Facebook Tag

This is something I was tagged for a million times on Facebook (Still don't have a Facebook? Get with it and get one!!! After that look me up, Crystal Starr Kunze).

I tag Emily.

In no particular order of importance, except the first one. =)

1.) I am truly, madly, deeply, head over heals in love with Jesus Christ, this is my identity.
2.) I love to have deep meaningful conversations and feel a need to connect with people on a deep level. I am often too insecure and prideful to start the the deep conversations though. =/
3.) I love to make stuff and I mean LOVE! I have so much fun making things that I think are pretty and I love to make things for my friends to make them feel loved.
4.) I am completely nuts-o insane for my husband. He's my very best friend and my most favorite person in the whole world. He's sexy, he drives me nuts, he makes me laugh, he makes me feel safe, he makes me feel beautiful, he's brilliant, he can fix just about anything, he's musical and has the best taste in music, he loves our kids, he loves me, he works hard to connect with me, he is always growing and thinking, he's a brilliant writer, he really good at communicating his thoughts, he has an amazing work ethic and works hard, most of all he loves Christ.
5.) I'm nuts about my friends too. I have really great friends and they all matter so much to me. I would love to move somewhere south and get a cutesy southern accent and be warm. BUT, I could never ever leave my friends (or my family!!). I want to look back and have lots of memories of people I loved and not memories of just being warm and talking cutesy.
6.) I want to have more kids. I would really like to adopt but they make it so hard. I want a big family and want to be surrounded by my kids and their kids when I'm old. Yep, I want to have more kids, whether it be through adoption or IVF, I want more.
7.) Stephanie Stanger is my best friend. She completely accepts me for who I am, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the REALLY ugly. She is more than a friend to me, she is my sister. She has always been in my life and I pray she always is. She is my person.
8.) I'm a big sinner and struggle to do the right thing but I do try, and try again, and again, and again.
9.) Jami Vander Kooi is my other best friend. She is my rock and is always Jesus to me. She also loves me unconditionally and is always here for me even when she is so far away. She is always kind and gentle with me and makes me feel treasured. Life with out her would be incomplete.
10.) I'm a vacillater who is married to an avoider. BUT we're both aware of it and are constantly working on communicating and enriching our marriage. <3
11.) I am constantly trying to learn about myself and how I can grow and be more of the person God intends me to be. The things I struggle with the most are anger, jealously, and pride.
12.) I desire to be close to every one of my friends. I don't like lukewarm relationships. I want the real deal and real connection, I don't mind if it gets messy.
13.) I don't like perfection. I don't like things to be tidy and neat. I like things to look lived in and loved. I like lots of elements and details and I love color (it shows in my wardrobe, my scrapbooking style, and in my home). Life isn't perfect, it's full of messiness and hard things and I think my house reflects my life. When it's messy it just may mean that inside I'm messy and feeling like I'm falling apart. It may mean that I'm busy and enjoying my life with my family and friends. It could also just mean I'm being lazy. When it's tidy it may mean that for that moment I have things together and life is moving along nicely. It may also mean that I'm hiding something and I'm miserable. It could also just mean that I had a lot of energy that day. =) Life is messy and I don't want to miss out on it.
14.) I don't care if I'm 30 (almost 31) and dress young. I want to wear what I love and not care what other people think (but really we all care what other people think, most of us do anyway). I love pretty things and love to express how I feel by wearing pretty things.
15.) I have a sentimental heart and can easily become attached to things that help me hang on to special memories. Even when I get a gift that isn't something I would normally like, I usually fall in love quickly because I LOVE that someone thought enough of me to give it to me.
16.) I wear my heart on my sleeve. It's no secret when I'm hurting, or sad, or happy, or angry. I have a hard time concealing my feelings. But boy do I try, or I think I do?
17.) I admire my sister-in-law, Katie. I admire her discipline, her fire to be real and authentic, her constant desire to keep her eyes on Jesus, and that she admits when her heart is weary and weak. I desire to continue to grow in our relationship and to be deeply connected to her. I learn so much from her just by watching the way she lives her life.
18.) I love my family (my parents, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents) they are loud, crazy, and chaotic BUT they are REAL. My family loves each other and they are always there for one another. Everybody knows everything about everyone, there are no secrets (or if there are they always get out, that's what happens with sisters!!).
19.) I want to renew my vows with Scott. I can barely remember my wedding (nearly 12 years ago) and I feel that I am in a much different place now than I was then. I just really would love to re-commit myself to Scott and celebrate the marriage and family we have built together.
20.) I struggle with clinical depression and even though I do, I am VERY happy. I believe that I have the best life in the world. I don't dream about wanting to go to college, or getting some fancy job, or some other life. I am living my dream. It's a dream I never knew I wanted (can you believe I swore I would never have kids?!! Ask Kim!). Sure I complain and struggle and have had more hard times than I can count. BUT that's life, and I love it, for better, for worse.
21.) I'm cheesy and sappy and love all things girly and 80s. Cyndi Lauper is my fashion hero!
22.) I'm very shy and insecure and often times that makes me miss out on a lot of life and out of the deeper relationships that I desire so much. This too, is something I'm working on.
23.) I've developed a weird obsession for Owls (in a decorating sense).
24.) I've never been out of the country, I'd love to go to Rome one day, just because that is where my Scottie wants to go. <3
25.) I believe my spiritual gifts are compassion and exhortation.

