Happy Birthday DH! **UPDATED**

Happy Birthday to the best HONEY ever! Every day you fill my life with love, joy, laughter and peace. What I did to deserve it, I don't know. But I promise to never take it or you for granted and to be grateful for each and every day that God gives us together.

You truly make my life and my heart feel complete and safe. Something no one else could ever do. I love you with all that I am and all that I have.

Happy Birthday my once-in-a-lifetime Love.

And as soon as I can get the picture off the camera, I'll add the coolest birthday cake ever! I ROCK! LOL

************************UPDATED*************************

Okay, tell me that is not the coolest cake! And yes, it's 100% cake! Totally edible! Inside is a marble cake with cookies & creme filling. Oh yeah, say it...I am one of the coolest wives ever!

And his face when he saw the cake?! Couldn't believe it! This is a birthday cake he'll never forget! Schweet!

Holy cats, I haven't posted since 2/20?!

My gosh, I knew things were a little busy, but I didn't think they were that busy!

A couple of things, DH's health as in the last post is 'wonderfully normal', which is a great relief and welcomed. Daisy is doing well. I was looking over her January pediatrician visit and since January, she's grown 2 inches and almost 5 pounds! She's making the move from 5T to size 6 and regular small clothes. But if there is not an adjustable waist, yeah, it's an extra small to hope it'll stay on. She's got a long lean figure. She'll be the envy of many girls.

Our final adoption hearing has been scheduled for Monday (April 6) at 4p. On that day and that time, our Daisy will become "our Daisy" and we'll be a 'forever family'. It's a closed hearing and needless to say, we're beyond excited. Daisy was quite thrilled to hear that it had been scheduled and is looking forward to seeing the Judge and telling him she choses to adopt us. (Her words!)

So things have been busy, but life is good. Daisy has swimming classes twice a week. We start Tumblin on Saturday (once a week) and we have Daisies (beginner Girl Scouts) every other week. Busy schedule...but she's doing great. And once we get a better feel for what she enjoys, we'll be able to focus on one activity at at time.

Life is good. :)

"Wonderfully Normal"

Those are the exact words we heard when DH's scans were read and compared to prior scans. "Wonderfully normal"

Are those beautiful words or what?!

DH continues to be 100% donor cells and a shining example of what can go right with one of these things. And I'll take it every time.

Wednesday was quite frankly a long ass draining day. It started out with a great treat however, me getting to escort my little 5 year old to her class room for school. I've gotten to experience that 3 times so far, so I cherish the moment. :)

We got to Moffitt 10 minutes late (not bad considering we were 15 minutes late when we left for there, but I digress...and sped). Got the labs done and on to the CT scan. They collected him at 11:45 and were supposed to give him back by 2. At 2:30 I started asking questions.

CT was still over an hour behind. Sweet! Can you make some calls, because we're supposed to be with the PA now, the Doc at 3 and his PET scan is at 5 with him drinking the contrast in 30 minutes...obviously, we ain't gonna make it.

I got him back at 4! We went immediately to Radiology to sign in and collect the wonderful barium mixed with orange flavored crystal light (a must pass if given an option!). With our gross drinks in our possession, we beat feet to the docs office one floor up to find 96% of the staff have gone home. Huh, it's almost 5, why would they want to do that?! (sarcasm)

We meet with PA and go over everything. Meet with Doc and Nurse, show pictures of Daisy (they were so excited, they told us not to forget to bring them, how wonderful is that?!) and get the thumbs up. I cried, said prayers of thanks and breathed for the first time in a week. (It's what I do.)

Then back down to Radiology where DH explains that yes he still has another drink to go, but it's 5:30 and can't they take him now, because Whataburger is waiting on us. You see, we hadn't eaten all day as DH was only allowed water. Nothing but water. Not a stick of gum or a mint, just plain water. He was finally done at 6:50 and we beat feet to dinner. And we don't get to repeat this feat until next year.

