Wordless Wednesday~I Heart Pink Dogwood Blossoms

Dear Tooth Fairy

Here is the letter that Karsen decided to write to accompany her tooth that she put under her pillow tonight.

Dear Tooth Fairy,

Hi Miss Tooth Fairy, It's me, Karsen, AGAIN! Guess what? Yep, I lost ANOTHER tooth. OMG! I hope you are happy and healthy. Oh yeh, $20 would be AWESOME (PLEASE!!).

Thanks again.

KG

Oh my, I read it and tried not to LOL. She was very serious about what she had to say to the tooth fairy. I told her it sounded more like a "bill" than a letter. Ha!

'A Snuggie Commercial' by Dylan

Dylan had a homework assignment this past week to write a commercial using at least 10 of his spelling words. He is very creative, and his brain works in mysterious ways. I loved the final product and wanted to share it here.

The Snuggie

By Dylan K

Are you tired of chimpanzees ripping your blanket off of your body?, and anchors falling from the sky? and breaking the blanket (and your legs?). Well you don’t have to worry about that anymore because you have…THE SNUGGIE, made of a thick luxurious fabric of some sort! Buy it now and you get free pictures of chameleons, pennies, and hippies, as an added bonus you get a free pair of boxer shorts! The snuggie is made of acid, squirrel hair, and worm guts! It’s so light weight you can hang it on a chandelier or your husband! This offer is not available at schools or stores... only restaurants!

Um, I especially like the part about acid, squirrel hair and worm guts. GROSS! That basically sums up the 10 year old boy brain. 

I would like to thank the Academy

I have a rare Friday where I do not have an exam that is worrying me death. Yay! It has been a nice treat, especially since this week was rather stressful and filled with lot of projects and deadlines.

I do have some fantastic news. Well, it is not really "news" per se, but I really feel fantastic about it~!

I got a 88 (a B+!!)

on my Cancer/Chemotherapy exam that I mentioned last week. OMG. I was so happy.

This exam has been long-rumored as the hardest and most challenging exam we will take this last academic year, so I was really nervous/worried. It also has the reputation of failing students 4 weeks from finishing the year, and they don't get to graduate on time. So, yes, I was very, very afraid.

As soon as I got my grade, I fell off the couch. Then I really felt like grabbing the closest microphone (that  could easily be found in Karsen's room) and lauching into a speech of some sort ( I may or may not have actually done this). LOL

"OMG Y'all, First of all, I would like to thank the Academy for this awesome award. I am not worthy!...I could not have done it without the support of my family and my loyal blog readers You know who you are!...This year has been hard, but this so makes it worth the journey. Chris, this is for you, I love you, bay. Thank you thank you thank you!"

LOL~Ok, you get the gist. I was really happy. Still am.

Wordless Wednesday~Longing for Summer

Hey Moxie Girl Makeover

Last night Karsen asked me if she could cut Amber's hair. "Who is Amber, Kar?", I asked?! She went on rather dramatically and said "My MOXIE GIRL! How could you forget her name?" Sigh. Of course, HOW could I have forgotten that vital piece of information!? Meet Amber: 

Amber BEFORE

Karsen went on to plead the case that Amber needed a makeover because her hair was just "dead with so many split ends". (LOL) I explained that IF she cut Amber's hair, it would never grow back. ("Duh, Mom, she's just a toy"...after telling her to please not say "duh" to me and I know Amber is just a doll and that is why I did not remember her name in the first place...but that's neither here nor there!) Finally, I give her the "OK, as long as you clean it up and realize it will be permanent (and don't run with scissors!)" reply that she was looking for. She dances out of the room. At this moment I pause and ponder how difficult the teenage years might possibly be with this sassy girl...Oh my!

30 minutes later Karsen returns and announces that Amber has had the ultimate makeover. The BIG REVEAL:

Amber AFTER

Obviously, Karsen was blown away by Amber's transformation. In her words, "she went from flat and frumpy to OH SO FABULOUS" 

Oh, and by the way, I feel like I should mention here that one of Karsen's favorite shows to watch is "What Not to Wear".  By tuning into this show, she feels that she has the expertise and experience to comment on what I should and should not wear. It can be quite hilarious, especially when I wear a new pair of jeans, and she says

"Mom, those pants are not working with your hips"

 Meet the FUTURE fashion designer fashionista/stylist:

FASHIONISTA

I told her she did a great job, and I did have to admit it does look super cute on Amber! Then she said, "I know!" and in the next breath she said "Mom, if you went on "What Not to Wear" they would totally cut your hair." 

