Flowing Well, Balloon Release, Dinner & A Movie, Sweetwater Baptist

 A week ago from this past Saturday we were hanging out at Moms.  I could tell she was getting tired, and I was getting a little bored, so I got the idea of "Hey let's ride the golf cart to the flowing well".  The flowing well is just a little creek by a bridge that everyone around here knows about.  It had been YEARS since we had been.  Heidi has been, but I don't remember the other two ever going.  We used to ride 4wheelers and horses to it. 

Anyway, it took  us about 15-20 minutes to get there via golfcart from Mama's house.  We had so much fun.  It was just something different to do.

Yep.... what started off as letting them get their feet wet turned into soaking wet from head to toe :)!

 Unfortunately a storm came up and we had to try to beat it back to Mama's house.  Thankfully we were across the street when it started raining :)!!

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MeMe kept the kids and Hank Wednesday while we went for Mama's treatment.  They had a blast and I loved receiving pictures throughout the day. 

Their hair was all washed out before I got to see it in person :)!

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 Our little town was (and still is) completely heart broken over the loss of one of our Middle School students,Sophie Donaldson.  She was one of Mama's office assistants this past school year.  A beloved girl by everyone that knew her. 

There was a community wide balloon release for her at the school.  It was an absolute beautiful sight.  Her favorite color was green, so the balloons were all different shades of green.

 I cannot imagine what her family is going through.  Just please pray for peace and comfort for them that only God can provide. 

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Friday night we went to the movies with Dad & Yana.  We watched Planes: Fire and Rescue.  It was really a cute movie.  Smokey the Bear was there when we first got to the theater.  The kids got all sorts of goodies and their picture made with Smokey.

When we were walking to the car after the movie we noticed a tag with "Heidi" on it.  How about that?

 It was such a fun time.  We watched the movie with family and then went to dinner with them.  All of the little cousins had lots of fun playing together.

Sophie, Luke Rylan, Frazier, Karter, Mallory, & Heidi

They all love Uncle Scott/ Papa :)!

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 Sunday night Tyler, the kids, & I went to our Grandmother's church, Sweetwater Baptist.  They had Vacation Bible School this past week and chose Mom as their VBS Mission Person.  We were completely blessed and honored that they asked us to go to their family night to represent Mama.  Unfortunately, she was unable to go because of her treatment this past week. 

Notice the photo bomb haha....

Us with sweet Grandmama

 When it was over they had a water balloon fight.  Sophie was right in the middle of it....

 .... and then Kman had to join.....

In this little post, it just shows how much our community pulls together through all types of trials.  I love my family and friends more than they'll ever know.  Just remember that each day is a day worth living for.

5 Things We Couldn't Live Without.....

 Have you ever thought about items you absolutely could not live without?  Say if you were stranded on an Island?  Items.... not people.  We would all have our families with us if we could.

I thought it would be fun for Kyle and I to come up with lists. 

 Here is his list:

 (1) His Bible.
          - Obviously God is very important for both of us.  Without Him we would have nothing. Reading His Word would be essential in staying sane on a stranded Island.

(2) His truck.
         - I'm not real sure how his truck got on the Island (HAHA), or how he will keep fuel in it on the island (HA), BUT a Southern Man loves his truck.

(3)  His knife.
        - Well of course.  He doesn't go many places without it.  Maybe the knife could help him build some roads for "his truck" (HA).

(4) A gun.
        - I mean if you are on an Island you never know when this will come in handy.

(5) His fishing pole.
        - My husband loves to fish.  I was not at all surprised he put his fishing pole on the list.

The more I thought about his list, the smarter I realize his list is than mine.  He has tools to survive.  He will be able to kill food, fish for food, clean it with his knife, sleep in his truck, etc.  I will be able to sit on the shore "in luxury" in hopes that all my other needs would be met.  Or better yet, maybe I am stranded with him.  That would work.

My List:

(1) My Bible.
          - Without God's word I would be completely useless.  It is absolutely something I cannot live without.

(2) Photos.
          - Pictures are so very important to me.  I love taking them, I love capturing each and every moment that I can, but not only that I also love looking back at them just as much as I like taking them.

(3) My camera.
           - Funny how my cell phone wasn't even on my list.  With it, I guess all my problems would have been solved and I could have called for help (oops).  I take a lot of pictures with my phone, but I prefer pictures I take with my camera.

(4) Makeup.
           - A girl loves her makeup :)!!  I'm not really sure who I was thinking I would need to impress on this Island, but I would be set to do so.  Which sometimes as a female, I think we like makeup for ourselves.  Sometimes it just makes us feel better.

(5) My toothbrush.
           - I brush my teeth..... A LOT.  If given the choice between brushing my teeth and taking a shower, I would probably brush my teeth.

It's funny to me the difference in his survival kit and mine.   It truly shows how different men and women think.

I am not good at relating to men or thinking of gifts for them.  I usually turn to Kyle to help pick out things for all our men folk.  But, there is this neat place that can now help with all of those... what do I get him??? questions..... it's called, Man Crates.  Y'all should really check it out.  It may help suffice all of those "survival mode" answers.  They have a wide variety of crates that seem to meet a lot of needs.

