Anniversary Weekend

I have had such a blissful morning so far. Off work, for one! Artie took Logan to school and then went to a doctor's appointment, so Lucy & I have had the house to ourselves. She keeps hanging around our luggage - she always knows when a trip is brewing. She will be staying at the kennel this weekend again. Thankfully she loves it there.
It's a beautiful chilly morning. I have straightened the house, finished packing, and wrapped a few gifts. I'm waiting on Artie to return from the doctor so we can head off to the mountains for our 3-day anniversary weekend. I can't believe we have been married for 25 years! I've been a Davis longer than I was a Dunsmore!
We don't have any super thrilling plans. We're staying in a cute little hotel that faces the Parkway, so we can watch the traffic from our balcony. We can walk to Olive Garden, Red Lobster and a few other restaurants. We will be across the street from Tanger Outlet Mall, so we plan to finish up our Christmas shopping.
I feel kind of guilty for leaving Logan behind, but with all the recent stress and arguing with him over his big Facebook mistake, I think it will be kind of nice to leave all that behind for a few days. Plus Artie and I never get away alone, so it will be fun for us and relaxing.
My big boss is not at the office today so that means I won't be getting work-related calls and emails and I can truly just relax.
Artie and I have definitely had our ups and downs over the past 25 years, but we have always known that God brought us together and He has kept us together. Hopefully our next 25 will be even better than the first 25!

Have a great weekend everyone!

More Trees!

There are many things I could post about today, but they all stress me out. So I'm just going to post photos of our additional Christmas trees for your "viewing pleasure."

This is the main tree, in the living room. This is where all of our special family ornaments go. We put Logan's gifts under this tree. As you can see, the cat was already eyeing the tree for future damage...

This is the tree in our master bedroom. It is everyone's favorite so far. I love the color of the tree itself. Can you believe Artie found this tree at Hammer's? All of the sand dollars were found at Clearwater Beach. We found them, dug for them, bleached them and brought them home. Now it's like a reminder of the beach when we look at the tree.

Of course, this is Logan's tree. He loves red and he loves guitars and cartoons, so there you go.

This is the tree in the guest bedroom. If you saw my tree photos on FB, you may notice this is a different tree AND different decorations. Artie didn't like the original "bird tree," so he took it down, returned the decorations, and we bought these peacocks. I think it's beautiful, but I still don't think he's satisfied with it.

This is our upstairs hallway tree. It was previously in the guest bedroom, but it is so tiny, we moved it into the hallway. I have made all of the ornaments with my scrapbooking supplies. It needs a few more things to fill it up, but it's a decent start. I love the country angels under the tree!

We have two more trees, a PALM tree in our master bathroom and a tree on the screened porch. I'll try to get those photos on here later this week along with our outdoor decorations.

It definitely feels like Christmas at our house!

Dr. Hanna, Part 2

Dr. Hanna said that he thinks my high platelet count is probably due to lingering inflammation and abscesses from my plastic surgery in March. He is going to run more tests on the GALLON of blood they took today to confirm that. If that is not the case, then it could in fact be a bone marrow disease. He said with the counts I have, if it is a bone marrow issue, it would not even be "significant enough to treat at this time." I guess this is good news. I wanted him to come out and say that I had no possibility of a bone marrow disease, but I guess this is the next best thing. I won't see him again for four weeks unless something "earth-shattering" shows up on the additional blood work. Continue praying for me, please! Thank you!

Dr. Hanna

Up early this morning and much more anxious than I thought I would be - my appointment with Dr. Hanna is in a couple of hours. I don't expect horrible news, but the thought of going to a hematology/oncology specialist is still nerve-wracking. I know many people are praying for me this morning. It's always good to know if something is wrong in your body so it can be treated, but I have certainly had my fill of doctors these past few months. Artie pulled out another stitch from one of my open areas just this past weekend. Will it ever end?
I'll post an update later today.

Don't I Feel Silly...

If you read my post yesterday, please forgive my naivete! Apparently my faith in my son was undeserved. He IS the guilty party. Let me just say life is going to be very rough for him for a few weeks. No xbox, no phone, no iPad, no computer...and more.

Fighting Your Child's Battles

I have such a hard time staying out of Logan’s “battles” and letting him fight them for himself! One of Logan’s very close friends recently had their Facebook account hacked. A very nasty, vulgar post showed up on their wall as if they had posted it. However, they are claiming that Logan posted it while logged in under their name. Logan swears to me that he did not do it. His tight-knit group of about 10 friends seems to be split in their opinions, about 70% believing Logan and about 30% siding with his other friend.

