Father Daughter Banquet!

Saturday was Maddie's first time to attend the Father Daughter Banquet held for the GA's at church.  We were so excited for her to be able to go.  We were out town the past 2 years for gymnastics.  I had picked up a dress at Target a few months ago that was marked down to  $10.  It seemed like a cute banquet dress:) 
  The day of I ordered her a corsage for her daddy to give her.  She wanted her hair straightened and I put a little make up on her.  I got to be honest....I ordered the corsage because the whole day I told her and her daddy that they were going to a dance.  Having grown up Catholic, I forget the no dancing rule....ha!  Pretty sure our church won't be hosting a dance anytime soon:)
  Maddie gets completely ready and it is time to put on her shoes.  Whoops, I forgot about shoes...and she has none that go with the dress.  So I dart out of the house and head to Payless.  I quickly find a pair that will have to work and head home.  I can't imagine life in our house on a few years.  Particular, sassy, Maddie at 9 is one thing.  Picturing her at 13 is downright scary!  But lots of prayer will get us through.
  Maddie walked in to the den and Kev was so sweet with her.  I pray they are always close and that she uses him as an example of the type of man she wants to marry.  They had a great time and a group of them headed to Sheridan's afterwards for ice cream.  Only a man would plan an outside, ice cream date, when it is 50 degrees outside and the girls are wearing little dresses.  They had fun, so what do I know anyway!

2 in on Week!

Pictures tell the story, I just want to have it documented:)

Aloha!

Maddie had an in town meet a few weeks ago.  She had lots of family support and had a good time.  She scored a 9.3 on bars, which was her highest bar score this year and placed 4th.  She got 2nd on vault, 5th on beam, and 6th on floor (I think that is the order:)
  She was so pumped after the meet, she decided to head straight to a 3 hour practice.  I was shocked.  Meets are pretty exhausting on us all and I couldn't believe she wanted some more.  I watched her work on her full turn on the beam for 30 minutes solid minutes.  She would fall off, get back on, and try again.  She cried, was so frustrated, but never gave up.  It has been the hardest skill for her to master.  Her last meet is this weekend and I am praying that she sticks it and scores high on beam.  I want her to see her hard work pay off.
  Harper and Turner had more fun than usual, Aubry was there for her first "nastics" experience.  This has been a quick season, with only 1 more meet to go.

Turner Turns 7!

Turner turned 7 on the 9th.  Instead of having a birthday party, he opted to have an "All About Him" day.  So the Saturday after his birthday, that is what we did.  On his birthday, I sent yo yo's for him to give each of his friends in class.  You can no longer send in cupcakes or anything edible.  I heard the yo yo's were a hit.
  That night we had family over for pizza and brownies.  He had fun with his cousins.  Then Saturday was just for him.  He planned and thought about this day for months.  We began with a trip to Donut Box to pick up some breakfast.  Then daddy took T and M to the Office Depot.  Turner has a space in the toy room that is referred to as his office.  He spends a lot of time there.  He loves to get organized, make lists, play school, anything that involves sitting at a desk.  So he wanted to pick up a few supplies.  Maddie has made herself an office space upstairs and she had still had some Christmas money, so she tagged along to do the same.
  After that I took Turner by himself to the mall.  He wanted to ride the carousel, and go to Build a Bear.  This boy loves him a stuffed animal.  It was nice having the one on one time and letting him decide what we did.  After that we went home to get the rest of the family.  His dinner of choice was Genghis Grill.  My kiddos love some Genghis! 
  He had a great day and felt special all day long.  He is our sensitive, particular, loving big boy!  He is such a big helper, can have the worst temper, be so sweet to Harper yet horrible to Maddie, responsible, at times complicated, but our very favorite son:)  Our family wouldn't be complete without him and can't wait to see what God has in store for him.  Happy 7th Birthday Turner Man!

1st Grizzlies Game!

We have never been to a Grizzlies game before.  The past Monday Oaks chorus had the privilege of singing the National Anthem before the game.  I thought that was the neatest opportunity!  Maddie was so nervous about singing in front of everyone.  She makes me laugh, can compete by herself in gymnastics but doesn't want to sing in a group:)
  We decided that Kev would just take Turner and I would stay home with Harper.  Maddie stayed after school and rode the bus down there.  Kev said they were about 6 rows from the top and Turner was scared they were going to fall.  Ha!  The chorus did a great job and then they enjoyed about half the game. The kids ate so much junk that Turner got incredibly sick in the middle of the night....so thankful it wasn't the stomach virus!  It was a great night with dad!

