The help that has come and gone...so far

As we have traveled on this long journey called cancer, we have thankfully not had to do it alone. We've had a revolving door at our house with all the family that has come to help and we love it!

My niece Shadow.

My sister Cynth.

My sister-in-law Stacey.

My sister Lauren.

My mom and dad.

My mother-in-law.

We so greatly appreciate every load of laundry you washed, every meal you made (even had some left in the freezer for later), every floor you swept, every dish you washed, every bath you gave, every rough night you endured with Emma, every morning you got up with the kids so Jamie could sleep a little longer, every outing you took the kids on, every ride to school you gave, every medication you administered, every errand you ran, every book you read, every game you played, every hug you gave.

Thank you.

*Chelsea lived with us for 3 months, but do i have any pictures of her? No. She was usually the one taking them. Don't think that means we love you any less though, Chels!

Emma's One!

Okay she's been one for over a month now, but we were thrilled nonetheless. Emma is such a fun addition to our family. She has a sweet personality that is getting bigger all the time. She loves her brothers. Parker can always get her to laugh and often makes her cry. She has two teeth on the bottom and four on top. She is a mess when she has teeth coming in, more so than either of the boys were. She's a pretty good eater and is getting better at trying new things.

She is very much a daddy's girl. Emma can't get enough of Jamie. She is often grabbing at his legs to be picked up and her favorite place is in his arms.

Emma did a pretty good job with the cake.

I went pretty simple on the smash cake, but I thought is was cute.

Turns out, Emma loves bubbles.

Her butterfly cake that Jamie made. Designing girl cakes will add a new element of challenge in his cake making career. So far so good.

It was fun to celebrate her and we were happy that despite Parker's best efforts, she survived the first year.

My Story

It was four months ago today that I first heard the words "concerning for cancer".

I had been having some pains on my right side over Halloween weekend and after seeing my doctor and being sent for an ultrasound because of suspected gallstones, they saw my gallbladder was clear but that I had lesions on my liver. That started the flurry of tests and procedures that would lead to my surgery in November where about a foot of my sigmoid colon, my right ovary, and 14 lymph nodes were removed. It was not longer after being home from the hospital that I got the phone call confirming that I had Stage 4 colon cancer.

This is a picture of my first round of chemo on December 14.

I had round #7 this week. My treatment is FOLFOX (an acronym for my 3 chemo cocktail) plus Erbitux. I go in every week for Erbitux, which is a growth inhibitor (stops new cancer cells from growing) and every other week for my actual chemotherapy. On chemo days, I'm in the chair about 5 or 6 hours. By the end I've had up to 7 IV bags infused into my port-a-catheter -- the awesome device surgically implanted under my skin on my chest, it saves my veins from getting stuck every week.

I'm expecting to have a CT Scan done next month to see where things stand. My blood work shows that it is going in the right direction and we are cautiously optimistic. I have no idea how many rounds I have left. When we first met with my oncologist, she said we just treat it until it's gone. I thought that sounded like a pretty good plan. She said it would be at least 10 treatments, maybe 20.

At this point, I live pretty day to day. I try to enjoy my kids on the days I feel good, and sleep on the days I don't. I have so many pulling for me and that means the world. I know I have many, many prayers going out on my behalf and on behalf of my family and I am so grateful.

Thank you. Thank you to the many that love me, love my kids, love my husband, bring us food, send notes, emails, texts messages, flowers...the list goes on. I am humbled by your support and love, it makes me stronger and fight harder.

Thank you to my army. I love you.

Emma

This picture was taken about a month ago to document her standing. Now she is practically running, or at least she thinks she is. She started walking about 3 weeks ago and her speed and stability continue to increase. We think she figured she needed to be able to move quicker to stay out of Parker's reach. So far it hasn't really helped, he still gets her.

Parker is Finally 4!

How cute is this 4 year old?

Parker has been asking several times a day since before Christmas if he is 4 yet. His Birthday couldn’t have come soon enough. He has been “3 and ½” for so long. To celebrate, he wanted an “Angry Birds” party to represent his favorite game on the iPad. We had a fun time despite trying to keep it fairly low key. Parker was in heaven.

Angry Bird Toss in the Backyard




A raucous game of “Stomp the Pig”




A wild game of “Bird, Bird, Pig”




A fun King Pig cake with Angry Bird Cupcakes



Happy Birthday Parker!

De-evolution of a Goat

Jamie was really bored around Christmas, so he decided to grow a goatee for 2 weeks. When it was time to say goodbye to his new found friend, he shaved it off in stages resulting in various looks that will never again be repeated. Warning: Viewing these pictures will cause nightmares.

The Goat / Evil Jamie

The Dodgeball
80’s Metal Band

Molestache / 70’s Bike Cop

The Westley (from “The Princess Bride”)

This just emphasizes why you always need to keep your husband busy doing something constructive, although I will miss Evil Jamie a little.

Chillaxin' at the Dentist

If my 3 year old can be this relaxed, there should be no complaints from grown ups about a trip to the dentist. Oh, and this was his first time ever to the dentist. He just needs a remote and a (root) beer.