all i want 4 christmas is my 2 front teeth

there goes tooth #4

another top one - the gap is complete!
;0)

all good...

i'm home....waiting on the kiddos 2 come home from the movies with my mom
(nana took them to see madagascar 2)
*disclosure - i'm taking percocet for the pain - please remember that as u read this ;0)

everything went exactly as planned 2day....i arrived & waited for a whole like 4 minutes before the nurse came out 2 get us....i changed into some sort of hospital gown from the future - this thing was so cool! it was huge compared to the hospital gowns i've worn the only 3 times i've ever stayed in a hospital (that would b 4 the birth of my 3 children) - so i had no worries about my back end showing....and in each & every little station/room, there was a vacuum like hose that could b hooked up to these super thick paper gowns....& warm (or cool) air pumped thru the whole thing! so nice!

my nurse, kathy, was super super nice! she's been a postop nurse in the surgical area for 32 years & loved to talk! she was unbelievably sweet & she really seemed to put curtis more at ease....she told us how her husband just went thru treatment for lung cancer - never smoked a day in his life, but dealt with a nasty & lengthy bout of pneumonia....she says that they're discovering that cancer can develop from inflammation & irritation - like cells r under stress, and morph - interesting....her hubby went thru a few rounds of chemo - never lost his hair, never got sick, never missed a day of work & never missed ref'ing a game (high school referee)....he's been in remission for about a month is is healthy as a horse!

kathy explained the whole process 2 curtis & i and took care of my IV & vitals....the anesthesiologist & surgeon both came by to chat with me before hand (the surgeon initialed my left collar bone with a sharpie - better safe, than sorry! ~lol~)....then my pastor, roger, stopped by & kept us company as we waited....he prayed with us before another surgical nurse came to wheel me away

the operating room was nothing like what u see on tv....very big, and very bare....lots of equipment, but not all that exciting....i hopped over onto the surgery table & 4 different nurses started prepping me - putting oxygen on my nose, sticking wires & stuff to me & strapping me down....the anesthesiologist came in & once he told me he was putting the meds into my IV, it was only a matter of seconds before i was out...

i don't even really remember waking up....i knew i'd b in recovery, and that curtis wouldn't b able to see me yet....i vaguely remember a nurse taking the oxygen thing off my nose & mentioning giving me some morphine - and i know she was busy working around me....i felt sleepy & remember wanting to go back 2 sleep, but also wanting 2 wake up & see curtis....i was supposed to b in recovery for 45 minutes or so - and i guess i was....i don't remember

meanwhile, curtis was in the waiting room with roger - he'd been given a card with a number on it, and beside the TV in the waiting room, there was a big screen that scrolled patient numbers & gave the status of their surgery...."in OR", "in recovery", etc. - another cool, techy thing that made me feel like i was in a hospital of the future

a nurse wheeled me back to the area where we'd began & kathy got me settled into a room....she hooked up my gown to that glorious heat & joked that we should tell curtis that i got a breast augmentation in addition to the biopsy! ~lol~ curtis & my pastor came back & i was allowed soda & crackers....roger chatted for a bit & said goodbye....kathy kept an eye on my vitals, gave me my 1st percocet & carried on with me & curtis some more (she's so funny - i'm sure others in the ambulatory surgical center wondered what we were cracking up at).....she helped me to the restroom (they have to make sure u can pee b4 u're discharged) & after about an hour, the doc came by to talk to me

he said that they had sent the node to whoever it needed to go to (can't remember what they're called) & that it could b a few days till we hear back, if they're able to find out with just a basic biopsy....but more than likely, it would take a couple weeks till we'd hear, after more in-depth studies....he said "if it's lymphoma, which i suspect it is, we'll then hand u off to the oncologists.".....he told me to keep the dressing on my incision until sunday (i won't see what it looks like till then) & after that, i can wash over it like normal....he told me they'd schedule an appointment for next week to come see him, & then he'll take the stitches out....then we'll wait for the results....i asked him about what they'd seen on my PET scan, but he said he'd like to wait for everything to come back - that sometimes looking at 1, without the other, can be misleading

kathy unhooked my IV & told me i could get dressed....i felt fine to walk & take the elevators down to the parking lot, but was told they had to wheel me out - yet again, i was surprised at how far wheel chairs have come - very light & simple, pretty neat

afterward, curtis & i ran to sheetz so i could get a MASSIVE sized coffee & a sandwich (it was almost 2pm & i'd been fasting since midnight)....then we headed home

i'm glad it's over....curtis is majorly relieved - he was more scared about this part, than anything else....i'm anxious to hear what they find out, but again, not scared....regardless of what's going on, i know i'm in God's loving, merciful hands

thx 4 thinking of me today - and for ur continued prayers....i know that prayer, positive thinking, and my Heavenly Father are what will help me thru whatever it is i have to face

double duty with the fam - thxgiving feast & gabby's 6th bday

ok, i lied....i didn't think about the fact that curtis would go off to work this afternoon after our thxgiving meal, the kiddos & i would come home after over-stuffing ourselves, & i'd have all evening to upload pics & post a blog from today....doubt i'll b going 2 bed any time soon - too busy anticipating 2moro

this is what our family sat down to 2day around lunch time
mmmmm, what a good lookin' table!

