Stay Calm and Cure On!

Wednesday afternoon I took off work early and scurried about in the 1.5 hrs. I had while Noonie was taking the littles to gymnastics, so I could surprise her with a little celebratory dinner!  The rain tried to mess up my plans but I didn't let it!!

 

I ordered combination fried rice, shrimp with garlic sauce, shredded beef szechuan style, and spring rolls from our favorite Chinese restaurant, picked up a cookie cake and a chocolate cake (Pepperidge Farm triple layer chocolate cake...the easiest, tastiest on-the-go cake ever!), fresh strawberries, and pictures from the Walgreen's 1 hr. kiosk and set up a simple table...but with a lot of LOVE and that's what counts, right?!

I added a little pink ribbon to the place setting for our guest of honor...

And set up a little picture garland to commemorate her journey...hard to read the sign on the chalkboard, but it reads, "But as for me, I will always have hope." ~ Psalm 71:14

The garland was probably my favorite...looking back through some of the pictures made me very emotional.  I remember the uncertainty we faced as she started her fight against breast cancer...

And as I hung the pictures, I thanked God for how far He's brought her...Thank you, sweet Jesus!

Papa J was working (out of town) and couldn't be here but I added this sweet picture of them so he could be here in spirit...

And then I waited...as soon as I heard their car I made them all go in Grace's room so I could change the littles out of their rain-soaked gymnastics clothes and get ready for the BIG REVEAL!  The littles love this kind of stuff!!!  

It was priceless!

Please ignore the mess in the background...this room is a work-in-progress with LOTS of painting and purging projects to go...

My beautiful, strong, kind, Godly mother...Virginia, better known as Noonie :)

I think she liked the garland...

I know she liked the food!

I loved that we could all sit around the table and celebrate Noonie...
{and I won't even hold it against Lance that he changed his color-coordinated shirt as soon as he got home - HA!}

We even sang a little version of "happy end of radiation treatment to you" to the tune of happy birthday...

The lady at the bakery put not one but TWO breast cancer remembrance ribbons on her cookie cake...that has to be good luck, right??! he he he

We made wishes, big and small...

This was Noonie's fortune...God is in the details...ALWAYS!

And we ate waaaaaay too much cake!!!

We gave her some sweet cards...

But in the end all that mattered is that we celebrated one amazing lady and thanked our loving God for healing her...

Mom,
I love you with all my heart and I thank God every day for giving me you as my mom!
Here's to many, many, many more years and adventures!
XOXO,
 
---------------------------
Printables:
Keep Calm sign:  {The Hands-on Housewife}
Hope bible verse on chalkboard - {Kimberly Geswein}
Place cards - {Anders Ruff} 

oh, happy day!

Guess wha-at?.....................................

 ............................................................

Yes!!!! Today is Noonie's LAST radiation treatment!!! Woo hoo!  I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am!! I am on Cloud 9 and only coming down to kneel in prayer to our mighty God for guiding her every step of this journey and for healing her.  She still has the hormone therapy to go, but getting through the radiation is a big, BIG step.

We are wearing yellow - Noonie's favorite color - and butterflies - a symbol of hope - to commemorate this sweet day.  Later we have a little something planned but I can't share it all just yet *wink*.

I don't have adequate words but I want to thank each and every one of you that have prayed for my mom ever since her {breast cancer diagnosis} back in December.  I am a firm believer in the power of prayer and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that faith and prayer are what carried her...us...through this.  May God bless you as you have blessed us so.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
~Phillipians 4:6

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
~Jeremiah 29:11

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
~Ephesians 2:8-9


Thank you!!!
 

THE bunny.

I realize it's after Easter but I couldn't let Spring go by without posting a picture of quite possibly my favorite bunny ever...

Oh my! Mr. Bunny may look like he's a little - how may I say this tactfully - off his game??? Ha! But I big-puffy-sparkly-glittery-heart L.O.V.E. this bunny Hudson made at preschool!!!

I tucked him away with our Easter decorations, as opposed to the littles' school bin, so I can pull him out year after year after year...

Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.
~Pablo Picasso

 

azaleas, dance, pinocchio, and other random stuff!

It is finally beginning to feel like Spring and I'm soooooooooo excited!! As much as I grumbled my way through the early days of Daylight Savings Time a couple of weeks ago, I'm now lovin' the extra couple of sunshine-y hours in the late afternoon!  And the azaleas...oh my, the azaleas!!  They seriously take my breath away.  Loooooooooooove!

This has nothing to do with Spring, but I love this sweet candle I picked up at Target the other day...

