A Love Letter

My dearest Florida,

Hi, it's me, Chrissy.

Remember me?

Yes, I know, it has been two years since I was there last. Too long for us all.

How I have missed your beautiful sandy white beaches, your tall palm trees blowing in the wind, the sound of the waves crashing against your shores, the warmth of your sun on my skin, the smell of your oranges.

Aahh, how I love thee, Florida

But do not despair, my friend.

For I am on my way. This time tomorrow I will be within your boundaries, journeying to your southern point, my favorite place on earth, for within that point resides one of my most favorite people in the world.

How lucky you are to have Jen live there.

Lucky, lucky!

One week of my life to be spent with you, wishing I could spend all my days lying on your beach, relishing two of life's simpliest pleasures - peace and friendship.

Are you as excited as I am for me to get there?

We are going to have so much fun.

All I ask from you is to please keep Mother Nature under control while we are there. We certainly don't want that old lady ruining our good time.

Until I am there, I will be thinking of you nonstop.

Your always,
Chrissy

Our Trip Back to Reality

Everything in life has its' pros and cons.

If you can see more of the sunny side, you are considered an optimist.

If you see more of the clouds and dreariness, yeah, you are a pessimist.

That word sounds so unflattering.

Pessimist - Blah! Who wants to be known as that?

It sounds like some type of infection a nasty pimple would get after you picked at it too much. You know, all festered up and pussy looking. So Nasty!

So, if you are a pessimist, please get an antibiotic to take care of that.

No one wants to be around a pessimist. They are afraid they might catch it too. And me, personally, I try to avoid having to take antibiotics. I don't like doctors.

Ahh, but the word optimist. Now that is a word everyone wants to be known as.

Opti is rooted to the ability to see clearly. Why do you think your eye doctor is called an optometrist. Now that is actually one kind of doctor I do like. Seeing as how I need that all-so-important prescription to be able to see at all, he is kind of an important guy in my life. Bad vision is the plague of my existence. We all have our crosses to bear.

So I like to think of an optimist as someone who can see clearly through the mist of clouds and dreariness that surrounds us all while we are here living our life. Unlike a pessimist, an optimist appreciates the clouds and dreariness and is thankful for a break from the bright sun that constantly shines on them.

Do you know what I mean?

Has this post turned into another one of those "What the heck is she talking about now?" and "Why does she have to take the long way around just to get to her simple point?".

What can I say? I like to ramble. And rumble, but again, that is another post.

So, with the spirit of optimism, I am hear to report that Donny and I are headed to Memphis this afternoon to pick up our three children.

I certainly miss those little boogers. I think they have been away from us enough this summer to actually miss us too.

Unfortunately, all that missing one another can't guarantee that I won't get a nasty pessimistic pimple on the drive home Sunday.

Better go ahead and make an appointment today with my doctor to get my antibiotic.

Where in the World are my children?

Working + Motherhood = NO FUN FOR MOM!

While Donny and I stay home and work (yuck!) my family whisked my kids away on a mid-west country tour.

First to ole St. Louis.

Then to Nauvoo.

Then to the Ozarks of Arkansas.

All without me.

Where in the world are they today?


Somewhere, hopefully having fun and good times.

When they get home, I will have to spank them and send them to their rooms just to remind them that life just is not that good!

Let's Play "I Spy"

Ahh, fun in the pool. A traditional summer time activity. We headed to Memphis for the 4th of July weekend. Everyone spent lots of time keeping cool in the pool over the 4th. And along with that, comes a fun little game we all know as "I Spy."

I am going to give you a list of things I spy, and let's see how many pictures you can match up right.

I spy: A Crybaby in the pool
I spy: Bottoms Up
I spy: Someone copping a squat
I spy: Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber
I spy: A topless Girl
I spy: Crack in the nick of time

Okay, ready, go:







How many were you able to get? Think you are right? Maybe, maybe not!

Give Him a Gold Medal

I turn my back for one minute on this kid, and he decides that sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else swim and have fun just ain't for him anymore.

So instead of just easing into the pool and floating around, he decides to give this a try:







Yes, Philip literally taught himself to swim in a matter of minutes. Full on face in the water, feet kicking, arms swimming, all the way across the pool.

Could it be that I am finally going to have a child that is an over-achiever?

Either way, this kid learns quick. A week ago, he wouldn't even get in the pool. Now look at him. A little fish.

And not even five minutes after I took these pictures, he wanted the floaties off, and was off again, arms free, boy swimming!

I think that Time and I are going to have to sit down and have a real heart-to-heart. I have asked him over and over to stop moving forward, but he doesn't seem to be listening to me.

Maybe it is time to take some drastic measures.

Lumpy

Just so you know I am not exaggerated, which I have a tendency to do, here is a picture that really shows how distinct Madilyn's bone is protruding from the mass inside the bone.


Told you. Now do you see why I am most anxious for this to start healing itself?

SueeeWeeee, Pig

Another special treat we got for the fourth was being blessed with the company of my favorite aunt and uncle, Debbie and Bill, who made the trip over from Springdale, AR (I try not to hold that against them).

All the kids love Debbie and Bill.


After years and years of putting up with this guy, it is almost impossible to take anything he says or does seriously.


And even though Bill deserted Donny in his hour of need, we are still cool. Just remember, Bill, payback is a B*#@!H! So, next time, watch out!