I called the friend’s mom and explained to her that I was aware of the situation and that I had “interrogated” Logan about it and felt sure that he was telling me the truth and that he did not do this. I told her I was not naïve enough to believe that my son is an angel, but that I believe he is being honest with me about this issue. She was very kind and friendly and said she did not outright blame anyone. They were upset by what was posted, but they immediately took it down and asked their son to change all of his security settings.

I am so upset that any of Logan’s friends would even think him capable of this, and even so, that some of them still don’t believe him when he proclaims his innocence. I know I cannot get involved in the friendship highs and lows of young teens, but it hurts me for him. He is really hurt that his friend doesn’t believe him. And of course, if he hurts, I hurt.

My therapist tells me that I am not doing him any favors by trying to protect him from all of life’s stings and fighting his battles for him. Apparently it is good for him to learn how to navigate these issues of life and friendship. However, when my child hurts, I do not like it and it brings out the “Mama Bear” in me. I'm so sad that my child is sad. :(

Lacking Motivation

I am having a real problem with lack of motivation lately. This is unfortunately not a new problem for me. I am sitting at work this morning with a to-do pile up to my neck and all I want to do is drive home and lie down. Of course, Artie is at home so that makes it even more tempting.

I know in today’s economy I am so fortunate to have a job. The stress level is very high, but the pay is decent and I’m inside all day with a great view. When I do have to work on the weekends, it’s from home. I feel guilty when I complain about my job because I know so many people who just need to work!

I think part of my problem is the weather change. It’s been really cold here in Knoxville the past few days, and that always makes me want to cuddle up at home with a blanket and a fire. Another contributing factor is missing my dad. That is always worse around the holidays. He LOVED Christmas and I miss his goofy excitement. I am also still not feeling completely well physically, and I have that big appointment with the hematologist looming in a week or so, which is weighing on my mind.

I have to force myself to turn to my work pile and dig in. It’s like every file weighs 100 lbs. and I don’t want to lift it. Does that make sense to anyone but me?

I am so excited about next week being Thanksgiving and going to SC. My niece, Deann, and I have so much planned for that weekend with all the kids: making & decorating cookies, gingerbread houses, making ornaments, putting up Patti’s tree, playing Christmas music, and of course EATING.

Sorry to be a downer today. I’ll try to get pictures up tonight or tomorrow of the remaining Christmas trees. We’re doing our outdoor decorating tomorrow, so I’ll post that too.

Happy Friday to everyone (else). ;)

"Growing" Pains

Two milestone events for Logan this week and MOMMY is having "growing" pains! First of all, he went (Finally!) for a haircut on Saturday. His hair is still long, but it looks much cleaner after the cut.

During the shampoo phase, I noticed all this fuzz growing down the side of his face and realized he needed to SHAVE! I couldn't believe it. His long hair had covered it before. So once we got home, Artie SHAVED Logan's face! I couldn't believe it. I mean, I know he's 13, but he's still my B-A-B-Y!!

And while I'm still barely recovering from that, I have to prepare for Logan's big class trip to Williamsburg! They leave in the morning at 6:00 a.m. (!) and they won't be back until late Saturday night! 4 days! I mean, what will he do without us?!? Who will fix his snacks and keep his water bottles stocked & cold? Who will wash his hair and blow dry it? (usually Artie) Who will help him get dressed in the mornings and keep his dirty clothes separate from his clean ones in the suitcase? Will he brush his teeth AT ALL for four days? Will he shower? Will his friends run him out of the hotel room? Will he misbehave so badly that the teachers call us to drive to Williamsburg and get him? Will he be safe? Will he get car (bus) sick? (Very likely!) I can give him Dramamine before he leaves in the morning, but he's not allowed to carry meds with him, so how can he have some for the return trip? Did we pack enough clothes? Will he be cold? Will he lose his iPhone or iPad? Will he over-eat? Will he trash his hotel room? Mostly I'll just miss him. :(

Saying Things We Regret

Don't you wish our mouths had a censor delay like they use in radio and on TV? So we could pause and think before we actually spew something out that might be hurtful to someone or embarrass them? I certainly do.
I have such a big mouth and apparently I love to talk. Sometimes I just blurt out whatever is on my mind and don't think about it first. I did that over the weekend and said something that really upset another person. I feel so bad about it now and wish I could take it back, but once those words are out there, they can't be unsaid.
This is a very short blog, and I know I haven't had as much to say lately. I am just really down on myself this morning for running my mouth. :(
I didn't say anything to intentionally hurt someone, I just didn't think how it might embarrass them before I shared it with other people. So it's a lesson to please think before you speak. It's much easier to censor yourself than to deal with the consequences later!

