june 3, 2012

It was a productive weekend with lots of fun mixed in.

Charlie is officially back in Tae Kwon Do and had his first group lesson on Saturday.

I washed my car inside and out and Eric changed the brake light.

Cannon picked out his own outfit.

We ate lunch outside.

My Mother's Day carpet roses had their first bloom.

Eric and I had a date night.  Dinner at Cafe Rio and we then headed home to start season four of True Blood. There also was a stop at Archiver's and Baskin Robbins in between.  We end up stopping at Archiver's quite often on date nights because we are usually in the area.  Luckily Eric doesn't seem to mind too much. :)

We made our Summer to-do list.

I went grocery shopping by myself.  The store was hectic on Sunday afternoon, but I think it was still better to fight the crowds than to go with the kids.  We usually go as a family, but I think that just may change.

Eric washed the windows while I cleaned the inside of the house.  And yes, I did laundry.

We got frozen yogurt with G-Pa and GG.

Silly boys.

the "c" word

I hate to admit it, but cancer used to be one of those things that I heard about all the time, but could never really relate to because it hadn’t personally affected me.

I tried to sympathize with other people’s stories, but like a lot of things in life, I don’t think anyone can truly understand Cancer until it hits close to home. Obviously, I have no idea what it is like to be the one with cancer, but I now know what it is like to watch my dad go through it and I am beginning to realize that it didn’t just change him.

We heard the diagnosis and we all pulled together like a family has to do when you hear that terrible word. We cried and we encouraged and we put up our best fight and we loved each other through it all. We did all we could as we watched my dad go through the worst days of his life.

Now, the doctors say “there is no evidence of disease”. We are on the other side of it and we are supposed to feel this huge relief. But we still have to deal with the reality that life is just not the same anymore. It is not easy to forget that the statistics are still not in my dad’s favor.

Now, a stomach ache doesn’t just mean a flu bug anymore. It means that all your worst fears come bubbling to the surface and you can’t help but wonder if it’s back.

Now, when we drive by the hospital, Cannon says from the backseat of the car, “There is G-Pa’s hospital.” And scars, and hair loss and hearing that G-Pa doesn’t feel well has become commonplace for my children that are too young to have to deal with this.

Now, I watch my boys play with their G-Pa and their love for each other just gushes out of their hearts and souls. And instead of just enjoying the moment, I try not to think about how they may have to say goodbye way too early. I try not to think about how I may have to say goodbye way too early.

Now, I am incredibly humbled by all of the love, support and prayers my family has received these past eight months. I thank God that my dad is still with us today. I do appreciate that he is in remission.

But life is different now. Once cancer enters your life, it never really leaves. And that really sucks.

january 5, 2012

Dad started his first day of radiation today.  He said that his skin was a little bit tender in his neck and throat area tonight, but overall he was feeling pretty good.  Praying that he will continue to do well and he won't experience any of the nasty side effects they talked about.

please pray....

Just when I thought that life was ready to settle down again, we are once again thrown for a loop.

My dad has cancer.

You always hope and pray that you will never have to say those words about someone you love.  Someone that you have looked up to your whole life.  Someone that has loved you unconditionally from the moment you were born.

It has been tough to accept.  It is an emotional rollercoaster that at times doesn't feel real and at other times I feel like running far, far away so I can pretend it is not happening.

I don't know what the future holds for my dad.  It looks as though we have a long fight in front of us, but I am so grateful that we are back home and we can do it together.

You can follow my dad's journey here:  CaringBridge 

happy birthday dad!

Just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my dad today. We are so happy that we were able to spend this weekend with him. For those of you that know my dad, you know that he is genuine, funny, gentle and fun. We are so blessed to have him in our lives. He is a wonderful grandpa that is missed greatly by all when he is working in Jackson Hole.


Jon brought up another cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes - it was delicious as expected! Dad, Happy Birthday! We hope you have a great day - we love you so much!

happy father's day....

We had a great Father's Day weekend. On Friday night we went over to Rodger and Anita's for a BBQ. We grilled up some ribeyes and enjoyed the beautiful evening outside.
This morning we went to McDonalds for breakfast with my mom and dad and then Eric went to work for a little while. This afternoon we met up again with my parents and went bowling and then got some pizza. Just a fun, relaxing weekend spent with family.



Here are some pictures of the book I made for Eric. I made him one last year and he really seemed to like it, so I thought I would do it again this year.

strawberry pickin' fun....

Today Charlie, G-Pa and I hit the local berry ranch and picked some strawberries. We took the hay ride from the barn out to the patch and got right to work. Charlie needed some reminding to only pick the red ones, but he became a pro pretty quickly. He ate most of the ones he picked, but that's the fun of it, right?

Thanks, G-Pa for coming with us, we had fun with you today!

And thanks to everybody for their prayers regarding our tests. I had another test completed on Tuesday that will give us some definite answers so we are patiently waiting for those results. I appreciate all your concern, thoughts and prayers, you are wonderful!

I am hoping to finish up a little father's day project I am working on tomorrow (well, I guess I have to - I am running out of time!) I will post pictures when I am done. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!