Mama Lou Update

Last Thursday Mama Lou had surgery to remove the cancer in her mouth. We were all very scared because of her irregular heart beat, but all the doctors approved her to have the surgery. They said it would last up to 7 hours and she could possibly have to have a trach. They would remove the pallet of her mouth and replace it with the muscle of her temple.Well, it only took about 4 hours and they didn't have to trach her! We were very thankful for that because we knew it would be a harder recovery. The doctor got all of the cancer! She was in the CCU until Sunday. She had a feeding tube because you have to give her mouth time to heal. She got moved to a regular room on Sunday and she started drinking water! When I went back on Monday, she was sitting there with no feeding tube eating some soup and pudding! She is also swallowing her pills. She is doing amazing and talking good too. God is so good. He has answered prayers of our hearts and she will still need continued prayers during this recovery time. Hopefully she will be going home by the end of the week!

Amazing Vacation!

Vacation did not come at a better time! Work as been so busy because my caseload keeps getting bigger. We are always doing something it seems like outside of work whether it's the gym or church activities. It was nice to slow down and turn off the blackberry! Our vacation started on Sunday and we drove 9 hours to Tampa Bay. We stayed at a hotel right on the bay with amazing views:

We arrived at the port on Monday and boarded the boat at around 1:30. We had time to get to know the boat and find our room. We sailed out at 4:00!

Tuesday was a Fun day at Sea day. We just layed out and got some sun. We also played some mini golf!

Yes we tied! Although Steven said this isn't real golf and the wind was messing up his putt. :) Tuesday was also elegant night at dinner. We got all dressed up for dinner:

Our waiter had a great time entertaining us that night as well to the nice british old lady. hahaha :)

Wednesday: We ported at the Grand Cayman Island from 8:00-2:00.

For our excursion on this island, we decided to go to the turtle farm. We got to hold baby turtles and snorkel in a salt water lagoon. It was so much fun!

This turtle was 4 months old. The one Steven is holding is 6 months old.

Here is the salt water lagoon where we snorkeled:

Here are some of the bigger turtles: 

Beautiful Grand Cayman waters:

Wednesday night we got a elephant towel! That meant that our steward really liked us! :)

Thursday: We ported at Cozumel, Mexico at 11:00 and had to be back on the ship at 7:00. We were able to swim with the dolphins at Dolphinaris. If you have never done this, you have to do it at least once in your lifetime. Now I have at least one thing checked off my bucket list! :) We also ate some amazing Mexican food at Three Amigos. We did some shopping because we always get Christmas ornaments at places we visit. We had success because we found one at each island! 

This is Dophinaris. See the beautiful ocean!

Kisses,

Hugs,

and high fives!

We also got to feed her.

The rest are of our day in Cozumel at the port:

In front of our ship at Cozumel

So...our ship the

gave me the inspiration to go on another cruise!! :)

Happy Late Mother's Day!

Just wanted to say Happy Mother's day to my wonderful mother, sister, and grandmothers. They are all amazing mothers and I hope to be a mother as well when God decides to bless us. Had a great day seeing family that I haven't seen since Christmas including my Grandma. Also, enjoyed beating my dad and Steven in cornhole. Go mama and I! :) 13 to 6! Sorry no pictures! Make sure you tell your family that you love and appreciate sometime today!

Couch to 5k Update

Almost a month ago I started the couch to 5k running plan. Don't ask me why, but for some reason I decided I wanted to be a runner. When I started I could barely run 2 minutes straight without feeling like I was dying. Well, I have pushed through and finished up week 3 on Saturday. I even went above and beyond what my requirements were. Week 3 consisted of running 90 seconds, walking 90 seconds, running 3 minutes, walking 3 minutes and you do 2 repetitions. So when I finished my 2 repetitions I decided to get to 2 miles since I only needed a 1/2 a mile to finish. I ran the whole 1/2 a mile!!!! I know that doesn't seem like much, but that is huge for me. It feels great to run and it's a huge stress reliever! I had a lot to run off that day so it felt good! I was so excited about running this week before our cruise but managed to do this to my foot at Frankie's Fun Park:

Therefore, I will be taking a few days off to make sure I don't injure my foot anymore. I feel so blah when I don't workout so I hope it heals soon!!

On Saturday, I went to a simulcast at my church. Beth Moore was the speaker. She is AMAZING!! She was talking about her new book So Long Insecurity. I haven't read it yet, but it sounds great. Why are we such an insecure society?? Pick it up and let me know what you think!

Easter 2010

Well, I cannot believe  it is already April! March was the most busy month this year! This past weekend was a lot of fun! I was able to take some time off from work which was much needed and spend a lot of time with family. We don't get to spend a lot of time with them because of how busy things have been. Lola had her first lake trip and Grant had his first trip too:

First boat rides! :)

Maggie enjoyed her ride too:

We also had a great Easter Sunday. We started by worshipping at our awesome church MVBC! I am so thankful that Jesus gave his life for me so that I may be forgiven for all my faults. "Oh praise the one who paid my debt and raised his life up from the dead!" Then we spent the rest of the afternoon with my family and ate some awesome food! Had to end our afternoon with a walk around the neighborhood! :) Here are a few pictures of our afternoon:

Mom made their Easter outfits! 

Budget Cuts for disabilities

Some of you may have heard about the recent proposed budget cuts for the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs. The House Ways and Means Committee has recommended cutting DDSN State funding by $47 million. In total, this would be a $157 million cut to the agency when you add in the Medicaid matching funds.

Among the effects of such a cut would be the elimination of the PDD Waiver program. This program funds therapy services for approximately 60% of our clients and allows many of our employees to work doing a job they love.
Elimination of the program would mean an end to some services and a potential loss of jobs.

In response to this recommendation, many individuals are contacting their state representatives and politely asking them to vote against DDSN budget cuts. It is important that they know how much the PDD Waiver program means before the proposed cuts move further in the budget process. You can find out who represents you at this link to find out. 

http://www.scstatehouse.gov/cgi-bin/zipcodesearch.exe 

Please join me in this fight to save the PDD Waiver! 

2 months until Paradise!

So back in January, Steven and I decided that we deserved an awesome vacation this year! We have been crazy busy this past year and really wanted to go somewhere similar to our honeymoon. So we decided to take this boat


to these islands


and


And after this week I have had, I cannot wait!!!