Some Not So Nice News

Late this afternoon Jason got the results of the shave biopsy he had done on Tuesday. Apparantly what he thought was a mole that recently appeared on his nose is really basal cell carcinoma.

Basal cell carcinoma is one of the two most common forms of skin cancer. If you are really interested, here is some info about it: http://www.medicinenet.com/skin_cancer/article.htm.

Now we are waiting for the dermatologist's office to call and schedule surgery to remove it. Jason will be having Mohs Surgery. It "is a micrographically controlled procedure, providing the most precise method for removal of the cancerous tissue, while sparing the greatest amount of healthy tissue." We found this info about Mohs surgery online (thank goodness for Google) at http://www.drwilliamting.com/Surgical_Dermatology.html.

The doctor told Jason that there will be a pathologist there for the surgery who will test things as they go along to make sure they get it all.

We're thankful that he decided to go in and get the bump checked out.

Soccer Mom

So, I'm adding a new title to my list of names. Coach Shepherd.


Yep, I've volunteered to coach Brooke's team. This will be her first year playing. She's waited patiently to be old enough to play, but there were no available teams for her and her pals to play on. Being the totally awesome mom (*sarcasm*) that I am, I told her I would be her coach and I started finding players to make up a team.


We don't start playing games until September, but we did get in one practice practice. I've been sure to mention to parents that I've NEVER coached before or even played, so the kids and I are the same soccer level. I know you run toward the goal and that if the ball goes over the line, it's out (or something like that...). I'm really excited to do this. Check in with me after the season starts to see if I still feel that way.


Time to find out if the library has a "Soccer For Dummies" book I suppose.

Image Tag

All of my answers are images found on Google images. Guess my answer based on the image below.

How much do you know about me and how much do you understand from the pictures?

My Age: 33

First Name: Heather

Middle Name (my maiden name): Himle

My Last Name: Shepherd

Grandma's Name: Lois

Place I Was Born: Devils Lake, North Dakota

Favorite Place: Hawaii

Place I'd Like To Travel To: Australia

Favorite Thing: Star Wars & The Muppets

Past Pet: Dog & Cat

Past Love: Potsie Webber

Favorite Food: Cottage Cheese Dumplings

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Animal: Lamb

Bad Habit: Nibbling my nails

What I'm Doing Now: listening to music

I tag: Kelli, Jessica, Maylene, Tara (and anyone who wants to participate)

What to do: Use Google Image Search to answer the questions above and have people guess the answers and leave them in your comments. You have to pick from the first page that pops up!

Luke's Sixth Birthday Party

Today Luke turned six years old! He wanted a Mario & Luigi birthday party. The boys had Mario Kart races on the Wii and played Super Mario Brothers Bingo (and ate the M&M markers). We had hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner since Luke doesn't like pizza or spaghetti, the obvious Mario Bros. choices...

This year Luke decided he wanted a Luigi birthday cake because Luigi has an "L" on his hat. I borrowed my friend Callene's soccer ball pan and got creative.

Happy Birthday to YOU, dear Luke..." Blow out the candles, but don't spit on the cake" - Jason
Dane hit it right on the nose with Pokemon cards!
Boys sure do love Nerf guns, don't they? Mom may steal it and play too...

Star Wars Legos from Braxton
Transformers from Kobe
Skipbo (down on the side there) from James. Ahhh, Skipbo...Good times, good times...
a Mario game from Mitchell was another hit

We'd like to thank all of Luke's friends for coming over to help us celebrate his sixth birthday!

Little Pieces of Me

Enjoy some little pieces of me.

(Click on picture to enlarge)

Husband Tag

1. What is his name? Jason Matthew Shepherd

2. How long did you date? 6 months counting the engagement.

3. How long have you been married? 7 years

4. Who eats more sweets? That's tough. First response is me, but when I think about it, he is always snacking on something. Um...his body just hides it better than mine?

5. Who said I love you first? Sad, I can't remember. I think he did.

6. Who is taller? He is, unless I wear heels.

7. Who is a better singer? Jason sings very well, but he won't sing loud. I tell him that it's a turn on to hear him sing and he should do it more often. People have said that I have a nice voice too.

