MIA - Where have I been?

MIA is exactly what I have been lately. Where have I been? Well, not too long ago I went to my favorite primitive store and saw that she had a kitchen setup in the upper part of her shop. She re-finished her kitchen cabinets and I fell in love with them. Ok, I was obsessed with them (lol). So, I thought what the heck....... why not do something with those ugly oak cabinets that I have been staring at for over 5 years. So, I listened to how she did it and made the changes. It was an extremely hard job and a long job, but well worth the hardwork and sweat! I took off all the cabinet doors and took out the drawers. Sanded everything down til dull and painted them, let them dry and gave them another coat. I then let them dry and stained them. Let them dry and then hung everything up after doing the inside as well. I added simple wood knobs that I stained a dark walnut and VOILA - it is all finished and exactly what I was looking for. So, do you all wanna see why I have been MIA?

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BEFORE

AFTER

Don't you love my bucket light? I made it myself!

So, that is where I have been, but I am back now : )

Fun In The Sun

Fun in the Sun is definitely what Cameron has been having alot of lately. He LOVES being outside and has been taken full advantage of the sunshine and warm temperatures that we have been having lately. I don't mind being outside, but I must admit that it has been awfully warm and humid lately. It is funny to see because when Cameron is hot....... his body reacts the same as mine. We both end up getting rosy cheeks and I must say that he looks too cute with rosy cheeks! Here are some pictures that I took of him on Friday. His newest stunt is climbing the slide on the swing set that we have in our backyard. Believe it or not, when he was climbing it, I was sitting a couple feet away on a swing. I must getting use to the stuntman in him (hahahaha).

FINALLY - he made it up to the top after several attempts! He was so proud of himself and so was his Mommy and Daddy. I was nervous, but I kept myself together pretty good.

Uh Oh, down he went and right into his friends way. This is one of the little girls that I babysit for during the week and Cameron is always calling her "friend". They play so well together.

Isn't this such a cute picture of the two of them running down the hill in the backyard? They are both so happy and having loads of fun. Gotta love those smiles!!

Look at that ornery, but sweet smile!

Random Picture Post

Just thought I would post some random pictures that I took recently. Here is Cameron talking to his Daddy on the phone. Look at that smile. Gotta love it!!

Playing outside on a nice sunny day! Doesn't he look too cute in his hat?
Blowing on a dandelion

I love this picture of him. There is that sweet smile again : )
Playing with his friend

A Day Full of Pink for a GREAT cause!!

Yesterday was an absolutely great day! Over 45,000 people gathered in the streets of downtown Columbus to race towards a cure for breast cancer. Over 7000 people joined "Heather's Team". My husband and I along with Cameron were one of those participants that joined Heather's Team in honor of her and her struggle with breast cancer. Heather was a newscaster for WBNS Channel 10 News here in Columbus, Ohio. She started our day off every morning with the news and then followed it up again at noon. Her and her fellow colleagues started this team and allowed as many viewers that wanted to join the team to join. Well, seeing as though my husband and I woke up with her every morning since 2003...... we thought it would be a great way to honor her and her strength and courage that she displayed during her battle with breast cancer. Heather unfortunately lost her battle back in November, but 1 week before she passed away, she was on the news talking about how everyone could help find a cure by donating for causes such as the Race for the Cure. During this last interview...... she wore a bright pink wig and she looked absolutely stunning in it. You would have never known that she was suffering from cancer. She always displayed such a great and wonderful outlook on life. She indeed had a wonderful spirit about herself and was beautiful on the outside as well as the inside. We sure do miss seeing her every morning. She was ALWAYS on the news and never missed a beat. She was so strong and wanted nothing more then to be at work and enjoy all of life's wonderful gifts that were created just for us by God. I donated alot of my time in the years past volunteering for The James Cancer Hospital. I truly enjoyed checking in on all of the patients, their families and trying my best to help them and their experience somewhat pleasurable. Before Cameron was born....... I took up a donation at my company that I use to work for so all the patients would have something to help pass the time away. I put an ad in our bulletin asking for folks to donate movies, VCR's and books and magazines. I had one gentleman that donated over 8 brand new VCR's and we had numerous amounts of movies donated as well. It made me feel so good to help out and to try my best to make their stay in the hospital a little bit more pleasurable. I am hoping that one day soon I can get back into it and continue on with helping others that need a little help. Some patients just wanted a little company and I was more then happy to sit down and talk with them, some patients had their children in the room and I would go grab some cookies and/or popsicles and bring them back and I was always grabbing magazines and books for the patients. It was very rewarding and I loved every minute of it. You see alot of cancer patients out there that are strong, determined and are ready to FIGHT this battle that they are in and after seeing that on a weekly basis...... it makes you appreciate life a little bit more and it makes you think twice about complaining about something so small. If you all have never had the chance to participate in The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure then I would encourage you to do so. It is an absolutely wonderful event and definitely touching to see. I have been participating for over 10 years now. I have lost 3 dear friends to breast cancer and I feel that it is time that we come together and unite in order to help FIND A CURE!! You all can help. Check out the Komen site today and make arrangements for this year or next year!! I leave you today with pictures to enjoy. The first picture is a team photo of Heather's Team. Gotta love seeing all of those wonderful pink wigs!

Gotta love my husband. He is such a good sport! Doesn't he look too cool in his pink wig? It was funny because he had me trim the bangs because they were in his eyes (lol).

Here is Cameron and I shortly before the race. I also meant to mention that you don't have to run. You can walk too. Since we had the stroller, we did the 1 mile Family Fun Walk.

The WHOLE street was jam packed with people. It was AWESOME to see!

He was so happy to participate for the 2nd year. I made the t-shirt for him.

Come on - What are you all waiting for!?! Check out this site (KOMEN) and see where they are gonna be next. You can enjoy this wonderful event too!

