Waiting for Perfection

No one is perfect...and I know not to expect perfection from anyone. But that's all I see when I picture Brooklyn post-surgery. I try my hardest to snap myself out of it though cause I know it can't be perfect. For her, though, I want it to be. Now that we are almost done with surgery, I can't stop thinking of her school years and of her own self-esteem. I just want her to be happy with our decision to remove. I'd imagine that when she truly thinks about either having a hairy forehead or the scars, that she'll pick the scars, but I honestly think that's every Nevus parent's worst nightmare.

For now, though, I'm going to sit here for the very last time, in the waiting room of the Highland Park ambulatory surgery floor. I'll wait for Dr. Bauer to come in & tell us what he did, then I'll go & put on my post-surgery gear, & I'll go hold my baby for one last visit to the PACU. Taking the expanders out are easier on them than putting them in, so I'm anticipating a quick recovery. :)

Catching Up!!

Ugh I guess life has caught up with us! I have been absolutely HORRIBLE in keeping our blog up to date. Last year I got a 2011 Blog Book, which I just adore. It is a book made of all my blog posts from the whole year. I love it and look at it frequently...and just figured I'd do one every year. Well it's kind of hard to do a 2012 Blog Book when I haven't finished blogging about the year yet!!!! When I sat down to finish 2012 I looked back and realized that not only am I "behind", but I am 6 MONTHS BEHIND!!! Holy moly Merilee!!!! Wow...I guess life really has totally taken over and I just haven't had the time to blog. So here I go. Over the next couple weeks my main priority is to get caught up on my blogging so that I can get my 2012 Blog Book!!

This post will stay on the top, and I will post the new blog posts just below this paragraph. That way you don't have to go searching in the archives. (However, if you do want to browse along, the archive section is to the left, just under the link to buy cookbooks.)

Happy reading!!!

June 12th: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2012/06/june-12th.html
Happy 4th Birthday Cali: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2012/06/happy-4th-birthday-cali.html
Happy Birthday America: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2012/07/happy-birthday-america.html
A Week To Change A Life: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-week-to-change-life.html
6, not 5: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2012/07/6-not-5.html
Vaca!!: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2012/08/vaca.html
Oh California!: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2012/08/oh-california.html
Home Already: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2012/08/home-already.html
Chokecherry Festival: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2012/09/chokecherry-festival.html
The Dreaded Christmas Pictures: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-dreaded-christmas-pictures.html
Oh Disneyland, With The Kids: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2013/07/oh-disneylandwith-kids.html
Records to Break at Disneyland: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2012/08/records-to-break-at-disneyland.html
Random Fun Pictures: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2012/09/random-fun-pictures.html
Exciting New Beginnings: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2012/10/exciting-new-beginnings.html
America's Funniest Home Videos: http://wonderfulworldofvance.blogspot.com/2012/10/americas-funniest-home-videos.html



Get your own Blog Book here: http://blog2print.sharedbook.com/blogworld/printmyblog/index.html

Little Ballerinas

This past Saturday Cali & Brooklyn had their Nutcracker recital. This was Cali's 3rd, but was Brooklyn's 1st one ever! They LOVED dancing, practicing, & putting on their costumes, but most importantly...doing their hair & putting on their makeup! I am attching the videos, but here are some pictures first...

Brooklyn was one of Mother Ginger's children...like what Cali did last year. It's nice that her bubble was so small cause her hat fit perfectly (well, until the performance.....you'll see!). Any bigger & it wouldn't have fit good. Cali was a mouse, who was fighting with the rat queen to get the Nutcracker.

And here they are at the end of the performance...still showing their stuff!!

 

And here are the videos!! (I should have a disclaimer here first though... The recital was broadcast on our local TV station & the internet so there were a lot of video cameras around. My 3 videos that I took are not from a great angle cause I was trying to not get in the way of the TV cameras...so I do apologize.)

 

This first one is of Brooklyn. It's really hard to point her out cause all the kids are so small. But I'll do my best.... Right after they all come out of the skirt, Brooklyn's well horrible fit hat kept coming off. So she went up to her teacher, Miss Janet, & she put it back on Brooke's head. So if you pick her out there, when Miss Janet is putting her hat back on, then you can pretty much follow her the rest of the dance. You can also point her out really good at the very end when they were waving bye. Brooke was the very last one to keep waving & Miss Janet had to get her & redirect her back under the skirt!

