8.31.2010

So here's the official word

I feel like I'm making a press release, as I know there are many of you out there wanting to know what we learned today at Evan's appointment.
Let me say first that I ran this by Evan in hopes that he would have exactly what I needed to say prepared, but he didn't.
Because I think we are both still trying to process today's results.
Here's what we know:
Evan's blood tests look great- his cancer marker is at ZERO. It doesn't get any better than that.
The scan shows lymph nodes on the left side glowing a little. The same ones that have been there all along and they are the same size that they were before. So that's about the same.
Where the new news comes in is on the right side of his neck where a lymph node is showing up on ultrasound. It's a little big for comfort and we have never had any previous tests show the right side as having anything show up.
So because of this new lymph node, we were unable to get an all clear.
And instead, Evan will be scheduled for an appointment back at Emory with the ENT surgeon to decide what he wants to do.
We have no idea what he will want to do.
It could be wait and see or more treatment or something totally off our radar.
We have no idea.

So I ask a few things of you my audience:
Please pray that Evan's surgeon will have a clear plan of attack.
Pray his appointment will be sooner than later.
And on a more personal note, this is very disheartening and frustrating for us. So I just ask not only for your prayers, but for your understanding during this time.
I wanted more than anything to type out a totally different post today.
It's so hard to know that this chapter in our lives will continue.
But we will come out on the other side holding hands and glorifying God.

Here we go

We're off to Evan's appointment at 11:15 today.
The one where we hopefully find out that this cancer is gone.
Say a prayer for us please if you read this.
Specifically that we get every answer we need.
Thanks- I'll update you soon.

8.30.2010

31.August

In recent history, I think most people equate August 31st with Hurricane Katrina- one of the greatest natural tragedies to occur in our country.
That was quite the event to live through, even 800 miles away.
The sadness and despair will forever be etched in our minds.

But I remember August 31st a little differently because it first was a happy day for our family, years before Katrina.
It was our beloved Zelmo's birthday.
If you don't know who Zelmo was, let me give you a little history.
Her real name was ZELMA with an A.
She was Evan's "Mama Wood" and Evan's mom's "Mama".
And when our kids were born, Haley nicknamed her "Zelmo" because she thought her name sounded like "Elmo".
She was the best grandmother ever.
Her heart was endless with it's love.
She took me in when Evan and I dated as if I had been a part of the family forever.
I absolutely adored her.
Everything about her.
She was witty, smart, thoughtful, caring, concerned and just a truly wonderful woman.
I loved getting to go eat with her as she cooked everything from scratch.
And every now and then she would make Evan a special lunch of cubed steak or salmon patties when I wasn't around. He loved those 2 meals she made and of course as picky as I am, those 2 didn't make my list. So she would make them and invite him over as her special guest.
It was very cute.
I have so many great memories of Zelmo. Too many to put down on this blog.
And all good memories- that's what I love. We had only good memories.

Zelmo passed away on January 2nd, 2006. She died suddenly in the middle of the night. But we were told she died instantly, which I am so thankful for.
For you see, the day before she died, we had the most amazing day with her.
We gathered for New Year's supper. We watched family videos and we spent a lot of time talked and being family. And I'm fairly certain we all said " I love you" before we left to go home that night.
So when Zelmo died, we were all at peace. We didn't know we were saying good bye for now that night. But we did and it was perfect. She went to be with Jesus and we now have beautiful memories of our last hours with her.
So August 31st is a good day. A day we will remember our sweet Zelmo.

8.26.2010

4 Years



4 years ago today we moved into our house.
It is a really great house.
The location and proximity to everything is perfect.
And it's great for having people over.
Many big events have occurred at our house.
And that's why we bought it, to share with others.

So I wonder, what will the next 4 years bring for us and this house?
Ironically, today Evan is meeting with a builder about making some changes to the house.
I tried to convince him we might should just move and save ourselves the hassle.
But he loves this house so much that he's willing to take on a major project in order to stay put.

