CORN MAZE!!!

Here is the 2009 Willis Farm Corn Maze in Snowflake, located directly behind Linc's parents' house! Linc's aunt & uncle run it and they have pumpkin picking for the kids and other fun things. I personally like the haunted maze best! Check out their farm blog for this year's schedule & info. If any of you are going, let me know...it would be fun to see you there!

Results...

Well, the poll results were quite interesting. :) I'm flattered that so many people voted. The final results are that 52 people (94%) like my hair better short! The sad news is that Lincoln wanted me to keep it long. I told him that when the universe speaks to me like this, I have to listen. :) Ha ha. I am secretly thankful because I've been wanting to chop my hair off for awhile, and I finally had a good excuse!I told him that his vote DOES carry more weight...but not 95% worth. :)

Making Progress

I had my final appointment with my GI Specialist last week. He is amazing. I almost started crying while I was talking to him about how much my health is improving. He is surprised that I've been doing so much better since I started making changes in my diet. I will forever be grateful to him for being so intelligent & intuitive & for thinking outside of the box and coming up with a plan that is working for me. I'm glad he didn't give up on me like most of my other doctors have.

Yesterday I saw my endodontist and he was "almost giddy" (those were his words) with my progress. My mouth is almost completely healed! He is planning on finishing my treatment next month. I've been going to see him for 14 months now. I won't miss the needles & numbing and everything else that these appointments entail! I appreciate that he was patient enough to try something besides surgery & that his plan worked!

Overall, I am doing MUCH better than I was a few months ago. I still have days when I can't do much of anything, which frustrates me & isn't fun. I feel like I'm slowly getting back on my feet. Acupuncture is still really helping me. My endometriosis only really acts up about one week out of the month. I just love that I'm progressing & not regressing now...it's such a wonderful feeling!

Lincoln's Bday Dinner

This is the third post I'm doing about Linc's birthday...but he deserves three posts. :) On Sunday we had Lincoln's birthday dinner at my parents' house. He chose grilled chicken, baked potatoes, asparagus, crescent rolls and this yummy pudding dessert. I can't believe he is the big 2-7! (Sorry these pics are so blurry....but Linc looks too cute in them for me not to post them!)

For his bday, he got a watch from Melissa & Brad (an accidental gift...ha ha)& movie tickets & money from my parents. Thanks guys! Here he is blowing out the candles...

Love you Linc!

Grandma's Funeral

Grandma's funeral was this past Saturday. It was beautiful. I loved hearing stories from her childhood and stories about her & my grandpa. My grandma was an identical twin, so it was funny hearing about the jokes she & her twin sister would play on people.

During the funeral, my mom shared some of our memories of Grandma. I told my mom to tell one of my favorite stories about Grandma...it is hilarious. Awhile ago my grandma fell on the ground by her bed and couldn't get back up. While she was waiting for someone to come help her, she spotted a box of chocolates under the bed and started eating them. When one of her kids found her on the floor, she was just laying there eating chocolates. Isn't that hilarious? My mom also talked about how understanding Grandma was about Jackson's death and told about she promised to take care of Jackson for me when she died.

For the closing song at the funeral, all of the grandkids sang "Families Can Be Together Forever". I sang about two words and just stood there bawling the rest of the time. I was kind of embarassed. I knew that was going to happen...that song is so hard for me to sing.

Anyway, seeing my grandma's body and being part of the funeral & burial helped me so much. I know that is so strange, but that brought so much closure and just made me feel better about things. I found these pictures today and thought I'd include them in this post. This first one is obviously of my grandma with Lincoln & I when we got married. Lincoln & I look bad in it (it was SO windy & stormy that day & we're not even looking at the camera) but I love that Grandma is smiling. She hated getting her picture taken so I'm glad I have this picture of her. :)

How sweet is this next picture?! My grandma LOVED Lincoln. Lincoln always treated her so kindly and was so good to her. I loved seeing them interact. Everytime I saw them together I'd tell Lincoln that he just made me fall in love with him more. I appreciated that he knew how important my grandma was to me, and that he was willing to get to know her and love her. This picture sums it all up. Two of my favorite people...

We'll miss you Grandma. We love you!

Just in case you were wondering...

if we are still obsessed with Daisy & Duke...WE ARE! How can we not be? Look at those adorable faces!!! (By the way, I do believe in putting sheets on our bed, I promise!)
I found them at the top of the stairs cuddling like this one night. They love each other!(Notice the little pieces of white fluff and plastic around them. This is a regular thing around here. We get them a toy & they rip it apart & leave all the pieces for me to clean up.)

