A Fast start to 2017

We got a dog. He is the best dog. We all love him. Wednesday will be 2 weeks. He loves all of us but is taking a little longer to warm up to Peter.  We have named him Apollo.  I found him at the Austin Animal Center. He was just waiting there for me.  He is about five years old and has the most mellow, loving personality.

Our new homework helper, Apollo.

Oops. Apollo really wanted to chew. He found a starfish.  I think he was fed off the people table for the 5 years before us.

Campbell & her friend giving him his first bath.


The other big news that we just received less than a week ago is that I have a small amount of breast cancer in my right breast.  The doctor was very optimistic. We hope to line up surgery for a lumpectomy in the next couple of weeks.  At this point, it thankfully looks like no chemo will be needed and radiation is still to be determined.

Merciful God

Almost a month into the new year already.  Eleven months ago today, I said goodbye to my mom.  It's hard to believe how quickly this past year has gone.  Today my friend wrote a lengthy message about her mom who was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer just two weeks ago.  They have a long road ahead. My friend is here in Austin with two littles and her mom is in Houston. What torment to look ahead at the treatment. She wants to be there for her mom and also has responsibilities here. 

When my Mom died, my cousin said, "God is merciful."  I trust her to know how to believe this statement because her mom, my aunt, my mom's sister, died of breast cancer at the tender age of 50. Ten years ago already.  Looking back over the last year, I do believe God is merciful.  My mom had had so much back pain for so long.  She put on a good face for us and tried to enjoy herself. I didn't know how uncomfortable and miserable she was. The back surgery that she yearned for finally happened, but she never got to enjoy walking straight or walking pain free - here on this earth anyway.  Who knows how her recovery from back surgery would have gone, but it wouldn't have taken away the Parkinson's that had begun to show its symptoms more and more.  I am thankful that my mom didn't have to decline due to that dreadful disease.  God IS merciful.
--> We all want the chance to say goodbye. We didn't exactly get that the way things went down. I know that she saw Jesus on February 13th, 2014, even though her death certificate says February 22nd.  On February 22nd, as she breathed one of her last breaths, a single tear rolled down her left cheek.  The nurse had her reasoning for it, but I know it was my mom saying her goodbye to us.  We miss her so much, but I am grateful that she didn't suffer long.
I pray for my friend Amy's mom.  Please help them God to be strong and courageous during this battle. We know you are merciful.

Friday round up

I'm so glad I had nothing on my calendar today. This week has flown by with me looking at the calendar every couple of hours to make sure I'm in the right place at the right time.  Wednesday was early release day and  it was a beautiful fall day.  Many people headed to the park. It was wonderful to see these four awesome boys run and play for 3 hours without a screen in their hand!

It was career day at school on Wednesday. You can see three of four are wearing Spurs jerseys.  Alex said he is a sports manager for these guys. They have to pay him a percentage.  Then Hayden corrected us that he is wearing a Chuy's shirt. We said, oh he is serving the food after the win!

What is the difference between these two bags besides their color?

The price tag!  I bought the one on the right at Academy earlier this week. Conleigh had wanted this backpack before school started and I balked at the price, so we passed.  Now, she claims she doesn't need a backpack (but she does). I could not find this backpack anywhere. It has been on b/o at Penney's since school began.  I found this one and only one at Academy.  Sucked it up and bought it.
Today, on my one day of nothing on the calendar, I walked through my favorite store, Goodwill. Lo and behold, this backpack was hanging there with the tags still on.  I just saved $30 by buying this one.  Time to return to Academy!

Campbell has been going two times a week to gymanstics this month.  I'm just thinking of it as good exercise; however, there are too many girls in the class for the ratio of coaches. He isn't saying that  but it is obvious when I watch.  So, I encouraged her to give Jazz dance a try. She did yesterday and loved it! I'm so glad. We will make a change for October and do one day gymanstics with her bestie and one day Jazz.

Our neighbors have a new baby boy, Deklan.  I made dinner for them yesterday. Peter said I'm turning into a regular Betty Crocker. He doesn't know what to do when he comes home and the house smells like cooking.  I made honey mustard chicken breasts (regular mustard, honey and jalapeno mustard with basil and paprika stirred together & brushed onto the chicken), roasted asparagus, homemade oatmeal/chocolate chip cookies and rolls. They sent a picture of empty plates and dishes with their texted thank you.

