Chicago

My girls & I went to Chicago a few days last week for a girls trip with my family.  My dad had a business trip in Chicago, so he invited all the ladies of the family to join him.  We all made the trip but Nicole, who is in the middle of school and working.  We missed you Nicole!

We loaded up in cars & took off for the long, uneventful drive to Chicago.  We spent a few days there & were back home before we knew it.  It was a fun trip & the cousins enjoyed being together, of course!  The best way to tell a story is by pictures.  As always, I have so many pictures, so I will make this a 2 part post on our trip (even though these are just the highlighted photos :))

Chicago theater

Isabella & Anna on the double decker bus

Double Decker bus tour

I took Brook & Eden to a space museum.  

Walking on the moon!

Watch out NASA!

The girls with star rocks

Isabella looking over the city from the skydeck

The girls on the skydeck, which is a glass ledge you can stand/sit on that looks over the city.  Very cool.

Sitting over chicgao

This is the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) which holds the skydeck on the 103rd floor

Trump Tower

Downtown Chicago

Interesting apartments with parking garage below...notice the cars are backed into their spaces.

And the great way to end our first day of sightseeing, deep dish Chicago pizza!

Yummy Recipe

Today I have a simple recipe to share.  You may have seen this, as I just pulled this out of one of my magazines.  But I tried it, & it was so yummy!

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

1 pkg. cream cheese, softened ( I used lite cream cheese)

1 can sweetened condensed milk ( I used fat free)

1/2 cup whipping cream ( I used fat free cool whip)

4 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 c. fresh strawberries ( I admit, I only had frozen strawberries at the time I made this)

3 graham crackers, coarsely chopped ( I used 2 1/2 sheets of crackers, but you could use  more or less)

Mix first 4 ingredients with mixer until well blended.  Freeze 4 hours or until almost solid.

Beat cream cheese mixture with mixer until creamy.  Blend berries in blender until smooth.  Add to cream cheese mixture with chopped graham crackers; mix well.  Freeze 8 hours or until firm.  Remove from freezer 15 minutes before serving.  Let stand at room temperature to soften slightly before scooping into dishes.

And it really tasted well & looked pretty in this cute little dish that belonged to my grandmother!

Gray Area

The last 2 weeks have brought out all forms of emotions in me because of my health.  Most recently, frustration, with a small dose of anger.  Apparently, I will not have any clear answers because the doctors just don't know the age of these blood clots.  I have been told they were a few weeks old & they were a few months old.  There seems to be different interpretations of my ultrasound & follow up treatment.  I will have a follow up ultrasound in August to make sure no new clots have formed.  I don't really know where to go from here, other than to wear my compression hose & keep living. 

In the midst of my range of emotions, there is still so much to be thankful for, which I haven't forgotten. When I was pregnant with Brook & took shots, Isabella would always help Avery. This time, she didn't want anything to do with it.  Brook, however, took the role of rubbing my stomach with alcohol before Avery gave me the shot.  Then she would sit by me, hold my hand, & rub my arm. So sweet!  As Avery says, don't forget about the caregivers! Brook came up to me yesterday & pointed out a website for compression hose. I'm guessing not all 7 year old kids are showing that to their moms!  

Several things that do make me feel better are food, especially chocolate,  & looking at our sunflowers!

My dad brought us a chocolate Eiffel Tower from his layover in Paris last week on his way home from Saudi Arabia.  Pretty & yum!

One more thing of interest, with the recent discovery of blood clots again, that is the very topic that led me to start this blog.  If you look under the topic of health, you will find my very first blog entry.  I never thought  I would be talking about it affecting me again. Once again, I say thank you Lord for sparing my life thus far.

"Momma needs a night away"

Monday afternoon, I told the girls "Momma needs a night away".  So, we packed up our bags, hitched up the camper, & all left for an overnight camping trip Tuesday.  We drove to Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky, which is a short drive from Memphis.  We had camped near there before & really liked the area. I was so, so ready to be there.  I could hardly wait. For Avery & I knew that when we arrived, we had a huge surprise in store for the girls. And I was pretty excited about it too.  This is how excited the girls were when they found out what the surprise was....

If you couldn't tell from all the squealing, it was the Greens!!  It was the greatest moment seeing the surprise in everyone's faces.  Avery & I had planned this with Jimmy last week, so we pulled off the surprise for Laura & all the kids.  There were some happy hugs going on!

Together again!!  

It sure had been a long month for these girls, but they picked up like they never missed a day seeing each other.  Now the family fun began & here are lots of pictures!

The guys vs. girls played a game of baseball

Lake swimming

The older girls

All the girls, including Libby who also surprised the Greens with their family for dinner

Sweet friends

Silly fun in the camper

James & the girls

Laura & I in front of their RV

Love this family!

Ready to roll in the RV

Dr. Green to the rescue

Sad to see them go :(

This was just what the doctor ordered....relaxation & good friends.  We enjoyed it so much & even got us thinking about going camping more.  But then look what happened on our way home....

