We are finally at the end of a very long and emotional week. Yesterday we celebrated the life and legacy Manda Maxwell left behind when she went home to be with Jesus. It was a beautiful tribute to her life. Manda was a very blessed woman despite her cancer. She had a loving and supportive family, a husband who loved her unconditionally and who was always there when things got tough. She was blessed with a son and then against all odds, even after the doctors told her it wouldn't happen, she was able to get pregnant again and had a beautiful baby girl. She also had an incredible group of Christian women loving on her the whole way through. Just seeing her "Fight Club" girls all together at the service made me want to cry even more. This woman was so so so loved.
Manda's funeral service was streamed live on her Manda Strong FB page but you can also view it here. Over 4000 people from all over the world, tuned in to watch! Manda's biggest prayer was that her life would help reach people for the Lord. And I think it is evident that it has.
Below is a quick peek at Manda telling her story.
And here is the full service.
Here's how the rest of the week went:
MONDAY:
At 5:34am, Matthew woke us up to tell us that Mason was upstairs in the bathroom crying and needed me. I ran upstairs to find my sweet boy on the potty looking completely pathetic. It turns out he had been coughing "literally all night" (his words) and hadn't gotten much sleep. Matthew went back to bed in his room while Mason and I curled up in his (rarely used) bed and I tried to get him back to sleep. He'd been coughing some the night before and now it sounded rattly and in his chest.
I knew I was going to let him stay home from school so we slept til 7:30 while Craig got Matthew off to school. He seemed better by this point so I was already second guessing my decision to let him stay home. But it was too late and he really hadn't gotten much sleep. We watched Disney and curled up in my bed for awhile playing a few games of Superhero Memory and Go Fish.
We love board games in our house and we also love card to play cards. This is one of our go-to games. It is 6 games in 1 which is awesome for starters but it was under $10! #score It always makes a great birthday gift and would also be a fun Easter treat!
Mason thought it was hilarious that Odie got his head stuck in an empty bag of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. (Don't worry. It was only there for a couple of seconds before we rescued him and had a talk about not leaving things like that out where the dogs could get into them.)
We had an appointment with the doctor at 2 so off we went. By this point I was wondering exactly why we were even bothering. His cough sounded so much better and he was eating and drinking and playing Minecraft just fine. ;)
At our doctor's appt, she said Mason had a slight sinus infection and the rest was just due to allergies. The cough just gets worse when he lays down because of all the drainage. Gross. Anyway, he got some steroids and an antibiotic and we left to go sit in the carpool line to pick up Bubba.
Waiting for school to let out. This is the face of a mom who knows her kid probably should have been in school and the face of a 1st grader who knows he scored a free day. #kidwin
As soon as we all got home, the boys ran off with their friends and played until dark. Mason got his first dose of meds and slept pretty great. And so did Mom. :)
TUESDAY:
Tuesday I worked on orders all day. I had some cute ones!
Click HERE for these!
For the glitter dipped Plexus cups, go HERE.
Tuesday night was Open House so we went up to the school to check out all of their hard work! They LOVE to show off their school and I love seeing them in their element. It's like this whole other world I really don't know much about when it comes to their daily routine.
This child has never been on a skateboard in his life so I'm not sure what that is all about. But he is a great shot with his bow and arrow and is most definitely athletic, caring and respectful. And he adores his big brother.
Matthew isn't big on pictures right now so this was the best I could get of him!
WEDNESDAY:
Wednesday I had more cute orders go out. These are just a few that I worked on. (You can find these confetti glitter water bottles HERE)
Wednesday night, Craig had some private QB lessons to coach so I was in charge of getting Matthew to his first baseball practice of the season. I let Mason hang out on the playground for a little while before we made a mad dash to the grocery store for a few essentials and a quick stop at Subway for Mason's favorite pizza sandwich. (White bread, marinara, american cheese and pepperoni. Toasted.)
We headed back to watch the end of Matthew's practice and by that point we were all cold and tired. Dinner and bathtime were quick and the boys were in bed by 8.