 

This is a number that was in the middle of the performance. They all had reindeer noses on & danced together on stage. I told Cali to go stand by Miss Janet so that I could see her better...& she did! So she's the little mouse right by Miss Janet in the front middle of the stage. Brooke is on the right side, as you look at the stage, in her little white costume. The cute little girl couldn't get her nose to light up until the very end...but she got it & was super cute. :o)

 

And here is Cali as the little mouse. Again, cause they run around the stage so much, it's hard to tell where Cali is the entire time, but when they first go on stage & go walking around the bed, Cali is the first little mouse right behind the boy. Then just a little way into it, she gets to the nutcracker first when they are fighting Clara for it. Then again, when they are in the circle, she is holding the rat queen's hand, on her right.

 

I hope you could pick the girls out & that you enjoyed the videos!! We certainly enjoyed watching them have a blast dancing the night away!!

 

#5 is Underway...

As I sit here waiting for Brooke to come out of her 5th surgery, I am thinking back at how we even got here! It's been an amazing road...an amazing journey...and with an amazing child. I couldn't feel any more blessed to be the mother of this beautiful little girl.

We were supposed to get here at noon, but got a call to come in between 10:30-10:45am because Dr. Bauer was running ahead. They weren't sure that we'd get in to surgery any faster, but wanted us here earlier, just in case. Unfortunately though, she was taken just 5 minutes before the original surgery time!! So we had a lot of waiting we had to do. Surgery was supposed to be at 1:30pm so she wasn't allowed to eat anything after midnight...only clear liquids. Then nothing after 10:30am. However with this new phone call she couldn't have even clear liquids until after surgery. Needless to say, she was NOT a happy camper when she woke up & I wouldn't give her milk. It was so tough taking it away from her & watching her throw a little fit. I felt so horrible...but it was necessary.

We ended up getting here just before 11:00am & all we did was wait, & wait, & wait. Thankfully my mom & I kept her busy enough that she didn't ask for any food, just her bottle....which I promised her she could have as soon as she had the bubble. They gave her the versed just a little before 1pm, then took us to the OR waiting area about 1pm. The finally came & took her for surgery at 1:25pm...just 5 minutes before the original surgery time! While sitting there, she demanded that I take pictures of her!!! Didn't bother me at all...I was more than happy to oblige!

They took her away & I cried just as much as I did for the first surgery. I was surprised that I was that upset...but it HAS been over 13 months since her last surgery.

So now we wait. Thankfully I've passed the time by blogging! Unfortunately though, I'm on the iPad & don't have any pictures, so I'll have to post them when I get to the computer. Any second....any second now & I'll see Dr. Bauer walk through that door.......

The Dreaded Christmas Pictures

Well it's that time of year again...time for Christmas pictures. You can go back in our archives to refresh your memory on our horrible "luck" that we have every year with our pictures...but basically in a nutshell, we live in a small town so we have to go out of town for our pictures. Sears is our only option that isn't an arm & a leg...so that's what we've done every year...twice a year (once around April/May'ish to split the time between the girls' birthdays & once for Christmas pictures). We had always gone to Billings, which is 2 hrs away...but after an absolutely terrible experience, & another bad experience, we switched to Great Falls, which is more inconvenient for us, but went much better every time.

Fast forward to now...this is the very first time EVER that I've taken the girls to get their pictures taken all by myself! I figured I could hopefully do it though cause of their ages...and bribery. :) So let's just make this post short & sweet....

THEY DID AWESOME!!!!

We left home, got to Great Falls on totally dry roads (thank you Lord), & went to Target. Got the girls' dresses, tights, shoes, & hair things, then went to Sears 1/2 hr early (but they got us right in), changed their clothes, & started taking pictures. The girls did just what the picture-taker told them to do. They smiled when they were supposed to, posed like they were told to, changed their clothes when it was time, posed again like they were supposed to, & then smiled again when they were told. It was just perfect. I got the CD & then we got in the car, got gas, grabbed something to eat, & headed home.

So without holding them off any longer.....here are some of our adorable girls' Christmas pictures!!!

Here's to all years' Christmas pictures going this well!!

A Trip 'Round The World, Part 1

I am one blessed chick. I have travelled so much in my life...which is actually my favorite thing to do: travel. One thing on my bucket list is to go to every continent. This past 2 weeks I was able to cross continent #4 off my list! (Just Antarctica, S. America, and Africa to go...) Yup...get this...I. WENT. TO. AUSTRALIA!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok a little background first... When I was an exchange student to The Netherlands (1997-1998) I immediately hit it off w/ a girl from Australia. We immediately became friends and were just inseparable. Her name is Amy. We literally had THE best times together: taking pictures, hilarious videos, telling stories, travelling, and just simply getting to know each other. It was no surprise to me when we instantly became best friends. We even got matching tattoos! The sad thing, though, was that we lived across the world from each other. When we went back to our respective homes we still spoke occasionally, emailed, etc, but we missed each other terribly.