So Happy 4th Birthday to our house, our home!
We are blessed to have you to keep us warm and dry.

8.25.2010

To Helen Back


A few weekends ago, we went up to Helen to tube down the Chattahoochee.
Let me just tell you, it was a blast.
Complete redneck fun.
If you haven't been, it's a cheap day trip. It's only $5 a person for 2 hours of tubing.
If you haven't been in a while, you'd be amazed at how much water is in the river right now.
It is awesome good family fun.

8.24.2010

Attention: This is a Rant

I will probably get hate mail for this, but I am about to tell you how I feel.
Surprise!

Here goes:
I find it very interesting that more parents don't subscribe to the idea that failure is not an option for their children.
First, failure is NOT an option for my kids. We expect the best from them. And we will do anything under the sun to make sure they are as successful as they possibly can be.
And before you tell me it's not all about success, let me clarify.
I don't have to have my kids both be doctors or engineers.
I would be content with them being whatever they want to be.
In fact, I am certain Haley will pursue a career in teaching or the like. And I'm assuming that if pay history continues, she will not make a lot of money.
But money is not success.
Success is being the best you can be when given a specific task.
Whether it be school work, chores or a career.
A child should be the best at what they are doing.

And after attending Open House at our elementary school tonight, I realized several parents aren't willing to push their children to be successful.
They simply want to do the minimum amount of work and they want to know what is expected to pass.
And this really pisses me off. Because parents are teaching kids that getting by is ok. And that is why this world is how it is today.
Hard work is not expected and achievement is prized less and less.
But not for my kids.

And I will be honest, I am very hard on my kids. But so were my parents.
I was always told that failure was not an option.
And I thank my parents for that.
I was well prepared for my life as a homemaker, wife, employee and mom.
And I work hard every day to be the best at what I do.

So yeah, my kids will probably hate me for a few years. And there will be tears shed.
But in the end, it will pay off I'm sure.

One more thing- my kids can do anything they want to in life, but it is my ultimate goal to make sure that they understand that Jesus Christ is the reason they are who they are.
I want them to always be grateful to Him for their abilities and their gifts.
And I will encourage them to always love first and to give all they have to the glory of God.

I'd almost forgotten

Things have been so normal around our house lately that I'd almost forgotten that we have unanswered questions about Evan's cancer.
The kids are in full force at school.
Haley is doing ballet and tap and keeping me busy.
Britton is learning all kinds of new stuff in Kindergarten.
Evan's work is going pretty smoothly.
My work is still just work, but not too bad.

And then there is the one thing that is not normal yet.
Still unresolved.
Is the cancer gone?

We'll find out one week from today.
Until then, I'm going to forget about it as much as I can.
Because I like it when it doesn't consume my thoughts.
Instead, I will be focusing on our Master Bedroom redo.
And spending the whole week being normal with my family.

8.23.2010

Perfect Saturday

There are no pictures we took to go with this fabulous post since our Saturday was not planned in advance.
We simply just did some really cool stuff on a whim.
Just me and Evan.
It was a fabulous day- especially since we spent it together.

A little back info- where were our kids?
They were at the lake with Evan's parents at a family gathering.
We had an awesome gathering to go to late afternoon Saturday and so we couldn't make it to the family lake day. Evan's parents were nice enough to take our kids with them so that our kids could see the extended family and we could go to our event kid-free.

It worked out perfectly for us. Evan's parents had a little trouble when they got caught in a torrential downpour out at the lake with our kids. But overall, I think the kids had a great day and the grandparents survived.

So anyway, they left at 9 in the morning, and we should have done some laundry and cleaned a little. But nope! I was ready to spend some quality time with my favorite man. And I've been dying to eat at a neat little restaurant I first heard about on my friend Keight's blog.

Tucked away in Chattahoochee Hills, GA, there is a neat little development called Serenbe.
It's basically a very cool neighborhood that has everything in the community you might need right down the street. There are shops, restaurants, a farmer's market, a real live working farm, an Inn and so much.
We were there specifically to eat at the Blue Eyed Daisy.


