Thanksgiving 2010

We had a lovely Thanksgiving. We spent lunch with Mr. Winslow's family and it was so nice. Me and Mr. Winslow ate well....very well.

Here is my hubby (A.K.A. Mr. Winslow), Wes (his daddy), Leah (his baby sis) and Barb (his other sis).
















Here is Wes with his grandson (Barb's baby) Christian and his daddy Danny.
















Then it was off to my family that afternoon.

I have NO idea what I am doing here, but how funny is this picture. I crack me up sometimes. Hahahaha!!!
















My baby sis, Dena. She is SO funny!!! As her shirt indicates, her and my niece ran The Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning.

















Dena's beautiful face!! I love this girl!!!
















My baby sis and her husband Brian. So cute!!

























My nephew Donnie and his girlfriend Nicole. This is the first time her has brought a girl to Thanksgiving. WOW I feel old =)

























My B-I-L Randy. Do you see the ice on the door? Yep we had some crazy weather on Thanksgiving. It was SO cold and we watched it snow at Wes's. Great, Big, Huge flakes......it was so pretty.
























Me and Mr. Winslow............Oh how I love this man!!!!!























Dakota and Georgia..........So Sweet!!!!!























Aunt NeeNee (Dena), Dakota and Georgia!!!!!
























My nephew Adam and his very sweet finacee Megan. She is the best cook. I mean seriously, and her food is SO pretty!!! She made a beautiful Apple Pie. And it was so good!!





















So now it is CHRISTmas time!!!!! I haven't even started shopping yet. What is wrong with me? Have y'all started shopping? Will you be Cyber Shopping on Monday?



Hope you all have a beautiful weekend!!!


Colossians 3:16 (New International Version, ©2010)

"16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

With love and thankfulness I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

God has so richly blessed my life with His Holy Spirit and love beyond measure in my Savior Jesus Christ. He has given me the absolutely best family a girl could ask for, and He has Blessed me beyond measure in so many ways.

Over the last few years we have faced adversity, but God's grace is sufficient for us.

James 1:2-4 (New International Version, ©2010)

"2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I want to wish you all the joy and love of Thanksgiving. Remember to stop and be truly thankful and grateful.

I love you all so!!!!!


Psalm 95:1-3 (New International Version, ©2010)

"1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods."

Thanksgiving Week.....

Those of you who have followed my blog for a while know that I LOVE Thanksgiving. I love the food yes, but more importantly I love being with family and friends. I also love the feel of Thanksgiving. It has a certain feel to it doesn't it?

I also really like the food of Thanksgiving.

This is my favorite Cranberry Salad. So good!!!!!















Pumpkin Cheesecake.....




















The turkey, I must admit, is NOT my favorite food of Thanksgiving. I am much more a side and dessert lover. YUMMY!!!!! But it sure does look pretty =)
















Sweet Potato Casserole.....another favorite!!!

We got a call about two weeks ago from some friends of ours that wanted to bless us with a Thanksgiving Smoked Turkey. They asked to remain anonymous, so I won't reveal their identity, but it touched my heart so. They didn't want me to have to cook a big ole turkey right now and they know we have extras in our home right now making it so fun and lively that they just wanted to Bless us in this way.

I want to just say, it has touched us so to know that someone would do this, because they love us and wanted to help me. They are the kindest people, they do so much for us, just because they love us and want to show the love of Jesus to us, which they do on a very regular basis. But it isn't just us, they do the same for so many. If they see a need they jump in to meet it if at all possible, and if they can't they pray for a way they can. It is truly amazing!!!!! They have donated so much to others over the years, but they have also donated so much of themselves. They are my modern-day heroes in the faith.

I hope y'all have a beautiful Monday, and are preparing your hearts for Thanksgiving.

Psalm 100 (New International Version)

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

"1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations."

Have a Blessed day,

Friday Frag #1 .....

