Last week in review...

OH MY GOODNESS....  It's been WAY too long since I last posted anything. 

I AM SOOO SORRY!!

This last week (and maybe longer) was full of different experiences.  Well, some different, some new, some old, some of the same daily stuff.  But all in all, I would have to say that God has been AWESOME! 

Some of you know that Joshua had to have a "routine" surgery last Friday (9/17).  He went in to have a dermoid cyst removed.  The pediatric ophtalmologist was confident that it was "just a cyst", nothing malign, and that it would be a routine procedure to have it removed.  The big question was whether we wanted to do it now, or later, when he's older.  I guess the hesitation to the latter was that if Joshua grows older, the cyst could've possibly ruptured inside his skin (since he is SO active and could bump into something at any moment), possibly affecting his vision.  So we chose to have the procedure done now.

The surgery was a success... Joshua woke up from the anesthesia hungry and thirsty... had some crackers and apple juice!  When we came home from the hospital, he was ready to play!  Kids are so resilient... I wish some of the adults I know could be as resilient as the little ones. 

Here's Joshua the day he came back from the hospital (poor guy) - eating his graham cracker:

And here's a picture I took this morning (11 days later):

He's healing really fast.  The stitches are almost all gone, and he hasn't complained about having any pain.  Praise the Lord!

Then this past weekend I got to celebrate my BIRTHDAY!  And with that... a LOT OF EATING!

On Friday, our work staff went out to lunch for a little "staff retreat".  We had a fabulous time at Cilantro, a fairly new Thai/Sushi Bar restaurant in downtown Akron.  The food was fantastic!!  It wasn't a birthday work celebration, yet... (read on)

My actual birthday was Sunday.  My dear husband Joel led me to believe that all he was doing for my birthday was getting my Sunday paper.  Hmmm... some of you know that I've been couponing, right?  Well, by getting my Sunday paper, it meant I didn't have to go out and get it myself... BUT... "that's all", I thought to myself.

The day went on... and no plans were being made by my husband. 

UNTIL...

I decided to look through my Sunday Paper (remember?). 

Joel had made up a sheet of personal coupons (free day - no responsibilities, diaper change- nasty one, free dinner, and one that would entitle me to an amount from one of his tractor sales).  WOW!  I was so happy!  Then he arranged one of our high school girls to babysit that night, while we went out to dinner (thanks, Hallie!). 

We had dinner at Thai Origins, a local Thai/Sushi Bar restaurant... Another one?  Yep... I LOVE Thai AND Sushi!  Perfect combination for me!!  Thank you, Babe!

Anyway, THEN, on Monday, my co-workers treated me to lunch at Crave, a very cool/hip restaurant in downtown Akron.  Love that place!  Thank you, ladies!

I felt so blessed.

Anyway, in the midst of Joshua's surgery and my birthday, here were a few of my other "random" experiences this past week or so:

1.  Lost my cell phone.

2.  Made some shirts.

3.  Cared for a sick husband.

4.  Found my cell phone (in Joshua's diaper bag...)

5.  Played with my Silhouette.

6.  Worked on a few custom orders for Helen's Corner.

7.  Continued to read The Help by Kathryn Stockett (LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!)