My silverlining

"How did I get here?! was the only thing that kept going through my mind while I sat on the hospital bed at St. Jude in Memphis, Tn. The last coule days, even weeks, had gone by so fast it was just a big blur. My life used to be filled with friends, teachers and homework where my biggest problem was what to wear to school that day.
While at school one December day a friend noticed a knot on my neck. I blew it off as nothing but that "nothing" would turn out to be "something" big alright. After setting appointments and a biopsy my doctor would give me the worse news I could ever imagine as a 12 year old girl. He said "Kylie, you have cancer". All I could do was cry. I had an overwhelming feeling of dying and sadness come over me. My mom asked to be referred to St. Jude Children's Hospital.
We just had the weekend to wait and worry before we could travel to the foreign land that was suppose to help whatever was wrong with me. Once we reached St. Jude a multitude of test were run and viles of blood taken. After confirming Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) my new normal became filled with doctors, nurses, needles and medicines. I still had test to take but these I couldn't study for, the results were out of my control.
The side effects were my only indication of the poison that was suppose to save me. I now knew how a drug addict felt, only my drugs was involuntary: it was necessary. I hated taking pills and at one point contemplated just not taking them anymore.
One day a feeling of perfect peace came over me and I knew I would beat this deadly disease. From that moment on I no longer worried about the "big C word". I come to realize that I didn't' do anything to deserve what happened to me but to help someone else through their struggles. When life can be snatched away so easily you look at life, love and family a whole lot differently. Just waking up each day is a blessing.
I'm still working on me honestly but I feel no matter how much we work on ourselves there will always be something in our lives we can improve. After all, we are just humans. So when you get upset and feel down or want to write "FML" (my biggest pet peeve) on your wall, status etc. you just remember it could be worse. You need to find something (anything) that makes you smile or happy and be thankful for it/ them.

My journey with coupons.

Some of you may have seen the show "Extreme Couponing".... I have watched it several times and after seeing it I started my journey with coupons. I dont' want my stockpile to invade my garage or even my kids rooms but it would be nice to be able to pick out from a wide variety what we're gonna eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I have been couponing since January and probably saved a good 140 dollars within the last four months. That's not as good as the extreme couponers but pretty darn good for me. I just want to learn to save money on groceries or household products so that I'll always have that knowledge for the future. It thrills me to find a good coupon and be able to use it with a great deal, getting the product for free or very cheap.

I posted on facebook asking about good places to go and I got a comment saying to go to "hip2save.com".... best thing I ever did. Collin, the young mother of three children, shares her knowledge of coupons and just saving money. She does videos, blogs and post coupons and the deals to use them with to get the best bang for your buck. She explains everything in great detail and makes it really easy. She also has sections for newbies and the different stores on her site to make things easier on you to not have to look them up. She shows you how to do a binder to keep all your coupons in and help you organize so that at any moment you know where each product would be found.

It's been a year....

since I've posted a blog! I can't believe it. This year has just flown by! So much has happened since I wrote. We went and visited some of Will's family that he hadn't even met before and had the best time! They are so great and just welcomed us into their family with open arms. I can't wait to go back and visit again.... hopefully soon. We had 8" of snow the beginning of January which is really unusual for Mississippi. We had a ball playing in that and the snowball fights we had. I also had to register our 5 year old daughter for kindergarden, so that meant I had to take her to get 4 shots: 2 in each leg. She cried just for a few minutes then was ok and ready to register for school. I'm also currently looking for a job and a smaller house in Saltillo area. I still want the kids to go here unless we move to another place due to a better job..... :) I can hope can't I?

I hope to write more often now and keep a blog of the things we do so that one day the kids can just read it like a journal and remember the fun we had together. So encourage me and give me things to try or think about. I'll try to come up with some discussion topics and try to get ya'll involved as well. So until next time. Later.

P.S. I've got to get another card reader so I can upload photos so it may be a couple days to get them up.... :)

Wow 2010 just flew by! It has been a crazy busy year and as the kids get bigger I'm gonna have to make time to post on this more regularly.... here's a couple of things that happened last year that I want to fill you in on.

We went to Dismal Canyon in Alabama with some frieds, well mind as well be family! We had an awesome time and would love to go back sometime hopefully soon..... The kids loved it and had a ball! They loved the trails and creeks, all the nature all around up. It was just something new and adventurous. they looked at plants and flowers, played with frogs and even saw two snakes! We banded together as a group, a unit, and did what needed to be done to have fun and be safe. I got to thinking about how our lives now a days are so fast pace, somethings you can't change you have to roll with it or be run over but I want my kids to know that I would do anything for them and love them with all my heart and outings like these show fun together and with others. It was a long day but well worth it!





We went to see my cousin play baseball in May and Alex just wanted to get on the field and play too.... It was great time with my grandparents who are getting older and who knows when will be out last time to see them so I go as often as possible. Also got to spend some quality time with cousins, aunts and uncles.... I love my time with them! They help keep me grounded and remind me that family and friends, people who brighten your day and make you feel good, are who and what really matters in this world.

We also took a trip to Bay Springs where fun in the sun is an understatment.... there was tons of food, friends and water to swim in. I so glad to have moments like this with such good people. :)

Ah I just love the feeling of the wind blowing in my hair while i ride in a boat and relax enjoying the beauty all around us that God creates daily for us. The kids love it too by the way. They were not shy at all they just jumped right in the water and was swimming all over the place. They love the outdoors and experiencing all there is as a kid to do. I love watching them do something new and learning how to better do it by trial and error. If you leave them alone long enough they often figure it out on there on.

Oh and swimming in the pool is always a fun thing to do which we did as much as possible during the summer.

Helped my Sister Melissa (sister from another mister!) with her brother in laws wedding. That was an awesome experience where I got to meet another wonderful person and take pictures. It was a beautiful wedding and reception and just a joy to work with.

And last but definitely not least we got to go to Texas to meet Wills family that he has never met before. It was just wonderful over there and would love to visit again very soon. They have a wide range of personalities and somehow just all fit together. The Hayward family remind me of the love and big get togethers I have with my family and always want for our kids. They are genuine and love who they are as a person and family. I hope to see them all very soon and miss them like crazy.... even the huge hen Aleigh caught and carried around for like an hour! :)