Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Life Lately

Hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend! They truly are the best! We've had some really happy times over here, and I wanted to share them all with you!
 
First things first, we received the world's BEST news last week! We found out in early June that my Dad had relapsed for the second time and was living with mantle cell lymphoma. It was a devastating blow, and the time since there has been a lot of anxiety in the waiting. Dad started chemo again, and thankfully he has done very well on it with minimal side effects. But the what-ifs remained until it was time for his first scan. That first scan was last week, and we got the news Friday that his scan was negative...meaning NO signs of cancer!!!!!! Many tears of joy followed, and we are SO thankful and grateful and ecstatic...and we finally feel like we can breathe again. He'll meet with his doctor in a few weeks to decide the next course of action, which will likely involve continued chemo, especially since he does so well on this regimen. Life can be so hard and can bring you to your knees at times...so for now we are relishing in the good. Thank you to my precious friends and family who have prayed for us. Thank you for reaching out and checking on us. Thank you for reminding us that even during hard times there still remains a lot of good.
 
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It's kind of hard to top that (!!!), but I'll give y'all a run-down of other things that have been going on in our life.
 
Hadley and I have been busy bees lately, as we've been spending a lot of time at the Magnolia Speech School to get her fully evaluated and to determine the next steps needed to get her up to speed with her articulation. Local folks, that place is a gift...I couldn't recommend it enough. I've met with several of the directors, and I firmly believe they are angels on this earth. I feel the same way about our speech therapist. Right now we're meeting with her two afternoons a week, and she has been a huge blessing. I can already see an improvement in Hadley's speech, and that brings me (and her!) so much joy!
 
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Friday night we did our typical Friday night thing and had Mexican at a local restaurant here. We always go to this restaurant for two reasons: 1) They have gum and peppermint patties at the register, and after dinner Lily loves getting both. 2) There is a water fountain out front, and the girls think throwing coins in it is the best thing ever.
 

 
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Saturday we woke up early and headed to Starkville. Rob wanted to watch his beloved Bulldogs play, and my grandparents live there. So it was a win-win! Rob dropped the girls and me off at Nana and Grandad's house, and he met up with a friend at the game. We had such a fun time with my grandparents, as always. I feel so fortunate to have the both of them in my life.
 

 
And y'all see my Nana in the picture above? Fingers crossed I got her genes...isn't she beautiful?
 
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Sunday we sadly skipped church because our house looked like it had robbed. I am a neat freak, but I've learned (especially lately) that in life something's got to give. And last week it was the house. I may have had my children taken care of and dinner on the table every night, but our house was a hot mess. So we cleaned on Sunday and finally got things back on track! We even pulled out the Halloween decorations (early, I know, but I'm a big believer in #carpediembaby). I'm going to try to finish those up today, and I'll do a Fall House Tour soon. I think it's been said before, but I LOVE this time of year. And cheesy decorations bring both me and my girls a lot of joy. So we went for it.
 

I picked up the centerpiece below at our local HomeGoods and thought it would be a fun addition for the fall...what do y'all think?
 
 
I figured we needed some sweets to keep us going, and it was the perfect excuse to make my favorite sugar cookies, complete with fall icing and sprinkles! **For the icing recipe, check it out here. It takes slice and bake cookies to a whole new level!**

 
I was in TJ Maxx last week and had a second to browse their Halloween costumes. There were a few I loved for Hadley, but I ended up choosing the one below. I mean, how stinking cute is it?!? She has had no opinion this year on her Halloween costume, so I'm savoring probably the last time I get to choose for her! Lily wants to be Skye from Paw Patrol, so I'm on the lookout for that for her.
 
 
And, yes, I am a walking cliché...except I don't like the beloved Pumpkin Spice Lattes. But everything else fall I'm a typical white girl.
 
 
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We had dinner with my parents on Sunday night, a Labor Day/celebration of Dad's news get-together. That was a lot of fun, as always. Rob's parents had come into town as well, and we visited with them after dinner. I worked yesterday, so Rob and his parents had a full day with the girls. I'll find out more today, but I believe a trip to Build-a-Bear was a big part of their day. I tell ya, I wish I had come up with that genius idea.
 
Work was busy but good. I had some sweet patients, and one of them told me he was going to miss me today. Made my day. I feel so lucky to get to do what I do.
 
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Today I'm playing catch-up around here, and Hadley and I have another speech appointment this afternoon. Today the thing that's going to give is sadly going to be dinner...not sure I'll have a chance for a grocery run...but there's some bread and a jar of peanut butter in the pantry so we're good!
 
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I hope everyone else has a fabulous start to their week. What do y'all have going on? What's the thing that typically gives in your house? Laundry, dinner, showering (ha!)? I'd love to know! I'll leave y'all with this...please tell me I'm not the only one to whom this happens? :)
 


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