sarcoma journey, the blessings...

as this journey continues, i am humbled by all the blessings that have been poured out to me.  as i have said before, this journey was unexpected and frightening at times, but time and time again i have been blessed and i know that is what this time in my life is really teaching me- gratitude.

here are just a few of the blessings i have been given in the last month...

a husband who never leaves my side, an amazing team of doctors, a supportive loving and encouraging family, meals given, treats delivered, emails of encouragement received, my kids are well loved and cared for, texts from friends to remind me that i am in their thoughts and prayers, gift cards sent with love, flowers to brighten my day, a family who serves me whatever my need, friends who visit and bring lunch and great conversation, understanding that i don't always want to talk text or visit, a church family who faithfully prays for me, and a God who shows up every step of the way and reminds me that He is enough and all i really need to get through anything.

i am so very blessed.  thanks be to god!

sarcoma journey, surgery...

god has been so gracious and given me a peace that can only be from Him, but the day of surgery i was still consumed with anxiety about my little girl who is only 24 weeks old.  she is not developed enough to live outside of my body, but i really need to have this surgery so i chose to trust in the lord that He would protect her and me.  i chose to pray continuously that surgery would be successful and that she would not be affected by it.  god is so good!  the 2.5 hour surgery was very successful and the tumor was removed completely with clear margins!  they did have to remove an entire muscle in my left thigh to get those clear margins, but praise god for a successful procedure!! i then spent the next two days in the hospital recovering and resting on the anti-partum floor.  i was glad to be on a specialized floor where they could monitor the baby and care for me.  the next two days were restful, full of visits from family and friends, and even some big accomplishments on my road to recovery.  i felted so loved by all my family and friends that were there to support me after surgery.  their smiles, hugs, and visits lifted my spirits and reminded me of how blessed i am to have so many people in my life that love me so well.

i didn't take any pictures, but i did have one very unexpected friend show up in my hospital room and i couldn't let her leave without a pic.  katie, all the way from haiti, came by for a visit.  she happened to be in town for a family event and surprised me with her visit.  so thankful for her.  :)

besides my concern for my little baby girl, my fear was my mobility.  would i be able to walk since they removed a muscle?  would i have to have physical therapy?  so when they brought in the walker and asked me to stand up and walk i was nervous.  mark was by my side and my mom sat in the hall to watch, and i did it!!!  i walked all the way around the floor of the hospital with the walker.  my mom sat with a nurse and shed a few tears, as if i was 12 months old again and taking my first steps.  i was thrilled!!  i had a big ole smile on my face and so thankful to the Lord that i was clearing another hurdle on my road to recovery.

a few more visits from the doctor, a consult with a physical therapist, and then i was released to go home!!  now home to rest and go to lots of follow-up visits...

sarcoma journey, the beginning...

i am not even sure how to begin this series of post or what direction it will take, but i am certain that i need to blog about it because it has been a BIG event in my life.  i am not an eloquent writer so i am confident this will not due justice to my emotions, lessons learned, and blessings gained through this journey, but at least it will be documented before i forget some of the "juicy details."

sarcoma defined by google, a malignant tumor of connective or other nonepithelial tissue- cancer.

sarcoma defined by stephanie bowlin, an unforeseen medical diagnosis that has changed me and shown me how blessed i am.

