Happy 8th Birthday Bella

Its true, my littlest nugget turns 8 today.  By the time she returns home from school, she will be a year older.  I am still baffled by this.  I mean seriously, look at this sweet baby girl....

And here she is in all her prissiness this morning....

And her silly side...

She is a fun mess.  She's lovable all the time, and not just to me or her family but to everyone she meets.  If you are a friend or acquaintance of mommy's you get a hug from Bella.  That's just who she is.  She is my social butterfly and a fashionista.  Her shirt in the picture says "My Mom Is My Stylist" but she handles her wardrobe most of the time.  She isn't afraid to show her sense of style.  Her brother will sometimes shake his head at her but I love that she is brave like that.  I never was and can still be hesitant in some areas.  Not my girl.  This girl gives hugs and kisses every single day.  She would give them to her brother as well if he let her.  She also tells you she loves you every single day. One of her favorite things is drawing and writing sweet notes to family and friends.  She loves paper.  Daddy and Lena gave her a stationery set with her initial "B" on it and she thinks its the best yet.  Journals....oh my goodness how she loves journals.  She will draw or write in them, and has several. She is very creative and I love that about her. She still has the largest collection of lip gloss and hand sanitizer of anyone I know and her love of jewelry and scarves is growing just like her mommy.  She is always ready to go somewhere, anywhere and loves just being with her mommy whatever I'm doing.  I hope she always likes that.  

Happy Birthday my silly beautiful girl! I hope you have an amazing day.  I love you to the moon and back Boo Boo!! XOXO

Cheers to Friday

  

We made it through the week y'all!! Its been a tough one too.  It started with a holiday and is ending with really cold temperatures hitting us...FINALLY!

Wednesday was really the toughest part of the week.  We found ourselves back at MD Anderson with Tony for another procedure and a consult with the thoracic radiation/chemo team.  With the reality of the cancer hitting us square in the face, the consult was very overwhelming.   They have staged his cancer at 2, which is good...its still early, but its cancer.  All the doctors are very optimistic, and while Tony worries and is scared (he will probably never fully admit it), his humor is fully intact and he is still ready to kick cancer in its ass.

On to more happy things. I have been perusing websites and looking around for what I want my children to buy me for Christmas.  They gave me a Visa gift card so I like to say that whatever I end up purchasing with it comes from them.  They have already bought me a Pioneer Woman lunch tote. I love they know just what momma likes!

I have looked at these earrings from Nickel and Suede before.  They are lightweight and made of leather!  How cool is that!

These are their champagne shimmer

These are the signature gold...

They are so many colors but the two above are the ones I like best and would like to start out with. They also offer three different sizes so that's cool as well.  I love earrings.  If I were to have to decide which piece of jewelry is my favorite, it would definitely be earrings.  I love all jewelry and have quite a collection but earrings are my weakness.  Love them.  

I have also been looking at different home decor websites to see if anything strikes my fancy for the house.  So far I haven't seen anything I just have to have.  Canton has me spoiled when it comes to unique finds.

Nothing special going on this weekend although if you ask Bella, we will be discussing and planning her birthday party.  She will turn 8 this Monday and I am still trying to figure out how the hell that happened.  It is supposed to be cold, cold, cold all weekend so my plan is to stay inside in my pajamas and watch movies, takes naps, cook something warm and apparently plan a birthday party.  

Before I go, I must wish my sister and brother-in-law a happy anniversary.  I have no idea how many years they have been married but I wish them only the best and happiest of years!  I think its 16....

I hope y'all are staying warm and everyone is happy and healthy on your end.  Hug your loved ones my friends.

Happy New Year!!

I hope you and  your loves have a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

Cheers to amazing possibilities in 2017!!

Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017

I've been thinking about 2016 these last few days.  It hasn't been a bad year really but it hasn't been a great year either.  Its been good, that is, up until these couple of weeks.  We found out before Christmas my brother Tony has cancer. I'm not going to lie, when I saw the message I broke down and I broke down hard.  I knew absolutely nothing except that he had cancer and was being referred to MD Anderson.  We now know he has esophageal cancer and it appears the cancer has been caught early.  More testing today will determine that and what treatment will be best.  Most likely it will be radiation and chemotherapy. The doctors are very positive and talk in terms of curing his cancer.  Tony's attitude is great.  He's ready to kick this cancer in its ass.  He has an army of support and prayers right behind him.  We are all right here with him to give him whatever he needs.  With that being said, we are all ready to say goodbye to 2016 and hello to 2017.  We are ready, hopeful and thankful for many new days ahead.  Cancer puts your life in perspective.  Makes you see what's important and what isn't. I saw something the other day that said...

365 new days.  365 new chances.

I like that a lot.  I like the start of a new year.  Fresh start.  Not sure why a new year does that to everyone when we should get up every day with a fresh start.  I totally get it though, some days are easier than others. Positive thinking helps and I'm trying more every day.

I want to share this picture of me with my siblings we took Christmas Day.  Its rare you get all of us together for a picture but I'm glad Tony suggested it.  I think this one turned out pretty great....