Okay so I am TOTALLY new at Friday Frag, but SO wanted to join in on the fun. I really look forward to RJ's post every Friday because they are the Frag. I especially love the spat-of-the-week. Does that make me bad? It always cracks me up. RJ, you are a funny woman =)

So let's start with Physical Therapy. Yesterday I called to get records from my PT in '08 & '09, because when we started PT this time, they had a sheet there that told me how much we'd owe, which BTW was $0 at least as long as my PT stays in '10. We have met our out-of-pocket and deductible for the year, so insurance picks it up at 100%, but in '08 we ended up owing A LOT more than $0, with the same insurance and definitely had met all requirements.

Now all that to say.......wow I do a lot of PT in my life. In '08 I went from March - July and then from November '08 - to March or April of '09. And now guess what, yep back in PT. At least if I have to spend so much time there, I really like my PTist and she does a lot of this.....

*****

William & Kate ~~ I mean seriously, who doesn't LOVE a good love story. When I was almost 15, Prince Charles married Diana, and my mom let me get up to watch it. It was one of the highlights of my teenage years. For one I felt SO grown-up to be able to get up and watch, but also for a VERY long time after I had fairy tale wedding dreams. Even dreamed of being a Wedding Planner. Yep, that wedding was spectacular. I am loving all the coverage this is already getting. I think our world needs a good love story, complete with Prince and a commoner who will be Princess. Yep, warms my heart.

*****

And can y'all believe that next Thursday, less than a week away is Thanksgiving? It has certainly snuck up on me. The past two years I have done a countdown to Thanksgiving, every Thursday a month before Thanksgiving, but this year I am a slacker =) I LOVE Thanksgiving, and not just the food, although I love a good stuffing and Sweet Potato Casserole, be still my heart =) but I love getting together with my family. They are all so sweet and it just really starts the holidays off right for me.

*****

Sir Cuteness Cute Moment of the Week: Our little g-babe has quite the country drawl. It is the cutest thing you have ever heard in your life. This is a conversation we had the other day:

SC: Gamma, I need screw-----driv-----er (all drawn out like that)

G: You need a what?

SC: A screw-----driv-----er

G: How old are you?

SC: I 2.

G: Are you sure your not 12? Because most 2 year olds don't even know what a screwdriver is little lone be able to say it.

SC: Gamma, I need screw-----driv-----er peeeeze!!!!! (Cue the cutest face ever complete with dimples =)

G: Okay.

So I go and get the screw-----driv-------er and low and behold if this little guy didn't start trying to unscrew a screw in his toy garage. Cracked.me.up. So not only can he say screw-----driv-----er, he also knows what do to with it. He has obviously been watching his PaPa =)

*****

Well, okay so that's it for my Frag this week. I'll get better with practice =)

Have a Super Blessed Weekend,

Blood Work Update.....

Hey...........

Just wanted to jump on here real quick and let you know what the blood work showed.

Doc's office called yesterday afternoon and told me that there is NO sign of infection!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!! My hemoglobin is still low. It needs to be somewhere between 12-14 and mine is at about 11.2, but that is really good. When I was in the hospital it dropped to 7.5 and they talked about giving me a blood transfusion. I so did NOT want that if we didn't have to. My doc opted to watch me instead and it did creep up .2, not much but since I was on the way up he let me go on home without a blood transfusion. Now I am up almost 4 points and my sister (who is a nurse) says that is GREAT!!!!! I am SO excited it is up. They said to keep eating an iron rich diet and it should come right on up into normal range soon on it's own.

So all-in-all, good news.

Today is another milestone. I will be driving myself to PT. I'm going to leave early, so I have plenty of time to get there without rushing or having to fight traffic.

Thank you for praying for us. It means so much to us. We know that God is holding us and helping us every single day.

Psalm 121:1-2 (New International Version)

Psalm 121
A song of ascents.

"1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth."

Have a Blessed day ~~ Love you,

I'm starting to feel his Senior Year.....

Well ya know for the most part, Dak's Senior Year has been going by pretty good. I haven't shed a lot of tears yet, or even really been sad, for the most part. It has just been a good year of first lasts that we have been soaking in and enjoying.

