2008 in Review

Wow, where did it go?!?! I can't believe how fast 2008 literally flew by!! I thought I would post my memories from this year as I look forward to 2009!

In January I sold my house 2 years to the day I purchased it!!
I was diagnosed with Melanoma Skin Cancer.
Mike was in Vegas for Consumer Electronics Show
Mike turned 37 :)
18 wheeler picked up and moved our stuff to SC
Madison turned 10!!!
Mike and I purchased our first home together.
Moved in with my mom for the months of Feb and March
I underwent a bunch of tests and xrays etc at Roswell Park in Buffalo, NY leading up to surgery on Feb 26
Had surgery on Feb 26 to remove part of right ear and 30+ lymph nodes from neck
Out of work for 3 weeks healing from surgery (had the best nurse/caretaker imaginable)
I turned 30 and had been looking forward all of 2007 to having a big party but instead I had a different kind of celebration. It involved Thanking GOD for giving me a clean BILL of health that day. It was honestly way better than a 30th birthday party could have given me!
Mike came up from SC to visit me. I will never forget how gentle he was with me even though I was very swollen and all "cut up" He gently touched my wounds with his hands. At that point I knew even more how much I loved him and needed him.
Went back to work on March 17 after having 3 weeks off. It was hard to carry my detail bag, my neck was so stiff!
April 12 officially moved to Greenville
Madison, Theresa and David brought me down and stayed for a week.
Unpacked our home. Tried to get some things decorated.
Carly got married to Jason Colbert in NY. This required us to drive up.
Aprille, Trent and Emily stayed with us on their way up to NY for Carly's wedding
Drove to MS to go wedding dress shopping with Aprille and Emily
Bought a wedding dress in MS :)
Madison came for the summer beginning June 30, we drove up to get her.
Summer came and went quickly but we had a lot of fun, Madison played softball, we went hiking, had lots of food off the grill, got to legally shoot off fireworks! :) went to Falls Park for the 4th of July. Went to TN twice to see Jeff and Jenny. Madison got to go to VBS and we got to see her in the closing program, lots of fun! She seemed to love it. Went swimming A LOT!!! Mike's dad, sister, her bf, and mike's uncle came to visit in July. Did a lot of wedding shopping and planning.
Madison went back to NY in August.
We were married on 9/20/08 at Beautiful MacKenzie-Childs in Aurora, NY where we met 12 1/2 years ago.
Had another mole removed on 10/31/08, stitches out 2 weeks later!
Went to see Shauna and Tom and then watched the Giants @the Eagles in Nov
Went to NYC and had the best mac and cheese ever!!!
Was able to drive out and see my mom for a day.
Saw Chicago with Mike and his co-workers in NYC
Saw Jersey Boys with Mike, Craig and Erica in NYC
Thanksgiving in FL with Mike's dad and stepsister
NYC again, except this time it was cold and snowy and rainy and yucky but we did get the best mac and cheese ever again!! however this time we picked the sampler and should have just stuck with what we got before! :) Didn't get to take pics by the tree this year though because of the inclement weather
Christmas in NY with both of our familys
Mike spoiled me and bought me 3 Coach purses and a Coach wallet
And he SURPRISED me with the MacKenzie-Childs winter platter that I have been eyeing for a few years now, it means even more to me now because we are married and got married their!
Looking forward to a healthy 2009! :) I love you Mr. Harvey ;)

Mandisa and Matthew West

Mandisa and Matthew West are coming to Brookwood tomorrow for a Christmas concert and I cannot wait to go. The Brookwood Praise Choir will be singing with them!!! Yay so excited!

SPOILED

So after the wedding Mike and I both decided that we would not be exchanging Christmas presents with each other due to the fact that we just paid for the wedding. Anyway today we went to the outlet mall and I got S-P-O-I-L-E-D, seriously spoiled!!! How generous of my husband!!! I can't wait to tell ya'll what he got me! But you will have to wait 12 more days just like me!!! Thank you baby!!!!

A NY kind of Christmas

Mike and I are going to NY for Christmas this year!!! This makes me very happy. I just don't like the idea of having Christmas without my mom. I did it once and it wasn't the same at all. I don't like that Aprille and Trent won't be with us again :( but it didn't make any sense for us to stay in SC when both of our families for the most part are in NY. Christmas is a lot different for me this year. Maybe it is because I don't have a job so I am spending my money very carefully. I certainly am not spending what I normally do. Mike and I kind of agreed to not buy anything major for each other because we just paid for our wedding 3 months ago. I have been giving to organizations close to my heart though. For some reason I feel the burning desire to donate more this year, I think because I know there are so many people that would love to just open one gift, and there will be many that won't even do that because they just can't afford to. Here are some pictures of Christmas last year. Memories that will last a lifetime! Merry Christmas!!