26.) Bottom line, I'm not perfect, I make loads of mistakes and screw up everyday, I don't always say what I should and I definitely say things I shouldn't. I am open minded and I'm not set in my ways and I pray I never will be. The older I get I realize I really know absolutely nothing, EXCEPT for the TRUTH, who is Jesus. I want to be forever teachable and welcoming to any truths about me, even the hard ones.

I would like to share with you what makes me complete. I don't claim to have found the Truth, but I know it has found me. . . The only thing that isn't meaningless to me is Jesus Christ and the way he set me free. This is all that I have. This is all that I am. ~Sara Groves

Guitar Hero Addicts.

I just bought Scott Guitar Hero for his upcoming 31st birthday, February 3rd. It turned out to be a BIG hit!! I watched Scott play it for a couple of days and could only wonder, “Why does he like this game so much?”, “Why does anyone like this game so much?” It looked really easy to me and seemed kind of baby-ish.

So the other night I gave it a go…only to find out I was wrong! It is pretty hard AND it was pretty darn FUN!! I immediately felt sucked in and needed to play. I was getting it! I was getting why people like this game.

I also found out though that I am REALLY bad at it. I got booed off the stage about 6 times in a row. I felt the pull though; I felt the game calling back to keep playing. I saw why this game is so addicting.

Scott and Emily are pretty awesome at this already, I feel proud of them and it makes me leap with joy to see them having so much fun. Scott gets really into it physically, he is jumping and dancing and rocking it out just like a rock star. Emily gets really into in vocally, it cracks me up that her favorite song is, “Livin’ on a Prayer”, by Bon Jovi!! You should see this tiny girl singing this song with such passion and so much action in her face!! It’s really fun.

Everyone should own a Wii, simply because it really brings the family together. It’s so fun play with other people and everyone has a blast. Even last night my sister Gretchen and her husband Christian were here until almost midnight rocking it out. LOVE IT!

Cute Little Stinker.

I made this adorable skunk today for my friend Melissa's little stinker. We are going scrapbooking tonight and Melissa asked me if I could make her one, so I did. I LOVE it!

Melissa's little stinker, aka, Charlotte Renee.

Pretty Little Things...

I was going to come on here and talk about how long it's been since I've last blogged and all of that kind of stuff. It's just too much work to write so I'm just going post about something I'm really excited about and having so much fun with.

I'm dreaming of starting an Etsy shop soon and have been making some pretty little things to try and sell on there. I want to turn these little felt things into hair clips, pins, scarpbooking elements, patches...you know, stuff like that. I'm also going to get into making super cute towels, burp cloths, cardigans, aprons, bags, shirts, napkins....I have TONS and TONS of ideas. I'm actually bursting with them. I have a notebook with sketches and ideas that is already over 20 pages long! I'm just so excited.

He are some pictures of some of the stuff I've got started...

