I’m told to update

I have been sent an email instructed to update because “someone” hm-hm, is getting bored with nothing to read. My suggestion to her was to WORK while sitting at her computer at her job, but hey…that’s just me. So, I will pull myself away from my day to fill you in on what’s been going on in and around…..

Marty found an answer to those late-night noises coming from the back yard. I think it’s a whole colony, but apparently, bird houses are a nice home for anyone.

Kind of cute, huh? LOUD.
We have enjoyed a few sno-cone Sundays around the house. The kids really do enjoy sno-cones. It’s a $14.99 machine that we bought at WalMart. Lots of fun though.

Mom and Dad enjoyed a week with the Lyons kids, so the Saturday before fathers day, they came in from Galveston for the afternoon and we all met at the YMCA and swam. I need to take a picture of that swim complex to post. It is so much fun! After that, we all headed back to the Jackson4 for hotdogs and ka-bobs.

We spent a day out at the Bogan’s for a baby shower for Sherri. That was nice. Just a few family and local friends gathering to celebrate Baby Girl #2’s arrival in early August…maybe late July??? Aunt Judy and Grandma really helped and I feel did most of the work. Grandma made her “famous in four counties” chicken salad and Judy made a pasta salad that was great, and it was her first time ever to make one…and get this…she made it up! She just put some items into a bowl that might be good together! Shirl even contributed a fantastic fruit salad. And check out these cupcakes Judy made!
Addie even got to practice being a Big Sister by holding Baby Noble. He is the Sherri’s coworkers/friends little boy. And that is their daughter pictured.

No one wanted Addie to feel left out while Sherri and Baby Girl were receiving all kinds of gifts, so the aforementioned friends brought a Mermaid wedding outfit for her!

I have to say she was pretty excited about that! And not to mention super duper cute.
Then, Uncle Brad took Paul out for his first ever 4-wheeler excursion, around the yard. He liked it!

But what’s kept us so busy the last few weeks is swim lessons. Evelyn goes every day for 30 minutes Mon-Thurs. She really really likes it alot. She has a permanent smile on her face during lessons. And she is doing really well. She practices at the YMCA and, while she may have looked like she was drowning, she was swimming and bobbed her head up with a huge smile; so proud of herself. Look close…she’s in the group in the far back!

I don’t have a photo to show, but I will. She also got a new bike this weekend. It’s a big girl bike with training wheels and she loves that too. She actually peddles and steers, which we could never get her to do with a tricycle. And yes, Debbie, before you post the comment….she has a helmet and wears it.

We also spent this past Saturday evening with friends. It was Owen’s 2nd birthday so we went and had burgers, cake and outdoor play time with Jake and Owen. Just look at our kids!

OK, updated. Now, lady friend, get back to work!

And here’s wishing everyone a safe and Happy and fuel-efficient Fourth of July! Wear your sunscreen!

Hey don’t forget www.BTHOMelanoma.com Spread the news!

Late, but that’s OK.

So, I am really late on this post! BUt Father’s Day was a good weekend. Evelyn and Paul had a surprise photo shoot with Layla one day in order to surprise Daddy for Father’s Day. It was tough forLayla to get her perfect shot. Layla is aperfectionist when it comes to photos and so my kids create a challange. Let me show you first and then explain:

You see, ideally in Layla’s mind, these letters spelling out D-A-D would be held at a proper angle and a proper height in order to create a visually appealing portrait of the word dad with the children. Not my kids! This was actuallyone of two photos that were usable with Paul. Evelyn? Piece of cake! But I am more than happy with the outcome, as I have told Layla more times over! She always does such a great job of capturing the little guys in all their glory!

So, we started off Fathers Day with a split. Marty took Evelyn and Hallie (who spent the night with us) to the store in order for Hal to buy a card for her dad. Paul andI went the other direction to the Urgent Care Clinic to check out Paul’s ears. He had an ear infection and we needed medicines. AN hour later we were all back together. WE took Marty to lunch and had a really nice day. He also got a beach towel for all his wet days at the YMCA pool and he got a bag of candy that he really likes.