It was very good! We both had an omelet filled with all kinds of yummy veggies and lots of cheese. I would order that again. And the atmosphere is really neat. Several people looked like they just rolled out of bed to come down and have coffee. Very neat.

After breakfast we went over to the farmer's market.
A little small, but I think it's really targeting the people that live at Serenbe, so there is no need for it to be huge.
We bought some relish and some jam.
And I should have bought some of the tomatoes they had- they were beautiful.

After our visit to Serenbe was over, we had to go to Peachtree City to something up. And for some reason when we were sitting in the parking lot, I thought about the Southern Living Idea House. It's in Senoia, GA this year and I've been dying to see it. And we had no kids, so what better time?


So off we went!
And it DID NOT DISAPPOINT!
Let me just say now that I left there wanting to go home and do a million projects around our house.
Every detail of that house was perfect, and it happened to all be the style I love.
And of course we didn't have a camera. But there is a great guide they give you when you visit that tells you everything down to the paint color.
It's a must see!
Not to mention, the proceeds of the tour go to the Cattle Baron's Ball that benefits the American Cancer Society.
And seeing as I hate cancer so much after this year, I was happy to see my money go to this fund.
Please go see the Idea House. And if you do, call me and offer to take me along again!

And finally that day, we went to an awesome little celebration for a friend. Great food and great company.

I really love Saturday's that are free to fill with things we love to do. It's almost football season though, so not too many more free Saturday's, but I also love football Saturday's too!

8.20.2010

Lucky Number 13

Thirteen years ago today, Evan asked me to be his wife.
If you haven't heard the story of our engagement, you're in for a treat.


Evan did everything perfectly that day and I pretty much tried to mess the whole thing up.
But I'm glad he was patient with me though.
My life with him is nothing short of a dream.



Here's the story:
Evan and I started dating around Thanksgiving of 1996.
It's strange, but I have no idea of the date we first went out.
But anyway, I knew that he was the man for me almost immediately.
I had never dated someone as thoughtful and sweet as he was/is.
And he was pretty darn cute too.



Flash forward to the next summer.
Evan was working up at the Mall of Georgia for the DOT.
I was at home in Fayetteville.
We saw each other often, but I had no plans of seeing him on the night of August 20th.
I felt awful. I don't remember exactly what was wrong, I think I had a really bad headache and just felt icky.
So I was not real thrilled when Evan called to ask me if I would meet him in Atlanta.
Don't get me wrong, I loved seeing him. But it was a long drive from Fayetteville and I just didn't feel like driving.
But he convinced me to make the drive.


The plan was to meet at the Varsity since that was right off of the interstate.
We met in the parking deck of the Varsity and Evan was quick to convince me that he didn't want ice cream from the Varsity, we had to go to Zesto's.
So we got into his car and drove to Zesto's.
The place we first met officially the year before.
Evan had it all planned out and I still had no clue my life was about to change.



I ordered a Rocky Road Arctic Swirl and Evan had his usual Nana Nilla Arctic Swirl.
And strangely enough, I was told by Evan we had to sit on the silver stool and the gold stool (the place we were sitting when we first met).
At this point, I still had no clue what was going on.
I just knew I had some ice cream and a date.
Things seemed to be pretty normal.



The next detail is a little foggy. I can't remember if I went to the bathroom or Evan went to the bathroom. I think at some point we both went, but I just can't remember the order.
Regardless, we were apart for a few minutes.
At this point, Evan had taken out "the ring" and placed it on his pinky.
When we finally were both sitting back on our respective stools, I saw the funniest looking man and I thought Evan needed to see this guy. The guy looked like one of those clay jars that you see at folk art festivals.




For some reason, this struck me as funny.
Evan didn't seem to be interested in looking at the man.
I now know why.
Poor guy was nervous and I was ruining his perfect proposal.

