Update on Michael

Hey Everyone, Quick update on Michael. He had his brain surgery. The doctors got all but 20% of the cancer. They are waiting on the lab results; which should be soon to tell them what there next move will be. His surgery went well. It'll be a week ago tomorrow, and drum roll.....he is HOME!! He came home last night. He is doing really well. Continue to pray. This was a HUGE leap for the Lindseys, but now they need wisdom on what to do next. Keep the prayers coming...you can follow them on facebook at The Lindsey Family group page.

Heavy fingers, heavy heart...

Hey Guys, My coffee is gone. Doesn't seem to important right now anyways...Last week we got some pretty heavy news. I was listening to a speaker talking not really paying attention to him when my phone went off. It was kind of odd since I knew where everyone was and didn't think anything about it much. After a few minutes go by I look at it, and it was one of those text where time just stands still for a moment. It was the police officer coming to the door to tell you bad news kind of news. Ugh...the giant "C" word struck close to home again...the text read " Before it hits social media we want all of you to know......Michael has been diagnosed with brain cancer." Stunned, shocked....and Im not even the parent! My sister was on the couch and she was in shock! Charlie turned to us and asked what is wrong! We told him and again....deer in the head lights look. It was Wednseday. We are supposed to go up there Saturday....then a snow storm hit! We the Gilmores couldn't make it up there saturday, but my sister got in her car and drove up. Sunday was Naomi and Daves bridal shower or pounding shower...so we made the trip Sunday. It was hard. It was heavy. We are happy and rejoice with Dave and Naomi, but never in a million years did they think it was going to have a shadow of such heaviness. They got some beautiful gifts and the room was decorated with such simple elegance that we didn't want to leave and face reality. All the what if's, should of, could ofs, and would ofs come racing to your mind when you have to come back to reality. The voices of many telling you do this, do that....it all becomes back round noise.. sigh..... **************************************************************************************************************************** Its been a week since we all received that dreadful news. Dad is up at the Lindseys taking over the household duites so that they don't have to worry about their pets or frozen pipes. Mom and Autum will be joining them on Tuesday. Michael and his parents are on their way to Memphis to St.Judes Hospital where at 3p today they will know what is going to happen tomorrow. Tomorrow is brain surgery. Michael's siblings will be joining him so he isn't to nervous and anxious, but lets be honest...children can pick up on the anxiousness of their parents/siblings so some anxiousness will be there. I mean he is cutting open his brain, Easy to say and make it sound cool, but realistically it is serious and life threatening. Pray for them. Think of them. That is how my week is....trying to figure out what we can do to help. Thinking of the things that need to be done and doing them because they can't get past the now. AND I DON'T BLAME THEM!

Just Because...

Hey Everyone, Got my coffee in my left hand, trying to type 1 finger at a time...this could take all day. Hmmm...sprained my right wrist last week, so thats got me going cray cray! Let's be honest; I can't get anything done and when I do (aka the dishes) its time to start all over again. Sigh...I have actually been instructing my children to help me. Titus is tall enough and strong enough to help with laundry, and honestly he is loving it. No, he doesn't put the soap in but he is capable of putting the dirty clothes in. To him its a giant basketball hoop and the clothes the ball...who doesn't want to score off that! Its a win win for the both of us. His other job is to get all the dry clothes and put them in the basket. This morning I asked him to put the clothes in the basket and without asking he brought them to my bed where we fold the clothes. Another score for this Momma! What does Amelia do? She sits on the bed and "helps" me fold them. She is getting better at it but...yeah its a wad who are we kidding. Both kids put their own clothes away. We are still working on not just throwing them in and jamming the drawer closed. What else do they do? The kids make their beds, pick up their toys,and occasionally when im feeling really "saintly" I let them vacuum. BUT, lets be honest that just turns into a mess....Titus insists its a monster and then tortures the "princess", who in turn feels the need to let out a blood curdling scream because she is annoyed. hahahaha...real life guys! I don't work my kids to death...and its not every day! Only everyday til my wrist heals. wink wink. Ok so my thought: If the child can get the toys out and dump them every where; then they are capable of picking them all up! Goes for cheerios, chips, cracker,and juice! (yes, they clean that up too!) Greyson, is obviously not old enough yet. He is still perfecting his crawl, but his day is coming. Muahahahahaha.... :) Anyways, the kids just woke up Greyson so my free time is gone...so short lived today.

