SPRING!

 

We have enjoyed the nice weather this week by spending as much time as possible outside.  Here are a few shots that have been taken in March.  The days of cabin fever are nearly behind us, and I am SO thankful!  This winter seemed longer than most for some reason.

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There will come a day!

I am hearing this Jeremy Camp song on the radio as I get ready to take the girls and go to the church for Sue's visitation. I am posting the lyrics, which I had never before stopped to think about, because they give hope in all situations! I am SO sad for those of us left behind, particularly Sue's husband, children, and grandchildren, but I am SO glad for Sue that she is in heaven! I knew her well enough to know that she is already marveled by the "rest and the wonders anew!"

I try to hold on to this world with everything I have
But I feel the weight of what it brings, and the hurt that tries to grab
The many trials that seem to never end, His word declares this truth,
that we will enter in this rest with wonders anew

But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering

(Chorus)
There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we'll hold on to you always

I know the journey seems so long
You feel you’re walking on your own
But there has never been a step
Where you’ve walked out all alone

(Chorus)

Troubled soul don’t lose your heart
Cause joy and peace he brings
And the beauty that’s in store
Outweighs the hurt of life’s sting

I can’t wait until that day where the very one I’ve lived for always will wipe away the sorrow that I’ve faced
To touch the scars that rescued me from a life of shame and misery this is why this is why I sing

Gretchen

Gretchen wrote a beautiful post regarding her last few weeks with her mother, and I wanted to share it here because I was so touched by her sharing it with her readers. If you link over there are read it, please leave her a comment of encouragment! Click here to get there.

Update on Paige's mole!

Paige's surgeon called me at work yesterday, on a Sunday. At first I thought he was calling about a patient, but the secretary told me he had asked for me by first and last name. So then I was a bit worried, why would this busy Surgeon call me personally on a Sunday afternoon? Anyway, Dr. Savage told me that he had been out of the office for a few weeks, and was spending the afternoon in his office working on paperwork. He had received Paige's pathology report from the lab in New York, and he called me at work to let me know that the reports came back absolutely and 100 % negative! I was very thrilled to know that they were able to exclude melenoma completely, I knew that it was a possibility that they wouldn't be able to. Paige's regular physician had attempted to "shave" the mole off in September, which had somehow causes the cells in the sample to appear different than they actually were. I am no chemist, so I don't know how this works, but apparently the mole is just a regular "congenital nevus" after all! I was also touched that Dr. Savage would hunt me down on a Sunday afternoon to keep me informed. He could have easily sent a letter, had his nurse call later this week, or even leave a message on my personal phone. This report is a huge blessing to us, and I appreciate all prayers for a good outcome for Paige!

Have camera, will travel: Baby A and Baby B are 9 years old!!

Have camera, will travel: Baby A and Baby B are 9 years old!!

check out my sister's blog this morning.

New Bikes

 
 
 
The day after Paige and Peyton's birthday, James and I took them shopping and let them pick out new bikes. Their bikes were getting VERY small for them, and they both requested new ones for their birthday. Peyton went right for the first one she looked at and rode it around us while we looked for one for Paige. Paige was having a hard time picking one out. She did end up with a bike that fit her personality, but it is a "bit" large yet! When the sun was out yesterday, despite the chilly weather, the girls tried the new bikes out in the driveway...I think they like them!

Happy birthday Poppa!

 
 
 
 
I picked out a few of my favorite pictures of my dad. I love the close up of him in his sunglasses. This picture was taken in Canada, one of his favorite places to be. The most recent is a picture of him watching dishes while Ella watches him. I guess she was hoping he would start throwing snacks her way, he probably was when no one was looking! One of my all time favorites is of him with the girls at a swim meet in the summer of 07. This was such a difficult time for our family, and mom and dad were probably the most stable people in Paige and Peyton's lives. They are faithful to attend all the girls' events. It was always important to him that they didn't get too cold and that they had a warm dry towels for their early morning meets. Another is of him playing in the yard at my house with him in the summer of 2006. He was working on the pen in our yard to hold our puppy in. He was showing me his shoe, because somehow he had stepped in one of the dog's "presents." Thanks for all your help dad, and I hope you have a great time tonight at the steakhouse!

35...is the new 25...

 

Happy birthday Charity! Sorry we can't get together to properly celebrate your birthday. Instead, I thought I would dig out an old picture of us and post it here. This picture was taken April 1990. That means that we were 16 and 15 years old..and we thought that we were sooo old..and that life was sooo hard! If only life was that hard now! Love you, friend..