Just today.

The website is started for the BTHOMelanoma fundraiser in September. Please visit www.BTHOMelanoma.com

*Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play.
*Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.
*Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles.
*Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck and I will buy you one if he comes by.
*Just for this afternoon, I won’t worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.
*Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won’t stand over you trying to fix them.
*Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald’s and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys.
*Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you.
*Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.
*Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars.
*Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite TV shows.
*Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given.
*I will think about the mothers And fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers and fathers who are visiting their children’s graves instead of their bedrooms, and mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can’t handle it anymore.
*And when I kiss you good night I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer. It is then, that I will thank God for you, and ask Him for nothing, except one more day………….

The last few weeks

I realized that I have taken some photos and haven’t shared our latest happenings.

First I must start with my boy. That Paul….watch for him in football in a few years. He will be 18 months this Friday. He a few inches shorter than Evelyn. Saturday I went to buy him some new shoes (which cost more than I have ever spent on a pair for myself!) because he needed some that were wide and had an absorbent bottom, etc. I bought my almost-18-month-old a size 8 shoe. My four year old child wears a 9 or 10!!!! I couldn’t believe it.

OK, next, I will take you back to Evelyn’s excitement Memorial Weekend. We were down at the bay house in Galveston. She took her barbie fishing pole because she wanted Daddy to fish with her. SO after a full day of the beach, swimming in the pool, playing, no nap, etc. Evelyn, Papa and Marty went out to fish. Mind you, Marty and my dad have all these rods, reels, lures, etc. Here comes Evelyn with her Barbie pole.

That was her first; the second fish was much larger. A nice speckled trout. Ask Marty and Papa what they caught? Oh wait, nothing!

Next, I take you back to two weeks ago. The kids and I headed to Washington for Addie’s baptism. It was nice. Sherri set up the pool and I think the kids had a great time! Hallie came with us.

The weather was hot, but beautiful. The cows would walk by and the kids would all MOO real loud. It was fun. After swimming, Sherri pulled out the Flavor-Ice. I caught this photo of cute little dainty Addie politely sitting enjoying her Flavor Ice.

I can’t wait to meet her little sister!
After that, there was some sidewalk chalk action.

Later on, Addie walked around talking about ice cream, so all the kids were pumped to go get some ice cream. We all loaded up in the old Expedition and took off around the corner to a local venue for ice cream, thanks Uncle Brad for the ice cream! These are three photos I took that I rather enjoyed.

Paul

Hallie Ruth

Evelyn

As the day wore on, Sherri and I, with these four children, wondered if day would ever turn to night. We couldn’t justify to them taking a bath when the sun was still up. And as Sherri and I watched, the sun seemed to stay in place; it wasn’t going down. Finally, close to 8, I convinced the first two to take a bath. Hallie and Evelyn went and played. See, Sherri and I presented the whole thing as “as soon as we take a bath, we can make some popcorn and watch Shrek.” So next was Paul, and finally Addie. But they didn’t seem to slow down with the bath. When Brad entered the room, it was all over!

Pink boxing gloves and all……then he had all three giggly girls all over him, and Paul walked up and took a cheap shot with a punch to the head while the girls had him occupied.

Finally, everyone started to poop out. First Hallie, then Evelyn, Addie, and finally Paul. With the kids asleep, Sherri and I could finally sneak off to the kitchen to make our microwave smores! Mmmm. We had two!

The next morning, we went to church for baptism.

Congratulations Addie on your Baptism. And thanks Sherri and Brad for putting up with all of us for the weekend! This weekend is Fathers Day! We can’t wait!

Not to be a downer, but….

