I've been tagged!

Natalie over at Spoonful of Sugar tagged me so here is a fun way to get to know each other...

The Rules:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you plus the eleven facts about you.
3. Choose eleven people and link them in your blog.
4. Go to their page and tell them. 
5. No tag backs.
6. You legitimately have to tag.

11 Facts About Me: 
1. I love animals so much I've rescued 6 dogs, 2 baby raccoons, 2 alligator turtles, 1 box turtle and an earthworm or two in the past year.
2. I hate tomatoes.
3. I love to dance.
4. I am a social butterfly.
5. I love to dress up but only wear mascara and concealer for makeup.
6. I love DIY projects.
7. I loathe doing bills.
8. I have been going to school full-time for 2 1/2 years -- Major is Nursing.
9. I love to bake.
10. I am a backseat driver, just ask the hubs.
11. My favorite color is purple.

My Answers:

1. What is your favorite kind of movie? {ie: horror, comedy, romance} I hate horror movies but love comedy, action, and of course romance ;)
2. What are you currently reading? {or your last read} The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook since we just found out our sweet girl is allergic to so many foods.
3. Where do you plan to take your next vacation? Jekyll Island.
4. What did you want to be when you grew up? A nurse.
5. Do you have any phobias? If so, what kind. I'm claustrophobic. 
6. What would you rather have, iced or hot coffee? Hot coffee.
7. What is your biggest peeve? Someone telling me they are going to do something and not do it.
8. What is one thing you can't live without? My hubby and kiddos.
9. What are your plans for tomorrow? Church and then grocery shopping -- exciting I know.
10. What was your first car? {make/model/year} 1982 Ford Tempo with a baby blue orange peel paint job with no A/C -- I live in Florida = HOT!
11. If you had a special power, what would it be? Stop time. Our kiddos are growing up way to fast!

My Questions:       

1. Would you rather go to the beach or pool?
2. Have you traveled abroad? If so, where?
3. Who are you named after?
4. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
5. Are you an organizer or procrastinator?
6. When is your birthday?
7. What is your biggest peeve?
8. If you were stranded on an island, what is the one thing you would want with you?
9. What is your favorite color?
10. If you could be a super hero, who would you be?
11. What are you passionate about?

I tag:

1. Natalie@Spoonful of Sugar

2. Kimberly@A Night Owl

3. Sherlyn@Breathe.Smile.Learn

4. Sarah@The Salad Days

5. Vic@Honey Hazel

6. Tamika@No Time for Tea Parties

7. Sara@Seeing Purple Stars

8. Rita@Suburbs Mama

9. Devon@The Jack Chronicles

10. Kim@The REAL Adventures of a SoCal Mom

11. Yuli@Yuli Conversations

 Love,

"Let's Show the Spirit of Giving: Fishes for Marrow Wishes..."

A number of months ago I was blessed to stumble upon this heartfelt blog of a families journey with their two daughters out of five children, Natalie and Alice have what is called Leaky SCID (Severe Combined Immune Deficiency). To some this may not sound so serious but following their blog diary it has opened my eyes to the seriousness of this illness these poor little ones have had to endure.

Just to give you an idea of what these precious little girls have to go through at 8 and 2 years old...

The literature says that 1 in 40,000 people are carriers of this gene, and a child can only be affected by this gene mutation if both parents carry the gene; then there is a 25% chance that a child from two carrier parents will be affected. There are only two cases in the entire U.S. that are reported each year so it is extremely rare. The treatment is a bone marrow transplant. The success rate is 90%…..fatality rate is 1 in 10. Long term side effects of transplant are infertility and possible chronic Graft vs. Host disease. Graft vs. Host means that their bodies might reject the new marrow and does not want to accept it as their own. A perfect sibling match will reduce the chances of Graft vs. Host disease. Their son Blair was a match for Natalie but unfortunately there was not a sibling match for Alice. However, they were able to find a donor on the registry list that was a perfect match for Alice. The girls will need to be isolated after the transplant for a few months so Tyler and Lisy will live at the Ronald McDonald house by Primary Childrens while the boys stay with Lisy’s parents. It is an extremely difficult time for them.