Wishful Thinking

(Image Source: Unknown)

This is where I would like to be right now.

With a fishing pole of course.

I'll let Chris do the bait.

Cold pepsi in hand.

Sunglasses required.

Flip-flops too.

Cast and wait.

Catch and release.

Otherwise it hurts my feelings.

Kids skipping rocks on the shore.

A leisurely day with the

Option to stay for a while.

No worries.

A girl can dream.

:)

Meeting in the Middle

We had a wonderful weekend in the mountains of WV. They were a beautiful sight.

(And so was he...) Here's Chris at the New River Gorge bridge, the "Grand Canyon" east of the Mississippi. This bridge is the longest arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere. Seriously.

We met in the middle for a rare weekend alone. Beckley, WV. We needed to make each other a priority for about 36 hours. Adult conversations and everything...Imagine that! We were long overdue.

<3

The King and Princess

MAJOR news of the week:
Dylan and Karsen won King and Princess of their respective classes. They were so excited. Now, they will be presented at the Spring Fling on April 1st.....

I almost cried when Dylan told me his news because he was sooo excited. Last year he was really struggling socially, and there were times when he would tell me he did not have any friends. When I picked him up in the car rider line, his bottom had barely touched the seat before he told me he was voted by his class to be the Class King. The class queen that he will be presented with is a sweet girl that we carpool with, and we are very good friends with and go to church with their family. Sweet!

Karsen was just as excited. Her class election was a little more dramatic of course. A la Karsen! There was a tie initially between Karsen and her equally sweet best friend, Madeline. They had a vote-off....and Karsen won. I wish they could have shared the title, but I guess that is life, and I don't make the rules. Karsen will be presented with another little boy that goes to our church too. Aww~!

So, yep, royalty resides here. Pictures to come after the Spring Fling!

Cancer and Chemo drugs are on my agenda tonight...there are only about 400 of them, and I need to know them all by 9am in the morning. also... side effects, pre-meds, doses, and chemo regimens for specific cancers. YIKES! Do you have any idea how long some of these drug names are? I had to take a breather, because the letters are starting to run together and some of the words are literally falling out of my ears. My brian is mush! But it has to be done... G'night!

Wordless Wednesday~Daffodil Whispers

Just when I thought the winter would never end, these beautiful flowers started popping up everywhere I look. Yellow Daffodils whisper,

 "Spring is here!"

Our favorite place ever

Feeling melancholy this morning.

Remembering a trip from last summer.

June 12th to be exact, in Charleston, SC

Is it really March already?

I have only seen my husband sporadically since August,

and it has not gotten any easier.

Last year we had the most fun during

Our 10th anniversary trip

...and I am really ready to go back!

Church bells rang every 15 minutes as we sat outside on our private hotel balcony window to hear the bells, watch the people, and just take it all in...here's the view from our hotel room in the morning.

Just across the street we ate the loveliest breakfast outside on Poogan's Porch. The restaraunt is supposedly haunted, but that only added to the charm. Chris had shrimp and grits, I had the best eggs benedict with country ham, and we shared mimosas. It was slap-ya-momma good.

After breakfast we went walking down King St, stopped in the cutest whimsical boutique, and I bought a ridiculously expensive candle. "Tomato plant" scented~It was the perfect combination of random and awesome! Chris said it was "so Heather".

On our walk back to our hotel we turned down a random cobblestone path and found an old cemetary nestled into the sweetest park. You could not tell where one ended and the other began, you just got the feeling that it had been tucked back there forever. Artists were hidden in the foliage, painting the spanish moss in the afternoon light. I found an old bench, and Chris took pictures.

This picture is like a Charleston version of Where's Waldo Heather? The trees were so beautiful.  

