I'm not feeling much like a princess....

I'm too young for this! I got the fat gene, so that is enough burden for me to carry! This isn't what I had planned for my life! I hate doctors, being sick or tired! I work for a doctor that sells natural health products for people who have cancer, so I am immune! I have been trying to wrap my head around all this, so I'm just going to blog about it and let it all go.

Two weeks ago, I went to the doctor for my annual check-up. I am very consistent about those since I have PCOS and need a prescription for my Metformin and Prometrium. During the breast exam, she found a lump. She assured me that it was probably just a cyst, but to be sure she was going to have me do an ultrasound and mammogram. I have had a couple of mammograms since I turned 40. They are no big deal. When I left the office, I scheduled the mammo and ultrasound for the first available which was a week later.

I pretty much was sure by the time that I walked into the imaging center that this was a cyst and that since I started taking the Prometrium it was shrinking. This was going to be a breeze...at worst, they will want to stick a needle in it to remove the fluid....at best, it would go away on its own and life would go on. The mammo went as they normally do. Polite conversation between me and the tech. We talked about the fact that both of us had taken Clomid. Mine worked the first time, hers did not work at all.We talked about the weather. She finished up and sent me to wait for the ultrasound.

Do you see the cow jumping over a rock? 

Now I will confess, I am a total Google geek. If you want to know anything about anything, I can google it and find it for you, so I had googled breast cyst and watched a video of The Doctors where a woman with a cyst had an ultrasound and had a needle aspiration of the cyst. I knew what a cyst looked like. I knew what it was smooth and rounded. It was dark and solid. So, when I went in to have the ultrasound, I positioned myself so I could see the screen. I joked with the woman that this wasn't going to be as fun as a pregnancy ultrasound. We chatted a little and then I looked at the screen. Most ultrasounds that I have had, the tech never said anything about what she was seeing. They won't respond generally even if you ask. When I saw what looked like a cow jumping over a rock, I said, "That isn't fluid like a cyst, is it?" And she actually responded.... "No, it isn't." I said again, "That isn't a cyst?" "No" she replied and then told me that she was going to go let the doctor look at it and that he would come back and talk to me.

A few minutes pass and the doctor and tech come in to talk to me. He introduces himself and says that he has looked at my scans from today and from a year ago. He says that there was no indication of a problem a year ago, but now there is something there. He tells me that he is going to call my doctor and let her know and that she will probably set me up with a biopsy within the next week. They asked me if I was okay several times and if I had any questions. I asked them how big it was. I told them that God was in control of this, that He has a plan for me and that it would be okay. They gave me a file with my scans in it to take to the surgeon and told me that they hoped this all worked out for me. I got dressed and took my file and left. I text messaged my sister and told her, called my mom to see if she would watch my daughter when I had my biopsy. 

When my doctor called, she told me what the radiologist had already told me. She gave me the names and numbers of a couple of general surgeons and then said, "Good luck with all this." Good luck? Oy! 

My appointment with the surgeon is Friday, February 3rd, so I have a whole week to make myself crazy over all of this. Which I have done successfully! I have told a couple of friends and asked them to pray with me about it. Most say the exact same thing, "Oh, it is probably just a cyst! I get them all the time!" Then when I say that they ruled out it being a cyst. They sullen and agree to pray with me.

I don't know the future. I don't know what all this will mean, but I know that I am not going to go down without a fight. If this is cancer, I will do everything in my power to beat it. I don't care if it means losing a breast or my hair. What is important is that little girl in that picture. She is my only child and I love her more that words can express. While I know that a diagnosis will be hard on the adults in my family, they would move on, but that little girl needs a mother. I will fight for her.

The Grace Effect

What They Say: 
“Simply defined, the ‘grace effect’ is an observable phenomenon—that life is demonstrably better where authentic Christianity flourishes.”
What does Christianity give us beyond televangelists, potlucks, and bad basketball leagues? Not much, according to the secular Left. The world, they say, would be a better place without it.
Historian and Christian apologist Larry Taunton has spent much of his career refuting just this sort of thinking, but when he encounters Sasha, a golden-haired Ukranian orphan girl whose life has been shaped by atheistic theorists, he discovers an unlikely champion for the transforming power of grace.
Through the narrative of Sasha’s redemption, we see the false promises of socialism; the soul-destroying influence of unbelief; and how a society cultivates its own demise when it rejects the ultimate source of grace. We see, in short, the kind of world the atheists would give us: a world without Christianity—cold, pitiless, and graceless.
And yet, as Sasha shows us, it is a world that is not beyond the healing power of “the grace effect.” Occasionally infuriating, often amusing, but always inspiring, The Grace Effect will have you cheering for the courageous little girl who shamed the academic elitists of our day.

My Take:  When shopping for a book I don't normally read the introduction, because, honestly, I don't see the point. Sorry, my author friends! The exception to that is when I am reviewing a book. I try to read every word on every page, so when I started reading the introduction to The Grace Effect I thought, "Oh great! a book that reads like a theology course. Time to break out the dictionary!" I WAS WRONG!

