Wordless Wednesday

4th of July in Pictures

I guess my lap was rather comfy!

Our tradition is to spend the 4th of July at the inlaws. We bbq, shoot fireworks and rush home to get up for work the next day. lol I am happy next year we won't have to rush home for work the next day. The fireworks didn't seem to faze Kaleb. He just sat on our laps watching what was going on. 

Menu Monday

We have not been eating the healthiest around our house lately. We have been busy and with the stress of life it has been grab what we can find. My mother-in-law has been fabulous and sent home dinner twice over the past week. The one night she even sent home 2 quarts of ice cream. I was soooooo happy!

I decided it is back on the healthy train, which means it is time for me to start cooking again. 

Meatloaf, green beans and potatoes
Shrimp Tacos
Curry
Pork Chops & beet risotto
Pizza - cauliflower crust

What is on your menu this week?

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

(Philippians 4:4 KJV)

Kaleb really likes to take naps on the couch. He was sitting on the couch, laid down and went to sleep. I went to look at him and he was snoring. 

Art took Kaleb outside. I found them sitting on the patio chair laughing away! It was so sweet to listen to them. Kaleb cracks up laughing when Art puts his goatee on his head. 

OOTD from Last Week

Sunday I had 2 outfits

Left:

Cardigan: Gap

Tshirt: J Crew

Skirt: Sears Outlet

Shoes: Marshalls

Right:

Chambray & Skirt: Old Navy

Sandals: Shoedazzle

Bubbles: Ebay

Sweatshirt: Gap

Skinnies: Old Navy

Shoes: Bass

Cardigan & Pants: Old Navy

Tshirt & Sandals: Target

Necklace: Banana Replublic

Sweater & Shirt: Gap

Pants: Old Navy

Shoes: Bass

Bubbles: Ebay

Top & Pants: Old Navy

Scarf: Amazon

Shoes: Bass

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Cardigan & Sandals: Target

Tshirt: Kmart

Jeans: Old Navy

Bart Happenings!

Random cassette laying on the bench at Bart. 

Sammy's Birthday!!!

Today our little fur baby Sammy was rescued 3 years ago. Each year we celebrate Sammy birthday on the day we adopted him. The first year I went ALL out here.  Sammy is probably 5 years old. We are guessing he was about 2 years old when we got him.  

Sammy has brought us so much joy over the past 3 years. I can't imagine life without him. We went to numerous places looking for a dog. When we found him I fell right in love. I was a little concerned through because they said he could nip people. We haven't had any issues with nipping. I am glad we didn't let the ASPCA scare us off. 

Halloween 2012

Sammy was not too thrilled with his bucking bronco outfit

Winter 2013 

Bandit Sammy

Spring 2013 

Begging for french fries

Spring 2013 

Hey!

Happy Birthday Little Sammy!!! 

Relay for Life!

In June Lacey lit a candle in my honor at a Relay for Life event. Very sweet of her! It made me cry to see all the pictures. 

It sounds funny to me when I refer to myself as a survivor. I guess I always thought of a survivor as someone who was on the brink of death and survived. I haven't been on the brink of death, gone through chemo or radiation. I just am doing what I have to do to make sure I have the best life. 

A few years back my mom organized a team for Relay for Life. I remember wondering what it was all about when she was doing it. I never got involved, but thought it was great she was helping others. My mom recently mailed me a Relay for Life tshirt she found from 2006. Lacey is now thinking about putting a team together for 2014. 

Homemade Baby Food

On Saturday Kaleb only had rice cereal to eat. I fed him a little and he was NOT a fan of the stuff. I decided to make him some organic pureed green beans. 

While I was cooking the green beans he sat in the high chair reading books and playing with his toys. He sat in his chair for about 30 minutes. I think this is the longest I have been able to keep him occupied for one period of time. 

When the green beans were done I gave him a bite. He acted like I put dirt in his mouth. lol He eats Gerber green beans all the time. I am not sure if he doesn't like the fact it was organic, the taste or the texture. I mixed a little rice cereal in with the green beans. It took him awhile to get them all ate. I put the extras in the freezer for his next visit. 

I made organic green beans by boiling the green beans, let them cool and then pureed them in the food processor.  I had a Gerber baby food container that I had saved, so I stuck them in there.  