But we quickly got back on track.
And Evan looked over at me, said "Do you remember when we were here that first night and I asked you if you would marry me?"
I still having no idea what was going on but I said "yeah".
He then said, "Well, will you marry me?" and put his hand up with the ring.
Wow!
I have NEVER been more surprised in my entire life.
He really did a great job of making it special and unexpected.
And I'm still not sure I said "Yes". I just said, "Oh sweetheart, sweetheart, sweetheart".
And after we finished at Zesto's, Evan was nice enough to drive down to Fayetteville to show my parents the ring and let them know I was officially engaged!

And so began our journey into life together.
Perfect love that started in an ice cream and hot dog joint.
Happy August 20th Evan Bryant! You make me the happiest girl alive.

PS- My very thoughtful husband carries around in his wallet the laminated receipt from the night he asked me to marry him. Proof that he treasures that moment. I could not ask for more.

8.18.2010

Twenty Ten

This year has been one I'm not sure I will ever forget.

I was visiting with a friend of mine in the hospital the other day. She is in her 26th week of pregnancy with twins and is on complete hospital confined bed rest. Her journey is one of long suffering. Each day is a trial with the hope that the reward in the end will be two sweet, healthy babies to take home.
As I sat on her bed and talked to her, she asked how we were doing. We spent a few minutes talking about Evan's cancer and our hope for closure soon. And when we finished talking she said something that really made an impact on me. I can't quote her exactly, but it went something like this:
"I'm almost scared for people to call me or text me or send me an email. It seems like every time I turn around, something is going wrong. Something bad is happening."
And she is right. We are surrounded by those that are facing trials and pain and hurt right now.
We have an 8 year old friend going through cancer treatments.
We have a friend who's father left this world suddenly.
We have friends in need of jobs to help feed their families and pay their bills.
I can't keep up with the number of surgeries that have happened this year amongst our friends.
And the list is forever long.

But I have to keep telling myself that God has a plan. And I believe that with all of my heart.
Sometimes it's not easy sitting back and watching the plan. But I have to trust that in all things, mercy and grace are present.
And I've learned that through all of the trials I see going on around me, in each, God is being glorified and the people involved are growing stronger. It might not seem like it now, but God is at work for the good.

So I pray healing, blessings and comfort for all of my friends who are hurting. And I thank God for allowing me to be a part of the lives of so many who I can help.

8.17.2010

August Freakin' 31st

That's the day we will know if Evan's cancer is gone.
Is it really necessary to make a man wait to find out if cancer is in his body anymore or not?
My answer is not "no" but "Hell NO!".
After all, we found out Evan had cancer with a cell phone call at 8:30 at night.
So why can't his flippin' new doctor just call and give him the results?
Good question.
I think she's a pot smoker or meth addict myself.
That can be the only explanation for her lack of compassion.
And she better be glad I didn't go to Evan's last appointment with him.
Me standing at an appointment desk going "Are you freakin' kidding me?" would not have been pretty.
But I disgress.

So we wait. 2 weeks. Unbelievable.

8.16.2010

Happy Birthday Britton!




5 years ago today the world was changed forever.

A ball of energy was born into this world.

And life was forever enriched.



Happy Birthday to our only son and our baby, Britton.

It's hard to believe he's 5 already.

But if you know him, you know he's wise beyond his years.



Life would be boring with Britton around.

He is forever making us laugh. And countless stories are circulating about funny things he has had to say. He's witty, charming, handsome and thoughtful.

His energy is endless and his heart is big.

Most importantly, he loves Jesus and he knows Jesus loves him.



So today we will celebrate our Britton and his first 5 years.

Oh how I love that boy.

8.13.2010

The Waiting Game

The scan is complete.
The iodine free diet is over.
So it's time to celebrate right?
Well, a little.
We're having pizza for dinner and maybe some ice cream.
But the real party can't happen until the the results of the scan are back.
And as it stands right now, that will be an almost two week wait.
That does not make me happy at all.
But there is some blood work that has to be done and all of the results have to be reviewed and everything will be said at one appointment. And Evan's endocrinologist must be one busy lady.
So we wait.
And when that wait is through, it is my intention to celebrate properly.
Cause hopefully we will be celebrating the end of the cancer journey.

