Happy Belated Birthday!!

Miss Megan turned 14 this week. What? How did she become 14 already??


This picture is a little old, but it shows Meg's personality soo much! She is full of life and loves to laugh. She is a little giggle box!

She is a tom-boy, but loves to get all "dolled" up, too. She has a great sense of fashion, and LOVES shoes!

She can be just as easily found out working on the farm as she can reading a book to a younger cousin.

She loves to cook.

She is a great friend.

She is an avid reader.

She also loves to write, and has been working on a story of her own. Her Language Arts teacher sent me an eamil a few months ago and told me that she loves to read Meg's journal entries... each one is like a little story of it's own.

She is athletic. She has played soccer since she was 4, and she can still outrun some guys she knows.

She has a great imagination.

She has a tender heart.

She wants to conquer the world! She has been unsure of what to do with her life because she has so many passions, but her grandpa is trying to convince her to be a vet. She has decided that she might like that idea. But she wants to be a chocolatier, author, wife and mother as well!

She has a real soft spot for animals of all sizes. A few years ago she tried to nurse a tiny kitten back to health, but when it died, my poor girl's heart was broken. She can herd cows like a pro, milk goats and cows, and manage her away around a barn yard with ease.

When she was born, she had firey red hair. With the help of a bottle she got it back! ;) It really does match her personality better than blond hair.

She is working hard to be a straight A student.

I love my Meg! Happy Birthday, baby!!!

We will be having her birthday party this weekend, so more pictures to post soon!

Been working...

On something! Had to change my header to post a sneak peek!

So thankful for Spring and warm weather!! :)

Public Service Announcement...

If you are 35, go get your baseline mammogram.

If you are 40+, get your yearly mammogram.

Also, do your monthly self exams.

Ok... off my soap box now. The rest of this post will get a bit personal and a bit blunt, so read at your own risk!

I must admit that I didn't follow my own advice for a long time. I didn't go get my baseline mammogram. I occassionally did self exams, but not regularly. I hit 40 last year, and I put off getting checked. And truthfully, that was really stupid on my part. My grandmother died of cancer... it started in her breasts and moved to her liver. Of course, this happened long before I was ever born, so I never saw her suffer through any of it. But still, there is a family history there that I should not have ignored.

I finally went and had my first mammogram about a month ago. A day or two later I was called to come back so they could get some more films on one side. I didn't think a whole lot about it since the tech had told me not to worry if I did get called back... around 50% of all first timers do. I asked them if I could put it off a few weeks until I was home for spring break, and they said yes.

I went in on Tuesday to get more films done, but as it turned out, they wanted to do an ultraound instead of another mammogram. That sent off warning bells in my head, but of course they couldn't tell me anything. They have to get the results to my doctor first, which they did the next day. I got a call bright and early on Wednesday morning that I needed to come in to see the doc. I ran by and grabbed Barry to go with me for moral support, and was so thankful I did. It turned out that I had an abnormal spot that showed up, and they couldn't tell what it was. They recommended that I get a biopsy, and thankfully they were able to get me in that day. Can I just say, the techs, nurses and radiologists at the
Breast Center at the Women's Pavillion are awesome!! So comforting and nurturing.

We didn't get the results until today, and thankfully we got the "All Clear". I have a fibroadenoma, which is a very common benign tumor. I have to be checked a little more often now, but I'll take it. I'm so thankful today! It's been a long week. My sweet hubby took the week off work to stay with me and help me keep my mind off of things. He's the best!! We celebrated today with a quick trip to Nashville and dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

I love my family, and appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers on my behalf this week. I am truly blessed.

Happy Birthday to me!

Not fishing here... just wanted to share what my sweet hubby did for me. And my daughter the next day.

A little back story... Kayti still does not drive. She is getting better, but just not there yet. She has class on Tuesday and Thursday nights, so Barry stays in town after he gets off work so he can bring her home. Her last class of the day does not even start until 8:30 at night, so it is usually close to 10:00 before they get home.

