Smile on my face

This weekend leaves me with a satisfied sigh and smile on my face. I wish I had taken even just one picture of all of the fun we had, but I guess I was too busy having all that fun to capture it on film.

Jay had to work (which was the one downfall) of the entire weekend, but here is a list, in no particular order, of some totally wonderful things that brought a smile to my face this weekend.

- a mini roadtrip with my mom and grandma
- spending quality time with both of our families
- the comfort of a conversation with old friends who really know me
- driveway beers every night(that's just what we call it) with the world's best neighbors
- grilling out in Waverly
- the first weekend in the Schmitz swimming pool
- an awesome church service with music that brought me to tears and a message that sticks with me
- 8 PM jammie walks with the neighborhood kids
- an afternoon nap in the cold basement
- hugs from my grandma
- smelling like sunscreen
- a date with my most handsome husband
- a bags championship with my dad and brother
- meeting new people next door
- getting asked "how many more days of school?" and answering a number in the single digits!
- Anne coming home from college for the summer
- and looking forward to another celebration...planning our 4th of July party!

Yep, it was definitely a leave a big ole smile on my face type of weekend. I am SO incredibly blessed.

Check out the song: "Blessed" by Brett Dennen for a full musical interpretation of my weekend! : ) : )

Super Easy Cork Board Project!

Step 1: Drink a LOT of wine, keep corks. This is the BEST part of the project! I actually cheated on this step because I was given a very generous donation of corks from my mother-in-law! Step 2: Find an old picture frame you're not using anymore and take out the glass. Step 3: Flip frame over and arrange corks in desired pattern. Step 4: Use your trusty hot-glue gun and glue the corks in place. When all corks are in place, glue the backing to the inside of the frame to secure. Step 5: Voila! You have a framed cork board that can be used in your kitchen or bar! It looks cute as just decoration, or use it with push pins to give it more function.

3 C's

At my old school district, we would begin each meeting with the 3 C's: Cares, Concerns, and Celebrations. It was always a nice way to start when we hadn't met in a while. So, I thought for this blog, I'd present to you my 3 C's since I haven't written in a while.
Cares: My spunky munchkins. With 12 1/2 days of school left (who's counting?) I'm doing my best to practice patience and enjoy the last few weeks of school with my kiddos. They have been a great class and are full of personality. Those personalities are a teensy bit on hyper-overdrive at the moment with the end of the year approaching!!! But I'm trying to embrace it, have some fun, and maybe the kids will still a learn a little something in the remaining days.
Concerns: We found out after some blood tests a couple of weeks ago that I possess the antibody for the chronic illness Lupus. The presence of that antibody has caused me to have some sort of blood disease (with a long name that I can't remember). Basically, I have too much of the stuff in my body that causes my blood to clot. Next week, I will start on a blood thinner. I'm not looking forward to giving myself a shot once a day, but I suppose after a while I'll get used to it.

My biggest concern at the moment is that little Lupus antibody that is present. Although most people who test positive for this antibody never actually have Lupus, I still can't help but worry about that potential. To be honest, I never knew much about Lupus until I was told about my blood results. But the more I learn, the more I pray that this Lupus stuff stays away from my immune system. Send a prayer to man upstairs for me on that one, would ya?

Celebrations: Enough of Debbie Downer, we've had a lot of reasons to celebrate lately...both the big and the small things. First of all, I love our neighborhood. I am celebrating the oncoming summer and the fact that our neighbors love to take walks and have driveway beergaritas and grill out together. Bring on the summer!

Second, in the big celebrations category, we celebrated Dallas and Jamie's wedding last week and had a blast! It was a great party and a beautiful day.

Okay, that's enough from me for now! Happy weekend everyone! Enjoy the hot weather and the sunshine! :)