood holding my tiny pink bundle (who never seemed to stop screaming) and thinking, "I'm not sure I can do this all day every day for the next 5 years!"

I was very excited to be a mom and so blessed to have a beautiful daughter. But I had been in the workforce for ten years. I had grown accustomed to accomplishing things each day. I had come to enjoy my independence and relished having time to do things for myself...like take shower and brush my teeth. In those early days my bleary, sleep-deprived eyes couldn't see past the endless diapers, feedings, and laundry. I felt helpless, overwhelmed, and wondered if I'd make it until Hubby came home from work that day...let alone to the day she goes to school. That day seemed forever away.

The years sped by, and "that day" arrived all too quickly...today. I woke my pink-bundle-turned-princess up early, put pig-tails in her hair, made her favorite breakfast (pancakes), loaded her up with backpack and lunch box, drove her a few blocks away, and left her in the care of a complete stranger for the next seven hours. As I walked away from her classroom this morning I didn't feel relieved. I felt sad.

I have no regrets. I obviously wouldn't trade the time at home with her for anything in the world. Looking back I feel that I made the most of every moment...play dates, trips to the park, the zoo, and other fun places, cooking lessons, tea parties playing dress-up...I did it all. There were times when I probably could have left the laundry unfolded for another game of Chutes 'n' Ladders. But for the most part, I gave it my all.

I know my job as a parent is nowhere near an end. I have many more years of fun and influence to enjoy. And I still have another one at home with whom to enjoy every moment. But I will no longer have my baby to myself all day every day. She'll be under the influence of another person for the majority of her day. We will have our summers...but even then my time with her will become more and more secondary to time with friends.

I'm a little sad today. But I'm also very proud ...proud of my Little Miss who walked right into her class, hung up her backpack, found her seat, and gave me an "I'm OK, Mom, you can go now" look. I'm also thankful...thankful for a great school with faculty and staff who truly care about children, thankful for a teacher who is kind and comforting, and thankful for faith in a God who I know is with my daughter even when I am not.

Now, if you'll excuse me I have to grab some Kleenex, fix my makeup, and go pick up my baby from school.

Aunt Mimi's Wedding

We made it to Birmingham and back and got Aunt Mimi married off. The kids loved their time with Nanee and PawPaw, and hanging out with their cousins.

The cousins digging into presents from Mimi.

Baby Zoe (not so much a baby anymore) with "G"

Of course, the wedding was beautiful. Here's some snapshots of the big day.

Little Miss, flower girl and Little Man, ring "bear" ROAR!!!

The bride and flower girls.

The three sisters

Time out for a snack

The happy couple

Happy Father's Day!!

Pomp and Circumstance

It's that time of year...caps, gowns, celebrating the past and looking to the future. We had our first taste of the celebration of the season as Little Miss completed her first year of preschool...complete with all the pomp and circumstance a 5-year-old can handle.

The last day of preschool was a fun time of celebration as parents and siblings were invited to come share the day and participate in games that were set up in the halls and gymnasium. Of course the highlight of the day was snack time...cake and juice served in her classroom, followed by a presentation of certificates by her teacher. A fun way to end a wonderful preschool experience.

Little Miss and Little Man at the Lego table

Who doesn't love a good game of bounce the ball on the parachute?

Mmmm...snack time

Our future's so bright, we gotta wear shades!

The class of 2010

Little Miss reached another big milestone as she "graduated" from the preschool area at church...complete with a ceremony, graduation cap, and diploma!

They were so cute in their graduation caps!

Receiving her diploma

That's one happy kindergartner!

Congratulations to ALL the 2010 graduates!