TGFT

Technology can be a blessing and a curse.  

Today, as I was scrolling through old text messages, it was a blessing.

thankful thursday

Now I know where Evan gets his humongous forehead!

Today (everyday) I am thankful for my mom.

She is a strong, beautiful woman and I love her dearly.

She is goofy and funny and loving and honest.

I am thankful that we got to celebrate our birthdays together this past weekend

~ our birthdays are only 3 days apart!

I am especially thankful that she is still here to celebrate another birthday.

I love my mom :)

What are you thankful for today?

Where did fall go?

Oh, yeah....

It was filled with lots of family time and celebration....

My mom's 60th surprise birthday party....

It was a blast! We rented a tent and lucked out with the only comfortable, non-rainy Saturday night in October. I loved all the white lights and the fabric garland my sister made (you can see it in the tent). In the end, my mom was not surprised that we threw her a party, but I'm pretty sure she was surprised with how nice everything was and how many people came to celebrate! We had a great time dancing and our friends and family generously gave my parents moolah to contribute to their European trip to Madrid, Paris, and London.

Then, at the beginning of November....

my baby turned 3!!!

I cannot believe my youngest is three already!

And all Nathan wanted was a Superman party....
So, I sewed all the boys, my nieces, and nephews Superman capes and made a Superman cake. Apparently, though, the cake wasn't good enough for Nathan....he wanted a cake of Superman flying. You know, the quintessential Superman pose with the one right arm poised above the head. Good luck with that, Nathan....and that night, he had already picked out his next cake....hot wheels. We'll see :)

Finally, we had our annual Thanksgiving pie baking tradition held at my house this year. My grandmom, Betty, began this tradition when I was a little girl and my mom, my sisters, and I have continued it ever since. We usually make pumpkin, apple, lemon meringue, cherry, and coconut custard as our standards. Then we throw in a peach or blueberry or mincemeat pie for fun. This year and last were the first time the kids were really into it. I bought the kids their very own pint-sized silicone rolling pins [a bonus find at T.J.Maxx!] and they all wore their aprons. It was a lot of fun....

And then we celebrated Thanksgiving. It was just my parents, my sisters and brother and their spouses and families and us. It was a wonderful time together at my parents' house.

Now, onto Christmas....

Mother's Day

Aren't these the prettiest flowers you've ever seen? My boys gave them to me for Mother's Day. And by "boys," I mean all my boys, including Mark. I should have known he was up to something when he asked me if any of my Cricut cartridges had a daisy. He only said he wanted to make something for the boys to give me, so I assumed he was putting together a card.

Not so much....he made these gigantic flowers and had the boys sign the leaves for me. Much better than a Hallmark....

All I have to say is, isn't my hubby crafty? I LOVE my Mother's Day bouquet! :) And it still looks as fresh as it did a week and a half ago :)

Later on, we went to my sister, Megan's, house for a Mother's Day barbeque. We celebrated my mom for being such a wonderful mom, mom-in-law, grandma, and person ~ love you, mom! And my sisters and I celebrated being moms ourselves. You know, motherhood is not at all glamorous, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love my kids and hope they know it :)

Time Flies

This last week really got away from me....

I was up to my eyeballs in projects...

Mother's Day cards...



and Mother's Day gifts...

I'm trying to get my act together, but this week, it's a new project.

Now, I'm up to my eyeballs in this....

Gotta clean these baby toys and baby clothes out of here for our MOPS children's resale this Saturday. Hoping to make a little extra moolah :)

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Well, the good news about my mom has done a complete 180.

Her doctor called her on Friday and said the pathology report came back showing liver cancer that has metastisized from the lung. A second report said that she tested positive for markers for colon cancer. A third report said that 2/3 of the liver biopsies were cancer free.

Needless to say, we are frustrated and confused and distraught.

We know God is in control, but sometimes in our humanity, we fail to rest in His comfort and peace and we let our minds go to the dark valleys of our worst fears.

My sister, Jill, and I had just spoken on the phone on Sunday and had voiced our concerns and fears to each other.

Not five minutes went by when my phone rang. It was Jill. Again.

I answered it. Jill proceeded to tell me how she was watching my niece, Ava, playing with her toys.

Out of the blue, Ava sang, "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do."

Boy, did we need to hear that!
Isn't God good?

If you think of it today, please pray for my mom and dad. They will be seeing an oncologist at University of Pennsylvania. Hopefully, we'll have some answers.