Little Helper

Brady noticed some water drops on the floor. He pointed to the paper towels and said the word that is universal in toddler language, "uh, UH!"...I gave him a paper towel, and he cleaned up the mess. He even threw away the towel when he was done and wiped his hands on his shirt. GOOD BOY! Now his chores include putting away the silverware from the dishwasher and cleaning the water off the floor. I wonder if it is too soon to teach him how to clean the bathroom?

The View from my Kitchen Window

I wonder who is having more fun?

Green Thumbs...and Fingers...and Occasionally Toes, too

I literally have a green thumb today...in fact every finger on my right hand is green. I guess it was a waste of money to buy those cute gardening gloves if I'm not going to wear them! Our garden is growing...almost excessively! Lately I've been doing a lot of pruning. I enjoy working in the garden while Brady "helps"...such as today when he helped by sitting on the onions and pulling a couple of green tomatoes.

This is what our garden looked like mid-May - Jason built me two raised beds and filled them with soil and fertilizer from a friend's farm. Every single plant and seed is an experiment. We have NO idea what we are doing. Our pepper plants, two tomato plants, onions, zucchini, cucumber, eggplant, peas, beans, spinach, and lettuce (yes, it's all there!)

And here we have six tomato plants and several herbs, plus a strawberry plant in there somewhere...(photo still from mid-May)And here we are about two weeks ago. You can see the zucchini and peas are having a turf war, the tomatoes are turning to bushes, and nobody should ever attempt to eat that much lettuce.

I wish I had photos ready of the garden today - each tomato plant has easily grown another foot (the tomato plant in back has grown about six inches past the window!) and the zucchini has decided to take over everything. I pruned quite a bit today to clean it all up and should have done it sooner. So far we have only been able to sample the lettuce and the peas. I can't wait for everything else to be ready! The sore back, sunburn, green phalanges, etc has all been worth it - gardening is FUN! :)

Visit to Iowa

Brady and I spent 2 1/2 weeks in Iowa for the Iron Sharpens Iron Conference at Emmaus Bible College. This was our second year "just the two of us" and for the most part we did great. Brady played at Carson's house and with Amanda while I worked, and then my parents arrived during the conference to take over Brady care. Jason also came for the conference and taught an excellent class on Addictions. The nine hour road trip out was not to bad for us, because we broke up the trip by staying with the Murrays in Chicago. On the way back, my parents drove with us and stayed for a visit once we made it back to Ohio. I couldn't have done it all without them, and without excellent care and help for Brady. Now it is officially summer around here...I am working less hours and enjoying the extra time to relax with Brady! Here are a few pictures from our stay!

My little conference attendee...nametag and everything!

Most mornings Brady patiently watched a movie in the Pack n' Play while I got ready for work. He normally sleeps in until 8:00, but was up at 6 with me every day. He took monster naps (4 hours!) every day to make up for it. This kid loves his sleep!

We also took an extra 4 hour road trip to see my family over the weekend...it was a blast. Brady loved playing with his cousins! Here's beautiful little Gracie...spitting image of her Daddy and her sister, Addie.Shannon took us for a ride on the golf cart. Every time it stopped Brady tried to get off!Me and my DadMy mom and my brother JeffBrady learned to ride a tricycle...a pink and purple one!Brady and Uncle "Jeff Jeff" playing tag :)Grandpa is a great ladderBrady spent most of his time on the slideReese gave Brady a few rides on the swingsetHe also loved this little horsey, which he thinks says "hee haw" (thanks to Grandma!)Addie and I enjoyed manicure timeSweet sisters...and best friends!We played a few rounds of wiffleball to end a great day!After the conference, we were so happy to be back home even though our time in Iowa was so much fun. Brady liked being back in his own bed and especially liked having Grandma and Grandpa for a visit.

Team Brady

I am fortunate to be surrounded by terrific fathers...my husband...my Dad...my father-in-law...my two brothers. I am so thankful that my Brady has all of you to look up to and learn by your example. Happy Father's Day!

Brady's Grandpa

Brady's Papaw

Brady's Uncle Nathan and Uncle Jeff Jeffand finally Brady's Daddy...and the love of my life :)I couldn't ask for a better "team" to teach my son how to become a real man.

Our Trip to Great Wolf Lodge

We took our first "family vacation" - where the fun revolved around Brady and not mom and dad - to Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky, Ohio. It was just an overnight with a group from our church, but we had a great time! Brady loves the water and shows no fear...which in turn triggers mommy's fear!

Brady's favorite spot was the baby water slide

Whee!!

Pooped! Time for some juice and a warm towel

He also loved the arcade...and its nice that he has NO idea that the games and rides require money!

Girlfriends

Is there anything better?
Missing my girls...wish they lived closer!
(a few missing from this picture, too!)

PET Scan Results

Today we met with the doctor and heard the results of the PET scan that I had on Monday. PET scans look for metabolic activity in the body, usually cancer activity. The good news is that my tongue, head, and neck are clear – NO cancer activity in the original site of the tumor or lymph nodes!

However, they did find a nodule on my thyroid. In June I will have a needle biopsy done to determine whether the nodule is cancerous. If it is cancerous, it would be thyroid cancer (so a second cancer), completely unrelated to my original tongue cancer. This is still good news as thyroid cancer is much less dangerous than the tongue cancer. The treatment would involve surgery and radioactive iodine therapy, NO radiation and NO chemotherapy. He said the treatment would be a “walk in the park” compared to what I’ve already been through. The doctor says he hopes that the biopsy reveals that the nodule is nothing; if so they will just watch it closely. But he did remind us that I am at a higher risk for thyroid cancer since my thyroid was heavily radiated during my tongue cancer treatment.

Either way, we are encouraged because for now my tongue cancer appears to be gone, and this cancer is the aggressive type and more worrisome. We feel we have received a good report. Please continue to pray that the nodule on my thyroid is nothing and even that it disappears completely. You might remember that at one time, my lymph nodes appeared to have contained cancer, but when they removed them, the lymph nodes were clear. We believe that was healing from the Lord, and we know He can do it again! If we do have to face cancer again, we KNOW that the Lord will never leave us or forsake us. Such an amazing promise!!

Brady and I leave for Iowa tomorrow so I will be MIA for over two weeks. I'll miss you! I'll be better about the blog when I get back...I really promise!

Scenes from Dinnertime

Conversations with a Toddler

Me: Ducks say "quack quack"!
Brady: NO!
Me: Quack Quack!
Brady: NO!
Me: Quack Quack!
Brady: NOOOOOOOO!
Me: (sternly) Brady, don't say "no" to mommy!
Brady: (big smile) Quack Quack!

ARGH!