The week started off a bit shaky for us.  Pop gave us a scare and ended up in the hospital for a couple of days.  He's one of my favorite peeps on Lance's side of the family so I was very happy to see him go home a couple of days later, feeling much better.  And the littles decided that they too, wanted to give me a heart attack...check out what they got into when we visited Pop in the hospital...Aaaah!

Saturday was a crazy busy day for us. The little pumpkin had recital pics...here's a little sneak peek...sooo grown up lookin' I can hardly stand it!!

And then we had exactly 25 minutes to get home, eat lunch, and change clothes to go see Pinocchio!  Yippee!  Yes, Noonie and Papa J got tickets for the littles as a surprise!! 

I snuck in there too, because I LOVE art and theatre, but Lance decided he wanted to stay behind so he could have an afternoon of uninterrupted time to fix the fence in our backyard - win/win!

Please disregard the cRaZY make-up on the little pumpkin...yes, she is wearing more than me - Ha! Eating lunch won out over make-up removal in our mad dash...

This was right after Noonie and Papa J told them what their surprise was!

Super excited!  She shares my love of art and theatre :)

Hanging out with Noonie during intermission...

Of course we had to go for frozen yogurt afterward, but before we made it to our usual spot, we had to squeeze in some pictures in front of the azaleas which are in full bloom and beyond GoRGEouS!!!

Driving by these azaleas everyday just makes my heart sing!  I am in awe over all the beauty our mighty God has placed on this earth! 

The littles love running around these gardens and even picking the tiniest of little weeds...

For you, Noonie! I love you!

The little pumpkin showing me how to curtsy...he he he.

We were having a grand 'ole time just basking in the sun and running free until a weird man came behind us and tried to snap pics of my littles without even asking!!  Creeeeepy!  There might have been a bit of a language barrier, but I had to tell him to please not take any pictures of my children - it just freaked me out.  I was very glad Papa J was there with us!!  Check out Hudson's expression at the man...

And oh my, the countdown to the end of radiation for my mom is now just 2 more treatments!!!  I'm doing cartwheels in my head!  {because if I tried to do them for real..............well, let's just stick to doing them in my head!}  Take that cancer!  Lego entertainment provided by Hudson...while I was trying to enjoy a few leisurely minutes of uninterrupted reading :)

So beyond happy for you, Noonie, and so thankful to our loving God for many, many, many answered prayers!  Thank you for a wonderful Saturday, Noonie & Papa J!

Happy Spring Everyone!
 

blink and it's gone.

Sometimes the stars line up and you're able to capture a moment you never even saw coming in the first place...

I love, love, love that picture of the littles!! Taken by the side of the road, in a spontaneous moment, on an otherwise ordinary day.

The back story... It was close to 5:00p and we had just picked up a few last minute ingredients we needed for dinner.  I grabbed a box of cuties because we can't seem to get enough of those! 

I still had the baskets in the back of my car from the school Easter parties and the adorable "You're a Peach" sack actually held a little gift for a friend I had been meaning to drop by her doorstep. 

The azaleas caught my eye as I turned near a doctor's office.  They were beginning to bloom, just like this little pumpkin...one part little girl, one part big girl.

This handsome little fella is a charmer.  He has these gorgeous brown eyes that look deep into yours just seconds before he gives the sweetest hugs you've ever had.  He says things to me like, "Hi there, my dear little mama!" and "I just need to love you!" before planting a sweet one right smack on my face while plopping down on my lap in a fit of three year old giggles.

Thankfully, my littles are used to me saying, "Let's get out of the car real quick..." Sometimes we need to capture a moment because blink, and it's gone.

cousin friends and bunny pics...

Wrapping up my Easter posts...

The Saturday before Easter we went to visit Lance's grandma and aunt for an early Easter dinner.  Lance's sister's beau has two little girls who are as cute as can be...Tiffany and Lainee.  The littles and I made them some Easter baskets that turned out pretty cute...

Sweet cousin friends...

Easter weekend was sooooo RaiNy, we had to go with an indoor egg hunt...

Miss Lainee in all her cuteness!

Hudson was very strategic about his egg hunting...

I don't think that Memema was up for taking pictures, but I love that she's in this one!  She is a sweet, sweet lady and I love that our littles get to spend time with her.  Aunt Marilyn too!

Miss Tiffany checking out the loot...dollar bills!  Whaaaat???!  The Easter Bunny sure has changed a lot since I was little...

Thank you sweet Jesus for the gift of family...and especially generations spending time together.

And finally, some of our annual bunny pics...

Grace~ 6

Hudson~ 3 3/4

My loves...

I hope Easter left you filled with JOY and HOPE!