8. Who is smarter? Depends on the subject.

9. Who does the laundry? He wears it, I wash it.

10. Who pays the bills? Jason.

11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Jason. (You'll never believe how long this took me to figure out just now...)

12. Who mows the lawn? Me or Ashton Vandermyde.

13. Who cooks dinner? Me (or the people at McDonalds if I'm lucky)

14. Who drives? Jason. I HATE driving, especially in a strange city.

15. Who is more stubborn? In the old days I was stubborn, but now it's not worth it.

16. Who kissed who first? I vaguely recall it being mutual...

17. Who asked who out? He wanted to ask me out, but I was staying with a friend's kids for the weekend. They had told me I could invite a "boy" over, so I did. We played hide and seek and watched Toy Story with the kids.

18. Who is more sensitive? Me

19. Who has more siblings? Technically, we're equal, but if you asked him it's me.

20. Who wears the pants? Our kids...j/k...Jason.

Now you are all tagged! Copy and paste it to your blog!

A Little Slap From Reality

It just occured to me as I put the pots and pans away ('cause I don't have that robot Amy suggested) that I no longer need the childproof lock thingy on this cupboard any more! Seriously, I haven't needed it on the pan cupboard for ages now, but it is a habit to open it and just put the pans and Bosch away and make sure it locks up afterward.

Why is this just now occuring to me??? And why is the thought of its removal making me teary eyed????

Does This Happen To You Too?

When will I ever learn that just becuase I filled the dishwasher with dirty dishes, put the soap in and close it - it will NEVER start all by itself?!

First Day of School - Brooke

Today was Brooke's first day of Preschool. She's in the 4-Year Old Class and everything is old news to her. She's been filling Hannah in on what to expect all week.





She took time to pose for me, and then it was out the door and off to school.















She was on her way faster than I could get out the door.


















Off and running...



















She gave me a wave and was on to the playground and the fun routine of Preschool.

Thanks Hallmark

God doesn't give us anything we can't handle...without giving us a friend to help us through.

Illustrations

I posted some of my favorite series, obviously by some of my favorite authors and now here are some of my favorite Illustrators:

Quentin Blake - I got hooked on Mr. Blake thanks to my Roald Dahl & Dr. Suess reading.

Maryn Roos - Yeah she's family, but she's WICKED talented. Her art has been featured in The Friend, so those of you who get it will have seen it before. It's a secret wish of mine that I could come up with a story good enough to have her illustrate and then sell millions of copies...

Richard Scarry - There is always something to look for in his books! I really like some of his older work.

Garth Williams - What would Little House on the Prairie or Charlotte's Web be without his artwork?

Lauren Child - Charlie & Lola are great, but she also has other stories that are fun. I'd really like to get Pippi Longstockings with her artwork.

Beatrix Potter - What a facinating woman. If you've never read up on her, do! My two favorite stories: The Tale of Two Bad Mice & Mrs. Tiggle-Winkle.

Mercer Mayer - I love the Little Critter, don't you?

Sandra Boynton - Animals with such cute personality.

Four, Four, Four, For Shannon...

A) Four places that I go to over and over:
Wal-Mart, the library, church, the bathroom

B) Four people who e-mail me (regularly):
Jaqui, Kelli, Amy, Mom

C) Four of my favorite places to eat:
The Cheesecake Factory, Tucanos, La Luna, The Old Spaghetti Factory

D) Four places I would rather be right now:
Hawaii, London, bed, the bank cashing a check for a million dollars

E) Four TV shows I watch:
The Office, The Big Bang Theory, Phineas & Ferb, Top Chef

The Heat is On

I don't know about you, but I could seriously use some air conditioned underwear!

Butterfly Beauties

At the St. Louis Zoo they had a butterfly room.  I LOVE butterflies.  Here in Utah we don't have too many butterflies, so I enjoy looking at the exotic ones at the zoo.

This butterfly is alive.  It's just sitting above the sign naming the tree.

It didn't hurt my desire to visit the exhibit that the butterfly room was nice and cool and smelled like Hawaii!