Feeling Oh So Thankful

Hello friends --

Are you ready for a Thanksgiving break
and Black Friday sales?

Sneak peak of a family photo including our Scottie Muffy!

It's been a bit of a rough week.
Mr. Tennis has been ill and had major
abdominal surgery on Monday to deal with his Crohn's disease.
Boo hoo - it turned out to be more complicated and
difficult then anticipated.
But, 

we are very thankful
. . .
That our prayers were heard,
for the skilled surgeon who took care of him and
predicts a good recovery and for the many
nurses and caregivers who are taking such good care of  him.

Very thankful for family and friends and their support, kindness
and especially prayers during this hard time.
Love you all!

Thankful for the wonderful weather
we've been enjoying.  I'm a bit of a nervous driver so not
having to deal with ice and snow yet makes me so happy.
I know, now I've jinxed it, haven't I!

Thankful for Maddy's choir performance Monday night that provided
beautiful noise!
The joy in young voices warmed me up and lifted my spirit on Monday
after a long day at the hospital.

And . . .
Thankful for the smile my fitbit provided me
the other day when it said "ilikeu" (I like you) after I charged it up!
Yes, I like you too fitbit! :)

So many blessings!
Happy Thanksgiving all!

Just Thinking Some Thoughts - A Bit of Randomness

Today I have some rather scattered and random thoughts to put out there -
while I wonder if we will get our first snow tonight!

Last winter -- hope this is a long ways off!

But first, Miss M doing cartwheels in the yard full of leaves!

Gotcha - Mid-cartwheel!

We've had delightful fall weather for weeks now,
but I know a change is coming soon!
I even managed to get all of the 3,455,222+ weeds and vines in the
backyard pulled and cleaned up this fall!
And I raked a ton of leaves though you can't really tell!
 Oh yes, I patted myself on the back many times
and pointed out the cleaned up landscape many times to anyone
who would listen!
Yep -- Go Me!

Next on the big long list of projects -- the garage
(where scary mice might be hiding) and the
basement (SO. MUCH. STUFF).
But let's leave all that for another day,
I feel like baking cookies, don't you?

In other news,
Miss Maddy has a junior achievement project we've been working on.
It's fun -- but really, didn't we wait to have junior achievement until junior year in high school?
Truthfully, I was an overachiever and participated sophomore year,
but 8th grade!?!
Methinks it is a bit early for JA!

Anywho, her team is making and selling sugar scrubs -- wonderful and
sweet smelling
ways to exfoliate, brighten up and energize your skin
(a tad bit messy to produce).
 So far, they've come up with Pumpkin and Lemon Sugar Scrubs.
 I thought I'd love the Pumpkin -- but not so much.
Coming Soon -- Candy Cane and Peppermint -- I'll be sure to post a photo!
Keep them in mind for your holiday gift list! :)

And in a not-so-great deja vu from last year's holiday season,
Mr. Miata's Crohn's disease has taken an ugly turn and
requires surgery.  He is really feeling rotten. It seemed like the meds were working
and they were, until they didn't work anymore.
Super disappointing.
So, we are hopeful that the surgery will be just the ticket
to get him feeling better, playing tennis again, riding that smelly old horse and
driving that his vintage (sounds better than old) Miata convertible --
when the weather warms up, that is.
We love that guy and hope he feels lots better soon!

Christmas photo, 2013 (2015 version coming soon)

Ups and Downs and Bits of Randomness

Hello Friends!
I've had a few posts percolating in my brain
for the last week, but none have actually
been completed.
Soooo, I'm going to combine a bunch of randomness and call it good.

Mads and I were starting to go a little stir crazy earlier this month
during a cold spell

so we went off to the "I Love My Dog" expo!

The highlight was seeing the

Salt Dog mascot from our local baseball team!

And then the jeep was sliding a lot on the way home

 due to the freezing rain/snow,

so we stayed home.

I baked some cookies and napped - the smell of home-baked cookies
put me right to sleep.

That was a fun day -- for me anyway! 

Since then we've been blessed with incredible warm and sunny weather!
Loving it!
I've spent a lot of time doing yard cleanup - which in 60+ temps after a long winter feels like heaven.  And I know the budding plants under the layers and layers of leaves, ice and gunk
appreciate my efforts.

Last weekend, we actually took a little roadtrip to a nearby
outlet mall!  The Under Armour store was
calling some one's name! :)

Who could resist a little hole in the wall eatery
called Voodoo Taco?
Pretty yummy!

In other news, Mr. Tennis has been in the hospital again.
Poor guy -- he rather suddenly became really ill earlier this week.
It appears all related to the nasty ulcerative Crohn's disease
he was diagnosed with in January.
Hoping he is home today or tomorrow!
He's keeping in good spirits and feeling much better.
If you could say a prayer or two for him, we'd appreciate it.