School Can't Start Soon Enough!

Hello!  It's less than a week away till school starts and we are ready!  School supplies are purchased.  School clothes are waiting to be worn.  Fees have been paid for middle school and high school.  The middle school and high school already have had their pictures taken!  I am grateful for the long break my kids had but am ready to send them back!  They are ready too, I can tell.  They are starting to argue over meaningless things just for sport.  At this moment they are arguing about how much water on the bathroom rug is too much from the shower...who is smacking their mouth too much when eating (it's always the one not eating who's complaining!) ...and my favorite, someone lopping over into their square on the couch.  Did I mention that I cannot wait till next Wednesday?

One great thing happening this week is that Andrew finally, after 3 years, finishes his Master's Degree.  He will be for real done...no more to do...zilch...nada!  He was allowed to graduate in June because he had 2 classes left to finish, but that was not really the end till now!  I am very proud of his hard work over these three years which would have only been two if it weren't for my stupid cancer treatment.  To commemorate, we will be going out to dinner with some friends.  Yay! 

So we are finishing up some old things and starting some new...that's just the way I like it!

Feeling Lucky!

I am reveling in the joy of living where I do.  It seems surreal to live here.  I asked my husband the other day when it would stop feeling like I'm on permanent vacation.  He doesn't feel that way because he's working really hard; but I do.  I been doing touristy things such as going to local berry farms suggested in Sunset magazine, enjoying Washington State parks, and taking a ferry to a nearby island. The funny part is that I didn't partake in these things when I lived here before.  Maybe it was because my kids were small, but really I think it's because I didn't appreciate it fully.  It wasn't until I left that I regretted not doing more.  I can tell that people who have lived here a long time don't know that they are lucky.  I walked out of the grocery store this morning and saw the marina with sailboats across the street.  It beat the Rite Aide with the weed-filled field behind it at my previous grocery store any day!  I am a person who is easily bored, so enjoying where I live is important.  I am going to commit to enjoy this place to the fullest!  When I feel discontent creeping in, I will go look at the view from my front porch and thank the Lord for allowing me to return!

I hope you enjoy the view from your front porch too...wherever you are!


Janice

Hello, I'm back!

After a six-month hiatus, I am back.  It's been a heck of a six months and I have not had time to update.  My last post was back in January.  That was three surgeries and a two-state away move ago!  Luckily, I am done with surgery for a while and I hope I don't ever have to move again!
We were so blessed to move back to our favorite place, Anacortes, Washington at the end of June.  We are slowly getting settled and getting our stuff put away.  The funny part of our move is that we moved into our old house.  We are leasing it this time, which is weird.  I told Andrew I will become a squatter if they don't sell it to us because I really don't want to move...ever!  Andrew's Mom said, "There's nothing worse than touching everything you own.!"  It is so true!  I have found some advantages to moving into a house where you once lived:  1) You already know the neighbors. 2) There are nail holes from things you once had up on the wall....a big time-saver!  3) You already know where most of your stuff will go.  These factors have made our transition easier!
Well, that's it for now.   It's good to be back!
Janice

Some Thoughts.....

I have some random thoughts to share with you today.  They are in no particular order; they will be just as I remember them:

1.  I discovered I like my boys playing the sport of basketball.  It provides 2 nights a week of physical 

     activity, which they need, and an hour of peace for me.  I also like that it is indoors.  I am not the 

     kind of girl who likes to freeze outside to watch sports....nope, not at all.  I am enjoying watching

     my boys learn and grow.  I am also amazed at how many kids trip playing this sport...it happens a lot!

 2.  I got a Gypsy last night.  It goes with the Cricut Expression I got at Christmastime.  That thing is so much fun!  The Cricut (pronounced~cricket) will cut out letters, shapes,  and a multitude of other things.  I tried being a scrapbooker (who it is made for) but that didn't work out.  I do like making cards, making gift tags, having nice looking letters to put on things, etc. ,so it works for me too!  The Gypsy just helps to design things to cut out on my Cricut.  I have so much to learn!

3.  I am getting ready to have my reconstruction surgery on January 24.  It's going to be a bigger surgery than I had anticipated and I'm not looking forward to it...just to getting it done!  It includes a tummy-tuck so at least my stomach will be flatter!  My fabulous parents will be coming to help.  Thank heaven for them!

4.  Verizon is putting out an iPhone at the beginning of February.  I've been saying I wish they would for a long time!  I'm really trying to figure out how to afford one...and the monthly fee that would incur...I'm trying not to get excited!

Well, that's my random thoughts for now...Take Care!