I've started a low carb/high protein diet as of this morning. wish me luck...

Have a good weekend!

Convo

Yesterday I drove Campbell to her last volleyball clinic. As we were driving, she asked me, "are you happy with your life?"  I answered Yes.  She asked, is it because you get to be with me, Conleigh and Alex?  "Yes, it is. You three are the most important things to me."  So I asked her, "are you happy with your life?"  She said, "yes, and you want to know what is most important to me?  Y.O.U.

Love holding her hand.

Love the shape of her sweet, strong 7 year old legs.

I can't believe how long she is. When she sleeps in her bed, she is soo long!

I love that she wants to be a teacher and teaches her class at night by reading to them in her bed.

I love her so much.

Still processing...I

What a month February was .  It started normal but ended in a way that changed normal forever.

I spent part of the first week of the month in San Antonio for work. Since I work part time and worked on a day that isn't a usual day, I took the following Wednesday, the 12th off.  Mom had back surgery in Houston on Monday, February 10.  It was for spinal stenosis. Her back pain has been so bad for several years now. She walks hobbled over with a walker and just hurts all the time. 
I drove into Houston on the 11th with plans to stay until Thursday just to help them out at home after the surgery.  She was sitting up in the hospital bed all dressed and in good spirits when I arrived. She had walked twice that morning and they were ready to dismiss her.
That day at home she walked the most straight I have seen her walk in three years.  She said she was sore but the pain was less.  It was a low key afternoon at the house.
Wednesday she continued to say her back was sore but the pain was less.  She walked a little stooped and seemed a little tired but nothing out of the ordinary.  Sometime during the day she mentioned that she was having trouble emptying her bladder, and I said something like, "oh, you need to go to the bathroom," and she said, "no."
We discovered that the big freezer was broken and not cooling, so Dad and I toted all the food over to the neighbors, Bill and Terry.  Mom cooked up some of the cookie dough cookies that had been in the freezer.  We all went to bed.

About 7am on Friday I woke up and could hear mom & dad in their room. They are not early risers and I got up to go see what was going on. Mom was shivering. She was so cold. There were at least five blankets on her and her teeth were just chattering and she kept saying, I'm so cold, I'm so cold. 
I got in bed with her to see if I could warm her up but she wasn't cold.  I found the number for the Humana nurse and called. They asked how long the symptoms had been going on and dad said about an hour. The nurse told me to call 911 because after 30 minutes they get nervous about sepsis.

January Wrap Up

I started the year in San Diego for a week of work.  

Highlight of the trip: getting to spend one evening with the Lin family. 

We ate at Underbelly, a hip Pho restaurant.

Love this family!

January means basketball.

Does this picture say Campbell all over it? The girl can hold her own on the court too.!

 These Doves don't cry. Campbell & her friends are having a great time on the court.

Uh, hello Pistons...  What is so exciting up there?

 So far, Alex & his team are 4-0.

Company man.  Playing the part in a contest!

Ever wonder how temperature affects the stickiness of glue? Me neither.

Well, Conleigh had a hypothesis about it and did a science fair project based on it.

Say what?

Say blue ribbon!  Go girl!

 Hey Jude!  We loved having you play at our house. Come back soon.

 While my good friend Krissy and her husband went to a funeral, they brought their three precious kids to our house. We loved having them run around and light this place up.  When they left, Campbell said, "oh good. it is quiet around here again." Ha.

Juliet looks just like her mama.

January meant something that doesn't come often to these parts.  Snow. Mostly ice, but ice equals snow days here. We've had two. Kids loved it...

 for ten minutes...

 we aren't really equipped to keep warm in that very cold weather.

eek!

Daddy saves the day and builds a fire!