i guess i should start at the beginning (for myself and for the other two of you who might be interested)...  i was 22 weeks pregnant and i thought i was having some strange side-effect to the pregnancy where just my left leg was swelling.  after a couple of days of this swelling i decided i should call the nurse and ask about it because in the back of my mind i was thinking it could be something that might not should be ignored, like a blood clot.  my nurse then passed along my symptoms to my doctor who then ordered me to go to the hospital for some evaluation in labor and delivery.  i was annoyed at this point.  the last thing i wanted to do on a friday night was sit in labor and delivery, but i did as the doctor requested.  after a couple of hours in labor and delivery, several hundred questions later, plus some poking and prodding i was released.  l & d doctor and nurse saw no reason to be overly concerned so they sent mark and me on our way and told me to follow up with my regular obgyn on monday.  once again, i was a good patient and called my doctor first thing monday morning.  :)  she decided that she wanted me to have a dopler test on my leg to rule out the possibility of a blood clot.  so that afternoon i went back to the hospital for the dopler test.  i confidently thought they would find nothing and i would be sent on my way.  when the technician finished the test she told me that there was no blood clot, but that my obgyn wanted to see me upstairs in her office.  i was not alarmed by this at all, and went upstairs to visit with my doctor.  i assumed that she would examine my leg and give me the clear to go home.  i went upstairs and i was immediately ushered into a room where the nurse explained that they found a large vascular mass in my leg and that i needed to see a vascular surgeon today!  today?  ok, now i start to think things are not ok at all.  the nurse explains that i have been "worked in" at dr. sanders office and he can see me in about 30 minutes.  i leave from there, call mark, tell him to come to the hospital, and walk across two hospital buildings and find myself waiting to meet with a vascular surgeon.  thankfully it was not long before mark showed up.  at this point i have a piece of paper in my hand that concludes the findings from the dopler and explains that there is a mass measuring 18 cm long in my leg.  i am still not panicking, but i am starting to process things and wonder what this doctor is going to tell me.  soon we are called back to an exam room and we meet dr. sanders.  he explains that the dopler test is very inconclusive, but that he is concerned about the mass.  he can't tell us what it is or what the treatment will be, but he refers us to dr. casas who is sarcoma specialist and an orthopedic vascular surgeon.  dr. sanders also orders that i have an MRI done to get some more information about the mass.  i am scheduled to have the MRI that same week.  the MRI was fine.  not something i want to do often, but painless and not as uncomfortable as i thought.  the days that follow the MRI are some of the longest days i've ever experienced.  i was waiting for dr. casas' office to call, i was waiting to hear if he would even take my case, i was waiting for the results of the MRI.  lots and lots of waiting.  i don't like to wait and my husband likes to wait even less than i do.  finally, we got the call from dr. casas that he would take me as a patient so we scheduled an appointment with him for the following week.  now more waiting!  did i mention the waiting was the worst part!!  we met with dr. casas (one of a small group of sarcoma specialist in the metroplex).  he explained that the MRI gave more clues as to what the mass could be, but i would need to have a biopsy to diagnose it accurately.  he explained that he felt very strongly that it was one of two types of masses and that either one would require surgery as soon as possible to remove it.  so back to the hospital i went and met dr. appel, radiologist.  i had a biopsy where dr. appel took a few samples of the mass out using a needle. the procedure was a lot better than i was expecting and surprisingly not very painful.  i began processing the idea that surgery was in my near future and that now i am 24ish weeks pregnant.  i was not concerned about my body, but consumed by the thought of putting stress on this little girl growing and developing inside of me.  we had to wait until our next appointment with dr. casas to get the results of the biopsy.  about a week later, at our next visit with dr. casas, we learned that i have a sarcoma tumor, cancer!!!  ok, so now we know.  mark and my family i am sure a completely freaking out, but everyone is staying calm for me.  i want it out of my body as soon as dr. casas will schedule me for surgery.  we schedule surgery for october 18, 2012.  3 days after the official diagnosis of sarcoma...

celebrating baby w...

my best friend stacie is expecting her first little baby girl in early december.  i could not be more excited to meet this sweet little one and watch stacie become the most wonderful mommy ever!!  this past weekend several of her close friends hosted a baby shower in her honor.  since stac is a teacher and her mom is one of the most talented educators i have ever known, we thought a book themed baby shower would be a perfect way to celebrate baby and mommy-to-be.  i was lucky enough to host the party at my house, but each of these ladies played a HUGE role in making the shower a success...

allison, cathrine, me, stacie, erin, kandy, and kristy

here are some of the little details from this special afternoon...

the food table-yummy! all our food coordinated with a children's book.    jamberry cheese dip, chicka chicka boom chicken salad, the very hungry caterpillar fruit salad, tops&bottoms veggie tray and salad, and we didn't forget dessert- pecan bars and pinkalicious cupcakes.

fancy nancy beverage table (beverage is the fancy word for drinks) :) and my favorite detail- the bookmark and book garland.  we had this strung in several places throughout the house.

here is a close up of the garland.  we gave the bookmarks as favors to all our guests.  

each of the guests wrote their wishes for baby w and we made them into a little keepsake book.  i loved reading everyone's wishes.  they were sweet, creative, and some were hilarious.  :)

everyone was very generous and gave stacie such wonderful, heartfelt, and practical gifts to help her prepare for baby w's arrival.  