Anyone know how to get the pictures to post at the end???? AARgh!!!!

Mast General Store

I love this place. It is Mast General Store. There are a few locations in the Carolina's but the one closest to us is in Downtown Greenville. I went there tonight to do some Christmas Shopping. The floors are creaky hardwood. They have bulk candy for sale set up in huge old wooden barrels. They have so many toys from my childhood!! For example, raggedy ann dolls, the metal/tin jack in the box, the "old fashioned" little golden books with the original illustrations, and many other things! It reminds me of my childhood seeing so many of those old new things! The older I get the more nostalgic I get! It also makes me want to have kids so I can pass on to them the traditions that I loved so much as a child! Now do we adopt or have our own!? ;)

Thanksgiving 2008

Mike and I celebrated Thanksgiving in FL this year with his dad Dave, and stepsister Joanna. We had turkey, stuffing, potatoes, sweet potato casserole, peas, green bean casserole, rolls and pumpkin pie. This is a picture of us working on the meal!


We started the week with a trip to both Universal Studios Parks. The Hulk is the rollercoaster that I rode a few years ago with Mike but refused to go again since he had 2 other willing participants. They rode it twice.

Before we ate our Thanksgiving meal we were sitting out on the patio playing Sequence and we happened to look up and see this being written in the sky by a tiny tiny little airplane, I mean like so tiny you couldn't even see it

Well I put the pictures in correct order but for some reason the blog put them in backwards. Anyway it was pretty cool to see this in the sky!

Mike, Dave and Joanna got to golf 3 times. It was a pretty resort and we had nice nice weather!!

Hope your Thanksgiving was a blessing.

More Sun Damage

Well as most of you know I had a mole removed almost 3 weeks ago already. It was on my chest up near my collarbone. It has been there for at least 5 years. A few weeks before the wedding I noticed it had started to change shape, so I waited till after the wedding to have the biopsy, anyway it came back as abnormal. It was not melanoma, but apparently the type of mole that it was has the tendency to become melanoma so I had it removed. Well I thought that the surgery was pretty minor, which it really was, but on Monday when I had the stitches out, I learned that the incision was much larger than I had thought!!! It looks to be healing well though, just some bruising. I have a large bump under the site, and I need to massage it for the next several weeks, 8-12 to be exact, to try to prevent raised scarring. I am also wearing something called silicone scar sheets. These are supposed to also help with the scar. I wear each sheet for 3-4 days then take off and repeat for the next 8 to 12 weeks. I have just come to grips that I will be wearing a LARGE bandaid on my chest for the next 3 months!!! Another reason to stay out of the sun without sunscreen!!!!! My next skin check is Dec 1.

Apple Pie

I love to bake. Apple Pie is definitely one of my favorite things to bake. I have tried many different recipes but recently tried one with tapioca and 6 cups of apples, yup that's right I said 6 cups of apples. There were 3 different kinds in the pie and it turned out great!!! It tasted soooo good and stayed as "high" after baking as it was pre-baking! Take a look.....

Operation Christmas Child

Well tonight I am creating 2 boxes for Operation Christmas Child. I love this time of year!! I think that this is my 4th or 5th year of putting these together for a child somewhere overseas. It really makes me feel rewarded by giving to these children. I remember a few Christmases as a child when our church family would make "care" boxes for my family and it meant so much to us. My prayer is that the children that receive these boxes will be truly blessed and learn the true meaning of Christmas. I put some lollipops, candy canes, slinky's, silly putty, crayons, pencils, activity books, toothpaste and brush in the boxes. I love Christmas and am so thankful for the baby Jesus that was born on that day! Now I am off to wrap the boxes. I am behind this year....I have to drop them off by Friday!

Our Wedding!

I can't believe it has been 3 weeks already since our wedding. The day was picture perfect and the only thing that we can complain about is running out of time!!!! I have included some pictures with this post! We had a great day. It truly was the wedding of our dreams!!

Madison

We have had a fun summer with Madison. We can't believe it is over already. The 8 weeks flew by and we unfortunately didn't get to do everything with her that we wanted to, but hopefully she is leaving with fun memories and a changed heart.

She LOVED Vacation Bible School. She memorized all 6 songs word for word and I hope she hides them in her heart and is able to listen to the CD at her home. I want to burn her a bunch of CD's but our burner is broken...............she loves the Chris Tomlin CD I have(the one from Aprille and Trent) for my bday.

She was able to play softball like she wanted. She plays very well I might add.

She was able to swim almost every day sometimes twice a day.

She did a lot of reading....and she has improved!!

She did a lot of coloring, and art projects.

We got to go to a paint your own pottery studio and paint a piece of pottery.