8.12.2010

Not my best day

I haven't had a day in a while where I just felt like crying.
I did today though.
And the strange thing is nothing too profound happened.
I just had a day where I felt like I was not in control of what happened around me.
That frustrates me.
But mostly I have been hurting today for the one I love.
Evan has felt like complete crap today.
Some combination of radiation, thyrogen and not eating enough is really taking it's toll on him.
And I am no help.
I worked and then had a hair appointment, leaving him with 2 kids at home to take care of.
I would have canceled the appointment, but my awesome hair girl was staying late for me.
So I really had to go.
But my guilt is enormous.
And I also have no way of taking away his pain and sickness.
Yep- there's nothing I can do.
And that sucks.
So now I will do the only thing I can.
I will ask God for this all to be over tomorrow.
A clean scan.
That's all I can do- pray and ask.
8:00 am tomorrow- that's the time.

8.11.2010

Prayers around 3:00 today please!

Evan is taking the tracer dose of radioactive iodine today around 3:00.
Please pray that this dose is fully absorbed by anything the doctors might need to see.
But also pray that there is nothing to absorb the iodine- NO CANCER!
And also pray for Evan the next few days as not only is he slightly radioactive, he also has to endure being off his medicine (big deal by the way), off iodine and he has to drink the "cleansing" drink tomorrow to prep for his scan. And of course, pray the scan goes perfectly on Friday morning.
I'm hoping pretty soon this blog will be all about how we made it through cancer and that I won't have to update you any more about medications, scans and the like.
Thanks for hanging in here with us and thanks for praying!!

8.10.2010

What's for dinner?

I know, i know. You are probably tired of hearing about iodine free dieting. But there's only 3 more days left! Hard to believe the 4 weeks are almost up. And I must say- it has not been that bad. There have been moments when I would have given my first born for some pizza, but somehow I always managed to curb the cravings. And as a bonus, Evan and I both feel pretty amazing these days. Less aches and pains, more energy and a slimming waistline. So we are not complaining. But come Friday- we will eat some pizza as a treat. But guess what? We have decided to take this diet and make it a stepping stone for our future eating habits. Obviously, we can't go iodine free forever. But we can eat healthier. And we've proven it's good for us. So the plan is to follow the Weight Watchers plan as soon as we retire from iodine free school.
Pretty cool huh? Taking lemons and making lemonade!

So what have we been eating that's worth sharing with you? Here's one of the favorites:

Bunless Angus beef hamburgers with the toppings as a side
Baked cut potatoes (no skin of course since those have iodine)
Asparagus
Bud Light Lime


Kick Ass 2 Minute Fresh corn
This is actually fresh corn that we picked up in the produce section.
All you do is shuck the corn and remove the silk
Put the corn on a piece of wax paper, sprinkle with black pepper and salt if you can have it
You can also add a pat of butter if your not on an iodine free diet
Wrap the corn in the wax paper
Microwave for 2 minutes. If you have multiple ears of corn, multiple the number of ears by 2 minutes (ex. 4 ears of corn = 8 minutes cook time)
It is incredible and healthy and yummy.
No more frozen or canned corn!


Honey mustard chicken-
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Mix it all together
Put 6-8 Scalipini cut chicken breasts in a large Ziploc and add the mixture from above.
Marinate 2 hours for maximum flavor.
Grill the meat.
You will love this recipe- guaranteed.
And if you want, make an extra batch of the mixture to dip with.
I will never buy honey mustard again because this is better than any store bought.


Homemade Spaghetti Sauce-
This was by far the biggest project I took on during the diet.
I literally blanched the tomatoes, prepared all of the veggies, added fresh herbs and sat for hours watching it simmer down.
I now have a great appreciation for Ragu and I can't figure out why they don't charge like $10 a jar for it.
But it was totally worth the effort to make this so that I can say I've made homemade spaghetti sauce.