So how surprising was it when I walked into my house one Friday evening in June of 2000 and saw Amy standing in my kitchen!! I about DIED!! (It had been 2 years since we saw each other last.) She came to surprise me for my high school graduation. Boy...what a fun couple of weeks we had! I showed her all over our town, introduced her to some American high school partying (tee hee), and just had fun catching up. We even got to go down to my cousin's (Leah & James) wedding in San Francisco. Of course, I couldn't be away from her for long, so I planned my trip to go visit her. Instead of going to Australia to visit her, though, I went to Singapore in April 2002 (another 2 years since we'd seen each other). Her parents moved there for a few years b/c of her dad's job, so she went with them. I'll never forget the 100 degrees and 100% humidity that met me coming off that airplane!

Singapore was absolutely amazing. It was my first exposure to driving on the opposite side of the road...which scared the absolute you-know-what out of me when Amy had me sit in the front seat of our taxi! We did so much on that trip...went to the Fountain of Welth (which has yet to "bless" me!), went to Bintan Island in Indonesia, had high-tea in a skyscraper, went on boats, saw SO many touristy things, and just enjoyed one of the cleanest countries in the world. (Oh yeah, and that was right smack dab in the middle of the whole SARS scare. Let me tell you though, that during my entire trip I only saw like 2 or 3 people wearing masks!)

Just over 2 years later Amy came back to the states to be one of the two maids of honor in our big wedding. (Yeah we were already married, but no one really knew that at the time.)   :o)  She flew here to MT and we drove down through Yellowstone to CA. I took her all over So Cal...sightseeing and doing touristy things. It was so much fun. Then, of course, the wedding, which still to this day was the funnest day of my life.

So back to now...it's been since 2004 since we've seen each other. TOO DANG LONG!!! I was extatic when she called me just about a year ago and told me she was finally getting married. I mean, my gosh, she'd been with Adam for years!! :)  They planned their wedding for the day after Dustin's and my anniversary...easy for me to remember! And her parents graciously paid for my ticket to get there. We wanted Dustin to go with me, but he'd taken too much time off work for all of Brooke's surgeries so he didn't have any extra leave. So it was going to be a solo trip. I searched and searched for the cheapest tickets. Believe it or not, it was cheaper to have a long lay-over in an Asian country than it was just to go straight from LA to Sydney. Heck, my favorite thing to do is travel so why not have two long layovers!!! I found a ticket from LA to Sydney, via a 12- and 18-hour layover there and back, respectively, in Beijing, China! I'll take it!!! That ticket, PLUS my ticket from Billings to LA was LESS than a ticket from just LA directly to Sydney. Quite the deal...and I was so proud of myself for finding it! :)

I researched all there is to do in Beijing, then realized I needed a Chinese Visa AND a visitor's Visa for Australia. So I got those, got a small Beijing travel book, and was on my way!! I was gone from home for exactly 2 weeks, but was only in Australia for 10 days. I was taken to the airport by Dustin and the girls on Wednesday the 17th of October around 10am, flew to Denver, then got to LA at 2pm. I got to see my grandma and some family for about 9 hours, then my Air China flight left at 1:30am that night (which was now Thurs the 18th). I landed in Beijing 11 1/2 hrs later, but it was now Fri the 19th at 5:30am! Thankfully though, I was flying in the middle of the night so I could sleep on the plane and then it was morning time when we landed! Best time to take a super long flight is over-night I tell ya!!

