Dive In.

It just does not get any better than THIS.  

Tonight Steven was baptized in his backyard

swimming pool.  It was an AWESOME

night full of fun and fellowship.  God's

spirit was definitely there as this special

young man was baptized.  There was not

a dry eye as Steven so seriously recited

reasons that he wished to be baptized.

I am still walking on clouds just thinking

about it and am so grateful that our

family was there to witness such a 

wonderful event.

After Steven was baptized, everyone

gathered around Mike and petitioned

God on his behalf.  Almost to the day,

it has been one year since this nightmare

began.  Mike had some very important

testing done today.  We will get the

results on Tuesday.  For the past year,

each and every time that we have listened

to our test results, it has not been positive.

I have feelings quite the other way this

time and am eagerly expecting our results

on Tuesday.  It will be great to see what

God has done over the past four weeks.

It was so fun to watch the WIZARD OF

OZ on a HUGE screen in Susan and

Scott's backyard.  We had tons of fun

laughing and joking during the flick.  

Tonight's journey down the yellow brick

road was such a fun one . . . a memory

maker for sure.

Onward.comrades.

Deck the Halls.

With ONLY 116 days to go until CHRISTmas,

I am working hard on my favoritist holiday

in between all of the craziness around 

here including our very first day of school

this week!!!

I do not have a CHRISTmas quilt for our

home and am so in love, love, love with

this retro fabric.  It reminds me of a

decoration that you would have seen

in Gram and Grampa's home.  Luke frowned

upon me playing CHRISTmas caroles in

school . . . 

Love preparing for Jesus' birthday season!

No Duffer Here!

Within a few seconds of flying through the

front door, this was the only remnant of

my Sam's excellent round of golf today!!

73 . . . that's getting pretty close to 69

in my little book!!!  Pretty.exciting.stuff.

Sam is an ultra busy guy these days!

He is taking four heavy duty college

courses, is heavily involved in our

church youth group, and hits the links

every spare moment that he has.

Yep, I am pretty.darn.proud of my

Sam!!

Two days until the BIG TESTS!!!

Onward.comrades. 

Recess. Snacks. Studying.

What goes better with homeschooling

than yummy, yummy snacks for

recess?!?  One of the biggest perks

of homeschooling is the snacks.

I do so love my boys.  I love baking.

What a great combination.  

Day 2 was amazing!  Luke and I

are already in a rhythm . . . just like

worn out shoes.  We really work

well together.  All of the boys are

on such different schedules.  The

kitchen is always hopping.  The 

front door is always opening and

closing.  Boys are buzzing up and

down the stairs.  Yep, I.love.it.

Prayers please!!  Our Dad's BIG PET/CT

scan is on Friday.  Many decisions 

will be made based on the results of

these tests.  We are also having a host

of other tests also, but the PET/CT is

the biggie.  Of course, we are having

our test on the Friday before Labor Day

weekend, so we will have to wait until

Tuesday morning for the results.  Many

including myself have VERY positive

thoughts about the results . . . 

First Day of School 2012.

 Drum roll please . . . without further

ado, the 2012 school year officially

began in our home bright and early

this morning.  Luke and I both had first

day jitters and were thankful when we

cracked our first book, which is always

Bible and were off and running.

 It was just like riding a bicycle.  Once

we were started, we just couldn't stop.

We have a great curriculum this year

studying world history!  Our science

curriculum is amazing . . . always 

Christian based and God centered.

A plethora of awesome books to read,

which Luke will crank through in 

record speed, and always the ever

popular algebra curriculum!!!

We are grateful for this opportunity and

thankful that we had such a positive

beginning to our brand spankin' new

school year.

Happy, happy FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Back to School Night 2012.

Almost as big as CHRISTmas is

our annual Back to School Night!!

Tonight was no different . . . 

This year was fiesta themed at the

Gorditos!!  Yeehaw!!

How can a teacher begin a new

school year without a yummy

tostado salad . . . 

Back to School Night is the night

that we lay down the law renew our

commitment to homeschooling, look

over our brand spankin' new books,

smell our sharpened pencils . . .

in order to begin the first day with a

bang!!!  I love, love, love Back to

School Night!!!

Back to School Night ALWAYS ends

with snacks . . . 

A big shout out to Danny.  We were

privileged to attend his White Coat

ceremony in preparation for his

D.O. studies!!!  Woot! Woot!!

Here's to a MARVELOUS school 

year!!! 

Gettin' Ready.

Church tomorrow. Family dinner. Prayers.

Hittin' the sack early. Followed by the

first day of the new school year.

