Easter Joy~

We had the most beautiful Easter with my family! And what made it even more special was that it was NOT at my house. I usually host all the holidays but my sweet brother Ken and sis Lindsay wanted to host this one and it was perfect!
It was so nice to just go somewhere and not have all the preparation. It was a perfect day although we missed Chad who had to work and my brother Paul and his four boys. But we still had 17 which allowed plenty of time to chat and enjoy each other.  Lindsay's sister Karen came and she wowed us all with homemade Greek food ! And Auntie Carla came too which was  such a fun treat! Steve ADORES auntie Carla! { we all do }
Thank you "Kensay" for such a perfect day! 
Karen

 Pete, Angelo and Mary 

Aunties Carla and Mary

 Our fab chef for the day Kenny

  Lindsay's nephew Jason

Oh how I LoVe this daughter of mine

Travis amazing the crowd with magic tricks. I gotta say he was blowin our minds!

 

But one of my favorite moments was when Uncle Pete was just dying to cut the pretty cake Ashlyn made for dessert! He could hardly stand it!!  So of course I had to tease him that this wasn't the first time he was over anxious {remember the funny story of how he put a finger in the wedding cake? }

 So sweet Ashlyn  let him cut it and I love this pic of them !

 I love our crazy family, playing left right center, all talking at the same time, holding hands to say grace, making everyone feel so comfortable and welcome,always saying we had too much food but always making too much again and again.  
Another terrific day with those I love the most! More sweet memories to last a lifetime.....

Dont you miss funny Karen?

ME TOO!!

The Karen who wrote about pajama jeans, sap removal, bucket lists and silly days

The Karen who shared so much good stuff that Chad reprimanded her?

ME TOO !!

       Cause this whiny Karen with so much yucky stuff going on  is getting me down!

I feel like I went in for a oil change and once they looked under the hood they found out I'm a wreck!  I ended up having my surgery a week earlier {sorry Nancy for not updating you} and my anesthesiologist asked me if I was tired? Well yes I sure have been but I thought it was from all the pain I have been in...
Well no honey you are a few quarts low? My blood count was very low and my iron even lower. So he suggested I take those labs to my regular Dr and find out what the heck is going on. So this week while recuperating and passing pebbles, I had more labs done, found out yes I am very low , and they want  to rule out that I am not bleeding somewhere. So  I will now not only get looked at under my hood but under my trunk too! The specialist said they will do a colonoscopy, and a endoscopy to check my stomach and other organs? I feel way too young and happy to have so much wrong with me. He also started me right away on iron and new thyroid meds to help balance things out.

This ole jalopy is a mess! No wonder my sense of humor is failing too

But hang with me peeps, I promise I will be back with silly posts soon! 
I did have plenty of really sweet moments this week and I am convinced Love from family and friends is the BEST medicine ever! The kids all called to check on their old momma, I had sweet friends and neighbors  pop over with cards, flowers, white cake ,homemade lemon rolls, and  comforting jello from my friend Caren ! { she knows it reminds me of my mom and so she brings it every time I am under the weather~ Sooo sweet } The Krikac's came out yesterday and hung out {sooo fun} One day I met the book babes for lunch at a new Greek restaurant in town,I went to Bunco even though it took all I had, but I knew those girls would be good medicine too !
I am blessed ! I have love! And a sweet hubby who rubs my feet and smiles at his ole jalopy in her funky pajamas {he thought my new ones from Kohl's were from the Sears Catalog circa 1940 ? Doesn't he know seer-sucker capri jammies never go out of style? But his love,support and humor is like a constant IV drip of healing! 
One of my favorite quotes is from Steel Magnolias~ 
" Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion" 
That has been my week, trying to laugh when all I want to do is cry....
But I am clinging to the scriptures that say
" And it came to pass" 
Because I've had moments this week when I thought it came to stay....
But I wont let it, I  am blowing away the dark clouds with all my breath!

Memory Lane~

Happy Birthday Sara!

She is *29*today! I can hardly believe it. I still remember her so well as this little baby girl.  She is a daily joy in my life !  Even though we are separated by too many miles, we talk on the phone almost everyday and I feel so connected to my precious niece. She loves to call her auntie to talk about her day, her movies, her lunch {she's Greek & we love to dish about food } what her friends are doing, or her sweet dog Lexi.
Her voice messages are saved on my phone and if I am ever having a down day I will listen to one and smile.
My life is sooooo much sweeter because of my Silly Sara ! 

Next year is her 30th Birthday Princess Bash in California!
I can hardly wait......

Where do I find cute invitations to my pity party?

I really try to be upbeat but lately I have been having a bit of a pity party. The thing is I am weary of being in pain! I would say that a good amount of days I have horrible kidney pain. And it makes me so crabby and fatigued. By the time I get home from work all I want to do is sit on a heating pad and try to find relief. I pass stones like crazy and am currently building a nice rock garden in my yard. The biggest bummer is that they CAN NOT figure out why? I take 6 pills a day that are supposed to ward them off, but no luck. I drink about a gallon of water everyday, no dark sodas, limit spinach, all the things they say you should do and yet they keep forming.
I took in my baggie of rocks for the Dr to see and found out the reason my pain is still so bad is because there is a BIG one in my right kidney. And it is too darn big to pass....
So on April 18th I will have yet another surgery.
I cried so hard in Dr Mc Dreamy's office that he promised he would not put in a stent. So it should be pretty easy this time. I made it clear I simply can not  go through that stent pain again. So today I am praying it stays still until the 18th and somehow, someway, it will be my last go around.
Like I said before this money would be better spent on a tummy tuck and a new rack

This is the prescription I wrote myself....
Sure to make me feel much better 
So today I will treat myself to cute new jammies, I'm going to get pedicure the day before, of course go into surgery with full make up, and yes Casey I will dust on a bit of glitter.{ Gotta keep the humor to keep myself from cryin }  

So say a little prayer if you would that it all goes well! 

Wishing you a happy weekend! 
Filled with love and giggles 

And hopefully no pain!