The month of February was quite a whirl wind and with all the chaos I easily neglected my blog. The month started off with Kerry getting sick super bowl weekend. On Monday he tested positive for type A flu and by Monday night Aubree and I were running fever as well. Our household was out of commission for a full week but thanks to an early start on tamfliu Bree and I had a much milder case than Kerry did. At least we were all home piled up in bed together. And thanks to my wonderful Mom and Mema, we had food delivered to our door step daily. I LOVE my Momma's potato soup and Mema made sure Aubree didn't go without her beans and cornbread while she was stuck in the house. The country girl loves any kind of beans. We enjoyed a romantic night at Olive Garden in celebration of Valentine's Day. There was nothing more perfect than spending time with my two loves. And although Kerry had class after dinner, I still enjoyed a lil shopping with my lil love bug. Aubree and I also made cute, mini cupcakes for her grandparents and class party on Tuesday. They turned out so precious and were very yummy and fun to bake! It was as perfect as any Monday could be. I enjoyed a fun Saturday night in the big city with my girlfriends in celebration of Mandi's upcoming marriage. We stayed at a very modern hotel, Aloft and ate fresh sushi at Kiniche and then topped the night off at Ghost Bar. Which I must say has the most awesome city scape view I have ever seen in the Dallas area. We didn't run into any famous stars at Ghost Bar but I will admit we felt like for one night we were the rich and famous. LOL! It was so much fun and a great night of female bonding. The following weekend was the couple shower for Matt and Mandi and it was another great night with wonderful couples and families. On the 24th I went to see my endocrinologist for a routine check up. I took Aubree hoping to enjoy a little more time with her before I took her to school. Well, the appointment went south real fast when I told the doctor that based on an ultrasound I had done it looked like the tissue had changed. She immediately wanted another FNA(biopsy) and I certainly wasn't counting on that since we had just had one a few months prior. I guess I was sorta in denial and trying to make lightly of the change until the doctor expressed her concern. Well Aubree stood right there beside me holding my hand as the doc stuck a HUGE needle into my neck four times to collect the sample. Aubree didn't even shed a tear. She was so brave and mature. Next I was off to the lab for some blood work and then would be waiting about seven days for a phone call from the doctor. Meanwhile, we celebrated the union of our two dear friends at Stone Oak Ranch. It was a beautiful ceremony and a great reception. Aubree really did not like her Momma dancing at all. Every time she would realize I was on the dance floor she would pull my back off. But I love to dance and I would wait til she was playing and dancing with the other lil girls and sneak right back out there. he-he! Besides, isn't she too young to already be embarressed by her Momma?? At home we turn the radio up and dance all the time. I was surprised she had such a beef with it, but she clearly did. One thing that we have both been enjoying lately is playing at the local park a couple times per week. This is perfect weather and the mosquitos haven't taken over yet. We have so much fun and I even managed to sneak in a few pictures. Aubree's joyful laughter and those memories are PRICELESS! It has been a tradition to spend Sunday afternoons at our second home with the Dugan's. We have enjoyed this beautiful sunshine outdoors. The guys throwing horse shoes while the kiddos zoom around on the four wheelers and us women enjoy relaxing in the warm air. Its really a perfect, relaxing way to end the weekend. I received a call from my doctor early Monday morning saying the pathology report came back saying I had a follicular lesion with Hurthle cell neoplasm. The doctor requested a second opinion and had me do more blood work. In the mean time I was trying to stay true to what I know is the truth and not let my mind wonder. The second report came back the same as the first and my blood work was all out of whack again. We discovered I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which does explain my hypothyroidism. A Hurthle cell tumor is an uncommon and controversial neoplasm. The pathologic determination of malignancy is difficult as the architectural and cytological features of the benign and malignant tumors overlap. FNA is useful only to establish the presence of Hurthle cell neoplasm. The final diagnosis is dependent on histological analysis of the surgical specimen. Therefore, the only safe way to tell what we are dealing with is to have it removed. This has been a very scary realization and I am reluctant to have my thyroid removed but at this point have no other option. I am diligently praying for the tumor to be benign and for the small uncertainties not to cloud my mind. In all honesty, I am fearful of surgery and uncomfortable with the idea of having a scar across my neck but at this time those are minor worries and I am focusing right now on doing what needs to be done. I do believe in the power of prayer and would gladly ask everyone to pray for a good outcome. I have found comfort in several scriptures but this week am reading in the book of Peter and am reminded in Peter 1:1-10 why God gives us trials in our lives. This has been an eye opening experience to say the least. I have an appointment with the surgeon on Monday the 14th and am ready to get this show on the road. For the remainder of this week I am enjoying this beautiful weather and every precious moment God blesses me with. I will use the trials we are faced with to grow closer to God and to my family. I am so blessed and often we get caught up in worldly things and take for granted our health and our amazing bodies and our loved ones. I could go on forever but to keep it short, this is a life changing experience and I have to realize that God is in control and with us every step of the way. I find peace in God!