And that's it for now. Lots of veggies, lots of fruit. Lots of healthy.

So much to share

I am way behind on blogging- trust me I know.
And I keep getting subtle hints from those around me that I might need to post something for fear of losing their interest. Heaven forbid I lose one of my 4 readers right?
And my lack of posting has nothing to do with a lack of ideas.
It's actually the opposite.
I am overwhelmed by how much I have to post about. And I'm not even sure where to start.
And then there's the lack of energy.
I have been amazingly tired lately and I had a little run-in with the dentist yesterday that has given me a headache the size of Texas.
Speaking of Texas, I have a post all about my trip to Texas planned, but it might be a few days before it gets done. Let's just say the trip was such an adventure that it might take me approximately 4 hours to write about it. So you have something to look forward to!

As for what we've been up to:
I came home at 10:30 am Sunday morning from Texas. Evan and the kids were at church and I should have taken a nap. But the John Deere was calling my name, so I mowed the lawn. And I mowed the newspaper too. All over the lawn. It was like confetti every where. And you might think since it has been so hot that the wind would not be blowing. Wrong. The wind decided to blow when I mowed over the paper. And so I spent 30 minutes chasing tiny fragments of Target sale ads all over the lawn. As neighbors passed by and waved. And there was a man walking his dog that passed by to say "Hello! Uh-oh!" Wasn't that nice? He couldn't find the time to help though- he was too busy laughing and had to get home and tell his wife about the lady down the street that mowed over her paper.
And the rest of Sunday we spent shopping for last minute school items and groceries. Not too bad.
Monday was the first day of school. Both kids came home thrilled about their first day. And Britton managed to avoid being sent to the principal. So it was a good day.

Monday afternoon Evan had an ultrasound. The technician of course was not allowed to say anything on record, but she did tell Evan that it appeared as though there was no new growth she could see. Sounds positive to me. He also had the 1st of 2 shots he has to have in order to prepare his body for radiation and scanning. The second shot is today (Tuesday) and then the rest of the week has been changed up a little from the original plan we had been told.
As it turns out, Evan will take his tracer dose of radioactive iodine on Wednesday and be scanned on Friday. This makes complete sense, but is not what the nice lady from the scheduling office told Evan on the phone. So we have been a little thrown off but not by much. Plus- once you have been through everything Evan has been through this year, a few changes aren't really too big a deal.
Evan will be slightly radioactive after 2:30 on Wednesday, but we have been told not enough to be a problem to others. Then Thursday he gets to drink the "special juice" that makes his insides explode for 24 hours. And Friday it's off to a the body scan.
If I have not said it 100 times, this scan is everything to us right now. This scan could return us to normal life again. That's my prayer at least- normal life. And if for some reason the scan comes back showing something, we can handle that too. But right now, I'm praying for complete health for Evan. That's all I want.

If you can't tell, we've got a lot going on! School, scans, life. And over the weekend and Monday we are celebrating Britton's 5th birthday. So I'll hopefully find some time to keep you up to date on everything going on.
Keep the prayers coming for Evan this week please. And thank you for joining us on this ride.

PS- The diet is still going just fine. Evan is down 14+ pounds and when I put my arms around him, there is a big difference. I'm so proud of his weight loss and his ability to endure all that this diet has kept him from. He is absolutely amazing when it comes to will power and mental strength. I on the other hand have eaten very little for 3 weeks now, had a case of food poisoning and I weigh the same thing I weighed last week. I'm only down 7 pounds. But I blame that on being female and not being active enough. I feel pretty good though- that's all that matters right?

8.05.2010





I'll be gone til Sunday. I'm off to Texas- Abilene, Texas to be exact.

I'm gone to see BFF Bethany graduate with her Masters in a really big fancy title that I won't get correct. But basically she's a really smart Human Resources Manager Expert.

