home sweet home

Well, we got a new house.. well, it is not really a new house but it is new to our family now. It is actually the house that my mom and I both grew up in. It is across the street from where we started our family, and it is wonderful. We had to do lots of work to make it a home but it is all done and we are sooo happy. Tucker and McKenna have their own rooms and both are have plenty of room to play. We have a big giant new kitchen with all new appliances and everything. I finally got the kitchen that i have always wanted, with a 10" deep sink, and a fridge with the freezer on the bottom. I know it is all little stuff but it is stuff that i have always wanted and finally got!! it is the little things in life that make us happy. Tucker turned 4 in Dec and is getting so big. He was super excited that he got to mive in his new bedroom really close to his birthday. McKenna loves her new pink room! She is such a girly girl.. she will be 8 in May. it blows my mind to think she is that old already. She is growing up so fast!

how time flies...

i did not even realize how long it had been... there have been so many things that have happened since last July. My step-dad passed away on Valentine's Day this year. He fought his cancer with all his might but it was just not enough. i was glad that he got to spend one more Thanksgiving and Christmas with us. It was good for all of us to have that time with him. He is missed everyday but i know that he is with God looking down on us and watching out for us. i was amazed to see how the kids reacted to it.. i was afraid that it would upset them to know that he was gone but the Saturday after he passed we were at mom's and McKenna and Tucker were playing. I saw McKenna whisper to Tucker and I heard him say "but papaw is not here!", mom overheard them and said "no, where is papaw?" and Tucker looked at us like we had two heads and said "he is with Jesus!". if only we could see it with those eyes, it is as simple as that!



McKenna started and finished first grade. she is out of school for the summer. she did pretty well in school. she just needs to be still and listen. it amazes me the things that she is already doing...reading, math, and her favorite "phonics". that is the one that she complained about the most. she is growing so fast. she was 7 on May 9th. i experienced my first field trip being the chaperone. it was fun, being the one in charge. i had a great group to be in charge of it is fun to see her with all her little friends. She is such a good kid, she is very tender hearted though, she gets that from me. She told me, through her tears this morning that a little girl at daycare made fun of her papaw that died. I told her that the next time someone wants to say something about him to just look at them and tell them that he is in heaven and better off than all of us.

Tucker is a mess. He got to move to a new class at school since he is 3. He got a black eye this week from another kid, who by the way, is exactly like Tucker. I automatically asked him what he did first...is that bad of me to think that Tucker provoked it? i don't think that it is, i don't like to see these moms that jump and scream about what happened to you and all that crap. I think that most everything that happens to us happens because of something that we have done. don't think that telling a lie today won't come back and bite you 5 years from now because it might! life is funny that way.

My best friend from school had her first baby this year, he is so cute. Now, my best friend from not to long ago is about to have a baby. i am so excieted to meet both babies and leave them right where they are. i have no desire to have another child right now, possibly ever, time will tell. right now the two that i have are more than enough...

What I did on my summer vacation...

I remember having to write stuff like that in school so I thought that I would try it as an adult. I think that it was probably more interesting as a kid. I guess that it is because I had a lot more of a vacation then. I was off this entire week. It was pretty busy. I cleaned out closets, bedrooms, and the storage building. Needless to say, I am having a HUGE yard sale this weekend. I hope that it will be worth all the effort. That was the fun stuff that I did. Oh yeah, McKenna got a haircut, and her and Tucker played in the pool a lot. They went to daycare and still had a normal routine. Billy worked and I was home alone doing all that cleaning out.
We recently found out that my step-father has cancer. He went yesterday and had his chemo port put in. His cancer is stage IV and inoperable. He is taking it pretty well though. My mom on the other hand is not doing to good. She tries to pretend like she is but I know that she is hurting. The cancer was found extremly early but it is very aggressive. The chemo that they are doing is actually 3 types at once. He will go once every 2 weeks for an infusion that will take 3-4 hours. Then he has to bring home and infusion pump and use it for another 48 hours. The doctor told him just to continue life as normal as possible. If he feels like going to work then he needs to go. I am not sure what to expect, his first treatment will be next Tuesday. Then every 2 weeks after that for 6 months. They are going to reevaluate him after 3 treatments and see if there is any change in his condition, then it will be totally up to him and mom to decide on the next steps. If it is not working they can choose to change the type of treatment, or stop them all together. All I know is that there is a lot of people that are praying for him. I know that he appreciates all of them, but we also know that the Lord will do as he sees fit. I am just hoping he sees it our way this time :). I know that is not how we are supposed to feel, it was kinda a joke. I know that everyone hopes that he will see it their way. The Lord has a plan and I know that. I am just glad that I am a part of his plan.