Let it Snow!!

Oh how I love winter weather. I know I say that about every season but they all come with such a refreshing, new and exciting feeling. We were blessed early in January with a beautiful snow. We came out of church and as we sat looking out the window these huge snow flakes began to fall all around us. The biggest flakes I have ever seen. It was fun to have snow ball fights, drink hot chocolate and of course have homemade donuts with Kerry's family courtesy of Memaw Kindle and snow ice cream thanks to Aunt Jennifer. It was a very magical day and I am so thankful for those beautiful memories, which I captured with my new camera that Kerry surprised me with for Christmas. We made a deal this year regarding our gifts to each other. I had been wanting a new Coach purse and he wanted a new cell phone. So being that we both were very particular and they were around the same price we decided to pick out our own presents this year. And other than stocking stuffers that was suppose to be our gifts to each other. But of course Kerry had to go and make me feel bad by buying me an awesome new camera and surprising me with it. Which was a great surprise but all I had for him was a new belt, cologne and some small stuff on Christmas morning. Not that I don't LOVE my camera, because I definitely do but I was a lil embarrassed. He didn't act one bit disappointed though and was just so proud of himself for pulling off a surprise. Which is a big deal for him because usually he cannot keep a secret. He is the type that wants to give you whatever he has for you as soon as he buys it. It is pretty cute I must admit but I am thankful for this surprise. And now thanks to him I have been picture happy and have tons of them to post. We have been enjoying the laziness of this month and spending lots of time at home snuggled up watching football and movies and playing board games. We have also spent some great time with our friends and family. I am trying to be more of a chief at the Kindle home and have been focusing more on planning and preparing us some yummy yet healthy meals and treats. Its actually been a lot of fun and I have a very good helper who loves to cook and bake. Aubree is no longer taking gym or dance classes due to the fact that she didn't like being so busy and going to the classes. For now she would rather stay home and play in the afternoons. This was a difficult decision for me because I wanted her to have the advantage of starting early but she just hated leaving the house. (Could have something to do with the fact that we got 2 new puppies and all she wants to do is play with them.) Once we got there she loved it and had fun and was a great learner. But getting her there had become a battle and a fight every time we had to go. So for now we are enjoying our time together at home in the evenings. Her instructor said this is pretty common at her age and to try her again when she is 5 yrs old. So I guess we will see about it again in the future. We do still enjoy playing gymnastics at home in the comfort of our living room with all her babies and pets. Lol! Kerry has started his final semester for his degree in air conditioning/heating and refrigeration. His schedule is not so crazy this time and we are looking forward to his graduation in May. God has blessed me in so many ways with a wonderful husband, loving father and best friend. I am enjoying this chapter in our lives and look forward to all our "seasons" together. Aubree and I met him last night in between classes for a yummy dinner at Red Lobster. It was a great night and while he was in class we did a little shopping to pass the time. On our way into Target, we were trotting along holding hands and she looks up at me and says, " I want to be just like you." Talk about priceless. It melted my heart. I didn't know what to say to her. I am very hard on myself and am a perfectionist. Many times I feel as if I fall short of the person and mother I want to be and feel let down at times by things I do or don't do. This made me realize how much of an impact I am making in her life. And that in her eyes I am doing a pretty good job. Which means the world to me! Of course, I will always strive for perfection but it's nice to know I am a harder critic on myself than she is. In so many ways I want her to be better than I am. I want more for her than I had and so I take that statement as a compliment but I hope she surpasses the person I am and is so much more than I will ever be. It is my prayer that God will work in her and use her for great things! It has been such a great winter month and I am excited for every precious memory we are making!

