Hallo . . . Say What?!?

I have always wanted to make a Halloween

quilt . . . As a lover of all things Halloween

and a great bargain . . .

I acquired this MARVELOUS Halloween

fabric to make my coveted quilt!!!!

I have one ahead of this spooky creation,

but I am itchin' to get started . . .

I Heart Boys.

I could list about a bazillion reasons

that I LOVE my boys . . . They are

truly a blessing! It is so true that boys

and moms have a special bond. I am

ever.ever.ever so grateful that God

blessed me with this crew.

These are the bestest helpers and supports

on the ENTIRE planet!! They call to check

on me, make sure that their plans jive

with what is happening at home, ask

if I need anything when they are out and

about . . .

Even though they are "grown up"

they still don't cringe too much

when I smooch them in public!

I love how God made boys

so carefree and full of SO

much energy. Their steam seems

to build as the hours pass during

the day . . . It is so fun to corral

these guys at the end of the day to

hear about their exciting adventures.

( I am grateful that one of my boys

was super blessed with the gift

of photography!! Thanks Sam for

allowing me to steal your pix!)

I.am.truly.blessed.beyond.measure!

Quilting Bee.

Busy Sunday at the machine . . . I am

excited about my new fabric and my

new quilt. Quilting is so much fun

when I watch my Lucy marathons and

Dick Van Dyke reruns.

I have a very special person in mind

for this baby . . .

Satur-day Night.

I think that we are going to dig

going to church on Saturday night,

especially if it is followed by

yummy, yummy treats like this

one!! We are excited that we

could try church tonight! We

have been wanting to go on

Saturday nights for a long time,

but with the house project . . .

it has truly been impossible.

I think that we are really

going to love it!! It will be so fun

to have Sundays to regroup write

my dissertation, make quilts,

bake, stay in our jammies . . .

The possibilities are endless!!

Family Fun Friday.

Give me F-r-i-d-a-y!! Friday just happens to be

one of my very favorite days of the week

for about a bazillion reasons. The highlight

just happens to be Family Fun Friday! We

really try to gather as a family and

pop good old fashioned popcorn, have

fun food, watch a flick or two and

cozy up on the couches TOGETHER!!

Electronic devices are limited . . .

I.love.it.

On tap for tonight:

*Puss in Boots

*A King of Queens Marathon

*Yummy popcorn with spicy

jalapeno seasoning

*A late night Taco Bell run

Oh, yeah!!

Home D.

Darn straight . . . We do have a

special parking space at our local

Home Depot!!

We really do love the guys who have

helped us over and over and over

and over and over and over again at

Home Depot.

Seriously, the guys have been totally

wonderful, helpful, and kind during

our building project. They have also

been super great to our crew and have

been really concerned about our Dad.

We love, love, love, love our #1 cashier.

We see her usually two to three times

EACH day . . .

We loved baking the cookies for the

guys and so thankful for all of their

help during our course of construction.

Luke and Mike created this little tradition

of getting Mentos every time that they

go to Home Depot. I think that they

will recognize a little loss of revenue on

the candy aisle once our project is

completely done.

Words for Wednesday.

Have you prayed about it as

much as you have talked

about it?

Just sayin'!

The C of O.

Okeedokee . . . We are approaching the

ever anticipated finish line. There are

essential items that must be completed,

in no particular order they are:

*dishwasher, hooked up ready to roll

*kitchen island in place and ON

*kitchen sink and faucet

*stairway handrails

*range vent in and ON

*a little more grading with the

tractor

*front door in and ON

*locks in place

Good news, water is running and

the toilets are flushing . . . Folks, we

are seriously days away from the

b.i.g. C of O. You will hear shouts

from the mountaintops when that

day occurs, hopefully this week,

probably next week . . .

While I sit and babysit, I mean

supervise the workers, I have been

extremely productive on what will

forevermore be referred to as "The

Big D", can I hear a drum roll please

for page 67, yes 67 . . . That means that

I have almost three chapters completed out

of five . . . Could it be possible that I will

finish "The Big D" before we complete the

house . . . Probably not, you see chapters

4 and 5 will be written AFTER I complete

my research which will take place over

the next six or seven months!!!

Meanwhile, my crew is doing great!

The boys have started back to school,

PTL!!! College classes resumed today

and we could not be happier!! I love

productivity!!! Mike continues to

gain strength while undergoing

aggressive chemotherapy regimens!!

Lemon cake cravings . . . not a problem!

Mike got super ambitious and whipped

up a yum, yum, yummy lemon cake . . .

The crew can always tell when Dad bakes

a cake, it has a THIN layer of frosting

as opposed to the THICK and GOOEY

"goop" that is lathered all over the

cakes that I bake!!

Here's to the C of O, "The Big D", and

lemon cakes baked by Dad!!!

Ahhhhh!

The Granite God and Goddess have worn

us out!!! They have been at the project

the past three days until the wee hours . . .

The boys have been incredible to keep

me company, but honestly, 12-13

hours up there is quite a feat to accomplish

THREE days in a row!!

Positively, I sat in the back seat of the car,

I mean my office, and was able to get

47, yes 47, pages of my dissertation

proposal written today . . . A huge

accomplishment!!! I am so excited!!!

It snowed 6" up in Somersett and Luke

and I were content to work on our

studies and watch the huge flakes

tumble down . . .

