With thanks.....

I just wanted to update you all on my mom. She called me tonight saying she had gotten the results back on her last surgery to remove the cancerous cells and it shows that they got it all!!! Praise the Lord, He is good and faithful! I wanted to thank those of you who have prayed with us over my mother while we waited for the results. I know that it came back clear because of our faithful prayers. He wants to give us what we want, we just have to ask and trust Him to deliver.

I love you mom, and am glad He's not ready for you just yet! :)

I LOVE FALL!!!!

I just have to say that I love fall! I love the crispness in the air, the clear skies, craft shows, and fall carnivals!!! Last night, we were invited to go to our friend's son's school for the fall carnival their PTA puts on. We had so much fun! We bought tickets for Maddie to play some games, go on the blow up slides and relay race thingy, and of course, we had to buy some cotton candy! I saw quite a few people I knew from my new job at the preschool, which was really cool and gives you this small town feeling. Isaac was there too enjoying the stroller ride. He wanted to get out and crawl around so bad, but there were just too many people to let him do that. I was afraid some kids would stomp all over him! Gotta protect my little dude, ya know?!

Our friend's son, Conor, is in the 2nd grade and was a good little friend to Maddie. He kept taking her by the hand and telling her to go do this game and that game with him. She even wanted to do the rock-climbing wall after watching him!!! And she did pretty good, considering she's our more conservative child as far as adventures go. We were so proud of her and even got some pictures of the events!

P.S. = for whatever reason, I can never get my pictures to go after I've written and they're not in order. Sorry! I don't know how to do that. If anyone out there can help me with posting pictures on my posts, so I can put a picture, write, then put a picture again, I'd be grateful! Thanks!

Enjoy!

Prayer Request

Okay, so I just talked to my mom (yes, whom the last post was about) and she gave me some unsettling news. Last week she had some moles removed and got the results back today. One of them came back malignant. She's going back in on Wednesday to get some more skin removed so they make sure they get all of the margins of the cancer out. I am asking for your prayers to be with the doctor on Wednesday to actually get all of the cancer cells out. Also, please pray for comfort for my mother as she deals with this. The word "cancer" is so scary! I admit, I have cried, but I want to hand this over to the Lord. I know that several of you are prayer warriors and I'm asking for your help here. I know that God can heal her if it's his plan, and I pray that it is. If it's not His plan, I pray for preparing our hearts and minds to accept the facts.

Thank you friends.

Happy 60th Birthday Mom!!!!

Happy Birthday mom!!!! I just wanted to send you warm wishes for a wonderful birthday and I hope you enjoy your date with dad tonight! Also, since it's your big 6-0, I thought I'd write 60 things people might want to know about you. Don't worry, it's all nice! You're an amazing woman and I want everyone else to know a little more about you! So, here it goes!



1. You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE kids!

2. You actually WANT to teach those hormonal 5th graders! ... and have for 15? years? Something like that! Seriously, mom, I don't know how you do it! They drive me crazy just visiting your classroom.

3. You played the flute in your high school marching band, and continue to play every now and then.

4. You are an EXTREMELY talented artist.

5. You even painted a mural on my best friend's wall growing up.

6. You love Garfield. (whole classroom is decorated in Garfield just to give you a hint)

7. You introduced your sister to a boy in your college gymnastics class, whom she later married, and is still married to for around 30 years! Talk about a matchmaker!

8. You are a major peace maker. When someone is arguing around you, you change the subject....sometimes this drives me crazy when I just wanna get some things off my chest. :)

9. You are allergic to penicillin and corn.

10. You are a talented seamstress.

11. When first married and moved out of your small hometown, you used to go shopping to get out and meet people. I'd never be able to just strike up conversations with people like that.

12. You are the only one out of your 4 brothers and sisters who lives out of the small hometown you grew up in. Glad you did!

13. Your favorite color is turquoise.

14. You love sweet tea.

15. You enjoy cooking for other people.

16. You also love entertaining and hosting parties.... I love to sit back and watch you "shine" as you entertain your guests.... you're so good at it!

17. You are very generous and giving.

18. You drove me to and from my community college classes when I was going through some panic attacks and depression after moving to Houston. Love you mom!

19. You took Lauren under your wing and devoted all of your time and energy to her when Scott passed away. I'm so glad she has you to love her and be with her daily.

20. On that note, you also secretly don't want Lauren to move out and go away to college! I know you say you do, but you don't. I know you'll miss her!

21. You graciously took in your mother-in-law (my granny) and let her, not only live with you, but you even bought a house suitable just for her to get around in her wheelchair. How many daughter-in-laws would do that?! AMAZING!!

