The Backyard Gang: Catching up ... slowly but surely!

Wow! It has been a crazy 2 weeks around here! I'll briefly fill you in on all of the Jones Family happenings, then leave you with a handful of great pics of some REALLY CUTE kids! ;-)

First of all, our family has purchased a new home out in rural Illinois! For privacy reasons we are keeping the location private for the time being, but trust me, it's absolutely lovely! I found out about the property in one of those "by chance" moments (although I don't believe in chance, but more so in divine intervention!) The home is a log cabin home, sitting on 15 acres (wooded/prairie) with a gorgeous view of our private lake and loads of wildlife! It really is a stunning piece of property that we hope will serve our family for many years to come ... a meeting place of sorts. I foresee many summer vacations and spring/fall weekends spent there, along with family reunions and get-togethers with friends! We've discovered that there is one form of wildlife that is not welcome on our property, and that is the nasty little creature (which serves no purpose that I can tell) called the "tick". YUCK! I'm hoping that we can find an exterminator that is experienced with rural properties who can help us rid ourselves of these nasty things! We've removed over a dozen ticks just today after spending 5 minutes outside! I can handle snakes and mice and maybe even roaches, but I hate ticks!

For those following my battle with cancer ... my CA-125 was down to an "8" a couple of weeks ago! YES! This really was wonderful news! Anything under a "20" is considered normal. Just six months ago I was revising my will, looking for burial plots and writing goodbye letters to my children, family and friends. God has been so good to me, and I treasure every new day I get to have! I will have some minor surgery on Tuesday. It is to replace my ureteral stents, which is an outpatient procedure. I'll be home cooking dinner for the kids before the day is over. I continue with my chemo treatments, my daily injections to treat the DVT in my right leg, and hope to begin some aquatic therapy over the summer to help with my progressing scoliosis, back/leg pain, and lymphedema. My cavernoma (the lesion in the right frontal lobe of my brain) has given me no problems and I continue to take meds to prevent anymore seizures. All things considered, I feel great!

My two youngest finished school this past week. Brandon "graduated" to pre-kindergarten and Alyssa graduated to Kindergarten! I'll post a couple of pictures from Alyssa's celebration; however, I will have to post Brandon's at a later date.

Anita and Nathan will be moving on to middle school in the Fall, and Isaac will become a 4th grader. It has been an interesting year, but fortunately we've all made it through without many bruises! I'm not sure about those poor teachers though!

We have a guest staying with us for the next few weeks. You have been introduced, here at the blog, in the past to Alyssa's biological brother, Chase. Well, due to special circumstances, we are going to be blessed with his presence for awhile. We always LOVE having him with us! Isaac says that he feels "whole" when Chase is home. I agree!

Enjoy the pictures below ... more to follow later!

Until Tomorrow,
Kathy, Nita, Nathan, Isaac, Alyssa, Brandon and Chase

***Point of Clarification*** The cabin is not a replacement for our current home ... we're still here in St. Louis full-time, but the cabin is a Jones Family vacation hangout.

The Backyard Gang at Our New Cabin