A Birthday for Me!

Today is my birthday! My 47th actually.

Me...a long time ago! :)


To be honest with you, this one has actually bothered me a little bit! I'm not really sure why but I've put myself in check, and decided it isn't so bad.....because I don't like the alternative and I'm so thankful to be here!

I woke up this morning to Joy and Luke bringing me breakfast in bed (a breakfast bar and cereal) and singing happy birthday to me....or as Luke says "Happy Day Day Mama".

Here's Joy and me.....we spent a little time together while Luke napped.....she even gave me a pedicure!



We're actually celebrating tomorrow with family.....going out to dinner to Pancho's, since Mexican is my favorite!

I just thank the good Lord for all he's given me and blessed me with and for giving me another year to enjoy it all!

I feel truly blessed.

A Good Report, An Excited Girl & A (Long Term) Project

Hi blogging friends! I'm playing catch up today with a combo post!

First of all, thank you for the prayers for Donna and her family. I haven't heard anything else from her, but I'm certain these past days have been a blur to her and the days ahead will be even harder.

I can't believe it's been a little over a week since my last post. Last week kind of whizzed by for me. We spent last Tuesday at the children's hospital and doctor's office with Luke getting his MRI and follow up visit. This was done as a reference point from his repaired meningocele. The neurosurgeon was pleasantly surprised and pleased to not find what he expected to see. He showed us his films and said what he does have inside (with his Spina Bifida) is diastematomyelia, which is more rare, but he'd much rather see this. He doesn't think we need to do anything but watch him and do follow up appointments every 3 months as he grows, especially to age 5-6 or so. Since he's done so well with all functions and been so healthy, we will know if there are any changes and if so, at that point, we would probably be looking at a corrective surgery, and most likely only one. This was a good report and we're so very thankful for it! It's hard to explain, but honestly, I've never worried about any of this. I know God gave us this precious boy and He's in control. Period.

Getting ready for his MRI....



Luke had to be sedated for the MRI, so I'm glad that part is over with! He did fine, but it was mom here that got sick in the recovery room (very embarrassing). I was just trying to get through the day waiting for a dental appointment the next morning coping with pain meds and obviously discovered a pain medication I definitely can't take. Hydrocodone to me = nausea and splitting headache. Ugh! Anyway, I made it through the day but was so glad that Jason and Joy were with me! (And I did have my root canal the next day).

Of course, we had to treat the kiddos (and us) to ice cream afterwards.....


Then to the park (well Jason and the kids did the park while I rested in the car)....




Then on Friday, Joy got up the nerve, took the plunge and got her ears pierced! Her daddy, Luke, and I took her to Claire's where they did both ears at the same time (per her request to get it over with faster). :) She did great and she looks so cute! Now she's looking forward to earring shopping!







And for the long term project I told you about earlier.....it really is LONG TERM project as the expense will mandate that, but it's something we look very forward to completing!

Over our garage, we have an area that we've planned on converting to a pool house/apartment for awhile, but kept getting put off, mostly because of the expense. However, we've decided to just tackle it a little at a time. My mom and dad recently got a new bigger heating and air unit and gave us their old one that is perfect for that area, thus our first step (and a big expense out of the way). So basically, that's what has started the project.

Here's the outside. (The cedar needs to be stained out here again).



We want to add a covered porch. Then it will be really nice sitting up here then because this is the view to the pool:



Here's the big mess that it is now....storage for a little bit of everything (ours and my mom and dad's):

Over here to the left we're thinking a kitchen, a little dining area and a bathroom.


Over here will be the living area and a bedroom (maybe separated by curtain).


We're still working out the details but it will most likely have a rustic cabin flavor to it sprinkled with primitive decor as well.

But first things first, Jason started replacing the siding on the out building behind the pool. This maintenance issue has to be completed before we tackle the loft area above the garage, which will be way more fun.




Anyway, even though it's a long term project, I thought you might enjoy watching it progress and hopefully emerge into a nice rustic retreat right outside our backdoor. We're very excited!

This week we're in Nashville with Jason for a training class with his job. Poor fella is having class, while Joy, Luke, and I are having fun. We're playing during the day and then having dinner and swimming with Jason in the evenings. We even hope to get to meet Mandy of Mayberry State of Mind later this week for an outing! So hopefully some pictures from our time in Nashville in a couple of days!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great rest of the week! :)

Donna (Never So Simple) Needs Our Prayers!

I know many of you have been praying for our blogging friend, Donna of Never So Simple, and for her husband, Ray.



I received a very brief email from Donna. Her husband, Ray, passed away this weekend. This just breaks my heart. Donna and the girls are so tired and overwhelmed right now. I honestly can't even imagine how they must be feeling! They have had such a hard year. She has told me several times that all she really wants out of life is the simple things and time with her family to enjoy it all.

I knew you would all want to know. Please continue to remember Donna, Jessica, and Eleni in your prayers! I know Donna loves her blogging friends and she's so grateful for the prayers. I know God can carry her and the girls through this difficult time. I'm just still so saddened for her!

Thank you for praying! God bless you all!

~ Tammy ~

Hams...

Say "Cheeeeeeese".