I have not posted in a while. I have been super busy with work, and building a new website. Everyone needs to check it out! http://www.twosisterswithribbon.com/ we have started this up since my husband got laid off. We make flip flops, woven headbands, and all kinds of stuff. We even have M2MG lines. My husband has been helping a lot since losing his job ( anybody out there hiring? ) All has been pretty quiet at the house, just waiting for Kindergarten to end and summer to begin. McKenna will be 6 on May 9th. Wow does time FLY!!!

It has been a crazy week! Last Monday they called from the ENT and asked what day would be best for Tucker's surgery. Of course I told them ASAP! She then said "how about Wednesday?" I told her that would be fine with us. Then on Tuesday they were supposed to call and tell us all the info. Instead we got a call from the ENT office that said that our deductible was not met so we needed to pay $380 or they would not even schedule the surgery! Well, then came the insurance battle. It turns out that my husband's insurance which will remain nameless, applied almost $300 worth of claims to our deductible that should have been paid claims and was still showing that our deductible was not met!! I was on the phone for what felt like 100 years. Finally, they told me that they would just have to resubmit all the claims that had come through and then adjust all of the other ones. I was not happy because the lady that I talked with told me that this would take between 10-14 days and it would still say that our deductible was not met if any surgery claims started coming through before they got all that mess fixed! So much for all that.. on the day of the surgery we arrived at Children's about 8:15 and when we stepped out of the elevator on the outpatient surgery waiting room their were people waiting in the hallway because the waiting room was FULL!! We were scheduled to be there at 8:30 and they finally called us back at 10:30 to start the surgery. Tucker did very well!! The only thing that he did not care for was the IV in his arm. I went into the recovery room and I could hear him crying and saying take it out!! He did not calm down until they did and then he went right to sleep. He slept for the hour that we had to be at the hospital and then all the way home. When we got home he woke up and ate almost 3 pieces of pizza! He was a hungry boy! By that evening he was playing like normal. He has only run a very low fever 3 times and he finally has clear snot!! NO MORE GREEN SNOT!! YEAH!!!

Well, I went for my mammogram. It was not as unpleasant as I had feared. I had to go back on Wednesday and have the ultrasound part done. I was dreading it for some reason. I think that it was the whole having to go back and go through the whole thing again. I walked in and the lady doing the ultrasound was training someone and she said to the other girl " you always ask them where they feel the lump. Usually, i don't feel anything but i just want to have an idea of where it might be. Oh this one i can feel" oh well CRAP of course you can because that is just my luck!! I went for the checkup on Friday and it was not cancer and they saw no signs of cancer, but I have to go back in 4-6 months and repeat the process and make sure that it is still not cancer.

I have also gotten the news that Tucker is going to have to have his adenoids out and a nasal endoscopy sometime soon. I am really glad that they have decided to do it. The Prevacid was working and then all of a sudden all the snot was back. He has the green snot and the cough. I feel bad for him because I know that he cannot feel good. McKenna also has a sinus infection and a really bad flare up of her eczema. It has been an eventful week!

The Day is Fast Approaching...

I just really need to get this off my chest. What a perfect choice of words! There are very few people that know this but on Tuesday I have to go for my first mammogram. Yes, I said mammogram. I am not at all excited about it. I found a small lump in one breast in Dec. and when I went for my checkup she said just watch it and see what happens. Of course I freaked out for a month and checked it everyday. My midwife seemed to think that it was cycle related but it never went away. So, I had to make the call to go back and see her. She scheduled the mammogram for me and said to have it done first and then we can discuss it on Friday when I go and see her. I have a step-sister who just turned 36 that had to have a breast removed in Nov. so I am really worried. I pray everyday that it is nothing. I know that God will make a way no matter what happens. I am just the type of person who hates (this is where McKenna would say "mommy hate is a bad word") to tell people what is going on. It took me almost a month to tell the lady that I work with. I only told her last week. I probably would not have told her then but I had to so I could take the time off to have the mammogram done. I don't know if it is because I don't want people to know because I am not sure myself what is going on, or because I don't want to burden anyone with my problems. I know that I have to let God handle it and not be worried but I am. I know that he is always in control. I know this is not a cheery subject but it is nice to get it out of my system. Thanks for listening (or reading :))