As long as I have been homeschooling

and teaching a bazillion kindergartners, 

I still get the first day of school

jitters.  They begin now.  I want to

make certain that I am totally 

prepared and ready to serve my

children well in the position as their

teacher.  I do not take it lightly!  I am

so very grateful for the opportunity

that I have had for so many, many

years.  I cannot believe that it will

only be Luke and I again this year.

Zach will be attending UNLV and

Sam will be attending CSN.

Pencils sharpened. We are ready!

Away we go!!

48 hours.

Yesiree, we are on our last 48 hours of

freedom vacation.  School begins

with a big shock for our crew on Monday.

We have been talking and praying about

the first day of school for the past couple

of weeks and I do believe that we are 

more excited than we let on.  We are a

group that thrives on routine and schedules.

Staying up until 4:00 or 4:30 morning

is getting pretty insane, as is the

breakfast that lingers until about 1:00 

or 2:00 each afternoon as the guys

stumble jump out of bed with excitement

to greet yet another exciting day of

summer vacation.  Luke and I are

especially excited to finish a Bible

curriculum that takes three years to 

complete . . . we are going to put the

finishing touches on it this year.  The

boys were giving me the lowdown tonight

as to how they will be spending their

last couple of savored days to wind

down summer.  We had talked about the

prospect of winding down, yep . . .

that lasted about six hours.  Enough 

for the boys to shower up and pack 

another backpack . . . 

Summer.we.love.it.

Dissertation News.

'nuf said . . . chapters 1-3 look great to

my mentor.  Yippee!!!  I have resubmitted

them to him and then it will be sending

it off for committee approval then off

to the university for their approval also.

. . . we are getting there!!!

Words of Encouragement.

Encouragement has taken on a WHOLE new

meaning for me over the past year.  I cannot

tell you how much it lift my spirits to 

receive a simple text or phone call during

the day.  It is AMAZING to realize all of

the people who are interceding on behalf 

of our family.

Today was no exception.  I received texts

an emails with the exciting news that

friends and family members were praying

for our Dad during this trial.  A sentence 

from a friend goes a LOOOOOONG way.

It is so incredibly wonderful to know that

we are not in this storm alone.

As if a text is not enough . . . it is incredible

to scamper out to the mailbox and have an

uplifting card in the mail from a besty.  We

are incredibly blessed to have such wonderful

people in our corner.  We know that each

of them has been chosen by God to be

with us as prayer warriors and supporters

during our trial.

The BIG day is August 31.  Mike has

a PET/CT scan on that day.  We will

receive the results after Labor Day weekend.

The results will determine whether or

not we will be eligible to continue with

the clinical trial.

Onward.comrades.

Snips, Snails, Puppy Dog Tails.

All wrapped up and somewhere to go!!!  Tim's
bestest buddy had a brand new baby boy straight
from Heaven this past weekend.  Ever anticipating
exciting new babies in our family, I was only
way too eager to whip an adorable quilt for
this blessed family's new addition.  Tim is
going to give it his final look in the morning
and then we are going to scamper over to the
post office to send this cozy quilt to this
brand new bundle and his family to enjoy for
many, many years.  I am so excited and cannot
believe that my boys' friends are having
children of their own.  Who is getting older here?

Here's to polka dots and brand new babies.

The.Perfect.Pancake.

 With a few simple ingredients . . .

Our Dad can whip up the.perfect.pancake!

 Being a wee bit competitive, I have tried

and tried to accomplish this feat.  I have

yet to do it!!  I have tried adding fresh

blueberries, strawberries, vanilla, cream,

or sugar . . . none of my little tricks seem

to please our crew like Dad's perfect

pancakes.  

 As we are winding down the LAST week

of summer . . . We are still squeezing in

staying up until the wee hours of the morning,

sleeping late, and hanging out in the 

jammies when the day affords it.  We are

all NERVOUSLY, yet EXCITEDLY

approaching next week!!!

Here you have it . . . the.perfect.pancake.

made by our perfect.Dad.

Happy, happy last week of summer!!

Mama Mia . . . Spaghetti is Served.

 Every great meal begins with TONS

of love . . . 

Geri came all the way from New Jersey for

some R&R and I conned her into making

her awesome gravy and macaroni . . .

sauce and pasta for us westerners.

The food and company were equally

amazing . . . 

Love my Sundays with my familia!!!

The kids ate thirds and fourths . . . 

A day would not be complete without

the kiddos hooking up on the games!!!

Yummy, yummy dessert . . .

. . . and of course . . . 

the dishes!!!

As our summer winds down with a 

whirlwind week this week, I am so

grateful for our fun Sunday dinners!!!!

