I know it’s a big no no to cross post, but there are always exceptions to the rules, right? Today marks the second annivesary of Gus’ death. Gus died on May 31, 2006 while awaiting a liver/small bowel transplant. He was 16 months old.

I have found it very therapeutic to write letters to Gus. The following is the letter I’ve written to mark the second anniversary of this death…or rather, his “homegoing”. I want to make it very clear that by writing this letter I am in no way trying to make contact with him. Contacting the dead is wrong and quite dangerous. (Deut. 8:9-12). There are deceitful spirits out there that yearn to make us think we are talking to our loved ones when in all actuality we are not. Besides…God has provided us with the only Spirit we need…the Holy Spirit. He will not deceive us nor misguide us. Since I’m certain that the Lord and Gus see each other daily, I have asked Him to share these letters if it is His will….I like to think it is!

Dearest Gus,

It has been two years since we said goodbye to each other. When I think about the time that has passed, I am amazed that it has been that long—yet, then again, sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday. I am still able to feel the weight of your little body in my arms. I can even still imagine nuzzling your neck and breathing in your precious baby smell. I know in time that will pass. God comforts me with these memories and I am thankful.

I still dream of you often. My hope is that I will continue to do so until we are reunited. My dreams of you are often funny. I can honestly say that I wake up from them feeling joy instead of the great dread that I could feel in knowing you are no longer here. God uses these dreams to bring me comfort and I am thankful.

Your dad is about to graduate nursing school and I’ve just started working on my three pre-requisites so I can start nursing school next summer. My time with you has shown me that I can handle the toughest things on this earth. Certainly I have not done any of these things—like holding you as your heart beat for the last time—on my own but only through the magnificent power of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Because of this, I am praying that God will bless us with in-home opportunities to care for other medically fragile children—especially the ones that are abandoned in the hospital and have no one. This sounds crazy to a lot of people and I do understand. Who in their right mind would want to get attached to a child that may die?? Who would set themselves up for such heartache?? Well, your dad and I would…and we would be honored to have the opportunity to do so. I have been blessed and equipped with the experience of your death and as I start school, I look forward to the chances I will have to “give back”. God has empowered me to face the tough things and has given me empathy and I am thankful.

As I am aware of the fact that a righteous man’s prayer is powerful and effective(James 5:16), and you my son are as righteous as you can be since you are now with the Lord, I am hoping you will pray for me…well, for all of us Doriots! Seriously, this world is so beautiful yet so dark—so full of sin. I strive daily to live joyfully and I look forward with great anticipation to our reunion. It is hard here though so please pray that we will not grow weary and lose sight of Home. God uses the reality of Heaven and seeing you again to comfort me…and I am thankful!

I love you, Gus!

Mommy

This spring has been a doozy for Jake. He has allergies and has really been suffering. Belle has problems with pollen too but not anything like Jake. The rest of us don’t really struggle at all and I’m thankful for that.

A few weeks ago, we took Jake to the doctor thinking that we would probably be referred to an allergist, however, he was given some new meds and an inhaler and it all seems to be working really well. I was worried that he would balk at taking the meds, but I think he is so miserable that he is completely willing to do what it takes to feel good.

As I’ve been looking at all the different options out there that help relieve allergies, I have started to think about how I can make our home cleaner. I hate that Jake has to take so many medications and I can’t help but wonder if making some healthy changes inside our home would mean he could take less. There’s not much I can do about the pollen out in the world, but there is something that can be done about the allergens in our home. Installing the AccuClean Whole Home Air Filtration System just may be the answer!

With AccuClean, the air in our home could be up to 99.98% allergen free. Goodbye pollen, dust mites, pet dander and even mold…sheesh, I hadn’t even thought about mold! Right now, we are just using an air filter from Walmart and I’m certain it’s not removing allergens as well as that. In fact, the information on this system says that the AccuClean is 100 times more effective than a standard filter like we have! Not only does this system remove allergens, but it also can remove up to 99% of the flu virus found in our homes!

