umm…hello?

i can’t believe that here we are into the first week of 2012 and really where did December go.

i feel like i have so much to catch up and the task is daunting.  maybe list form will help:

christmas was well…awesome

i have a preteen that now has a phone and ipod touch. 

mr.claus opted to go against mrs.claus’ and purchased a blue bird for mr. charlie

we all call pretty bird (the afore mentioned birds name) a she when in fact it’s a he

pretty bird is driving our dog crazy

i think i surprised mr. thompson for the first time in almost 15 years with a kindle under the tree.  i love surprises

i got stocked up on lotion for christmas.  i kind of think it’s ridiculous to pay $15 for lotion but both of these are the bomb.  my mother in law said my hands felt like a baby’s butt…hmmm…

vacation was a perfect mix of fun and relaxation (talking about a couple days in pjs, like all day)

i’m hoping to wrap up my end of year video soon.  i love putting those together…such a good reminder of how blessed i am.

my one little word for 2012…discipline..which i have not had any since i entered the real world again on Wednesday (i.e. back to to school for the boys and back to work for me)

thanksgiving 2011

we headed to arkansas to spend thanksgiving with jay’s mom and step dad.  i love going to arkansas…when i’m there i completely and totally relaxed.  i don’t worry about meal prep, cleaning, laundry and even the weight of trivial worries like work seem to fade away.  it’s kind of like heaven on earth.

it’s a long drive for us, well long drive with 2 boys, 1 who doesn’t like to sit still for extended periods of time.

we got a little entertainment for the road.

  

on our way down we stopped in fayetteville.  we have stopped before but we spent just a little more time than we have in the past.  their football stadium is incredible.  it’s fun to root for them and i kind of feel like we have a connection since we have family there. 

   

the arkansas razorbacks lost a young football player on the sunday before our visit.  yet again a reminder that life is fragile. 

 

lunch. (hammontrees)  one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches….ever

and after eating a little shopping at the bookstore to get some new Arkansas gear.

once we made it to clarksville we settled in for a long weekend.  we spent time by camp fires

played games

 

did chores

drank lots and lots of coffee :)

watched lots of football…are you shocked?

ate great food (note:  healthy green beans is kind of a joke.  these suckers were loaded with butter and bacon and probably bacon grease :)) i didn’t even get pictures of the desserts

and finally…spending time counting our blessings.

thankful

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I’m looking forward to

rest and relaxation

good food

great company

walks in the woods

cups of coffee with cream

new memories

just being

This year I’m thankful for;

health

that my dad is here to celebrate

my boys…all 3 of them

for God’s grace

school lunch

nothing really big here but just a couple notes i wanted to capture.  i love going to the boys school and seeing what their school environment is like…how they interact with other kids, the choices they make, etc.

today i had the honor of enjoying a little lunch with Mr. Char.  After the kids get their main dish from the lunch ladies, there is a two sided buffet where the kids help themselves to the sides available.  i nearly fell on the floor today when charlie helped himself to mashed potatoes, gravy and peaches.  Seriously…the boy who will eat none of these chose these things on his own…and then actually ate them. 

the 6th graders at mac’s school have jobs to help out around the school and mac currently helps with recess.  So, long story short i also go to see mac while i was at school as well.  he played kickball and basketball with the kindergartners and he swung the rope so that some kindergarten girls could play jump rope.  i’m thinking that might be the only time he has ever played jump rope.  made me even happier that he gave me a hug and said goodbye when he had to head into school.

so it begins…

ER

a week ago we were at mac’s basketball game.  during the game, charlie and a friend were playing football in the hallway.  during this game of catch, charlie had a run in with the wall…actually the corner of the wall…a wall made of cinder block.

there was lots of blood…um lots.  luckily there were 3 doctors that came to our rescue,  calmed charlie down and advised that we would indeed need stitches.  we hurried to childrens mercy.  charlie got 5 stitches in his forehead.  the staff did an amazing job working with him.

this picture is before.  they put a numbing medication over the area surrounding and on the wound and let that set for 30 minutes.  charlie is not a fan of doctors and even though it was magic thread (wink, wink) we opted to give him the happy juice to help him relax.

and after

 

all better and feeling good.

4 days later we headed back to get the stitches removed.  he did phenomenal and no happy medicine required. 

update: Dad

Dad had his 3 month followup CT scan last week and visit with his Dr. on Monday.  The CT showed great news, nothing new and the original mass continues to shrink. 

Dad is taking Tarceva, which is a daily chemo drug that he takes via a pill. At this point, the Tarceva is a maintenance drug and he will be taking it indefinitely.  Dad has had some issues/side affects with this medicine…severe dry skin, skin breakouts and rashes, tiredness (is that a word?) and decreased appetite.  Yet he seems to be adjusting to the med and the side affects are becoming less and less.

He did have a consult with a surgeon about a month and 1/2 ago.  He strongly recommended not doing any surgery.  Dad is doing so well with his current protocol and the surgery that would be required is somewhat experimental with not enough data to show any value of doing in regards to my Dad’s case.

So, he continues with the same protocol and will have another scan in 3 months.