22. You waited on Granny, hand and foot, up until her last day. Even after teaching 5th graders all day long!!!

23. You trust me to color your hair! ;)

24. You LOVE a good pedicure! (right there with you on that)

25. You HATE Dr. Pepper.

26. You always look put together (very good with accessories)

27. You and your mom taught me to at least wear lipstick if nothing else.

28. You are a born collector... from owls to beanie babies to Fiesta dinnerware to boyd's bears to now Pandora charms! I got that from you!

29. Chico's is your favorite clothing store... and it looks really good on you!

30. You volunteer for anything and everything that people need you to do.

31. You used to make a 17 layer cake that you were known for! DELISH!

32. You used to make cakes to make a little money while being a stay-at-home mom.

33. Your favorite cake is Tres Leches.

34. You love some yummy Mexican food.

35. You were with me when I got my ears pierced for the first time when I was 18!

36. You gladly let dad teach me how to drive.

37. You are an epitome of the role a wife should be, according to the bible.

38. You've been an example to me of how to be a wife and mother.

39. You usually take Marty's side in our disagreements, always wanting it to be fair since he's not around when I'm complaining to you. :)

40. You are not ticklish! That always frustrated me as a kid!

41. You are so extremely patient.

42. You once went to nursing school and instead decided to be a teacher to be able to be with my sisters and me more.

43. You helped me to not be afraid of learning a new, big city on my own. I remember when we first moved to Houston from little Oklahoma City, someone told you the best way to get to know it was to drive around ourselves. I remember going all over that town, discovering new and unique places with you. Thanks for instilling that in me.

44. You are a pack rat! You won't admit it, but you are horrible about getting rid of things. You always blame dad for it, but really, you're the same way too! Sorry.... :)

45. You love your two grandbabies with abandon! And they love you too! Isaac seems to smile at you the way he does to me, and I love that. I think he sees the similarities in our mannerisms and looks and knows I love you with all my heart.

46. You have accepted the fact that your first born will probably never live in the same country with us again. Blake's nomad spirit comes from dad, and you embrace it and encourage her to live where she's happiest, even if it is half-way across the world from you.

47. You've always celebrated the "little holidays".... giving us gifts and making special days like St. Patty's day, Valentine's Day, 4th of July, Halloween. It was always fun growing up knowing we were gonna get a special treat from you on those days.

48. You make birthdays HUGE celebrations! I remember always having a birthday party every year! It didn't matter how old I was, we had a party, whatever kind we wanted, within reason.

49. You used to have SEVERE asthma attacks in the middle of the night. I remember dad being out of town and you coming into my room one night, barely being able to breathe, asking me to take you to the emergency room. I was so scared and remember driving sooo fast to get you there. Thankfully, we now know it was triggered by acid reflux and you have a nebulizer to help you in case of emergencies. Whew!

50. You have been married to the same man (dad) for 38 years! He's definitely not the easiest person to live with either. Love you dad! :)

51. You have parents time after time specifically request you to be their child's teacher. You know that means that you're awesome, right?!

52. I love the way you read to my children. You move your voice up and down and create special voices for certain characters.

53. You give the best hugs!

54. You were so disappointed you couldn't make it to be with me when I found out I was having an emergency c-section with Madeline. I remember Marty called you and told you, and you yelled, "WHAT?!!! But I'm not there!" I remember feeling so relieved when you, dad, and Lauren came to the hospital that night to meet Madeline. I was so proud to show her off to you!

55. I also remember when I was pregnant with Isaac, I knew I wanted you in the delivery room with me. I was upset when they told me that due to him being delivered via c-section also, I could only have 1 person in the operating room with me. You graciously stepped back and insisted it be Marty, even though, he would've been fine with it being you.

56. You were so excited that morning at the hospital getting me prepped for the big day having Isaac. You had a huge grin and couldn't wait to hold your new grandson! You were so nervous about having a boy around, seeing as you had 3 girls. But, nonetheless, you've become quite fond of him! He's such a lovie and you love that about him!

57. You call and ask me to let the kids spend the night with you. That is so awesome to know that they can go to their grandparents' house and spend quality time with you and dad. I love it!

58. You are always there for me to talk to. I have always known I could come to you with anything, and you'd support me and not turn your back on me. That is HUGE! I hope to develop that kind of relationship with Maddie and Isaac. It does something amazing to a person to know that they have someone always in their corner, cheering them on!

59. You are still a source of comfort for my sisters and me, no matter how old we are. We each love you in our own ways, and you know how to love us in a way that's unique to us.

60. You ROCK!!!!! All in all, you are truly a gift from God. I am so thankful for you and everything you are and have taught me to be. I pray that I can be half the mother you've been to me, and that'll make me an outstanding one! I have big shoes to fill in my role as a mother and wife, according to your example. I thank God for you mom!


