Monday, August 8, 2011

Destin Sweet Destin....

So can you tell I'm at my "happy place"... the BEACH! Don't mind the dark clouds in the distance... we decided the thunder wasn't going to stop us! We take a trip to Destin almost every year at the same time - the first week of August. It's the cheapest week to rent the condo we love... and probably the HOTTEST week of summer! Crazy... what we don't do to save a buck.

See my lovely orange chair... not only is it a backpack chair... it has a COOLER and a SNACK BAG attached! Seriously... it freed up two hands! Of course, after the kids buckets, shovels, towels, and body board thingies... I decided next year I need one of those cheesy carts people use to drag all their junk down to the shore. It's quite ridiculous!

This year we spent almost all of our time at the beach and pool rather than other random touristy things. We did go on a dolphin watch boat ride... holy hurt the broken tailbone. Kind of ruined it for me. We did see a pod of dolphins with a BABY! WOOT WOOT... very cool.

I thought this picture (not staged at all... ha...) captured the perfectness of my children and the love they share for each other...


sweet, eh? Fakers. :) They love the beach as much as we do... PERFECT! They could dig for HOURS!

This last one is in honor of my dear, sweet husband. He LOVES the concept of surfing and paddle boarding. Being that we live in OH... not near a lake, he takes full advantage of anything "surfing" related when he has the opportunity. So... while we were in Destin, he whipped out his "mini-surfboard" (seriously... that's what it is) and "rode the waves". Fun stuff... keeps him occupied and makes him feel like a stud!


Good times! Next year we might try the Atlantic shore... NC or SC. Not sure yet... any suggestions???

has it really been since MARCH!?!?!

HOLY SMACKERS... they say time flies when you're having fun, but seriously... it's been since MARCH!?! YoWzA! Life sure does come at ya fast, eh?

Things have been crazy around here the last few months. Obviously the kids finished school for the 10-11 year (and they happened to start the new school year TODAY!!), we took a couple vacations, I had parvo (don't ask... pure misery) and broke my tailbone (even more misery... again, don't ask). The last two really put a damper on our summer plans.

We spent a few days in MI and a week in Destin, Fl. LOVE LOVE LOVE the beach! Wish at time we didn't live in central (no lake shore near by) Ohio. Kind of depresses me at times... something about hearing the waves is beyond refreshing and soothing to my soul.

I read some great books... "the Help" being my favorite fiction and "Give them Grace" being my favorite not fiction. I'm still reading that one though... trying to absorb as I read.

Now that all three Schwadlings are in school full-time (I feel like I'm in the first phase of being an empty nester) I'll be able to blog about nothing (HA!) more often! :) Lucky you!!!

One last thing... can I just say... how did I ever live without DVR? WOW... great stuff!

That's all for now folks....

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Come live with me and be my love....


this week we celebrate 11... yes 11... years of marriage! YOWZA! God has brought us SO far in those 11 years. It never ceases to amaze me at how blessed my life is because of Andy.

I have come to appreciate him and his love SO MUCH MORE over the last few months. He was so supportive through the whole cancer "thing"... I know that if it hadn't been for his encouragement some days that I might have just simply given up.

I have come to love his thirst for knowledge. It HAS to be his spiritual gift. He remembers things SO well... always has odd tidbits of information about the most random things. He has an amazing memory for biblical history... puts me to shame! He is constantly reading (literally... getting him to come down for dinner at times is IMPOSSIBLE) trying to learn more and grow deeper in his knowledge of God, the Bible, and just about every other random thing.

I have come to understand that sometimes... I just have to let him do things his way. It's okay for things not to be done the way I want them to be done. Example... emptying the dishwasher (random... but I KNOW all you wives out there know exactly what I mean here...). I always put things back in the exact same place. He does not. I find things in the most random places... not really sure why the were put where they were. Makes me crazy... but also makes me appreciate the fact that he does help out... sometimes :).

I look forward to our future together... no matter how long it may be. Where God is taking us... watching our kids grow... spending much needed quality time together.

It's been an amazing journey so far... and I can't wait to see what else is to come!!


Thursday, January 27, 2011

SO EXCITED!!


Last week, the company that belongs to the lovely "logo" above - Green B.E.A.N. Delivery - had a fantabulous groupon available for purchase. It was $15 for a $35 delivery! This is a new to our area service that I think sounds fantastic! They offer several options along with organic/natural groceries. The best part - it's all delivered to YOUR FRONT DOOR!!!

So tomorrow is our first delivery. They sent out a list of what's to be included in my medium produce (fruits and veggies) box... including... bok choy, broccoli, apples, oranges, mandarines (yes... a fancy word for orange), potatoes, onions, etc. SO EXCITED!!!! With my pre-radiation diet, I'm VERY limited to what I can eat. This bunch of fresh goodies couldn't be timed ANY better!