Injured Cat!

So I was really complaining yesterday about the cats getting into our Christmas trees. Logan came home from school and found half the ornaments, and the NEW tree topper from my pink & white tree, in a trail down the stairs and throughout the house. I was SO mad. They have already messed up the dining room tree and pulled half the garland off! I was furious.
Then I get home and find out that somehow Frosty has injured (maybe broken) his leg somehow yesterday. He can barely walk. He takes two steps and lies down. He howls in pain. We spent most of the night holding him in our laps and trying to gently probe around to see if we could feel a break or a knot. We couldn't find the exact source of the pain. Artie thinks it's in the hip area.
So off to the vet this morning. Artie's new schedule will give him a couple of free hours this morning before classes, so he is taking Frosty to the vet to see if there's a serious injury.
I'm still mad at the cats, but I don't want them to be hurt THAT bad!

Updates on Previous Posts

Whenever I run into friends who read my blog, I'm often asked "whatever happened with ...." and they are asking for an update from a previous blog post. So I thought I'd provide some updates on things that are going on with us.

Annual Review: Still hasn't happened yet!

Making Christmas Cards: I have bought boxed cards to send this year. I don’t have time to do it all, and I think sending the cards out is more important than whether or not they are handmade.

Small Groups: We are really enjoying our small group from church. The people in our group are very welcoming and we are slowly getting to know them better. Our discussions are always very enlightening. It is so encouraging to spend time with a group of people who help you grow in your faith!

“Parenting Fail”/Logan’s Weight Issues: Logan is still working with a trainer at the YMCA three times per week. He loves it, and I am SO THANKFUL for that! The trainer is doing an excellent job of keeping Logan motivated. Logan has lost 8 lbs. so far and 4% body fat.

STEM Academy: We are working on the transfer request paperwork for the STEM Academy. My plan is to apply and pray for God’s will to be done in Logan’s life. The admission is on a “lottery” system, which means they will choose a certain number of kids from each school in the county. If Logan doesn’t get chosen, then it must not be part of God’s plan for him to attend STEM. I cannot see the future, so I do not know what is best for Logan. Only God knows that.

Real Housewives Addiction: I have managed to stop watching ONE of the cities so far. I stopped watching New York because they just went too far over the top with their drama. I do hope to wean myself down to just one or two cities, instead of the four remaining shows.

25th Anniversary Trip: It has been a big ordeal trying to figure something out. We finally decided to cancel our trip to Louisville for my cousin’s wedding during the first weekend of December. Artie & I are just going to the mountains for a long weekend and Mom is going to stay with Logan. We still hope to make a trip to the Bahamas next year, but we will see what the future holds. I certainly appreciate all the suggestions and emails about your ideas for this dilemma!

Spouse in College: Artie has really struggled with the Fall Quarter course load he had (which of course means I have struggled right along with him!) He finally decided to drop his Anatomy & Physiology class and the Lab that went along with it. That leaves him with General Psychology and Interpersonal Communications to finish out the Fall Quarter. He then plans to take ONLY the two Anatomy courses for Winter Quarter. They require so much of his time and attention that it was just too much for him to carry four courses and work part-time also. Please continue to pray for him, for all of us, as he works toward this degree. I am so proud of how hard he is working and how well he has done so far!

Thank you for following along with the Kim's Life blog!

Christmas Trees Update

Well, we had a great weekend of decorating, a tiny bit of Christmas shopping, and church activities.
Here is a peek into our decorating so far ...

This is our dining room tree. It has a brown & gold theme and has probably the most fragile ornaments. And of course, it's the cats' favorite tree so far. They have knocked off several ornaments and undone the fabric at the base of the tree numerous times in the 2 days it's been up.

This one is our little kitchen topiary tree. We used to have fruit decor in our kitchen (now roosters), but we still love these sugared fruits with the topiary. It looks cute sitting on our bistro table.

And this is MY tree! It used to be in my scrap room, but since there is no room in there... so we are putting it up in the 4th bedroom where there is plenty of room. I LOVE THIS TREE!

I love this shoe ornament from Hallmark. As you can see, my tree is all about shoes, purses, and cute girly things.

Check out the UGG boots ornament! How cute is that!?!?

This Victorian "shadow box" ornament is new this year. I found it at Hobby Lobby over the weekend. (By the way, Hobby Lobby has their Christmas items on sale for 50% off for another week - and they have a HUGE, GINORMOUS selection of ornaments!!)

Only 5 more trees to go ...