Not only is this system great for removing allergens and the flu virus, but it also removes all the nasty smells!! Now, hear my heart here, I would love for Jake to be more comfortable here in our home, but I would also LOVE to have a lot of our “smells” also eliminated. Those of you who have boys know exactly what I’m talking about!! The thoughts of a bathroom that smells fresh makes me want to purchase the AccuClean system right this very moment!

Seriously, this is something Pete and I are going to be looking into. I’ve got some more research to do on the system, but so far, it sounds great!

photo by Dad

Do you all remember that cell phone commercial where the guy comes into the shipping department and the shipping clerks are all dancing around to Salt N Pepa?? The boss asks, “Where’s the shipment, where’s the truck and where’s the driver?” After one of the guys pulls up the gps tracking, he turns and tells him, “The shipment is at the dock, truck’s on Hwy 81 and Joe’s at the airport.”….and then he turns and punches the play button on the boom box and they all start dancing again to Salt N Pepa’s song Push It!

It slays me…seriously, I’m snickering just thinking about it!! What’s one of your favorite commercials??

I’ve been sucked into all this CVS ECBs and all the other great deals at Rite Aid, Walgreens and various grocery stores.  I still have a ton to learn though.  There was slight trauma at CVS tonight and a lesson was learned.  I accidentally bought too many Aquafresh toothpastes and I didn’t get the ECBs on one of the toothpastes.  I basically wanted to return one of the toothpastes and have my ECB credited back to me…I am trying to only use my ECBs on items that give ECBs…I know, I’m not explaining it well and I may have just confused myself! lol!!  Anyway, I completely freaked out the clerk because she couldn’t refund anything since I had not spent any money ( I had used ECBs for the entire purchase).  Pete came up with the idea to void the transaction and start over…it worked!  Sooooo, I have vowed to really, really watch my purchases and make sure I don’t mess up like this again.

And then there was Rite Aid…the clerk was not sure if she could take the coupons I had printed off the internet.  She had to call the manager…he told her if they worked then I could use them.  All but one coupon worked and seriously, I wish I had done two transactions, but I was not thinking straight and it would have probably sent the clerk into therapy.  I’ll go back later this week…

So here’s what I got…and yes, I know it’s not completely free because I paid tax, but you get the idea!

Walgreens:

• Chex Mix on sale for 99c….used coupon for $1.00 which I found at Coupons.com==FREE!
• Kashi cereal on sale for $2.50….used $2.00 coupon from the Kashi site==50c
• Excedrin Migraine on sale for $1.99…used $2.00 coupon from the Excedrin site==FREE!

Rite Aid:

• 360 Colgate toothbrush on sale for 2.99…Single Check Rebate for $2.99==FREE!

CVS:

•  2 360 Colgate toothbrushes on sale for $3.99…received $3.99 ECBs–used ECBs from last week==FREE!
• 1 Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste on sale for $2.99…received $2.99 ECBs–used ECBs from last week==FREE!

Ingles:

• Scotch Brite Stainless Steel Cleaner Starter Kit on sale for $5.98…used Try it Free coupon==FREE!  The coupon I used expires today but here is one for $1.00 off.

I know it’s not much, but a gal’s got to start somewhere, right??

I really must be going through a wrought iron stage because it seems like the accessories I am tending to chose are all wrought iron. Earlier I wrote about a neat wrought iron outdoor chandelier for our back deck. Now I’ve found this neat wrought iron shower set!

It’s been ages since we’ve updated our bathroom faucets. I think I’ll go ahead and add these fixtures to my every growing “want list”! Very pretty!