My birthday was on a Thursday this year, so I wasn't expecting a lot of excitement at home. Around 5:30 or so Barry calls, and tells me that Kyle had been texting him that he should take me out for my birthday dinner. So, Barry did. I met him at Cheddars, and enjoyed a yummy dinner (I was good and got a salad. Have you tried their Hawaiian Chicken Salad? To.Die.For.). He told me that he had an idea of what to get me, but wasn't sure if I would like it or not, so he thought he would run it by me first. His idea? A Kindle! Um, yeah, I want one! So after dinner we headed to Target and he let me pick out the one I wanted. It's a sleek, black 3G+wireless beauty.


He knows how much I love to read, and he thought that it would help me reduce the bulk in my Sunday bag if I used that for my scriptures (yes, my first purchase!). I'm thinking long soccer practices, waiting in doctor's offices, waiting for 2 hours in the stupid licensing department for my son to get a picture taken so he can have his official driver's license (oh wait... that's another story!). I used it on Sunday in my Primary class. I must say, my bag was much lighter! I am looking for a sleek case for it... I don't really want to use it until I have one. And I've got my eye on one. I just can't decide on the color...

Green

Or Red?

I'm leaning towards the green, but there is just something about the red!

The day after my birthday I came home to a tasty homemade birthday cake baked by my oldest! She even made the chocolate frosting on it, too! Super Yummy!!

On Monday I went shopping! :)

Don't you just love the store Anthropologie? I do. I first visited one in Birmingham years ago when I was there for a work conference. Fell in love immediately! Can I afford any of their clothes? No. Can I fit into any of their clothes? No. But I ADORE their housewares. I drool for long hours over their housewares. I signed up with their rewards program last year, and guess what? They sent me a cute card and a 15% off coupon for my birthday! So, guess what I did? I bought myself these:


They are measuring spoons, and aren't they just too stinkin' cute? I am in love with them.

I also found myself a cute pair of black flats on clearance at DSW... and with my DSW rewards check I got them for $8! Can't find a picture of them online, and I'm feeling too lazy to get up and just take a picture of them myself, but trust me... super cute!

So yes, my birthday was quite wonderful, and I feel very spoiled. And blessed. I guess turning #%&^$ isn't so bad when you get treated like that!

Valentine's Day

I may have posted this before, but I guess if I did it is worth repeating. Years ago when I was in YW, I heard a story about a lady who owned very beautiful things, but never let anyone use them. In fact, her family did not even know she owned them until after she died and they were cleaning out her things and found them. They supposed that she was waiting for a "special occasion" to use them, but never considered anything special enough. That always made me sad, and I remember talking my mom into using her "good" dishes and silverware for Sunday dinner that day! I also decided that I would never be like that, and even though I don't own any fine china, or real silver, I always use my best things on Valentine's Day with my family. We decorate the table, set out the goblets and best dishes, and lots of candles. Why not show the people that I love the most that they are worth my best?

As I said earlier, I've had so much fun decorating for Valentine's Day this year. I found another cute idea online Saturday (some fun L, O, V, E) blocks, and I knew I had to make some. I even had all necessary materials on-hand, so I dove right in. But, then I decided to mix it up a bit and make them my own, so what I finished with was nothing like what I started out thinking I was making.


Notice the candy dishes in the picture... totally empty! I couldn't afford to keep filling them up just to have the kids drain them within 24 hours.

Also on Saturday, I decided to make something fun for my Primary girls. I am blessed to be able to teach one of CTR 10 class... I have 8 adorable girls in the class! I made them some "love knot" hair clips. I think they liked them... at least no one told me that they didn't to my face! HA!