For the first time, I feel WICKED!

Nothing like Christmas in July.

That's how we celebrated our 4th.

Forget celebrating freedom and all that bullarky.

This 4th was all about the Ho Ho Ho.

And Nana played Santa!

She treated us all to a trip to the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis to see the amazing play WICKED. My boys passed, of course. My husband thinks culture is synonymous with "gay" so he passed. And like I wanted to take my other boys without him. No Thank You! Just me and my girl, Madilyn.


Us with Jolly St Nicki, without the red suit and white beard, of course


My sister and her family came along as well. You will notice that her husband isn't afraid of some culture. Maybe he's gay. Or maybe he's just Ross! But all families have their secrets, right? I trust you to keep mine! Tanner claimed to be miserable. I have my doubts on that, though.


My mom and her beautiful sister, Debbie.



And a few more pictures from the day:





The play was, obviously, amazing. The music was fabulous. And the lessons to be learned - the best!

No one mourns the Wicked.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Kissing boys make you feel Wicked.

And the ever-pressing question:

Are people born wicked or is wickedness thrust upon them?

And please, by all means, don't drink the green elixir!

Cousin Sitter

How many times have I told you about the wonderful joys of being a full-time working mom?

Too many to count, I am sure.

What can I say, life is repetitious at times.

Every mother feels certain ways about summer break.

Some good:

No lunches to fix every morning.

No homework - my personal favorite.

More free time.

Less extracurricular activites.

More time with your kids.

Some bad:

More time with your kids.

More laundry, or at least dirtier laundry.

Non-stop food fest in the kitchen.

A messier house.

A Noisier house.

More fighting.

Okay, now I have more bad than good.

Does that make me a pessimist?

Sorry. Sometimes it just sneaks it way on here.

For me, as a working mom, summers are the hardest. I hate being at work all day while my kids are at home without me. A good mother should be at home with her kids.

But sacrifices must made.

And children must be sat.

My lovely and talented niece Addison jumped at the chance to come spend two weeks with us to watch her cousins. What 14 year old wouldn't? Well, not many, actually, at least if they really knew what they were getting in to.

But Addison came, she sat, and she went. Will she be back?

I hope not.

Only because I have no intention of ever working another summer again after this one.

I plan on reclaiming my life as my own here soon.

But thanks to Addison for her sacrifice, my children were sat, by the best cousin sitter.


By the way, did you know that you still have to pay the sitter, even if it is your niece? Someone should have told me.

Do you think $10 a week was enough?

Consider it the most expensive Golfball!

Despite my fear of the upcoming Doom's Day, I need to give you an update on Madilyn:

2 Specialists, 1 surgery and about $25,000 later, we are now in the “watch and see” phase for Madilyn’s mass.

She had an appointment with her surgeon Dr. Fab on July 2nd, and after a little debate, agreed she no longer needed to be on the antibiotics, and for now we are just going to monitor her and see what happens.

He feels that the mass in her femur bone is not related to the one in the clavicle bone. He said the mass in the femur is very small, looks practically healed, and does not have the same characteristics of the large one in the clavicle. I don’t know if I agree with him that they are not related, but he is the specialist, so what do I really know in comparison.

He also feels that she does not have eosinophilic granuloma. And he said that unless another mass appears, he would not diagnosis her with chronic recurrent multifocal osteomylitis.

So to him I ask, well then what is this? To which he replied, a serious well-developed bone cyst.

If you say so, Doc. Let’s hope he’s right.

He did answer some questions about the clavicle bone that I was seeking. He says it could take months, even years for the mass to heal itself and the bone to return to its original shape. There is a possibility that it will never return to its shape, though, because of her age. He said if she was even two to three years older than she is now, he would say the bone would not return to normal, but he is hoping that it still will, and only time will tell. He also said the bone is fragile, and could break very easily (as if I don’t have enough to worry about).

At this time, he did not feel it was necessary to do any additional testing and so we are now just monitoring her. I am to watch for any swelling, soreness, redness, or any sign that could indicate another mass has formed somewhere else. If this happens, I need to see him immediately.

So, unless something new pops up, or her clavicle bone flares up again, we will see him in 2 months to see if the mass is shrinking on its own.

I guess after everything, this is the best outcome. I just hope nothing else appears, and we didn’t miss something.

Thanks again to everyone for everything.

One thing I know for sure because of this, no matter what church we belong to, no matter what religion we believe in, we all pray to the same God, and he listens and answers. I have had so many wonderful family and friends praying for her, there is no doubt God heard us, and blessed us for our faith.

Thank you again!

Run for your Lives!

I know I am behind again.

I have been trying to get this thing updated.

But I have been so overwhelmed with fear that I can’t concentrate on anything else.

Why, you ask?

Well,

The time has come.

Hope you are ready.

If not, you better start.

It will be here soon.

12:34:56 on 7/8/09.

Brace yourselves - this could be the end.

Hopefully I’ll see you on the other side.

If not, maybe then I will have time to get this blog updated.

And thought you might also like to know that despite my ongoing fear of this, I did still manage to find the time to make it to Publix today for some great savings - before sales and coupons - $282.22, after sales and coupons - $54.70. No amount of crazy fear is going to keep me from saving that kind of money!