Reflecting on 2011's Resolutions

As I'm reviewing last year's resolutions, I'm realizing I made quite a lofty list of things to accomplish! I will try to condense the list as much as possible.



--The "old faithful" of all resolutions : lose weight, get healthier. 
I started out the year doing really well. I had lost about 24 pounds and was starting to see/feel a definite improvement. We moved here in late April and that's when the diet and exercise regimen took a back seat to everything that was going on and I plateaued for quite a while. I've gained about five pounds back but I'm determined to get back in to the swing of things again soon.

--Stop drinking pop. 
I changed this one soon after I started to 'stop buying pop for home'. I stuck with this until we moved to Texas also. We have fallen off this bandwagon but plan to finish up this last case of pop and quit buying it again.

--Write our will. 
We have the rough draft done but we need to finalize it and have witnesses sign it.


--Keep up on my email "clutter". 
I've kept up with this decently well. It's a lot better than it was but I'll admit I've been slacking a little the past couple of months.

--Wear my seat belt 100% of the time. 
I've made a MAJOR improvement on this front. I now wear my seat belt 100% of the time!


--Read at least one book per month. 
Done! :)  Plus a few extra.

--Read the entire Bible. 
Total fail. :( More on this tomorrow!

--Learn to do one of three things: sew, knit, or play piano. 
Done! I took a long, one-on-one sewing lesson and re-learned the basics. I learned as a young girl but had obviously forgotten all the little tips and tricks. My awesome in-laws bought me a new sewing machine for Christmas so I am REALLY excited to start sewing up a storm! :)

All in all, I made a decent dent in the list! It wasn't a total success but I'm pleased with the accomplishments I did make!

Saturday Nine

The last one for 2011! :)

1. Over all, how do you feel about what happened in your life in 2011?
-It was a very, very good year for us! I would definitely say that 2011 trumps 2010 in just about every way. We finally got to move to Texas, Mitchell started a new job with much better pay/benefits, and we bought our first home. We are really, really  happy here and it's a good feeling. It's such a big gamble, deciding to upset your whole life and move to another city/state/way of life. So far, it seems like this is exactly where we're supposed to be and we're glad it all fell in to place. This feels like home and it's nice to stay put for a while. :)

2. Do you do New Year's resolutions? 
-I do! I don't see the harm in them. I'm always striving to do better and accomplish new goals!

3. In the past 24 hours, I have reconnected with 3 old friends that I've not spoken to in years. If you could reconnect with someone from your past who would it be, and why?
- I'm not really sure if I'd want to, honestly. There's a reason we're not in contact any longer, you know? Some things are best to just leave alone.

4. Do you have anything that you would have not done or done differently in 2011 as you look back?
-I can't think of anything that jumps out at me as something that I should have done drastically differently so I guess my answer is no! 

5. Going back to my ex-friends that I reconnected with, one of them ended over a boyfriend. She called to apologize. Do you have someone that you fell out with you and wonder how they are?
-This question seems pretty similar to the last one but yes, of course I sometimes wonder about them. Not enough to seek them out though, obviously. ;) 

6. If you had a chance to reconnect with an ex (say for coffee), who would it be, and why?
-I'm gonna pass on that one. No thanks! 

7. One of resolutions is about weight-loss. Have you ever struggled with your diet?
-Take one look at me and you'll know the answer to that question. YES. I would really like to drop another 30 pounds or so. Easier said than done - it can be so discouraging! 

8. What do you think was the top news story of 2011?
-Probably that they killed Osama. Good riddance.

9. What are your plans for (New Year's Eve) tonight?
-Nada. I have a little one who will be sleeping around 8pm so we don't have plans for tonight. :) Plus, I don't like being out and driving around with all the crazy, reckless drunk people if I don't have to be so it's a win-win. We'll probably ring the New Year in in our sleep. Isn't that typical for parents with a young child in the house?? :)

Christmas Recap

Well, the week of Christmas was certainly one I won't forget for quite some time, that's for sure. Piper ended up getting really sick for the first time just a couple of days before Christmas. It started getting progressively worse and we ended up in the Emergency Room in the wee hours of the morning on Christmas Eve. Not exactly how I wanted to spend the holidays but you can't plan on these things!