This is what started it all. I had some felt in the house so I decided I wanted to make Valentine's Day decorations for the house and for gifts for family and friends. I made these two and had SO MUCH fun doing it I thought I could make other stuff too. So I did and now I'm in love, I LOVE making this kind of stuff.

Super cute little apple and pear.

A porcupine.

Owls are my favorite!

I made this little bird to sew onto Madison's jacket pocket. I'm going to make a matching one too for the other pocket.

I made this for my best friend's son, Malachy.

Madison helped me pick out the colors for this one!

Little Miss Chatterbox, for Emily.

Super, SUPER cute towel I made last night. This is by far my favorite! I can't wait to make more things!!!

I hand stitched this whole thing. =)

A Thousand Questions

This is a MUST watch video. My church made this and I'm so proud of it and our church. I hope it offers you encouragement today. I pray it impacts you the way it did me. Here. Am. I. Send. ME.

Pretty In Pink!

Yesterday we had Madison's 4th birthday party. Several months ago Maddie told us she wanted a PINK party. So a pink party we gave her! It was SO FUN!

My super friend Sara gave me one of her 35 mm SLR cameras and I got to use it yesterday. I am AMAZED at how amazing the pictures turned out. I can't wait to use it more and play around with it. Thanks amazing Sara!

Here are some pictures from the party...not all the pictures are from my SLR. Also I have a ton more on my Facebook, which by the way, if you don't have a Facebook GET ONE ALREADY (and friend me)!!! I think everyone should have one. =)

Happy Birthday my Maddie Jane!

Today was Madison's 4th birthday. I seriously can not believe how fast she is growing up. It feels like she was just born yesterday and yet like she's never not been in our lives. I love this girl so much it's crazy. There isn't anyone else like her on the whole planet. =)

Today we went to lunch at the mall with Steph, Malachy, Owen, Sara, and baby Lee. Madison got to play at the play center and go to the Disney Store. After that we came home and opened presents with Scott...she loved all her presents and was SOOO thankful! I think she thanked us about a bajillion times! After we opened presents we surprised Madison and took her to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua. She has seen the preview for this movie a ton of times now since her sister got the new Little Mermaid movie. She loves the preview and sings along to it every time. So it was perfect timing when the movie came out today! Also we have a chihuahua and my parents and sister also have one each. Madison was convinced the dogs in the movie are our dogs, haha! After the movie we took Madison to Fuddruckers for dinner. It was a super fun night. =) Next weekend we'll have her birthday party.

Here are some pictures from today...

Make A Wish!

I *heart* Make A Wish. They made all of Emily's dreams come true! Also they made dreams for me, Scott, Frank, and Madison come true too! We went on the most exciting and most magical vacation of our lives. Going to Disney was one of the best things to ever happen to our little family. I could never tell you how truly special that trip was to us.

That's not why I'm writing...apparently with Make A Wish your wish is not ever quite over! We are a Wish Family now and we can go to Make A Wish events when ever they have them for up to a year. This last Friday we were invited by Make A Wish to go a fund raiser. So we went to an ice skating show and got to sit up in the VIP boxes and have a beautiful free meal and dessert. They gave each of the kids a toy and had candy for everyone. On top of that I got to enjoy some lovely wine and meet other Wish families. It was truly a fun night.

BUT...poor Emily got sick that night with a fever and we had to leave during intermission. It still was a great night though for all of us. We're so thankful to be apart of something so special.

Here are some pictures from our night...

I look a little saucy in this one but I'm not trying to, I think it's because I had to look up at the camera. BUT I really like Scottie in this one.

I couldn't decide which one I like Scott more in, he's so freaking CUTE!

Emily at our pretty table.

Where we sat with the other Wish families.


I love this picture of my hottie...er...I mean husband and Madison.

This picture cracks me up, I LOVE IT!! Look at Emily's face too! HAHAHA!

Looking back at the pictures I can see that Emily was getting sick.

Emily's first time scrapping!

Emily has been wanting to go scrapping with me and my friends for a really long time now. You have to be 12 years old to go to Archivers (where we scrap). So for Emily's 12th birthday we took her scrapping! It was so much fun and she made TWELVE pages! I only made three...NEVER EVER spend 3 hours cutting out shapes to put together a dragon...EVER.