Another thing on my bucket list was to see the Great Wall of China...not just see it, though, but to walk on it. This first lay-over in Beijing was the shorter of the two (it was just shy of 12 hrs) and I mainly used it to get my feel of the place. I had to figure out how to, first, get out of the airport; then figure out where the baggage hold was so that I didn't have to take my whole carry-on with me. Next, I had to figure out where the train left from. I'd done all my research before-hand...so I knew what I was going to do, I just had to figure out WHERE it all was. I got off the plane and just followed the people through customs, got the stamp in my passport, then kept following people through baggage claim (which, of course, my bag was obviously checked all the way through to Sydney), then search around this HUGE airport for the baggage hold. I had transferred money in LA, so all I had to do was give them my bag and some money, then look around for the train. I paid for a ticket to the main train station, got right on the train, and then got out my phone to let my family know I was ok. It was probably right around 8am in Beijing by now, but I wasn't in a hurry. I'm fairly good with the subway, as long as I have a map...which I did in my little Beijing guidebook. I made it to the subway then made my way to the Forbidden City stop. I walked around Tiananmen Square first, but didn't realize I was actually at Tiananmen Square because there were military marches, bag searches, and metal detectors! I thought I was at some sort of rally!!! I crossed the street and just stood there for a while looking around before I finally realized that you have to go through the bag checks and metal detectors just to get into the square! So that's just what I did...along w/ a whole bunch of pushy Chinese people. Seriously, it's no joke...the saying about how Chinese people don't know what personal space is is totally dead on. I just made sure to keep my purse at my front, be polite, & try as hard to blend in as I could!! Haha!

Tiananmen Square

Holy cow...when they say that Chinese people are pushy, they are RIGHT. It's not a rude kind of pushy...it's just that they don't have the whole "personal space" attitude that we do. I was closer to more Chinese people that day than I ever have been! It was QUITE the culture shock.

So I made my way through the square and went to the Forbidden City.

The first entrance to the Forbidden City

I got the guided audio tour and walked through, took pictures, got my picture taken, and then realized that there is only one exit...on the total OPPOSITE side of the entrance. You can't walk back and forth in the place; you go in, walk straight, and walk out. I mean, it's absolutely HUGE, but it would have been nice to know that you can't exit where you entered. This meant a big problem once I exited the city! I needed to get back to where I entered from, because that's the area I was newly familiar with, and that's where the subway was. [The Forbidden City is this ancient rectangular "city", which is 168 acres, or 8 million square feet, surrounded by high walls and a big moat.]


So I went in, walked through it while listening to my English-speaking guided tour, then exited and started walking around the entire thing...which was just HUGE. I had no idea how else to get back to the starting point. There were quite a lot of Chinese men trying to get tourists to get on their mopheads to take them to the front but I had the time...and I was alone...so I just thought I'd walk. It was about 1pm now and I needed to get back to the airport for customs, etc for my 5pm flight. It was pretty interesting walking the blocks & blocks parallel to the City. I kept up a fairly quick pace, dodged others on the sidewalks, missed all the potholes, & dodged the Chinese men on bicycles. I finally made my way to the front of the city, then totally re-traced my steps by getting back on the subway, and went back to the airport. I made it with plenty of time to spare!

My next Air China flight from Beijing to Sydney was at 5pm Friday the 19th and was 13 hrs long. I landed on Saturday, October 20 at 8am...which, I might add, was my 31st birthday!! Ummmm...my 31st birthday in Sydney, Australia......HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! :o)  Just like the first flight, this second flight was at night, so really, my circadian rhythm wasn't off at all! If you ever need to fly, I HIGHLY recommend night flights so you can sleep and your clock won't be off at all.

I went through customs, got my bags, went through immigration, and found Amy and her parents standing there waving their arms w/ a Happy Birthday balloon and this beautiful national flower of Australia...all for me.

I tell you what, 8 1/2 years was too dang long to not see each other! It was so great seeing her and her parents again! We loaded in the car and headed to her parents house (Amy actually lives about 2+ hrs south, in the capitol, Canberra, but we were staying w/ her parents for a couple days). Her sister, Vanessa, was there, whom I'd never met before. I'd heard so much about her sisters but hadn't met them yet, because they weren't in Singapore when I visited in 2002. I settled in & took a much-needed shower. It was Saturday morning & I hadn't layed down flat since the night of Tuesday the 16th!! But I was much too excited to even think about sleep! I called home, then we left to go get Amy's other sister, Fiona, who I'd also never met, and go to a couple touristy places. We went to Bondi Beach and put our feet in the water for a bit, then we ate lunch (I had fried pineapple...yum! and tried various other "new" foods).

Then they dropped Amy and I off at the dock where they were having a street sale where I got myself a beautiful pair of earrings...something I'll wear forever & remember that awesome 31st birthday of mine! I was able to see the Sydney Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, and go on a boat ride to the other side of the bay where Amy's parents live.