And then.....

Last night was Fall Athletic Banquet. Here are a few pictures to get started.

Here are Dak and I and Sir Cuteness yesterday afternoon.
How cute are these two kiddos?!! I love them so!!
















Okay, so I was SO happy I was feeling up to going, even after a long day. I even wore jeans..... WOOT-WOOT!!!!! We had so much fun!!

Here is Dak, the Team Captain, recieving his accolades. Only Senior on the Team......Team Captain..... 2 Medals this year AND Most Miles Ran for the Boys at 220 for the year. That means for his High School Career he has ran approx 800 miles (give or take a few). WOW!!! I am SO proud of him. What an accomplishment. He had the 9th best time ever for Clever Cross Country and he is the only 4-year letterman for Cross Country in Clever High history. How impressive is that?!! Cross Country is NOT for the faint of heart =) Most kids get started and then realize that they run a 5K EVERY Meet and that they run EVERY morning sometimes 5+ miles, and you have to get up early and it takes sacrifice to do that. I am so proud of Dak for sticking Cross Country out these last four years. He is a better man because of it.















So at the end of the Banquet last night they showed a slide show of the Cross Country runners and the Girls Volley Ball seasons. Everything was going great and then at the very end of the slide show, after the Volley Ball highlights, there came across the screen.....

SENIOR SALUTE

Now I was a little confused, because we didn't have ANY Seniors on the Volley Ball Team and then Dak's name starts scrolling across the bottom of the screen and then they show a picture of him running and then another picture of him running and then the last picture was of him and I hugging each other at one of his Meets and then the screen says:

BEST OF LUCK!!!

Cue the Cap, of the famous Cap and Gown, oh yeah and me?!! Lost it!! Oh my!!!!! I was doing so well to, and then it hit me. My baby really is moving right along with his Senior self and before I know it.....Graduation. One of the coaches came up and said, wow just wait until Graduation!!! But it was SO nice of them to include that at the end. It really has been the highlight of his Senior year for me so far. So neat!!!!!



So here I am sitting on my bed after the festivities were over.

Yes, I know, still looking tired, but it's getting better.
















Here is my Sweet Dak. Look at that smile. It says it all doesn't it?


















Awwww Me and my boy!!!!! I love this kid so!!!!!

Okay, so before this last little diddy.....let me give you an update. Yesterday I went to the doc and she checked for a UTI - negative. And then did blood work to see if I have an infection setting up somewhere. She is checking two different inflamation markers and one of those she is checking against my white cell count. That will tell her if I am starting to get, or have some kind of infection. So I should find this out today.

Now back to the fun stuff.....

This is a video that Dak and I made when we got home. I thought y'all might enjoy seeing us in action. Please excuse the weird coloring that my camera takes video's in. I don't really know why it does this, but anyway.....

Here ya go!!!

Lamentations 3:22-23 (New International Version)

"22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness."

Love you ~~ Have a Blessed Day,

Fashion Diaster & Other Happenings.....

So this week at Dak's school is Spirit Week. They have a Blue and White Scrimmage (girls vs. boys) on Friday to kick off the start of Basketball season. So today is Fashion Diaster Day. Now keep in mind that I didn't know this and Dak walks out with this outfit on (minus the hat.....it came on later). I just looked at him like "are you sure son?" =) Before I could say anything he told me it was Fashion Diaster Day.........yep his dress fits the day =)

So Alyssa came by to pick Dak up for school and this is how she was dressed. So stinkin' cute these two.

















Look at Dak's shorts.....He cut old jeans off S-H-O-R-T by today's standards for guys and said he had the 80's look going, and then he looked at me and said or is it the 70's? and I assured him, nope it was the 80's. Oh do y'all recall the shorts boys wore back then? So funny to think about.



















And check out his green readers.
This child cracks.me.up.
He LOVES his readers and wears them A-LOT!!!















