Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

Yesterday was such a wild day at work, so I was thrilled to have 2 huge blessings come my way! First, my daddy called right after lunch to let me know that my Auntie Dee's cancer HAS GONE AWAY!!! I am absolutely thrilled because she is one of my favorite people in this world! Lots of prayers have been answered... Please see below from a post from cousin Fran:

Auntie Dee & Fran

Oh the nerves of today. Mom had her PET scan last Thursday, June 11th, and we were to report to Dr. S's office this morning. At that point, Dr. S. would tell us what the PET scan revealed and whether or not Mom was going to undergo the last two rounds of Rituxin and Fluderabine, the first of which put her in the ER on Mother's Day, followed by a three night's stay at Baptist. Yeah, we were nervous. I wish we could have taken some of the pills pictured above. A good dose of sanity would have been nice.Mom's nurse took us back to a treatment room, so we figured the cancer was still there and settled in. Mom reminded the nurse that we haven't yet seen the results of the PET scan, so the nurse disappeared to find Dr. S, only to reappear 15 minutes later to take us to a consultation room. Soon Dr. S. came in to say Mom's PET scans were NEGATIVE. As in, NO MORE CANCER IS PREVALENT IN THE SCAN. Woot! At this point I'm going to dog-cuss the protocol of doctors today. Not the doctors themselves - they're awesome - but the bureaucracy of it makes me crazy. I understand that everybody must follow the rules and that we live in the most litigious state of America. But really. This is stuff the guy doing the scan on THURSDAY could have told us. Grr.Anyway, the negative doesn't mean that Mom is completely cancer free, and chances are very good (almost positive) that her lymphoma will come back. But for now she is free and clear and doesn't have to worry about anything cancer-related until her next PET scan in October. I think quarterly PETS are going to become a way of life, but as long as it's not chemo, Mom's happy.Thank you for all your prayers, thoughts, and support. It worked.


On top of that wonderful news, I also got some great news that my dear friend Amy is going to have a little baby!! I'm so thrilled and now that Amy and Justin will make fabulous parents. The funniest thing is that they found out on the Thursday before we saw them on Friday. I noticed that she wasn't drinking any wine at dinner but I just thought she prefered red over white. :) Shows how much intuition I have, huh?

Justin, Amy & Roux

Again, congrats to Aunt Dee Die and to Amy and Justin! Praise to the good Lord above for all of the wonderful blessings in all of our lives!!!

So I've never really had a green thumb...

I tend to kill anything that's green. However, I've kept the plant that came from my Granddaddy's house alive for quite some time, so Cliff and I figured we needed to spruce up the backyard for the summer. Cliff and good buddy Rob spent all Friday and Saturday building an arbor and hanging my swing that my sweet parents gave us. I spent all Saturday looking for plants, pots and potting soil. Thanks to Cliff's dear Aunt Muffett (for all of the many times I called her on Saturday and her guidance), we now have a beautiful backyard that we can enjoy!

A very proud Rob & Cliff

Good job boys!!

The finished product
(minus the latice on the sides and pots with jasmine or wisteria or something else...)

Still needs a cushion too!

Hydrangeas, hostas, impatiens, and creeping jenny

Marigolds

A banana plant and Knock-Out Rose

Our deck!!

Happy Summer y'all!!!

Come by for a swing anytime!!

Prom Pose

Cliff and I got all dolled up for the Barrister's Ball that the Student Bar Association sponsors every year. The way I was standing was not very flattering but I love this pic of my cute hubby!!

Erin Go Bragh!!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!!

Being the good Irish girl I am, I proudly wore my green today in honor of the patron Saint Patrick. We Flynns take great pride in being Irish and proudly display it (however, I haven't done a very good job this year). I even had the Irish blessing printed on my wedding programs:

May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and the rains fall softly on your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Though I've never been to Ireland I love it! I even told Cliff this morning that I hope to take my dad to Ireland one day to find our roots. My great, great (maybe one more great, can't remember) grandfather was an O'Flynn until he was excommunicated from the Catholic church when he joined a band of gypsies (or circus, I've heard both versions) and moved to America. On of my great-grandfathers was even the Duke of Ireland and we supposedly have a castle over there somewhere. Who knows which one it is or if there even still is one? Even so, I love the fact that I'm Irish and happily celebrate this day each year!

Here are 17 facts my friend Mary Staton shared on her blog about St. Patrick’s Day (courtesy of Wikipedia):

1. St. Patrick was one of the patron saints of Ireland. He died on March 17, 461.

2. If St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday of Lent (unless it’s Good Friday), the obligation to abstain from eating meat can be lifted by the local bishop.

3. St. Patrick's Blue, not green, was the color long-associated with St. Patrick.

4. Due to the rich history of Scranton participation in St. Patrick's Day festivities it is one of the oldest and most populated parades in the United States. (wonder if Jim and Pam will attend?)

5. The world’s shortest parade is the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Hot Springs, Arkansas, taking place on what Ripley’s Believe it or Not has designated the “Shortest Street in the World.”

6. It was only in the mid-1990s that the Irish government began a campaign to use Saint Patrick's Day to showcase Ireland and its culture. (what took you guys so long?)

7. St. Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish.

8. Some Protestants have begun wearing orange on St. Patrick's Day as a mark of defiance. (not this Protestant!)

9. This is why orange now appears in the Irish flag - to symbolize the Protestant minority in Ireland.

10. In the past, Saint Patrick's Day was celebrated as a religious holiday, and in 1903, the irish MP required that all pubs be closed, a provision which was repealed only in the 1970s.

11. In New Orleans, the parades include the influence of Mardi Gras, with float riders throwing spectators strings of beads, cabbages, and potatoes. (Drunks wielding potatoes? Count me in!)

12. Irish Society of Boston organized what was the United States’ first Saint Patrick's Day Parade in the colonies on 17 March 1737.

13. In 1780, General George Washington (yes, that George Washington), who commanded soldiers of Irish descent in the Continental Army, allowed his troops a holiday on March 17 “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence." (Go George!!)

14. The Washington Nationals have fan green hat day on September 17 to represent 6 months to St. Patrick's Day.

15. Savannah, GA, boasts the unofficial largest attendance with 750,000 in 2006. (I wonder where Jackson fits in?)

16. The tiny island of Montserrat, known as "Emerald Island of the Caribbean" due to its foundation by Irish refugees from Saint Kitts and Nevis, is the only place in the world apart from Ireland and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador in which St Patrick's Day is a public holiday.

17. Some groups, notably Guinness, have lobbied to make Saint Patrick's Day a federal (national) holiday. (Woo hoo!!)

Here is one last Irish blessing to go with you today:

May St. Patrick guard you wherever you go,and guide you in whatever you do--and may his loving protection be a blessing to you always.

Erin Go Braugh!

Hola Amigos!!

Saturday night we went to Amelia & Jon Paul's house for a little Mexicano with some muy fun amigos. It was so fun!! The food and sangria were great and the company was the best! And we even had a little surprise snow thrown into the mix... 

Amelia, Mary Stratton, Christie, me, Del, Rebecca

Kell, Jon Paul, Jes, Ty, Cliff (Brad, where did you go?)

Arturo the pinata

Playing in the snow

Cullen's first snow!

Pay it Forward!

here are the details/rules:

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on their own blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your 3 Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love! If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!SO, REMEMBER... Pay it forward

Happy Birthday Jess!!

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Jessica,

Happy Birthday to you!!!

Thanks for being my friend!!