Janice

Why I Like Facebook.....

I'm not quite sure why there are so many critics of Facebook out there.  I find it very satisfying to click on my homepage and have messages, see what my friends are doing, and even have people request to be my friend.   It is very good for the self-esteem.  I guess it relates to my love of getting mail.  I guess I even like junk mail because if my mailbox is empty, I'm disappointed.  But my favorite type of mail is a hand-written note...and a check (of course!).  It's a sad observation that there are fewer and fewer hand written notes these days...and I think that's where Facebook fills that need.  I get mini notes all the time!  I love being able to carry on a discussion with my friends, near and far, and know what is going on in their lives.  I have heard people say that people who like Facebook are self-absorbed because they post updates about themselves, but I think that's a very limited view of Facebook.  Sure, I post updates like the others, but I LOVE reading my friend's updates.  I have also heard that it's a time-waster.  That is most definitely true, for some; but I know a lot more people who waste much more time doing other things (e.g. TV, video games).  Lastly, I'm a very social person.  If I have too many days in a row, by myself, I start to get depressed.  Others energize and refresh me!  So thank you Facebook...you can be my friend anytime!

Why Is It So Dang Hard To Pick A Baby Name?

Nicknames stick to people, and the most ridiculous are the most adhesive.  ~Thomas C. Haliburton

I was looking up baby names for my niece today.  Out of 1,000 names, there were 6 they liked.  It seems that many names conjure up a person who is annoying, who is a demon-kid, or doesn't go with the last name.  And, of course, my whole family also had their opinions of the names that were read off the list.  I was thinking to myself, How in the world did I come up with my own kid's names? There is even a professional service that, for $49.99, will send you name suggestions with some information you input.  I also saw a name generator that will give you 30 names when you input three you like.  Other important ideas to consider are:  If a mean childhood nickname can be made from that name; If that initials spell something embarrassing (e.g. P.U.S.); or how many kids at one time have that name.  I sub for a class with 2 Haileys, 1 Kaylie, 1 Jadee, and 1 Shaylee....It gets confusing!  My niece's last name is Lesseg, which eliminates lots of names.  Anything that ends with an L sound or is too rhymy doesn't go with it.  I am of the opinion to find a name and sit with it until the baby is born ,but, and this is important, don't tell anyone!  EVERYONE has an opinion of every kind of name!  If you Mom or Aunt Margaret don't like it, you are back to the drawing board. Pick the one you like and let the name be a surprise!  At that point, everyone will know there is no turning back!  This is my advice for Amber!  Although I do know of an angel named Janice!  Ha! Ha!.....

P.S. How about we find out the gender of your baby and leave the name a surprise?   I would really like to know!

Yum!

I made these today:

These are called pancake puppies....my friend called them hushpuppies....Whatever you call them, they are good!  Here is the link!  I didn't make the blueberry kind.  I used plain Krusteaz pancake mix and added chocolate chips...yum!  That is syrup in the middle.  And...they are deep fried....bad for you, but good.

Today was a good day.  I was in my pajamas until after lunch, which is not like me!  It usually bothers me to stay in my pj's that long.  I was tired though, and welcomed the idea of not having to do anything!  I was able to go through some of my stacks of papers that seem to procreate overnight on the flat surfaces of my house!  While tidying the house, I found my Christmas wrapping paper that I bought from the school fundraiser, many little tiny toys, a purple highlighter, and 1 missing glove!  It was a good and productive day!  Now I am going to begin wrapping!  I need to mail my Christmas gifts to Washington because we are headed there for Christmas come rain, snow, blizzard, etc.  Like this:

 This is video from our last Christmas trip to Washington in 2008.
  Well, I'd better get wrapping!  Enjoy the season!



Janice

I Have Seen It All!

Yesterday, in my mailbox, I got the weirdest catalog. It is a really expensive Barbie catalog called Barbie Blonde. My daughter was sitting on my lap looking at it and exclaimed, "That is really weird!" This is an actual item for sale and it's priced at a whopping $9,000!  It is made of Barbie hair!  I think it's creepy!



And there's more! There is an actual house decorated like Barbie's dream house that is life size....Note the beautiful chandelier!

It seems like someone has too much money and is looking for anywhere to spend it! As my friend Teri would say,"Sheesh!" I am curious as to how I, of all people, became their target audience. I won't pay more than $10 for a Barbie!

And The Winner Is.....