Yep, lovin' these two!!















Okay, so this hat came from Dak's trip to Iowa that he took a couple of weeks ago with FBLA. He had a blast and got this at the biggest mall he'd ever been to in Des Moines. So funny!!!




















And yes it has paws =) heeheeheeheehee



So today I have PT at 11:30 AM. It has been a rough knee weekend, but I'm hanging in there. Last week I started getting a knot on the inside part of my knee at the base and it has just continued to grow and hurt more, so I really want to find out what's going on there. And then this afternoon I go to my Primary Care to check out these low-grade fevers I'm still having.



Then tonight is the Fall Athletic Banquet. I'm really looking forward to it, but at the same time am a little sad, because this is his last FAB. But looking forward to seeing his team all together, since I missed the last 3 meets of the season.



Well, I hope you all have a Blessed day and hang in there. Whatever it is, trust God and keep moving up in Him. That is what I am trying to do everyday.



I did see something on The LPM (Beth Moore's) Blog the other day that made me extremely happy. Next year in January she is starting the Scripture Memorization up again for 2011. I am SO happy. That means we will be memorizing 2 verses a month (every other week). I grew so much in my walk when we did this in 2009. So I hope you all will mark your calendars and start with us in January. God is already speaking to my heart about this and what verses we will be walking through. What a beautiful thing!!!

This is some verses I memorized in '09 and still know today. Love these verses!!! And I love the title that Bible Gateway gave them, "Love in Action". Amen!!


Romans 12:9-10 (New International Version)

Love in Action

"9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."

Have a Blessed day,

Update and a Prayer Request

Okay, so I have not been very good to keep my blog updated since surgery. I'm hoping that starting next week, I will be able to get back to more regular blogging. I'm starting to visit more blogs again and feeling a little more like myself. That's a good thing.

I wanted to update you on the 'ol knee. I have my third out-patient PT today, and it is with a Lymphedema Specialist. She is going to fit me for a compression sock. Doesn't that sound lovely? It's suppose to help with the swelling, although the swelling is better, this should keep it down even more.

PT is actually going really well. I was within 5 degrees of being straight, not sure what my flexion is at right now, but on Tuesday it was 93 degrees. That is SO great!!! It took so long to get my right knee past 30 degrees, so 93 degrees at just 3 weeks out is so wonderful!!

I am having a problem though, and I wanted to ask you to pray with me over this. Every afternoon, I am still having a low-grade fever. Last night it was 99.8. They start every afternoon about 4 or 5 PM and stay until I take my bed time pain meds and then my fever breaks in the night and I wake up all sweaty. I know, yucky. But it is happening every day, so I'd really like this to get under control.

My doc doesn't think this is anything going on with the knee, so he wanted me to contact my Primary Care Physician, and so I have an appt with her on Monday afternoon. My Orthopaedic doc thinks I may have a UTI going on, even though I am having no symptoms. Dick and I have been talking about it, and it could be that the pain meds I'm on are keeping my symptoms back. We aren't really sure what's going on, but would really apprectiate your prayers that these low-grade fevers would stop and I'd start feeling much better in the afternoon and evenings.

I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend filled with family, fun and football. What about you?


Romans 5:8 (New International Version)

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Knee Update.....

So I'd like to show you a pic of my knee, but I don't want to get out of my chair. Does that make me lazy or relaxed? Yep I will choose relaxed =)



Last Friday, I went to the doc and they took out my staples. Last time that was such a bad deal, but this time, it was no big deal at all. It only stung a couple of times and I only have two places with steri-strips. Last time I had an incision full of them. But this time it has healed and sealed so nicely. Only have a couple of places that didn't seal really well.



The doc said that things look really well. I go back in four weeks and he said at that time we may do one more doppler, just to make sure that there are no problems with blood clots, because there is still quite a bit of swelling.



He told me that what happened with the blisters, was that my body couldn't take all of the Lovinox (blood thinner). They give the same dosage to a 250 lb man that they did me. That is a lot of Lovinox apparently. But he thought I was doing really well.



