Plumbing Problem...Part 2

I'm sure you are on the edge of your seat after that title huh? Well if you have been reading for since the beginning of our blog, you might remember our first plumbing problem. If not, you can click here for a fun read about the day we came back from Brady's first round of chemo to find our basement backed up with sewage. Today we came home from church to find it had happened again. Plumbing problems are such lovely things aren't they? Just the thought of not having toilets that flush, sinks that drain, and no access to the bathtub makes me want to cry like a baby! Thank God our angel plumber Bill came to the rescue once again! We are back in business around here, but our basement smells less than desirable and my poor husband is down there cleaning. And when I mean cleaning, well, you can only imagine what the poor guy is up against. I asked him how I can help. He told me, "Meg, do not go down there." I love that boy...

I wanted to share a few pictures from the past week. I LOVE this picture of Matt and Allie. We are at his parents' house on Thanksgiving. Matt was laying on the couch, and Allie went over and laid the floor next to him and started reading a book on her back!

The kids goofing around with Grandpa


We got the kids adorable Polar Bear cookies while in Syracuse. They loved them!

We're Back!

What a great weekend, and what great hugs when we got home! Matt and I had a wonderful time in Syracuse. We stayed just off of the Syracuse University campus at a great hotel called the Genesee Grande. We were able to walk to the game (a little cold and a LOT uphill). The game was a lot of fun (go CUSE!) and we sat on the floor in the 2nd row:)

Of course we shopped for 2 days at one of the biggest malls in the country. This is one of only a few times in a year that Matt and I actually shop together. We didn't do that well at getting names crossed off of our list, but we enjoyed the time together. This afternoon we went to see Blindside which was a great movie!

Now we are home and are both so glad that we put our Christmas decor up before we left! It's so nice to sit and relax in the glow of the Christmas tree!

My friends I hate to burden you with a story of another child fighting cancer, but I know there are several prayer warriors out there who will join me in lifting up a family in prayer. The McKinney family needs prayer for their daughter Anna who has leukemia. You can click here to read her story and keep updated. She is from the Rochester area, being treated at Strong, and sees the same doctors as Brady. Matt and I will be praying about and discussing a way in which we can help this family. Thank you for helping us in this area.

Turkey Day!

What a great Thanksgiving! Today had it all...

Jammies all morning....

Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with our kids...

Tears while watching my kids watch the parade, thanking God for the many blessings He has given me...

Decorations outside and inside done...

And a great Thanksgiving meal at Matt's parent's house!

I hope that your day was just as wonderful!

I'll be on hiatus for the next two days as Matt and I will be out of town:) It is time for our annual overnight in Syracuse. Two days of Christmas shopping and an Orangemen game await us! As well as 4 meals with just the two of us! That means not having to cut up anyone's food into small pieces, no picking up dropped cups off the floor, no bargaining with toddlers for one more bite, no mealtime tantrums....woo hoo! (of course you know I'll miss them like crazy!)

Thanksgiving

To all of you who check in on our family from time to time...Wishing you and your a blessed Thanksgiving!



My thankful thoughts for today come from my three sweet 2 1/2 year olds. We colored turkeys this week and I asked them what they are thankful for. They are pretty good at verbalizing this because at prayer time we always start by saying "Thank you Jesus for ______." Sometimes they say adorable things like "Thank you Jesus for outside, for my trains, for cookies." Most of the time they use this time to say thank you for the simple pleasures in our day and for the people in our lives.

Brady's pictures looks quite a bit more "worked on" than the other two because he asks to color every day. And for three days in a row he asked to "color my turkey" so each day he added more and more!

Now go eat some turkey everyone!

It was a MOPS night and some time out afterwards with some friends. It's always so good to have time with the girls and just relax...something this momma needs every now and then.

Brady had his once a month PT visit today and was just amazing. Linda and I both noticed gains he has made just since his last visit. I'm so glad we are able to go and keep on top of the areas he needs to work on, and to be able to celebrate what he has mastered. Today he rode his little tricycle all over the building...he looked like such a big boy! I noticed a little bit more "personality" today, and by "personality" I mean, a little 2 1/2 year old stinker who is going to do about 75% of what you tell him to, and the other 25% will be what he thinks he should do. Oh that Brady!

My thankful thought for today: I'm thankful for all of the amazing people God has brought into our lives through Brady's illness. There have been new friendships made, countless acts of kindness, amazing doctors, caring therapists, and so many others that have touched our lives in positive ways. It's neat to see how God has used this tragic circumstance for good.

Angel Noah

I'm sad to report that Noah Biorkman, the boy I told you about a few weeks ago, passed away this morning. I don't have to tell you how this makes me feel, the fear/anger/sadness that another child dying from Neuroblastoma brings to my heart. Please pray for this family as they cope with the loss of their precious boy.

I did want to tell you that the family received over 1 million Christmas cards! So many that they actually asked people to stop sending them weeks ago! I started thinking how wonderful it was, but then I realized something even greater...that is over 1 million people who now know about Neuroblastoma. I just know that God is using sweet Noah's short life for a purpose...

My thankful thought for today...

I am thankful for time. Time to spend with my family. Time to love those in my life. Time to celebrate special holidays and birthdays. Time to see Brady continue to amaze. And time to see how God will use his story to change lives. I'm thankful for each and every moment.

A Big Accomplishment

Well, at least in our eyes it is! Today for the very first day in the history of our family that our Brady boy stayed in the nursery at church! Sure there was 5-10 minutes of him crying while mommy huddled in the hallway outside of the nursery crying, but after that...he did it! Up until now he had never been able to calm down after we left. WE have always had to go back and get him. But NOT TODAY! We had been talking about going to church all weekend and the anxiety really grew for poor Brady. Whenever any of us talk about church he chimes in with, "But not today mommy!??!?!" Eli and Cara as so cute about trying to help him. They hold his hand as we walk into church, they offer to play with him, and today Cara even helped me say a prayer before we left asking Jesus to make Brady brave. So precious...

I attempted to get some Christmas stuff up today, but I didn't get far at all. I have a hubby who inst' yet feeling the spirit, so I told him I would try and get it done myself. Well, I have the fall stuff down and a half lit wreath hanging by my back door.

With four days until Thanksgiving, I'd thought I'd start off the week with a thankful thought and continue doing so throughout this week.

My Thankful thought for today: I'm thankful for a God who saved me by His grace and sees me through the storms of life, always giving me what I need to go on.