My mom...

My mom will have surgery tomorrow morning to remove a mass on her thyroid gland. The mass will be sent to pathology and within 10-15 minutes the surgeon will know if the mass is malignant or benign.

Please remember my mom in your prayers. Pray that the surgery will go well and the mass will be benign. Thank you...

3/1/10 Update: Mom's surgery went well. The doctor only removed half of her thryroid and the initial pathology report indicated no cancer. They will send the mass to the Mayo Clinic just to be sure. She should come home tomorrow. I'm so thankful for friends who pray. You're the best!

Saturday Shopping

50 Strawberry plants, Raspberry canes, and an assortment of bean, tomato, pea, cucumber, and lettuce seeds... I'm eager to start this year's garden.

The first egg

The Araucana hen laid her first egg this week. It is the prettiest shade of blue.

An evening with Dr. Goodall

Last night I went with a good friend to hear Jane Goodall speak at a local college. What an opportunity.

She talked for over an hour about her work in Africa with the chimpanzees and her world wide conservation efforts. It was a delightful evening and one I won't ever forget.

Teenage version of playing in the snow

The road home

I grew up in a small mountain community. The only way to reach this small "Valley above the Clouds," is to travel winding mountain roads.

I know this road like the back of my hand.

Folks outside our area often tease us about snow days. Granted it doesn't take a lot of snow in our area to call off school, but would you want to drive a school bus on this road?

A baby blanket

I'm trying my best to get this baby blanket finished before the shower on Thursday. The colors in the yarn are not traditional colors for a baby blanket...but they are beautiful.

Happy 65th

My dad turned 65 last week. We celebrated over the weekend at my parent's house. He's ready for a well-deserved retirement.

We presented him with his first "social security check."

Happy Birthday Daddy!

First Place

Clay competed in Skills USA last week. His team won first place. He'll travel to the state competition sometime this spring.

Parenting Teenagers

I love these guys. They make me proud. For the most part, they never give us an ounce of trouble or worry. When people say children are a blessing....they're right.

However, ever so often they make a poor choice. The reality is they are human and their parents are human. While I'd like to think that they won't make any poor choices, they will. They may even repeat some of the poor choices I've made through the years. Ouch--those choices really hurt when they hit home.

This post is a good one to read when those poor choices are made.