Christmas Is My Favorite Time of The Year!!

We have been thoroughly enjoying the Christmas Season. I love decorating and putting up our trees. And although Kerry probably didnt love hanging the lights and decorating our yard, he did a wonderful job. Not to mention made me and Aubree very happy girls. I love shopping for others as much as I do myself and had so much fun sharing it with Aubree. She is quite the gift giver. Very creative and thoughtful about what to give others. We enjoyed wrapping all the gifts together almost as much as picking them out. It has been so much fun reading the Christmas story over and over to her and baking Christmas candy and cookies and all the yummy foods we bake around the holidays. She is just an amazing helper and makes everything so much more enjoyable. We started the month of December off with the Miller Christmas and every weekend since that was full of celebration with family and friends. This year I hosted the annual party with my bff's from high school(and years before that too). We had a fabulous dinner at Four Winds Steakhouse and then came back to my house for a gift exchange and to catch up. It has been a tradition for 15 yrs to have our girl time and we always stay up til the wee hours of morning visiting and still don't really feel that we had enough time. It was a great evening and due to our busy holiday schedules everyone scurried home somewhere between breakfast and lunch. My life has been so blessed by these wonderful ladies and I am so glad we have made it a priority to keep this anual slumber party a tradition.. The Riggle family Christmas was on the18th and was such a treat. Aubree and her cousin Lilly really enjoyed each others comapny this year and it was a delight to see so many lovely faces. We were treated to a great night in Bosier City by Kerry's wonderful boss for their company Christmas party on the 19th. Jerry took us along with his wife and 3 adult children to stay the night at Sam's Town and to dinner at Ralph and Kacoo's. They made us feel like part of their family and were such kind and loving people. It was such a refreshing get away and a fun time for us all. We had a wonderful time with them and are so glad God has placed them in our lives. Aubree enjoyed riding in the Christmas parade this year as the Little Miss Van Zandt County Queen. She had so much fun tossing candy but really got a kick outta seeing Santa the most. She sat in his lap and didn't hesitate to tell him she wanted a tv to hang on her bedroom wall and a dvd player. I was impressed with her braveness and am thankful for a darling picture too. I am happy that Santa did not disappoint and the angel got a 26 inch Magnavox flat screen that has a built in dvd player. She also received several new movies and is a very happy girl. Of course she got tons of other wonderful gifts from Santa, us, and our families but the tv was the one thing she had her heart set on. She loves to watch movies. Every evening she wants to curl up in our bed and ask me to turn a movie on. Now she can curl up in her new bed and the beautiful bedding Nona made her and watch movies anytime she wants. :) We had a wonderful Christmas holiday and enjoyed all our friends and family so much. I am grateful for Kerry's much needed time off last week. He had the week off and I had part of the week off so we were able to enjoy lots of family time. We spent Christmas Eve eve with Kerry's parents and siblings' families, Christmas Eve at my grandparents as always and Christmas day we had breakfast at home and played with Santa's gifts then went to lunch with my Mema's side of the family. Then we spent the afternoon at home enjpying our new things and then went to the Dugan's annual Christmas party that night. We had Christmas with Kerry's Dad's family on the 26th and with the Burnett family the 27th. Thank you for all the generous gifts and the traditions you have all instilled in us. I am so thankful for the birth of Jesus Christ and for the freedom and traditions we have to celebrate his birth. Merry Christmas and may you have a very Happy New Year.

