Our BIG news!!!

I know I have hinted at earlier posts that we have been news and big things are happening for our family.


Well here it is!!!

Yup...you read it right. We are adopting!!! God has placed adoption heavy into our hearts and we are so excited to see the story unfold for us. We started the process in January so it feels so good to have it approved now almost 9 months later. If you want to read more about our journey, I started blogging about it.

www.burauadoption.blogspot.com

Continued prayers for our family, my health, and the birth mothers out there making this selfless decision are greatly appreciated!

Updates

I just re-read my last few posts and noticed I never updated on a few things.

#1 being Ross's surprise 30th birthday! First of all, it was perfect. Everything about it. He was surprised, we had a huge turn out, and it was a beautiful day! He came home around 6 to a house full of friends and family and wonderful food surrounding him. He was completely smitten and enjoying every second of it. Then, two hours into his party we brought him outside and surprised him with his second surprise....a big party bus! He was completely in awe and had one of the best nights of his life he told me:) I can't wait to plan his 40th! :)

#2 the Lupus Foundation of MN blog.......well it should be up and running by now, however the staff person that was in charge of launching the new website and blog ended up leaving the company so this project is "on hold" as the other staff have their plates full and they haven't replaced her. This ended up being a blessing in disguise as I haven't had any time to do any blog posts on my own blogs this summer so I can't imagine doing them for theirs too! I'm assuming within the next few months the blog will be up and running.

#3. The 2011 lupus walk is scheduled for Saturday, September 10th in Plymouth at French Regional Park again. Unfortunately, I will not be attending as this is a super busy day for us! I have my 10 year class reunion in WI that night (still not sure I'll make it...) and also have my nephews baptism that night! For some reason, everything seemed to fall on that date! However, I hope to be back full force next year and get some funds donated. If you want to walk , feel free to go to the Lupus Foundation of MN's website and click to register for the walk or run or donate money. Every little bit does help! :)

Those are my updates for now!

Fall already?!

Wow, can't believe it's coming to the end of the summer already. I remember being a kid and thinking summer break was "forever!" Now, I feel like I blink and it's over with!

My health has been awesome this summer. Never got sick (a mini cold for 2 days ) but that's it! In fact, I'm doing so great that a few weeks ago my nephrologist and rheumatologist together decided I was ready to taper off one of my medications! I'm super excited about this for a few different reasons. One being this is the most expensive drug I take. It is $50.00 a month and I take 4 HUGE horse pills/day. Second, being I am all about "all natural" and would prefer to treat myself naturally so the less medications I have to take ...the better! and Third....it's just a really good sign that I am healthy and hope to be healthy for a long time! The wean off this medication is a long one...6 months but so far I've been on a lower dose for going on 3 weeks and haven't noticed any signs. I'll go back in another 4 weeks to check labs to make sure everything is still stable. If it is, they will reduce the prescription again and then wait another 2 months and then repeat...
Pending everything going perfect, I should be off this medication by February....!!! Which is a pretty special month for me because it was this month that my son was born and this month that I went into remission. I'd be more than happy to celebrate February again with getting off a medication! I would then go from taking 7 pills a day down to 3!!! How amazing is that?!

Other than that...no new news to report. Ready for fall and have things quiet down a bit!

Here is an updated pic of me and my little guy. Can't believe that he will be 4 this winter. Seems like yesterday he was born. And in one short week..I'll be sending him off to his first day of preschool! *tear*

Cake pops: Take 2

Turkey Pops for Thanksgiving favors!
Multi Colored cake pops for Nolans friends at daycare

Christmas pops for Christmas!

Baptism cake pops for my nieces baptism

I'm working on a cute 4th of July one that I will post after I make them! Enjoy and good luck!

Cake pops!

I love everything about cake pops. They are cute, fun, tasty, and you can do so many things with them! A few people have asked me to write a post about cake pops and although they may think I am the cake pop queen...I have a long way to go.

My cake pop inspirations have all came from a wonderful blogger named bakerella. I randomly came across her blog last year and when I first saw her blog it was love at first site. Her and I are a lot a like. Were both blonde, we both have kidney problems (she just got her 2nd kidney transplant) and mostly We both LOVE to bake. However, she is like 10 times better than me..and I'm ok with that. For now.

