Tomorrow . . .

I go in for my partial thyroidectomy, where the surgeons will remove the middle and right portions of my thyroid in order to biopsy a large follicular neoplasm with hurthle cells.

Here I am the day before surgery.

I have so many posts that I need to catch up on but for now they are on the back burner.

This weekend has been about connecting with family and friends.

After Eli's t-ball game yesterday, we went to park and had fun playing, 

something I don't do nearly enough with my munchkins.  

It was a hoot riding the teeter-totter, all five of us on it at one point, Daddy really got it going!!!

After church today, there was cleaning and playing to do.

The kiddos went back and forth between being super sweet and super naughty,

so I guess it was a perfectly normal day :-)

Right before going to bed, Alli came down to give me another hug and decided we should pose for pictures at the computer ~ she can be so sweet and silly!!!

While I definitely feel some anxiety about tomorrow's procedure and the biopsy outcome, 

I am feeling more peace tonight than I expected.  It helps so much to know that God already knows what will happen and will prepare all of us to handle whatever comes our way.

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."  1 Peter 5:6-7

Lice - YUCK!

On April 5th and 6th, Alli complained that her head hurt and she didn't feel great . . .

But she was running around playing and acting goofy so we didn't think much of it.

Monday morning I got her up and in the shower, which she LOVES 

but within minutes she wanted out. 

That was the tip off that she might really not feel well - yep, temp of 103.5. Back in PJs she went. 

We still had to take Eli to school and Luke to gymnastics so off we went in the car. 

At gymnastics, Luke started sobbing that his tummy hurt so we left.

We had an hour before Eli was done with school so we got Alli in for a haircut.

That's when our "fun" really began - the hairdresser found lice :(

Thankfully, she was extremely kind and finished the cut.  

We picked up Eli early and drove to Lice Knowing You on Mercer Island to have the whole family checked.  Praise God, it was only on Alli, who was such a trooper during the treatment.

When she was done with her treatment, we drove to Barbie Gramma's so the kiddos could play there while I went home to sterilize the house ~ my washer and dryer have never been so busy!!!
Thankfully, when she went back to Lice Knowing You for her followup check, she was clear.
Expensive but the ONLY way I would handle a lice situation :-)
We were so lucky as Alli had a very mild case.
We found out later, at least one other child in her class had it too.
Praise God that we made it through that itchy situation!!!

Little Bro

It can be tough being the little brother and having to watch from the side lines . . . 

Luke LOVES to play ball with Daddy and Eli at home, and he's pretty good!

This weekend, Eli had two t-ball games and Luke wanted nothing more than to join the team.

He walked around wearing Eli's batting helmet 

and at one point nearly broke my heart as he told me 

"I'll be bigger, I play t-ball too!"

All weekend he told us 

"I big Lukey, I play t-ball now?!?!?"

So hard to tell this sweet face that while he can play at home, he's just not old enough to be on Eli's team.  

Shoot, Eli is one of the youngest on the team.

Your time is coming soon sweet boy!

Frozen with the Fishers

What an amazing time we had this evening as we watched Frozen on the big screen with about 40 friends.  Our small local theater (the one G and I went to when we were little) gives you the option of buying out a showing of movie for a very reasonable price so we thought it would be fun and we were right.  Everyone had a blast and it was so nice for all the kiddos to be able to sit together, giggle, sing along, get up and dance and not worry about making too much noise!

It was Lukey's first time seeing a movie in the theater and it could not have gone better.

He LOVED sitting like a big boy with his popcorn and watching his favorite movie.

How fun to see all of the kiddos enjoying it and singing along.

Alli and Eli really wanted to dress up as Elsa and Kristoff.

Not wanting to be left out, Lukey put on a hat and called himself Little Kristoff :-)

It cracks me up that Eli can get away with wearing my boots and not look like a clown!

At the end of the movie, the kiddos all headed up to the stage to dance and sing "Let It Go"

Everyone had a fabulous time and loved grabbing a Frozen cake pop on the way out.

 Such a perfect end to the weekend!!!

T-Ball . . . and so it begins!

 Today was a BIG day for the G Fisher Fam, and one G has been waiting for since having children!

Eli officially began T-Ball today and I'm not sure who was more excited ~ Daddy or Eli.

They were both pretty happy to be on the field and despite the soggy weather, both wanted to play :-)

Eli's name was called out for T-Ball team #2, Al's Automotive and he and Daddy got to go on the field to meet the team and coach.  It was rather entertaining to watch Eli play on the field while G listened to team news ~ our sweet, silly E definitely has the wiggles :-)  

Eli insisted on bringing his glove too and running the bases.  It was adorable!!!

As Eli and Daddy came off the field, Luke kept insisting "my turn, my turn"

Poor guy, it's going to be a couple more years buddy.

After leaving the field, the boys headed over to Big 5 for cleats and baseball pants.

Even the XS was a bit big but nothing Mommy can't fix ;-)

Cutest T-Ball player I've ever seen!!!

Pink Fish

Seeing this sweet girl in her swim cap and goggles brings back so many memories from my swimming days!

