A Return to Blogging

I admit it- I have not been in the mood to blog at all lately. Perhaps it is because I just spent the last 2+ years writing paper upon paper for school and now that I'm finally done (YAY!) I really want to do nothing productive with my computer. I've been spending a lot of time viewing Black Friday ads online and patrolling Facebook but other than that, I've been avoiding the computer. So, my apologies. I was actually going to write a sort of "catch up"  blog and post some Halloween pictures, etc. However, I have a much more important message to get across today. Several weeks ago, one of Anna's close friends, Gloria, was diagnosed with Leukemia. Anna and Gloria have somewhat grown up together as her family has lived directly behind us for the entire time we have owned our home. They also have a son who is the same age as Alex so the kids have spent the past few summers hanging out at one house or the other. This news has devastated Anna and given us a renewed appreciation for how fragile life really is. We have been praying for them since we found out and attempting to help in any way we can. They have recently set up a website asking for donations to help fund Gloria's medical care. Because of the nature of her illness and the amount of treatments she will need (a total of about two and a half years of chemo) one of them will need to be home with her pretty much full time for the first six  months. This means that they are going from a dual income household to a single income household along with trying to pay for all of the co-pays, medications, etc. I know that most of you have never met Gloria or her family and it's hard to think about donating to someone you don't know. However, you ALL know me and know that I would not ask for money for something that I didn't truly believe was going to make a difference. I know that Anna is looking at selling some of her toys and/or clothes to make some money to donate. We will be eliminating a few Christmas gifts on our list and making a donation instead. If you can find a way to donate even a small amount to them I know that they would be extremely grateful. The link is : http://www.gofundme.com/abjn4 If not, keeping them in your prayers is also appreciated. This Thanksgiving, there is no question what we are grateful for in our home-healthy, energetic, trouble making kids. Here are just a few pics of Gloria that I had from this past year.

 (yes, they are wrapping me up in toilet paper- making me into a mummy!)

Giant ice cream cones by the pool (yes Sarah is wearing boy's underwear as her swimsuit- it's a third child thing :)