Here are some pictures from our fun girls night out!

Emily Mae TWELVE YEARS OLD!!

Emily with my sister Corey and my Mom waiting in line for food.

Emily with all 12 pages she created that night. She scrapped her pictures for camp this summer.

These are the two very "simple" pages that I worked on MOST of the night. What took so long was that I cute out several tiny pieces of that dragon on the left. It was like a nightmarish puzzle I had to put together. I made these pages to be like a comic book, I even called Frankie to have him tell me what he would say if he were fighting a dragon. So these are his actual words. I'm proud of these pages. If you know me you know that this is much more simple than the pages I usually do but I LOVE them. =) You need to read from left to right, btw.

This is the last page I did that night but lost my energy so this too is a pretty simple page for me. It turned out OK though. =)

Me and my girl...Stephanie was there too but I forgot to get her picture!!! =(

She & Him

I just thought I would share with you my new favorite music. My husband got me into, She & Him. In fact most of the music I love is because of my husband sharing his love of music with me. Even though at first I don't like most of the music he introduces to me until something in me just changes and I'm in love. That happened with these cute little people in a band called, She & Him.

They have such a beautiful old fashion style to them. I LOVE LOVE LOVE their music. It makes me so freaking happy.

You may recognize the girl, Zooey Deschanel? She's an actress and has been in several movies and on television. She is probably mostly known for, Elf, and more recently, The Happening (not so good) and Tin Man. I also happen to think she just may be the most beautiful actress out there (with Amy Adams as a close second) and artist.

I love Zooey's voice so much. It's very beautiful and so not like most of the girl voices you hear. To me it feels like there are a lot of women singers that are just imitating other women singers. Like I hear a lot of Cranberry type voices, and Lisa Loeb wanna-bes! I don't listen to a lot of main stream music but in the Indi world this has been my experience. Zooey is a breath of fresh air.

The man she sings with is M. Ward. My husband really likes his music as well. I like his music too but there are so many great male artist out there. I just get really excited when I find a girl artist I really love. I like to sing along to music and it's easier for me to do that with a girl voice. =)

You should check them both out, especially She & Him. If you click on their sites you can hear their music. It's totally worth your time!

I really appreciate my husband's passion for music and how he's always looking and searching for new music to bring into our lives. I have him to thank for filling my life with so much beautiful music. Without it life wouldn't be nearly as lovely. Thanks Robbie, I love your person!

The Biggest Loser

I am about to watch the season premier of, The Biggest Loser, with my son, Frankie, on www.hulu.com! I am so excited! This is my MOST favorite tv show of all time! Emily would be here watching it with us but she went to basket-ball with Scott tonight.

I cry almost every episode because I can totally relate to the struggles the people on this show have. Also the real relationships they form with the trainer and the dedication the trainers have for them is amazing. I also love to see the people on the show work threw they emotion issues and get to the root of how they got this way. It's so freaking good!

The Biggest Loser motivated me to get off my lazy butt earlier this spring and I spent most of my summer being pretty active and eating much better. The last 2 weeks though, since I've been back from Disney, I have NOT exercised at all.

I'd love to say that I've just been too busy, or too tired, or too sore, or too whatever. BUT the truth is I've just been too LAZY. I am going to wake up early tomorrow morning and get out and walk. No more excuses!

I have 33-36 lbs that I would like to lose in the next 6 months because we may start trying to have another baby then!! With healthy eating and continued exercised I believe I can reach that goal. If not I will at least know that I'm doing all that I can to be healthy.

Anyway, back to The Biggest Loser...are there any other BL fans out there? I'd love to hear from you. Whose your favorite trainer? I love Bob and Gillian but I have to say Bob is for sure my favorite. I love the way he talks to his team and the true and genuine care that he has for each person. Gillian does too though and she's got a lot of spunk. But I just like Bob the best. They're both just so good at their jobs and full of lots of compassion.

I'm also really excited about this seasons Families. It's husbands and wives vs parents and children. It should be an exciting season! Oh and I can't believe I almost left out all that yelling! I LOVE IT!

