Luke is Home, And....

 

     I think his mother said it best on her Facebook page...Tonight, we would like to tell Luke's Prayer Warriors and supporters how proud we are of you! All of you have been Amazing! You know how you have been praying for Luke to be cancer free and for those abnormal cells to disappear? Our/Your prayers were answered! Those abnormal cells disappeared! Thank you, God! Luke is cancer free! Thank you, God! Thank you, Prayer Warriors! Luke's doctor called me on our way home to tell us the final results were back from the Pathologist and that everything was Normal. Thank you, God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Luke finally having his favorite

lasagna from our local yummy pizza place.

 

     I have several posts that I want to share with you from our recent trip, but they can wait. Nothing is more important than sharing the news of our little friend Luke (read his story here) and his family. So many of you have been supportive, said prayers and followed his story as I have shared it with you. On Monday, 100 days post-transplant, Luke and his mother (and little sister) were able to come home and join his dad and big brother. This family has been through things that most of us can't imagine and it was such a joyous feeling to know that they were finally all together again.

 

     Then, came the big news yesterday...his tests all came back clear and the cancer is gone. His blood type is now that of his donor (isn't that interesting) and while he still can't be around a lot of people and will be taking medication (for life I think), he feels great, his hair is coming back and other than a little puffiness in his face...he looks like the Luke we all knew before he was sick.

 

     This town has been unbelievable in their support of this young family. Strangers have been unbelievable too. This little boy has touched the hearts of many and while this journey is not over and has had terrible moments for the family, I have no doubt that they would tell you that their hearts have been so touched by the generous spirit of others. I also know that they will be the first to give back in many ways.

 

     Please continue to pray for Luke and for his family as they try to find "normal" once again and he continues to become stronger. His family and I thank you so much for your

prayers.

 

The winner of my recent CD Giveaway was Dee Dee from d dzine.

 

Thank You and Met Monday

     Thank you all so much for your kind words and prayers. My

mother-in-law's services will be held Monday morning. We spent Saturday ordering flowers and taking my father-in-law to get a haircut, clothes for the service and out to lunch. It was a long, sad day. He seems so old and so broken. I really don't know if he will bounce back from this as he isn't physically in very good shape and mentally he gets so confused. I guess time will tell. We appreciate each of you so much and sincerely thank you for taking time to leave a comment or send a message.  

     It will be a few days before I get back to visiting you. I did want to share a small project that I worked on last week. Last fall I bought a chandelier at a garage sale for $4. I had no idea what I would do with it, but I knew that at some point I'd find a use for it.

This is how it looked when we bought it.

     I stripped off the yellowed "candles" and then hosed it off and let it dry in the sun. A can of white spray paint made such a difference. I usually hang a basket of flowers on the front porch, but I decided to go for a "conversation piece" this year. I don't like using silks, but I couldn't think of a way to have dirt hanging up there. From a few steps away, they do look real.

What do you think? I'll do a post with the front

porch once we have visited the nursery for flowers.

I'm joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday.

Please take a moment to visit her and see all the wonderful projects this week.

    

Black & Blue Crumble

     First, I would really like to thank all of you for sharing your thoughts, suggestions and support on my post yesterday. I've spent much of the weekend researching and all morning on the phone. I've decided that this is something that many of us rarely think about until we are in the midst of a crisis. I read all of your comments to my husband and he was very grateful for all of your good thoughts and prayers for his parents.

     I finally tried a recipe from the cookbook my daughter gave me for Christmas. Dam Good Sweet by David Guas, is full of New Orleans recipes. It was difficult to decide which one to try first. I opted for Black & Blue Crumble.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup quick oats

4 T. unsalted butter at room temperature

1/4-1/2 cup sugar

2 T. light brown sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-pupose flour

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. salt

4 cups blackberries

4 cups blueberries

Zest of 1/2 lemon plus 2 T. lemon juice

Sugar (anywhere from 2 T. to 1/4 cup)

3 T. cornstarch or tapioca flour

Ice cream or whipped  cream for garnish

     Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Spread out the almond in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes. Add the oats and continue toast 4 to 6 minutes longer. Remove and put in medium bowl, set aside. Increase temperature to 350 degrees.  (my almonds got too brown-I answered the phone while they were in the oven)

     Mix the butter, 1/4 cup of sugar and brown sugar in a medium bowl until relatively smooth (I used my fingers). Stir in vanilla, flour cinnamon and salt. Mix until crumbly with large nuggets. Freeze for 10 minutes, stir in almonds and oats...refrigerate if you aren't using immediately.

     Place the berries, lemon zest and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add enough sugar to lightly sweeten berries.

     Add the conrstarch, toss and transfer to an 8-inch baking dish. I used a small rectangular pan.

     Evenly cover the berries with crumbly topping. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the berry juices are bubbling, about 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

     I found this recipe to be delicious. The only thing I would change is the lemon juice. I didn't measure the juice, I just squeezed out the lemon and I think I got a little too much. I think I would prefer it without any lemon juice, although the the lemon zest is just enough to add to the flavor. The topping is perfect. I'm going to be making this with other fruits as well.



Thank You!

I have a little "business" to take care of today.

     Before Christmas I was the lucky winner of  a Giveaway from Bonnie @ Creative Decorating on a Budget. I was gone for the holidays, so I had her wait to ship my box of fun goodies. Cute slippers, fun towels, beautiful ornaments and a crystal bowl that I can't wait to use for a tablescape. I also received a CSN gift code and was able to purchase another piece for my Le Creuset collection. Thankfully, this isn't the one that was recently broken.

I have also recently been given the Stylish Blogger Award

by two wonderful bloggers.

Patrice @ The Old Back Porch and

Nellie @ Nellie's Cozy Place

     According to this award, I should list 7 things about myself and then pass it along to seven bloggers. Since so many bloggers have "award free" blogs and because there are so many of you that I think are very stylish, I'm going to say that I think all of the blogs I read are very deserving. If I didn't think that...I wouldn't be reading them! Bonnie, Patrice and Nellie all have wonderful blogs and are very devoted readers. I am so honored to consider all of them friends and I hope you will take time to get to know them.

Seven things about me that you might not know:

1. I met my husband for the first time when we were in the 3rd grade and rode a float in a parade together. We didn't meet again until high school, didn't date until college and got married our junior year of college. What were we thinking?

2. The only sport I ever did really well was water ski. I even climbed off my ski and onto someone's shoulders without falling once.

3. I was a pom pom girl in high school.

4. We have lived in 5 towns and 8 homes since we got married. We often say that we feel "homeless" because of all the changes. I know there is at least one more town in our future, but we haven't figured out where it will be.  

5. I once owned a small gift boutique, my favorite part was going to market in Atlanta. I don't think I ever really earned any money, but I had a great time!

6. I started college at 17 and graduated at 45.

7. I've always lived in Illinois, but I'm a southern girl at heart. I feel much more at home when I see palm trees and water.