and each guest also brought a book in place of a card to build baby w's home library.  we hope that she will enjoy these books for years to come.

it was such an honor for me to apart of this special day for stacie.  she has been a loyal and faithful friend for more than 10 years- attending more showers for me than i can count.  :)  i hope that she felt loved, supported, and celebrated.  now we wait... and pray for baby w to make her way into the world.

happy baby shower stac!!  i hope you are preparing little waddell for how much her auntie steph loves her and will want to hold her.  love you sweet friend!!

these girls...

are super special to me. (we missed you, shannon!!)

it was such a treat to get to spend a couple of days with these girls. we used to spend almost ever waking moment together while we were at baylor together, but now with husbands, kids, jobs, and grown up lives it gets harder and harder to find time to all be together, but we managed to find a few days to get away and be together. it was a low key weekend. we opted to stay in dallas, but were able to stay at my in-laws new beautiful house so that was a treat. we lounged around in our jammies most of the weekend and talked or watched twilight movies in the media room, all while snacking on junk food. does it get better? not to me!! we did get out for an afternoon and went a on a little tour of homes...
we went to see ashley's house in mckinney. it was so fun to see the baby's nursery. baby daniels is going to have the cutest (most handsome) room. he is going to be a lucky little guy!!
then it was on to erin's new house. it was really far north (wink, ;), but worth the drive to see the wassermans new neighborhood and their darling new home.
erin's favorite part of the lot was this tree and tire swing that the neighborhood kids put in the tree. now it is in their backyard.

then we had some celebrating to do...
erin's birthday was a few days after our weekend, so we had to have some cupcakes to celebrate her. happy birthday e!!

these girls have all played such an important role in my life and i am thankful that over a decade later i can still call them all dear friends. love you girls!! can't wait until next year! :)

resting in god's word...

i have been wanting to post this for days and finally have the time tonight. i am not sure if any of you watch the world wide telethon with all the stars tonight on CNN or if you even think about haiti now that it is slowly fading from the headlines, but for me, my heart is still broken. i still shed a tear or twenty or two hundred each day when i read or see the stories coming out of haiti. i still wake each morning and pray for this nation, for the orphans, for the sick, for the thirsty, for the hungry, and for the aid that desperately needs to make it to each of these. sooooo, tonight i wanted to share these scriptures that we read last sunday in our worship service at church as we prayed for the people of haiti. we prayed for peace among the incredible fear and loss that they are experiencing. we prayed for ben and katie, who are faithfully serving these broken people and sharing the love of jesus christ while doing so. we prayed that in the midst of all this chaos that god would be glorified. that the people of haiti would see that HE is a bigger than an earthquake and that they can find refuge in Him. these are the scriptures that were read and these are god's truths that continue to resonate within my heart...

"The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble." {Psalm 9: 9}

"Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." {Psalm 46: 1-2}

"Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed." {Psalm 57:1}

"Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings." {Psalm 61:1-4}


"For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help." {Psalm 22:24}



"He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap…" {Psalm 113: 7}

"Surely he will save you from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday." {Psalm 91: 3-6}



"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified… for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." 
{Deuteronomy 31:6}



"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world…"
{James 1:27}


"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another..."
{John 13: 34-35}


"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." {Romans 8: 35- 39}


these truths written thousands of years ago seem as though they were written for such a time as this and remind me of how big, how all-knowing, how unfathomable, and how incredible god is! he IS in control of this and everything else in this world. he IS big enough, strong enough, and absolutely able to bring peace, relief, and miracles to haiti and to all of his creation. 

please continue to pray for this nation, for all those that are there to serve, heal, and love these broken people, and for the LORD to be glorified in every detail of it.



i have a new love...

