I'm in LOVE...

...with Gordman's!!!

Mason and I went yesterday to check out the new 60,000 sq ft store next to T.J. Maxx at the Promenade, and I love it! I got so many great things at good prices. I liked the great selection of clothing and home goods and everything was reasonably priced. Do I sound like a commercial yet?

Here's a tour of the store on their website:
http://www.gordmans.com/StoreTour/VirtualTours/Index.htm

I also thought this was great:
Taken from a press release from the Gordman's website:

Gordmans will present a $2,500 check to Rogers Public School District on Friday, April 4, to launch Partners in Education fundraising events in conjunction with the weekend’s grand opening festivities. Partners in Education is a community-school partnership program that provides a vehicle for businesses, government agencies, civic groups and faith organizations to make additional educational resources available to local public school systems. Gordmans customers at the new Rogers store may participate in this event by purchasing “helping hands” for $1 each from April 4 through April 13. Every dollar raised will directly benefit Rogers Public School District. Since its involvement with Partners in Education, which began in 2000, Gordmans has contributed over $700,000 to this cause in 15 states throughout the country.

“Partners in Education gives Gordmans and our guests a means to make a difference in the lives of schoolchildren in the communities served by our stores,” Gordman said. “The collaboration also provides a great volunteer opportunity for our associates. We are excited about this partnership with the Rogers Public School District.”

The new Rogers Gordmans store has selected Reagan Elementary School as its partner school.

Cameron's Baptism

Cameron was baptized yesterday during the church service. It went very well except that the batteries in my camera died right when he got into the water. Luckily, Angela shared her pics with me!

Congrats, Cameron!

You know it's Spring when...

There's buds on the trees

Weeds take over the yard

Especially the purple ones

(I just liked how these roots looked)



And the pear trees are in full bloom

Big tree, Little boy

the shrubs are blooming

We've been having fun in the backyard the last several days since the weather has been so nice. Wayne actually mowed the lawn last weekend, so all the weeds are "gone" now. Mason has been swinging in his "thwing" as he says (it's so cute to hear him say it!) We even had hot dogs (Wayne had brats)off the grill last night for dinner! We're definitely ready for Spring and Summer!

Cameron's Confession of Faith

My nephew, Cameron has been going through the baptism class at church and made his "confession of faith" on Easter sunday along with several other kids his age. He will be baptized this Sunday. We are so proud of him and his devotion! He is truly a great kid that has always amazed me with his generous, kind-hearted spirit.

Cameron with Ronny Nowell, our Associate Pastor

Looking suave with the Easter lillies

My sister, Angela and Cameron

Spring pictures at my parent's house

Egg Hunt

After church, we changed clothes and headed to my in-laws for lunch and an egg hunt. Mason had so much fun! He grabbed his basket and raced toward the door, practically pushing the other kids (his cousins) out of the way! Wayne & I were in awe of how he knew what he was doing. He acted like he'd done it a thousand times before--went right to the eggs and put them in his basket--no messing around. He even wore his bunny ears most of the time.





Cousins Lexi & Haley

Our Easter

For Mason's second Easter, he got a basket full of goodies from us, uh I mean, the Easter Bunny.
He got 2 big eggs with assorted Backyardigans characters in them and of course, they happened to be the same characters, so he had 2 Tyrones and 2 Pablos. Then my parents gave him one as well--and guess who? He loves all 3 Tyrones and all 3 Pablos! His Aunt Angela and cousins Chloe' and Cameron gave him a basket filled with suckers and a fun spill proof container with bubbles.




Two out of three Tyrones

After church, before the egg hunt. Me in my Easter dress that isn't in the picture!

The $3 Floral Arrangement

The afore mentioned flower bucket from the church rummage sale...Can you tell I'm proud of it?

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You...

I promise I will post Easter pictures very soon! I've been busy working on this for this site. (my post will soon be included there.) I was so excited when I was asked to post tips for frugal scrapbooking!

Coming soon...Mason with his Easter basket goodies, an Easter egg hunt, and church happenings.
Stay tuned.

Diagnosis

crazy,stressful day...
In a nutshell, we found out today that my grandma has a cancerous mass attached to the top of her bladder and also to the small intestine, which is what has been causing the blood loss. The earlier esophageal findings were really a "red herring" and actually have nothing to do with the bleeding she's experienced. She's in no pain and was actually discharged from the hospital today, so at least she'll be home for Easter. On Monday she'll schedule an appt. to see the surgeon she used last go-around to have the mass removed, then she'll go from there deciding whether to go through chemo again or not. This is the 4th time in the last 14 years she's gone through this. She's an amazingly strong person with a positive attitude, so I know she'll get through it again.





I was hesitant to take Mason into the hospital environment, but we got the call during breakfast this morning that made us rush there to see my grandma, so Mason had to come along. My grandma was so happy to see him--I could tell it brightened her day--so it ended up working out well.

More tests...

False alarm--my grandma did not end up getting discharged today afterall. She is now bleeding internally more than before and had a fever today as well. They are going to do a CT scan, bladder scope, and possibly a colonoscopy tomorrow.
Sorry to keep posting about this, but I feel like I need to keep everyone updated now.

Grandma Update

Just a quick update--my grandma will be discharged tomorrow! The blood transfusion has made her feel a lot better, thankfully. They ended up having to give her the second pint of blood through a subclavian catheter (which she has had before) because her veins were so bad. They also did an upper GI to find some ulcers and other esophageal issues, which is where she's been losing blood. I believe they think it's a rare side effect from the chemo that she's endured 3 different rounds of. Anyway, This may be more detail than you care to know, but since several of you reading this are nurses or work with me in healthcare, I thought I'd elaborate a little. :)
Thanks for your prayers!

Grandma in the Hospital

My Grandma is in the hospital. My mom took her to the ER yesterday afternoon and was admitted to a room around 8:00 last night (that's a long time in the ER!) They are running lots of tests and she has had to get two pints of blood today. She hasn't been feeling well ever since she had the flu several weeks ago, so maybe we'll find out why.
Please keep her in your prayers for us!
Thanks, L

Visiting the Easter Bunny

Last Friday when the weather was nice, my Mom, Mason, and I went shopping at the Promenade and ran into the Easter Bunny! Luckily my Mom had her camera since I had forgotten mine. The Easter Bunny roams around--he doesn't sit like Santa does and Mason spotted him from across the street. He started pointing and yelling "bunny, bunny!" So we raced over to him and then Mason got totally quiet. He didn't know what to think about that big bunny. He cracked a little smile and waved and said bye-bye as he walked away. He got some bunny ears to wear so we took some shots with the big eggs around the Promenade.



With singing duck from Grandma Betty Ruth

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Shamrock socks


Mason's first ever Happy Meal!

This silly pirate's do-rag thing was his toy fron the Happy Meal. None of us like it, but I had to try it on him anyway. I think it makes him look like a gypsy.

The original Irishman...

Fun at Gymboree

I took Mason to Gymboree yesterday for a "Mommy & Me" event through Junior League. He absolutley LOVED it!! As you can see by these pictures, he was a very busy toddler, running from one activity to the next. We were there for and hour and a half but it flew by because we were having so much fun!

Bubbles are always a hit, especially a million of them!


We played a song with maracas...and yes, Mason is about to eat one...


On the mini trampoline


On the run

Through the tunnel






He even walked on the balance beam (with a little help)