Mmmmmm.... Maple Bars!

I bet you've never been so happy to see the month of May end. I know that you've probably been bored to tears with learning about me. Sorry.... I owe you one.

There are so many things running through my mind.... what to blog about??? Well, I guess there's my trip from last weekend; but I'm waiting for my brother to get me copies of his pictures he's taken so that I can use them.... guess who forgot to take her camera battery charger to Chicago? I could blog about Allie -- she turns nine on Thursday. I will, but that's going to take some brain cells, and mine are fried right now. So I guess I'll settle for a few impressions, a little bit of a rant and some updates on some previously mentioned items.

• Probably the biggest thing going on in recent days: Matt's dad. He had a tumor removed from the exterior of his colon last Tuesday. We went into the whole thing thinking that it was probably colon cancer. The surgery led medical personnel to believe it might be lymphoma. The surgeon said he'd never seen a tumor like that. The biopsy came back on Friday and the results were.... inconclusive. So we still know very little. They're thinking plasma malignancy, but who knows. We have some information from previous blood tests and we're hopeful that maybe this is just some freaky anomaly, but we won't know for sure for a couple of weeks. The silver lining in all this is the family vacation is still on. We are all headed to Washington DC in a couple of weeks. Thank you for your prayers and support.

• So onto a little health news of my own. After five years of wondering, the verdict is in and it's looking like I may have a hole in my heart. Matt has failed to fill it :) I told him that diamonds might work, and he says he'll take his chances. I head in for an MRI tomorrow and and EKG in the upcoming weeks. My parents have both had holes fixed in their hearts and so I'm not too worried. The alternative, a stroke, is much worse, so I'm grateful that this can be fixed.

• Matt.... he finished his paper. It was awesome, although a little technical and formal, but I am so proud of him. He worked so hard. Keep your fingers crossed!

• Last week of school.... oh so excited! We have a couple of programs, and a birthday spotlight this week, but I am so looking forward to enjoying no schedule.

• Jack, oh my sweet little Jack. I love him. He makes me so happy. I will be so sad when he starts Kindergarten in the fall. Don't get me wrong, I think he'll do so well, but I will be bummed to lose my little buddy. Today he said, "Mom, I want to say my prayers every night." I asked him if we should say family prayers more, and he said, "no, I just want to say them myself." I need to do a post on him.... I missed his birthday in January.

• Family time. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to spend time with my husband, kids, parents, brothers and their families this last weekend. We had a great time at the baseball games and playing with our new American Girl Dolls. I am looking forward to some more time with the family in the next few weeks.

• I still want to swear at Mother Nature for this crappy weather.... understand, I have been out of town so I may have missed some sunshine, but I'm doubtful. I saw postings of snow while I was out of town. I am grateful that my vegetables aren't dead yet and that my grass is green, but I am ready for some warm weather.

• The baked goods challenge. Not a total loss, but not as successful as the McDonald's challenge. I did discover that I kill time by eating cookies, doughnuts and rice krispy treats. I did cheat a bit here and there, but I think raising awareness is a good thing. I plan on stopping by Harmon's in the morning for my maple bar, and then re-upping on my commitment to abstain.

• I'm reading Bossypants by Tina Fey, and I'm laughing myself to the point of urination on every page. TMI, I know, but you should totally get it, unless you're really offended by swears, then you probably won't find it as funny as I do.

Well, that is all. It's 10:30ish and I need to be by St. Mark's Hospital by 6:30 am, so I need to get to bed. I don't think Matt's going to go for another nap tomorrow afternoon. I see laundry and a ukulele concert in my plans tomorrow.

Good night all, and God bless!