Christmas Preparation Fantasy

So I have all these Christmas ideas spinning around in my head - not gift or shopping ideas, but baking, decorating, card-making ideas. Things that put you in the Christmas spirit. Artie & I used to make bunches of Christmas candy and cookies and put them in tins for gifts. We haven't done that in years, probably since Logan was born! I've already blogged about my card-making dilemma and how I can't decide whether to buy my cards or make them this year. I have earmarked at least 100 pages in my scrapbooking magazines for Christmas card ideas.
We are also planning to put up ALL of our Christmas trees this year for the first time in five years. We have six trees and may actually add another one this year. So I'm thinking of where to place them (it's our first time putting up more than one tree in our new house).

The problem with all of these nifty ideas is WHEN to make TIME to actually accomplish all of these things. It takes the fun out of it if you have to do it after work when you're exhausted. I know I would enjoy doing all of these things. I just need to slow down and take time to enjoy the season.
Sending out Christmas cards is very important to me. It's time to take a moment to remind your friends and family that you are thinking of them, and although you might not talk daily or even for months, that they are still on your mind. I also LOVE to receive cards ... HINT HINT. I always try (not always succeed) to have my cards ready to mail on December 1st. Maybe I can enlist Artie & Logan to help me make the cards. If I precut everything, we can have a gluing and stamping assembly line, right? I don't think they would go for that.
The baking is always fun, but since mine & Artie's surgeries, we can't eat a lot of sugar. It's kind of sad to bake Christmas goodies and not be able to eat them. Plus we don't need to have all that candy & sugar around with Logan on his weight loss program.

So I'll keep you posted on my progress. Hopefully it will be a season of Christmas cheer and fun, not stress!

The Cats

I am really an animal lover, but I am so much more a dog person than a cat person. I could have 10 dogs in the house and be happy as a clam. My husband, however, is definitely a cat person. We have my precious doggie, Lucy (who is about to celebrate her 5th birthday!) and we have two cats, Tiger & Frosty. The cats are about 8 months old, and they are brothers. We took them from Patti (my sister-in-law) when her cat had kittens this spring. They were so cute and cuddly as kittens, and they are growing into beautiful cats! They have soft fur and beautiful eyes and are loving and playful. But they are TROUBLE!

I cannot tell you how many vases or pictures they have knocked over and broken with their incessant jumping. They have broken one of my Jim Shore pieces in the scrap room by knocking it off a shelf. They have broken some of the sand dollar ornaments I made by dragging them downstairs and playing with them. I always drink with a straw, and they try to steal my straws and bat them around in the floor like hockey sticks. They have "misplaced" several of Logan's pairs of earphones. They try to eat off our plates when we're having dinner. We can't keep them off the kitchen counters no matter how hard we try, and that grosses me out! And to top it all off, at least one of them has started using the bathroom in our house, on the carpet! Not in the litter box! On our brand new carpet upstairs in Logan's room and the extra bedroom! So frustrating!

Logan loves the cats, and they sleep with him at night. I don't want to get rid of them because he loves them, and Artie likes them better than my Lucy; plus they came from Patti, so they're like "cat cousins." :) It's just really frustrating to see all the damage they can cause. Maybe they will grow out of it soon and calm down. I certainly hope so!
Meanwhile, Lucy & I will just observe from the recliner.

Great Concerts

Artie, Logan & I have been fortunate enough to attend some awesome Christian concerts over the past year or so. Logan took two friends with him to this concert at the Civic Auditorium in July 2010, and Kristi, Pig & Hannah went with us, too. It was a great mix of music styles, with Chris Tomlin & Toby Mac.
I did not get any photos that night because they wouldn't let me take my camera in since it has a removable lens. My phone would not get any photos because of the lighting.

We all enjoyed Chris Tomlin so much that we drove all the way to Johnson City to see him again in October 2010. Kristian Stanfill opened for him that night.

The three of us drove to Nashville this year to see Toby Mac & Skillet. That was a FABULOUS concert. Artie was on his feet most of the night, and if you know Artie, that's an amazing feat all in itself.

We have 3rd Row tickets to see Casting Crowns, Sanctus Real & The Afters on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I can't wait for that one. I've never seen any of those bands live, but I know their songs!

Don't Worry, I'm Still Blogging

Just took a few days off for a trip to SC and an extra-hectic week. I'll be back to daily routine tomorrow (Tuesday)!