Alli loves swimming and we are amazed by how far she has come.

As a "Fish" she has to swim the 100 (4 lengths) for each stroke and she is doing great.

Saturday was her last day for this session so it was game day . . . 

Alli's favorite is "Sharks and Minnows" and watching her swim with fins was so much fun.

She usually tells us she cannot hold her breath long but she proved otherwise as she was diving under and swimming at least a quarter to a half of the length of the pool underwater trying to avoid the "sharks" :-)

Watching our little Pink Fish turn into such a fish brings lots of smiles!

As a funny side note ~ Alli thinks she looks like a boy with her swim cap ;-)

Fun Family Weekend with SNOW!!!

Our weekend started out great with Friday Family Fun Night.

The kiddos were geared up for pizza and a movie but poor Lukey didn't quite make it . . . 

The little guy zonked while snuggling Mommy on the couch, and slept right through to the morning!

The bigs, however, loved watching a Care Bear movie :-)

Saturday was fabulous and so much fun!

We started out that morning at the Y for Alli's swim lessons and Eli's sports class.

Before we left home, Alli asked us to bring swim suits for everyone and we did.

After their lessons were over, all five of us had a blast swimming for an hour.

It's amazing to see how much the bigs are learning and Luke, though hesitant at first,

was jumping in and wiggling all over by the end of our pool time.

We went to Costco for lunch before heading home for naps and reading.

After dinner, we decided to go to Ducky Gramma and Papa's house to see their new kitchen.

It is GORGEOUS!!!!  WOW!!!

We were there under two hours but when we went to leave, we saw it was snowing.

No big deal, we have All Wheel Drive ~ HA!

We couldn't get home.  Our neighborhood is up a hill no matter which way you go.

We tried every way but no dice.  It was a mess and cars were everywhere on the road.

Alli was terrified, so we said lots of prayers and sang "When I am afraid, I will trust in God"

We also called Barbie Pop Pop, who assured our frightened girl that he would come get us if necessary in his huge four wheel truck.  That helped a little.

We were finally able to make it back to Ducky Gramma and Papa's house,

where we all stayed the night. We were so grateful to have family to joyfully take us in.

Thank you so much Mom and Dad.  We love and appreciate you to pieces!!!!

We finally made it home around 8am this morning.  Roads were still challenging, many cars lined both sides of the road and two of the three roads to get to our neighborhood were closed.

Kiddos were so excited to put on their snowsuits and play, so we did.

They had so much fun on their new sleds from Barbie Gramma ~ they were awesome!

Alli especially loved it when Mommy ran up and down the street pulling her :-)

The also learned the fun of a snowball fight . . .

Mommy and Daddy may have had better aim but the kiddos sure were good at sneak attacks!

They tried to build a snowman but the snow was still too powdery.

Luckily, after church, the snow was perfect for building a snowman, and the bigs did just that.

Actually, they build a "Snow Princess" complete with Tootsie Pop eyes and a sucker nose :-)

A & E played outside for over an hour and giggled nonstop.

Sliding in the snow is apparently loads of fun . . . 

As is making snow angels.

Poor Lukey missed this snow playtime as he crashed during the 5 minute drive home from church,

and didn't wake up until the bigs had come inside and were enjoying a late lunch.

He didn't seem to care too much about missing out and just enjoyed looking at the snowman.

Given that it was a cold day, we decided to watch another family movie ~

the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

The kiddos LOVED it, calling it the candy movie.

We were thrilled when they were pointing out the rotten "inappropriate" behavior of the 

golden ticket children, especially Veruka Salt, thank goodness they didn't think it was okay.

Lukey though the Oompa Loompas were the funniest ever and kept singing the song :-)

Our fun weekend wore them out and they crashed hard tonight, very early.

The snow is melting and life will go back to busyness tomorrow, but it was a perfect family weekend.

Seattle Seahawks . . . Superbowl Champs!!!!

 The Seahawks CRUSHED the Broncos, which made for a fun, no stress, game :-)

Best photo we could get with our silly little munchkins!

We spent the afternoon at Barbie Gramma's house watching the game with family and the Witts.

So much fun was had by all and the kiddos LOVED all the snacks.

It was a fun and very silly afternoon . . . 

Everyone got very into the game and cheering on the Seahawks.

Alli even became the new family photographer, taking most of the pictures she wasn't in!!!

Fun, fun times!

12th Man

Go S E A H A W K S!!!

Rooting for the Seattle Seahawks in style :-)

Love that Alli's school had casual dress today with a Seahawks theme.

Alli loved the shirt and headband from Barbie Gramma!

Winterfest Fun

The kiddos LOVE going to Winterfest at Alli's school!

All three of them had a BLAST on the bounce houses, playing games, eating and hanging out with friends.  Alli LOVED spending the evening running around with her first grade buddies, especially Lilya and Liam.  Eli and Luke proved how comfortable they are at the school, taking off by themselves to play games and bounce ~ we had a chat about that one :-)

A fabulous night and just one more reason we LOVE Lighthouse!