So Long Ronald!

In the last two months our family has only been to McDonald's three times. Three times! That is quite an achievement for us. Do they give out World Records for self-control?!?

Usually, you could find me zipping through the drive-thru after a practice or game, between errands, while Sean was out of town, on the way home from the park....you name it. If there was an excuse to drive by, I jumped at the chance. Now, these stops weren't always for a full meal deal. Sometimes it was just for a "half and half Tea, light on the ice." (If you aren't familiar with the McD's jargon, that's a large half sweet and half unsweet tea, with little ice. Oh, how I miss my sweet tea.....but I digress).

We've made a real effort to eat healthier, and it's showing. Sean and I collectively have lost over 30 pounds. We're feeling better and looking better! (Though, I admit, I have a long way to go!)

And the boys are eating more variety than they ever have. One of our favorite treats is an afternoon smoothie. We blend together vanilla yogurt, strawberries with their green tops still on, blueberries, uncooked spinach (at least a cup full), a touch of orange juice, and chopped ice. It's very tasty!

Tonight, we had stir-fry with broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, red bell pepper, spinach, green onions, and left over ham poured atop brown rice. Though the younger two picked out the peppers and the mushrooms, they ate everything else...with some 'encouragement.'

All that being said, we still indulge from time to time in some tasty treats. So, I'm off to eat tonight's 'encouragement:' a cookie/brownie mixture we made for dessert!

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For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:4-8

Of Mice and Parkers

This year our oldest three boys are playing in our community's basketball leagues. It's been fun to watch them....and reminds me of all the years my family came to watch me.

Of course, when you're in second grade there's plenty to learn about basketball. The other night during Parker's first scrimmage he was confused about the whole 'offense/defense' thing. Sean noticed that Parker would 'stay on his man' during defense and then continued to guard him when he was on offense.

After practice, Sean tried to explain it to him. Frustrated with the details, Parker finally said, "So it's like cat and mouse. Sometimes I'm the cat and sometimes I'm the mouse."

Well.....at least he got the idea! So, if you hear us shouting from the sideline....'Stay on your mouse.....Stay on your the mouse!" just know that we're speaking Parker's language.

From the Front Burner to the Back

2009 was a difficult year for me. In fact, it seemed a lot tougher than the previous year when I had the majority of my breast cancer treatments. Maybe it was because I expected to bounce back quickly....and I haven't.

Breast cancer has been at the forefront of my mind. A new ache or pain...or one that wouldn't go away and my mind would worry, 'Breast cancer?' Strange signs and symptoms have plagued me throughout the year....unequal pupil sizes, lymphadema, neuropathic pain, depression, insomnia, menopause and all of its unlovely side effects......the list goes on. I didn't chronicle all of these on my blog because it was all I could do at times to endure them, manage them and move on.

Just a few weeks before Christmas I had a series of CT scans to rule out a spread of cancer to my liver and to the lymph nodes in my neck and collarbone area. Praise God, there was 'no sign of metastatic disease.'

But now I'm tired. I'm tired of allowing breast cancer to have such a power over me.....to allow it to stay at the forefront of my mind. It's like a boiling pot of water on the front burner of the stove. You can't forget it's there. You've got to be ever mindful of it. That makes me sad. To think that this 'enemy of my body' has had such control over the rest of my life.

And yet, there is hope. Since my last round of CT scans, I have discovered that the boiling pot of water has been moved to the back burner. In fact, it's not boiling all of the time. And that feels good. It feels light. It feels free.

I'm not sure how long it will take to get breast cancer 'off the stove' entirely. I'm not even sure that it's possible, but I do know that each day gets a little better.

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I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
Psalm 57:9-11

The Best Course of All

On the Thursday night of our trip to Idaho, we were treated to a seven-course meal by the ranch's chef. With each course, the chef would step out from the comfort zone of his kitchen and into the candlelit dining room to describe the upcoming portion of the meal. It was a delightful experience.

While scouring the pantry and refrigerator at lunchtime today, the memory of our seven-course meal popped into my mind. (Oh, the memories.......) It was apparent we needed something to 'spice up' our meager pickings. A trip to the store would fix the problem, but a trip at the moment wasn't possible. So, we turned our rather odd lunch into a feast of sorts.

1st Course: The smooth, cool, refreshing taste of......applesauce......served in a coffee cup.
2nd Course: Crunchy and flavorful, yet melt in your mouth, squares of......graham crackers.
3rd Course: The cool, crunchy, and slippery combination of.............sliced dill pickles.
4th Course: The warm, soothing soup of............Ramon Noodles....served in the rinsed out coffee cup.
5th Course: The sweet taste of leftover..............sugar cookies....(served early because the next course was still in the oven).
6th Course: Who can resist straight from the oven crescent rolls?
7th Course: (Dropped off by our neighbor during our 4th course). Mint chocolate candies.