Medical Issues

I am currently dealing with several medical issues. Hopefully none of them are serious, but the combination of them is really wearing me down! I still have three small “holes” that have not healed from my plastic surgery back in March (yes, 7 months ago)! I went back to the surgeon this week and discovered that at least one of those holes was actually a stitch abscess (an underlying stitch trying to poke through the skin). He removed the stitch, which was approximately 2 inches long, and cleaned the area. He said it should definitely close up now. The other two areas did not have visible stitches, but he did inspect and clean them thoroughly. Hopefully I will eventually have NO open areas from this surgery. What a relief that will be!
My primary care doctor is sending me to a hematologist/oncologist next month for an elevated platelet level. This is an area of some debate, as my plastic surgeon thinks my platelets are perfectly normal – especially for someone who had major surgery a few months ago and still has healing wounds. Any time you are referred to a specialist with the word “oncology” in the title, it is a scary thing. Apparently my primary care doctor is more concerned about possible blood clots and strokes than he is about leukemia or blood malignancies. Either way it’s just something else to worry about.
I am still struggling with my eye issue, the neovascularization that I posted about in a previous blog. I am now on a medication called Restasis, which is supposed to eventually heal me to a level where I can wear my contacts again.
I have somehow managed to injure my tailbone. When I visited the doctor about it, he did x-rays and an exam and did not see any fractures or bone injury. He said there are many ways you can injure a tailbone – by sitting down too hard, by sitting in one spot too long, by falling and landing on it, etc. I do not remember doing any of these things, unless it was sitting too long on a road trip. However, it is a VERY painful problem to have. Anytime I sit for more than 10-15 minutes, I have excruciating pain in my tailbone. Church and the movies are big culprits. My recliner at home is not even comfortable. I am sitting on a donut pillow under the doctor’s orders (which Logan finds hysterically funny). This is one of those things that can “take several months to heal,” according to the doctor. Yippee.
And I will be having my wisdom teeth removed in a couple of weeks because two of them are impacted. I have been having quite significant toothaches recently. My dentist recommended that these teeth come out, even though most people my age don’t bother with it if they still have them.
With all of these things going on, it is probably not surprising that I feel tired and run-down most of the time. I can’t believe how much older I feel. Please keep me in your prayers. I don’t want to be whiny or depressed; I just want to feel better!

More Scrapbook Pages

Sometimes scrapping your child's art projects or drawings is a bit challenging ... at least for me. On some of these pages, I just tried to let his art shine through and not add much to it.

I loved his picture of a treehouse. I am obsessed with treehouses anyway, but I also love the bright colors he chose.

This was a project for science class, where they were studying how flowers grow. Am I the only mom who saves all of these things?

This one is so sweet! "If I were President..." Sadly I think Logan's vision may have changed a little bit since this project in 2nd grade. I think now he would choose to give everyone an xbox and an iPad instead of food & clothes.

This is his 2nd grade class photo. I wanted to incorporate it into the scrapbook, but these posed photos are difficult to scrap. I don't feel as if I made this a very fun page, but I like the color combination.

I love this page - probably because of the red & black together. Mom took Logan to an open house at the fire department and their photo made it into the Halls Shopper. I don't know who was more thrilled, Mom or Logan!

This whole photo cracks me up. Sweatpants? Really? I think we put him in a good shirt to have his school picture made, not realizing they would show his entire body in the class photo! Who knows? First grade was a real struggle for all of us, so it's good I can look back and find something to laugh about.

This page was about the birth of my niece, Hannah, who is my sister's one and only child. We were all thrilled, now there was a boy and a girl in the family.

I still have not journaled on this page about Dad. That's why the one mat is blank. I have this hanging in my scrap room, but I still can't finish it.

I was playing with my new printer and wanted to see how big I could print - this 13 x 19 photo was too big for even a 12 x 12 scrap page. This is my niece, Bailey, playing on the swings. I need to crop it down somehow to make a full photo scrap page!

This was a little flag he made at Vacation Bible School one year. I tried to use paper that had a similar color scheme. I always prefer to use computer journaling because it's so much neater, but I'm usually too lazy to do it.

This is another page about Hannah as an infant. I used clear embossing powder on the little chick and then heat-embossed it for that shiny look. I LOVE Kraft paper, so I really like this layout.

These photos were so sweet. Logan didn't know what to think about such a tiny baby. He wanted her to talk and play already!

Little did I know how true these words would be! She IS a diva!

I'm not sure why I didn't take a picture of the other half of this layout! This was the Dunsmores 50th Anniversary celebration. We had a big concert and gave Dad a plaque. There was a write-up in the Halls Shopper. It was a very special night, one of the last times Dad was mentally well enough to sing. I love the bright, bold paper. I used the huge font to print out the "50" so it would stand out on that busy background.