I love you,
Mere

Conversation from the backseat

This morning on the way to school, Maddie and I were discussing going to chapel. On Thursdays, we have chapel time at our preschool. The kids are encouraged to bring an offering which we donate to a charity. Well, I'd forgotten the previous 2 Thursdays to send Maddie with money for chapel, so I was sure to remember it today. You can't forget the sad face of your little girl when she is sad that she has no money to give at chapel...priceless. I gave her a ziploc bag with money in it and she wanted to be sure and hold onto it on the ride to school. This is how our conversation went:

Maddie: "Why do I have chapel money to take to school?"

Me: "Well, we give money because that's what God tells us to do."

Maddie: "Why?"

Me: "God gives us money to give to others who are less fortunate," (I'm thinking this might be a little too over her head, so I continue...) "When you're a Christian, you do what God tells you to & that is to give money to the church/charities." (Ok, now I've done it.... really gone and confused her!!)

Maddie: "What's a kiss-tian?"

Me (chuckling): "A Christian is someone who asks Jesus to come live in their hearts for eternity. (sensing a moment of greatness).... Do you wanna be a Christian?"

Maddie: "NO!"

Me: okay, point taken....too young for now, but I planted a seed, right?! :) Man, I was really hoping she'd seen the light! :)

Then she told me she wanted to watch a movie. So, I put on Boz and gave her the headphones and continued to pray for her on the way to school. I realize I have a lot of prayers and more work ahead of me. Of course it wouldn't be that easy! What was I thinking? Well, it did give me a good little laugh though. Kids sure do say what's on their minds! ;)

First day of school pic....FINALLY!!!

So, I finally figured out what was wrong with my camera..... needed new batteries! DUH!!! :) You can tell I'm certainly the techno savvy one, huh? Well, I finally managed to try and change them and taa-daa....here's the only picture I got of Maddie on her first day of school! Can't believe I only took one, but the teachers at her school (including me) make scrapbooks at the end of the year for each one of their children. So, I'm banking on the fact that her teacher will have taken some pictures of her. She was so anxious and excited! This is a TRUE smile on her face, not a forced "cheese" one! Her backpack is huge, but she loves it anyhow! I had an "M" embroidered on it for her and she loves to point that out. My sweet girlie is a big school girlie now! She loves, loves, loves her Ms. Michell and I do too! She's so sweet and "gets" Maddie! She even helped me with getting Maddie to stop taking her "crocodile" (her little blanket lovie that has a crocodile & her name on it given to us by some fellow Lacoste employees) with her to school. That's a giant step for Maddie. I am so proud of her, she gives crocodile a kiss and tucks him in her bed when we leave for school! Precious. She does try and negotiate taking other various things instead, but to no avail. I just remind her that she'll visit with them when she comes home. And when she sees her crocodile and baby Emma (doll) when we come home, she runs and gives them hugs and smiles. Cracks me up. On a funny note, last night, I was at my parent's house and they have a pug that always needs her anal glands expressed and toenails trimmed. So, with my vet experience, I am always nominated to do the job. Fun, Ha! Let's just say some rubber gloves and lubricant is involved with the anal glands...disgusting! Well, as I was putting the rubber glove on, Maddie (I guess thinking this would be a fun time to pick on the dog, Piper) snagged the other one and put it on her hand and grabbed Piper by the collar and drug her to the bath tub and said she was gonna help me "paint her butt!" Oh, silly Maddie! Lauren and I laughed so hard at that one! She is such a hoot! I see A & M vet school in our future for her! :)

Random funnies.....

Okay, so yeah, my camera is still not communicating to my computer. UGH! Anyhooo....thought I'd go ahead and post something to make you laugh. I'll share the first day pics later when my computer wants to cooperate. :)

Maddie is probably going to be a comedian when she grows up. I'm serious. She keeps us laughing all the time. Take yesterday when she was just telling us she was not going to "forget" her milk to take in the car. She almost always says "get for" instead of "forget" and we are constantly correcting her so she learns the correct word. Well, she came running into the kitchen when I was packing all the gear up to leave the house (it's such a process getting things together for a day at school...nap mat, basket, lunch, diaper bag, my water, purse). She said, "I didn't forget my drink momma." And then immediately said, "I said for get momma!!!!" She was so proud of herself for speaking English correctly! Silly goose!

And then today I asked her (as if she'd know) what time it was. And she even had an answer, "Firty clock." Which I think is a real time in her own head! :) And then she looked around and said where's the clock? Hahaha!

I was using the toilet (I know TMI) but she couldn't even wait for me to finish and she said, "I need to go poo." And before I could even respond, she said, "I'm speaking English." Which is something Marty and I must ask her from time to time when we don't know what she's talking about! I'm tellin ya! Comedienne in the making!

I am so fortunate to be around her as much as I am and get to hear her funny little sense of humor that she has. The Lord has truly blessed our family by letting me be home to raise the kids. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't be with them! I love my babies. They keep a smile on my heart.

Enjoy the bubba teeth thanks to Cici's Pizza!

Love yall,

Mere