Savannah!

Last weekend we made a trip to Savannah.  Turner decided to skip having a party this year so that he could have a special "all about him" day.  That will be taking place today and I will post more later.  But he also requested to go to Nonna's.  Big Da was home, so it was a great time to go.
  The ride up there....horrible!!  Rowdy's first road trip and the poor guy threw up the whole time.  Kev ended up with a plastic bag and was shoving Rowdy's face in it every 20 minutes.  I picked the BEST day to offer to drive:)  It took us about an extra hour to get there.  We said Rowdy would never go again, but we gave him some benadryl Sunday and he did great on the way back!
  Since Nonna knew we were coming for T's birthday, she went over and beyond.  She had cupcakes galore, and everyone came over Saturday for lunch.  We had a crab boil, and it was delicious!  The kids also played a saran wrap that Nonna had made.  They had a ball playing, and everyone ended up with a few treats.  It took them about 20 minutes to get to the end of it, and it was fun to watch.
  The kids were able to play outside a lot and we got a lot of visiting done.  Rowdy got more exercise than he has in his whole little life.  It was a great weekend, and was very special for Turner.

Radiation- 10/25 complete

I began radiation 2 weeks ago.  10 days down, 15 to go.  So far, just having to go back and forth every day is the worst part.  I will be so thankful if that is how it stays.  I have black markings all on my right side and they are radiating 4 different places.  It takes about 20 minutes to get there, 5 to get undressed and situated on the table, and then radiation might last 3 minutes:)  Quite a bit different from the chemo.
  Funny story from my first day.  They showed me to a dressing room and told me to put on what gown.  I pulled one out and spent about 5 minutes trying to figure out how to wear it.  I finally stepped outside and asked for help....it was a laundry bag.  I will share pictures so you might understand why I was confused.  The therapist just laughed and said it was 1st day nerves. 
  The plan after radiation is to take Tamoxifen for the next 5-10 years and then I will be done.  I don't want to take the medicine as I have read lots of negative things about side effects that comes with it.  It is hard figuring out the right thing to do.  I definitely don't want the cancer to come back.  But I don't really want to be toothless, overweight, and have terrible joint pain every day either....decisions.
  As we are nearing the end of treatment, I am dealing with more and more anxiety.  The last few weeks have been hard for me.  I don't want to be sick, but I have to figure out what my new normal looks like.  I stand amazed at everything the Lord has done this past year in my life.  He has met our every need and I know he will continue to do so (as our medical bills are steadily piling up).  I get overwhelmed and then remember Joshua 1:9 and look back at everything we have been through.  We are beyond blessed.
 

Crimson Classic 2016!

A few weeks ago we headed to Tuscaloosa for Mo's gymnastic meet.  We love this trip and the kids had a great time.  Turner loves the hotel because of the "cafe" (free breakfast), and everyone was excited about the pool.  Nonna, Mimi, and Boo Boo all joined us for this trip.
  We had dinner at the Cypress Inn, which overlooks the lake and is delicious.  After dinner we let the kids swim.  Mo's whole group was at the same hotel and they were able to swim together.  They were sweet Turner and Harper loved moving around the steps.  After swimming, it was time to hit the bed.  Turner headed to Nonna's room, Mo went with Mimi and Boo Boo, and we kept Harper.
  Nonna got the short end of that stick.  Turner woke her up at midnight asking if it was time to get breakfast yet.  Ha!  We all had breakfast, got ready for the meet and grabbed a quick bite at Mo's for lunch.  Mo's meet started at 1:15, and we had to be there at 12:45.  Mo was nervous and we just told her over and over to fight to stay on the beam, which ended up being her first event.
  Our girl did great!  She stayed on that beam and placed 3rd.  She scored a 9.550 on vault (1st), a 9.525 on floor(2nd), and got 4th on bars with an 8.9 (I think).  She place 2nd overall and she was all smiles.  Xcel is a new experience for us, but she is having fun, learning new skills, and still bringing home some medals.  It was a good day!
  It was a late night getting home, but we love these little family trips.  We love having our village join us as well:)