Freshly baked and relaxed

Wow! We just got back from Florida. What a wonderful vacation! We started out in Gainesville so Anthony could visit the University of Florida...Go Gators! Next came Orlando and Islands of Adventure. We had a lot of fun and loved staying at the Pacific Royal Resort. Our room key was a front of the line pass on the rides. This was great! We never waited more than 10 min. for any ride...Awesome!

Now comes the best part...Sanibel Island. Oh My Gosh! This place is absolutely beautiful! We stayed in an ocean front condo. It was like a little slice of heaven right here in the USA. We spent our mornings on the beach and in the pool. The afternoons we chilled out...in the air conditioning and in the evenings we drove around, got dinner and went down to the beach. One day Dom and I went parasailing...we saw a shark, below us! This was an incredible experience! It's the closest thing to flying that I'll probably ever do...except for airplanes. Another day, Todd and the boys went deep sea fishing. They came back with pictures, stories, and fish for dinner.
It's been a crazy couple of years and this vacation was much needed. I feel so revived and relaxed and yes...freshly baked to a golden brown from the sun;-)
If you need a get-away this is the place to do it.



PS - I got my results today (from my mammogram)...everything is good and there aren't any lumps! I'm glad I listened to God...he never lets me down.

When God talks do you listen?

Well, today I got squished. Yes, mammograms. Several months ago they found 3 small unsuspicious cysts along with a suspicious lump. The lump was removed and was just calcification.
Today was my 6 month follow up. The timing is bad because I leave for vacation tomorrow. I have faith that all will be fine but it does stay in the back of my mind. I pray about it. My sister just had a mammogram and she was worried and prayed for a sign. When hers was finished the tech told her she would get a letter in the mail. My sister took this as a sign from God that all would be ok. We all know that a letter means good results and a phone call means there's a problem. I was waiting for my tech to come and tell me it was ok to leave, when she did she said I should get a letter. I just smiled and remembered my sisters story. As I was smiling and heading out of the mammograpy department, my cell phone rang. It was my sister. She was wanting to know how everything went.
I laughed and told her my story and claimed it as good news. She was so excited and told me that she was praying that God would give me good news...like hers. Little did she know it would be the same exact news as hers. When we pray we ask God to talk to us but we don't always listen to the people around us. The next time you pray...listen to those around you...it just may be God talking to you through them.

Ding dong, the witch is gone!

Yipe, yahoo! This witch is gone. I had a feeling it wouldn't go through summer. Yes, the creature who lurked in the dark is out of his life! Yea! I know that sounds mean and callous but trust me...it's all GOOD. Not that anyone will ever be good enough...but she wasn't even close! I'm sure he's a little upset but he must not be too sad because he's at a party right now. Ahh...to be a teenager! I just wanted to share the good news.

Congrats!

Well, this has been an exciting week. Anthony graduated from 8th grade! He is officially a high school student. OMG! I don't know how this is possible since I just graduated a few years ago! ha
He is one of only 4 students who graduated with honors. We are extremely proud of him. He is an outstanding student and athlete. The cheers for him were very loud and long...I was impressed. As you look at this picture...I'm sure you are thinking..."wow, look at that hair!". He has been growing it since October. He has not let us even trim it! I was beginning to think that things might be growing in it.
He has not cut it because he had a master plan. He had his own idea of what his hair should look like after graduation...and here it is......

Now that's what I call a mohawk! The girls went crazy over it! Some of them loved his old curly hair but found this to be kind of sexy. LOL

My sister helped make the hair part straight and gave it a little trim but I shaved it. I give him props for having the guts to do it. It's only hair...and it will grow back. He only plans on having it for a few days and then he'll shave the rest before we hit the beach.

Kids are great! Through them I find more pieces of myself. Thanks.