One thing for certain, I will sleep as

tight as a little bed bug tonight!!!

Sneak Peak!

Quilt top! Quilt top! In my spare

time, I whipped up this brand

spankin' new quilt top!! I cannot

wait to put the backing and

binding on it!! I have plans for

a cool design for machine

quilting it!!!

Happy Sunday!!

Action.

Order of the day?!? Granite countertops!

The weather was FRIGID and the guys

kept the garage doors and house doors

open tonight as they were running

EVERYWHERE working on granite slabs

and plopping them in their spots!!

The granite turned out better than

I ever imagined . . . Each of them look great!

It seems like so long ago when we picked

them out! I am thrilled that they look

so be-a-u-tiful!!

I just had to "sneak" a sink in one of the

bathrooms for a quick peak . . .

This piece is for the cooktop . . .

Woot! Woot! for long kitchen counters!

The slabs will get back splashes, polished,

and sealed tomorrow . . .

As mentioned, the home stretch is looking

pretty.darn.great!

We Heart Faith.

Oh, how we love, love, love Faith! She

is Dr. MacIntosh's oncology nurse. She

is funny, sweet, lovable, smart,

reassuring, kind, gentle, and most

of all encouraging. Faith calls just to

see how we are doing. Says just the

right thing at the right time. Takes ALL

of the time in the world for our office

visits. Calls back within moments of

leaving a message. Faith is a wonderful

nurse and truly has met her calling. We

are so thankful that Dr. Hummer found

Dr. MacIntosh and Faith. They are

wonderful doctors and we know that

we could not be in better hands. We

are already praying for our PET/CT Scan

that will take place on March 7. Until that

time we are working hard to build up to

the levels of chemotherapy treatment that

we need to be taking. Monthly blood levels

are wonderful . . . I love knowing what is

going on at all moments!! (Does that

surprise anyone!!)

The Home Stretch.

After nearly a year of literally blood, sweat, and

tears, the house project is truly in the final

stages. We will be obtaining our Certificate

of Occupancy next week. After that there will

be a long pick-up list of items that must be

done, but it will be a huge relief to have the

C of O. During the next five days, the

elves must:

*finish the electrical

*install the countertops

*set the sinks

*put on a front door that is to code

*install a vent for the cooktop

*install the appliances

I am certain that it will be a photo

finish, but we are excited and

anticipating that the inspector will

be pleased as punch and issue the

necessary documents. There will

still be plenty to do over the next

several weeks, but we are excited

just the same!!!

Update on Dads.

We are excited that our Dad has been

done with radiation for nearly two

weeks!!! We have had recent blood work

and have an appointment with our

oncologist on Friday morning to discuss

the results and to monitor the current

levels of the chemotherapy. Mike

looks great and is working hard to

build up to larger doses of chemotherapy.

It is great to have him home all of the

time and we are looking forward to

being settled and rejuvenated!! We

were scheduled to have a PET/CT

Scan this week, but it has been

rescheduled for the beginning of March.

After having radiation, the doctors

advised waiting at least two months

for the scan as they can read a "false

positive" due to the areas that were

radiated. If there is one thing that I

do not like, it is most definitely,

"false positives"!! We continue to pray

and thank the Lord that Mike is doing

so well and pray that the medications

will not make him as sick and tired in

the coming weeks. We are super positive

and thankful for our many, many blessings!!

My Two Helpers.

Julio and Felipe are brothers! They have

been work, work, working on our house

and are the BESTEST workers EVER.

I love them and have grown super fond

of their work ethic and their commitment

to a looooooong project. We truly have

become friends! They laugh at my

jokes, teach me Spanish, and laugh

at my Spanglish. One of the highlights

of our house project is these two . . .

I am impressed and thankful that I have

had the chance to meet and work with

them!! I will miss them. The house

project, no so much!!

Gimme a "D".

Reading takes place during eating, showering,

praying, laundry, driving and sleeping. I am busily

preparing my dissertation proposal. The

literature review portion of the proposal must

be at least a million pages long. Needless to say,

there aren't many spare moments. I am learning

much about those amazing transformational

leaders in turnaround schools. Goodness,

I guess that it why that call it a dissertation,

there is a TON of information to discern for

certain and I will be busy gathering my own

as soon as my proposal and Scientific Merit

Review form is accepted along with the

Institutional Review Board application.

When house building is done and my

dissertation is complete . . . What is a

girl to do with herself??

Happy Sunday!

Chocolate chips are a HUGE part of

our family Sundays! You can always

tell when it is Sunday, the chocolate

chips, butter, flour, sugar, eggs and

all other yummy ingredients to make

chocolate chippers come out!! Sometimes

we just eat the dough right out of the

bowl and forget out baking the

cookies . . .

Happy.family.Sundays.

I.heart.them.

Latest Faves.

With spring just around the corner, who wouldn't

love a pair of these babies?!?

Getting excited for "all things new house", I am

loving one of the latest Moda fabric collections

"Circa 1934". I so love retro fabrics and have

been waiting to see these in person. I RAN

into the fabric store with the car running to

take a peak at these today . . . Wouldn't this

fabric make a dreamy quilt for the great room?!?

Pioneer Woman cookbooks are my all time

favorite cookbooks . . . My family loves

everything that comes out of her amazing

cookbooks. She has a new one out and I

am excited that I have a birthday that is

just around the corner . . .