Rest In Peace

Grandma & Grandpa at the cabin in Warm Lake, Idaho

Ralph Hardin has gone home to join Betty Hardin who left this world on October 8, 2013. They enjoyed 70 years of marriage and were a true team. They lived on their own until age 92. Betty succumbed to bladder cancer in October. She died one day before Peter and I arrived in California to visit her.
Ralph passed away during the night January 23, 2014.  From what we know, he simply went to sleep and did not wake up. Although his body was frail, death was not expected so soon. We had face timed with him briefly on January 12 to tell him Happy Birthday.  I think he was just ready. Ready to be with Betty. Ready for rest.

These two wonderful people were Peter's grandparents.  I first met them in the summer of 1999 in Warm Lake, Idaho. They were so welcoming and throughout our marriage have been vocal in how proud they were of the family they created. I know they loved our children very, very much. 
Peter flew to Salt Lake City today for a memorial service tomorrow. Ralph had been relocated to SLC in November to live with his daughter there.
Today Peter told me that Grandpa wants to have his remains (and grandma's) laid to rest in Orange County, California, in the same cemetery where John Wayne lies.  I love it! 

We will miss them dearly. May they rest in peace together.

Weekend Report

Basketball. EKG. Birthday party. Mexican food with friends. Church. Basketball.

Random Disney thoughts

I love having my children right beside me and having them reach to hold my hand.

2 of three children learned to blow bubbles with gum during our trip.

Paying a little more for a hotel on the monorail, and then getting the free dining plan was a.w.e.s.o.m.e!

Rockin' Roller Coaster is my favorite.  The girls love all the roller coasters. Alex was willing to do them all at least one time and had a few that he liked to ride over and over,  i.e. Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain.

A week without t.v. and minimal screens is good for the soul.

I believe the kids learned more with us this week than they would have in school.

Impressing a 10 year old is very difficult.

I love that WDW sings CHRISTmas songs loud & proud!

People on planes are very strange. Alex & I had a absolutely horrible experience on the way to Orlando. Now, on the way home, we have a person coughing constantly behind us and a little girl kicking Alex's seat. Get us home!

It's good to go and good to come home.

As Peter said, Walt Disney said, "it's important to not ruin a great time, by insisting on it being the perfect time!" Wise words.

Spooky House

 We've had this gingerbread house set hanging in the laundry room for almost two years. Yes,

two years!  It had Christmas candies in it, so I bought some Halloween candy and

the kids had a ball decorating it yesterday.

 We're only two days away from the big Trick or Treating.

Our plan is to go to our friends for dinner and then hit the streets!

Presenting Halloween costumes 2013

Cleopatra and McHardin

 We went to a fun party for Halloween on Saturday night. It was great to dress up and be prepared for Halloween prior to the trick or treating.

She's a witch and her costume is cute, but these lashes are not to be missed.

LeSean McCoy of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Zombie-licious!

 

Weekend Happenings

We had a relatively low key weekend. The last weekend before volleyball games and flag football games start running our Saturday schedule.  Peter and I watched a scary movie to start Saturday morning. It kind of haunted me throughout the day.
Conleigh had spent the night at a friends on Friday and went to vball practice on Saturday morning.
I headed to the gym for the first time really. Peter and I went one time when the kids were at camp this summer but I hadn't walked in since. The doctor gave me a reality check this past week, so I'll be seeing more of the gym.
We had a babysitter last night and went out with a bunch of friends. We ate at a new to us BBQ joint, Switch and Stiles. It was delicious and then we went to Dallas nite Club and danced. It was a blast. Dancers danced, and football fans could watch the Longhorns go down in a blaze of glory.

 This morning at church Conleigh was made an official acolyte, and Alex received his 3rd grade Bible.  They said we have 45 third graders receiving Bibles.
Our Sunday school program has been revamped and it is going to be fun! I'm shepherding the 5th graders this year and today we went to the Daily Bread Bakery.  The kids learned the lesson and then we made unleavened bread to show what the bread was like for the Israelites who had to leave in haste without their yeast!  The kids loved it!

My friend Fiona and me during the Christian Educators portion of the service.

This afternoon we had a failed family outing. The kids were whining and only wanted to roller skate.  We sent everyone to their rooms for quiet time and then Peter took everyone skating. He is such a Godsend. I stayed home.