She was one sick little cookie and we came home with three prescriptions on top of the motrin to help with the pain and fever. To say administering all of these drugs has been a breeze would be lying. She is a stubborn little girl and doesn't take to the meds very well. I will be very glad when we are finished with them! Piper also graciously passed the sick bug on to Mitchell and I and we've both been pretty miserable as well. I'm finally starting to feel a little better this morning so that's a relief. Dealing with all of this makes me extra grateful that she has, thus far, been the picture of health and this isn't something we typically have to deal with. It's the pits!

Christmas was wonderful! It was really different from years' past as I've always celebrated with extended family and Mitchell's family as well but since that wasn't in the cards this year, we made the best of it and it was actually a really nice way to spend the holiday. We had an unbelievable menu and it was an overall very relaxing day.

She was feeling pretty crummy but I put her in her fancy Christmas dress for a quick photo-op.

We were very blessed with all of the wonderful gifts again this year and we love everything! Piper got lots of new toys, including FOUR new "BABIES!!" and a baby stroller that she has been having a blast with.

We haven't given her the play kitchen that we made for her yet because we didn't want to ruin the surprise while she was feeling lousy. She was still pretty  miserable on Christmas Day so we decided we would wait. She doesn't know the difference anyway and we want her to be able to fully enjoy it. Mitchell has been back at work all this week so we're going to wait until tomorrow morning to surprise her with it! I cannot WAIT to see the look on her face. :)

Merry Christmas!

I hope you have a blessed holiday. :) 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6

Yep.

Love.

The nativity scene.

Despite my repeated efforts of properly arranging our nativity scene, Piper has taken it upon herself to arrange them according to her own specifications. She scoots them all to the very edge of the coffee table in a random nativity assortment. Her favorites are the camel, the sheep, and the "BABY!!!!". ;-) She loves playing with them all day long. I feel like I constantly re-arrange them, usually waiting until she goes to bed for the night. Within minutes of waking up the next morning, it turns in to this:

Gotta love how baby Jesus, the star of the show, is pushed off into the background. Ha!! At least she's taking interest in it, right? I can't wait until she's a little older and starts to "get" it!

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

Can you believe that neither Mitchell or I had ever had chicken and dumplings? It seems like such a typical comfort food that eeeeveryone loves. I'm not sure how it's possible that neither of us had ever tried before, but we've been missing out!

Several of my friends have been talking about their crock pot chicken and dumplings for a couple of years now. I keep meaning to make it but I just never did remember to actually do it. Yesterday, I finally remembered and decided to give it a whirl. I couldn't remember exactly how to do it and a quick Google search brought it up. It has over 4,000 4.5 star reviews...I knew that many people couldn't be wrong!

This is the recipe I used:

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 (10 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces

Directions

1. Place the chicken, butter, soup, and onion in a slow cooker, and fill with enough water to cover.
2. Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High. About 30 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

I will admit, I was a little skeptical once I put the dough in the crock pot. Let's face it, it isn't a pretty food. I tried to ignore the appearance and let the taste do the talking. The verdict? It was really, really delicious. Both Mitchell and I give it two thumbs up. Not only is it tasty, but it's simple and cheap to boot!

This recipe is definitely going into the regular rotation of meals at our casa! Yum.

Cupcakes or cocoa?

I saw a cute idea for "cocoa cupcakes" on Pinterest the other day and decided I wanted to give it a try. I don't particularly like chocolate cake so I knew when I made them they wouldn't be for us. This afternoon I decided to make them and send them to work with Mitchell tomorrow for his buddies to enjoy.

