brave weekend

 we had an action packed weekend full of excitement, bravery, & impulsiveness!

we looked fear in the face and laughed :)

we stained cami's hair with koolaid!

she is now a fiery redhead!

we went to see the movie brave!

 i tried a new recipe...strawberry cake pie!

we fought through texas heat for the love of the watermelon thump parade!

 

 the kids were spun...

 twirled...

 whirled...

 as i watched in horror and prayed for their safety!

 they rode bulls...

 and held on without being thrown!

 they traveled through time warps...

 without throwing up.

 cari won a purple alien!

cami launched arrows to exploding targets to win a small blue dolphin!

it was a great and exhausting weekend :)

summer tradition...

we love watching movies outside in the summer.

it goes right along with swimming, vacations, and ice cream for us.

this past friday they showed the muppets in kyle.

i was still a little swollen from getting my wisdom teeth removed,

but i still managed to eat a little chick-fil-a ;)

we had several friends show up to watch with us.

we spread out, eat, chat, and relax.

the weather was perfect!

i hope to continue this sweet tradition for as many summers as i can :)

daddy's day

for father's day we decided to make chad a fun "back rub shirt".

we really had fun making this for him.

we used fabric makers to draw a little city.

the girls picked two of their favorite cars to use with his shirt.

we also found this retro mug that was perfect for my husband.

(well, actually chad found it and i bought it for him :)

does anybody else remember the x-files?

i remember feeling jealous of this show because when we were dating 15 years ago

chad would not take my call while this show was on ;)

the girls also made special cards for their dad.

he takes them to his work and puts them up on his wall.

can you tell that my husband is a drummer ;)

we gave him his gifts during a special breakfast saturday morning.

i made some yummy pumkin cream cheese bread :)

these were pretty cute...

the girls wrote stuff about their daddy...

it was funny to see how tall they think he is and

how little they think he weighs :)

sunday we went to church as usual.

afterwards, we ended up eating lunch at one of chad's favorite places

dickey's bbq pit...kids eat free on sundays!!!

they make it fun with a balloon artist and free ice cream.

it also helps that it is just down the road from our house :)

after lunch we visited chad's dad in luling, papa-doo.

we cooled off in the pool for awhile until we all went to see madagascar 3.

it was a pretty cute movie.

later that night, the girls tried out the shirt.

they had fun spending time with their dad on father's day!



vbs

during this week our kids attended vbs (vacation bible school).

their school's church has done one for the past 6 years and they really wanted to go this year.

everyday they came home excited about what they did and learned.

this vbs is done in the evening so it gave chad and i time together. 

we even went out to eat a few nights to try out my sore jaws.

here is cami with some new jewelery that was delivered to them by our sweetest friend ;)

we love you joya and summer joy

on the last day of vbs they got to dress up and this is what cari wore.

it was a medieval theme!

after worship the kids came down and prayed for their parents to practice honoring us. 

it was the topic of their lesson for that night and it was very sweet.

they had many great decorations and really fun characters the whole week.

 this room was my favorite!

 here is amanda, cari's friend. they were inseparable.

 these were some of the many crafts they made...the catapult is no joke!
 *
the hard working volunteers poured out so much to my children and they soaked it all up.
thank you hill country church for providing a creative and fun vbs for my kids this summer!

learning to eat again...

 i survived a week without my wisdom teeth!

my co-worker suggested i fill up a rubber glove at work with hot water

for a warm compress to ease the discomfort of the swelling.

who knew you could microwave a glove of water, but you can.

it was wonderful!!!

*

a quick shout-out to one of my favorite people in the whole world, erin turner!!!

she works for an oral surgeon and we have been good friends for a long time.

she pretty much walked me through this painful ordeal and was always so kind.

she answered every text and every stupid question i had which included, "what should i wear?"

thanks again, erin! i couldn't have done it without you!

*

 

this is what my children were doing while i was recovering in bed.

this is the only camping that they have ever experienced.

this ladybug tent has never seen the outdoors and never will.

they pretty much took over the downstairs living room...but since then it has been reclaimed.

 

i went for my post-op appointment today and everything is healing well.

i was given the cleaning syringes and shown how to do that...disgusting!

but overall, i am so glad it is behind me and look forward to eating popcorn in the near future!

post-op...

when chad and i arrived at the doctor's office on friday, the doctor was running late.

this actually was fine with me because i was in no hurry.

also, i work for a general surgeon who was late all week so this felt like home to me.

i could tell it irritated my husband a little :)

i was fine until they brought me back to this room.

you can see the excitement on my face as i am signing the consent form.

all the instruments were starting to make me nervous and it was freezing in there.

shortly after that, i met dr. grant. he is very kind. he went over everything with me and said it usually takes 45 minutes for the whole procedure.

he also pointed out erosion on my jaw bones...bummer.

the nurse was really nice and she began to make me feel more and more at ease.