**WARNING: i way over used the "!" in this entry. i apologize, but i wanted everyone to understand my enthusiasm for this product! ha! :)

and i must share it with you...

it is...

the sharpie pen!!!

most people who know me, know how much i love sharpies. seriously they are the greatest marker ever made. they come in every imaginable color, size, thickness, and they can write on EVERYTHING. i even use them to make home repairs. you know, a little scratch in the furniture, a sharpie in just the right shade of brown or black will fix that right up!! i have several drawers full of them, all organized by size, shape, and color- of course!! anyway, sharpie has just created a sharpie PEN!! yes folks, you can literally use a sharpie fore EVERYTHING now! it doesn't bleed through the paper, yet still has that great sharpie look and feel when using it.

i know i sound like a crazy person because of my excitement due to a silly pen, but seriously it is pretty darn wonderful! i can write notes, fill out forms, and make lists with a sharpie and it won't bleed threw to the next sheet of paper! as of now they only have 4 colors (black, blue, red, green), but i know sharpie and there will be an rainbow pack coming soon!! :) (i'll let you know when i spot them!)

so if you are at the store and sad that you aren't buying school supplies (like me) or if you are there to buy school supplies, pick up a pack (they aren't cheap, sorry!) and try them out!! i don't think you will be disappointed, well if you like sharpies! :)

just a few thoughts...

so about a week ago in my post, "unmotivated" i mentioned sharing a few of my recent opinions and thoughts. so here they are...

WARNING: there are TONS of run on sentences and probably a bunch of misspellings in this post... sorry!!

1. jon and kate and the divorce... so sad!! that is how i feel- heartbroken. so strange since i don't know these people, but i have watched the show from day one and have loved every moment until the BIG moment weeks ago when they announced the sad news- they were splitting. i had heard all the rumors and had read every article in every hollywood gossip magazine, so i knew it was coming, but there was still a small part of me that thought maybe it wasn't going to happen. i wanted so badly for them to defy the odds and make it work, but no! they are getting a divorce. i hate it for them, for their kids, and how it changes everything. i know this is so dumb, but i pray for them often. i pray that their children will be protected from the consequence of divorce. i pray that jon and kate's hearts will heal. i pray that they will make their family the biggest priority and not be distracted by others opinions. all that said, i am still a fan of the show, yet still very sad and disappointed.

2. so you think you can dance... are you watching it?? if you answered no, you are missing out! it is like american idol for dance. the auditions are a wear out, but the finalist that make it on the show are AMAZING!!! i am not a dancer, no nothing about dance other than the multiple dance recitals and drill team shows that i attended for all my dancing friends back in high school, but i can't get enough of this show. each week the dancers are asked to perform a different style of dance and each week they shock me with their talent. they have a short time to learn a dance (usually not in their trained style) and then perform it. no style is off limits- baliwood, russian folk, classical ballet, broadway, jive, ballroom, the list goes on and on. tune in to fox and check it out! i think you will love it!

3. reading... my friend mary inspired me months ago with several different blog post about some great books she was reading. my other friend christine and her husband have given up tv for a year to read more and write- that has inspired me as well. so i am so disappointed that i have not completed even one book yet this summer. i have so many on my list (even purchases them) and if i ever get to the end of one of them i will let you know. every book i read makes me think and shapes me in some way, such is why i love it so much. i am hoping for less distractions and more quite moments to read and enjoy! i'll let you know. wish me luck on finding those quite moments. :) i know the first thing is to watch less tv. i am going to do that, just not jon & kate or SYTYCD. :)

4. a great quote... "God created the world out of nothing, and so as long as we are nothing, He can make something out of us." Martin Luther. i am sure i read this on one of my friends blogs, honestly i don't remember but i love it!!! recently the lord has really been challenging me with this thought so expressed by Martin Luther.

well, that's it for now. thanks for reading if you made this far. nothing profound, but just me!

with a grateful heart...

so on my birthday i told you about 30 things that i love, one of which is my friends and family. those friends and family made me feel so special on my 30 birthday. i have celebrated with dinners, gifts, lunch dates, pedicures, facebook messages, and sweet cards. i truly am so lucky to have so many thoughtful and generous people in my life. each celebration was special and memorable, but our dear friend ivy hosted a dinner to celebrate both mark and i turning 30. she along with drew, ben, katie, aaron, sabrina, emily, and randall hosted a really special evening with good food, fun games, and it it ended with a precious and priceless gift...



it may look like just a book, but no... it is a book that describes mark and i from their perspective. mark and i were humbled by their words and felt so grateful that we have such special friends that would create such a personal and precious gift. we will treasure it for a lifetime!

so for me, my 30th birthday has been one of the best! it is with a grateful heart that i say "THANK YOU" to everyone who made it is such a special birthday for me!!

unmotivated...