It’s been a gazillion years since I’ve participated in Tackle it Tuesday! In order to inspire me to gather all my unfinished quilts and projects, I’ve decided to join along this week. I want to gather all my projects and find all of the supplies needed to finish each one. It seems like I’ve got things here and some things over there…and I can never find just what I’m looking for to complete a certain project. It’s driving me nuts and I can’t just pick something up and start working on it. It’s got to stop today! lol!! I’ve got no photos because everything is strung out everywhere….So there…that’s my goal for today. Wish me luck!!

You can see more Tackles over at 5 Minutes for Mom.

We’ve really been enjoying our back deck this year. It’s a great place to entertain because it’s covered. After Pete graduates, I hope we can start working on this area…I’d like to create an outdoor room.

I’m not sure how people create rooms that withstand the weather so I’ll have to do some research. I know there are fabrics made specifically for outdoors so that shouldn’t be a problem. Of course, there are light fixtures for the outdoors too. I really, really like this one below. This light is part of a collection too so there are other pieces we could use throughout our backyard.

It would be nice….

I noticed today that my boys are looking a little “zittish”! One is 14 and the other is 12…it’s time for that kind of thing to start happening. They will kill me if they find out I’ve written this (and that I’ve used a graphic of a girl!) Lol!

I’ll have to be honest here, I’ve never struggled with acne so I’m not even sure how to take care of their skin. I know there are a lot of acne treatments available, but I’m not sure where to even start. Any suggestions??

First, I tried the bread recipe that the monks from the Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity shared after they had to stop their bread baking business. Ack! Seriously, I think I’ll leave that recipe to the mad baking skills of the monks! lol!!

Next, I thought I would give the recipe I tried last week one more chance. I tweaked the recipe that I found here (scroll down) by lowering the oven temperature to 350 and baking for only 30 minutes. I also covered the loaves with an aluminum foil tent 15 minutes into the baking.  I’m very pleased with the results and this recipe is officially “the one” for us. I’ve not been baking bread long so maybe my standards are not as high as some, but this dough is so nice to knead and it’s pretty! Can dough be pretty?!

We’ll be using this bread for sandwiches this week, yum-o!!

My dad is not right. I love him, but he’s just not right! In his den, he has three tv sets…yes, I said three. It’s kind of like Elvis’ TV Room but without the bar, fireplace and all the yellow and black décor! I swear, I really don’t understand why he has not completely crashed because of all the sensory overload he experiences nightly.

With all that said, can you imagine how excited my dad would be to experience this Father’s Day in HD?!

Right now, Charter is hosting a really neat Father’s Day contest where you can write an essay about why your dad should win the nation’s biggest HDTV with Charter HD service and The Charter Bundle™ FREE for life! Sheesh-a-moley!! My dad would be in heaven if he were to win this package!! I can see him now sitting in his “TV Room” with his eyes glazed over!

This cool Father’s Day contest runs until June 8^th so you have a little bit of time to write and submit your essay. There will also be prizes for the runner-ups: Charter’s Biggest Bundle, FREE for a year and FREE Charter HD service for a year. Of course, your dad has to be in an area where Charter services are available. Be sure to check out the site for all the details!

I missed posting my favorite contests last week. In fact, I don’t even think I entered a single one….which means I didn’t win a stinkin’ thing! lol!! I did, however, win a Spazzstick from Leslie’s Life!! It’s good stuff, folks…I keep it here by my monitor and use it often!!

• Nessa is hosting her first blog contest over at According to Me! All you need to do is join the new group she has created over at LilaGuide, Moms at Home, post about the new group and invite others to join (will you join us?). Be sure to go back and leave a comment so she will know you’ve done all of these things! On June 17th, winners will be drawn. Prizes range from $50 gc (or cash) to handmade scrunchies! Cool Beans!!

• Cass over at Cass Knits is giving away Bobby Flay’s Grill It! cookbook! I’ve watched Bobbly Flay for years and years and I would love to win this cookbook. I’d give it to Pete though because he’s the griller in the family. To enter, you need to leave a comment here. Of course, there are more ways to earn additional entries and you can read about them over at Cass Knits. Contest ends midnight on June 1st and the winner will be announced on the 2nd!