But what better way to celebrate a 4th anniversary of his stem-cell transplant on Sunday than knowing that he continues to be 100% donor cells and still in remission. I give my thanks to God for the doctors and nurses and their great training. I give thanks to God for my (idiot) brother-in-law for agreeing to save my husbands life (I will always know how to find you C). And most of all, for my wonderful Husband, without whom life would hold very little magic at all.

How life has changed...

Every once in a while, there are moments that come along that you have to just take a moment to reflect. This is one of those moments.

Four years ago on February 15th, we started a walk together that literally changed our lives. You see, four years ago, DH walked in through the doors of Moffitt Cancer Center. We walked in together and I walked out alone.

During the course of that day, I was there through every doctor visit, lab appointment and waiting while they placed his pick line and then the hours (literally hours) spent in recovery as they tried to find a bed for him. It was by far one of the longest and most draining days I think I ever experienced. And having to walk out of the room and out the front door of that place and leave him behind was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Four years later and it still tears at my heart.

But from walking in those doors, we got something that we only hoped for...a chance.

Because of his youngest brother, my Darling Husband is alive today.
Because of the doctors at Moffitt, my husband has been in remission from cancer for four years and counting.
Because of February 22, I have my husband with me today. The love of my life is still with me.
Because we took that walk together four years ago, we have two wonderful puppy dogs (Boo Hahn has a little sister).
Because medical science worked, we are parents to a beautiful 5 year old.
Because of HIM and the numerous prayers that were said on our behalf, the family members who helped support us when insurance let us down, we are here...together.

And because of Him, I found the love of my life, the reason for my smile and the joy in my laughter and the beat in my heart. And because of Him, I can look to February 15 and February 22 as important dates to remember forever and be grateful for them.

We return to Moffitt on Wednesday for DH's annual check up and day of tests and exams. And when we are given the all clear, I will breathe a sigh of relief and offer up my daily words of thanks and praise for all that He continues to provide to us.

That's good eatin'!

There was some good food to be had at our place last night...and truth be told, I could have fed a small army without problems!

The local grocery store had Country Style Pork Ribs on special for 99 cents a pound! Well this little chicken picked up 5 packages of ribs! (Nothing like stocking up! Thank goodness for the little freezer!) So yesterday afternoon, I got out the LARGE crockpot and proceeded to prepare said ribs for dinner.

It was a new recipe I'd found and wanted to try. So I trimmed the fat off of the ribs (and de-bones a couple of them), and added the ribs to the crockpot. (The pot held 2 packages about 8-10 pounds of ribs, in all!) Then I combined in a bowl bbq sauce (I picked up one that was a little sweet but had a nice hickory bite, to satisfy everyone), worcestshire sauce (or however it's spelled!), yellow mustard, celery, garlic, onion and brown sugar. Mix together, pour over the ribs and cook on high for 5 hours (or low for 10-11). Let me tell you, by 3 o'clock, the house was starting to smell pretty tasty!

Daisy got to pick the sides to go with dinner. So I prepared a rich buttery rice for the ribs to rest on (oh yum!), Chi-Chi's (or Don Pablo's) Corn Cake (oh yum again!) and for dessert, strawberry shortcake! We had some friends come over for dinner and it was a big success! I strained the sauce and used my fat separator for preparing the sauce for the table. I like a fair amount of sauce with my bbq, but to be gracious to our guests, each got a ramikin of sauce to dip or pour as they would like. The ribs were tender, flavorful and quite yummo! The recipe/dinner was a hit and will definitely be repeated.

It took me an hour to get the rest of the meat shredded and into containers between the fridge and the freezer. DH will have some good lunches for a day or two, before it's all gone. I'm going to split a package of the ribs with my Mother, that will give her half and me one and a half for future use (which will be perfect for the crockpot). I think next time I'll either fix it with some yummy crisp cool broccoli slaw (I'm not a big cole slaw fan) or mashed potatoes and garlic toast. That sounds pretty good too!

Daring

Happy Birthday to me! :) Ha ha!

Every so often a birthday comes along that you have to do something daring and indulgent.

For example, when I was 25, I wanted to get a second piercing on my ears for about 18 months, so my birthday gift to myself? Second piercing and beautiful earrings just for that 2nd spot.