Piper was having a blast "helping" me decorate. She was giggling like crazy while making her own cupcake. She was quite pleased with her creation:

As a person who dislikes marshmallows, I have to admit I looked at it and gagged a little. She had never tasted a marshmallow until today and to say she's a fan is an understatement, as evidenced by her cupcake. ;-)

Mmmm, yummy!

 

 

 

 

My "cup of cocoa cupcakes" didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped but, let's face it, these are grown men and they don't give a hoot what they look like.

I wonder how long they'll last until they're all gone? Mitchell and I have made a bet and it'll be interesting to see how quickly a batch of cupcakes disappear at the mercy of a bunch of men. :)

Saturday Nine

1. What in the 2011 has proved to you that you are a survivor?

-Well, I wasn't really faced with anything that I would be so bold as to call myself a survivor, to be honest. We are pretty blessed and I would feel really dumb sitting here calling myself a survivor over something pretty trivial.

2. Have you ever stayed online for a very long time waiting for someone?

-I guess? I mean, not TOO long, but I waited for Mitchell to get online a lot when we were dating. We lived 200 miles apart for two years and we spent A LOT of time talking on the phone or online.

3. Are REALLY ready for the holidays?

-Yep! With the exception of wrapping the presents, I'm prepared! Not that I have a whole to do, really, but yeah - definitely ready! It will be really weird not spending Christmas at home, though, I have to admit.

4. Did you have an imaginary friend as a kid?

-Nope.

5. What niche network do you watch the most?

-Well, I only get what the bunny ears pick up, but I definitely watch ABC about 90% of the time. It's my favorite network.

6. Have you ever seen the ocean?

-Yes! :) Gorgeous. I'd love to go back.

7. Have you ever been hospitalized?

-Only when I delivered Piper and if I'd had a choice, it wouldn't have been in the hospital. If I have it my way, that won't be happening ever again. I hate, hate, hate that I lived in a place with almost NO options in that regard. Thank God I live a place where I get to CHOOSE next time!

8. What do you think of the US Republican candidates for president?

-I am pretty disappointed with most of the current candidates. We need a strong contender if we want Obama out and it's not looking too good at the moment. I'm not getting too invested in any one person until some of them start getting weeded out and real front-runner emerges.

9. Could you imagine life without a computer? 

-I can imagine it. And it ain't pretty. 

Recent Piper-isms

-Piper is big in to praying right now. If we forget to pray before we start eating, she grabs both of our hands and bows her head waiting for the prayer to start.

-She's also started to say her own prayers. Just a few nights ago, she said her very first prayer (head bowed and everything!). Her first prayer was: "Deh Jeje, my mama, my daddy, Woh-Woh" aka "Dear Jesus, my mama, my daddy, Rio". She is imitating Mitchell's prayers and listing things she is thankful for. So precious!

-A couple of days ago, she got a little over-zealous while she was shaking her maracas and conked herself right in the forehead. She was not a happy camper! Gotta love those tough life lessons. She also likes to use the maracas as a microphone and put on a little show while she sings in to them.

-She is learning the words and hand movements to the "shark song" we sing at the library every week. I need to get this on video - it cracks me up to see her rendition of it.  "Baby shark, doot doot, doot doot..."

Christmas on a budget: dishes for Piper's kitchen

As I've mentioned before, we are building Piper a play kitchen for her Christmas present. Of course, you can't just give them the kitchen - you need play food, dishes, pots/pans, etc. to go with it! As I was browsing the toy aisles and toy websites for a set of dishes for her kitchen, I was a little blown away by the price. The cheapest sets I could find were in the $13-15 range and a lot of them were closer to $20-25. I know I'm a tight-wad, but...really? Twenty five bucks for fake plates? I don't think so.

So, I decided I was going to go another route. I hit up the kitchen section at Wal-Mart and then headed to Dollar Tree.  I must say, I'm pretty pleased with what I came up with instead! They are real dishes....and it was a fraction of the price.