Then we could not resist asking a stranger to take a picture of us To-Get-Her in front of this old, yellow church.  Strangers in Charleston are so nice!

Later in the afternoon I had a surprise for Chris. I took him to a park to see the oldest tree in SC. The Angel Oak is over 1500+ years old and is located on John's Island, SC. It is thought to be the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi River~It is amazing to think about how many hurricanes it has survived through.  I had never been there, but I knew this was the sort of thing Chris would just love. We were not dissapointed.

WOW. 

To put it to scale...another Where's Heather pic. Hint: That's me in the brown. ;)

I made Chris close his eyes as we drove down the bumpy dirt road that led us to the park.

He was amazed when we got there.  

He said it was the perfect surprise.

We were tired and sweaty, but we were also very happy.

Have I mentioned once or twice that Charleston, SC is our favorite place ever? ;) I want to go back soon.
Although, we are not hitting the road to Charleston, Chris IS coming home for a long weekend TODAY! <3

Almost Wordless Wednesday: We Are Family!

From left to right: Dylan, brother Wesley,
sister Crystal, Mom, nephew Kyland,
Karsen, sister Suzanne, Chris and Heather

Rare moment when we were all together.

February 2010

Stripes

His and Her Stripes

Pink and Blue

One of each on

Class picture day.

Karsen & Dylan,

8 and 10

2nd and 5th grade.

Both extremes.

Miss Sassy and Mr. Sensitive

Both complete me.

Equally adorable in their stripes.

Stripes make me very happy.

Wordless Wednesday-Another Snow Day!

We did it, Lo Hicimos, We did it!

 I did it! I passed this last module, and actually ended up doing pretty well in the class. Considering.....

I was so happy and relieved when I found out my grade. Even as the stress and pressure were mounting, I tried to NOT think about all the possibilities of what would happen IF I did not pass this module.  Now, I don't even have to think about it.

I did it! I passed with a big fat B! Woo-Hoo. I have never been so happy to make a B in my life!

On the way to school on the morning of the final, I could tell that Dylan was worried about something. I asked him what he was thinking about.... he said he was worried about my test.

Poor thing. He has always been very sensitive to other people's feelings. He has his Daddy's tender heart, and I love that about him. But, hearing the worry in his voice made me feel awful right away.....I felt guilty that my stress was so apparent that he was actually worried about this exam too.  I wanted to turn this into a teachable moment of sorts, so I told him that when we are worried about something or if we are going through something in our lives that we have no control over, sometimes all we can do is pray about it. He told me he thought it would make him feel better, so we prayed together right there in the car-pool line at school. As he was praying, "Please let my Momma do well on her exam" I had 3 things go through my head.

1. I was proud of him for saying "well" instead of "good". Yes, proper grammar is that important to me! Yes, I am a nerd, but we already knew this, folks.

2. I thought how lucky I am to be able to hear my son pray for me. I hope I was teaching him that praying will get him through many tough times in his life.

3. I felt guilty for worrying his 10 year old heart. Am I going to permanently damage my children in this whole process of finishing school? I felt like the Worst.Mom.Ever.

Can we say EMOTIONAL?

So, I dropped them the kids off at school and just prayed all the way to school. I listened to my requisite pre-exam song that gets my mind-set where it needs to be (wanna guess what song that is??, you'll never guess, not in a million years!), and then I felt at peace that I knew I worked hard to study, I knew the material...and I knew I could do it.

The first thing Dylan asked me that afternoon when I picked him up from school was "Hey Mom, did you ACE your test?" I told him, "No, baby, I don't think I ACED it, but I may have B-ECED it" He looked at me and said, "Is that even a word?" LOL, and then he hugged me, and said "I knew we could do it, Mom".

He was happy and relieved, and I almost cried for the 111th time this month (but whose counting?) He was just SO happy!  And, so am I! I officially B-eced it. I could not have done it without the extra prayers he said just for me.

Karsen was a little more laid-back and blase' about everything. So classic and typical of Karsen. 

Her response to my passing was "Duh, you're smart, I knew you were gonna pass! Can we make some chocolate chip cookies tonight?" Sassy, much?

Of course we can make cookies! To celebrate!

Because Lo Hicimos, We did it!