Despite the messes they make, I realize even more how much I love having these two dogs when I'm sick. They cuddle with me and make me laugh and are so much fun! Who knew?!

Addicted to Nutter Butters

I ate 2/3 of a bag of these things tonight...which was somewhere around 700 calories. Lincoln thought it was hilarious. Oops.

Voice Your Opinion

The big question is should I keep growing my hair out or cut it short? Lincoln & I have differing opinions...so I thought the blogging world might be able to help me decide. Check out the pictures below & then vote in the poll on the sidebar...thanks for indulging me & letting me think people actually care about my hair. :)

Linc's Bday Celebration

The Moaks came over on Tuesday night to wish Lincoln a happy birthday and to bring him his favorite cake (strawberry). On the way there, McKenzie told her mom "I know what Lincoln would LOVE for his birthday. For us to jump on him and wake him up when he is sleeping!" Ha ha. When the girls lived next door they would help me wake Lincoln up sometimes...and of course he would act like he LOVED it. Here are Savannah, Lincoln & McKenzie with the cake...
Lincoln blowing out his "pretend" candles...
McKenzie insisted that she take a picture of me giving Lincoln a birthday spanking...
On Wednesday Lincoln & I went to Red Robin for dinner, since he had a coupon for a free burger for his birthday. I had a yummy chicken burger. It was fun!
After dinner we went to see "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". It was really good. Linc & I are huge Harry Potter fans. It was great going out and celebrating together.

American Idol Concert

My dad called me on Monday and told me that he had an extra ticket to the American Idol Concert. I have to admit...I'm not a big fan of American Idol. I'd seen a few episodes this season though, so I knew who some of the top 10 were. My family never missed an episode. :) They actually sang a lot of songs that I knew and they all have great voices, so I thought the concert was so much fun. Thanks Mom & Dad for the awesome night!
The gang...
Mom & I...

Dad jamming to the music...he was hilarious.

These pictures aren't great, but you get the idea..
The stage...

The boys...

Anoop...he is pretty funny!

Scott & Matt...I think these guys were my favorite! Matt was an AWESOME performer. It was interesting seeing how the other kids helped Scott around the stage without making it obvious at all. I think I was the only one that noticed, just because I was looking for it.

Danny Gokey...

Adam Lambert...ok, I have to admit that I am in love with his voice...but he is a crazy man! He was doing pelvic thrusts and strutting like a girl all over the stage...not cute!

Allison & Adam did a duet that was really cool...
Kris Allen singing "Heartless"...

The group...

Happy 27th Bday Lincoln!!!

HAPPY BDAY LINCOLN! His birthday was actually yesterday, but we are celebrating it today. He had to study all day yesterday for a chemistry test he had this morning. Anyway, I am so happy that this guy was born! He is so smart and sweet. I hope you have a fun birthday celebration Linc!

I Miss Her Already

Grandma Cooper & Anjane'-June 2007
My grandma died this morning around 2am. I was having a really hard time sleeping, so I was still awake when my mom called with the news. Right when my cell phone rang, I knew what the phone call was about. We've known for awhile that my grandma was going to die soon. It still doesn't make it easy. I seem to take death a lot harder than most people I know. Of course I know that my grandma is with my grandpa again, that she is not in pain anymore, and that she is happy. I just get SO attached to people...my relationships with others are some of the most valuable things I have. I hate knowing that I will be missing out on spending time with my grandma and that I won't have access to her for a really, really long time. My grandma always told me that she was sure I would be able to get pregnant again. She talked with me about it a lot. I was able to open up to her and express my feelings about my infertility and about Jackson, in a way that I honestly haven't been able to do with anyone else. She was always so concerned with my health and always asked me how I was feeling. When I found out I was pregnant with Jackson, my grandma was the first person I told after we told our parents. She kept a picture of Jackson on her nightstand and she talked to him every day. :) She promised me that she would give him a huge hug for me and tell him how much I love him and miss him...because we both knew that she was going to be seeing him soon. She told me that she would take care of Jackson for me until I could be with him. I love my grandma so much. I know it's going to take awhile for me to be ok with the fact that she is gone. I do know that she is happy though. I'm so, so, so thankful that I'm blessed to have her as my grandma. I will ALWAYS remember her and the huge role she has played in my life.
*After I was finally able to fall asleep around 3:30am, I woke up later this morning and decided I was going to stay in bed for as long as I could. I just wanted to ignore what had happened. I knew that once I got out of bed I would have to start living my life without Grandma here. I eventually almost peed my pants because I wouldn't get out of bed to go the bathroom. I know that's not entirely appropriate for this post, but Grandma probably would have thought it was funny. :)*