It's No Secret...

...that I love taking pictures. When you have a cute little love muffin to take pictures of, how could you not want to take a million pictures. I love capturing Avery doing whatever. With him being a very busy two year old, I've given up on trying to get the perfect shot while snapping pictures, but focusing more on getting Avery in "action." I like this approach much better for the simple fact I want to remember what he did at two years old, not how well he sat and smiled. He's adventurous, wild, lovable, fun, carefree, and I want to remember every bit of it.







Avery makes my days so much better. No matter my day, Avery telling me, "I lud-j-u mama" can make me weak at the knees and my heart melt to the floor. When they say there's a special bond between a mother and a son, they weren't kidding. This kiddo and I are bonded for life and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Spring Has Sprung

I love spring. It's not too hot, not too cold. Besides the pollen, I can't think of any reason why I don't like spring. It's just a happy time of year.

One of the best parts about spring are the pretty blooming flowers. Our Cherry Tree is in full bloom and I enjoyed taking pictures of it the other day.

It's All In How You Look At Things

I love to edit pictures. I could sit and do it for hours. Granted I don't have the nicest camera or the best editing program, I make do with what I've got. Photography is something I have always enjoyed.

I love how you can take one picture and then edit it several different ways and it looks like completely different pictures.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about. Yes, the actual photo is a little blurrier than I prefer, but I loved the picture anyway and gave it ago. I like the way they turned out.

Here is the straight out of the camera picture:
Here are the creations I came up with:

Lima Bean Wreath

Start out with your base wreath. I chose to use straw.
I used Lima Beans and hot glue.
Glue the beans on your wreath . After you're done, you can spray paint it any color you would like.
I haven't finished mine yet, but here's the basic idea of what you'll end up with:

Courtetsy of dana-made-it.com

Pizza! Pizza!

I came across the idea to make my own pizza dough the other day while reading the Macs blog. I'm trying to do more hands on activities with Avery, one to spend more one on one time with him and two to work on following directions. He's always wanting to help me do stuff, so I thought he might enjoy making pizza.

I made the pizza dough from the recipe Jess used, which she got from Pioneer Woman. The directions were easy to follow and it was a very simple recipe. Avery even helped me make it. The recipe says its best to let the dough sit in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, so I made it on Thursday night and we made pizza on Sunday night.
After rolling the dough out, we spread pizza sauce all over. Avery enjoyed this part.

We then added our toppings. I used mushrooms, black olives, turkey peperoni and regular peperoni, pineapple, and mozzarella cheese.
Mimi was impressed at our cooking skills!
This was our beautiful pizza before we cooked it.
We baked the pizza at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. And let me tell you, it was DELISH!

Prayers Needed

When fighting a chronic illness there always seems to be a lot of questions and very few answers. Daddy's situation is no different. Few paths to take and many more "if's" to go along with the decisions. No path seems correct, no path has the "right" answer. We find ourselves having to make those tough decisions once again. After a recent evaluation, daddy's Hepatitis is acting up again and the condition of his liver is getting worse. With that being said, the doctors feel it would be best to start Interferon (a type of chemotherapy) treatments again and try and eradicate the virus. He's tried these treatments before and they were unsuccessful, however the doctor feels this is the best route to take at this time. We are hopeful that this round will be successful.

Daddy will begin next Friday, March 11, taking daily injections of Interferon. No treatment goes without its side effects. Interferon is a very harsh drug and the side effects are brutal. The best way to describe it is having the flu every day. Not only will daddy feel sick every day, Interferon is insensitive to the liver. It is probable that daddy's liver will severely worsen to the point he will need to be moved higher up on the transplant list.

If things go like the doctor is proposing, we will kill the virus and get dad a new liver within the next 2 years---a lot sooner than we were anticipating. After talking with daddy last night, he's in great spirits. He's ready to battle this disease and fight it head on. He said he's absolutely warn out and cannot wait to get a new liver. His attitude is remarkable and how he keeps moving forward with such a positive outlook amazes me every day.

Please be in prayer as he starts this new treatment. Please pray specifically for the side effects to be minimal and that the drugs kills every Hepatitis cell in his body. Also, please pray for the liver that daddy will need. We feel all the prayers you all have said and we know that God is listening!

A Child's Smile...

...is one of life's greatest blessings.