Price breakdown:

Plates: $2

Forks: $.94

Spoons: $.94

Cups: $1.68

Total: $5.56

I don't know about you, but I think I made the right decision. ;-)

Sharing is good

...unless we're talking about sharing a drink with a toddler. :)

This morning, Piper cabbaged on to a water bottle that I accidentally forgot to put back in  baby Leah's diaper bag yesterday. She helped herself to it while she was munching on a few Annie's bunny grahams. You know the saying "a picture says with sight what we can't convey with words?" Well, this sums it up quite well, I think: 

Ya wanna sip? :)

Santa.

I saw this last night and had to share it. Love, love, love it. 

Weekend Recap

Whew...what a weekend!

Friday evening, we headed to our small group Christmas party at Bethany and Adam's house. It was a lot of fun! We did a "White Trash" gift exchange (white elephant style) and it was pretty funny. If you're like me and hadn't heard of a "White Trash" gift exchange - it is a gift swap where you bring something from your house that you don't want/use and you exchange gifts that way. Saves money and keeps you guessing!  It was fun to see what everyone chose to bring. I had to laugh because several of us brought things we had received as wedding gifts and never found a need for (or repeat gifts).  I scored a black pocket knife and Mitchell got a model car kit. We had pizza for supper and yummy cookies afterward. Then we came home, put Piper to bed, and headed out to the garage to work on Piper's Christmas present. I'm not sure that I've mentioned it here on my blog but we are building her a play kitchen. :-)

Yesterday morning, my sister and Toby came over and we headed to a craft show. Neither of us found much of anything but it was fun to go! We got a bite to eat and then they headed back. We worked on Piper's kitchen during nap time. Unfortunately, early yesterday afternoon I fell prey to a nasty migraine that ruined the rest of my day. I could barely open my eyes and ended up going to bed a little after ten (and if you know me, you know that is reeeeally early). Unfortunately, I woke up this morning and the migraine still hadn't gone away so we missed church. :( It finally tapered off around noon today - thank God! I really wish I knew why I've always struggled with headaches and migraines. It gets old.

During Piper's nap, we worked on the kitchen some more! We're finally painting it and it is coming together really well .. I'm getting anxious to see the final result! Once we're done with the paint, we just need to attach the handles and doors and a few other finishing touches and we'll be done. I hope she likes it. We've had a great time building it for her!

We grilled steaks for supper and I served garlicky (I had no idea that's how you spelled garlicky..), cheesy mashed potatoes and fresh rolls to go with. It was delish! I get to watch baby Leah tomorrow - that'll be fun! Leah is a little sweetie and I'm sure Piper will have a blast playing with a little buddy. Right before we put her to bed tonight, we asked her if she was excited to wake up and play with baby Leah tomorrow. She got excited and said "WOOHOO! Yeah!!!! Pay (play)!!!"  I guess this will be the true test of whether we're ready for another little munchkin or not, huh? :)

Saturday Nine

1. Who or what bores you enough to mentally drift away?
-Oh, various things that are hard to pinpoint when asked. Lame music for one. I have no attention span for really old, slow movies. I'm not going to pretend to enjoy it because it's "classic". :P I'm not the biggest movie-watcher anyway so if I'm going to sit down and devote time to a movie, it's going to be one that keeps my interest.

2. How many members of your family not living with do you see during the holidays?
-It really depends on the year. Things have been tricky on this front for a while now because every year, we're in a pickle - it's hard to juggle when you have so many different places to be all at once.  We just try to do the best we can.  This year, we were very lucky that Mitchell had Thanksgiving and the day after off work, so we were able to go back home. Unfortunately, that is not the case with Christmas. We knew when we moved here we would be starting at square one all over again - Mitchell has no vacation time until next May. A few people in our family have expressed disappointment that we won't be visiting for Christmas but it is what it is, unfortunately. We are not in a position to take unpaid time off of work - and quite frankly, I'm not sure if his employer even allows it. We aren't going anywhere for Christmas - if we see anyone, they will have to come to us (and we would very much love to see you!). It stinks but we knew that moving and starting a new job would mean just that - starting from scratch. . When you're young and the low-man on the totem pole at work,  that's the way it goes.  We wish we could see everyone but that's just not possible.  I am really relieved that my parents are coming here to visit over Christmas or it would be a very lonely weekend for us. 

