So fast...thank God

When I wrote about Elizabeth Edwards this morning she was still here...now she is gone. What a blessing. Not that she is gone but that it happened so fast. If you have ever watched someone you love die of cancer, you understand. And I seriously doubt that there is anyone reading who hasn't had the wretched experience.

It is a horrible death but she was such a powerful, beautiful woman that she managed to even handle the process of her death with dignity. I love this quote from her:

"The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human. But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful."

Amen.

xoxo

Elizabeth Edwards

The news of Elizabeth Edwards imminent death has kicked me in the gut. Every time someone loses their battle with cancer it is devastating. For me, the loses to breast cancer just plain scare me…obviously.

Elizabeth has been my beacon. I have always marveled at how much she has endured and her grace through it all. Losing a child, the public betrayal by her husband, and so much more.

I remember thinking about her when I was diagnosed in 2008...and specifically thinking that she will be fine and so will I.

Dear God, please give her peace.

xoxo

So much to tell...

I am sorry to have been away so long. My life has been very busy, as I am sure yours have also. We had a very special visitor from Guatemala. A member of Oscar’s foster family was here with us. Her visit was incredible. We will forever cherish the memories we made while she was here. I have oodles of photos to post and will do that soon. Jandy, thank you for being with us. We love you!

xoxo

AFV

We love America's Funniest Videos. It seems like a safe, family-friendly show. Not too much trouble to get into by letting the kids watch it and giggle uncontrollably...right...?

Last night the kids were up in my bed watching. I was 20 feet away getting ready for bed (okay....busted.....we go to bed REALLY early around here). I hear Oscar shout out a groan slash laugh after one of the scenes. Here is the exchange I hear next:

Oscar: Ohhhhhhh....dude...aughhhh!
Angelica: What happened Oscar?
Oscar: He got hit in the crouch (yes, he said crouch...as in "to hunker down"...lol)
Angelica: Oh no....his weenis!!!
Oscar: Yes, Angelica, his privates...his weeeenis!

Time for Anatomy 101. LOL!

xoxo

GREAT news....the recession is over...

At least it appears that way by the amount of candy people were giving out last night. The kids went trick or treating in our neighborhood only and, oh my gosh, they were loaded down with candy. It was a boondoggle! When we were kids no one gave out full size candy bars. My kids buckets are full of them!

We had a great time that started with Halloween parties on Friday in the kid's classes. Angelica was a princess (shocking!) and Oscar was a Star Wars trooper (doubly shocking!!). Then on the actual Halloween day we had block party down the street with all the neighbors. From there the kids went out begging for candy. It was a blast!

Hope you had a happy Halloween too!



A certain angel was not very happy here.... :-/

Oscar is checking out the competition.

xoxo

Oscar's 8th birthday

Oscar is 8. How the h.e.double hockey sticks did that happen? My precious little man is growing up way too fast. Here is a golden oldie!






I am a little slow in posting pictures. It was a delightful night with Molly, Megan, Marty and the boys. Here is a self timer of all of us. I love our family so much.



You can see the delight in Oscar's face when he opened the gift from our Guatemalan family, the Vela's. We love that family so much too! :-)



As a fun surprise for Oscar, I strung yarn all throughout the house. He had to follow the yarn and every once in a while there would be a little surprise for him. It was fun for the kids but a little challenging for me! Ha. I got tangled more than once.






I made Oscar's cake. It was a Star Wars theme. I made the frosting from scratch. Thanks, Megan, for the recipe. I crumbled oreos for the dirt. It turned out hideous. He loved it. :-)



xoxo

My 2nd Cancerversary

Every person I speak with has a different opinion on what constitutes the date that survival statistics begin. For example, if you talk to a surgeon, they say the date of surgery is when the clock starts. Some say it is the date of diagnosis, since we are survivors starting the day we find out we have cancer. And still others say the anniversary date is the day that you stop chemo or treatments.

It is estimated that 207,090 women will be diagnosed with and nearly 40,000 women will die of cancer of the breast in 2010. Statistics are very important. Specifically, the 2 year mark and then again the 5 year mark have the greatest drop in recurrance risk. Of course, it would help to know what day that mark is. LOL

October 1, 2008 was the day I was diagnosed. So, regardless of when the clock starts, Friday was an important day in my little world. I spent it with the neighborhood girls and my sister playing Bunco and drinking jello shots. Seriously. It was so much fun!!

xoxo

Detroit...

Interesting 3 part series on Detroit. I tend to feel a fierce defensiveness about my birthplace. It is a mess, but it feels optimistic. And there is no place else that I want to be.

Big news

Angelica came home from kindergarten and told me she got married. I will let you know where she is registered.



xoxo

I did it!!!

I am great at doing laundry. But I suck at folding it and putting it away...lol. Just now I actually finished every last speck of laundry in this house. All of it. And, are you ready for this...are you sitting down? I folded it all and put it all away. I even matched socks and put, oh, probably 40 tucked little bundles in the right drawers!

Only one problem. None of us will know where to get our clothes for school/work tomorrow since the laundry room and laundry baskets are all empty. :-)

xoxo

Giving up hope and replacing it with a deadline...

I LOVE this cause!

http://www.stopbreastcancer.org/2020/about-this-deadline.html

By the way, Dr. Dennis Slamon (go to the Experts tab) is considered the "Founder" of Herceptin. Herceptin is a life saver, truly, for those of us diagnosed with HER2+ cancer.