I love her so much I even bought her book on cake pops. The book has been much more helpful in my cake pops because it gives way more indepth advice on how to make them and different tips to try if they are not working out for you.

So, here is how I make them and my tricks/tips, however I still advise you to check out bakerella because she after all is the official cake pop queen!!!

Items you need:

-Box of cake (that's right...you don't need to make a homeade one for these to taste great!)

-Can of frosting

-2 bags of candy melts ( I find these at michaels, here is an example of them. I try to buy them when they are on sale otherwise, they are about $2.99/bag at michaels

-bag of lolipop sticks ( I also find these at michaels)

-any sprinkles or anything else you want to put on your cake pops

1. Bake the cake per the directions on the box

2. Once the cake is done baking, allow to cool. (0vernight is best)

3. Crumble the cake up into little pieces

4. Add a little less than 1/2 the can of frosting and mix it all up.

5. Roll them into small balls and put them on a cookie sheet

6. Put them in the freezer for 15-20 min or so to get them kind of hard

7. Melt the candy melts

8. Dip the tip of the lolipop stick in the melted candy and then stick it in one of the balls.

9. Then, dip the stick with the ball into the candy just once

10. Tap the stick to get the excess candy off of it and to make it smooth. Bakerella shows some great pictures of these on her website and book. I can NEVER get mine as smooth as she does for some reason.

11. Sprinkles sprinkles or just leave them how they are and stick them into styrofoam to let them dry!

Seems easy, right?! I love when people tell me they are going to make these for the first time. Then, they come back to me and are so frusterated and don't understand how I do it. Trust me, folks, it took practice!!! My first few batches were complete flops and I was ready to be done with them forever. Make sure you have plenty of time and your kids are not running around...you will need to devote your undivided attention into these things to make them successful:)

The 2nd post will include pictures of my creations!

Busy!

I am having a hard time believing that May is almost over. However, when I look back at all the things we have been dealing with along with some other commitments I have taken on, I can see why May went by so fast!!!

I am planning a surprise 30th birthday party for my husband, Ross and if you know me I don't throw parties without looking at each tiny little detail. It's a major flaw for me because I get so obsessed with all these tiny details that no one even cares about! I just need to learn to let go! His party is in two weeks and I am super excited for it to be here and then be over! :) Ross has no clue which makes these even more fun.

I have also been asked to be one of the blog authors on the Lupus Foundation of MN's blog. Though this is a wonderful opportunity, it's also a huge commitment on my part. The blog is expected to launch in a few weeks so between now and then I have to have 3 blog entries done, a profile for me, and some ideas for potential titles. It's been a little hard fitting this all in but know this is something I really want to do.

So...stay tuned for the release of the blog. Excited to share my story and help others deal with lupus!

Raw post

I have to admit, I feel I have hit bottom right now. I am emotionally and physically exhausted Today was the first day I cried in front of Nolan. Tried so hard not to but it just all came out! He hugged me and asked me why I was sad. At that moment, everything that made me sad went away. My sister told me today to not dwell on the negative and to just be happy that I'm healthy and I have my family. And, I'm holding on to that by a string right now. To start out...We are still in the custody/child support/battles right now for Ross's son and it's just getting so old. I think the thing that put me over the edge was coming home to a $2,300 lawyer bill for just the month of March. We have now spent over $15,000 to fight for this child. Oh boy, could I write a book about this and I hope that someday these memories are as bitter and strong in my mind and I am able to put what has happened in a book. I feel so vulnerable to the devil right now. So raw and open to evil. I have hatred in my head, in my heart. I have said things I regret, and thought even worse things I regret. As I was driving to McDonalds tonight, (Yeah, I'm an emotional eater leave me alone!) I admitted to God that I was surrendering to Him. Asking Him to help me and use me in this time of vulnerability. I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. Everything. We are fighting for this child for a reason, a reason we may not even know about at this point of our life. We have drained our savings, and risked our marriage for this child. A child that is not even mine. Sometimes that is almost just too much for me to even comprehend. Sometimes I feel like crawling in a hole and not ever coming out. Tonight is one of those nights. So tonight, if you are reading this, please pray for me, for my family. Please pray we can find peace in the decisions that have been made and pray that God uses us during this difficult time and that we can be glorified in this process.