Doesn't that all sound delicious and nutritious?! The boys enjoyed it. As we were cleaning up, Parker ran over and said,

"But mom, you forgot the best course of all......this one." And he gave me a great big bear hug. That boy can melt a heart in an instant.

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Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him....Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:8,12-14.

O Christmas Tree!

Our annual hunt for the perfect Christmas tree was today. Rather than going to a Christmas tree farm as we always have, five out of six of us opted for a less messy and frigid experience. So, we went to a store with cut trees.

Boy, were we surprised to find that trees, which are already cut, are two to three times more expensive than the ones you cut down yourself.

So, one out of six of us got his wish........and we drove to a Christmas tree farm.

We weren't prepared for this change in plans. No gloves, no scarves, no hats. Though, we sure did look good as we marched around the cold and muddy farm wearing our church clothes and shoes.

This farm had all the 'bells and whistles' to make one's Christmas tree experience a wonderful memory. It started with a hayride out to the field in the frigid air. Remember...no hats, no gloves, no scarves. After Sean cut down our perfect tree, the boys hauled it away on a trolley. Workers put a tag on the tree and gave us a matching tag so we could be sure to picked up our perfect tree back at the barn. Another blustery ride on the hay wagon....no hats, no gloves, no scarves. The crew at the tree barn promptly grabbed our tree, shook out the loose needles, and wrapped it up with twine. A worker handed Sean the 'check' and we were ushered into the gift shop to pay for the tree.

Oh, it was warm in the gift shop. It was warm, there was free hot cocoa for everyone, many beautiful ornaments and knickknacks to peruse and ........SANTA! This really was turning out to be a wonderful experience.

After paying for our tree, drinking our fill of hot cocoa and feeling the warmth return to our fingertips, we headed out of the gift shop to retrieve our perfect white pine Christmas tree.......but the only tree left on the ground was....... not .....our ......tree!!!

Hmmm....let's look on the other side of the building.....no......wait.....doesn't the top of that tree on that blue van halfway down the parking lot look a lot like the top of our perfect white pine Christmas tree. Ummmm...what should we do? Do we run after them and say, 'Excuse me, you've tied our tree to the top of your van.' Oh No! The van is backing up....it's leaving....it's gone.......it's......gone. Our perfect white pine Christmas tree is gone!

Taking another hayride was out of the question. The first experience, though cold, was fun. The second experience would just be.....cold. One of the workers witnessed the energy and excitement drain from our crew the moment the blue van drove off with our perfect Christmas tree.

"Why don't you go over to the side of the barn and pick out any one of the cut trees that you see?"

So.......six out of six of us got what we wanted in a round-a-bout-sort-of-way and we ended up with a very expensive and lovely Fraser fir at half the price.

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O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
How richly God has decked thee!
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
How richly God has decked thee!
Thou bidst us true and faithful be,
And trust in God unchangingly!
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
How richly God has decked thee!
(a traditional German carol, author unknown)

"Don't It Make Your Brown Eyes....."

".....Blue" would be the obvious answer. But then, were talking about my life, and obvious is rarely the answer!

Raising four boys has its fair share of misadventures. I can't tell you how many times Sean and I have shaken our heads at the things our boys have said or done.....things that make it quite obvious that God's angels are on high alert around here.

Case in point:

Two days ago, Spencer and Trevor were outside. Spencer had a metal baseball bat and a ball in his hands. Trevor had an imaginary battle of knights and dragons brewing in his mind. They stood a couple of feet apart, back to back. Neither one aware of the other's proximity.

Ball is tossed up, bat is swung, ball is missed. But, wait......as if on cue, Trevor turns his head and receives the full force of the metal bat right across the bridge of his nose.

Yes, folks, it looks like Spencer did knock one out of the park! And this knight was defeated by the dragon!

Poor Trevor! No, he didn't really get knocked out, but he did break his nose.

Considering all of the things that could have been hit.....teeth, eyes, temple, skull.....the nose doesn't seem so bad. In fact, the ENT says that everything is still lined up and no surgery is needed.

On the way home from the doctor, I lovingly placed my hand on Trevor's shoulder. "Oh, sweetie, your still my beautiful brown-eyed boy."

"No, Mommy. Now, I'm your beautiful black-eyed boy."

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The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.

Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.

Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, O my soul.

Psalm 103:19-22

What is the Difference?

A Math Lesson with Mommy & Parker:

Mommy: Grama made six cherry pies and three apples pies. What is the difference between the cherry pies and the apples pies?

Parker: The cherry pies are sweeter.