Wearin' pink to show my support

We have all heard the old saying, "Try walking a mile in my shoes". Well, that is what I'm trying to do today. Within the past two months my friend Jenifer found a lump in her breast, had the cancerous tumor removed and today she is starting Chemo. WOW, how do you deal with that!!!??? I know God doesn't give us more then we can handle but you still have to think, "Why me"!! I think about Jen everyday; I wonder what she's thinking and how she's feeling! Wishing that I lived closer so I could help her any way possible. This week I bought a new pink shirt and my pink ribbon. Every time Jen has Chemo or Radiation I'm going to wear pink in her honor. I pray for her everyday but the pink shirt helps remind me of the amazing person that is fighting this battle. Jen is a spiritual warrior and she will win this battle but in the mean time, I'm just here to pray her through it all. Here is the link to Jen blog http://whitesidesfam.blogspot.com/

Over the past few years, I have found that when God wants me to do something, he leaves me "little clues". Well, on Sunday and I was walking out of the YMCA and I saw a sign for a Relay for Life walk in the town that I live in. "BINGO", God left me yet another clue and now the ball was in my court! I went home and looked on-line and found out that the Senoir Center that I vounteer at has a team, so I made the phone call and became a member of the team. We are having several fundraisers at Lakeview Health Center in West Salem and then I am also having a bake sale on St. Patrick's Day with all the proceed going to Relay for Life. Here is the link to my Relay for Life page
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY09MW?px=939584&pg=personal&fr_id=15895

Please take a minute to read it over and if you would like to show your support, I would love if you could make a donation. I believe the minimum donation is $10 and if I could just get 10 people to donate, I will have met my obligation as a team member but would like to raise much more then that. If you are a family member or a friend of Jen's, please pass this blog around and get it to as many people as possible so we can show Jen that we are here to love and support her.


http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY09MW?px=9395840&pg=personal&fr_id=15895

Hey....I'm blogging

I have to apologize because I haven't been blogging. There is no good excuse, I just having been in the mood!

I've known Thomas for almost 10 years now and he is just amazing and I'm blessed to be married to him. Thomas not only takes care of my needs but my wants, too! Last night he was working late and he called me at the house and told me he was buying me a ticket to go see my baby brother and his family down in Alabama! I am so excited to see Gary, his wife Jessica and their two beautiful girls, Sweden and Miley! What a wonderful gift from my husband. I love him all the time, with all my heart but when he does things like this my love just grows more and more for him. Thank you Thomas!!

When we left our church in Apple Valley, the very last message we heard was on Servernthood. The message touched me so deeply that when we moved, I called a local nursing home and ask to volunteer, well, that has been almost 4 months and I can't tell you what a blessing it is to work with the Seniors. You all now how I love to bake so now I'm baking with a group of 4 or 5 ladies (no men so far) every couple of weeks. Yesterday, was our second class and I had such a wonderful time. Several of the ladies only came to watch and visit and of course, taste the goodies. We made monkey bread, two of the ladies helped me roll balls of dough and then I rolled them in butter and a brown sugar/cinnamon mix! I think they turned out well and everyone seemed to enjoy them. But the best part of the whole day is when I called my own Grandma and said, "Guess what I baked today"? Both of my Grandmother were bakers and even before I went to baking school, my grandmothers were my true teachers and taught me to love baking. My grandmother hands don't work like then use to and she can no longer stand for long periods of time, so the last few wedding cakes she made, she had to have family help her but I am so thankful for the wonderful gift she gave me on my wedding day. My wedding cake was amazing, I had it picked out for years, it was circled in one of her many cake books. I didn't even have to tell her which one I wanted because she knew. The cake was perfect and looked beautiful. I am even more thankful for her love. Even when I've made bad decisions, Grandma has always been there to love me. She is an amazing woman and I hope to be like her in so many ways. I miss her so much and can't wait to go home to Seattle to visit her this summer. I'm not there to help out day to day so I think this is why I love being around the other Seniors, it makes me feel like I'm doing my part.

Trying to be a photographer

So, I was trying to save a dime and take pictures of the kids at home instead of going into Sears or Penneys. I bought a box of hearts for $5 and used props from around the house....it was perfect in my head but trying to get three kids to smile and strike a pose, not so easy....so hear are a couple of my favorites.

I love this 1st one of Makenna because she was sick of taking pictures and had to take it out on the bear. The 2nd one shows her natural beauty.
My little Kevin is so funny. Yesterday he didn't want to go to church so I told him I would give him "sticky puddy" (aka silly puddy) to play with if he went and he said, "Whatever it takes". Then at bedtime I asked him what he learned in Sunday School, he said, "That Jesus loves Bakgons, too". Silly Boy!!
Our little Moose is almost 2 and is quite the handful. He is so busy and I'm amazed that I was able to get even one picture of him.

Counting my Blessings!!

Have you ever had one of those days where nothing seems to go right and you just want to go home, go back to bed and start all over. I had one of those days on Monday.
It started off at daycare, I not been totally happy with the new daycare since we've started there but its the only facility in town that will take both of my boys! So, I wan't there on Friday when tiition is due so on Monday morning, I had my check all written out and dropped it off in the paybox. Then I signed the boys in and there was a message saying that because I didn't pay my tiution on Friday, I had to pay a $10 late fee. So, I got out the check box but was pissed. So, I called my husband adn told him I was ready to find a new daycare. So, after Matt turns two or when Kevin starts school in the fall, the boys will be at a new school. It may seem like something small but its one of many things that have been bugging me.
Then my day at worked sucked. I loved my job with Fish & Wildlife but my new job I'm not loving and I just wanted to quit! I know I can't quit but I have been thinking about looking for something new. So needless to say, I was just having a bad day and was having a pity-party for myself....Then I read a friends blog and realized that I needed to stop and count my blessing.
Jen was one of my best friends in 7th and 8th grade. We were President and Vice President of our choir class. We had knick-names for one another, June and Ward. I loved hanging out her house with all her brothers and sister. I have great memories of sneeking out her house to go and see a boy...and I remember tying to sneak back into her bedroom window and my pants got stuck and we got the giggles so bad!!! I moved away at the end of 8th grade but we have always stayed in touch through out the years.
So, I was in a ho-hum mood when I got home from work and I decided to surf and I decided to read Jen's blog. I was in shock with what I read. Jen found a lump in her breast! I can't even imagine how her and her family had to feel and what they are going through! Jen is a wife and a mother to 5 beautiful children and she is just amazing....how in the world can something like this happen to her!! But she is taking the news well and I'm amazed by her faith and I know that it will carry her though this ordel. She is in my prayers daily! So, I had to step back and look at the big picture. So, I'm having a bad day, so what, there are more important things in life.

Here is Jen's Blog...
http://whitesidesfam.blogspot.com/2009/01/one-hard-week-at-whitesides.html

Hi, I'm back

Okay, so I had a goal of blogging everyday, I'm not sure what I was thinking when I made this goal. So, I try to blog often but its not going to happen everyday! So, let see what's been happening?! Matthew was sick and had to go and get steroids to help me breath better and he's doing just fine now. Kevin lost his second tooth, this seems really strange because he's not even in kintergarden yet. Makenna is getting ready to start the speech season. Her coach changed her catergory and now is doing solo acting! I can't wait to see how she does! Thomas went on travel for a couple days just up to the cities and the day after he came back, I left to up to Sheperdstown, VW for some training. I got back on Friday night, Saturday we cleaned the house and on Sunday we had a Super Bowl party. I think it went over pretty well, of course I haven't cleaned everything up yet and probablly won't untill my day off on Friday. So, what's all I can think of for now!