the weekly recap {Feb. 23-28}

It has been an eventful week here!

On Tuesday, I started back to Tuesday morning Bible study. So, for the next month, I will be in two Bible study classes. My Sunday afternoon study should finish by the end of March. It was so nice to be back and get to see everyone again!

B Boy had a project for class where they researched a civil rights person. He chose Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This Lego creation has several things that signify high points in the life of MLK. I thought that was so creative! There is a cross (his spirituality), a bus (for the bus boycott), the march on Washington, etc. He also tried to do a peace sign, but didn't have the right pieces. 

 Tuesday was my brothers' 32nd birthday! I'm so happy to have these two guys as my brothers and friends. I'm so proud of them. They are such good husbands and fathers. They both serve our country and work hard for their families. They love my kiddos so much!

Wednesday, I went to early vote in our primary elections.

I wrote the post below on social media.

I'll be the first to admit that it is hard not to be disinterested in politics. It seems so overwhelming and corrupt. But you know what I've figured out? Things in life don't get better until we get involved. Can you think of all of the examples of that? I see it in parental involvement at schools, church members involvement in the church, community members involvement in their community, etc. Greatness transpires for all of these with INVOLVEMENT. I believe the same can be said for our nation. Do your civic duty even if it feels hard or frustrating. Teach your kids to have pride in their country and do their part. Teach them their civic duties and responsibility. Make it a priority! It does matter and if enough of us get involved, it WILL matter!

I visited sweet Mr. Overstreet on Wednesday as well. He is 99 years old and still has his same routine everyday and goes to work! He is always so busy at the jewelry store. He is never sick and is always encouraging to me. I am lucky to get to know him!

I got to working on our taxes this week too.
But, I also had to fit in time for Downton Abbey. I'm so sad that this next week is the final show. I'm so not ready for it to be over!!!

Thursday was a national movement called the #enditmovement. This movement was created to shine a light on slavery.There are over 27 million people in slavery today and this movement pushes to spread awareness and end modern day slavery. By wearing a red x on your hand, you can strike up a conversation with those you come in contact with and tell them the meaning behind that x. This happened to me a few times on Thursday! It felt so good to do my part! I also took this photo and shared it on social media.

We love our little stray kitty!

I've been having pain and symptoms with my Crohn's again for the last couple of weeks. Crohn's is a chronic disease, so in all likelihood, I will be dealing with this the rest of my life. That's disheartening especially after times when treatment works and you have been feeling better.

I'm going to be having some images done and then we will see where we go from here.

I'm so grateful for my doctor and his nurse. They never make me feel bad for anytime that I email or call with questions. They always try to provide relief for the symptoms I'm having. Right now, I'm surviving on pain meds and steroids but we hope to have a better solution soon. I never share this to garner sympathy. We all have our trials, whether physical or not. I know that Crohn's is not widely understood and I have people ask me all the time about how I am doing. I hope updates like this can help because sometimes it's hard to share all of the details just in passing with someone. 

I still don't know all of the ins and outs of Crohn's. I learned on Thursday that the tissue that was inflamed before, could have healed but then turned to scar tissue. That surprised me so much. Scar tissue can cause problems and it is not treatable. If there was scar tissue causing my symptoms, it would require re-sectioning that portion of bowel. That is so scary to me!

I got to be on the other side of a procedure on Friday and it was so nice to not be the one having it done! Tim had to have a routine colonoscopy. I felt terrible for him being on a liquid diet on Thursday and then having to drink the prep. He now understands why I couldn't complete it the first time. He was up all night.

They also had a lot of trouble starting an IV on him. They had to do it 5 times before it was a go. At one point, one of them was put in wrong and causing him lots of pain. I know he was so glad to have that procedure over!

It was so nice to be the caregiver for once and we had an entire day to hang out together.

He is my favorite!

C Girl had a sleepover that night, so B Boy was excited to have some alone time.

He watched a movie that he wanted to watch and Tim and I watched The Intern.

It was such a cute movie. We loved it!

She had so much fun with her friends!

 B Boy creates the neatest things! He  built this eagle before bed on Friday night.

Our weather has been beautiful for February. It was almost 70 degrees on Saturday so we decided to get out and hike.

Our intention was to hike a trail at the Beaver Dam Site Park.

It ended up being closed. We did get to see the dam for the first time though!

We ended up stopping at Lost Bridge hiking trail. We have only walked on this trail one other time when the kids were smaller. It is right on the lake. It is 6 miles long so we only did a small portion!

I love being out in nature with my people!

The sky and lake were gorgeous!

We went home, had a yummy dinner and then all snuggled up to watch Monsters University.

It was a wonderful day!

Yesterday was Sunday. I'm so thankful for our church and the opportunity to be able to go. Our faith is the foundation of our lives and I'm eternally thankful for a husband that shares the same belief. As I go through struggles, I find myself constantly thinking of how I would deal with them without relying on God. I come up short every time. I don't have answers to many things, but I always come back to the belief that He is there with me and for me. I have peace and joy that I don't know the source of other than my God. 

I've been jaded by church in the past, but I've also grown and seen true authenticity in people and learned about the amazing grace we are covered by. With all of our imperfections and humanness, He still loves us and uses us. 