Then and now...

 

 

 

 

The last two days have been my typical February walk down memory lane. Today, my babies turned 9 years old..correction, not until 11:09 and 11:10 tonight! We had a terrific day, I will blog some more pictures of the day later. We went on a field trip with Aunt Brittany and Lauren and Brookelyn and enjoyed a girl's lunch out. No newborn pics blogged today, but I do have a few of them after coming home from the hospital. They were about 4 months old in the sleeping picture, 5 months old in the July 4th colors. I can't express how much these two girls are a gift from God. The girls are now on the home stretch finishing up third grade. We have homeschooled, learning together, for almost 4 years now. I think that I have learned as much as they have! Having them home, and being their "teacher" has been an extremely rewarding job. So, Happy Birthday Paige and Peyton!

click here for my 2006 post telling of the birth.

Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln!

 

 

We were in Springfield visiting James's grandmother over the celebration of President Lincoln's 200th birthday. The girls and I headed downtown to hear a word from the (former) president. (I say former because our current president also made an appearance in the state capitol yesterday) A church next door to the Lincoln home was opened up to hear the speaker. "Mr. Lincoln" read to the kids, impressed upon them (and their teachers and parents) how important it was for them to read and be read to. He told stories of his youth and also a few from the Bible. It was encouraging that in this setting, full of grade school students, that God's name was freely mentioned. Then came Hariett Tubman, who was portrayed quite interestingly by a woman who commanded attention. She told of her slave beginnings, and how she helped her fellow slaves and her family escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad. This speaker gave this one word as the most important thing "Freedom." I tend to agree, though I doubt in the way she meant it. As I sat there, I thought about how true it was, freedom is the most important thing, Freedom from the slavery of sin. My girls have been watching a video that tells the story of Pilgrims Progress, and for the first segment, they kept asking what Christian's "burden" was. They soon realized that the burden was sin. Christian was only able to lay down his burden when he gave it to the cross. In fact, this story had his burden literally fall of and roll into the tomb. In the same way, we can remember what Harriett Tubman had to say about the importance of Freedom, and how the most important freedom we have is the freedom we receive when our burden falls off at the cross.

Spitz Nevus..and other big words!

Before the surgery in preop holding.

Paige and Jamie after the surgery, it only too about 15 minutes for the whole thing to be over! She was a little "freaked" when she woke up. She kept crying and saying "I am so confused" and "I don't know what happened." Poor baby, didn't like falling asleep to anesthesia.

We didn't stay at the hospital very long, so Paige was still VERY unsteady when we headed home! She came down to the car in the cute little wheelchair. She woke up soon after we got home and ate THREE cups of soup!

This all happened last Thursday..now for the latest on the mole. We were totally expecting this to be a common, congenital mole. This type is harmless, but needs to come off prior to adolescence, because it can become cancerous later. However, it the pathology report on the mole wasn't quite so simple. I have pasted an email that I sent out yesterday here:
Dr Savage called today to give me the pathology report on Paige’s mole. He spoke to the pathologist in Danville, as well as one in Champaign, who both agree that the mole is “probably” benign. The pathologist feel that the mole is most likely an “atypical melanocytic proliferation.” The problem with this diagnosis, is that it greatly resembles a melanoma, even though it is not even considered precancerous. Due to this difficulty to distinguish, the pathologist is sending the mole to a lab in New York for another opinion. We won’t hear their conclusions for several weeks. Dr. Savage spoke to both pathologists directly, and asked several questions, leading me to believe that he didn’t see this kind of thing too often, but I am not certain of that, I didn’t think to ask. I have googled these words for any information, and I did find some sites that were helpful in understanding the problem, but not particularly encouraging that we will get an absolute negative path report.

Words I googled:

Spitzoid nevus

Atypical melanocytic proliferation

The site that was most helpful:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15503312

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1059623-overview

I will pray that we will be able to get a definite 100% benign report from New York.
Sandy

February so far..

Well, so far February has been pretty eventful around here. I am not seeing too much of my husband this month. He started his new job as a Firefighter/Paramedic at Bloomington Fire Dept. The first two weeks were Mon-Fri days, which wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't for the 1 1/2 hour each way commute! With all the evening activities going on right now, we are passing each other coming and going.

Friday Night Open Skate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ice skating!

 

 

 

 

Wisconsin Dells

We spent the last few days in the Wisconsin Dells (which really wasn't much colder than right here!) We stayed at a beatiful resort and spent most of our time in several indoor water parks. Here are a few pics from the trip.