yep, that's me! there has been so much happening and plenty that is "blog worthy" but i have no motivation to blog right now. don't really know why. maybe it is because it is so darn hot and my house is hot too. maybe it is because by the time the kids are napping or in bed a night i am so tired i just want to veg in front of the tv or read a book. maybe it is because i am soooo lazy right now that i don't want to go to the extra 2 second step of getting the pictures from my camera to computer- what's a blog post without a picture or two?? :) or maybe it is because i just don't feel inspired to write at the moment. i guess it is probably a little of all of the above, but i am making a promise that in the next week i will recap birthday celebrations, mark and i's trip to san fran, some of my personal thoughts/opinions (like how sad i am about jon & kate), and of course throw in a few posts about what o&j are up to these days. so come back soon for some 'bowlin juicy details'!

~steph :)

are you kidding me???

that is what i have been asking myself since mark left town YESTERDAY!! seriously, he wasn't even gone 4 hours before the bathtub wouldn't drain and the toilet was gurgling in the kids bathroom. we got through that crisis by calling my brother in law {christman} who called his plumber who assured me all would be fine until he could come and fix the problem the following day. relieved that all was going to be ok, olivia and i sat down to watch a movie before she went to bed and we noticed some birds chirping away. they were not outside in the trees where they belong, nope they were in the chimney. as the movie went on they got louder until one ended up in the fireplace, flapping it wings like crazy!! by this time it was late and i was not about to call christman again, so i just prayed this little fellow would not get out of the fireplace and went to bed. tonight the bird is back and crazier than ever. the bathtub and toilet are fixed, but tomorrow i will be calling a chimney sweep to help with operation tweet tweet! all this and mark is only been gone not even 24 hours. i think it is going to be a long 12 days!!

baking with ivy...

was so much fun!! last night our sweet friends, drew and ivy came over for dinner and a baking experiment. the plan was to feed the boys well so they would be content while ivy and i attempted to recreate "bakerella chick cake pops." now i'm not saying that they even compare, but it was really fun and we had a great time. lots of laughing, especially with mark's quote of the night, "are those the tweezers we use on our toes!" (no, we don't use tweezers on our toes, at least i don't! ha!) we did use tweezers to help place the feet and wings.

here are some pictures of the final products...

one cute little chick!

all wrapped and ready to share! (we thought it looked like we were suffocating them, but what are going do! :))

the other great thing about this little project was my friend jenny also gave them a try. we have been chatting and comparing notes the last couple of days which has been so fun. jenny doesn't have a blog, but her friend missy blogged about jenny's chick cake pops. click here and check them out, they are pretty cute!!

i must admit i had no reason for this endevor just thought it would be fun. i also had very low expectations that they would look remotely similar bakerella's. she is the master of cake pop cuteness, since they turned out OK i think i will give most of these to olivia's class as a little "happy easter" treat!

coming soon-- cupcakes!!

am i crazy????

i think so. i do it to myself, for some reason i let ANYONE talk me into ANYTHING. i think what really happens is that i don't ever want to miss out on the fun, but by doing so, i create chaos in my life. so as i sit here typing this blog (which is so important) i am overwhelmed thinking about all that will take place in the next few days before i leave on vacation with my family. friday, playdate with friends. friday afternoon we will leave for waco for the 3rd baylor game in 3 weekends (that's one every weekend since the season began, and yes we must go, remember we are true and faithful fans). we will stay the night with some friends so we are not traveling on I-35 with the crazy truck drivers and it is just fun to stay with our friends, brad and mary. saturday at some point we will journey back to dallas, that is if my husband does not convince me to stay one more night and just drive in sunday morning. so on sunday we will all be getting ready for the week. mark and I are heading to las vegas with my family (the blanchettes). so fun, yes, but we have to get there before the fun begins. well, at least to the airport on monday morning. this is an adult only trip, as any vegas trip should be, at least that is my opinion. so that means not only do i have to pack my suitcase, help with mark's wardrobe selections, but i have to get my 2 kids ready to spend part of the week with B and part with aunt chrissie. that means my to-do list is out of control!!! laundry, laundry, and more laundry, clean the house, updating the family notebook (this has all the detailed instructions, important phone numbers, doctor info, etc. so it is important), grocery store, go to the dry cleaners, and the list goes on. so, this will be the last you will hear from me for awhile. i will put on a happy face while out in public, but if you were a fly on the wall in my house you will see a crazy woman. i will update the blog when we get back. i will share pictures from the trip and any fun that my kids have while i am away.

just some thoughts...

i don't really have any funny stories to share about my adorable children, but i haven't blogged in a few days, so i thought i might just share a few of my thoughts from this week.