I start out-patient PT today. I will have the same PT team that I have had the last couple of surgeries. I am so happy about that.

So all-in-all I'm doing pretty good. Still have a long recovery, but I am definitely feeling better. I am ready for a spa day though. I really want to get this gray out of my hair and my eye brows done. They get so out-of-hand. So hopefully in the next few weeks I'll be able to drive and get that spa day =)

I hope you all have a wonderful day.........



Psalm 91:1-2 (New International Version)


"1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

Love you.....

Sir Cuteness' love for his Gamma.....

So there is so much to blog about, but I wanted to just share a story or two of our Sir Cuteness.

He has been very intrigued about Gamma's leg. The staples REALLY bothered him. He was so glad when they came out. (They came out on Friday. I'll do a knee update tomorrow.)

Yesterday, before he went to church he was standing next to me and he looked at my knee and said "oh I kiss it gamma".....Oh.my.stars. He reached down and kissed it and rubbed it. How sweet is that?

He puts lotion on my leg everyday and even does my "toesies". It is just the sweetest thing.

When we go to bed at night, he crawls up in my bed next to me and lays his head down and starts rubbing my hair and he tells me, "no worry gamma". Oh.my.stars. This child is THE sweetest thing ever!!!

Well, last night, Papa picked him up to put him in his bed (which is in our room), and Sir Cuteness looks at me and says "night-night gamma" and then when he shut the light out he told Papa, "pray gamma knee". So they prayed for me (which they do every night), but last night Sir Cuteness requested. He is such a sweetie. He loves his gamma and his gamma LOVES him!!!

Sorry I have been a little missing on the blog lately. I am finding it difficult to spend much time on the computer right now, but I will get back to blogging regular as my knee gets better.

And I will update on my knee tomorrow and maybe on some other fun things too.

James 1:17 (New International Version)

"17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Have a Blessed day,

86 Degrees and Counting.....

I thought I might give you a knee update, seeing how tomorrow is 2 weeks since surgery.

PT has been coming out to my house, and will the rest of this week as well (2 more times). Then next week, I'll start out-patient PT.

Yesterday, the PTist bent my knee (she bent it) to 86 degrees. Now that is really good and it took me months to get to 86 degrees on my right knee, I am very thankful to have so much more range of motion, but getting there is so very painful.

I will just tell you that I had a very bad night last night. Hoping for a better PT day today, maybe not so much bending on the PTist part and more on my own part. We'll see.

So I thought I'd should you a few pics, so you can see kind of what we're dealing with here.

Yep that is a very tired and in pain me. Hubby took this last night, just before I went to bed.

















This is the view from my walker =)
















And here it is.....my new, pretty knee.
Isn't she lovely?

Lots of swelling and all the dark places are recovering blisters. At this angle you can't see where the big ones were, but you can get the idea.

Well, needless to say, we could still use your prayers. This knee is kickin' my booty some times. I know that is is getting better, it just seems to be going so slow.

Friday I get my staples out and then start out-patient PT next week.

Thanks so much for praying for us. I'm having a lot of swelling in the knee, but also in the ankle and foot too. But I know it will get better.

II Timothy 1:12b ".....I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day."


Have a Blessed day,

"It was a Bee....."

That is a quote from one of my favorite movies, "Ever After". And I was reminded of that movie when I saw Sir Cuteness in his Halloween costume.

Is this not the Sweetest Bee you have EVER seen? I mean seriously!!!

He has been so cute. He re-enacted his halloween fun when he got home by saying, "trick treat....hahahahaha" He is SO cute!!

He has been coming up to my knee and kissing around it and putting lotion on my leg, and he'll rub my head and say, "don't worry." He is the best medicine.

I'm having a difficult day today, but yesterday was a good day. That's kind of the way it goes, but I'm doing well. Took a long nap today and feel better this afternoon.

I'll try to do an update post on my knee in the next couple of days.

Have a Blessed week,