the whole crew was there, except for my dad - he had to work :0(

after the meal, we celebrated Gabrielle's 6th birthday!

we had planned things a little differently - then had to switch stuff around a little at the last minute, with my biopsy being moved to tomorrow....but Gabby was soooo understanding! she totally went with the flow & never complained once when i broke the news to her! she would just say "that's ok!"....she even seemed to downsize her cake request this year - whether it had to do with all that's going on with me or not, i don't know....but i do feel like this smart little girl is wise to us, & knows more about what's going on than we think

months ago, she talked about having a western/cowgirl themed cake....then that idea kinda got passed over to Corinn (who fell in love with it as soon as Gabby mentioned it) & she changed her cake theme to Tinkerbell

she mentioned a Tinkerbell cake i did a few months ago, but said she didn't want it exactly the same - she wanted icing flowers, not fondant....and she didn't want the stripes & dots....the only important thing was that it had Tinkerbell on top & the jewels - she was all about the jewels!

so mama got off easy on the cake this year - and she couldn't have picked a better year to take it easy on me either ;0)

somehow, uncle cj & aunt katie knew Gabby asked for a soccer ball! ;0)

and the best gift of all (from mom & dad) - a Barbie doll house!

she COULD NOT WAIT to play with it!

and who could blame her?!
she'd asked for a doll house for her Barbies, but i doubt she expected one as cool as this....what little girl wouldn't b totally fascinated by this?!

i was fascinated by this!
the tiny toothbrushes, the working washer/dryer, the detail!

had to try out the soccerball too!

it just so happened, that my BFF Misty & her husband & daughter were heading through our area - on their way to spend the holiday with her family in Maryland

and it worked out that they were literally passing our exit, just as we were finished cleaning up & Curtis was getting ready to head out to work....so we ran out to meet up with them at a gas station off the exit

we hadn't seen them since we visited their home in NC for Willow's 1st birthday, back in February! she didn't remember us & it took a while for her to warm up to us....but once she did, the kids had a blast playing & helping Willow stretch her legs before making the rest of their treck to MD

these friends r family!

we miss them so much & hope to b able to squeeze in a weekend trip to visit them in NC again soon! Misty is like my sister & i don't know what i'd do without her friendship, love & support....Curtis & Shane r super tight too! our kiddos adore them & we so hate not getting to watch Willow grow up! i keep trying to talk them into moving up our way - no luck yet, but i'm still working on em! ;0)

after meeting up with the Matthews', Curtis headed on to work & i took the kiddos back to my brother's....we hung out some more, ate some pumpkin pie & birthday cake & the kiddos played with Gabby's new toys

as we were getting ready to leave, my brother decided to head out on his property to do a little hunting....he wasn't in the woods for more than 5 minutes, when he had 5 deer come up on him....and he got his 3rd deer of the season - a spike!

Jaden has shown a new interest in hunting & has asked CJ to take him (only a few years ago, he would cry & get very upset at the thought of killing any kind of animal)....so CJ ran back up to the house & caught us before we headed out to leave....he asked if we'd like to come down & see the deer he'd just gotten....Jaden was thrilled & the girls seemed interested too (much to my surprise)....we went down in the woods to check it out & the kids posed for pics

then CJ joked, asking if we were going to stick around while he gutted the deer - yuck!

i immediately answered, no thanks! but Jaden jumped at the chance - "yes!"
i wasn't sure how the kiddos would deal with seeing such a thing (i cringe)....so i explained what CJ was about to do & told them if they didn't want to watch, they didn't have to....all 3 were intrigued!

Jaden was totally fascinated - asking to see the heart & the contents of the deer's stomach....& commenting on the steam coming up from the hot blood! gross!

Gab was also very interested - saying "this is cool!"....and getting so close, i kept having to ask her to back up before she got something on her....she's always been my daredevil, never scared to pick up worms & dead mice....wanting to know all about the natural world around her!

Corinn commented, "how disgusting!" but still had to make sure she had a decent view of the action....she's not squeamish either, and definitely wanted to watch....but she wasn't as quite as interested as the other 2

it was a good opportunity to explain to them that this is how we get the deer meat that we eat....and how God puts animals on the earth for us to use for food

and hey, what a story to tell all the other kids at school next week!
~lol~

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving was on TV tonight when we got home, so the kiddos & i watched it together....they'd seen it before & love anything Charlie Brown! shoot, me too!

but Corinn said the funniest thing while we were watching tonight...
"well, peppermint patty looks like a dude to me!"
~died laughing!~


i hope u all had a wonderful thanksgiving....i am soooo grateful for the many, many blessings God has given to me & my family! i'm thankful that i got to spend this day with the ones that i love....that my kiddos r surrounded by family & friends that love them & that they truly know what it means to b blessed children of God!