Halloween was so much fun this year. Aubree ask to be a lady bug back in September and we found a very cute costume on the internet. Thankfully it fit her to a T. She wasn't too fond of the wings though. The strapes cut into her shoulders and bothered her. Grand Saline held the annual Goody Trail and this was probably the most people I have ever seen at it. The trail of costumed kids was awesome and afterwards we went to the carnival as well. Aubree enjoyed playing the fun games and visiting with all her friends. She is a social butterfly for sure. After all the excitement and seeing friends and family we ordered pizza and she was fast asleep in no time. All the excitement wore us all out. We celebrated Kerry's cousin Tim's marriage to Shannon at a beautiful ceremony and reception in Bullard. The wedding was beautiful and so much fun. It was a great time of fellowship with all Kerry's family. This particular weekend was a very blissful time but also one that was very sad for me and my family. On the same evening as the rehersal dinner I went to see my Aunt Wanda who was in ICU at ETMC in Tyler. She had a major heart attack and her organs were shutting down. Mom and I went in to see her and I held her hand and she looked at me and squeezed my hand and then not long after that she received her wings and heaven got another angel. I have always been very close to Aunt Wanda and it was hard to say good bye. I miss her dearly but am so glad she isn't living in pain. I have a very large, close family and during this time I was reminded how precious it is to have one another to lean on. This past weekend was a very exciting weekend for my home town. Grand Saline hosted the 1st Annual Peanut Butter Festival. We are home to a really unique PB store, Nutty's. They make their own 12 flavors of PB. It's a real cute, old fashioned store on Main Street kinda a diner type shop that has hand dipped ice cream , fudge, candy and of course pb. The festival was a huge success and Grand Saline attempted and successfully broke the world record with the largest peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It weighed 1,343 lbs and was massive. The peanut butter, jelly and bread all had to be made within 24 hours and in a certain distance from the location as the sandwich was assembled. It was an awesome experience and is cool to know that the world record no longer belongs to Oklahoma, but resides right here in East Texas. Pretty neat huh?!? The festival consisted of tons of vendors, rides, games, food and live music and entertainment. Aubree won 1st runner up in the 3-4 yr old category at the festival pageant. She was so beautiful and had a blast strutting her stuff. She was also awarded the "IT FACTOR" of her group. She was tickled to receive 2 trophies and said to me as we exited the stage, "Momma, did I do AWESOME?" As she stuck her precious , lil hand up for a high five. My reply of course was, "Yes, sweetheart you were awesome." The entire festival was so much fun and I am glad we got to be a part of it. We are so blessed and I am looking forward to some fun time next week with both our families as we celebrate Thanksgiving. I am so thankful that I serve a mighty God, for my family, our health, my friends, our jobs and all the many blessings in our lives. I am so blessed I could list them for days. WOW now that's a blessing; to be so blessed. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Fall Fun

We had a wonderful time at the State Fair of Texas. It has become one of our family traditions. Kerry and I have been going together since 2001. We have so many fond memories and love to take pictures of the good times we share there. It's cool to see how much and how little we change over the years. There are pictures of Aubree in my belly and then every year there after. This year was by far the greatest for her. I know I probably say that every year. But it was priceless. The girl smiled the entire day and I can still hear her deep, belly laugh as she rode the kiddie rides and even a couple that I myself was a lil scared of. She is so brave. She laughed hysterically on one ride in particular that went super fast and then even went backwards. I was watching on the side but am so thankful she asked Bebe to ride that one with her. Thanks, Bebe, for saving me. Lol! We had a wonderful time visiting the exhibits and shows. And last but not least, trying all the food. It was a grand time and I am so thankful for all the wonderful memories. Nona and Gramps and Bebe enjoyed it so much they wanted a souvenir. They got a good deal for buying two so they purchased hot tubs at the fair and should be having them delivered any day now. That's kinda an odd sounding souvenir, but one we are all excited about. Hopefully, soon we can be enjoying some hot tubbing at both Nona and Gramps and Bebe's. We have been so blessed by beautiful fall weather. Aubree and I enjoy playing outside almost every afternoon. Her favorite thing to do is lock hands and run through the yard and pasture with our puppies chasing us and nipping at our ankles. It is beautiful to see how much she enjoys running outside. I love it and hope we can enjoy it for many years. We enjoyed a week full of fun homecoming festivities lat week. The parade was Aubree's favorite and she talked all weekend about going to the football game and wearing her pretty mum. I love the small town pleasures that she enjoys so much. Again, they are priceless. Saturday we celebrated a dear friends 2nd birthday and then her Momma's(who is a little older but I won't reveal her age). We went out for an adults night of good food and good times with our friends. Uncle Julio's still ranks pretty high on my list, might I add. We finished the night off with some great live music and then retired for the evening at the Marriott Courtyard. It is always so nice to spend time with our friends, even though we miss our baby girl dearly. It was a great weekend. Only thing that could have made it any better would have been to see the Cowboys win but I have learned not to rely on them so much. Win or lose I will always be a fan. I just smile and go on with life either way. Excited for what the Rangers got going on and hope to see them advance after tomorrows game. Let's Go Rangers!