Thank you, Jesus

I am not sure why it has been so long since my last post. Because I continually think of things I want to tell you all. But, unless there is a pad of paper and a pen close by, the ideas slip right through my brain like grains of sand in an hourglass. (wheeeeeeeeeeeeeew-weee, that was poetic!)

Life is good. I mean, really good. Angelica has a cold, Oscar should be getting it soon, work is awesome although I haven't closed my most recent deals yet (but I am so close), Autumn is almost here (so excited!!), my house and neighborhood continues to delight me with many new friends. In a nutshell, LIFE IS GOOD and deliciously normal.

More soon with photos of Oscar's 8th birthday party. He was so happy to have his Aunts and cousins and Uncle Marty here. Although he wished it could have been his "whole family", to quote him. He loves his aunts, uncles and cousins! I am sure someday he will appreciate his sister too. :-)

In the meantime, here is one of my favorite videos from the archives. We got a wonderful message from our Guatemala family, the Vela's, that reminded me of this sweet video of Oscar asking "'Low, abibobidehr?" or, translated, "Hello, is anybody there?"



xoxo

Couple thoughts this TGIF...

First, I would like to warn you all to never buy the 1 pound bag of new pretzel M&Ms. They are dangerously addictive.

I had to travel to Indianapolis this week for my job...very nice town. On the way I saw this billboard and loved it! Wanted to share. It said:

Recession 101: Self Worth beats Net Worth

My sister Suzanne will be here today...last minute trip. We are so excited although she is coming for a funeral so that is sad.

And, finally, one last little bit of news...........



I GOT MY PORT OUT THIS WEEK. Almost 23 months after having it put in. Wow...wow...wow. What a good feeling! (Well, it will be a good feeling once it stops hurting) :-)

xoxo

Pinkness

Here is the montage I put together to thank all those who made donations. You are all my supporters so I wanted to share with you too.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

3-Day video - part 3

Megan did such a good job getting this video. There were thousands of people....thousands...and it was unbelievably loud and chaotic. So, try to hear the words. And try to take me seriously in my outfit.

3-day video - part 2

3-day videos

Here is my 3-day posting part 1....the intro video. By the way, have I told you about the team we
merged with??? Merry, Katy, Lisa & Rhea...the most AWESOME girls ever. Merry has agreed to be my blog spell checker. You can all thank her. More about them soon.

I walked...60 miles...in 3 days

I walked to honor my mom, whose life was cut so tragically short by breast cancer.

I walked to heal the wounds her death left. For the life moments she deserved to be a part of. And that we deserved to have her be a part of.

I walked for the friends I have lost to breast cancer.

I walked for my friends who lost loved ones to breast cancer.

I walked for my friends who carried my when I could not walk.

I walked for you, my army of supporters, that still care enough about me to check in on this blog.

And, finally, I walked for my sisters…my sisters, who took the news of my diagnosis with such strength that it took my breath away…and still does. My sisters, who were at my side through my battle. My sisters, who are still by my side. My sisters, who are my heros.


xoxo

p.s. Check back soon for photos and funnies.

Did I tell you guys?

I am so excited.....so excited!! I was selected as a flag bearer for the 2010 Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure Ceremonies! I will be carrying the "Courage" flag for the opening and closing ceremonies. All thanks to my incredible sister, Megan! I am so honored.

Getting ready to walk 60 miles...

Tomorrow starts the Susan G. Koman 3-day walk. Oh my.....

More soon!

Feeling so full!

I had the most WONDERFUL birthday...! Check out the cake Megan made me. It was a work of art and scrumptious!

What a year. This time last year, finishing radiation and detoxing my body, seems like a lifetime ago. My life is so full of love and health and fun and blessings. I am grateful!




xoxo

Tribute to Leah on ESPN

Wooooooooooooooooooo-we! Stinky!

I always loved this photo, titled "Daddy, come look at the cute kittens"!

Tonight it just makes me shudder. Scruffy got sprayed by a skunk. Wish me luck.

xoxo

Summer fun...

...in no particular order!







Click to enlarge (above). Does that work to make it bigger? Anyway, this was hilarious! We thought thumbs up meant "we are doing great"...but oh no....!



(Disclaimer: In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to confess that none of these are my feet. These lovely tootsies belong to the girls we went up north with)

Feet owners above!

Oscar and I were trying to take a picture of ourselves. A little too much zoom...!

The world's largest Slip'N'Slide at my neighbors...oh my gosh, so much fun. The kids shoot off the end into the creek.

We went to a horse ranch that was a big part of my life when I was younger (in my 20's...like just a couple years ago). When we woke and opened the RV blinds, look who greeted us!

I scored the world's greatest nanny this summer. She is lovely and my kids adore her...and so do I. She does crafts with them. I thought this was so clever.

I LOVE this picture...

More photos to come of our time in Ludington with our dear friends and also of our camping trip that included a lightening strike...! (Just to keep you riveted in suspense!)

I hope your summer is going great also!

xoxo

Leah

I have so much to tell you all. Every day things happen that I want to come here to tell you about. All good stuff...camping stories, adventures up north, chronicles of our incredible summer. Sorry I have been absent.

But I post this morning, as I weep, for one of my friends in Dallas. Leah is in the final days of her battle with breast cancer. My heart is shattered. Please say a prayer for her 3 precious, very young children and husband. I hope God carries her home soon and that her suffering is almost over. She fought her battle bravely.

I had to come here and write. It is where I have come for the past almost 2 years when things were tough and the place I came to cry this morning.



xoxo