  

• Good For the Kids is giving away a $100 gc to celebrate the grand reopening of their online store! I would love to win this one too…I would have a little shopping spree for our local children’s hospital because this store has the neatest play things

• Kristen and Amanda are giving away a ton of really neat things that would make great Father’s Day gifts!! Just visit their Father’s Day Gift Guides to see what prizes are being given away. You’ll also discover some pretty cook things for Dad!

  

• Green Mommy Guide is giving away a Matchstick Garden and I really, really want to win this! Each matchstick contains seeds that are ready to be planted…how cute is that?!

  

• Hip Mamas Place is giving away Mama Mio O-Mega Body Oil. Me needs to rid myself of the dry skin on me arms and this just might be the thing to do it!! lol!!

• Head on over to Superdumb Supervillian and enter to win some really cute accessories from The Glamorous Life! I love these bobby pins with polka dots and circles…love the colors too!

  

• One extra!  Charlotte over at The Livy Updater is giving away the Sex and the City movie soundtrack and $25 Fandango Movie gc.  Hurry because this one is ending soon!

Lots and lots of neat contests this week….hope some of us win!!

So, I have figured out that it would take 930 miles and about 14 hours for us to travel to Orange, TX. We would have to travel through three different states and a good part of our own state before reaching our destination. I think it would be fun to take this trip because we would be traveling through so many different areas and would have the opportunity to “explore” the cities as we passed through them.

Why Orange, TX you ask? I had not even heard about the city of Orange until I had the opportunity to write about the Shangri La Botanical Gardens a few weeks ago. This week, I have the opportunity to tell you all about the Stark Museum of Art which is also located in Orange. Through researching both of these places, I’ve realized that this would be a neat destination for my family.

The Stark Museum of Art is a museum which focuses on the art of the American West. In the museum, you’ll find paintings, prints, and sculptures from the past. There is even a collection of old books and manuscripts including John James Audubon’s book, Birds of America! We’ve read about John James Audubon and I would love for the kids to see this collection. There are also different programs, tours and teachers resources available.

Not only are the collections and exhibits interesting, but the history of the museum itself is interesting too. The museum started as the vision of H.J. Lutcher Stark and his mother, Miriam Lutcher Stark who was a collector of art, furniture and decorative items from all around the world. When H.J. Lutcher Stark married Nelda Childers, they traveled throughout the area continuing to make purchases for the collection. Because of their passion for this collection, they founded the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation in 1961. The purpose of this foundation was to encourage and enrich the life of the people in Southwest Texas through education and the arts. After H.J. Lutcher Stark’s death in 1965, his wife directed the building of the Stark Museum of Art. The museum was completed in 1979. I have a feeling that Mr. Lutcher Stark would have been pleased!

If you are starting to plan your summer travels, you should certainly check into visiting Orange, TX. The Shangri La Botanical Gardens and the Stark Museum of Art are just a few of the places you can visit while in the city. Very neat!

Seriously, Deadliest Catch Alaskan Storm should have been created for the Wii not the Xbox 360! Imagine being able to throw the line, bait and drop the pots, and sort the crab using the Wii mote. Of course, if Sig and his brothers would like for me to try the game on an Xbox or on our PC, I’d be more than glad to give it a stellar review….yes, you’ve heard me correctly! I’ll just go ahead and say it, the review would be biased because I have a huge slight addiction to Deadliest Catch and I’m quite fond of Sig and the Northwestern crew! See…I’ve even uploaded Sig’s trading card and I’m going to add it to my sidebar this evening…don’t you all think I should get a copy of the game to review??