Feeling so blessed today. Blessed that I have a career I love and a job at a great, small hometown hospital that allows me to do what I love and be only a few minutes down the road from my baby girl. It is so nice to work with people I grew up around and to have the opportunity to provide care for people right here in my own community. I am loving this opportunity God has given me. I am also feeling blessed because I am at peace with what all has been going on with my thyroid. I am happy to report that my medicine is doing the trick. My thyroid levels tested normal this past time and the cyst, which is called a goiter is shrinking. It is down to 3.2x 2 cm. I am so relieved and happy that this was able to be corrected with medicine. God is so good! I will continue to monitor it but am so pleased with the way it turned out. Got a fun filled weekend planned with a beautiful forecast ahead. Gonna spend the evening relaxing at home. This is probably Aubree's favorite thing to do. She is becoming a pro at riding her bike and loves to play outside. She is a really smooth driver, and the puppies spend a lot of time chasing her in her gator too. I enjoy leisure time at home like this. Although it is rare. We are going tomorrow to the Sate Fair of Texas and I can hardly wait. Aubree will enjoy the games and rides so much more this year than the previous years. Hope you all have a blessed and wonderful weekend.

Another 2 months post rolled into 1 big blog

Hmmm, Where should I start? We were busy in the month of August celebrating summer with a wonderful Casey Donahew concert under the stars. It was an awesome performance and made me even more of a fan. We enjoyed our night out with good food, good friends and good music. We spent the weekend of Aug. 14th in Houston celebrating Kerry's Dad's parents 60th wedding aniversary. They requested the entire family(there were 35 of us) travel to Houston and have an outdoor photo shoot of everyone together and then some family groups. It was priceless. Afterwards we had a cookout and pool party at Kerry's uncle and aunts house. It was a great time. On Saturday everyone traved to the Nasa Hilton and we enjoyed the day and then spent the evening at the Kemah beach boardwalk. There we ate at the Aquarium which was fabulous and enjoyed live entertainment and music. This was a really neat trip and I am so glad we got to share in their celebration. We met up with my girlfriends for a girls day the following weekend. Aubree enjoyed having her nails painted at the saloon for the first time. She chose neon green and I must say her nails were hard to miss for days. She was so good and still though. Bee was so impressed she gave us the entire bottle of green nail polish. Either that or it is so hidious only Aubree had chosen it. LOL! Either way we got neon green nails and toes anytime we like. Aubree started tap and ballet leasons the 2nd Monday of Sept. She is so cute in her pink tights and black leo. They are learning the basics and it is the highlight of my Monday(Nona's too. She doesn't miss a class). Aubree still loves gymnastics too. The running around to this lesson and that has already started and it is so much fun. But makes me a lil sad that she is growing up so fast. We have a full pledge petting zoo now at Kindle farm. In addition to our 11 yr old golden retriever Alex, and our 16 month old cat Blue, we have our duck Cinderella, Dora, and Polly and now two baby pups Max and Zoe. I wasn't kidding about the zoo was I? It's a lot of mouths to feed but we are animal people and love our zoo so much. I was against two new pups but Kerry and Aubree baited me in and made it hard to resist theses precious pups. They are outside dogs and they run and play with Aubree so well. She is the happiest 3 year old around. So life is good. Mom threw me an awesome birthday dinner on the 10th with all my close friends and family. Seafood always makes me happy and mom went all out with hot pink and zebra decorations and chocolate cake. It was a great time and if I had to turn another year older there is no other way I would like to spend it. We went out the following night for an adult evening of good food and live music. Kerry thoughtfully surprised me with a new Victoria's Secret perfume and also a pair of black Coach boots that I love and the sweetest card I have ever gotten. He never siest to amaze me and knows how to spoil me rotten every day of my life but he always puts a lil extra effort in on my birthday. After a steak dinner at Four Winds Steakhouse with his parents and my mom the following week I couldnt have had a better birhtday. I feel so blessed by all the people in our lives. A family RVing trip with my grandparents, mom and three generations of the Phillips family at Hawkins Lake wrapped up the month of September. We had a fun trip and Aubree is definitely a lil camper. We are loving the beautiful fall temperatures October has brought us. This weather is perfect! We have eatten atleast half of our meals out on the deck this past week enjoying the changing season. Happy Fall Y'all!!