The side of our camper flew off while driving down the interstate!  Oh well, there will be more on that story at a later date!

Some Fun Things

We have been on the go like crazy during the month of June, but it has all been fun (okay, outside a few doctor's appointments, it's been fun!) .  Today I will share a few more things from the last week of June.  It started with a fun dinner night at Jared & Kaitlyn's house. We always have fun with them & are so grateful for them.  We met Kaitlyn in 2007 & she has become one of our best friends, someone we love sharing our lives with.  In 2010, she married Jared, whom we also love, & our friendships have continued to grow.

Kaitlyn makes the best chicken spaghetti.  I actually requested her have us over & make it for us...and she did!  That is how comfortable of a friendship we have, although that really doesn't sound too nice on my part.    But, I did bring a few things to contribute!  She also made some delicious cake pops.  It was a fun night.

Kaitlyn & I on her wedding day

Yummy dessert!

That week also consisted of Brook going to drama camp & Isabella to horse camp.  Brook loved drama camp.  She was so excited.  They did a version of the play Sleeping Beauty on the last day & she played the role of squire.  She was the youngest one in the class & did great.  She looked beautiful on stage.  She also met 2 new friends during the week, which was fun to see, since she didn't know anyone on day 1.

Curtain call

Isabella had a good week at horse camp, although it was our hottest week in Memphis so far.  She is use to Western style riding, & this was an English riding camp.  It exposed her to some new things about riding & she was able to be in a nice, horse environment for the week.  She was a trooper & missed her riding show Friday so she could see Brook in her play. Therefore, sadly, I don't have any pictures of her riding.  I know she did great each day though because she has a natural talent for riding horses.

Next up on the blog, a great 4th of July celebration!  Hope you all had a good one too.

Going to the Chapel

Today I want to share in the long-awaited excitement of my Nicole & her engagement to Tyler.  Nicole is my first-born niece, so we have a special connection.  I was single & in college when she was born, & I was over the top with excitement of her birth.  I relished the joy of being an aunt before I became a mom. It was wonderful.  It has been a new experience for me to watch someone from birth grow up into adulthood.  Nicole has demonstrated this process beautifully.  There are so many things she has done & ways she lives her life that I want for my girls.  Now, to see her in love with a Godly man who cherishes her as Christ loves the church, just gives me so much thanks to the Lord, happiness for Nicole & Tyler, & encouragement as I watch my own girls grow.

Nicole is beautiful.  However you define it, she's got it.  She's got the cutest figure, the friendliest smile, the warmest heart, the compassion to help others, fun sense of humor, knows when to laugh, good logic, teachable, and she is an encourager by both words & prayers.

To Nicole & Tyler, it has been an encouragement to me to watch you wait on God's timing in your relationship for so many things.  I look forward to seeing you married & serving the Lord & each other even more.  But until that special wedding date, I know you will live in today & be faithful now in living for Him, seeing all the good He has before you today.  Tyler, welcome to the family.  We are so glad you are here & you've decided to stay! Thanks for loving Nicole & protecting her is so many ways.  We love you both!

Nicole & Tyler on our carriage ride in December

The engaged couple!

This Interruption Brought to you by DVT

Life Interrupted.  This is the name of the book I am reading this summer by Priscilla Shirer. I'm a slow reader, so I will spend all summer soaking it all in!  I realize now, I needed to still be reading it when my life was interrupted in a big way.  This book was showing me how my day, whether at home or about, was full of interruptions & what my response should be. In the midst of this, God has given me a slightly bigger interruption, & I'm trying to balance how to respond to it as well.

I have noticed a change in my legs in the past few months, so I made a few doctor's appointments, which is rare for me.  I may see a doctor once a year....maybe.  Last week, new blood clots were diagnosed in my leg.  I have been taking injections twice a day since last Tuesday, with hopes I won't have to continue them after today (depending on results from blood work today).  I am also taking a blood thinner now as well.  These are familiar to me, as I have taken both in my past with my history of blood clots.  It has been a little harder this time for me to adjust to this interruption.  I have spent the last year trying to get healthier.  Now, I am wearing a compression hose, unable to walk for exercise without pain.  A little discouraging, but I am praying this is temporary & I know God hasn't brought me here to leave me on my own.  I am so thankful He has me diagnosed at a time when I was still mobile though & not in severe pain.

It was a busy week, with so much going on, & I will have to blog more on that tomorrow.

One piece of super exciting news is congratulations to my niece, Nicole, on her engagement!  I'll write more about that in another blog too, but it was great to get that good news on Friday.

We were able to get away for Saturday & Sunday to the lake with friends from church. It was relaxing for me to sit & have a change of scenery.  

Me & my Brookie on the boat

Good reading

A little fishing from the dock

The girls went tubing & had so much fun.  It was Brook's first time.

Avery cooked biscuits for us while I put my feet up!

Having fun with friends at the lake

Rocking the compression hose in the heat of summer

Sweet kids

They made us a sign to welcome us

Beautiful view