When Pete and I were first married, we spent a lot of money. We were newlyweds and needed all sorts of new things…or so we thought! Many years were spent creating a horrible debt situation. After years of work, we were able to pay off all of our credit card debt just in time to start our “Gus Journey”. During the time Gus was with us, we learned what it was like to stack up the medical bills. After all was said and done, Gus’ bills amounted to more than 2 million dollars. Of course, we had insurance and that was a huge help. We did have a lot of non-medical expenses too: housing, food, clothing, etc. We had decided that Pete would take a leave of absence from work so that he could be with all of us at the hospital (which was in another city). To make a long story short, we ruined our credit during that time. I would like to say that we messed up, but seriously, I think anyone in our situation would have done the same and I am so glad that we were able to spend that time together as a family.

Now that Gus is gone, we are working on building our credit back up. This time around, we want to make the best decisions about the different types of credit available and we want to choose the perfect type of card for our family. Of course, we’d like a low interest rate, but the gas reward cards are looking pretty good too! Lol!!

If you are like us, you need information about these different cards and you also need reliable credit card reviews. Visiting Credit Cards Club is a great place to start! I like that the information is organized and that the site is easy to navigate. Under each section there are different cards and their benefits listed. If we wanted to check out the Gas Reward cards, we would click on that link and we would see a list of the cards who offer this type of reward. We can then study the list and pick the card that is absolute best for us. Seriously, this site makes it so easy to gather your info and make a decision about a card. Very neat!

I know we are starting to go into summer, but I could not resist fixing our favorite yummy chicken noodle soup just one more time.  I had planned on fixing this Sunday when it was quite chilly, but we ended up eating at our local Mexican restaurant instead.  I went ahead and fixed it yesterday even though it was not so cold of a day….I had decided if it was too hot that I would just crank up the air conditioner until everyone was good and cold and then serve the soup!  Belle and I also tried a new bread recipe that turned out almost great…I think I’ll do some tweaking and try the recipe one more time.

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup 

• 5 cups of hot water
• 2 buillon cubes
• 4 cans of chicken broth
• 2 cups cooked chicken
• 1 tsp salt
• several cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 cups “homestyle” noodles, cooked
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced celery, lightly pre-cooked
• 13 cup shredded carrots

1.  Dissolve cubes in hot water and pour into crockpot

2.  Add remaining ingredients except noodles.  Mix

3.  Cover.  Cook on low 4-6 hours.  Add cooked noodles during last 30 minutes.

Notes:  This is my basic recipe…I never, ever follow the amounts listed for the celery and carrots…sometimes I’ll add any leftover veggies I may have in the fridge.  I alo LOVE to use homemade stock when I have it availabe…which is almost never because I’m not very domestic! lol!!

Recognizing someone on their birthday is an absolute must. Seriously, don’t we all feel good when someone has remembered our birthday? I do, and I’m sure you do also! I think it’s even nice to receive birthday cards from businesses I use. I know, I know, they are a form of advertising, but they work! I’m more likely to buy from the business that took some time to send me a birthday card than I am to buy from a business who doesn’t even attempt to recognize me. It’s just nice to be nice, ya know?

If you’re a business owner and you want to woo folks like me, you should check out the Gallery Collection. They have one of the nicest selections of Business Birthday Cards I’ve seen. All of their cards are unique and you can choose from designs that are contemporary all the way to classic. Each card comes with a matching, deckle-edge envelope and the pricing is quite affordable!

I love these two birthday cards. The first one is a Van Gogh and the second is a Monet.

These are nice too. I would choose the pink cake one for women clients and the star on black for the men. Of course, the “Happy Birthday from the Gang” cards would be great too….there’s almost too many choices!!

Where in the world has our warm and sunny weather gone? Seriously, this is not nice! The wind is horrible today. How in the world am I supposed to go out and get my Vitamin D when all this wind is whipping about?? Not happy…..

graphic source: Met Office

I’ll be the first to admit, when it comes to the technical side of blogging, I stink! Just ask my dear, sweet and patient husband how well I respond when something goes wrong technically. I meltdown…a full, layed out on the couch, can’t even think straight meltdown. It’s not pretty, folks. It’s not pretty. My mind just can’t wrap itself around all that stuff that is happening behind my blog! Lol!!