-----

i'll probably check in tomorrow eve....we're supposed to b done in the afternoon - so i guess it just depends on how i feel....my mom (nana) is watching the kiddos & they get to go see madagascar 2 with her! needless to say, they're psyched!

i get to start my fast here in a few....starting at midnight, no food or drink allowed until my biopsy - not even water! i can only rinse & spit....no make-up or jewelry tomorrow either.....this is my first experience with surgery & anesthesia (except for 2 epidurals), so i have to admit that i'm a tad nervous....but i'm not scared - i'm anxious to get it over with & b on our way to figuring out what's going on....wish me luck & keep sending those prayers this way!

luv u guys!
♥ sharon

happy thanksgiving!!!

i probably won't b back in blog land until after friday (or maybe friday night, depending on how i'm feeling)....please say a prayer for me & my family - i'm not nervous, just anxious to finally get some answers! i appreciate all the prayer & lovey dovey's u've sent my way thus far - u guys r awesome! :0)

i hope u all have an absolutely FABULOUS thanksgiving!
eat some extra grub & kiss/hug ur loved ones a few extra times!

i have sooooo much 2 b thankful for!

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34

so much 2 do - can i leave now?

our office is a ghost town today....y am i here again?!

clients r not answering their phones....i'm getting "out of office" email responses left & right

i've got so much 2 do b4 2moro too!
(totally not work related)

y am i here again?!


management:


u r getting verrrry sleepy...


u will send everyone home early 2day...


so that we all may enjoy a little extra time with our families...


because u r thankful 4 our hard work year round & we deserve it...


and when i count to 3, u'll wake up & not remember a thing


~giggle~

the girls' Thanksgiving feast!

today was the preK/kindergarten thxgiving feast at my kiddos school - pretty cool that the girls are both participating :0)

and curtis got to go too - one great benefit of him working 2nd shift!

it started flurrying something awful before we arrived - but of course it was long gone by the time we came out of the school to leave

here's the pitiful sight we found as we arrived at corinn's class

her teachers said she hadn't been feeling well all day, but they knew we were coming so they didn't bother calling me

poor thing!

gabby, on the other hand, was all smiles

like i mentioned earlier - today was her bday celebration at school, so she had 2 hats to toggle between (a turkey headband & a birthday crown)

the girls got to sit together!

organized chaos

first, everyone stood at their chairs to sing 2 songs for the parents....here's a video of the first song - they made "gobblers" from cups with a string tied inside....there's a sponge attached to the string, & when u wet the sponge & slide it down the string, it gobbles!



then it was time for the grub!
the kiddos made the applesauce & the butter yesterday....corinn attempted to eat some....she LOVES butter bread, so tried that first

but soon after attempting to eat, she thought she had to throw up & we made a beeline for the restroom....luckily, it was a false alarm - but she played it safe by sitting on daddy's lap for the rest of the meal

fortunately, my mom is on vacay this week & this just happened to b the only day that she's just lounging at home, relaxing....she was more than happy to have corinn come and watch some boob tube with her, so i could go back to work - thx nana!

Gabby's birthday cupcakes

since Gabrielle's birthday falls on Thanksgiving this year (it did on her 1st birthday too - is she going to b 6 already?! le sigh), and since the kiddos are only in school till 1pm tomorrow, Gabby's class celebrated her birthday with cupcakes today - the last full day of school before the Thanksgiving break

when we get home in the evenings, there's just enough time for dinner, homework & a little mama/kiddo time - then it's already time to get ready for bed....our evenings fly by!

i told gabby that she could help me make her cupcakes for school, but that we had to wait till Corinn went to sleep....that i'd go downstairs & get started, then come back up to get her in a few minutes (it doesn't take Corinn long to fade out)

we all said prayers & gave our kisses goodnight - Gabby laid down with a sneaky grin on her face ;0)

i started getting everything out & ready in the kitchen, preheated the oven & checked my email

then about 20 minutes later, i went up & snuck Gabby back down....she so thought she was getting away with something! ;0)

she asked for pink (strawberry) cupcakes, with sprinkles inside - a strawberry/confetti hybrid

but she didn't want the sprinkles mixed into the batter, just sprinkled on top before baking

and of course she had to do some tasting too ;0)

she helped cut some flower shapes from fondant

then said, "i think maybe it's time for me to go to bed" - too sweet

so mama took care of the assembly

28 "strawfetti" cupcakes, iced in mama's butter cream & decorated in Gabby's fondant flowers

perfect!
:0)

biopsy update...