This is the Christmas card we chose for the Shutterfly promotion. That was so much fun, and 50 free cards turns out to be a fabulous deal! If you are a blogger, I say you take them up on it. Here is the link, one more time! This was my favorite card hands down, and I can't tell you why I didn't include it in my favorites! Thanks, Deanna, for taking the picture! We liked how the green ribbon ties in the trees in the background.
Janice

Christmas Card Season!

EVERYONE knows that Christmas card season starts before Thanksgiving if you are going to do it right! It takes time to get the right picture, weather, and all of your family gathered together. The good news is that's the hard part! Picking your Christmas cards through Shutterfly is so easy! I'm going to tell you my favorites! I tend to be a fan of the Folded Greeting Card. I think they feel more substantial and I like to put them on display!
I thought this one was pretty! I like traditional elegance!



It is also important to choose a card that is appropriate for your particular picture. My picture this year is casual so I liked this one! I liked the bright colors!


If I had multiple pictures I would have used this one!


I prefer the sentiment "Merry Christmas" to "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings", but you can find many choices in every style on how you choose to say it! There are Holiday Cards, Christmas Photo Cards , and even Birthday Cards to choose from!

I also like the idea of being able to order a Personalized Mug of my child's mug, or even a Calendar to look at all year long!

If you are a blogger and would like to share your favorites and get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly, click here!

Happy Christmas Card Shopping!
Janice

Disclosure-Shutterfly is not paying me for my opinion about their cards. They are giving me 50 free cards for posting my favorites! All opinions are completely my own!

Our Halloween Bunco Party!

Spinning In A Million Directions

Do you ever have so many projects going at once that you forget how many you have altogether? That's me right now. I am room Mom for both of my girl's classes and that has come with many fun jobs, first of which is our Fall Harvest Festival. For one class we are doing a pie walk...the other a fishing game where they throw their fishing pole behind a tarp of water and see what they get. I've been making notes to parents, fishing poles, signs...and I still have to work the event on October 22. Then on top of that I wanted to make some crafts to donate to our holiday shop at school so I am also painting some picture frames, gluing on some ribbon and jingle bells. A week after that my niece and I are having a Halloween Bunco Party so there are unfinished decorations and supplies sitting around for that. Ugh! It looks like my house threw up Halloween and Christmas! But to be honest, even with all this clutter I'm having great fun doing it! I love to be busy and I certainly am! Next on my list is thinking up something creative for our Christmas picture that we are taking on Sunday...any ideas to make our picture unique?
Love ya,
Janice

Melancholy

After a LONG break, I decided to post something. I'm feeling sort of melancholy today, and I thought I'd try my hand at an acrostic of some of my thoughts. Here is an acrostic poem for you:

Monday was a long day and I'm still suffering the effects today.
Exercise is elusive in 100+ degree heat.
Love should be a decision and not a feeling.
A good friend doesn't make you feel bad for not seeing them in a while.
Never give advice without all the facts.
Chores are a necessary part of life.
Happy moments are unplanned.
Old folks don't feel so old in their mind.
Love can be shown through gentleness.
You'll never know how much your kindness may mean to someone.

I've just observed these lessons in the last two days. Life is full of wisdom!
Love you all!
Janice

Changes for the Sheppies!

We are planning some big changes in the Shepard house. First, we put our house for sale (and already got 3 offers) which proves all the HGTV home staging shows have paid off! Second, we are contemplating moving back to WA sometime soon. Andrew can do his job from anywhere he has online access, which is anywhere! We love and miss our town and friends of Anacortes so much! I still have some medical stuff to take care of and if I move I'll have to come back every three months for a while.

Another change in the works is that Noah is going back to public school next year....can't take another year...enough said! My hat goes off to you homeschoolers! I am just NOT cut out for it!

We would appreciate all your prayers on these issues because they are major stressors right now! We are just waiting for God to give us the green light!

We pray God's blessings on all of you!
Love,
Janice

Crazy Weather!

This has been a crazy week of weather. I posted a picture on Fleur-de-Mobile. We have gotten more rainfall this week than we get in a year. We are supposed to get something like 20 inches of rain this week. Wow! My house has taken a beating. We discovered we have a leak in our roof. It's a bummer...but someone else has it worse than I do somewhere. Adding to the craziness, I had to drive to 5 separate Dr. appt (4 mine!) this week. When we woke up this morning, we had a few inches of snow! Who knew? Of course school got canceled...and the kids got soaked...several times! It was a good day in all and the crummy weather gave me the excuse to soak in the tub and put on my pajamas early. I hope you are all cozy and warm at home with the ones you love.
Love,
Janice

Online Christmas Card

Hi Dear Friends and Family!