I'm doing a study and reading a book right now that are growing me so much. It's amazing what you learn at different parts of your life and how much you need that knowledge during those times. I have gone through a really hard time lately, but God has filled me with such joy through it. It's not resolved, things are all wrong, and yet He is with me and He makes all things right. 

 Look at these two cuties. All the heart eyes!

I watched the Oscars last night and thought Chris Rock did an outstanding job. I've always liked him!

I have a full plate of things to do today. I hope you all have a great week! Happy Leap Day!!!

Hey friends!

Hi friends! How have you been? Things are going pretty well here. The weather has been extremely beautiful. I have been feeling really good. I had a 6 month checkup for my Crohn's yesterday. Things are going good. My Humira is helping me so much and the diet changes I have made help so much too. 

What we put in our bodies affect them more than we realize. I'm trying to put good things in that I know will help and heal my gut. It takes a lot of thought and effort to be mindful of everything you eat (especially when you go out - that's been SO hard!)

I've started walking once a week again with my friend, Berkli. 

It feels good to be active again.

Saturday morning, we ventured out to the farmer's market.

B Boy got to meet Superman!

 It was also the World Championship Squirrel Cook off!!!

I had to take my Sissy Girl to the vet later that morning. She has some gum infection and is going to have her teeth cleaned (and possibly a couple extracted!) soon.

Poor girlie.

 Later that afternoon, we sat down to watch the Hogs play Toledo. I don't have much to say about this game. It was such a shocking loss :-(

 I put a pork shoulder roast in the crockpot for carnitas tacos. It was SO good!

 Sunday night activities started back at church on Sunday. The kids are excited to get back to GA's and choir (C Girl) and RA's (B Boy)!

On Monday, I met some friends at Pei Wei for lunch. It has recently opened in our area and I have never eaten at one so I was very excited to try it. It was SO good!!!

That afternoon, The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond was at our supercenter signing books and meeting fans to launch her new line of dishes. I did not get to stand in line (it was soooo long!) but a good friend got to meet her and her husband!

My mom bought the kiddos scooters for their birthdays and they have been riding them almost every single day until then. I love that they love them and it is so good for them!

On Tuesday after Bible study, I had to go grocery shopping. Besides that and my doctor's appointment yesterday, I have mainly been home this week! It's been so nice and I have been painting a desk for C Girl's room. She is absolutely thrilled about it! It's a cute desk, but it was a not-so-pretty green color when we got it. I will do a before and after of it soon.

I've also been listened to the Undisclosed podcast.

It is not affiliated with Serial, but it is 3 lawyers discussing the same case.

I'm obsessed!!!

I hope you have a great weekend!

Go Hogs! I hope we win tomorrow!

Koonta Marie Sparacino April 2001-September 2014

Last night, I had to do one of the hardest things that I have ever done. I had to make the decision to let my sweet cat, Koonta pass on to heaven. 

I am so, so terribly sad right now. I'm sad because she is gone and I'm sad because I know she had suffered over the past few months. 

I had no idea what had been wrong with her until last night. She has been struggling to breathe the past couple of days, so I took her to an emergency animal hospital last night. They did tests and xrays and found that she had mega-esophagus, which is an extreme enlargement of the esophagus. It was causing her to swallow a lot of air, not be able to eat much, and it was very distressful and hard for her to breathe. 

The options for her were not good. She had lost so much weight and she had thyroid disease. The options of sedating her to try and help her meant that she might not wake up from the sedation. Her quality of life over the past months has not been good, and it broke my heart to make that decision, but I know she is not suffering now. 

I was all alone making this decision and that made it twice as hard. I second guessed myself every other second. When they brought her in to see me before, I knew in my heart it was right. She looked so terrible. I just loved on her and I know that she knew I loved her so much.

This is from the post I wrote when she turned 10 years old:

My cat, Koonta is going on 10 years old.  I got her my second year in college when she was 6 weeks old.  I was working at a grocery store and when I left work after my shift, a lady who had been giving away puppies all day was there and trying to give a way a lone cat she had with her.  Needless to say, I fell in love with the little bit.  I took her home and the rest is history.  She's been my girl ever since.  Of course, now she belongs to Tim and the kiddos too. 

Koonta was with us for 13 years and 5 1/2 months. 

She the first pet that was "mine." She brought so many memories to our family and she was very much a member of our family. 

I will never get the Christmas decorations out without wondering when she will come get into all of it or climb up the ladder as we are decorating. 

She was always into something. 

We called her, "the toddler," because she was always trying to get in the sink or she was knocking a cup over trying to drink whatever was inside of it. 

In the winter, she loved sleeping between Tim's legs. She loved when company came over and she was so much more laid back and social as she got older. I'll always remember playing "belt" with her and watching her run through the house chasing something that we would throw. I'll miss always asking, "is there anything out on the counter that Koonta can get into?"

She would greet us at the door if we had been away for awhile.

She loved finding a comfy spot to take a nap.

She is just a part of so many memories in our family.

We love you and will never forget you Koonta, Koonie, Koon, Poonta, Poonie, Poon, Za Poon, Poon Poon, Pon toonie, Toon Toon, Toonie, Koonie girl, Toonie Girl, Poonie Girl, Koonie Poon, sweet girl.