I was cleaning out my ‘inbox’ at work today. I had over 1700 emails in there and I am pretty sure they are not all “Top of Mind” types of emails. There was plenty to get rid of, and plenty to keep. But I came across one and I want to share a small part of it with you. It’s an email which Julie sent out just before her and Brendan took off for their first oncology appointment. She typed:

“But, we are scared for what we are facing and sometimes faced with doubt. I know that it will also sometimes seem too much for us to bear, and even too much for those following our journey. Sometimes it WILL be too much for us to handle, but it won’t be too much for God. I believe this and I pray on it. He, along with our network of family and friends, will carry us through. Pray for our kids, who won’t understand what is going on but will know something is wrong and pray for our parents, who as parents would never want this for their child. Mostly, pray for our faith and strength. We love you.”

I didn’t notice it at the time, and it probably took me until the end to really grasp it, but she had found God in her path from Day One. She didn’t doubt Him even then because she knew that He would carry her. And yet, she was looking out for others then too. It makes me think that she realizes that some might have trouble dealing with it and that makes me feel a little bit better. One of my biggest regrets (that’s not really the right word, I don’t regret per se, it troubles me I guess is better) was that I had trouble with “The Cancer” and never knew what to say or what to do.

Of course, finding this hit me like a ton of bricks because I didn’t realize I had it. But it was nice to read her words and know that she knew He was with her. That’s why I chose to share it with you.

By the way, a friend of mine met me at Star Cinema on Tuesday for Sex and the City. HOLY COW! That movie was fantastic. I laughed, I teared up; it was an emotional roller coaster and it was great. I want to watch it again and again! Definitely, don’t take a man and, as Sherri said, don’t take your mother!

A good way to start the day.

I started my day off quite well today.

First, I was up and actually got to see my darling husband and steal a hug and kiss before he left for work at 5 am.

Then, Child #2 woke up smiley and cuddly and you can’t beat that.

Then, Child #1 woke up smiley and cooperative and you can’t beat THAT!

Then, I had a delightful nonfat Latte’ from Starbucks and that really woke me up.

On my way to work, I sang along the whole way to Neil Diamonds greatest hits and THAT is an awesome way to get going in the morning!

Let’s hope the rest of the day is just as kind.

Answer one of these two questions: What makes your day great? OR What is your favorite part of the day?

Top 5 Gotta-Have’s

I have a few items that I have rather enjoyed lately that I would like to share with you.

1. Have you noticed that on every news channel and talk show lately they have been pumping up sunscreen and discussing the difference in UVA and UVA and SPF? It’s all so confusing! I stick with my UVA/UVB protection SPF 50! However, as you can imagine, that leaves me white after being in the sun. I wouldn’t mind a little color, so I use Avon’s new Tanning Mist by Skin So Soft.

It provides a nice light mist with overall coverage. Plus no orange lines. Nice.

2. Next is a food product. I have found it to be a great snack for my kids and you can eat it toasted or not. Keep the box in the fridge and pull one out as needed. Bagel-fuls are new and found in your grocer’s freezer section. But not everyone has them yet. I have found them at HEB and Walmart, but not Kroger. They have cinnamon bagel with cream cheese in the center, white bagel with strawberry and whole wheat bagel with cream cheese. Delightful treat.

3. The next is one of my birthday gifts from Shirl. So yes, it is Avon! You have probably seen the tv and print ads featuring Reese Witherspoon advertising the one-hand lipstick. At first when I saw this I thought “what a gimmick.” Not true. Very cool. I know which pocket of my purse it’s in and I can reach in with one hand, grab it, flick the switch on the side to slide up the lipstick, apply and never take the other hand off the wheel or even have to look away! how’s that for driving safety?!?! Just a reminder that if you are interested in ordering any of the Avon products mentioned, Shirl (my mother) can hook you up. Leave me a message and I will hook you up with her contact info.

