Grandma Gert

Grandma, me with Georgia (about 1 year) & Dad

If you think about it, please say a little prayer for my grandmother today- Gertrude, or "Grandma Gert" you can call her! She had a masectomy today, removing her right breast. Her doctors found a cancerous lump there about 2 weeks ago, and since she had a lumpectomy about a year ago, they decided they needed to do the masectomy this time and make sure to get it all. I'm not sure if she will also have to do radiation after surgery.

My grandmother is an inspiration. She still is completely independent, lives by her self in Navarre, FL (Pensacola area) 2/3 of the year and in Michigan for an extended summer-time. She dances, quilts, gardens, sings in the choir, and makes one of the best apple pies ever. Did I mention we will be celebrating her 90th Birthday at Thanksgiving!?!? :)

Pray that her body would be strong and the Lord would heal her quickly. That all of the cancer has been removed. That she will continue to feel healthy and strong, and be able to maintain her independence as long as she wants to. That we can have a special celebration with her at Thanksgiving! Thank you- from all of us! :)

Grandma explaining to my dad how she dug up and carried a wheelbarrow full of dirt around her house to fill a pot for her tomato plant in MI!

**UPDATE (11/16)**

Grandma is doing GREAT!! Thank you for all your prayers- they definitely were a blessing and have helped Grandma do wonderfully through this procedure. She was up, doing laundry & making pancakes the day after her mastectomy, and is feeling GREAT! She & my dad even went to church, lunch & visiting with friends yesterday- dad was the one worn out after that busy day! Didn't I tell you she's amazing.... :)

Her only last prayer request is that her scan in a couple of weeks shows her cancer-free. And she will be doing some radiation, so also that she tolerates that as well as possible. Thanks!

Lincoln: 11 Months

Dear Lincoln,
Another month, flown by! I am already getting sad about you turning One next month. You won't be my Baby boy much longer- so soon you'll be my Big Boy! Since I'm already late getting this out, let's get to it:

~You are off & running! You figured out how to stand up from sitting without pulling up on anything, and are moving around at top speed! We need to get you some new shoes b/c you've about worn your doggie-Robeez out running around outside in them! And you are climbing- up the stairs, on the chairs, over the ottoman, standing on your little table...just more bruises for your sweet fuzzy head!

~You cut 2 more teeth this month- the top, side ones. Not the top front two, like most kids get next, but your 2 side "fang" teeth- and just in time for Halloween! They are still growing thru, but you eat like they are big teeth- trying more finger foods and eating new things. We are giving you less formula, since you're more intrested in solid foods, and have been practicing drinking it in your sippy cup.

~You are saying new things all the time- not so many words, but you copy many of our sounds, which are like words to you! You do say- dada, gaga (Georgia), and baba for momma. I don't know why I'm "baba", but you are consistent with it! You say "ah ba" and raise your hand for high fives, "awww" for cute doggies, smack your lips for kisses, and it really sounds like you say "gan-da" for grandad!

~I am very proud of the new game you've learned- IN! If I show you where something goes IN, like all the blocks go IN the bucket, you will pick up all the blocks and put them IN! It's awesome! You're learning to clean up and you don't even know it! You take them back OUT just as fast, but if I get you to put them all IN- that's half the battle! :)
~You are defintely watching, learning and figuring things out around you. We watched you take your sippy cup to the fridge and press it up, above your head, against the door like you were trying to get water out of the dispenser! And one night you pulled a cup and straw out of the sippy cup cabinet, put the straw in the cup and walked around trying to drink out of it. You know to go to Grammie if no one else will pick you up, to pull Georgia's hair if she takes your toy, to pat the doggies on the head and give them hugs... all these little things I watch you do show me you're understanding, learning and becoming such a little boy, instead of a baby!
~We had fun on your first Halloween- you were the "Pea" to Georgia's "Princess" and you {surprisingly} wore your costume with pleasure! You liked running up the driveways with the big kids, but did not get to sample the candy! Though you've had plenty of other sweets this month- ice cream, cookies- mommy is so lax the 2nd time around! :) You also helped carve the pumpkin, put up decorations, & make Halloween cookies.
Your Fuzzy head!!