I'm super proud of her. Not only because she happens to be my BFF, but she also went through grad school with a 4.0 and she's planning on going to get her PhD. And seeing as the thought of school makes me turn blue and vomit, I think she is super cool because she loves higher education. So she is getting enough degrees for both of us!

Congrats Bee!! I look forward to plane ride trippin' with you and Chad.

And to the rest of you, I'll see you next week. Pray for Evan as he has to wrangle our two children by himself for 3 days all the while eating an iodine free diet. There's plenty of beer in the fridge and it's iodine free.

8.04.2010

I Do

A few weeks ago during our sermon at church, our minister asked a few questions that have been resonating with me for days now. One in particular has really had me thinking lately-
"When do a man and woman officially become married?"
The obvious choices for an answer are 1. when the certificate is signed, 2. when the minister declares it, 3. when two become one in flesh, and so on.
But I'd like to put a different spin on this question.
First, let me say that I believe Evan and I became a married couple when we stood before God and everyone close to us and said our vows to one another.
But I also believe that for the first 11 years of our marriage, we took for granted being a married couple. I'm not saying that we didn't have a great marriage- it has been pretty solid. I'm just saying it became real this year.
And by real I don't mean that we have wasted 11 years. I'm just saying we have taken the 11 years we've had and finally totally surrendered ourselves to each other and to God.
Trust me, I know this all sounds strange. But I wanted you to understand that this year has absolutely changed our lives forever. And I wouldn't give back a second of what we have been through as a family. Because we are finally whole.
I have learned to love like I have never loved before. I was not raised with the understanding that it is ok to totally devote yourself to the care of others. It was really all about me.
But God has shown me that it's not about me.
Right now it's about get Evan healthy and being the best woman I can be for my family.
And I know I can't do that alone.
I am a complete turd.
But I can not even tell you how much I have grown and changed to the point that I almost feel like I am a completely new being.
All by the grace of God.
And I can't speak for Evan, but I would venture to say that he would tell you that he is the same way. I can tell you that he is as devoted as ever to me. And he lives every day with one intention- being the best person he can be.
The crazy thing is I'm not sure that any of this could have happened without cancer entering our lives. It took us being completely broken in order to be completely restored.
And we are restored.
We are finally a married couple in every sense of the phrase.
And we could not be happier.

8.03.2010

Spreading the Love



See these kids? I adore the, love them.

They are what makes being a Christian fun.

You see, they are doing what Jesus calls us all to do.

They are spreading the Good News to college kids in Puebla, Mexico.

And they are changing the world.

If you don't know the McDades, you should get to know them.

They are amazingly humble. Their love is infectious and their faith is incredible.

And did I mention they have the cutest little girl ever?

We had the opportunity to have dinner with the McDades tonight to catch up and talk about life.

It was so awesome to hear what they are up to and I can't wait to see what God has planned for them. And I also can't wait to plan a visit to see them in Mexico.

I consider myself one lucky girl to have Nate and Erin McDade in my life. I'm proud to have them representing my God and loving others.

Love you McDades!

8.02.2010

Not much- just life really

We are rockin' right along.
The diet is still kickin' our butts and we are still kickin' right back.
I'll post some pictures tonight of some of my latest creations.

The weekend was pretty nice. We celebrated the mother-in-law and father-in-law's birthdays, did a little back to school shopping and generally just hung out.
The coolest part of the weekend was worship at church Sunday morning. Our praise band was dead on with the music and I was just overwhelmed .
It was refreshing. Much needed.

And now it's Monday. And with Monday comes blah. This time to the tune of $600. And you won't even believe what it's for- the air conditioner! If you've been following along, you know that just a few months ago we replaced most of AC #1. Now, AC #2 has the same flipping problem- bad coil. Luckily, it too is still under warranty since our house is only 4 years old. But good grief- 2 ACs out in the same summer? That would be $1200 total in labor this summer.
I am thankful we are blessed enough to have heating and air. And that we have jobs to pay for fixing the heating and air. But I am hoping these little repairs will go away for a while (please?).

So there goes- Monday.