Fall is here!

Ahhhhh... it's that time of year again. Changing color of leaves, the crisp cool air mixed with the rain showers and occasional sunshine. We have had a rainy patch of late and have been anxiously waiting for dry weather to do some yard cleanup. Thankfully the weather has been lovely and dry the past few days so Doug got to work today. Sadly I can't help much due to my continued physical limitations but I CAN take photos...haha!

He works tirelessly for our family. We are blessed!

Matthew didn't enjoy the loud leaf blower but did enjoy running thru the leaves as Doug blew them off the roof!

It wouldn't be fall without jumping into a big pile of leaves!

Love these two!

My happy little bike rider

The kids wanted to make a big "Go Ducks" O out of leaves... turned out pretty good!

Thankful for sunshine and family for sure!

Joy will come....

"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." Proverbs 16:9

We met with the doctor yesterday and found out that my cancer treatment will have to be pushed out to January. The plan we had of  getting it done before Thanksgiving just isn't going to work due to many different factors. We could do it in December but it would be hard to make it work around Matthew and Evelyn's birthdays and Christmas, events I do not want to miss out on (the main part of the treatment involves being in isolation for up to a week). While we are thankful that my prognosis is good and we CAN push treatment out, it was really discouraging news for me to hear.

Today has been a hard day, the reality of this adventure not being over when we want it to be has really gotten me down. When something big like this, that you have been planning on and expecting (and other have been planning on and arranging their schedules to help or bring meals) for over 2 months, doesn't pan out, it is hard, especially when you are a type A planner like I am. We would rather not have this hanging over our heads. Having to wait is not what we wanted, but it is the way it has to be.

Psalm 16:11 says, "You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."  God has set this new path before us, one that is not what we expected. But it is HIS plan, and I know He works ALL things for good. He can take my discouragement and replace it with the JOY only He can give.

I need to embrace this and be positive about this new plan. Other than being tired and still working on getting my neck stronger, I am feeling really good right now, the best I have felt in 4 months (that's when my neck started acting up). I can continue to get stronger and be in an even better place for treatment come January. I can plan and celebrate holidays and my kids' birthdays free of special diets and lack of energy that treatment will bring. Doug can get some much needed rest from doing "double duty" the past 4 months while my neck was in bad shape and while I have been recovering from surgery. My sweet kids are SO excited that I am doing better and can do more things with them and that it will be this way for a while. There truly are so many things we can be thankful for regarding this delay.

I remember being bummed at having to wait so long for surgery to remove my thyroid and the cancer that was growing in it, but in the end it was the best thing for me, since my neck really needed that extra time to heal. I am believing this is extra time God  has again allowed for me to get even stronger and enjoy feeling good, hopefully making the treatment even easier for me to tolerate when it happens.

God's word (don't recall the verse at the moment) says that "Weeping may endure for a night, but JOY comes in the morning". While today has been hard, I will lay my tired head and tear streaked face on my pillow and go to sleep.

And in the morning, I will choose joy. Because I have a lot to be joyful about!

A Very Happy Halloween

As I was putting Evelyn to bed tonight (or I should say attempting to put my amped up, sugared up sweet pea to bed..haha), she said, "mom, this was the best halloween ever!" I would have to agree that it indeed was a pretty fun day. Here's a re-cap:

"The Wizard of Oz" was the theme of the kids' costumes this year, Evelyn being Dorothy and Matthew going as the cowardly lion. While I LOVE playing with Evelyn's hair, I am not the best at "doing" her hair. She wanted "Dorothy hair" SO badly. I mentioned this to my friend since 9th grade Sallee, who also happens to be my hairdresser. She immediately offered to do it for me. It was such a thoughtful and generous gesture.. truly. We did a practice run the day before and then Sallee, being such a great friend, came over to our house at 7am!!! to do Evelyn's hair. She is amazing, and Evelyn's hair was amazing. So blessed...

So thankful for Sallee's friendship (almost 30 year strong!)

I felt well enough to go to school to help a little bit at Evelyn's class party. It is always a treat to hang out with these 2nd graders... they are a great group of kids!

Ready for the costume parade!

Thankful for good friends for my sweet girl!

I couldn't fit Tenaya's full set of peacock wings in the picture..but they were A-MAZ-ING!

One of the games was a mummy wrapping contest. Evelyn teamed up with Liam.

She went for the face first.. it was hilarious! Liam was a good sport!

I love this photo of Helena!

Poor Noah...

Picking up candy corns with chop sticks.. harder than it looks!

My other favorite pumpkin was my side kick today! He was happy to watch it all and then get a cupcake!

Mrs. Beltran and her crazy crew!

Not sure how up to things I would be only a week out of surgery, Jody agreed to take the kids trick-or-treating if she needed to. The kids had also asked if they could "borrow" Atlas, Jody's dog, to use as "Toto" for the evening. Jody said that was fine... and then that morphed into her somehow being conned into dressing up with the kids (she's a sucker.. and she loves my kids!). The kids had NO idea (nor did Doug and I) that THIS was going to happen:

Jody came in FULL costume as the Tin Man.. and she did NOT disappoint. She looked amazing! The kids were so surprised and super excited!

Ready to head out!

At the end of their time out and about they joined with friends from school.

Inspecting and sampling their "loot"!

Such a fun day.. such cute kids...such a great friend... HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

My Little Cowboy

Today was Matthew's "Harvest Party/Hoedown" at preschool. He insisted on wearing his "cowboy hat", which actually is a fedora type hat but I certainly was NOT going to tell him that. He was super excited about it!

This is my friend Laura's little girl Maleah. She is the sweetest thing and her and Matthew have been in Sunday school together at church for years (when we are at the same service, anyway). It was so awesome to find out that Maleah was going to the same school as Matthew, and both Laura and I made sure they were in the same class! :) Their relationship has only grown  and gotten stronger since school started and I love that they enjoy each other. Right before this photo was taken, Mrs Goff (the teacher) asked all the cowboys to pick a cowgirl and take them to a table for yummy treats. Well.. Matthew IMMEDIATELY looked at Maleah and she smiled back at him. He then took her by the arm and, like a true gentleman, led her to the table. It was one of the sweetest things ever. Proud momma moment for sure.

So thankful for the gift of my little cowboy....

Pumpkin Carving

We've had our pumpkins for a couple of weeks now and finally got around to carving them tonight. Granted, I had surgery last week and haven't been up for much, but still... it was time! My husband is the best at helping the kids do this... although they were both WAY more independent this year than in years past. Yes, they are growing up. Sigh....

They each drew their faces on their pumpkins...

My artist...

Such determination in this boy...

My handy AND handsome man!

She was pretty excited about this whole thing...

"Look mom.. a tiara!" Um... sure?

The "tiara" was actually the mouth of Matthew's "scary faced" pumpkin!

...and here's Evelyn's fantastic "happy" pumpkin!

We're ready for the big night!

Pumpkin Patch 2014

Knowing this might be the last dry weekend we will have in a while, and knowing that in 10 days I have surgery and life will be different for a while, we decided to make today "pumpkin patch day" and headed to our favorite farm, Baggenstoes. Both the kids are a bit under the weather, but they did well and had a great time.... until they got tired and grumpy... and then we called it a day! :)

Bootin' up and gettin' ready!

 

Enjoying the hayride

It took some time, but the kids were successful in finding their perfect pumpkin! 

It wouldn't be a trip to get a pumpkin without tromping thru the Christmas trees! That's how we roll! :)

 Trying to catch a tree frog...

 

 

So many fun things to do here!

 He is gaining on her, that big boy of mine!! 

Happy Fall from our family to yours!!