I included my blog address for many friends and family to be caught up on our year. It has been a doozy! To start, back in February, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. That was a really dark and terrifying time, but by God's grace we pressed on. In March I started chemotherapy which I finished on my birthday on June 26. My Mom, the wonderful lady that she is, came in March and stayed to help until September. She was a huge help and blessing. I don't think we would have made it without her! I was allowed to rest about a month after chemo and I had surgery at the end of July. I had a double mastectomy, which was by choice. I only had cancer on one side, but I opted to do both sides to prevent any chance of recurrence. I also did the first phase of reconstruction with the surgery, so I only have one to go (probably late spring or early summer of '10). After that, the pathology report was good and all the cancer was gone. In October, I began radiation. I had 30 treatments (Mon-Fri) every day until the week after Thanksgiving. With the main bulk of the treatments being over I am now going to the Dr. every three months as follow up. I also have a drug infusion every three weeks that is specific to the type of cancer I had. That was a very short synopsis of the past 11 months, but overall I would say that I fared really well. God has been with me through it all and has brought many people to my aid. I have received well over 60 meals from some of the loveliest people! I have received the nicest cards and well wishes! I have learned to trust God even when I'm terrified...

Now, to the rest of the family. Andrew is working at Loma Linda University and loving it. They just gave him an additional contract so he can quit his part-time graveyard job that he doesn't like. He is very happy about that. His job is a blessing! He is also getting his Master's degree. Noah, our oldest son, is in 7th grade. He is doing it at home for an online public school. We thought he needed more of our influence at home at this time. He is as spunky as usual! Kyle is in 5th grade this year and doing great. He was accepted into the GATE program because of his excellent test scores. We are really proud of him. Lauren and Brooklyn are in the first grade. They are in the same class and are adapting well. Brooklyn had a difficult time adjusting to a full day of school. They have all dealt with the whole cancer ordeal remarkably well! Besides my full time job of cancer, I still manage to sub at the kid's school once in a while. Mostly, I'm home with Noah doing 7th grade! I'm finally learning algebra! Ha! Ha!

Overall, we are all doing great right now. There are chances that cancer could return or have complications from treatment, but right now we're good....and we'll take it! I like the saying, "God is good...all the time." It's so true! God bless you this Christmas and always!

With love,
Janice & The Family




Brooklyn's School Picture












Lauren's School Picture

















Kyle's School Picture
















Noah's School Picture























Brooklyn (green) and Lauren (pink) singing at a school performance.





Noah (his hair is much longer and shaggier now!)




Here's Kyle!




Our dog Riley!





My first day of chemo. Friday the 13th of March!

My Blog...My Right toBrag!

I am so proud of my son, Kyle, who qualified for the Gifted and Talented Education Program this year (GATE). His test scores qualified him to be considered! Yeah Kyle! Now, I know, I know....all kids are gifted and talented,I see that in my other kids, but it's not easy to make it so...Cheers for Kyle!

The Weirdest Thing Happened To Me...

I was walking into the grocery store a couple of days ago and this older lady was in front of me with her cart. As I drew closer, I noticed she had a shellacked picture of an old guy in the front of her cart. She turned and asked me if I had a use for a picture of an old guy...I told her, "Sorry, but I don't." She then continued to ask the person behind me the same question. I'm not sure if she was trying to sell it for groceries or if she was trying to give it away, but it made me smile because it was weird. I told my son about it and he said, "That's so random." That's okay, I like random...it makes the day interesting!
Have a great day!

A New Frontier!

I have embarked on a new frontier. Noah is doing 7th grade at home with the California Virtual Academy. I have to say yesterday, the first day, was not too bad. It took him 2 hours to do his pre-algebra, but it got done. We were also able to finish all his other assignments. I say "we" meaning I have to be in charge of making it get done! I did get frustrated with him a couple of times, but not like I thought I would. I did say a prayer of thanks, at least once, that he was home with me and being influenced by me. That idea made me happy. I feel like I'm making a difference for my own child for a change.
Have a great day!
Janice

I Love June!

June is my favorite month! I can't help it. I love the end of school (why? I can't tell you cause it means two months of kids at home!) I love my birth month! I love the change that it ushers in through grade level changes, graduations, weddings....I love the warm weather, and vacations (not that I get to go on one this year!) This year, much to my displeasure, my enjoyment has been a little dampered due to cancer treatment, but I love it just the same. This June, my last chemotherapy is on my birthday, June 26. I am going to celebrate that day with my sister. We are going to a hotel and spa and relaxing for an evening. I am looking forward to that! I hope nice things happen to you as well this month. Yeah June!