Mama's 5th & 6th Treatments

 Thought it was time to catch you all up on Mom's treatments.  

She had treatment #5 four weeks ago.  Her friend, Tracy, went with her and my Aunt Becky.

 She has been having the same side effects that she has had since the beginning.  The Neuropathy seems to worsen each time.  Her finger nails and toe nails have been threatening to come off for about two months now.  They are painful and loose from the nail beds, so she keeps them short to prevent bumping them as much.

 She was supposed to get her 6th treatment last week,but her platelet levels were too low.  They were only 66,000 and Dr. Huh likes for them to be over 100,000 for a treatment.  She ate lots of pineapples to increase her levels and thankfully this week they were 144,000. 

 In the beginning Dr. Huh told us she would have for sure 6 treatments, and after the 6th one he would do a scan to determine the next step.  We'll do the scan in 4 weeks to make sure her body is fully healed from the chemo in case she needs more surgery.  She may have to have surgery, or additional chemo......  Or NOTHING more if the Great Physician healed her. 

Since it could possibly be her last treatment, she got to ring the bell :)!!! All patients that finish their "last treatment" get to ring it.  It was pretty neat :)!!

 I can't help but watch everyone in the waiting room while Mom is getting her treatment.....

- Some are there for their first visit.  Their scared face tells all.
- Some are there for their last visit.  I can tell by the smiles on their faces.
- There are some children there with grandparents as their Mom is back with the doctors.
- There was a husband and wife beside me that was there for the first time and discussing how easy it was to find the women's center.
- There are usually several elderly couples there.  I love watching how they are still together and "battling" this together.
- See the elderly lady in the chair?  That's her son beside her with his head in his arms.  I could tell he was a nervous wreck.  He would do that, get on his phone, move seats, and then do it all back over. 

By watching these people, I can relate to them.  The scaredness, the emptiness, the un-known, the feeling of comfort and almost homey-ness because you know all the nurses and the center like the back of your hand.

This journey has been one that none of us will ever forget or take for granted.  It is hard to comprehend that she has already completed her 6th treatment.  When he first told us she would have 6-10 treatments, that seemed like an eternity.  She made it and is stronger than ever.  God is good! And I believe in His ultimate healing. 

Moms Bday, Kman Diving, & Other Random

My beautiful, brave Mama had a birthday July 2nd :)!! 

I made a "Coconut Dream Cake" a few years ago and she talks about that cake all the time.  Well, I haven't been able to find that exact recipe again, so I found one of Paula Dean's that sounded  equally as yummy.  I attempted to make it, but it stuck to the pans *BOO*, so I made a "Coconut Dream Dump Cake" haha!  I just  put it in a trifle bowl.  It was absolutely DELISH!

.... and then Uncle Sonny and Aunt Mandy surprised her with a yummy strawberry cake from Publix.

.... and Papa Johns :)!

These two make me smile.  They are connected at the hip!! I love it.

Chicken Fight with KyKy and Papa!

 LOVE those videos of Kman :)!! He learned how to dive and is a pro!

Friday night we went with Babee to Ed's to eat :)!! That's our favorite hamburger stop! 

 ..... Kman took these next ones of Soph....

Heidi dressed Karter up like Sophie and Sophie up like Karter haha! 

Last week Amanda, Lindsay, and Tillman came over for lunch :)!!  Isn't he a cutie?

I'll end with a video of Tyler :)!!  He drives me crazy the way he sleeps all the time.  So I gave him fair warning that I was going to pour water on him if he didn't get up (the warning was about 1:00 in the afternoon).  Finally at 2:00, I got a bath cloth full of water and got his hiney up :)....

Fun Fun Week at the Library!

 I was so thankful my friend, Tina, told me about the Summer Reading Program at the Public Library.  I had heard about it, but didn't really know much about it until she told me. 

They encourage the kids to read books from the beginning of June until the week of awards.  Heidi knew they gave away prizes, so she read her little heart out.  Some books are worth 2 points, some 4 points, 5 points, etc.  You just keep up with your points and book titles and the very last day they give out the prizes.

Although Karter and Sophie didn't participate in the reading program, they were still able to have fun with us going to the library to check out new books (I would let them pick out a couple books to check out too) and especially last week when we went every day.  They were able to do the crafts, listen to the story, and watch the movie :)! 

Our very first day of going was last Monday and my Dad went with us :)......

 We were all listening to Ms. Courtney read :)... 

They loved doing the craft each day.

 

Kman cuts left handed (perfectly), bats left handed, etc....  he can write his name left handed, but prefers his right... and he eats right handed. 

They looked forward to going each day.

He wanted to sit with his mommy while we waited :)!

My Mad Scientists :)!!

 The video is the day they made neat rocket ships :)!!  

Friday Mrs. Leslie showed them some very neat science projects...

At the end they put mentos in a diet coke :)! The kids loved the explosion.

 Heidi won her division :)!! She was BEYOND excited and I was just as excited for her.  She loves to read and some days would read 10-12 books a day.  Her hard work paid off and she won some very nice prizes.  She even won that gigantic horse :)!

When we got home they could hardly wait to go through all their bags of goodies :)!! 

A HUGE thanks to The Public Library for this wonderful program that encourages kids to read.