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!

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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!