Sunday, December 28, 2014

Day 362, Sunday, December 28, 2014

We went after Christmas shopping last night and again today.  I bought lights, ornaments and tissue paper.  I am gathering ornaments for an ocean theme tree.  Now, just to find the tree!

Day 361, Saturday, December 27, 2014

We ate dinner at Sugar for the first time.  Many have suggested going there.  We had pizza and mac and cheese.  Both were amazing!  We will definitely be going back again, soon!


Day 360, Friday, December 26, 2014

I spent the day taking down all the decorations.  It was 50 degrees today, so we also took down all the outside decorations.  Jim also mowed the lawn!  Usually, on December 26, he is shoveling snow!

Day 359, Thursday, December 25, 2014

Stacie and John are busily checking out their stockings.  Of course, the most important item is the lottery tickets!

Day 358, Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Jordan enjoyed opening his presents tonight.  We had awesome food and lots of fun with our gift exchange.  We opened our family gifts after everyone left.  It was about 11:30 before we got in bed tonight.

Day 357, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

I went to Momaw and Poppie's to give Saige her Christmas presents.  She wanted Jake and the pirates for Christmas.  She played for about an hour with our gifts.  She is such a sweet little girl.

Day 356, Monday, December 22, 2014

We got awesome news today!  John is CANCER FREE, once again.  This is the second time in two years, that he has battled two different types of lymphoma.  He had a bone marrow stem cell transplant on October 29.

Day 355, Sunday, December 21, 2014

I spent 3 or 4 hours today wrapping and bagging Christmas gifts.  I probably still will have a couple more hours tomorrow, too!

Day 354, Saturday, December 20, 2014

Jovie came home with me to finish out her time before she goes back to the North Pole.

Day 353, Friday, December 19, 2014

Today was our last day of school before Christmas break.  Riley and Chloe came to school with Jennifer.  We gave them a little gift.  They helped in the kindergarten classes, watched a movie and just enjoyed the day visiting all the classrooms.  Jim and I went to see the performance of Light Wire at the Civic Center tonight.

Day 352, Thursday, December 18, 2014

Jennifer gave us our gifts today.  We each got an Origami Owl gift certificate and new hot cocoa mugs.  Mine is a Snoopy cup with a Woodstock spoon and Cindy's is an Olaf mug!  We washed those cups and made our self a cup of hot cocoa!

Day 351, Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Day 350, Tuesday, December 16, 2014

We borrowed our glasses from Mrs. Clark for our picture, today!

Day 349, Monday, December 15, 2014

Jovie made some new elf friends overnight!


Day 348, Sunday, December 14, 2014

We bought Christmas ornaments to place on the tree in the park in memory of my great niece Raegen Grace Bundy.  She was born on October 13 and only lived about 2 hours.  She had Potter's Syndrome.  Her lungs couldn't develop because her kidneys were not formed correctly.  I'm so thankful that Tyler and Christen were able to place this tree in the park and we could help decorate it.

Day 347, Saturday, December 13, 2014

December 13, 2014, doesn't seem too significant, until you write it like this:  12/13/14

Day 346, Friday, December 12, 2014

Sue DuBois, who is in the center of the first row, has been successfully treated for breast cancer.  I drew a Zentangle heart and Allison had a friend screen print the shirts for us.  We are so happy that she caught this early and treatment was successful.

Day 345, Thursday, December 11, 2014

Can you see the red coat?  This little old lady walks down Main street, crosses Route 29 and goes to McDonald's everyday.  She always wears a red coat, even in the summer time.  She really scares me, because she just walks out into the highway across four lanes of traffic and two turn lanes.  This road is very busy and there are several accidents at this intersection every month!

Day 344, Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Jovie got caught swinging from the "Zipline", this morning!

Day 343, Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Our stuffed tiger mascot got a few of the other animals from around the building to read Jovie the book, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  Of course, they all had to have a red nose!  Cindy was sick today, so it was a very busy day in the office.

Day 342, Monday, December 8, 2014

Jovie, our Elf on the Shelf, was busy making marshmallow snowmen!  They even had little carrot noses that were made out of real carrots!!  She is a busy little elf!

Day 341, Sunday, December 7, 2014

We pulled into the drive about 1:15 pm.  We opened the trunk and the contents was "shaped" like the trunk lid!  OMG!  I don't think I could have stuffed another folded up sock in the back of that car.  I prayed all the way home that we didn't have a flat tire or get in an accident!  It didn't take Jim and I a long time to unload everything.  Sure was great to be home and out of the car after 4 days on the road!

Day 340, Saturday, December 6, 2014

We have been taking turns driving for a couple of hours at a time.  My dad said he was enjoying riding in the passenger seat for a while.  He hasn't ever sat on that side of this car!   LOL  I drove his car to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things.  I kinda liked parking the car in the first parking space!  I also went to the "Slice of Pie" to get some pie of course.  I brought a dutch apple pie back to our family.  We stayed in Rolla, MO, tonight.

Day 339, Friday, December 5, 2014

We stopped at a Rest Area to eat lunch.  There were some nice covered picnic tables.  I had made pork chops or chicken lunch meat sandwiches, apples and chips.  Tonight we will stay in Clinton, OK.

Day 338, Thursday, December 4, 2014

This is the view out my parents trailer where they live in Yuma, AZ.  They live in the foothills of the mountains.  They are 15 miles from the Mexican border and 15 miles from the California border.  It is about 65 to 70 degrees this time of year.  We left at 10:30 am to start our journey back to Pekin.  We will stay in Socorro, New Mexico tonight.