Please take a few minutes to stop by their blog (click on the button below) to see if there is anyway you can help this family with donations or spreading the word. Dear readers, I do have to warn you though it is heart breaking to watch this video diary and read their daily struggles on their blog but if you feel it touched your heart by this difficult journey this family has to go through please feel free to help them. Thank you!

Love,

Thankful Thursday: Last day...

This morning as I sat in the parking lot on my last day at school, it was a kind of bitter sweet day. Two and a half years I have worked very hard at maintaining a high GPA along with being a wife and mother. It hasn't always been easy to juggle yet with the help of my very supportive husband he made all the difference in the world. 

Somehow I managed by the grace of God to make it through the last 14 months after my mom passed away but school kept me busy -- my mind busy. I know she is looking down at me an so proud of my accomplishment. Yet wishing I could call her to tell her all about it. 

But giving my last presentation at school for Microbiology it was quite sad, scary and exciting all at the same time. Thinking to myself, I'm done! So for now I am turning in my lab coat...

Thank you Dr. Kiesmu for now giving me more of a reason to be OCD about germs. Ha!

 

It has been an incredible journey that is not over yet. I'm looking forward to this next chapter in my life -- awaiting my acceptance letter for the R.N. program.

Sir, I am just going to hold your head up so it doesn't fall off.

So until then, I'm off to celebrate with my family -- no more school for 3 whole months! What shall I ever do with myself this Summer?

 

 

 

Love,

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday: Children teaching...

Our afternoon at the local nursery picking out flowers...

What is Earth Day all about?

Dear readers, that is a great question...

Earth Day reminds us we all share the same planet. Sharing Earth means taking responsibility for what we use and how we use it. It is a day to think of the environmental challenges we face and how to solve them. Protecting Earth is every person’s and every country’s responsibility. 

Photo credit

The photo above speaks volumes because our planet is truly in our hands and our responsibility to take care of our planet for the next generation.

What choices do you and your family make to protect our planet? 

I'll be honest with you, this is something I did not grow up doing but it has taken me years to learn and show our children how to help protect our planet. I'm by far perfect at it so I won't claim to be but the important thing is 'we' are doing something to help!

 Photo credit

Here are a few ways you can help:

• Walk or ride a bicycle to school, the park, or the store. Encourage your parents to walk or ride to work, too. This is a great way to help reduce the pollution created by cars, trucks, buses, trains, and airplanes.
• Plant trees. Trees help keep the air clean.
• Do not litter. Pick up litter on the sidewalk, street, beach, or riverbank. This will help keep the environment free of contaminants.
• Create a compost pile for food scraps and plant waste from the garden. This is a good way to cut down on the amount of trash that goes into a landfill. As a bonus, compost helps create rich soil for gardening.
• Recycle! Recycling is an important part of keeping Earth clean. It is very easy to do. By giving old things a new life we put less pressure on important resources all of us will need in the future to survive. 

This is how our family helps...

Recycle everything we can or upcycle (reuse for other purposes)

 Recycle and upcycle our meat and produce trays

  

   Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins or paper towels

  Huck towel replaced paper towels

  Reusable bags for our grocery and retail shopping

  Make our own cleaning supplies

  Make our own laundry soap

Click here for recipe  

Use toiletries that are made from recycled packaging

Use scrap copy paper from Chuck's work for Payton to draw and color

Even use empty boxes for playhouses for ponies and teddy bears

Eat organic products that participate in packing with recycled materials

Recycle our food scraps in our compost bin


We had a beautiful garden with three different types of tomatoes, squash, zucchini, green peppers, cayenne peppers, strawberries, rosemary, cucumbers and a blueberry bush but sadly last year we had to take it down after my mom passed and being in school full-time there was no time to maintain it, plus the neighborhood stray cats kept using it as a litter box. But here are some photos of our little raised garden...

 
(These photos don't do our garden justice since I took them at the time with my iPhone)






Our children learn by watching us make good choices to help protect our planet...

 Click here to read a great little blog, Teach Mama on 5 easy ways to raise earth-friendly kids

 

Let's all do our part!