I’ve been very pleased with my current web host and I hope and pray their great service continues. If not, I’ll have to go somewhere else…or let’s say, Pete will have to move me to another host! Lol!! Seriously, it would definitely be one of those meltdown days moments!

Because of my tendency to meltdown, it’s nice to know that there are sites out there that will give reviews of the different hosts and also show you how to actually shop for them. Webhostingrating.com is one of those sites! I was quite glad to see the cPanel Tutorials that are available because I’m certain I’m not using all the options I’ve paid for. I have to be careful though, too much information might make me explode! Maybe these tutorials would serve our family more if Pete were to read them! Lol!!

 Gus’ Caringbridge site:  May 20, 2006…11 days before he died.

Gus is doing well. He started bleeding again Friday night…of course, we knew this was going to happen because it was Friday, rainy and Dr. Hill was on-call!! Thankfully it was only his teeth…two on the bottom and one on the top. These are teeth he has already had…so he’s kind of like teething 5000 times!! His mouth is packed with gauze and he looks like he has a sock stuffed down his throat…oh well, whatever works! We’ve asked for a dental consult because I have read about fibrin glue being used for oral bleeds in hemophiliacs. We’ll see what the dentist has to say..Gus’ bilirubin is very high and his veins are kind of “dried out” so we need prayer in those areas…along with the normal requests we have!

I’ve heard a lot of people talking about Vista Print here lately. According to a friend of mine, they have an excellent service and she just loves to use them for her printing needs. If I’m not mistaken, I believe she has used them exclusively for her home business. I remember having to go to Kinko’s to have business cards, address labels and flyers printed out for my business. It’s nice to be able to place these types of order online and I’m sure she feels the same since she has a small one at home….much more convenient!!

I’m thinking about getting some address labels to use on our Gus’ Gang mail. I love this pink design, but I think it would be more appropriate to go with a blue since Gus was a boy! Maybe I just need to order two separate designs and then I can go ahead and get these pink ones too.

It might be nice to have some postcards for Gus’ Gang also. Since I could upload my own design, I could make some really fun postcards to send out as encouragement to moms with chronically ill children. Better yet, I could get my own kids involved and have them do the designing of the cards! I think Isabelle would love that!!

One more thing, I do believe I saw freebies in the sidebar over at Vista! So be sure to check out their prices…and grab your freebies…if you need to have some printing done. I just love that I can avoid the whole Kinko’s thing! Lol!!

I’ve been watching some of the news coverage of the earthquake in China.  One report I saw earlier today just absolutely broke my heart.  It was an NPR reporter who was with a Chinese mother who was looking for her young son she had left with her mother.  He was not found alive.  I couldn’t watch the whole report.  It was just too gut-wrenching.  I completely understand that mother’s pain…the pain of losing a child…and yet, I can’t even imagine what this mother is feeling.  To loose a child in such a tragic and unexpected way is hard for me to wrap my mind around.

I thank God that I had the privilege of holding Gus as he died.  This mom I saw today, did not have that opportunity.  I think that is very sad…..

I’m still wearing my favorite red clogs even though they are literally falling apart. I just can’t seem to get rid of them…yes, I love them that much! Part of me thinks I should just buy another pair exactly like these old ones, but another part of me is thinking that I should venture out and buy a new style. Seriously, if I had the money, I would just buy several pairs and be done!

Though these are not anywhere close to be similar to my red clogs, I do like these Merrell shoes. I think I’m really leaning more and more toward that strappy Mary Jane style of shoe. These are very cute! What do you think??

Belle and I made a quick trip to the store yesterday. She decided that she wanted to make a pit stop at the water fountain while I went on to get the chicken. When she came back, the front of her dress was a little wet and she said:

“I went to get some water, but I think I got more than I was barking for!”

