Gangrene????!!!!

Definition: Gangrene refers to the decay and death of tissue resulting from an interruption in blood flow to a certain area of your body
Christopher was playing around on an exercise bike, going really fast, then took his feet off the pedals and one nailed him in the back of his calf. Ouch!! It was just pink on Friday, but looked like this on Sunday.

He got out of the shower Sunday morning, sobbing hysterically. I got him to settle down enough to tell me that he didn't want to have his leg cut off. What?? He said, "I don't want them to cut my leg off !" I said, "Why is someone going to cut your leg off?" He said, "Because, I have gangrene!" LOLOLOLOLOL!!!! It was all I could do to choke back the laugh that was itching to burst out and assure him that a big green bruise was not the same thing as gangrene. LOLOLOLOL!!!! Obviously, he's seen one too many episodes of Little House on the Prairie or watched too much history channel. Seriously, it was so sad and yet so funny!

Jim's SO OLD!

How many candles do you think are on this cake??














Enough that I about singed my eyelashes off carrying it to the table!

We had a whirlwind weekend. Friday night we went to Olive Garden to celebrate a little early. Thanks Debbie and Chris for the gift card!! It is one of our favorite restaurants. Saturday morning dawned sunny and relatively warm. The next thing I knew, Jim and the kids were setting up the trampoline. We had a few minor problems setting it up since we had to completely dismantle it in the move. It wasn't a very quick project. Caleb said, "It will be worth it, even if I have to wait all day." This coming from our least patient child. It was so funny!
After we finally got it all put together it was time to hurry to our niece's birthday party. (Keep count, we had a lot of parties this weekend!) We all stayed to play for about an hour and then Jim and I left the kids there to play while we went and did a little b-day shopping. Jim got a pair of Nike cross trainers for everyday wear and a pair of basketball shoes. We picked up the kids just in time to hurry back to our house for a party. Jim was called to the High Council a few weeks ago, so he will be released as the Elder's Quorum President. We had his presidency and their families over as a little "thanks for the memories"/Birthday party. We ordered a bunch of take out from Royal India. It was so fun! Good food and great company!! Thank goodness the tramp was set up for all of the kids to enjoy while the parents talked.
Sunday was an insanely busy day! So much for enjoying a relaxing Sunday. Jim had a meeting from 7:30 am-10:00 am. He came home briefly to eat and the kids surprised him with this banner they had been working on all morning.

They taped clear cellophane to the wall and then used stickers and dry erase markers to decorate it. So creative! They came up with the idea all on their own.

Jim was off to another meeting from 10:30-12:00. I had a Sunday School Training meeting from 11:00-12:00 and then went to choir practice from 12-12:30. I rushed home to get everyone to church at 1:00 and then back home at 4:00 to cook for another party at 5:00. My sister Michelle and her sweet family are LEAVING ME to move to Texas on Wednesday. We all got together for a "going away" party/ Jim's real birthday party. LOL! I love that birthdays last for days around here. It was so fun to be together with my parents, grandma, siblings, and their families. We ate and laughed and took lots of pictures. Again, it was so great that the weather was nice and the tramp was set up. The kids jumped and jumped and jumped. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some little ones with really sore muscles today.

At the end of the weekend, this is how my birthday boy looked-

That's exactly how I felt!! It was the best of times, it was the most exhausting of times!!

Christopher's 10!

Wow, time really flies! Christopher turned 10 this week. It was fun having a family party Thursday night. We went to dinner at Iggy's then came home and watched City of Ember together. Friday, baby cousin Jacob and I took Christopher Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch at school. Saturday, Christopher invited three friends to go out to lunch at Wingers, then they came back here and played. Lots of fun! I am so bummed that I forgot my camera when we went to Wingers. It was so fun to see the boys laughing and eating. Here are a few pics from the party though:

The winners!

Paying it forward is fun! The winners from my post are: Bekah, Betsy and Becky!! I am working on a couple of fun projects that will be on the way to you soon. (Don't hold your breath though! lol)

Pay It Forward

My friend, Kristi, and my sister, Michelle, have this on their blogs and I thought it sounded fun. So this is how it works..... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this will receive a hand made gift from me sometime during this year. When and what will be a surprise. There's a small catch...You knew there would be didn't you? Winners must post this challenge on their own blog, meaning that you will pay it forward, creating a handmade gift (anything) for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway! Fun, huh? Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift. When you receive your gift, blog about it! If you are not one of the first three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! It's all about paying it forward. (I combined wording from both of their blogs.)

Will you be my Valentine?

The kids had a great time putting together their Valentine's for their classmates and friends. You should see all of the loot they got! Suckers, SweetTarts, chocolate kisses and hearts, cans of soda, etc. So fun!
Katrina had a boy friend of hers ask if she'd be his Valentine. He gave her a pink t-shirt from his trip to Disneyland last week and a key chain with the letter K and Shamu from Sea World. Jim is going to talk to his dad (who is a good friend of ours) about his son courting our daughter. He needs to understand that she doesn't have a dowry! LOL!

What did you do this Saturday?

I am hesitant to post this because we don't want the family we bought our home from to feel bad, but it is just too good a story to pass up. Saturday started out with nothing much going on, but ended with a lot of mud! What can you do? Old houses have a notorious reputation for faulty plumbing. We had to replace all of our plumbing at our old house, I mean ALL of it. It was no surprise then when we had a leak here. I am so truly grateful to our dear friend (I won't name him by name, but he knows who he is) who came immediately to our rescue. He has bailed us out so many times. I can't even tell him and his family, who so willingly let him spend his Saturday digging us out, thank you enough. They are true friends! In just a matter of hours, he had a new main water line run to fix the leak. He is truly amazing!! (If I told you his name, he'd never see his family because everyone would be calling him to bail them out too!)


Man, that picture looks like a grave, doesn't it? Ha Ha!

My Sunday School lesson this week is on personal revelation. I guess the Lord thought I needed a good object lesson. I told Jim, my Mom, and my sister over the past few days that I had a bad feeling about our plumbing. I even told my Mom Saturday morning that I was preparing myself emotionally for the fact that we were going to have some major plumbing problems soon. I just had a bad feeling about it. I can laugh now, but I was in tears yesterday morning when I saw water coming through the wall where the main water line comes in to the house. Jim kept saying, "Why'd you have to say it?" I felt terrible, and yet, it felt kind of good to say "I told you so!" LOL!