For dinner, I made a concoction of chicken with artichoke hearts and spices served over rice. The artichokes were so delicious and the kids liked the chicken which has become a harder reaction to receive. We hear, "all we eat is chicken and fish." Waaaa.

Get Your Do It Yourself On

I'm participating in this fun link party. It starts today with Something Blue, and will go weekly through the fall months.

I linked to my small blue dresser/table project that I completed in the spring.

Newest GW find

I've been on the lookout for a new dining table. The one we have used since before Conleigh was born was one of the first purchases Peter and I made together. We were so proud to have bought that table from the Roomstore. I liked the way the leaf was self storing inside the table. The chairs were comfy and we have beat it to he** the last 12ish years. It looks awful. There are heat stains and paint from art projects all over it. The chair fabric is embarrassingly dirty.

Enter...Mommy has a few minutes to myself at Goodwill (GW).  I find a table!  I debate the table because it is at GW. I borrow a tape measure. The measurements look good. Table a little wobbly. I take a picture and start to walk away thinking, "it's 7:20 on a Sunday night. They close at 8:00. I'm sure I can think about it and come back tomorrow."

I go look at it again.

I imagine the chairs that I bought in May (that have been sitting in our garage) around it.  I do have the minivan this evening and tomorrow Peter will have it at work making it harder to pick up the purchase tomorrow.

I decide to Go For It!

Tell GW employee who compliments my taste as he walks me to the front of the store. You have to pay at the GW. No, "I'm gonna buy this but keep shopping."  I pay and get the SOLD sign. As I'm carrying back the sign, I hear a girl walking out the front of the store saying to her guy, "someone just bought it. They are carrying it to the back." Score! That confirmed that I had made a good decision on purchasing that night.

Two wonderful GW workers helped shimmy it into my car and here is the beauty. I'm very happy with it. Conleigh doesn't like the pine knots, but she'll have her day to decorate her own place, right?

And the chairs. They found their way inside. I love the caning and the round backs.

 

 The plaid, yellow fabric is definitely not my choice seat cover but that is a project for another day.

I think I will also darken the chairs with paint and wax... sometime

I need to work on my staging I guess, but I do love the new upcycled furniture in our dining area.

School Start ~ Fall 2013

We had a fab summer.  After swim team and our beach trip to Destin, we hung pretty steady in Austin.  Some random camps here and there, lots of pool and playtime.  The children all did a week long overnight camp at T Bar M Sports camp.  Two out of  three want to go back next year.  Sweet Campbell was just too young. She got homesick and doesn't want to go back. She told me that maybe after 4th grade she would consider it again.

The green postcards arrived last Wednesday with the teaching assignments for this school year. The children had been hanging out the front window of the house all day in anticipation of the mailman.  Excitement in the air. I was on a work phone call when the mailman arrived. I had told the kids that I couldn't talk with them while on the phone.  Of course, about 10 minutes into the call, all three kids coming walking in waving their postcards. I told the person on the phone that I had to take care of something and I would return the call in 5 minutes.

Jackpot! Teacher jackpot! No need for Vegas. Everyone was very happy about their teachers.

Today the kids went back to school. Here is the obligatory first day of school picture.

All three were excited to get to school today.  I had been invited to a couple of breakfast get togethers, but instead I stayed in my pj's and work, work, worked.  I've been somewhat neglectful of work and our business is so technology driven these days that I have a lot of questions from professors on how to get the students registered to use said technology.

I was excited to pick up the children from school, but before I did, I went and bought some blank crowns at Michael's.  I spray painted the crowns and bejeweled them with glitter and a few sequins. I put each child's name on their crown and the grade they started today in front and center. 

Everyone came out happy and babbling about all sorts of things about their day. 

Tonight we celebrated the first day of school with spaghetti for dinner and cherry pie for dessert.  We also drank our milk from wine glasses. We are fancy that way. 

Here's to another great year at Spicewood Elementary.

Hooray for the Red, White & Blue

 Pool time!

 Watermelon contest.

 Winner, Winner ~ Chicken Dinner!

 A blessed mess!

 Parade with friends time!

 Neighborhood parade.

Thankful to all the people who stood up and signed the Declaration of Independence 

in 1776.