4. Bath Junkie has a new product out called Clean Freak. If you haven’t been to a Bath Junkie yet it’s pretty cool. They have a bunch of various products and you choose all your scents. And you can mix and match. There’s a lady at the Baybrook location who is really good at recommending some awesome scents. I purchased a gift package at a silent auction recently and I wanted to get it scented like the fragrance Romance. However she suggested Strawberry hinted with Romance and it turned out to be lovely together. I bought the Clean Freak antibacterial household cleaner and it’s fantastic. now, it costs $9 for a bottle, but when I used it, it scented my whole downstairs so fabulously. And again ,that woman helped me pick a scent and I went with China Lily and Rain scents combined. I use it on countertops and stove tops. And I am told you can use it on granite too.

SORRY it’s a bad photo, but you get the idea.

5. The last is a restaurant pick, Marty and I had the privilege of going out without children about a week ago (thanks Nae and Papa). And we went to try out Berry Hill. It was VERY good. Their website doesn’t seem to be too well updated because it reads that the Clear Lake store would open April 7 and it opened April 7 of LAST YEAR! But the food was really good. We ordered queso with chorizo in it. The cheese was a white cheese and you know how most cheeses will get goopy after a short time? This one didn’t. It was so creamy and awesome. I ordered a burrito and in it was chicken, cheese and red cabbage. It had some kind of great sauce on top. It was really really good. In fact, I took the extra home and mom and dad shared it later. They agreed that it was, in fact, pretty good! Marty had enchiladas. He said they were good, but he isn’t a big cantina/mexican eater anyhow.

So, I hope that these small recommendations will shed some new light on skincare, dining or snacks! I know that I have enjoyed each of these products, or I wouldn’t have recommended them!

Have a great weekend. We are off to Navasota for Addie’s baptism. (I am the Godmother!!! It’s my first time as a God parent!)

Relay Recap

It was a great evening and a great event. First, thanks to all who donated. You made Julie’s Army of Ants a very successful team; we brought it nearly $12,000 dollars, just our team alone!

Next, thanks to all these wonderful people pictured below who shared the evening with us:

And the best part is that it isn’t even the whole group; just who was there at that given moment. Many more came out throughout the evening. It was very moving.

I made a mad dash to pick up Evelyn and make it to the Relay for opening ceremonies. Pleased to say that we made it only 5 minutes late. White Oak Park was hopping with activity. The Survivors Lap was about to take off. See these folks by the balloons? They survived Cancer!

So as they re walking their lap, the crowd is cheering them on; very cool experience.
Then it was time to take off as a Team. Terry, whose daughter is friends with Jackson, made our Team Baton. I think it turned out great. It has a lot of symbolism in it. I am proud to say that our baton remained on the track all night.

Get a good look because you will see that Baton at Relays for years to come. Different hands may hold it each year; it will meet some new hands, reach out to some old hands, but it will be our consistent Relay icon!

For all those Army of Ants that could not be there in body, you were there in spirit as we pulled out the Army of Ants poster which we made for Julie. Remember? It pictured all of her supporters who emailed in photos? You all made the lap with us….thanks for sending your smiling faces.

And what was really cool was to see eleven little girls out there dressed in orange shirts that simply stated “Julie’s Daisies.” They are the girls from Hallie’s troop; the ones that Julie was the leader of while she was able.

And they made these heart-wrenchingly adorable butterflies which they walked with. Here is Evelyn holding Ariana’s butterfly.

Julie’s smiling face was on each of these and the girls colored them. VERY COOL.

Mom brought Julie’s old Home Made Gourmet presentation napkins and spread them out. Each person on our team drew an ant and signed their name. Mom is going to make a quilt (or three I think! SO each Hallie, Jack and Kendall has one.)

This is Raquel (Julie knew her from St. Jeromes) talking with Shirl by the quilt.

Here’s my Evelyn at the Relay.

