one day

one missed workout this morning
one really sore throat
one cold coming on
one compact powder dropped and broken all over bathroom floor
one humid, gloomy morning
one sink full of dishes
one contact completely fogged up mid day
one really important deadline missed
one kid screaming for 45 minutes+
one deep breath...

but...

one day left of summer school
one year of teaching under my belt (whew!)
one day until vacation with
one awesome family!

wonderful

spring project

whoever lived in this apartment before us left us with a big mess in the backyard - dead grass (the little that was left), a dog run full of limbs and an old christmas tree, and rocks all over the place! we let the snow cover it up all winter, but after the dog came running in with muddy feet multiple times this spring, we just couldn't take it anymore!

thanks to some work (digging out old, horrible sod is not fun), a few trips to the dump and lots of raking and tilling we had a clean slate. using the rocks we dug up from all over, we divided out a section for a garden and threw down some sod.

how does it look?


(i mean..nothing compared to my parents yard, but at least it's not a mud hole in the back!)
we even bought a cute little reel mower (i know, eco-friendly, right?! :) and mowed it for the first time this week!


...now, if i could just get our vegetables to grow, we would be set! (i think i jumped the gun. amateur.)

missionary mitch

i just love this tall guy. can't believe he's 19 today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
...and next week leaves on his mission!!


sometimes i wish i could trade him places. the mission is the best.
good luck, snitch! so proud of you!

wellsville hike

enjoying the beautiful cache valley weather with a hike up in the wellsville mountains. cache had the time of his life - we could hardly keep up with him!

another beautiful princess came into my life!
i love you, baby girl quinn.


thanks for sharing your babies with me, sisters!

need a new hairdo?
just add a cute headband accessory!!
FANCY ME accessories now has a blog! check it out - you will want one of each!

..i'll order some as soon as i have hair to wear them in! :)

scars

at almost six months old, our poor puppy cache had to go through surgery to remove a cyst on his chest. he was so brave and recovered extremely fast! days after his sugery, i had a cyst removed too. ironic! unfortunately my recovery was fast, but a diagnosis of cancer led to chemo treatments and all the joys that come with that medicine.

gratefully, the chemo was a success and blood work came back showing no more cancer! hopefully it stays that way!!

six months later, cache had another cyst - this time on his little face. surgery again for him.

gratefully, it didn't test positive for cancer. lucky dog!

well guess who else needed surgery again? you guessed it - me! i think my dog and i like to suffer together! on a follow-up ultrasound and CT scan, a unknown 'mass' was found on the left side of my pelvic area. this time, luckily, it was NOT the size of a canteloupe as it had been last time. but - since fruit apparently is a good way to measure, this time it was an orange.

great. another cyst? do i still have cancer? am i going to lose my other ovary? what..is...it?
those questions couldn't be answered until it was OUT of my body.
this isn't fair, i initially thought.

no more surgical details are necessary. i'm recovering just fine and THRILLED i'm on spring break this week!

to put the cherry on top of it all - my doc called last night with the pathology report...

drum roll please..

the 'orange' sized mass was not a cyst at all! not cancerous! simply some swollen lymph nodes and extra tissue. not only that - it was in no way connected to my important organs i need to someday be a mommy!

i feel so so blessed. so many prayers, fastings and blessings have been offered on my behalf. i know the Lord knows me and what i need. he lets me learn what i need to learn, and then even lets me witness miracles. it's incredible! i may have lots of physical scars...but my testimony is not scarred at all - just strengthened.

thank you to EVERYONE who prayed for me and did many other things to bless my life these last six month. let's hope this is the beginning of the end of cancer for jaci!