Thursday, March 17, 2011

Then. And Now.

Okay. I know I promised that I would take a little break from posting so much about Nathan and Meagan. I did not promise, however, that I would stop posting about Nathan and Sarah. So I am hereby posting the following Nathan/Sarah shots with a happy heart and a clear conscience!

When we took some informal pictures last week, I was both amazed and amused by the fact that Nathan and Sarah’s picture posing procedures haven’t changed much in eight years.

Then . . .

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And now.

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Goofing off then.

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Goofing off now.

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But even with all the goofy goofing off involved in a Nathan/Sarah photo shoot, we did finally manage to end up with two proper poses.

Then . . .

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And now.

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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Okay. So Humor Me.

Yes, I realize that I’m acting like a silly, crazy goofy lady, since I’m getting so excited over Nathan and Meagan’s recent engagement and upcoming wedding. But would you (please) just humor me for just one more little ol’ day? Then I promise I will post about something else.

When Nathan and Meagan got back to Florida, they spent Sunday afternoon with their official wedding photographer to get their engagement photos taken. (Photos by Kristen Czuchra)

I just fell in love with the photos and couldn’t resist sharing a few. If you think I’m bad now, just wait till I get my first grandbaby!

The beauty, tenderness and joy of young love is a wonderful thing.

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There now. Wasn’t that fun?

In Other News . . . .

I’m headed out to the plastic surgeon in Greenville today for a little finishing up procedure; it should take 60-90 minutes and then I’ll be free to head on over to Chick-Fil-A and my favorite thrift store. It just makes the whole doctor’s visit worthwhile knowing I have those two exciting things to look forward to. (And no, I don’t get out much.)

Speaking Of Doctor’s Visits . . .

My sister e-mailed all the sibs today with the following report:

“Mom went in to see a pulmonologist today and he showed us the scan of her right lung. There's a small (spiculated) mass in there, about the size of the top of his thumb. Because it is so small, he said there's not a lot that can be done right now. It can't be biopsied and removing it entirely would be too risky because it's so far in the lung. He can't tell if it's cancer; he said it just looks suspicious. (And I, in my warped sense of humor, started getting a mental picture of a little mass with sunglasses and a trench coat with a fedora tipped low over one eye.) I know this is serious stuff, but at least that helped me smile.

Anyway, the plan is to go back in 3 months for another CAT scan to see if anything has changed. Another option is to check with her old hospital (before she moved) to see if any chest/lung x-rays or scans were done over the past few years that showed anything in her lung. If not, that would mean that this is something new.”

I must say that Debbie’s line about “the little mass with sunglasses” made me chortle rather heartily. She has learned the same lesson as so many of us who have faced difficult medical challenges: If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. And laughing is sure a whole lot more fun, if you can possibly pull it off!

Since it looks like any sort of definitive diagnosis will have be to put on hold, we will just wait with praying, loving, and trusting hearts. We know that whatever the outcome, Mom is not just in good hands-- Mom is in God’s hands.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Nathan and Snowy. The Two College Dudes.

May I just say that I sort of really like this fellow quite a lot? Quite a whole lot?

In fact, quite a whole lot more than just a little? And possibly even just a little more than that?

One of the things I like about him is that he can be serious . . .

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or goofy . . .

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equally well. (Just like his dad!)

And you know what? Snowy really likes Nathan quite a lot, too. And since Snowy has also attended obedience school college, he considers himself to be quite the Big Man on Campus. Therefore, he gets a pretty stinkin’ big kick out of hanging out with the College Dude and discussing with him all sorts of important topics, like exams and favorite profs and bad cafeteria food.

‘Cause Snowy is cool like that.
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You might notice that in this particular photo, Snowy is doing his extra-fervent, canine-sque best to look intelligent and collegiate, just like his big brother. I think he might even be sort of partially succeeding.
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Although Snowy is indeed a well-traveled and well-seasoned man of the world, he does occasionally become somewhat puzzled by some of the inexplicable actions of his College Dude Brother.

Do you notice how Snowy is staring fixedly ahead, trying to graciously pretend that he hasn’t noticed that his brother is behaving in a decidedly odd manner? Because Snowy is nothing if not gracious. (Sometimes.)

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As Nathan’s shenanigans continue, Snowy makes even more of an effort to gaze interestedly off into the near middle distance, allowing Nathan the privacy of making a goofy fool of himself without any extra sets of eyeballs on him which might possibly bring further embarrassment to his Wacky College Dude Self.

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In addition to the aforementioned puzzling behavior of his big brother, Snowy (even with his vast store of wisdom), doesn’t really quite understand why the Big College Dude Man is pretending to squash his cute small self under the weight of his Great Big College Dude Man Elbow. He casts a plaintive and earnest glance in my general direction saying, “Mom? Can you please do something about this fella? He’s buggin’ me here.”

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But just about the time I run over to intervene, Nathan is the one who is suddenly gazing off into the middle distance, showing nothing but a sweet, innocent face.

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Regardless of all the College Dude Drama that goes on, when the day comes to an end, all is always well between the two of them. They’re just a couple of fellows hanging out on Spring Break--one of them headed toward the matrimonial altar, the other headed away from said altar just as fast as his white fluffy legs will carry him. Because ever since he earned his bachelor’s degree in obedience school college last summer, he has made it quite plain that he is “not going to marry no womens.” (Which is how he would phrase it.)

So in the meantime, he just sits patiently by the groom-to-be, hoping fervently deep down in his little doggie heart of hearts that he might be asked to (maybe? possibly? please?) be the Best Man at the wedding.

Because isn’t it traditional for a groom to invite a beloved brother to be the Best Man?

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Snowy is also truly hoping that he’ll be able to fit any important Best Man Tux Fitting Appointments into his busy napping/peeing/eating/sleeping/barking/snoozing/scratching schedule.

Hmmm. Now that he thinks about it, he might possibly be just too booked up to fit a wedding into his life. His Big Bro might just have to go it alone.

Well, not really alone. . .

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Since I’m on the topic of my human (and canine) kids, here are a couple shots of Sarah I took at the beach a couple days ago.

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And lastly, my sister is taking my mom in today for a final test to determine whether or not she has lung cancer; she has a mass in one lung which the doctors are calling “highly suspicious.” We should know something within the next couple of days.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.