When we got back we sat on their patio and had a glass of wine until dinner time, where we went to a great Greek restaurant. Amy used to be a vegetarian so this was actually the very first time I'd ever seen her eat meat! It was quite the sight for me! :) 

Proof!!!! She DOES eat meat! ;o)

Sunday the 21st we woke up and went sightseeing again. We walked around Sydney, went to get me a shirt at the Hard Rock Cafe, saw some WWII ships, went in some department stores (and Yes, saw Christmas decorations up already), then went back and had an amazing lamb and pumpkin dinner made by Amy's dad.

Monday the 22nd Amy and I packed in the car and drove the just-over-2-hour drive to Canberra in the Australian Capitol Territory (ACT). It's like our version of Washington, D.C. I got to meet her son, Landon, & her fiance, Adam, for the first time. It was so surreal. I'd only ever known Amy as the single girl w/ no responsibilities. That's how we both knew each other. Neither of us had ever seen each other with a spouse (until 2004 when she came to our wedding), but most importantly, neither had ever seen each other w/ kids! Every time we talk or see each other we just pick up where we left off. But this trip was different. Yes, we totally picked up where we left off, but after that first couple of days it was like "woah...you have a FAMILY!!!" I mean, I do to, but she's never seen me w/ my family. It was very different...but an awesomely GOOD different! I'd known she was a mom since she called me & told me she was pregnant, but actually seeing her as a mom was just awesome.

And now that we were at Amy's house...let the wedding fun begin!!!!!!

...To Be Continued...

America's Funniest Home Videos

My grandma tells me over & over that I need to submit this to AFV. I've tried & tried but just can't get it to upload for some reason. :(  Here's one of the funniest videos I've seen in a long time...

Well ok here's a little background first... Brooke was asleep in my arms & I noticed a little pimple on her cheek, so I asked Cali to get me a wipe so I could get the pimple. She got me a wipe, I got the pimple, then started wiping her face very softly....and you can see the rest..... Oh and yes...she's completely asleep, except for at the VERY end, where you can see her wake-up. :)

Exciting New Beginnings

My work career isn't anything exciting. Yeah, I have quite a few stories to tell, but it's not all a lavish, glamorous, luxurious Nursing career! Boy how I wish it was...hopefully someday. I became a nurse so I could work in OB. I just love the labor & delivery process. However, all the OB nurses have been there for years & they're not going anywhere soon, that's for sure. So my first job was at the State Home...a state mental facility with 3 wings of residents who were one step down from the main Montana State Hospital. That's where the majority of my stories come from. Literally, there wasn't a day that went by, when I worked there as a CNA, that I didn't come home with a new bump, scratch, bruise. When I was about 20 weeks pregnant with Cali I got horse-kicked by a 1-legged resident when I was trying to give her her breathing treatment. Stories stories stories. I don't like routines & I definitely don't like long-term-care...both of which were the epitome of the State Home. So only about a year after starting there, after I came back from maternity leave in 2008, I found another job. This job was at the Nexus Treatment Center...a 9-month meth treatment center specifically for male inmates. Keys, walkie-talkies, locked doors, being buzzed in & out, keypads...you get the point. But again...a routine...pretty much the same story day in & day out, which is what I don't like. So I looked for something else. I started at a doctor's office in September 2008...literally something I said I'd NEVER do when I was in nursing school. I don't know why...I just always said I'd never work in a doctor's office. The pay wasn't good at all, but basically, you pay for convenience. No evenings, no nights, no weekends, no holidays. You seriously can't beat that in nursing. So I was fine with the lower pay. I immediately knew I loved it. It wasn't long-term-care. I mean, yeah we had our older population, but the doctor did OB as well...which I love...so I got the best of both worlds. And it certainly wasn't a routine. Every day was different...which is what I wanted. For about 6 months I did all 3 jobs. The doctor's office was only part time (2 1/2 days a week) so I needed to make up that extra income by working the other 2 jobs as well. After having a 22-days-in-a-row stretch & basically got burned out so I quit the State Home. Then shortly thereafter I quit Nexus. I was at that doctor's office for 4 years...almost to the day. There were 7 women in that office & boy did we ever have fun! We had THE best Christmas parties, get-togethers, & just laughed & laughed together. So it made it VERY hard when another opportunity presented itself to me in June of this year. Another OB/Family Practice doctor was coming to town & she would be a hospital employee...meaning her nurse would be as well...which means more pay, better hours, & all the hospital employee perks & benefits. It took me a LONG time to make the decision, but I finally decided to go for it & apply for the job. I applied for it, had a phone interview in August when we were on vacation in CA, got in the final two, interviewed with the doctor, & then got the job! It was SO bittersweet. The doctor is so great...she's actually 2 years younger than me & is my same height! After much deliberation, Dustin & I decided that I needed to take the job. Mainly for more hours & more pay. It was so hard though. I mean at the job I was at for 4 years I literally had it made!!!! I could take off any day that I wanted as long as my co-worker could cover me. I had a lot of freedom, could be as organized as I wanted in my own space, & just truly loved what I did. I got to follow women as they were trying to get pregnant, then finally did get pregnant, then go through their whole pregnancy, & watch their new little baby grow up. It was just awesome. I became very attached to both the patients & my co-workers. So it was no shock when I gave my 2-week notice with a tear in my eye. This job also could have never been more flexible with Brooklyn's surgeries & doctor's appointments. I had to take SO much time off for her 4 surgeries, 2 dermatologist appts, & 2 surgeon consult appts & they never once complained. I am FOREVER grateful for all of those amazing women. :)