LONG over due Emily update!

I'm so sorry I haven't made this post sooner. I don't know why it's so hard for me...I think because I want to write really well and express my deep gratitude to everyone who has been so beyond kind to us. I just don't think there is anything that would be great enough in my mind to express our sincere and humble appreciation. Also I'm not good at all at explaining the medical stuff so I've been waiting for my sweet husband to write that part. He finally did tonight...but first I will attempt to try and just tell you a little of how grateful we are for all of you.

Since our very first post about Emily's diagnosis, the way hundreds of people embraced and surrounded our family and our daughter was beautifully overwhelming. People from all over the world, from Alaska, the UK, Canada, California, to right next door, covered us in prayer and more. I know that Scott and I and my entire family were in awe over the love that was poured into this little old blog. From this beautiful invention called internet the world was able to reach into our home and our hearts and forever change the journey we first began 2 years and 8 months ago.

Our inbox was filled with e-mails about how not only were you praying for Emily and our family but your friends, families, and churches were also praying for us. Emily received cards, letters, gifts, made friends and pen pals....it was amazing. Our church family and neighbors literally fed our family for 3 months during the most draining part of our journey. We will forever be grateful and never forget the love so generously extended to our daughter and family.

YOU carried us threw and gave us strength and YOU were Jesus to us. From the deepest bottom of my heart, thank you.

OK now that I'm probably done gushing my cheesy heart out to you...here is the medical stuff Scott wrote to further explain Emily's results.

Emily's most recent scan showed no visible sign of iodine uptake, which means that all the iodine that is suppose to be sucked into her thyroid cells (cancer) just went through her body. This, combined with her VERY low level thyroglobulin test strongly suggests that there is no cancer left in her body. Or at the very least very trace amounts.

This is, of course, all very good news. Our radiologist told us that Emily is to get her thyroglobulin level tested routinely, and if it never goes up, he'll never have to see her again. If it starts to slowly rise we will take her back to him for another scan and if it shows some iodine uptake we will give her another dose of iodine radiation treatment. Hopefully this will never happen. The worst case scenario is that the thyroglobulin goes up, we go for the scan, and the iodine doesn't absorb. If this occurs it most likely means that cancer is growing but it no longer can be treated with iodine. In this circumstance if the cancer is in a central location we would be able to operate, or if it is widespread we would have to look at alternate treatments like exterior radiation or chemo.

But, fortunately, these are worst case scenarios that are not likely to ever happen. In fact, our radiologist stated that he expect Emily to live a long and healthy life and live long enough to see her grandchildren grow up. We should all be so lucky I suppose.

Emily is celebrating her 12th birthday tomorrow! Tonight we had her "Birthday Eve" (that's what Emily wanted to call it!) and she opened her presents. This is her with her Webkins. The white one and pink one are her new ones.

Ahem....Scott...

Could you please stop monkeying around and make that post about Emily????

We're leaving for Disney World!

We are leaving for Disney tomorrow, courtesy of Make A Wish! We are so excited and sooooo thankful! Tomorrow will also be the first time the kids and I have ever flown before! The kids are all really excited about flying, me, not so much. Well, I am little excited, but I'm also nervous. BUT I'm not as nervous as I thought I would be, which is a big deal. I'm still floating on air about Emily and nothing in the world seems bad to me right now.

Speaking of Emily...Scott plans to write a more informative post when we get back about Emily's scan results. We have been so busy this last week with the scan and getting ready for Disney. So when we get back in a week we will be sure to give you more details about Emily.

While you wait we really want you all to know how truly, TRULY thankful we are for all of your prayers, support, kind e-mails, warm letters, thoughtful gifts, yummy meals, new friendships, and all of your goodness. We are beyond amazed with the love so many people have given us over these last 2 years and 7 months. Thank you for being Jesus to us.

"See" you all in a week!

REJOICE EVERMORE!

YAAAAAA HOOOOOOO!!!!

They could NOT find any cancer in Emily!!!!! We are PRAISING GOD and off to celebrate!!!!!!! Also Emily wanted me to notify you that her Dad is getting her a donut, she is VERY excited about that.