A "mommy moment" I want to put in here as I wrap up- I love how you lay your head face-down against me when you're tired and I'm putting you to bed. You just seem to crash against me, like, "Ok, I admit it- I'm tired!" You may not fit swaddled in one arm anymore, now your legs hang down to my waist, but you are still my sweet baby boy and I love every cuddle moment I get with you! I thank the Lord for your health and how He continues to grow you each month. I will continue to seek His guidance on how to best be your Mommy, and love you with His love each day! Your daddy, sister & I love you very much!
love, Mommy

The Princess & the Pea

We had a fun Halloween with our Princess and our Pea...

I made Lincoln's "Pea" costume out of a sweatshirt with batting hot-glued to the inside- he kinda looked like a green Sumo wrestler! {hence the "Pea" sign!}

Our kids went Trick or Treating for the first time! My cousin's kids- Pumba (Logan) & Dora (Emma) came along. We only went to 7-8 houses b/c it was sweltering hot, but they caught on quick. Georgia still says "twick teet!" to ask for a piece of Halloween candy!

Happy Halloween 2009!

Full of Croup

Yes, that title was meant to be a play on words...
It has definitely been a full week. We have been a bit housebound, battling a double serving of Croup and me throwing my back out {again}. We were thankful Croup was all it was after surviving a night of high fevers and coughing with Georgia. Now she has shared it with her brother, of course, but hopefully his won't be so bad. So they are pitiful, and by Sunday we needed to leave the house, if only for a bit.
We had wanted to go to a big Pumpkin patch farm fall festival event, but that was cancelled by the Croup and we needed something quick and easy. So we went down the road to a fall festival & carnival at a local church, St Patrick's. There were a few rides Georgia could enjoy, and we all were glad to burn off some energy out of the house.
"Riding the Horseys"- Georgia's favorite!

Doesn't she make it look so exciting!!

Not so excited about this one- we were told by the carni-guy operating it that it's "homemade"... great...

A big slide is always fun!

Maybe next year, little guy!

So he spent most of his time just running around, picking up trash off the ground. At one point Larry found him about to grab an old, dirty chicken bone! (so gross!)

Finally, we decided he could try out the horseys...

He was SO EXCITED!

He's definitely our little daredevil, not scared of anything. He LOVED going round and round on the horseys!

A little ice cream break... Georgia started off sharing...

...but soon decided it was too good to share!

Lincoln thought Grandad needed some help with his big cone...

He's currently getting his top side "fang" teeth, and the ice cream felt so good on those tender gums! He would hook on and not let go!

Daddy's girl!

Mommy's boy!

Sweet hugs!!

Daddy's Day Out

Sunday I surprised this special guy:

with Club seats to watch this Pro team:

It was our first time in Raymond James Stadium to watch the Buccaneers and it was pretty cool. Their record of 0-5 made good seats very available, and we enjoyed the high life at the Club level. Leather couches & armchairs, big screen TVs, food that ranged from hot dogs & beer to sushi & gourmet coffee awaited us... plus a nice view of the field.

Pro football is amazing- it's a super suped-up version of what I'm used to watching on college fields. The players are faster, the stadium bigger, the cheerleaders are skimpier... the fans don't always cheer as loud as I'm used to, but they are certainly committed to their team if they pay face value for those tickets! (I only share this pic of the cheerleaders b/c they were actually a little "covered" for the first half with pink shirts to support Breast Cancer Awareness- those came off for the 2nd half!)

We enjoyed watching Cadillac Williams do his thing on the field, but ultimately the Bucs extended their record to 0-6, losing to the Carolina Panthers in the last minutes. We did get to hear the canons blast a few times from the pirate ship in the end zone for touchdowns...

It's a true-to-scale ship, complete with talking parrot and giant skull...

After the game we ran by the house to clean up and change, and continued our night out with dinner and a movie. It was nice to spend the day together, experiencing some of the fun our new city has to offer, and treat my hardworking husband!