But....this new opportunity was too good to pass up. I'd be a hospital employee, but work just right across the hall from where I was. I'd get all the employee perks/benefits (if I wanted them), better pay, more hours, newer computer system that could do SO much more that I ever guessed a computer system could do, brand new office all to myself, more responsibility, & the list goes on. So I took the job & started officially in September. Here's what my new office looks like:

With some beautiful "Congratulations on your new job" flowers from my grandma & great-grandma!

We saw our first patient on 10/1/12 & we're pretty slow so far...but that's to be expected with a brand new physician. We'll pick up soon, I'm sure. I really really REALLY miss my previous job, but I'm happy to be here & am excited to see how everything works out!!!

Random Fun Pictures

Just some fun, random pictures!!

Brooklyn decided she wanted to paint her nails. Thank goodness I laid a towel down first!

Cali wanted to play hide & go seek...

Then Brooklyn wanted to play...

We woke up one morning to find the girls like this... Evidently Cali said that Brooklyn got scared in the middle of the night so she climbed into bed with Cali. And Cali gave her her blanket. That's sisterly love right there!

Uncle Curt went to his very last Prom!! Cali & Brooke loved Katelyn's flowers!

Chokecherry Festival

Every year here in little ole Lewistown, Montana there is a cute little street fair on our main street through town...appropriately called Main Street. Imagine that. The most "famous" berry here in Lewistown is the chokecherry. So the annual festival is the Chokecherry Festival. There are tons & tons of vendors lining both sides of the street for about 6 blocks. There are always all sorts of fun things to look at. Everything from purses, jewelry, and individual businesses to any type of homemade goodies & Hutterite vegetables.

This year I decided to have a booth at the Chokecherry Festival as a fundraiser for Brooklyn & our next 2 surgery trips. I had Volumes 1 & 2 of our cookbook, Killer Salsa, drinks (lemonade, iced tea, water), & homemade treats (caramel popcorn, white chocolate popcorn, chex party mix, trail mix, pretzels, Trix treats). We only sold about 6 cookbooks, but were absolutely amazed at how awesome everything else sold, especially the salsa.

A little side note about the salsa..... The lady that makes it used to live here in Lewistown. Dustin met her on his mail route & she instantly fell in love with our family & wanted to help us out for our surgeries. Unfortunately, she had to leave town quite suddenly & she felt so bad about not being able to help us that she actually gave us all her salsa to sell for Brooklyn! It was a super nice gesture & we are forever greatful. The salsa was a hit today & we almost sold out!! To check them out visit killersalsa.com.

Here's a little picture of my booth

I had a poster board with "Brooklyn's Story" on it that was a hit. Even if people didn't buy anything, they still stopped & looked at the pictures. I bet a good 500+ people looked at that board today. Here it is:

It was a very long day but surprisingly enough it went by SUPER quick! We were there by 8am & weren't allowed to take down until 5pm. But I got to meet a bunch of new people and see TONS of people I know. It was such a great day visiting & sharing about Brooklyn. Along with a couple very generous donations, after today we now have enough for our December surgery! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!! It seems like just yesterday that I was so discouraged about how on earth we'd pay for these last 2 surgeries, but the Lord has made this first surgery happen and we are so greatful. We can't thank everyone enough for supporting us in this time in our lives. And a special thank you to my mom, my brother, & his girlfriend for being there today to help...especially to my sister-in-law, Marji, for literally being there with me the ENTIRE DAY!! She was such a huge help & I couldn't have done it without her!

Thank you all again for your support!!!