Day 337, Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Uncle Lewis and Aunt Glenda came over to say hello.  I have been cooking and packing everything in sight.  We will be leaving in the morning for the trip back to Pekin.

Day 336, Tuesday, December 2, 2014

I was on 3 different planes and landed in 4 different airports today.  I flew from Peoria, to Dallas, to Phoenix and Yuma, AZ.  My parents needed my help to pack up and drive back to Pekin.  My mom is not doing very good with the change in living arrangements.

Day 335, Monday, December 1, 2014

Our Chirpin' Chicks card making group, met at Vicki's house for our annual Christmas party.  There were only 6 of us tonight.  We had an awesome time eating, drinking and exchanging gifts.  

Day 334, Sunday, November 30, 2014

I have a little tree that I put up in the living room.  Our larger tree goes in the family room downstairs.  This tree has only Santa ornaments on it.  I have several decorations that are lit that live under this tree.

Day 333, Saturday, November 29, 2014

I bought these Santa's many years ago at a craft fair at Richwoods High School in Peoria.  I added the lights recently, so they could be seen at night as well.  The wreath has gone through several revisions, but the paint has held up really great!

Day 332, Friday, November 28, 2014

We got our tree up today, well all of the Christmas decorations.  I think Coco is happy that I finally sat down.

Day 331, Thursday, November 27, 2014

The turkey went into the fryer...and then onto the grill!  After Jim dropped the turkey in the hot oil too fast, the oil wouldn't stay at the correct temperature.  We finished cooking it on the grill.  It was still good!  Just not very pretty.

Day 330, Wednesday, November 26, 2014

This is the biggest reason I don't like to bake!  I always make such a BIG mess.  This is the powdered sugar for the frosting on the pumpkin cake! UGH!

Day 329, Tuesday, November 25, 2014

I have picked the paper, shape and a few stickers to get my Thanksgiving mini book going.  My family always complains about writing on the cards, but we enjoy reading the previous year or two after we eat dinner.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Day 328, Monday, November 24, 2014

I have a few more Christmas cards to make.  I hope to get them sent out this weekend!

Day 327, Sunday, November 23, 2014

We made pizza for dinner tonight.  Nate used the weber grill and they were delicious!

Day 326, Saturday, November 22, 2014

We ran a few errands tonight.  I stopped at Bath & Body Works and picked up a few foaming Christmas soap.  I usually wait until after Christmas and buy them on clearance, but I saw these scents on their website and couldn't resist!

Day 325, Friday, November 21, 2014

Amy is holding ice on the back of her head.  She fell in the hallway at school.  I guess she shouldn't try to do flips if she isn't going to "stick" the landing!  LOL


Day 324, Thursday, November 20, 2014

Well, I think Olaf is pretty cute!

Day 323, Wednesday, November 19, 2014

When we first found out that John had Lymphoma, we got the lime green lymphoma bands.  We have since added metal bands for John.  JKLIVIN has been John's motto so to speak and couldn't be more appropriate now.  We added the shamrock because St Patrick's Day is his favorite holiday, as well as John and Stacie's Wedding Anniversary and Jim's birthday.  Fight was added when we found out he had lymphoma for the second time.

Day 322, Tuesday, November 18, 2014

These feet and arms belong to Nate.  He always supports John by wearing his lime green lymphoma bracelet.  He also has green shoes that he wears at work and just recently replaced his jawbone fitness tracker in lime green.  We just love our Johnny Mac!

Day 321, Monday, November 17, 2014

Today is the one year anniversary of the horrible tornado that went through our neighborhood.  This house is one of the few that still remains with no repairs what so ever.  Two of the houses have been torn down completely.  One is being rebuild and the other lot has a for sale by owner sign on it.  This house has a sign posted from the city requesting it be repaired or it will be demolished.

Day 320, Sunday, November 16, 2014

Do you want to make a snowman?  Olaf, to be exact!  I am working on a Christmas card.  I think he is going to be really cute!

Day 319, Saturday, November 15, 2014

I am doing a December Daily album again this year.  This is my favorite page.  I constructed the majority of the album when I went to the Barn for my scrapcation on November 8.  This year, I am using a Simple Stories paper from a couple of years ago.  I hope to have it finished in January 2015, before I go back to work from Christmas break.

Day 318, Friday, November 14, 2014

Happy Birthday, Cindy!  She is enjoying her birthday treat.  I got Dunkin' Donut munchkins and made a Hot Cocoa bar for her.  We had fun making hot chocolate.

Day 317, Thursday, November 13, 2014

This is the second time our school has supported the GI Go Fund.  We paid $5 to wear "Jeans For Troops".  Another way to say thank you to the soldiers who have served our country.

Day 316, Wednesday, November 12, 2014

This is a day we have been looking forward to for 22 days. John got to come home from the hospital.  He spent 22 days in the same room during his stem cell transplant.  He was very sick during this time and we are very happy that is he home and feeling much better.

Day 315, Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Today was Veteran's Day.  A day to say thank you to all of the men and women who have served or are currently serving our country.  Thanks for fighting for our freedom!

Monday, November 10, 2014

Day 314, Monday, November 10, 2014

Coco and I went for a walk tonight.  It might be the last one for a while.  The weather is predicted to have snow flurries the next few days.  We don't have a single tree in our yard any more, but these leaves have gathered at our door step tonight.

Day 313, Sunday, November 9, 2014

John was cleared to walk in the hallway.  He has not been allowed to go out of the transplant room since he was admitted on October 22.  He had to wear a mask to take his walk.  His blood count is climbing every day.  It won't be long and he will be back in his chair at home!