THURSDAY:
Thursday morning before school Mason complained of his stomach hurting. I gave him a couple of Children's Pepto tablets and sent him on his way knowing that we had Manda's funeral service that morning. Around 9:30 my phone rang while I was getting ready. It was the school nurse letting me know Mason was in her office complaining of a stomach ache. She said he had no fever, vomiting or any of that other fun stuff so I told her why I wasn't jumping up to come get him and she said she'd let him lay down for a little while and call me back with an update before we left. At 10 she called back to say that he went back to class. Thank goodness. The service started at 11 and I really really did not want to have to miss it.
After Manda's service, I checked my phone as we were getting in the truck to go to the graveside service. I had 2 missed calls from the nurse saying Mason was back in the office earlier but had gone back to class again. Then I checked my email and saw an email from his teacher letting me know he was really not acting normal and had cried at lunch and had barely eaten anything.
I knew I needed to go get my baby so we turned around and headed to the school. He was so glad to see me and I was still super emotional from the funeral and almost started sobbing in the office when he hugged me. I hate seeing my babies sick!
After two hours at home, still with the tummy ache, things turned a little dramatic. I was in the office with Matthew when Mason came running in and said "Throw up!" with his hand to his mouth. I screamed "BATHROOM!" and he sprinted across the tile but not in time. I'll spare you the details but let's just say 1) he didn't make it. 2) he slipped in his own "mess" running full speed and fell flat on his back and skidded into the wall 3) I cleaned up the whole thing and it took FOREVER because my husband will gag at anything and everything. I keep telling him it's mind over matter. I will myself not to gag. I'm a mother. I don't have the luxury of gagging every time I see/smell something gross.
By the way, Mason thought it was pretty hysterical after he finished throwing up-exorcist style- that he fell in his own puke. He said he's going to tell his friends. Classic boy.
TODAY:
So today is Friday and Mason is home from school obviously. This is the last day before Spring Break and the plans had been to let them spend Friday-Sunday with my parents out of town. We are going to see how everyone feels and try for Saturday to Monday instead. But Matthew was not happy that he wasn't going to be able to skip school today like he thought. Little brothers ruin everything!
I'm hoping I don't come down with whatever he has. I have SO many orders that need to go out by Saturday. Right now, I have about 50 open orders so if you have an order placed, please know I'm doing my best to get to them all as fast as I can! Check out the whole shop HERE. :
I'm also hoping to do some Easter dress shopping this weekend! I was looking online at Dillard's (Dillards is my favorite!) and found this dress that I thought was so pretty, especially styled with some colorful jewelry.
The PERFECT earrings to kick off the spring! I am a sucker for anything turquoise, especially during the summer. They look amazing with a tan.
Have a happy Friday!!
An old teacher trick to fight off the virus is to drink 100% welch's grape juice 3 x's a day (or as much as you can stand). I've done this twice now after being exposed to the virus & I haven't gotten sick! Could be coincidence but I'll try it again next time, too. If your already having symptoms don't bother, though. Happy Spring Break!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard that one but I LOVE Welch's grape juice so I'll happily try it!!
DeleteOh no. Hope he gets better and no one else gets sick.
ReplyDeleteI have been praying for y'all's community with the loss of Manda.
Hope y'all have a great weekend and a great spring break!
Thank you, Heather! He's feeling much better today!
Deletedo you mind sharing where you got the vinyl you did the “jennifer” cup in. i am so in love with it and have searched everywhere. Amazing work!
ReplyDeleteI got it from New Chance Vinyl but I don't recommend them at all anymore. The woman who runs it is completely hit or miss on if she wants to send your order or not. Sometimes things get sent quickly but most recently it has been weeks of waiting, no response to emails and I actually had to file a paypal claim on her in order to get my last order. Search for "patterned vinyl" on Etsy and you'll find plenty of sellers though! You are welcome to show them this picture to see if they have this vinyl. I'm not sure what it's called. Hope that helps!
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