Little Kayleigh

I am not sure if you all have been following the story of little Kayleigh, but she passed away last night. This little girl was simply precious and a true fighter! Kayleigh was born 3 months early on June 23, 2008 and only weighed 1 pound 1 oz. and was a small 10 1/2 inches long. She went through 248 procedures and 7 major surgeries. She was the smallest person to go through open heart surgery. She was indeed a true fighter and lost her life way too early. She is definitely in a better place where there is no more pain and I know that her parents are thankful for that, but miss her terribly. I myself was holding out hope that her parents would be able to take her home so she could see her room and they all could have some family time, but I guess God just needed that special angel a little sooner then what they had hoped for. Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers!! I am sure that they are going through a very difficult time. Our Heavenly Father will hold her close until her and her parents are reunited. God Bless them!!

Mother's Day - A Busy Weekend

What a WONDERFUL weekend!! It all started with a visit to my parents so I could spend some time with my Mom. We went to Amish Country which is our favorite past time, went out to eat and then my Mom fixed me a GREAT dinner for Mother's Day!! I told her that I would cook, but she insisted that she do it for me. I was of course thrilled!! There is nothing better then Mom's cooking!! Here is a picture of my Mom and I in the restaurant for lunch. Isn't she pretty? She is indeed "THE BEST MOM" that I could have ever asked for. God surely did bless me when he decided to give me her for a Mom. She is my closest friend and I love her dearly!!

I LOVE YOU MOM WITH ALL MY HEART!!

Then we got home and we decided to play a little Wii bowling. My Mom LOVED it!! She is definitely a competitor, but a fun one!! We ended up staying up til 1 AM bowling and she had a blast!! Love her formation : )
Here she is celebrating 4 strikes right in a roll. She was thrilled, but of course didn't beat me (lol)

My Mother's Day was spent staying busy. It was something I wanted to do believe it or not. I wanted to get my plant stand out of the garage, take a few things to the Goodwill store, plant a few flowers and spend time with the little boy that brings me so much happiness!! Cameron wanted to mow so we mowed in between planting flowers and going down the slide. Doesn't he just look too cute in his hat? I was surprised that he wore it, but he did and I loved it on him.

I was in the process of pulling weeds and planting flowers and I found a toad back behind out air conditioner. I told Cameron it was a frog because he knows more about "frogs" then "toads," but he had so much fun seeing it and watching it jump. He didn't touch it (Whew) and I didn't either, but it was fun watching the little toad jump around. Cameron and I got a kick out of it. I guess that is probably why God granted me with a little boy...... I got as excited as he did about the toad (LOL). Anyway, here is a couple pics of Mr. Toad.

I leave you today with some beautiful flowers...... The purple flowers belong to my Mom, but the pink clematis is one from my backyard. I just wanted to say that I hope you all had a Happy Mother's Day and I hope you all have many more to come!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

~ Mother's Day ~

I love Christmas, Thanksgiving and all the wonderful holidays, but one holiday that I love most is Mother's Day. I really enjoyed Mother's Day before my son arrived because I was able to spend it with my Mom. I was able to celebrate all the great things that she is made up of and I really cherished it. To be honest with you..... I never really thought I would be a Mommy. After years of dealing with infertility and a loss of a child in 2004, I thought that I would give IVF a try, but I more or less thought deep down that it wouldn't happen for me. I thought I would go along in life continuing to look at all the ladies with their children and wishing and hoping that someday I would have that chance. With Mother's Day fast approaching.... I am happy to say that it falls on the anniversary date of me receiving the call from my fertility doctor saying that WE ARE PREGNANT!! I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was sitting at my desk at work, waiting for that call and when the phone rang and the number came up on the caller id, well I froze. I let the phone ring and ring and finally after a very deep breath, I answered the phone. She told me that she had some good news! Oh, I felt like I could breath when she told me that. I was relieved and she hadn't even told me yet that we were pregnant. Then........ the words came out of her mouth.......Lisa, your beta results came back and you are PREGNANT! Yep, that is when the tears started falling! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I WAS PREGNANT AND I COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT I WAS GONNA BE A MOMMY!! I WAS GONNA HAVE A BABY!! Indeed it was a great day for me, for us! I got off the phone and called my husband and we shared a few tears together and all he could ask me over and over again was "Are you sure"? Yep, I was sure, they were sure and well that is when all of our happiness started!

Being a Mommy has indeed been the best gift EVER!! Oh, don't get me wrong when I say that it is challenging and sometimes nerve-wrecking, but all the hugs, kisses, sweet remarks and snuggling definitely out weigh all those challenging and nerve-wrecking times! Cameron is such a sweet boy and I thank God ever single day for him..... actually more then once a day. He is indeed "The Best Gift" I have ever received. I was asked the other day what would be my ultimate Mother's Day gift? I simply said....... to sleep in, not have to cook any meals and a to receive a cute drawing made for me especially by Cameron. Yep, sounds like a perfect day and well I already have my perfect gift...... That is CAMERON! So, what is your perfect Mother's Day gift? I leave you with these pictures. Great pictures that I took of Cameron and I the other day. He is such my little buddy. I love you Cameron more then you will ever know.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Daddy's Little Helper

I decided this weekend to put new flooring down in our entry way. I did most of the work minus a few cuts here and there. Shawn did the cutting for around the laundry room door jam and Cameron helped. Cameron was so excited that he was able to help his Daddy.

Cameron had to check out the new floor with his bare feet, but shortly after that he wanted his socks back on. He loves running into the entry way, but my big fear is that he will do that and fall flat on his rear end......something he has done several times already. Such a boy!

Here is the finished project. I was definitely pleased with it. It makes my decorations stand out so much more and it gives it a totally different look that I am lovin'.