I am so proud of her that she is learning what it’s all about and can share this with her cousins, her uncle B, me…everyone. And she amazes me that at age 4 she can tell others what it’s all about! See her shirt? Everyone had one thanks to T’s Awards and More! They were donated and represent Julie’s Army of Ants. When one of her teachers asked her about her shirt Friday, she said that it was for Aunt Julie, who died of cancer. And then she told her teacher that she was going to walk to help others with cancer. I mean, come on?!?!?!

Brad Bogan had playground detail for a little bit; which we all appreciated. Here he is with Kendall and Jack. Addie was on there too, but she moved so much from item to item that I couldn’t keep up!

Ms. Evelyn loved the music and the activity. They switched out bands every two hours until 1 am. Then it was straight DJ. As the teens from St. Jeromes danced every line dance that has ever been written and choreographed, Evelyn sat at the sidelines and watched…..it was 2:30! She and Nae spent most of the late evening together. I lay in my tent for 2hours with my eyes closed hoping that I would dose off, but to no avail. I would peek out the tent and watch my girl every 20 minutes. She had so much fun. She played for about an hour with the cones and what not. They were always in a different formation.

It was 3:45 before she finally laid down and closed her eyes. WOW! DO you think staying awake that long had anything to do with drinking 3 yoo-hoos (provided by Papa) earlier in the evening???

My friend Layla has some more photos that she took and when I get them, I will add them to here, so please check back to see them. I am real excited to see them.

All in all, it was a good evening. I was dreading it simply for the fact that it would be too much “Julie” all night long, if that makes any sense? And I didn’t think my heart could hold it. But you know what It was a happy time. I remembered her, I thought about her, I pictured her smiling at us, I wished she were there walking with us, but I remembered her and that’s most important to me. It’s my therapy to walk.

Later in the week, I will post pictures of Evelyn’s last soccer game. Saturday we slept for two hours before heading off to soccer game, party and trophies. More to come.

Our team ROCKS!

For those of you who might remember camping a few years back, (and a quote from Craig) “We OWN this Relay!”

I am so proud to announce that we have far exceeded our goal and have reached over $10,000 towards the 2008 Relay for Life. I can’t tell those of you who donated THANK YOU enough. To me, this event means more than raising dollars and walking. It’s celebrating my sister.

Relay for Life

3 days to go. The Team Julie’s Army of Ants has been successful in collecting 89% of it’s $8500 goal. And we aren’t giving up! And with your support, we can reach that goal. Thanks to all who have already donated. If you have not, it’s definitely not too late. You can click here to make your donation to our team.
**Scratch that!!!! 2 days and we are at 98%!!!!**

The event begins at 6 pm Friday evening and closing ceremonies will start at 5:30 am the following morning! Evelyn and I have our walking shoes ready and we are geared to go. Cancer never sleeps, and neither will we (well maybe a little…evelyn has soccer and a party the next day!)

A couple of Thanks You’s need to go out. First to T’s Awards and More, owned by Frank and Angie Binetti (high school friend of Julie’s). They were kind enough to donate some team shirts to us to wear the night of the event. Another Thanks to Layla for arranging that!

Thanks goes out to Antonio’s restaurant at Holcomb and Buffalo Speedway for Donating sandwiches, chips and fruit for the event. Antonio’s is run by long-time family friend Antonio, and owned by Uncle Ron and aunt Judy.

Thanks to Deer Park Construction for donating the cooler of water to keep us quenched all night long! DPC is family owned and operated by Julie’s (and my) dad!

Thanks to Ricky at Life Teen from St. Jeromes for helping to recruit from the church!

Thanks to Terry for taking the time to create our “team baton” that will Relay with us for years to come.

I hope I am not forgetting anyone at this time. We will post after the weekend. Brendans brother *Derek* and DEREK’s girlfriend are flying in for the event, The Lyons in San Antonio will drive in, Sherri (the third sister) and her family will drive in for the event. Fundraising has been going on in Missouri, DC, Houston, San Antonio, California and more for our team event!

So do it! Click on the link and join the team or make your donation today.