The Grace Effect is a charming and sweet story about the adoption of Sasha, a little Ukrainian girl. Once past the introduction, the story was a heart-felt true story of a family opening its arms to a little girl from halfway around the world. I was touched, because our family is planning on adopting.The author uses the story of his daughter Sasha to teach how God's grace touches our lives.

My favorite part was in chapter 3 when the author explained that good works are not in the nature of atheists. It isn't that they can't do good works like Christians; it just isn't in their nature.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Last Snowman Standing!

Photo by Fungalhorde

Always on the look out for new and interesting things to do with my homeschooler, I found a cute little game over on Math Wire called Last Snowman Standing. We did not have the cute little snowman beads that they used, so I pulled out a bag of jingle bells. Had I thought of it before, we could have made marshmallow snowmen to play with and then eaten them at the end. We also changed the rules and played it so the person with the most bells at the end won. I enlisted the help of my husband to play with us and for 30 blissful minutes, my little girl who has developed a distaste for addition added numbers on the dice. I won the game against my daughter, but lost to my husband. Oh well... We also learned to make tally marks! Tomorrow, we are going to play the same game only subtracting the smaller number from the larger. She had a great time! I love teaching when they don't even know that they are learning!

My new Kindle Fire

My husband told me to get myself a Kindle Fire for Christmas, because he knows that I have been eyeing them since Amazon sent my an email announcing them several months ago. I have long said that eBooks were the way to go, but something inside of me loves the feel of a new book or finding hidden treasures in an old book. I love picking up a used book to find something highlighted or a note written in the margin, something that says someone else was here and was touched by this. Bibles are the best. I love looking in people's Bibles. They are filled with wisdom of the ages and when God speaks to the reader they highlight, underline and notate! My other issue with eBooks is the inability to share them with friends and family. I personally love using Paperback Swap, but eBooks don't offer. My other issue is that many eBooks cost as much as print books which doesn't make sense to me. Granted eBooks require computers and software and hard drives to store them on, they don't have to be printed and shipped. They can't be shared like a print books either, so it seems to me that they should cost a little less. But all too often, they don't. In fact, some cost more than the paperback version. It doesn't make sense to me. So, maybe, I have been on the fence about eBooks. When I was in college, I would have loved to have eBooks instead of regular print books. Lugging all those textbooks back and forth to class was a pain. Even for kids, I think a durable eReader issued at the start of school with all their textbooks on it would be great! Sure, some kids are going to lose them, break them or damage them, but they will do the same thing to a textbook. That is where personal responsibility comes in. You break it, you buy a new one. You lose it, you buy a new one. If your parents can't afford to buy a new one, we will find you a job around the school that you will do until the debt is repaid.

Anyway, off my soap box! I love my new Kindle even though every time I try to play with it I have a 5 year old in my lap taking it over. We downloaded a new game called Where's My Water? by Disney. I must say it is really cool! As my little princess put it, "It is a game that makes you use your brain." It requires you to figure out how to to get water to Swampy the alligator's bathtub by digging and passing up various barriers. 

I love the battery life on the Kindle Fire. My child, husband and I have been playing it for hours without plugging it in. Since I have never had a Kindle, I don't know how long the battery normally, but compared to my cell phone the Kindle Fire has excellent battery life.

So, what do you think about eReaders? 

The Lucado Inspirational Reader

I have been a Max Lucado fan for years from his adult writings to his children's books, so it is no surprise that The Lucado Inspirational Reader did not disappoint! 

I was expecting a devotional style book, but this is more short little snippets from his various writings. The book is broken up into chapters that focus on specific topics, so it is easy to find something that will speaks to your situation at the time. 

Lucado is the kind of author who makes you feel like you are sitting in his living room sipping tea while he tells you of his love for Christ. It is a comfortable and charming book that would make a great gift for someone or yourself. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Keepers of the Faith - The Proverbs 31 Lie - Category Details

Keepers of the Faith - The Proverbs 31 Lie

I came upon this article today about the Proverbs 31 woman and just had to share! It is well written and really blessed me! Check it out!

Gabby God's Little Angel

This first book in a delightful new series offers a comforting message for young readers—God loves you very much and is always watching over you!
What little girl wouldn’t love her very own guardian angel? Parents and children alike will be won over by this humorous tale of Gabby, a guardian angel in training who has much to learn about taking care of God’s little ones. Her new assignment is to protect a young girl named Sophie, but Gabby soon realizes that watching after Sophie is a bigger challenge than she had expected! After a close call while riding her pony, Sophie learns what the Bible says about guardian angels: “He will put his angels in charge of you. They will watch over you wherever you go” (Psalm 91:11 ICB).

My Take:
Gabby, God's Little Angel is a sweet little book introducing Gabby a little guardian angel. It is a charming story with beautiful illustrations! It reminds me of a Christian version of Fancy Nancy. My only complaint (and this may totally be because I have the ebook version) is the variations in the size of the font are confusing for young readers. I would love to see the book to see if it makes more sense than it does on my cell phone's eReader. I can't wait to read more tales of Gabby!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”