an appointment

right now this situation seems to be all thats on our mind.

sue has an appointment at 1pm on monday at md anderson.

pray for strength and healing.

thanks for your continued prayers.

the ugliest word i know

cancer.

brian's mom has been battling this disease for over 15 years-eye cancer. it returned another time in '03 in the same eye. in october she had the eye removed, shortly after she learned that cancer had returned - third time. went through 5 weeks of radiation. recently her back began hurting. she played it off as "down in her back" and was going to go to the chiropracter. she first decided to go to her doctor first. they did an mri and took fluid from her spine. we learned yesterday that it is melanoma in her spine/spinal fluid - this fluid flows from her spine to her brain. get the picture. they are possibly sending her to md anderson on monday. her options are chemo and/or radiation or whatever houston has to offer. she does not want to do chemo. the radiation will only possibly slow it down.

so here we are. sue and our kids have a special relationship. well she has one with all the grandkids. i'm most sad for brian, his bro, and his dad.... and the kids. the kids don't know. they just know she's sick.

how do you tell them?

(and i just learned that the mom of my GOOOD friend has cancer.)

added some things to my random list. check them out.

25 randon things about stephanie earp britt

1. crowds scare me. upon entereing a room w/ lots of people, i usually just put my head down and discreetly find someone i know quickly or find my seat.
2. i genuinely dislike the "meet and greet" time at the beginning of church. i would rather poke myself in the eye than walk around and "meet and greet". if your not sitting in the pew in front of or behind me i probably wont come near ya. and yeah my husband is a youth minister.
3. i can count on one hand the number of dates i had in high school: tom reynolds - brought me flowers then got a ticket on the way to burger king; bryan austin - i was 17yrs old and he was 21 yrs. old...crazy; aaron catoe - fun.; jeremy - camp boyfriend; ben archer - nice guy. i went to prom with bob colwell but i don't really consider that a date.
4. i love to cook. and i'm getting better at it:)
5. my mom and i found my mawmaw hours after she had had a stroke. 30 days later, mom and i were in the hospital room when she passed away. and i envy her ability to be positive, no matter what.
6. i hate loathe dispise cant stand to do: laundry and clean the bathrooms. hate it.
7. cheated on a tennis paper final in college. yep sure did. erin fry (dement at one time) is who's paper i cheated off of...she didn't know. hahahahaha
8. was a baseball/basketball groupie in college.....aaahhhh yes... melissa my partner in crime. oh, and yes, they noticed us. how could they NOT notice a couple of babes like us. hahahahahaha
9. tell white lies....itty bitty teeny weeny itsy bitsy can't hardly call them "lies".
10. don't read my bible as often as i should.
11. could sit on the couch and watch tv ALL day.
12. usually stop the microwave on an even number if at all possible.
13. have too much credit card debt. it's like a huge stone is sitting on my chest.
14. send my little girl to school in uniform pants that aren't that dirty.
15. secretly check up on the show, "rock of love". scarey i know.
16. gave my friend the bird in high school in mcdonalds in line waiting to order....that friend was todd gail. he just laughed at me. well, acted shocked at first because goody two shoes "stephanie earp...daughter of a preacher" did such a thing.
17. know more hollywood trivia than i know scripture.
18. have an obsession w/ cabinet doors: must be shut; lights in a room must be turned off upon leaving it.
19. got a guy fired from pizza hut for "talking inappropriate"
20. upon being dared by my two uncles: paul and jason, i took a dip of skoal in jr high.
21. vaguely remember my grandmother.
22. envy my sisters creativity and gift of encouragement and my father and grandfathers ability to talk to others about Christ.
23. argued w/ a police officer about getting a seat belt ticket and ended up getting 3.
24. wish i could pay someone to do homework w/ mattie.
24a. must add this...watched my first rated r movie when i was a senior in high school at michele's house...oh and she was my partner in crime during that time:)
25. knew i was going to marry brian the first weekend i spent w/ he and his family.

a commenter i'm not and cruise...

just a little disappointed for the lack of comments on my blog...BUT after checking out my sitemeter i realized that lots of people check out my blog. so i feel a little better. how can i get upset when i rarely if ever comment on other peoples blogs. so and "makeover" posts arent' that exciting. haha.

if you want to check out our cruise pics check out my facebook under photos. we had an awesome time and are soooo grateful for our friends brock and auny who invited us:)

updates and a menu!

the under $200 living room redo....
We have been crazy busy this weekend!!! brian and i (and the kids:) ) painted in the living room, hung new curtains, and threw out our new throw pillows on our couch! it's so funny what new paint, new curtains, and pillows can do to a room. we love it! a friend is coming over tonight or tomorrow to help rearrange our funiture. i am waiting to post pictures until i get our family pics back so i can hang them on our freshly painted chocolate brown wall. we ordered 1 family, 1 of brian and i, and 1 of the kids...."stretched canvas" so i don't have to buy frames! so excited to get those:)

i've kept my sink clean all week...miracle.

i wanted all our redecoratin' to be done with by tomorrow and it looks like its gonna happen:):):):) for these two reasons....we are starting a new thing in our youth ministry, "maincourse". this is where we invite different groups of 5-6 students to our house 2x a month to eat dinner and hang out. this tuesday is our first night. i really think this is gonna help to grow our youth ministry. and my parents are coming this weekend.

the menu for the week:

shrimp, chick, and sausage gumbo, rice, and crackers (ok ms. debbie help!!!)
sweet n spicy meatballs w/ jalopeno potatoes
chicken and gravy w/ peas and rice
tacos w/ chips and dip
eat out

the weekend:
tangy pulled pork (sandwiches) w/ bbq beans and corn-on-the-cob - crock pot
beef tips and rice - crock pot
soup...either chili's chicken enchilada, taco, or potato soup
sandwiches

Sunday Lunch Solution (i hope).....
leftovers from the week

the menu...

i got this idea from my sister. i've commented on several of my friends blogs asking it they were interested in this....

posting our menus for the week!!!! if we are intrested in a recipe just comment and ask for it. this would so help me and us in our quest for new cooking ideas.....

ready, set, think.....

still at it.....

messy fridge!
nice and organized fridge!
cluttered living room wall
nice and clean living room wall!

i'm thinkin' i forgot to say "thank ya" to my sis who, when she was here a few weeks ago, went to the walmarts and came back with a few bags of goodies for my kitchen. she also bought me a simple laundry sorter bag. it has 3 big compartments w/ a shoulder strap that i can easily carry to my laundry room inistead of the laundry baskets. nice! gonna be usin' that thing today. seems my family would like some clothes to wear. ha.

i'll be painting this week and next. and i ordered 3 of our family pictures. instead of framing them we ordered (hopefully if its not too expensive) the stretched canvas look. melissa is getting back w/ me tomorrow w/ the price difference.

well, i'm off to do some laundry.