I do believe that she was trying to say that she got more than she bargained for! lol!! She slays me!!

Pete and I have agreed to take over the blood drive at our church. I’m not sure if we will be able to do it for a long time because I’m just not sure what all it involves. I do know that the gal who used to do it had to make a lot of reminder calls to people who said they wanted to donate blood. She would be sitting at the registration table with her Bluetooth headset on making one call after another. In all honesty, that will be the hardest part for me because I’m not really a “phone person”…I’d much rather talk face to face, ya know?

Regardless, I’m glad that Pete and I are able to serve in this way because Gus received several transfusions daily.…”red soldiers” marching in to battle! In the photo above, you can see him getting a transfusion of whole blood.

Without kind souls who donate blood, Gus would have been in a bind. I’m thankful for all of those people who give so generously…especially those that are afraid of needles!! Lol!I

This is from Gus’ Caringbridge site…this was just a few weeks before Gus died. You all will have to stick with me over the next little bit…I’ll be reminiscing a lot as we approach the second “Celebrate Gus Day” which is on May 31st. I am really, really missing this little guy. There are just some days that I can’t believe he is no longer here…

TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2006 03:46 PM, CDT

This has been a great day for Gus!! I couldn’t believe how skinny he looked this afternoon…he has lost a lot fluid!! WoooHooo!!! He is being weaned off the Epi, Norepi and the oscillator. Now all we need are a few organs!

Thanks as always for all the prayers!

Now that I’m officially going back to school, I really, really, really need a laptop. Before, I just wanted one, but now I NEED one! No, really, I do! You see, my pre-reqs I am taking online and with a laptop I’ll be able to go on the back deck, or my room and do my assignments. I could also take my laptop to homeschool co-op and work on my assignments while I am not volunteering. It’s just a practical purchase, ya know?

So what kind of laptop do you all recommend? What kind of laptop memory should I look for? Most importantly, where can I get the coolest bag for my laptop?? Send me suggestions, folks!!

It’s official!!  I have just paid for my first of three pre-requisite classes I need before applying to nursing school!!  We weren’t sure if I would be able to start working on these pre-reqs this summer because of our low funds, but God has worked out our money in such a way that I will now be able to take the class!  I am also thrilled that a friend just so happened to have the books I need for these classes and she’s letting me borrow them…another of God’s provisions!!

I am soooo excited!!  I’ll be taking Anatomy and Physiology I this summer and then Anatomy and Physiology II and Microbiology this fall.  All of these classes are online so I’ll be able to still homeschool the kids.  I hope to get into the evenings and weekend nursing school next summer.

Why in the world would I even consider faux plants for my home??? Well, look at the photo below…seriously, I think this photo says it all: I have no ability to keep plants alive and well!! I try, really I do. They just demand so much from me…like water, and sunlight! Sheesh!! I do wish that I could grow plants though because I really do love the “life” they bring to a room.

Another reason I would consider silk plants is because of Jake’s allergies. You see, we’ve not really had too much of a problem with his allergies when he’s inside….and that’s because I’ve managed to kill our plants. However, if I wanted to add plants back to the scene, he would probably struggle with the pollen. I know, I know, he wouldn’t struggle for too long since the plant would probably be dead within the week!

Seriously, I have no idea why I’ve not looked into silk plants before now. I guess I’ve always thought they looked so…fake. That’s not really the case with some silk plants though. There are quite a few that look quite real…so much so that you can’t help but feel them to find out!

I’d love to find a fiddlehead fern plant. Until then, these ferns will do just fine! Very nice!!

I am excited!  Tonight Belle and I are going to put our pajamas on early, pop a big bowl of popcorn and watch E.T.!!  The boys are going to a sleepover so we’ll be having a “Girl’s Night In”….and we are going to have FUN!!  I’m sure there will be some lovely makeovers taking place.  I usually end up looking quite…well, quite unique!

I think I’ll have Pete pick us up some Cheer Wine too….