This year? Well I had an appointment this morning to get my hair cut, it was too long (I know, 6 weeks and I couldn't stand it anymore, how did I have it to my waist?!). So the girl is starting to blow dry it out and I ask, "How much trouble would it be for a color streak in my hair?"

She just looked at me. "You mean an all-over color, right?" Nope, I just one section of hair a different color.

Perplexed look at me, like I've started speaking in Vulcan and a horn is protruding from my scalp. "Well it's easy to do, but what color are you thinking?"

Purple. A dark vibrant lovely purple. I've wanted it for years and now is the time to make changes and be bold.

Took a little convincing, but I did it. I have a beautiful purple streak that I absolutely LOVE! DH didn't even recognize me when we met up after my appointment, which was too fun! I love the surprise and the joy in his eyes when he looks at it now. In a way, it's my Red Badge of Courage. These are new waters I'm braving (thankfully not truly alone), but sometimes you've got to hang your badge (or your freak flag) and just take that next step. This was my first one...and you know what? I want a second one, one on each side! So that will be done at my next appointment.

My mother will hate it, and that's okay. This is for me and just me. Sometimes you have to push yourself to see what you're truly made of. (I'm glad I did purple instead of the red!) I'd love to do the entire underlayer of my hair in the purple, but we'll see how this goes over first. But my next big dare's to myself? Skydiving, parasailing and getting a tattoo. We'll see what order they come in, but I'm going to do them all before I go in the box. That's my dare to me. Do you have one?

By the way, that's me at the top (obviously) with my short haircut (blown out and wispy instead of straight as usual). I promised a picture when I cut it off, so here it is...now with the purple streak. LOL!

Ah yes, but I'm still here!

So things have been quite interesting for the last 24+ hours in my corner of the world.

Let's see...for starters, yesterday morning, get to work, see my Boss (who I need to talk with) but she's on her way to a meeting. I've got enough time to say, "Good morning!" and get my desk setup. (Double check clock, yep 7:57, I'm not late.)

10 minutes later another VP comes by my desk, "Uh, Lee Ann, can we talk for a moment?" You betcha, grab handy dandy steno pad and follow into Boss's office where I'm informed that as of 5 minutes earlier, she's no longer with the company.

Huh?!

Yep, she's gone...and so now, the next shoe. They like me, they like my work, I have a good reputation/raport built within the company, they have a position they would like to offer me. But if I don't want to stay, it's not a problem and they have a package for me.

Um, let's see. Husband full-time student. Waiting for approval to adopt 5 year old Daisy. Two dogs all depending on me for food, shelter, clothes, heat, et al. I'll take door number 1 please! Plus I like where I'm at and I'm always willing to be of help where I can and learn new things.

The good news? While by title it's a step down, I'm right in the middle for pay range, so I'm not losing money (I couldn't afford to.) And I'll be working with a couple of departments and folks that I know and the biggest cherry to the deal? A career path. Being an Executive Secretary for a Vice President, well, there' s not much else you can do but hope for a bigger fish in a bigger company.

But with this position, I'll be working with 3 departments, learning new skills, I can take certification classes (get paid for going AND get a bonus for passing) and decide which of the three roads I really want to follow...how often does that happen?

So yesterday was just watching the dust fly...but today? Well today I'm good. I called Boss this morning to touch base with her and while I would not call us close, it was the right thing to do. I thanked her for what I learned and that chapter is closed. I spent the rest of today reassuring (many) others that I'm fine and this is all a good thing. It's business not personal and it's going to be a positive for everyone. My 2009 Mantra (and I'll share it with you) is "Live in the moment".

I can't tell you what the next one may be like. But this one? This one is good. And as long as you just focus on this moment, then it's all going to be just fine. So forgive if I repeat it, but sometimes I have to remind myself. And in the end, I know that I will have handled myself with grace, class and dignity as an example to myself and maybe helped others to see, that it's all going to be okay.

Live in the moment...because this one is like a gift, it's full of wonderful possibilities and its all good. :)