3. When spending time with family, how long after you arrive do you begin to feel "antsy" about being there too long?
-Ha! I'm not sure if I should answer this - our families read this blog, you know! :P Honestly, I don't know that we've ever stayed anywhere long enough to feel that way. As I just mentioned, we've never had an influx of vacation time so we are always in a big time crunch. After 4-5 nights, we start missing home and our own routine, though - I think that's normal!

4. Does your family more generally get along at a holiday gathering or are there generally arguments?
-Get along!

5. Are you ever embarrassed by your family around friends?
-Nah.

6. Of the celebrities that died in 2011, who will you miss the most?
-Oh, wow. I'm trying to think of everyone that has passed and I'm feeling kind of morbid over here! To be honest, I wasn't overly familiar with a lot of them, but I do know one of the really tough losses was Steve Jobs. His creations changed so much of the way we live - his ingenuity will be missed.

7. When you watch a movie in a movie theater, do you like the theater filled to capacity, halfway full, or nearly empty? Does your answer change depending on the type of movie you're seeing or do you feel the same way regardless of the movie or genre?
-Empty, preferably! I so rarely go to the movies that I hate it when punks ruin it with their incessant chatter, texting, and acting like goons.

8. What’s one really cool/useful/nice thing you purchased for yourself this year?
-My house! ;) Okay, that's kind of cheating. Oh, I purchased my Kindle early this year with Christmas money and I looooove it.

9. Are you in the holiday spirit yet?
-Yes! 

What I'm Loving Wednesday

--My daughter is in the process of potty training herself. If you had asked me a week ago if my daughter would be using the restroom with almost perfect accuracy in just a few days, I would have laughed. It's something that has been on the back burner - Mitchell & I agreed we would start seriously trying to conquer it after the first of the year because we are so busy right now. We haven't even bothered with it at all in the past couple of months. However, last Thursday, she  decided she wanted to start using the potty and she is doing very, very well with it. So far today, she hasn't had any accidents  - she's only gone potty on the toilet. I'm hoping this sticks because it sure would be nice for it to work out this easily!

--I got out the washable 'finger paints' this morning and let Piper have fun with it. She won't actually paint with her fingers - she prefers to use the paint brush.  I don't like to pull the paint stuff out too often because it's a total mess but she really enjoys it. It's really fun to see her motor skills develop and strengthen. In just a few months' time, she has a lot better dexterity with it and I love watching her learn new skills. 

--I love milk chocolate covered cherries this time of year! They are sooo good but I will only eat them if they are refrigerated. They are a nostalgic food for me - it takes me back to my childhood because my mom always bought chocolate covered cherries through the holiday season.

Random Facts v. 4.0

-I love caramel. I like it a whole lot better than I like chocolate, even. But pair them both together? Oh mylanta. YUM!!

-When we were dating, Mitchell told me that his grandpa Gordon could come to a complete stop in his car without ever feeling a lurch when it came to a halt. We have both tried and tried to master this art but we both fail at the very last moment when there's an ever-so-tiny little erp that you can detect as the car comes to a stop.   Of course, he was knee high to a grasshopper when this occurred, so his memory may be a little distorted. Who knows. The mystery continues!

-I hate coffee. I keep trying to convince myself that I'm going to become a coffee drinker. I'll be honest  - most days I could really use the boost first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, it still tastes like butt so a coffee drinker I am not.

-My feet are bigger than my husband's. So are my hands. I'm not particularly jazzed about either of these things but I'm afraid the size of my feet/hands are out of my control. I'm just gonna go ahead and blame my dad for this one.

