Christmas Party

Crystal, Leyna & Ashlyn ~ our angels?



Leyna said, "That is not the real Santa. He's fake. I smelled him, and he does not smell like Santa. He's fake, but I'm not afraid of the fake Santa." I love 3 year olds!

35!

Happy birthday to my best friend, supportive & helpful husband, playful father, adoring son, hardworking businessman, and faithful follower of Christ. I love you for all that you are!

Something's Amiss

Notice anything different about Kami? She lost her front tooth and is about to lose the other -- just in time to be able to sing "All I Want for Christmas are My Two Front Teeth." She rolls her eyes at me every time I start to sing the song.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

No laughing at my skinny tree. One of these years I'll get the full tree of my dreams. So I thought it'd be fun to have the kids wish you all a merry Christmas. I quit trying after three attempts. But from our home to yours, we really do wish you all a very merry Christmas season!
TAKE1

TAKE2

TAKE3

Thanksgiving

We made the drive to AZ where we had a great two days with Eric's family in Prescott and another two game-filled days with my family in Gilbert, but only a few pictures to show for it. Thanks, Tiff, for contributing to my picture collection. Christmas will be better (maybe).
Joan slaved away to make us a delicioius meal, as did my parents just two days later. Yum yum yum. I love my yam yam yams.

Blood Tests

I forgot to post that I had a blood test on Monday, November 23rd. If you remember, my last test reflected a CEA count of 0.7. It is now down to 0.4! Isn't that fabulous? This is significant because it’s the first blood test done without having had chemo for 3 months. I knew in my heart that all was going to be well, but am super ecstatic with the results. I'm awaiting similar news when I have my next scan on December 22nd. I'll keep you 'posted.' (ha ha ha...pun obviously intended)

Beauty Is Only Skin Deep

Bedrooms

We're not finished yet, but here are some shots of the kids' rooms so far for Grandma & Grandpa to see.

Crazy Hair Day

I don't know who loves Crazy Hair Day more -- the kids or me!

Ice Cream Sundae

This is a cute video that Eric captured of Leyna on his cell phone the other day.

Trunk or Treat

School Photos

No Nap Day

This is what happens when Leyna doesn't get her nap. About 5 or 6:00, she'll just pass out--obviously in any position. Love the drool on my couch. ;)

Pumpkin Patch

Joan, Larry & Eric were all able to join us for the preschool outing to Underwood Family Farms. I don't know how excited grandma and grandpa were to go, but Larry's favorite show, NCIS, was filming there that day. He got to see the Virginia State patrol cars at least, even though the cast was far out in some field filming.

Eric Wins 1st Place!!

This past weekend, Eric, Mark & Gary all participated in the Cochise County Cycling Classic in Bisbee, AZ. Of the 210 registered riders, my all-star husband came in 1st place for the 92 mile race!!! I wasn't surprised, but ultra proud of him and excited to learn of his accomplishment. Wish we could have been there to cheer him in! Mark finished in 28th, which is exceptional given the fact that he's only been riding a year and this was only his 2nd race. Gary came in ten minutes behind Mark in 50th and rode a good race, as well.

Now Eric's looking forward to July 2010 when he'll be able to realize his long-awaited dream of observing and riding the course of the Tour de France!

Mammoth Lakes Trip

We had such a great time in Mammoth this past weekend. Last night Kade said, "This is the worst vacation because it's the best vacation ever and we have to go home." Here's a little glimpse into how we spent our time....

We had a great time at Convict Lake, even if the water was ice cold.

(so we didn't have swimsuits,but we improvised)


Like the boy he is, Eric was climbing trees again...until...

the tree landed on him!

We got in some park time,

I felt great enough to bike the Uptown/Downtown trails. And I wish I had the pictures to prove what an animal Eric is. He put in 12 hours on the bike, riding to the top of incredible mountains.


There was tons of beautiful sightseeing!


We got in more water time at June Lake,


Went to the skate parks at least once a day,


Check out Kade's kick flip action!

There were even some waterfalls we were able to climb to at Twin Lakes.

We have a whole list of things we want to do on our next venture up there, but all in all, it was time well spent. Nothing beats a family getaway, coupled with the peaceful surroundings of God's country! A big thank you to the Piurkowsky's for allowing us to use your condo and adding some great memories to our photo albums!

Results! Results!

Today was the big day…Scan day!! I had PET & CT scans, neither of which showed any definitive signs of cancer. It did come back abnormal with an enlarged spleen (whatever that’s indicative of, I don’t know) and a long black region on the liver. Dr. Bilchik wasn’t able to determine whether or not the blackened region was fluid, scar tissue or tumor. He’s ordered the scans from my last stay at Cedars Sinai to compare them. Hopefully we’ll hear back by next week what they’ve found.

Because I’m CEA sensitive, or in other words, since my CEA level has proven to be a significant indicator of the amount of cancer in my body (which was at 0.6 four weeks ago), and because I feel so good, we are going to stop all treatments unless they find in future tests that the darkened region is cancerous. The plan is to go back in six weeks to test the CEA level in my blood, and then I’ll return for more scans in three months to see if there’s been a growth of the black region on the liver.

I’m surprised my spleen was enlarged and not my heart, because it feels like my heart could burst with joy. I am so lucky to have had Eric here by my side every step, heartache, tear and moment of joy along the way. Could I have married a better companion? I don’t think so. My family gave me purpose to live, my friends and doctors gave me the courage and know-how to persevere, my faith in the Lord gave me understanding and patience. I owe my strength and success to all those who prayed, fasted, cried, sent cards, brought in meals, watched my children, and so much more unmentioned, on my behalf. I’m grateful for this life we get to experience and hope to not let any wonderful experiences pass me by.

Now…who’s going to join us for Hawaii in December????? It's time to make some reservations!

Stephen Family

Forgot to post pictures of when Cory came out to visit. It was great to see the entire Stephen family together. Joan was so happy to be surrounded by all her kids.

Are You Kidding Me?!!!!

So I'm in my bedroom folding laundry while Gavin and Leyna are playing so well together in the girls' room. They're laughing and having a grand ol' time. When it comes time to pick up the older kids from school, I walk in to get them and this is what I see on the floor.
"Leyna, I can't believe you cut your hair AGAIN!!!"
"Sorry, Mom," she says as she starts to cry.
"Why did you cut it?"
"I didn't. Gavin did."
"Did you tell Gavin to stop?"
"Yes, but he wanted to cut it anyway."
"Gavin, is this true? Did you keep cutting Leyna's hair even when she told you not to?"
"Yes."
"Did you know what you were doing was wrong and going to make me upset?"
"Yes."
"Alright, if I can't do Leyna's hair, then I don't think you should be able to do your hair either. I'm cutting yours so you can't do a mohawk anymore."
"No, Mom. Please. I won't cut her hair again."
"Too bad so sad. You mess with Leyna's hair and I'm gonna mess with yours."


Needless to say, Gavin was not happy about getting his hair cut. The little stink looks absolutely adorable, though, anyway. Leyna's hair was cut so short all over that I don't know how to fix it. It took so long to grow back from her other cutting fiascos. Just give me some bangs to work with at least. Aaaargh! (Marcella, I need your hair cutting expertise! What can we do?)The funny thing is that Leyna could care less. She thinks it looks great. As you can see, she's all smiles and just glad that I'm not mad at her. (Eric's out of town and is going to freak out when he sees her hair! Maybe I should give him some advanced notice.)