Congratulations Are In Order

Yesterday, our local paper had a story about a lady I know from MOPS. About six years ago, Courtney went to her OB/GYN to see about a pea-sized lump in her breast. The doctor basically said not to worry about it and didn't run any tests. Later that year, Courtney got pregnant. During her pregnancy, the lump got much larger and became very painful. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer. She was 25 years old and had no family history of Breast Cancer. Her baby was born and Courtney was treated. Thankfully, after many, many treatments, she was cancer-free. Sometime in the last few months, her doctors found spots on her liver and spine. She started treatment again. The spots on her liver has not grown any and, if I remember correctly, the spots on her spine are gone. She is also dealing with enlarged lymph nodes but the doctor says they are not cancerous.

Because of the lack of testing, Courtney and her husband sued the doctor. The judgement came back Thursday in favor of Courtney. She is to receive a very large settlement, the largest of it's kind in the state of Tennessee, where the doctor was licensed. Courtney did this in hopes that no other woman will have to go through what she went and is going through. Congratulations Courtney!! Our prayers are with you and your family for a complete and thorough healing!!!

If you are interested in following Courtney's journey, she has a site on Caring Bridge. It is www.caringbridge.org/visit/courtneyhill.

Happy Birthday Cindy!!

Today is my cousin Cindy's birthday!! Happy Birthday, sweetie!! Hope you have a great day!

Miscellaneous News and Stuff

This afternoon I dropped Hannah off at Dad's work. She is spending the week and weekend by herself with Dad and Joan. I told her she's going to come back spoiled rotten. Joan is excited to have a "girl's weekend" with Hannah. They are going to go swimming, shopping, spending time with my niece Jessie and her son Riley, and whatever else they want to do. I'm jealous. I want to be there, too. Joan said she wants Hannah until Monday or Tuesday. That means a WHOLE WEEK without her. I don't know what we are going to do without her.

It's time to post about another blond moment I had today. For Valentine's Day, Mike bought me a beautiful watch which has been a little big, but not too bad. Today, I was putting it on when I noticed something for the first time. I knew it had what looked like an extra link to be removed by a jeweler. What I didn't know was that it had a hinge on it that could be opened and the piece taken off. So, instead of taking it to a jeweler, I could remove it myself. The funny thing is I've been wearing the watch for five months now and have just noticed this hinge. I removed the link and now it fits perfectly!!! As Will would say, "SILLY MOMMY!!!"

Oh, here is a follow up on a previous post. The other night I mentioned that the boys wanted to sleep together in Will's bed. Well, I am happy to say that they went right to sleep and didn't wake up until about 8 the next morning!! They did great!! Mike and I are talking about getting Andrew a toddler bed sometime soon. When he is a little older (and I can handle it a little better), Mike wants to get the boys bunk beds. Their room is crowded now with Will's twin bed and Andrew's crib, and another twin bed would make it even more so. I don't want the bunk beds now because I know my boys. Andrew and Will would climb to the top and jump off. I think I can handle broken arms and legs but not broken necks.

The End of an Era and Experiments

The last of the wallpaper came off tonight!!! YEAH!!! We aren't sure, but Mike and I think the wallpaper was installed when the house was built 16 years ago. Goodbye wallpaper!! Hello paint!! Here are some pictures of Mike as he removed the last pieces.

On a different note, the boys decided they wanted to sleep together in Will's bed tonight. So, I thought we would try it and see how it goes. Here are pictures of the boys just before we tucked them in for the night. This is an experiment because Andrew has never slept in a big boy bed before. If this works out okay, we may have to get him a big boy bed of his own before long.

Pictures of Our Ongoing Project

Here are some pictures of our master bathroom. The first few are from two years ago when we first started thinking about renovating. The last few are of the work in progress.

BEFORE

Shower stall

Bathtub


Counter and door


Far wall

Bathroom closet

Work in Progress

Wall above the tub

Will and Hannah painting the far wall

The far wall with a sample of the paint

Door to bedroom

Bathroom closet

As you can see, we have come a long way but still have a long way to go. Mike and the kids finished the first coat of paint yesterday. Tonight, Mike is hoping to put on a second coat so we can start on the trim tomorrow. He would like to start laying the tile by the end of the week. He is going to tile half the wall behind the toilet and the far wall, along with the floor. The floor tile will be the same color and size as in the hall bathroom. The wall tile will be 6x6 in a lighter tan. The trim will be in white. We are hoping that the tile and trim, along with the beige counter top, toilet and tub will tone down the paint color.

Will the Photographer

Yesterday, while I was asleep on the couch, Will got ahold of my camera and started taking pictures. I think we've found his true calling. Hannah is going to be an actress; Andrew, a sports star; and Will, a photographer. Take a look at the pictures below and tell me what you think. The only doctoring I did was to lighten a couple of them and crop one. I think he did an excellent job.

Andrew

Andrew playing with the channel lock pliers

Looking from our bedroom door into Hannah's room

Living room

Master bedroom ceiling fan

(He took about five pictures of the fan: some with the light off and some with the light on)

Another picture of Andrew playing with the channel lock pliers

A close up shot of Andrew

Looking into the boys' room from my bedroom door

Mike taking a nap

Mike painting the bathroom wall

T.V. cabinet

A self-portrait of the artist

Happy Independence Day!!

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Independence Day!! Thank you to all the service men and women who are (and have) protected our great country while serving in our armed forces. The sacrifices you and your families made have not gone unnoticed.

Our celebration this year is going to be small with just Mom and the five of us. Melanie and Nathan are on their way home from a baseball tournament; Patti, Alyssa and Matthew are working at a tournament in Horn Lake; Susan, Todd and their boys are in Roswell, NM visiting family; and Dad and Joan are camping with friends. I have some ribs cooking on the stovetop right now and will finish them up on the grill along with some hot dogs for the kids and some fresh corn on the cob. We are also having cole slaw, baked beans and strawberry pizza. If it doesn't rain, we are planning to go to see some fireworks at either Latimer Lakes in Horn Lake or Snowden Grove in Southaven.

Mike is working on our master bathroom. It took him about 12 hours to remove the wallpaper. He is patching the walls where the wallboard came off when we were taking the wallpaper off. We are going with a medium green paint and brown tiles, like in the hall bathroom. He is going to tile half the wall behind the toilet and the back wall. I can't wait. It already looks bigger with the pink paisley wallpaper off. We are taking pictures of it so show the progress. When I get them downloaded off my camera, I'll post them here for all to see. Can't wait for the finished project!!!