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4 KJV)

Crack!

I found a new crack it is called Late Night Snack by Ben & Jerry's. Holyleecow! This stuff is freakin amazing! I have NO plans to share my pint of ice cream with anyone. Please run to the nearest store and get a pint. You will thank me after you finish your 7th pint in a week. =)

Hurry up & wait!

Tuesday night became my new reality. I haven't admitted to myself that I REALLY have MTC. Deep down the reality of it hasn't sunk in except when I had certain conversations with my doctor. I believed  rhere was going to be a miracle and all the spots would be gone. In Febuary when I had my ct scan they found 7 spots on my lungs. Another person read the scan and said the last person had over read the scans. The spots could be blood vessels and that's what I believed for 5.5 months.

My hopes were up and I said lots of prayers this scan would be completely clear. I pushed the doctors to scan my body this round. We needed a baseline and I also didn't want anything missed. Turns out my gut was telling me to be proactive for a reason. 

I received a confirmation there are definately 7 spots on my lung and 1 spot on my liver. Other tissue they need to monitor too. The good news is my thyroid tissue is completely gone and no lymph nods in my neck. 

Constantly there are new plans. The newest plan is to have additional scans in 3 months. If anything grows or changes then I will have biopsies. Right now the spots are all so small it would almost be impossible to do a biopsy. 

I spent Tuesday night buried in bed, Wednesday was a haze and Thursday was back to normal. The truth is I have a rare cancer that grows very slowly. 

I feel lucky that I've found an oncologist that gets it. My conversations with him are very real & raw about an ugly disease. I have researched, harassed,  pushed and annoyed my doctors to make sure everyone is listening to me. I feel I have a good team assembled. Now my team has to stay up to par or I will start voting people right off lol. 

6 months ago

Six months ago today Art and I woke up before the chickens to head to the hospital. I was more nervous for Art and my family then for me. I knew I would be fine but the next 10 hours would drag on for my family. 

Here I am at 4am getting ready to leave for the hospital. 

I didn't realize how much my life was about to change. Things I had never had to think about would now become a burden. I remember walking into the hospital almost care free. I thought once recovery was over and after the radio active iodine I wouldn't have anymore cancer thoughts. 

 Updating my journal

The past 6 months I've learned more about Medullary Thyroid Cancer, ct scans, blood levels, spots on my insides and other various cancer terms than I thought I would ever have to know. I also have learned how I need to handle getting rough news. It's ok to cry, scream and get angry, BUT those things need to get out and then move on. I have to take everything in before I can share it with my family. Once I absorb it all then I can remind everyone of positive parts. 

There are lots of people who live years with Medullary Thyroid Cancer. The majority of the doctors will tell you something else will kill you before MTC. It's rare that MTC will be the thing to take you down as long as you are monitoring your health. This is why I need to understand MTC the best I can because I'm my best advocate. 

I walked into the hospital on January 18 a cancer patient and out a survivor! The 6 month mark is very sweet!!! 

Stable

The meaning of words take on a whole new meaning with cancer. The word stable to me use to mean where Jesus was born or place to keep horses. Now the word is very comforting to hear when I get reports from the doctor. 

As I was writing this post I found such comfort in the fact Jesus was born in a stable. He is always there for us and brings us comfort when we need it. He was born in a stable not the Ritz Carlton. Now He is living in the best place Heaven. He came to us in the lowest place but waits for us in the highest place. 

I've had to learn to really trust God through my cancer trial. This trial isn't over. It will be a life long trial. I can get through it though even when the reports come back unstable because I have put my trust in the stable one! 

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Sunday!

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Philippians 4:13

2018 Goals

Here are my goals for 2018!

• celebrate 10 years of marriage
• celebrate 5 years of cancer free
• celebrate Art turning 50
• celebrating Amber & Marcus 5th wedding anniversary
• all with our twin boys age 2-4 & a 5yr old Kaleb

Bart Happenings

Just another day on Bart! I am soooo happy Bart is back up and running! I really hope Bart gets a contract in place within the next 30 days, so we don't have to suffer through another strike. 

I really don't know what is wrong with people to think it is safe to be riding a bike through the Bart station. Oblivious!

Wordless Wednesday

Last Week in Pictures!