-I've never had Pineapple Upside Down cake. I'm really curious as to how it tastes - I've just never had the chance to try one. Perhaps I should remedy this myself and give it a go!

-I know it shouldn't, but it totally annoys me when people refer to Piper as "Pipey" or "Pipes". It's like nails on a chalkboard for me - I hate, hate, haaaate those variations of her name. Don't even get me started on "P.J.". I don't typically say anything when I hear it but I reeeally do not like it.
Thankfully, neither does Mitchell so it's not something that has ever stuck.

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas!

Normally, I decorate for Christmas the weekend immediately following Thanksgiving. We're a little behind schedule this year because we were out of town last weekend but this morning was spent decorating the living room for Christmas! I love this time of year.

It's the perfect weekend to stay home, too - it's rainy, chilly, and weather like this makes you want to stay put! As we began, I put on some Christmas music and I popped a cube of "Pumpkin Roll" in my Scentsy warmer to make it feel extra festive. We haven't seen our Christmas decorations for two years so we had to go through the totes and get an inventory of everything before we began. This is our first Christmas in our home so we needed to figure out where everything was going to go! :)   

Before we really got started, we played with some old garland I don't use anymore and Piper had a blast. We each had our own strand and she was jumping and twirling the garland all over the place. It's the goofy little moments like those that I cherish the most. The spontaneous fun that erupts when you have a toddler ... it never gets old!

As we were sorting through the tubs, we found an old outfit that I had purchased for Rio when she was just a pup! It doesn't fasten anymore but I still had to torture her with it anyway. ;-) This is the first time Piper has ever seen Rio wearing clothes and she thought it was hilarious.

As you can see, the dog wasn't impressed. ;) 

Piper really enjoyed helping us put the garland on the tree. And I use the term "helping" loosely. Haha!

"There! Looks perfect!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't take pictures of all the decorations but I snapped a couple of pictures. I primarily decorate with brown, gold, copper, and rust colored decor.

My Christmas tree is actually black so the colors really *pop*. I can never get a good picture of my tree but I tried! It looks pretty weird in pictures, actually, but it's so pretty in person!

A few close-ups of ornaments. These pictures more accurately reflect what the tree looks like in person.

Now, I just need to get some wrapped presents under that tree! Except...now that I think about it, Piper knows what presents are this year so I'll probably have to hide them all until Christmas Eve night after she goes to bed. She'll want to open everyone's gifts if I put them within her reach!

Saturday Nine

1. “Everybody lies. But it's alright because nobody listens.” is one of Bud's Law's. What do you lie about?
-I make it a point to tell the truth - no good comes from lies. But, I would be lying if I said the weight on my driver's license is 100% accurate. ;-)

2. When you purchase a DVD, what besides the the movie itself, what do you enjoy the most? Is it the director's commentary, the deleted scenes, the bloopers or the behind-the-scenes documentary?
-We never buy movies. In our entire marriage, we have only purchased one, and it was for Piper (Despicable Me). But, we generally only watch the movie, never any extras.

3. What would you most like to accomplish before the year is over?
-I really need to finish up our will. It's 90% done, we just need to ACTUALLY finish it.

4. What is your current percentage of online shopping? Is it going to be more this year than last?
-I do a lot of shopping online. A lot. No more or less than previous years - I've always done a good chunk of my shopping online. It's a lot more convenient and if I can find it online for cheaper (including shipping), that's generally  what I do. I can also read the reviews online and make sure I am purchasing the best value for my money. I try to buy local as much as possible, but I'm sorry, if the exact same item is $20 cheaper online....that's where I'm getting it.

5. What's left to do at your place (or where you are going)? Is the tree up? ...or maybe you're just happy you found that fave Christmas coffee mug and are calling that good?
-We are way behind! We don't have our Christmas stuff out yet but it's all going up today! We haven't seen our Christmas decorations for two years so I'm excited to get it all out.