I'll plan to take pics of what we get... hopefully it's going to live up to the hype! :)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

this has me thinking......


So Lindsey over at the Pleated Poppy once a week does a What I Wore Wednesday post. She takes pictures throughout the week, then on Wednesday posts them for all the bloggy world to see. LOVE IT! She originally started this whole shebang to help keep the sweats/yoga pants at bay.... something that isn't necessarily easy to do!

So I've been thinking.... maybe I should try this. I've been a bit of a sludge lately - lazy, lazy, lazy. Hats almost everyday and my lovely knit pants close to every day (they really are SO comfortable). Shameful :). BUT.... when I try to think of cute outfits that would compare to Lindsey and all the other great girlies that link up to her *party*... it's a problem. Obviously something to work on over the next couple of months!

So... here we go. It's my first official picture - not so much for WIWW, but for the sake of taking a picture of ME. I really.... REALLY hate having my picture taken. Seriously... it's like a disease or something :).




Does anyone else want to join me in my WIWW journey?

Thursday, January 20, 2011

positive thinking....

So back in "the day" I was a huge fan of Monty Python movies. Lame, right? One of my NOT so favorites was the "Life of Brian". The ONLY fun thing about this movie was the song "always look on the bright side of life". Let's see if I can link up to it just in case you haven't heard of it before... (warning... it's a bit off the charts in sacreligiousness)

*please click here*

okay so i have NO idea of how to REALLY download a video to my blog. I'll figure it out later... :)

ANYWHO... after my last post (aka: pity party) I decided to post some POSITIVE things about having thyroid cancer... in particular the RAI (this would be the radiation portion of our program...).

SO... I have to be in complete seclusion for 7 days. This means NO contact with the "outside" world... I will be literally locked in our master bedroom. At first I thought what a huge drag this would be. BORING! But... I have some plans... :)

#1. I've been wanting to paint our master bathroom FOREVER! The walls and the vanity. What better time?!?! No reasons for my NOT to be able to finish it... it's the perfect time!! It'll be fun to surprise the husband with it when it's finished... he won't have to deal with the in between stuff.

#2. I've been meaning to read through the WHOLE Bible for a while now. Being a Christian for a majority of my life and having NEVER done this... pathetic. I'll have to pick up an old copy somewhere (I have to toss pretty much anything tossable when I'm ready to emerge from my lair) but that should be easy enough. Some good God time will be a great way to spend isolation time :).

#3. A GREAT excuse to get a new bedding set for our bed! I know, I know... silliness. BUT.... I'll have to toss all the sheets and whatnot from the bed anyway... so... hmmmm... time to start shopping. I actually already have a set picked out - just waiting for Macy's to have free shipping again :).

So now I have THREE positive things that will come out of my having cancer. Like our dear Monty Python friends sing... it's time to start looking at the BRIGHT side of life!


Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Struggles.....

No pictures this time... (again!)... but I feel like I need to share what is on my heart.

Never in my 35 years did I think that I would hear the words "you have cancer". It's something that happens to OTHER people... not me.

Yeah... not so much. It's amazing how these "simple" words completely change your life. For some good... and some bad. I have been beyond blessed by the kindness and love of friends and family. Back in December when I had my surgery, they pretty much took over the day to day stuff for me. I'm not one to ask for help... but have I ever learned that sometimes, you just need to accept it when it's offered! :)

It's been over a month since my original surgery... the surgery itself has healed fine. A minor scar... but nothing (thankfully) to horrible. Life has gone back to normal for the most part... at least it appears that way to most...

But I'm struggling. Deeply. Sometimes I feel like depression is going to take over.... my mind is constantly churning out different scenarios. I pray all day long for God to take over my thoughts... to not let Satan have his way. I try to remind myself that everything happens for a reason and I only need to trust HIM.

I've tried SO hard to stay strong and positive through this whole ordeal... I haven't really had a "WHY ME?!?!" moment. But the longer I deal with it, the more I find myself wondering... "why me?". I don't like pity parties... and I've tried REALLY hard to not have one for myself. But right now, I'm not sure what positive can come from all this.

All this being said... it leads me to my "word of the year". Apparently these are pretty popular in the bloggy world :). My word this year...

Trust

Simple as that (HA HA HA!). I have to trust that God has a plan. I have to trust that in the end all will be okay... and if it's not, that HE will take care of both myself and my little family. I have to trust Him to not give me more than what I can handle... or if it feels that way that he will provide a way to best deal with it. My pastor once said that our lives are "God's story". I have literally clung to those words over the last few months. HE has a plan... I just have to be willing to follow his lead.

So... if you're a praying sort of person, I could use some :). I'm working to protect my heart and mind from the negativity that Satan breeds. Working SO hard to stay focused on the goal of glorifying Christ in EVERYTHING... both good and bad. Working beyond hard to simply TRUST....