another update on this situation...

got a call from the surgery coordinator this morning....she said the 2 docs (pulmonologist & surgeon) don't want me to wait till december 4th for the "left neck node excision", they want it done ASAP

see, the first date the surgeon had available was nov. 28th (this friday) - i turned that date down, cause gabby's bday is on the 27th, we're having her cake & presents after my mom's thxgiving meal, but our family was going to spend friday at the water park as her birthday treat...and she's been allowed to invite 1 friend along...then my whole fam gets together the saturday after thxgiving for our meal at my g-ma's....so this weekend in general, didn't work - i didn't want to b out of commission for a couple days while all this was going on

the next available date the surgeon had was dec. 4th - so i took that one

well, apparently that's not soon enuff for them - so they're forcing me to go in on friday....not for any good reason (i need reasons), just cause they want to get it done

grrrrr!

i understand the urgency of it - but what's 1 more week gonna hurt?! now i've gotta try & figure out how to do all that i already have planned...

-bake & decorate gabby's cupcakes 4 school 2moro
-make her bday cake & finish present shopping/wrapping for thursday
-reschedule the water park trip & hope her friend can reschedule
-delay gabby's water park countdown for a couple more days (we're shooting for sunday) & hope she takes the news well
-make dishes for 2 thxgiving meals (1 thurs., 1 sat.)
-ask curtis to take off work to go with me on friday
-find sitter for the kids (they would have been in school on dec. 4th too!)
-cancel a cake order i had on the books for sunday (hope the 7yr old bday boy isn't upset)

i'm a very scheduled person - even tho it's hard for me to stay on schedule (i'm almost always running late), i need a guideline to stick by, or else i'm lost & forget things

now i feel flustered & frustrated - not the way i wanted to b going into this!

i was happy to put the biopsy off until december - y'd the docs have to go & screw up my plans?!

grrrrrr!

weekend recap...

i don't have a lot of photos from this weekend....we were all kinda here/there, sick/not....and i didn't really think to get out my camera much

it started friday night....the girls were scheduled to have a sleepover, but that fell through....so rather than disappoint them AGAIN last week (we missed both dance classes & one other planned event due to my crazy schedule of tests/scans & such)....i suggested we have a slumber party at home! :0)

they were psyched!

we hadn't sent our most recent Netflix watch back yet, so daddy ran to the video store

The Tinkerbell Movie for us girls
& Kung Fu Panda for the men

first, we had to get all made up!
then pile about 100 blankets & pillows on the living room floor, and grab some snacks
the men set up camp in jaden's room
corinn passed out about 20 minutes into the movie....and mama was nodding off at the end - but gabby made it! she kept saying "i'm tired, but i want to see the whole movie!"

saturday was COLD - i mean really cold!

daddy had to work, so we enjoyed a quiet morning together - before he headed off....then while the kids napped, i did this...

polyurethaned the kiddos picnic table - made by my dad & painted by the kiddos over the summer of 2007!

hey, better late than never!

actually, this table was always on our front porch at the old place - safe from the rain....but now, we have to leave it out on our patio & i wanted to get it protected before full-blown winter got here

saturday night, i had gotten out stuff to make some christmas ornaments (more on those in the future - these will b presents for teachers & friends from the kiddos) & as corinn was walking into the kitchen to help, she threw up all over the floor!

gabby did this 2 fridays ago - puked all eve, then woke up just fine the next morning....corinn did the same - she woke up sunday, hungry & ready to go to church!

daddy worked again, so after church, the kiddos & i just hung out & made a playground trip after lunch....had another chill day until they went to bed, & i got busy on these 2 cakes

today, some of us gals from the support team went to the local soup kitchen to volunteer....they served a thanksgiving lunch today & needed plenty of help! we cooked, served & cleaned up....the place was packed & there was plenty of food - people were coming back for 2nd's & 3rd's & making plates to take to loved ones

the guy that started "Our Community Place", bought the building about 7 years ago - it was totally empty & needed a complete overhaul....he said that not only did the funds to buy the building, come from the community - but also, all the remodeling was funded or donated by the community! that means there's no mortgage - only utilities to pay....and he says that he goes grocery shopping for the monday afternoon meal, every week....but they also serve dinner there each & every night - and he never has to buy food for those meals!

the best part about this place is that it's not just a soup kitchen - it's also a community center where AA/NA meetings r held, activities for the local kids r organized & the only place some have to get out of the cold....here, it's all about the community - not the poor coming & being served by those more fortunate, but by everyone pitching in & doing what needs to be done....working side by side in the kitchen, to serve each other....and sitting down to family style meals & enjoying each other's company....kudos to ron for creating such a wonderful place - i hope to go back & volunteer again!