I believe it's official now......all of my children have become hams for the camera.

I just added a 6 week update post to the Journey to Luke site, (under most recent post) if you would like to read it. I will be adding posts to that site periodically for topics particular to him and life at home with Luke. So if you're interested in knowing more about how he's adjusting and how things are going in general, you can always read more over there.

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend! :)

Soaking up the Sonlight!

This past Wednesday was like Christmas at our house. Really! That's how much we look forward to our Sonlight Box Day. That's the day our box of living books arrives at our doorstep! The excitement of going through the box and seeing what adventures are in store for our school year is greatly anticipated!







It's always exciting for Joy and me, but this year, I guess Luke could sense the excitement and knew it was really "something great"! :) Joy was saying, "Yes", and "Awesome", and Luke mimicking Joy's every word, was echoing her as he pulled books out of the box. This made me smile because when Luke first came home, he wouldn't sit still very long for a book at all, and just wasn't interested in books much, but we're slowly seeing changes in his attitude toward books. That's very important around this house! He definitely caught the "Sonlight fever"!





This year's books are from Core 5 - Eastern Hemisphere. This will especially have meaning to us since we spent three weeks in China. It's stacks of books related to Asia. We're really exciting about diving into these adventures!

Want to know what Luke pulled out of the box for him to make this face?



It was this book: (He didn't like it all all and said, "Yoo (which is his way of saying Ew) Yucky, yucky". lol! It does look kinda creepy!



The kids didn't make it very far in the foyer and perched themselves on the stairs soaking up the books. Joy was reading hers and Luke, of course, not to be left behind, was right next to Joy and captivated by his own book (and hers). I'm planning on using this well to my advantage. ;) I'm hoping & thinking between our love for books and Sonlight's exciting feast of books, we're creating a book lover in our newest little family member.





We truly are big fans of Sonlight. It is so literature rich and as I've said before, reading together, is our very favorite aspect of homeschooling. Having spent many years (with Colt) pulling together my own curriculum plan and finding appropriate books, I really appreciate that Sonlight has the best book selections already done for me!





After soaking up all the Sonlight, it's now time for us to organize all these stacks of books and then dive into them!

For previous years Sonlight Box Day posts and pics, you can read and see more here and here.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend! :)

Prayers Needed for a Dear Blogging Friend

My dear blogging friend, Donna of Never So Simple, really needs our prayers right now, as well as her daughters, Jessica and Eleni. Donna's husband, Ray, suffered a massive heart attack last week and has been in ICU on life support. Please pray for Ray. He recovered enough to be taken off his life support late last week, but then had another mild heart attack which has put him back on it again. Donna is worn out physically and emotionally, but is trying to stay strong for the girls.



Ray's condition is serious as he is too weak for surgery. They are trying to determine whether he is a candidate for a heart pump....then the next step after that would be heart transplant.

You all know that this past year has been a tough year for Donna and her family, and they finally moved into their new home and were in the process of starting the next chapter of their lives in their new place, anticipating happier times. We all know that's the way the enemy works when we're trying to begin a new life of faith....to make us waiver in our faith.

Please, please, pray for Donna and her family! If you can add Ray, Donna, Jessica, and Eleni to your church prayer list, please do so. I know she appreciates it all so much!

It's so good knowing that we have friends that care and will pray! Thank you so much!

And thank you for stopping by today! God bless you all! :)

~ Tammy ~

Summer Days....

Boy oh boy, is it hot here! We've been having well over 100 degree days and when you add in the humidity factor to that....it is HOT!



So...we've been doing some of this:









Jie Jie gets lots of kisses from Luke throughout the day...



But he's not always 100% happy with her.....and this is what his mad face looks like when he's not:



Honestly though, it really is almost too hot to swim even. The pool feels like bath water!

Joy and Luke have also been doing a little of this:









But actually they didn't even last very long doing that because of the heat!

Some days we spend time with friends....that's Molly Grace there...:



Most days, Grandmama and Pop drop by or else the kids walk next door and visit with them:





Sometimes I even get to do this:



That's the extent of my naps though...nodding off for about 10 minutes when I'm rocking Luke to sleep. (Miss Joy captured that pic saying it was sweet....honestly I don't think I look that sweet). :)

Then it's (hopefully) about 2 hours of time for either Joy and I to do something together or to just catch up on "stuff".

This part of the day......late evening (after supper)....we look forward to our leisurely 4-wheeler ride: Jason and I on the 4-wheeler and Joy and Luke in the wagon behind. Late evening is the only time it's cool enough for this though. We take our time enjoying the scenery riding through the farm fields and gravel roads.



At the end of these hot summer days (if the mosquitos aren't too bad), we might be found outside playing around the yard and watering bushes and flowers.







Can you tell what these two were sitting there doing?



.....Watching the cars go by (Luke LOVES to do that) and simply enjoying a homemade lemonade popsicle together (Joy LOVES her lemonade). Gotta love those tupperware popsicle makers!



Then it's bath time and time to call it a day....so we can get up and begin another (hot) summer day.





Enjoy the rest of your summer! (But fall can come anytime and it would be perfectly fine with me)!!! :)