Years ago I started making a "red" dinner for Valentine's each year. We've had chili dogs, lazagna, red beans and rice, spaghetti... you get the idea. This year I was out of ideas, so I decided to just make one of Barry's favorite meals... meatloaf. Nothing fancy, but I had to throw a twist in there somewhere, so I added red food coloring to the water I cooked potatoes in, and we had pink mashed potatoes! Kind of fun! The girls all jumped in and helped me get dinner together this year; Kayti helped cook, Megan helped with the table. I forgot to take pictures of the table before we ate, but I did get a shot of it afterwards...


Josh actually had a date this year! First time ever I have not had one of my kiddos home for Valentine's Day... well, he was home for part of it (we actually ate before he left, but he didn't eat with us). He did make it home in time to dive into some dessert - brownie bites.


I am so thankful for my family, and the opportunity to have a special evening with them! Hope you had a great night, too!

So fun!

I've had so much fun decorating for Valentine's Day this year! I have been playing with my new toy and cutting both paper and vinyl.

This has been a bit of a work in progress. I'll do a little, then think of or find something else that I think will look good, and add it. So, these pictures are bits and pieces of what I've done so far. I guess that I had better get it finished soon or I will miss having it done for Valentine's Day.


I really love decorating this window in the entryway each holiday.


I took this picture as soon as I got the candy in the dishes... and it pretty much disappeared right afterwards.


I added some red tulle... love it's festiveness. The hearts started out as one long garland, but I decided I liked this look better.


I love these half pint milk bottles. One of them comes from a creamery in Nashville where my Dad worked right after he and Mom married. Yep, not only has my daddy milked the cows, but he has delivered the milk as well!


I found that awesome red and black candle on clearance, and had to have it. It is just so much fun. The white one started out plain, but I jazzed it up with some vinyl.


While the kids where at church activities this week and I was killing time, I found this awesome vase/pitcher at Michaels... on sale!


And this awesome frame at Hobby Lobby... on sale, too! I have a mini subway art piece that I am going to put in the frame, just haven't got it there yet. Also, notice the candy... had to go buy more candy this week, and it's almost gone, too.

Hope you're getting your home ready to celebrate!!

So, what did you do with yourself on this absolutely beautiful 70-degree Saturday?

I had been thinking all week that Saturday would be my day to finish up some crafting projects and decorate my home for Valentine's Day. I apparently have a lot to make up for since I was sick last year on V Day and let things slide a bit (or so my daughter tells me). I also thought that I might do a little yard work, read some, work on my Primary lesson, and maybe even take a bit of time to just veg... or take a nap. I also felt a bit guilty about not going to see my parents in a while and thought I might go up to the farm for the day.

But, my friends, that did not happened.

I slept in a bit (ok... I can't sleep past 7:30, but considering the alarm goes off around 5:00 most mornings, that is sleeping in.) and then did read for a little bit. I fixed breakfast for Barry and the girls (the boys spent the night with their uncle last night), but really it was more like brunch by the time they woke up. Afterwards, we decided that we could not let this beautiful day pass any longer without being out in it. The boys got home, but since they had been up all night they headed straight for bed. The rest of us piled in the car and headed to Rainbow Mountain. We do enjoy taking walks in the woods, and I was looking forward to that. What I really wasn't expecting (since this actually was my first time there... sad, I know, after living here in Madison for 14 years now) was the hike that our walk turned into. Did we go prepared with water? No, we did not. Did my legs feel like jello, and my body scream for hydration when we finished? Yes, they did! Did I think to take a camera with me? Nope, didn't do that either. I know, I'm a LOSER! But, truthfully, I couldn't help but wonder as we walked hiked through the woods, if all this cardio was doing my heart and arteries good? You know, helping to lessen the effects of the 5-Guys burger I ate last night.

After our outing, we shopped a bit... window shopped, really... at Lowe's. I think everyone in or around Madison had that same idea today. Then my dear hubby treated us to a late lunch. I was VERY good and grabbed a salad. Then we walked around WalMart for a bit, and guess what? I grabbed a few things I needed to finish up one of those craft projects I mentioned earlier.

So, there you go... what we did on this beautiful, sunny, 70-degree Saturday. What did you do?