Spring Break

***Edited*** The movie title was "Race to Witch Mountain", not Escape as written below. Thanks Emily for helping me keep things straight! LOL ;-)

Since I was recovering from surgery, we really didn't do much for break. The girls had a great attitude about it though, and were a big help around the house.

Near the end of the week, I decided to take the girls to Branson for a quick day trip. They have been asking to visit the Butterfly Palace, so that was our destination. We didn't think ahead to dressing in bright, butterfly friendly colors though...so sadly, no butterflies landed on us. We did get to visit with this bright little birdie though.



And...why not humor mom and stop for a quick photo on the way home too? :-)



We had planned on visiting the Tulsa zoo on Friday, but the weather didn't cooperate. Instead, we went to the movies...ate lots of popcorn and saw "Escape to Witch Mountain". Later in the evening, the girls made yummy sugar cookies. I love that the girls are big enough to do it all by themselves now...all I have to do is grab the camera (& taste the cookies!). :-)







On Saturday, Mother Nature treated us to a little bit of snow.

Photo catch-up

Pics from Claire's school ballet recital. We are blessed to have a school that allows one of the teachers (a former professional ballerina) to teach a FREE dance class to the students who want to participate. The teacher only has 30 minutes with the kids each week, but she manages to put together a really cute program in only a few months. This year's program was Carnival of the Animals - Claire was a lion. So cute!

One of our new family favs...twice baked potatoes. Allyson and Claire just LOVE them!

New Design

The kiddos are back in school today and my brain is still a bit sluggish after spring break....so I'm playing with the blog design a little. :-) I want to give credit for the digi elements....just not sure where I got them (but I *think* the designer is Traci Reed). If it's too bright and hurts the eyes, please let me know! ;-)

Benign!

Got a call from the doctor's office -- the growth was benign!! Music to my ears. :-) Praising God!!
Thanks everyone (especially Elaine - I think it was a posting on your blog that nudged me to get my mammogram). :-) Would love it if you stop by to see us during China camp this year!

Will post more about our week later. The girls broke the computer desk and it's difficult to type.

Weekly Update

First of all, thanks to everyone who emailed me or left a comment on the blog. My surgery was successful and the doctor was able to remove the entire mass. The doctor thought the mass looked good (benign), but sent it off for testing of course. I have to wear this super tight tube top thing until Thursday when I go back to see the doctor, and I can't lift anything over 10 pounds...other than that, I'm pretty much back to normal (except for the itchy rash all over my neck). I get to have a shower on Sunday, and I'm really looking forward to that (remembering to appreciate all the small things!).

As usual, I had planned on posting more during the week, but things got too busy. We had Emily's CAP meeting for Jr. High, and then parent/teacher conferences for Claire and Allyson. Emily was happy with her class choices for next year and will continue in band. All three girls also made the honor roll again...hurray!

Randy's mom was hospitalized this week with fluid on her heart. They performed surgery to install a drain tube in her chest and have sent the fluid off for testing. We're praying that this is a condition that can be easily treated. Wow...We spent a lot of time in hospitals this week!

Claire's school had a small ballet performace this week as well. I'll try to get the pictures downloaded to the blog this weekend.

Think that's it for our busy week!

Kangaroo Art

Some more art from Claire...a cute yellow kangaroo!

Mammo - Slammo

Had my mammogram last week. No big deal. I honestly don't know why women say it hurts -- or maybe I just have a high pain tolerance? It's more embarrassing than painful to me.

The bad news is that I got a call this week asking that I come back in for another lookie, so I went in yesterday. The tech used a smaller paddle this time and apologized before doing the smash-o....again not a big deal (although the tech did say I was "one tough cookie"). :-)

The nurse asked me to hang around after because they wanted an ultrasound for a better look. Hmmmmm, maybe it *is* a big deal after all? Turns out there is "something" there and they want me to see a surgeon...and they scheduled me to see him today. Wouldn't you know it...I need to have surgery to remove a lump - yikes - and they want to do it ASAP. Soooo, they ask me to go to the hospital for pre-op today. They wanted to do the surgery tomorrow, but the schedule was full, so I'm on for next Friday (the only day they do this surgery). I was a bit surprised by all of this because I was thinking it would be a simple needle biopsy...bummer!

So bloggie friends, I'd appreciate your praying that this is benign and "no big deal". Thanks!! :-)

Mother Nature

I guess Mother Nature isn't quite ready to give up winter here in our neck of the woods. We have some light sleet and snow here today...fun! I was secretly hoping for a couple inches of snow, but we're just getting light flurries. Oh well, spring weather WILL be here soon!

Weekly Art: Swan

This week's school folders held this cute little piece of second grade art:

Let's Go To The Hop

On Sunday, our church held a fellowship dinner with a 50's theme. Claire had a poodle skirt from a school performance last year, but I had to quickly whip up a skirt for both Emily and Allyson. We had some fun music and entertainment...and the girls were asked to hula hoop for the crowd.

MIA

Gosh, I didn't realize how long it's been since I've posted. We just seem to have so many other things going on around here, so my blogging (journal) gets behind. I have one school art project I've been working on (hoping to get it completed this week!), not to mention the thousands of photos I've been reorganizing....now if I can just get all my other projects done!!

We had snow the last day of February and Allyson really enjoyed playing in it. Since her sisters were off at another activity, dh and I had a date day with Miss A prior to the snow storm. We went shopping, to the movies, and to the candy store before coming home to play in the snow.

Both A & E participated in the Awana Grand Prix at church. Even though their cars weren't the fastest, both girls received ribbons...and E won a trophy for her car design.