(chad later admitted she put him at ease too)

she lives near us in kyle and we talked about the different trees we have planted in our yards :)

then the insurance ladies walked in and went over the cost.

come to find out, delta dental, our insurance company,  is really good.

they covered all the cost including my anesthesia.

we put extra money this year in our FSA account to help cover this.

a little planning goes a long way and i have been putting this off for a long time.

finally, the time had come for me to move into the operating room.

they started my vitals, cuddled me up with a blanket, and they put laughing gas on my nose.

i almost requested that they take it off until i started giggling. 

i was a little curious to see if it would calm me or not...but mostly i was holding back laughter. 

the doctor came in and did my iv which became a little tricky since my veins like to hide when i don't drink any water...results of fasting.

but after that everything is a blur.

i remember saying good bye to chad (who i could tell was a little upset leaving me)

 and then the next thing i remember is saying hi to him.

i was puzzled on how they had moved me into a different room.

i woke up feeling fine and relaxed.

chad couldn't believe that it only took 20 minutes & neither could i.

before we knew it i was getting wheeled to my car to go home.

i had a little touch and go of pain and discomfort, but overall the experience hasn't been too bad.

i have spent the last few days laying around eating ice cream and gaining weight.

oddly enough, it looks like all the weight is in my checks :)

chad has been a great sidekick getting me whatever i need or want. 

we have even caught up on mad men which took some serious dedication on our part :)

i am at home this sunday morning with my two kiddos.

they are pretty sweet kids, but i wish i was well enough to be at church.

i started with around the clock meds and ice packs, but i am trying to slowly wean myself off of some of the meds today. they make me pretty dizzy at times.

*

things that have helped...

peppermint ice cream and kfc mashed potatoes have been my favorite mushy foods :)

i have discovered the importance of a soft blankey...parents don't ever make your kids get rid of them!

but most of all, the prayer and support from thoughtful friends and family.

thanks everyone :)

it wasn't as bad as i thought!

tomorrow is the big day...

i have started a pile of movies to watch...

i put my favorite sheets on the bed...

i stocked piled pudding, jell-o, ice cream, yogurt...

i am bringing ice packs home from work...

i have read more information than i would have liked to...

(pausing several times to put my head down so i would not faint)

i have banned straws from the house...

i have my person to take me and stay with me (chad of course)...

my kids are staying with my trusty parents-in-law...

started a prayer chain for my recovery...

because tomorrow is the big day!

i get my wisdom pulled, cut, broken, yanked...(and anything else painful sounding) 

out of my head...

well...my wisdom teeth that is!

i will be out of the "office" for awhile and will try and check in when i can.

good by sweet blogger world...keep me in your prayers ;)

 

around the house, my love for plants

i love plants.

i didn't always like them and i actually hated to work outside in my earlier years.

it wasn't until after purchasing our second home and having children did i really enjoy yard work. there is something gratifying about digging in your own yard and creating something new. i also enjoy the peace and quiet that come with working with plants. peace and quiet is a treat when you are around people/kids all day.

they don't ask you any questions or demand anything from you. it's just you, them, and the dirt.

i am pretty much a sentimental at heart. i typically don't grow just anything...i grow things that have good memories attached to them. 

i love flowers and i grow lots of them around my house in all my favorite colors.

my favorite flower is the hydrangea and of course it doesn't grow well around here.

this is what my hydrangeas look like right now : (

so i grow things that look similar to them.

i grew up in the country picking blackberries that grew wild along our property line. we would take buckets of them to my grandmother and she would bake cobblers and jams with the fruit. because of that, i grow some in my backyard to remind me of that childhood memory and give my children a chance to experience it too, just on a much much smaller scale unfortunately. but i grow the thorn-less kind so we don't get hurt.

 
  

i also have great memories of honeysuckles growing up. i grow this bush near our gate. i love smelling them. it reminds me of summer.

we also have 2 fig trees. my grandparents introduced me to figs at a young age and i love them. i am also fascinated by their huge leaves. i believe it is a fun tree to have with young children. not to mention that figs are always so expensive at the store so it is nice to go out in our backyard and pull one from the tree and eat it right then and there.

baby figs

our largest trees are our peach trees. they seemed to have grown up over night. we are still trying to figure them out though. they give great shade and i love peaches. i am still working on getting the jam just right and hope to make many sweet treats with them this summer.

they have the prettiest pink flowers in the spring

the yellow bells in my backyard were a birthday gift from my dearest friend, the first year we moved in.
 i love seeing their bright flowers.
they are also low maintenance...just like my friend ;)

we have a very small herb garden that we pick from often and we usually grow tomatoes  and peppers as well. the kids have a small strawberry plant that produces each year. it also lives in the herb garden because it is so small, but some of my favorite plants are small.

i adore succulents.

as a family, we love finding things in nature that is shaped like a heart.

and finally...i love anything planted in this cracked flower pot because it was my memaw's. she sadly lost her fight with cancer last year. i miss her very much. she loved plants and could grow just about anything. i think having plants around my house reminds me of her.

 i have held on to this pot for a long time. the wind blew it off and cracked it once, but i am not ready to get rid of it. her memory is still attach to it.