Changing Course.

Kevin had a scan this week.  He was scheduled for chemotherapy yesterday, so we received the results of the scan.  It was not the news we were hoping for.  Several of the tumors in the lymph nodes have grown.  They opted to not continue with treatment yesterday as they want to explore a new course of action that may be more effective.  We discussed a few different options and expect to get a call from the oncologist next week to settle on one.  It is likely that he will go back to a two week cycle.  One of the side affects that has been very concerning to the doctors is Kevin's neuropathy. 

Any time that Kevin has to hold off on chemotherapy due to blood counts (or this recent news), it takes a toll on both of our morale.  Though we know it is for good reason, it is discouraging.  We look forward to see what this next treatment holds and continue to pray for his healing.  One day at a time.

Good Times with Neighbors.

As Kevin tells the story, it goes something like this.  Last summer, Sidney was out driving her white convertible around the neighborhood.  She left and returned with a boy. Kevin said, "Who is your friend?"  Sidney, "I don't know.  Just a boy."

 

That is how it all began.  Jackson has become one of her best friends.  They are virtually inseparable.  Here is Sid with Jackson and his brother Blake on one of their adventures to Jump Time. 

 

 Blake is now getting big enough to join the crew.  The kids spend countless hours running back and forth between houses.

The Wino and the Mannequins.

I won, I won!  While we were at skating a few weeks ago, I purchased a raffle ticket.  Lo and behold, I became the proud owner of a wine basket including glasses, corkscrew, crackers and four bottles of wine.  It has to be 5 o'clock somewhere!

I am not sure if anyone else's children do crazy things like this.  My daughter's get a kick of standing with the mannequins and drawing reactions from passersby.  They could spend countless hours doing this.  The bonus...I do occasionally get some uninterrupted shopping moments.

That 70's Show.

My mom has sent me a few old pictures as of late.  I love receiving these gems.  I was born in Santa Cruz in the early 70's (no calculations necessary).  I remember early life on the beach and adventures in our VW bus (that my mom sold in a yard sale).  Looking through the pictures reminds me of then.

 

The first one goes a little further back.  It is a picture of my Grandma Juanita.  She has told us stories of how she used to Jitterbug and Yodel on the radio. 

 

This is a Sweet 16 picture of my beautiful Mom.

My Aunt Nena and my Mom.

Here is a picture of my cousin Ron with my Mom.  He will always be Ronnie to me .

Here is one of the first pictures of my Dad and Mom together while they were dating.

Here are my Dad and Mom on their wedding day.

 Our sweet little family.  This was taken before my sister was born.

My sister Stephanie and I hamming it up for the camera.  I am the cute one on the right.

 

A Special Thank You.

Like most working mom's, I juggle a lot.  Trying to find that balance can be tricky.  Especially this last year, with everything that Kevin has been going through, finding that balance has become harder.  The girl's have each wrestled with his cancer in their own way, which takes special care and attention.  Kevin himself has wrestled with it and has been continuously pounded by rounds of chemotherapy.  He has not been able to do many of the things that he has helped out with in the past.

So, how do I find balance?  Sometimes it is not in the things that I can do, it is in the seemingly small, but rather huge things that other people do. It is the surprise dinner's that Terrell provides for us or the extra dinner that she packages up for us to stick in our freezer.  It is the moments that she gifts Kevin and I with a few hours to sneak away and spend some time together.  It is the friends that gift me with their presence.  The moments that we craft in near silence (Bridget), just knowing that you are there but the silence is okay.  It is the lunches that I get to chat (Kristen), sometimes about important things, other times about nothing, and sometimes just a raging vent that helps me momentarily feel real again.   It is the support that I get in knowing that I can truly be myself (Rebecca) good, bad or ugly.  It is the friends that started out as Kevin's (Valerie) that have made a point to let me know that they are here for me too.  It is the neighbor (Steve) who brings his snow shovel alongside mine to help me finish the driveway.  Then there is my family, my mom and my sister,  I talk to them most every day.  They are my rocks.  It is the prayers, support and encouragement that I get from the bible and others. 

It is the person at Awana that bought Sidney her Extra Credit book.  Yes, I may not know who you are, and yes I could have afforded the ten dollars, but you have no idea how much your gesture meant.  The irony that this person knows me so well, that they had one of the secretaries make up some silly story, so that I would not realize it was a gift and be too prideful to accept it.

We have had so much going on this year, all the while trying to maintain a sense of normalcy for our family.  This juggle is not unique to us.  It is part of every family.  I just wanted to take a moment to thank those of you whom I am lucky enough to have in my life.  You mean the world to me! 

The Awana Grand Prix.

Kendall was eligible to enter the Awana Grand Prix this year.  She purchased her block of pine wood and let the creativity begin.  Kevin gave her some guidance, but the work was left up to her.  She picked a profile.  Kevin cut the block, then Kendall was left to sand and paint. 

We have never done the pine car derby before, so did not know what to expect.  Kendall's car did great.  She made it to the final heat and most importantly had a blast.

 

There were some great cars.  They even had an adult division, so some of the adults could get their creativity legitimately out of their system.

 

Asher was being goofy as ever.  I threatened to start taking blackmail pictures now.

Sidney, Hannah and Kendall waiting for the races to begin.

The Dad's were equally excited.  Kevin said that he had been looking forward to it all day.

The kids anxiously awaiting the first round of cars to head down the track.

David was the starting line official.  He kept the race moving, and we were able to finish all of the races in just under two hours.  Kendall's car is heading down the red lane.

A Little Bit of Sassy and A Whole Lot of Sweet.

When the girls were younger, I would take them to get their pictures every six month as they were changing so much.  Now that they are in school, I have been getting pictures in the fall.  However, every once in awhile it is fun to take them in and let them call the shots.  Last weekend, we did just that.  I told them to pick out a couple of outfits.  I also told them to think of something that they do together that would be representative of them.  They spent the morning thinking about it.  Below is what they came up with.  They chose the backgrounds, the outfits and in many cases, they helped the photographer with ideas for the poses.