#1 it is official i am no longer employed by RISD and it is becoming so real. for the past 7 years of my life i have spent this week sitting in meetings, cutting out lamination, sweating, stapling, painting, personalizing things, making 13 trips to the teacher store for just one more thing, organizing, feeling stressed & excited at the same time, and all that goes with getting ready for a new school year. (all you teachers out there understand.) well, this year i did have some stress and i am sure sweat a little, but no teacher meetings or hanging up bulletin boards. this week i feel like i have officially started my job as full-time mom-- laundry, washing bottles, going to chick-fil-a, cleaning, and going to playdates. i love all of those things, but i would be lying if i didn't admit that i have had some sad moments. i miss the smell of new crayons, the energy that fills a school as everyone is preparing, the friends, the satisfaction of looking aroud perfectly organized classroom that you have been working in for days (without air conditioning), and the anticipation of the challenges that each new school year brings.

#2 i am feeling very emotional about my niece starting kindergarten and it is freaking me out just a bit! i think "aunt flow's monthly visit" might have something to do with it, but seriously i can't even imagine what an emotional wreck i am going to be when it is olivia. i just hope that sarah (that's abby's mommy) is holding up better than me and will have lots of advice when i am in her shoes in a few years. i am really excited for abby. and i want to say one more time how much i love abby! she is going to be the best kindergarter ever!! a teachers dream- smart, full of personality, a rule follower, helper, kind to others, and enthusiastic about learning!

#3 i love the olympics!!! these last 2 weeks they have consumed me. i have switched to watching the "today show" in the morning from "good morning america" (i know some of you have the opinion that this is should be a permenent decision, but i miss diane, robin, and channel 8 news/weather/traffic) so that i can get the inside stories. i stay up way too late (like 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. watching the "late night games." and i am already sad about the closing ceremony and the games being over for another 4 years. the summer olympics are so great! this is going to sound super cheesy, but i have felt so proud to be an american and really feel like the athletes have represented our country well. i am such a dork, i know!

#4 the most relaxing 15 minutes of my day is my shower. don't misunderstand me, i have always enjoyed showering, but since having 2 little ones at home i APPRECIATE the shower more. it is literally the only time that everyone allows me to be alone. i sometimes feel like every other minute of the day is filled with others and i just need a little alone time every day. so last night i found myself making the shower take as long as i possibly could. is that sad? i hope not because i don't mean it that way. just funny how things i never thought would be different, like showers, change as life changes for me.

#5 will someone tell me how to fit everything in one 24 hour period? laundry, cooking, cleaning, feeding baby, diaper changing, potty training, having friends, watching olympics, spending time with husband, and still have time to read a book, oh and don't forget sleep. i know the obvious is to cut out olympics, but i still don't think i would have enough time.

this is so wordy and probably so boring, but for me it has been very therapeutic. so thanks! i can now see that this has been a significant week for me. lots of changes and many new realities. i am feeling a bit overwhelmed at this moment, but very soon (like tomorrow) i will calm down and be so excited about the next stage in my life.

lasagna, laughs, and lots of baby loot

i spent most of my pregnancy with jack on bedrest, so i was unable to make it to the shower that my friends had planned for me. my sweet friends insisted that we have some sort of "party" to honor jack even though he is now 2 months old. the other night we had a "girls night out" without husbands, babies, diaper changing, kids menus, and child centered conversation. it was so fun. we had our own room at buca di pepo and a BIG round table. i loved that i could talk to everyone at the table. the food was delicious, the cake was yummy, the gifts were too much but totally adorable, and the company was precious. in the words of my husband, "i combined my worlds" for this event. my teacher friends and college friends came together to celebrate. it was so fun! here are some pictures from the evening...


thank you to all my friends who came. it was wonderful to spend a night out with each of you. when i think about the evening it just makes me smile. i laughed so much and had such a great time. i am so blessed to have such wonderful friends. i especially want to thank- cally, misty, mari, erin, stacie, and shannon for hosting such a fabulous party. y'all are the best!