I pray that you will be sheltered from the evil of this world my sweet sweet child. May God bless you and keep you, may his face shine upon you. May you take what you have learned this summer and cling to it. I am sorry for losing my temper with you. I love you dearly and can't wait for you to come back again.

Chimney Rock, NC

Mike Madison and I went to Chimney Rock, NC and went hiking at Chimney Rock State Park on Monday. It was a lot of fun. We had Panoramic Views of Lake Lure which I believe is the Lake that the movie Dirty Dancing was filmed on so many years ago. Madison really enjoys hiking as do we. She stayed up with us really well. We climbed up hundreds of stairs to reach the top and then did some hiking to a waterfall. See some pics from our day.

Sun Bather No More

Gone are the days of baking in the sun........Today I went to my new dermatologist here in SC. I wasn't the least bit nervous but must admit that after I left I was. My new Dr is a female. She went over my history a bit and did my skin check. Everything looked good. Praise God. We talked about my game plan, so to speak and "retrained" me on the ABC's of melanoma. I have been very careful with my skin this summer...obviously after what I went through I would be stupid not to!! I will say though that I have not thought much about having melanoma though since getting the all negative results on my bday. Once again Praise God! Anyway what I am getting at is this.....I liked the Dr, but she was very blunt and point blank......I told her that my Buffalo Dr, Dr Popat had said he wanted me to do chest xrays every few months to make sure the melanoma hasn't spread and she said "if it reaches your lungs, you are toast!!!!!" that took my breath away even though I already knew that if melanoma reaches the lungs, there is apparently nothing they can do! Anyway I walked away a little bummed but rest in knowing that God is in control and I thank him for keeping me healthy! I will rest tonight knowing that he holds me in his hands.........

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July ya'll! We are going to watch fireworks and just hang out! Hope you all have a fabulous day! Thank God we are free!!!

Bridesmaid Dress

We picked out our bridesmaid dress yesterday. I will try to attach the link to it.
It is just the color I have wanted since the beginning.
Enjoy!
http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?style=6471

Madison

We are leaving today for New York to pick up Madison. We are very excited to see her and hope that the transition from mother to Mike go as smoothly as possible. We will drive to VA tonight and then finish the trip tomorrow morning. We are going to stop at MacKenzie-Childs on Friday to meet with Jerry (the M-C coordinator) and with Christine, (our coordinator). We are also going to ask Jerry to be our videographer. Hopefully we will be able to have dinner with my mom. On Saturday we are going to go to the Tent Rental Showroom and hopefully will reserve all of the tent goods for our special day. We also have a cake tasting planned. We are also trying to squeeze in a possible meeting with a photog and dj! Wow! Talk about a lot to do in a short time. We plan to leave Sunday to come back but may not leave til Monday morning. Please pray for the transition to be smooth for all of us. It is going to be a HUGE change for everyone.

9/20/08

Well, we have finally set a date for our wedding!! We have chosen 9/20/08. We will have the ceremony and reception at MacKenzie-Childs in Aurora, NY.M-C is significant to us because it is where we met 12 years ago!!! It will be an outdoor wedding....please pray for NO rain!!! How exciting!!!

Caesars Head

Today Mike and I went on a motorcycle ride up to Caesars Head Mountain about 1 hour north of Greenville. It was an absolutely perfect day for a bike ride. It was about 73 and sunny. The mountains are however a tad bit cooler so it was actually pretty chilly on the top. BUT my oh my what a VIEW!!!! IT was spectacular!!!!! There was quite a bit of visibility so we were able to see way out over the other mountains. It was a lot of fun. We took a few pictures but they are not downloaded yet but I will post when they are! I cleaned the master bathroom tonight and the 2 hall baths on Friday after our company left. There is a lot still left to go but we are making progress!!!

Home

I am finally home. Last Saturday, Madison, Theresa, David and I made our way by car to South Carolina. It is hard to believe that it has already been a whole week. Yesterday the three of them left to go back to NY. It took them 16 hours because they got stuck in traffic. We didn't do a whole lot this week, but it was still nice to see them and spend time with Madison. We went to Falls Park last Sunday, which is on the Reedy River in Downtown Greenville. This was the highlight of Madison's trip in February. We also had dinner at Trio which wasn't as good as we were hoping it to be. Mike took us to the Beacon Drive-In Diner for lunch one of the days. It was pretty good as well. We didn't do much else but enjoy the sunny days and had a few cook outs on the grill. Theresa and David were so kind and bought us our new living room furniture. What a nice surprise and what a blessing! Thank you!!!!! We miss you all and welcome you back anytime!

Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges is the name of the person that Madison was giving us the book report on Saturday!!!

