My humble return to blogging...

I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't written a blog post in well over a year. I used to blog nearly every day!

Life has continued moving along. I'm working as one of three doctors at Health Quest Physicians Group in Jefferson City. It's a very busy practice. I see lots of kids with "issues" -- autism, ADD/HD, mental illness, Cerebral Palsy...you name it, they find their way to me.

The kids are great! Libby will be 10 in about 3 weeks, and will enter 4th grade next month. She recently got braces -- she isn't very happy about it! She doesn't believe me when I tell her how happy she will be to have braces now, not when she is in high school!

Before and after...

Roan is doing well, too! He has been struggling with chronic bellyaches. The medical doctor thinks abdominal migraines, but we aren't sure. In the meantime, we've eliminated most gluten and casein from his diet, which seems to help. He is getting his braces off in just a couple of weeks. He has changed a lot!

Shannon is great. He's enjoyed umpiring baseball for Parks and Rec this summer -- except when he gets hit with wild pitches! Marriage is great!

We planted a small garden this year. I have big dreams of a huge garden and lots of canning, but given the hours I work, I have to be realistic. So, we planted a manageable one... it's coming along just fine!

So, I'm back on the blog routine. Stayed tuned for scenes from our completely charmed life!

Pinterest Photo Challenge: Something I'm Grateful For

Wow, am I ever grateful for this person. I went through a lot of hell with my first husband...spent my years in Chiropractic College as a single mom to two very young children. I worried constantly. I lived on a shoestring. I swore I would never date, let alone marry again. Then along came The Man and changed all that. Life with him is bliss; I'm grateful every day to be his wife.

Pinterest Photo Challenge Day 23: Vegetable

This sad and lonely piece of asparagus was the topic of much drama at dinner tonight. The kids are given a lovely home-cooked meal and all they can do is cry around about having to eat a small piece of asparagus. Lord, give me strength!

Pinterest Photo Challenge Day 22: The Last Thing I Bought

I took Roan, Libby and her best friend, Clara to Barnes & Noble yesterday. It's probably Libby's all-time favorite store! I bought myself 3 magazines! That's the last thing I bought on Day 22...

Pinterest Photo Challenge Day 21: Bottle

Bottle? Well, this is the bottle of glutathione lotion I use with Roan. Glutathione is the most important antioxidant in the body. Kids with autism, across the board, have been shown to be drastically deficient in glutathione. I use it with Roan when he has flare ups of eczema, when he has trouble focusing or when he's acting out of sorts. It's Kirkman brand...I highly recommend it.

My future chef

Roan loves to cook. His favorite shows are 'Chopped' and 'Sweet Genius'. He says he wants to get a job at Steak & Shake when he turns 16! Shannon made Roan a quesadilla for dinner one night... the next morning, he decided we should make a bacon, egg and cheese quesadilla for his breakfast. So for about a week, he's been practicing. He can officially make one all by himself!

 Melting the butter...

 Scrambling the eggs...

 Onto the plate...

Yum!! Pretty awesome for a kid his age, huh?

My new table!

Our basement flooded on New Year's Day. We lost pretty much everything that was down there, and essentially had to gut the whole thing. We've spent the months since trying to put it back together. We decided we'd get a table so we'd have a place for homework, and more seating when we had company. Back in February, we went to an antique mall and saw the perfect table. Shannon thought it was a little too big...so we went home to thought about it... but I couldn't quit thinking about it. Not only was it beautiful, it was cheap! So today, Shannon said "Let's go get your table!" I was worried it had sold... but not only was it still there, they had reduced the price from $100 to $70, including the chairs! Oh happy me!

 Here it is! I love it!

 Here's the detail on the chairs. That's the fireplace in the back...still unfinished. We can't decide exactly what we want to do with it...

And here's little Maggie checking up on us. I can't wait until everything is unpacked and put away!