Merry Christmas Newsletter

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone!! We hope and pray that this season truly is the best one yet! This year I got overwhelmed with the thought of writing out each Christmas card or just sending a picture with “Merry Christmas” on it! Our year has been the biggest one yet of our marriage and an adventure we didn’t see coming! Let me just say that it was the quickest year jam packed with traveling and settling into being a family of 5! As most of you know Charlie lost his job right after Thanksgiving last year. Wasn’t really the thing that anyone wants to hear before the holidays season. We had plans to travel for the holidays, (which we did anyways) a baby on the way, and like everyone else bills to pay. The God Lord didn’t allow us to wait to long before Charlie got his wonderful job down here in Chattanooga TN! (Yes, Aunt Marie we are very close to Chattanooga) It is almost a year since we’ve moved down here, and we both will tell you it was the best move ever! The people are incredibly friendly, his job is amazing, the weather is a joke in the winter and delightful in the Summer! Chattanooga is the most family friendly city we have ever visited. There is a ton to do and it’s so clean! We are so grateful for all our family and friends who made the trip to see us. (some of them made the trip A LOT!) Grandpa & Grandma Paparella, A. Laurie, A. Lonnie, Grandma Colleen, U.Ed, A.Kellie, Lisa, A. Kim, U.Vinnie, Paul, the Beckwith family, A. Carolyn and the kids, Grandma Ann, and everyone else that I may have missed. You made our transition down here easier. As for travel this year. The kids and I spent a lot of time traveling back in forth up north helping my parents and siblings make the move down here. We didn’t really take a family vacation, but that is ok because all our traveling that we did (or I did) was together. Sometimes, Charlie would meet us to whatever destination we ended up calling home. (Yes, I made the trip to NY 8 months pregnant, and if you haven’t heard Greyson’s birth story come visit and be entertained.) We also traveled to Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to see family and close friends! How are the children you may ask?? Titus Anthony is almost 4 years old! Oh my word! He is super tall and has energy that could light a city! He is an outdoorsy kid and any chance he gets to play in the dirt, wrestle with the dog, ride his bike….he is THERE! He is pretty smart and when he gets stuck on a subject it is like someone hit repeat all day long. It was bees and how they make honey! Right now he is in to dentists. (probably because he had some teeth issues) This summer Titus learned how to swim in our inground pool. He was leery the beginning of Summer but by the end and with the help of Mona he was swimming under water! Titus is also a great big brother. He has been seen holding Greyson under the arms and walking him around, or hugging Amelia when she might be blue. For the most part he makes sure he always knows where his sister is; even if its to annoy. (yes, they have occasional differences) They are the best of friends and it is sweet to watch! Amelia Mary Rose is now 2! She is my little mini me. My calm amongst the chaos of Titus running circles around us and Greyson figuring out where he fits in. Amelia is working on spelling her name and her abc’s. Which she has just about learned. She is a champion snuggler and loves to cuddle up with baby dolls and play quietly by herself. Don’t get me wrong she is feisty! She stands her ground when Titus is being mischievous and annoying. She is also almost potty trained. When she feels like it of course. She has days when she “wants to be like a baby”, but for the most part she knows when she needs to go. Notice I didn’t say “and tells me”. Amelia loves to hold baby Greyson whenever she can, but Greyson no longer appreciates it. (he is as big as she is) She is a wonderful sister to both boys, and she has daddy wrapped around her finger. Greyson Edward is now 7 months old! He is my little sunshine. He FINALLY cut 2 teeth, and is off the charts long! He is crawling and I am trouble! 3 mobile! Ahhhh….He hops up on his knees and rocks till he does the worm! It’s very comical. Greyson loves to smile and be talked to. He really enjoys Aunt Autum, but only from a distance so he can smile at her. He is a super cuddlier under his conditions, but most of the time he won’t hold still. And of course, like all the Gilmore children he loves to EAT! I can’t keep any of their bellies full! Charlie and I celebrated our 5th anniversary this year. WOW! Wow! Wow! It has been a very fast 5 year for us. We can’t believe it! We have been in 3 different homes, 3 kids, new state, 2 jobs, a few cats, and 1 dog. We are doing well. The children occupy a lot of our time..hahaha who am I kidding ALL of our time. We are thankful to have wonderful neighbors and now my parents down here so we can have irregular regular date nights. (yes, you read that right..) In March, we will get to take our first long vacation without kids since…umm…we had them. Charlie and I are going on a cruise! I am so excited as this is my 1st cruise EVER!! Wohoo! So, what does 2018 look like for the Gilmore’s?? Well, honestly, we can’t say; except that we are investing in some land this next year, and hopefully we will get to build a house. At least that is what is on our hearts. We shall see…. We love you all very much!!