Madison's first trip to SC

On Valentine's Day I picked up Madison to take her first trip to SC to see our(meaning all 3 of us) new home. We drove as far as Scranton PA and spent the night so that I could work the next morning before we got on the road to SC. We left around 10am on Feb 15 from Scranton and got to our house around 9 pm. Yes....long day. But Madison did really well. She only asked how much longer I think 3 times. She watched her SnowBuddies DVD 4 times though!!!!!! She apparently likes that DVD so much that she just kept re-watching it and giggling at the funny parts. It was cute listening to her giggle. We read a few stories out of her highlights magazine to pass the time and I listened to a lot of CD's. Today, the 16th we went and looked at some new furniture for our living room and bought a shower curtain rod for the hall bath so Madison can take the first shower in there tomorrow. We also took Madison to downtown Greenville today. It was about 65 out and SUNNY!!!! We got subs at Jersey Mike's and got to sit out on Main Street and eat!! That is the one thing that I love about Main Street...there are tables everywhere lining the street to eat!! Then we went to Falls Park. I can't wait to go there again in the summer and have picnics and wade in the water. Madison really liked it too and the suspension bridge. We came home and Mike made burgers for dinner, and brownies with butterscotch chips for dessert. We played the game of LIFE tonight that Madison got for Christmas. It was fun....Mike won (of course!! :)) Anyway I am doing some work tonight so I can relax all day tomorrow before the long ride back to NY on Monday. Come visit us soon!! Falls Park is B-E-A-U-TIFUL!!!!

Oh yeah while we were walking around downtown today, Madison for some reason I can't remember how we got on this subject but she gave us a detailed and what sounded like a very thorough book report on a young black girl named (Rose Bridges??) I am wondering if she meant Rosa Parks??? because she said it was part of Black History month...it was the most awesome description a 10 year old could have ever given....I will have to ask her the name of the girl again just to make sure!!

President Bush

"By approaching our Maker on bended knee, we acknowledge our complete dependence on Him. We ask Him to remain near to us at all times. We ask Him to help us lead lives that are pleasing to Him. We discover that by surrendering our lives to the Almighty, we are strengthened, refreshed and ready for all that may come."

— President George W. Bush, National Prayer Breakfast, today


Thank you Jesus for such a President

New York

I am officially back in NY. I already miss SC though. I walked out of the airport tonight and about froze!!! Well hopefully the month will fly by. I miss you! ;)

SUPERBOWL

18-1 Enough Said!!!!

OR

19-0 DENIED!!!!!


That's how excited we are!!!! GO GIANTS!!!!!!

Superbowl Champions!!!!! I definitely never could have guessed this win!!!

65 in February?

Well I am loving the SC winter!! Compared to NY this is awesome! I am sitting out on the deck typing this and just love the air!!! Did a lot of unpacking today, everything is almost out of boxes, but now i need to pack again....to go back to NY, and find time to finish the kitchen and to watch the SUPERBOWL!!! I hope, hope, HOPE that the GIANTS can beat the Patriots!!!! Mike just bought some Sizzling Picante Doritos and wow are they good but HOT!!!

Sisters

Hi Aprille, Emily and Carly,

In case you choose to check our blog I just wanted you to feel welcome!! Come and visit us soon......well probably in March I won't be here in February! LoL. We are off to do some shopping for groceries and a garage door opener.....fun stuff!!

I will post pictures on here too once we dig out the camera and cables and stuff!!

New TV

We got our new TV delivered today. Just in time to watch the NY football Giants play in the Superbowl on Sunday....but the guy that we were going to pay to come and install it couldn't come today so we are kind of bummed but I may try to help Mike lift it and bring it in from the Garage...........so we can at least watch it on the floor!!! Go GIANTS!!!!!! Time to beat the Patriots and put them in their place!!!

Our New Home

Mike and I bought our first home together on Tuesday, January 29, 2008. We bought it in Simpsonville SC and were very excited!!! On Wednesday, all of our stuff from NY showed up via United Van Lines!! How exciting it was to see the truck pulling onto our cul-de-sac!!! The day took much longer than we had expected it to take, but thankfully so far only 3 things were damage or broken. Most of our furniture though took a beating in some way. We spent Wednesday night in our home and I slept well compared to the night before when I didn't sleep at all!! Last night was our 2nd night here and I slept soooooo good. It was raining outside and it put me right to sleep and I didn't wake up till 9:15am which I haven't been able to do in a LONG time!!! Today we got a little unpacking done but not a whole lot. We got our closets organized a little and took two trips to the local recycle center with a lot of our boxes and paper. The days have been SOOOO Sunny and chilly but today is about 50 and perfect with a nice breeze. So far we like it a lot here. I will post more soon.

Our first blog

Just wanted to try this out.........