We watched intently as Geri made the

gravy and we are planning on whipping up

a batch ourselves this week and freezing

it so that we can just whip it out in a

moments notice.

Sundays.family.summer.food.fun.

gotta.love.it.

Late Night Run.

Oh lazy, crazy summer days and nights . . .

My two sunburned tired beachbums and I

made a little late night run for treats . . . 

What are we going to do when we have

"that schedule" coming all.too.soon NEXT

week . . . Summer . . . where have you

gone??!?!?

Love, love, love my crew and our fun

family summer . . . Late night treats

with my favorite peeps . . . What more

could I ever, ever ask for?!?

22 Hour Huntington Beach Bash.

Actually . . . the Beach Bash began at

our house with a boys' dorm and a

plethora of activity leading up to their

4:40a.m. departure this morning . . . 

The beachcombers return . . . 1:00a.m.!!!

Our house was a bit lonely today without

the troops and I am sure that it will continue

through tomorrow as the guys sleep,

sleep, sleep to make up for 36 hours of

lost time in the haystack.

There was little convo on the way home,

but I know that they had a ton of fun,

lots of burgers and fries, and surf.

Like I keep repeating . . . we are ALL in 

for a very RUDE awakening when school

starts very shortly.

Lazy, Crazy Days of Summer.

Luke and Steven have been pretty much

inseparable the ENTIRE summer and are

both in for a very rude awakening when

school rolls around here in a couple of 

weeks.  They have had TONS of fun on

their computers for hours and hours and

hours on end.  Luke even had to purchase

a new computer to keep up with all that

they had going.  They have had wonderful

spend the nights, swim parties, and just

plain old hanging out.  We do so love

Steven and are thankful that Luke has a

friend like him.  Susan took this pic this

morning when the boys were crashed

in their den.  Fun, fun, fun!

Inked.

So . . . today Susan and I took a 

little journey to Executive Tattoo

Lounge . . . 

 We were so excited to get 

inked . . . 

 Susan got an awesome tattoo that

is totally like the one that Grandy

has one her calf also.

 Susan went first, what a

brave soul!!!

Proverbs 31:25 . . . perfect.

Next . . . 

I had BOTH feet done . . .

ouch! ouch!!!

Pretty intense for sure!!!

. . . almost done!!!

"If He brings you to it . . . 

He will bring you through it."

(I am totally banking on that!!!)

Tattoos.gotta.love.'em.

Summer 2012.

This time of year, I always begin to

get so excited for our new school year.

As I was preparing for next school 

year today, I began to think what a

fun . . . and different summer we have

had this year.  It all seems like a 

whirlwind in many respects and

cannot believe that we will settle

back into our fall routine within the

next couple of weeks.  It seems crazy 

that I will just have Luke with me

as the rest of the guys are all registered

for their college courses and will be

super busy with schedules of their

own.

Over the summer we have:

*accomplished a MAJOR move

*began to settled in at our

new church

*gotten reaccustomed to 100* plus

temperatures

*make new friends and cherish

old friendships

*began a clinical trial

*spent a wonderful week at

the beach

*said a tearful goodbye to

our Grampa

*missed, missing our Grampa

*lots of cozy days in our new

home being with our Dad

*tons of laughs as a family

*tears were included as we

began to face difficult facts

and harsh reality

*movies

*tons of chocolate chip cookies

*Sunday dinners

*Family Fridays

*camps

*golf

*swimming

It is hard to say goodbye to summer,

but I do love the fall and I love,

love, love my homeschooling and 

am so grateful that I have had the

opportunity to homeschool all of our

boys for a bazillion years.

Turning the Corner.

Don't judge the pan or the spatula . . . they

were both my Gram's and make THE

best cakes and brownies e.v.e.r.

So, getting the wisdom teeth out has

proven to kick our behinds a bit

more than we had remembered from

both Tim and Zach.  I guess we tend

to want to forget these things.  Now that

we have most definitely turned the

corner, the blur of the past five

days have gone down something

like this:

*tons of brownies

*watching tons of The Office

*tons and tons of ice

*tons of macaroni and cheese

*runs to Taco Bell for pintos

and cheese . . . lots of them!

*tiny bits of homemade calzones

*more Office

*changing and washing sheets

*detailing the truck

(from the fun we had on the

way home from the wisdom

teeth . . . )

*watching the Olympics

*more changing and washing 

sheets

*more Office

. . . You can see where all of this

is leading . . . We are thrilled 

beyond belief that we may actually

be getting a breath of fresh air

and blowing this popstand tomorrow.

Running to Walmart is looking like

an exciting possibility.