6. If you could get worry free, cost free plastic surgery, would you? If yes, where?
--There are things I fantasize about having done but at the end of the day, I would be way too scared to voluntarily sign up for surgery. The pain!!!

7. Do you think the child you were growing up, would like the adult you've become?
--I do. I may be a little biased but I don't think I turned out half bad. ;)

8. What will you miss about 2011?
--Nothing specific, really. It was a crrrrrazy year but it's one I will look back on fondly for sure. I'm looking forward to 2012 and making new memories!

9. What is something you'd love to see invented?
--An SUV that looks exactly like the new Suburbans, but is really affordable (like, less than $20k) and gets 80 miles per gallon. Ha!!  :) 

Has it really been an entire year?

It's hard to believe that exactly one year ago, Mitchell was in the Cancer Center receiving his first radiation treatment.

It was a pretty nerve-wracking day. We didn't really know what to expect, to be honest. It turned out to be pretty anti-climactic. The radiation wasn't exactly a walk in the park for Mitchell - he experienced burns on his skin, he constantly felt sick, and various other ailments that I won't divulge because I respect my husband's privacy. I'm glad he's past that part of the journey. No one likes watching the person they love go through something like that.

I know I haven't really mentioned the tumor topic for a while, but to be honest, there's not a whole lot to say. For those wondering how he's doing now, a year later, he's doing pretty good overall! I don't think we realized just how quickly he would start experiencing the side effects of the radiation. It still causes him pain on a somewhat regular basis. He doesn't really mention it for the most part, but when he's having a particularly bad day, he'll let on that he's really aching. He has lost a lot of flexibility due to the deteriorated joint/muscle tissue because of the radiation. He cannot lay on his left side, he struggles trying to put on his shoes/reach his feet, and he cannot squat. Stairs give him trouble at the end of a long day, so thankfully, we didn't purchase a home with a set of stairs to scale. It took a while for these things to happen, but once they did, they hit full force. I try to help him stretch out his leg/hip and it does seem to help. I hate that at 26 years old, this is his new normal. We both know he will have to have a hip replacement some day - and at this rate, that day will probably come a lot sooner than we were originally expecting.

Theoretically, he was supposed to have a couple of MRIs done by now. However, both doctors mentioned to us several times that they won't know if the radiation worked until a year had passed. Our insurance plan period ended after his first post-radiation check-up and things were looking fine at that appointment. Unfortunately, we haven't been back since. MRIs cost thousands of dollars and, I'm sorry, but we don't have a spare $3,000 just to check and see how it is. Sure, in a perfect world, we would have been in there a couple of times by now, but it's not - and we don't have that kind of money laying around (most people don't!).

Our new plan period is set to begin in January, I believe, so we will do more checking in to it then. At least that way, we will have a full year under one plan period (aka one deductible). Mitchell's new insurance didn't go into effect until August. I am thankful Mitchell has health insurance, no doubt, but a $3,000 deductible is a bit of a stretch for a one-income family. I am hopeful that we can figure out a way to get a reduced fee or something because Heaven knows, we can't tackle that financial hurdle right now - not after a big move and purchasing a new home. It's sad that it's something we have to worry about, really. People shouldn't have to put off medical procedures and appointments due to finances. I'm not sure what the answer is but the current system is just a mess. Mitchell is quite likely going to need surgery to remove the tumors (and hopefully won't need more radiation) and he will be out of work for 4-6 weeks.  It makes me sad that Mitchell regularly says "The surgery will just have to wait - we can only do so much".   We are trying to remain upbeat and optimistic about it even though the logistics of that are a bit of a nightmare. How can the only person bringing home a paycheck be out of commission for 4-6 weeks? I try not to think about it. ;-) God always seems to provide so we are just choosing to have faith! These things always work out one way or another.

So, that's our news! Not much different than the last tumor update but that's our story and we're stickin' to it! :0)