Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas From Our Family to Yours!

Vomit and Headaches

Emilie is on chemo day 4 of 5.  Have I mentioned that chemo stinks?  Emilie is having a hard time with this round...vomiting and severe headaches.  She is having to resort to morphine for the pain which knocks her out even further.  Please pray that the headaches go away so that we can go home tomorrow after our last chemo.

We took the above shot at St. Jude last year and thought it was perfectly appropriate!

Nuff Said

24 Hours Later and an Update

November 16, 2011, was yet another sad day for our family.  We learned that cancer had returned and Emilie would have to undergo more treatment.  Really?  How could this be?  After 17 months of remission, how could this be?  Our life was back to normal...school, friends, shopping trips to the mall, swimming, baseball games, etc.  While we were wallowing in "why us?", Emilie was on to something more productive...thinking of others.  You see, the following day, we had a consult with our oncologist and Emilie would miss her Operation Christmas Child packing party at school.  Two weeks prior, we spent a good chunk of time at the Target Dollar Spot picking out items to fill her boxes, making sure that the items were fun and useful.  Less than 24 hours following the news, Emilie decided that we needed to shop for more OCC boxes before traveling to Packard for our consult.  Off to Kmart and to the Dollar Store where once again, Emilie carefully picked special items for kids in other countries. Amazing!  Emilie continues to inspire me with her positive attitude and her quiet trust and faith in God!!  I don't think Emilie knows this scripture in her head, but it just has to be in her heart.

We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don't know what to do, we never give up. In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again. 2 Cor 4:8-9 CEV

Here's the update...Emilie had one week of chemo over Thanksgiving and weekly IT chemo (in her spinal fluid) in hopes of putting that nasty cancer in remission.  If her test results show that she is in remission, she will undergo a bone marrow transplant in January 2012.  This will require chemo, full body radiation, bone marrow transplant and a 4-6 week stay at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.  Our sweet Nicolas is Emilie's donor and he will have to have a few tests with a short procedure to harvest his bone marrow.  He is excited to help Emilie and is not afraid of what's ahead.  We will be living at the Palo Alto Ronald McDonald house for about 60 days following our stay at LPCH since Emilie's immune system will be at "zero".  They want us close to the hospital in the event of a fever.  If all goes as planned, we could be home 100 days from the transplant.  Emilie will be in isolation mode for approximately 6-12 months, which will be made better with Facetime and Skype. (Email me for video chat info).  That's a lot of "if then", so we are taking everything day by day and sometimes hour by hour.
We would so appreciate your prayers regarding...
1.) the cancer is destroyed
2.) chemo, radiation, and transplant go well with no events
3.) Emilie stays joyful and positive
4.) the boys stay on track with school and sports while we are gone
5.) strength, health, and endurance for Nana

I will leave you with our first-ever professionally photographed family shot by Michelle Riddle taken only four days prior to learning that cancer returned.  (Michelle selflessly donated a portion of all her family Christmas sessions to Cookies for Kids Cancer... thank you, Michelle.)
Please, please, I encourage you to spend the time, the money, and the anxiety to do this for yourself and your family.  Trust me on this one!!

 

Moments

In the happy moments, praise God.

In the difficult moments, seek God.

In the quiet moments, trust God.

In EVERY moment, THANK God.

So grateful for moments, all of them...the good, bad, and ugly.

Goodbye Navigator

Our time at Navigator Drive has come to an end.  Farewell wonderful house, you served us well!

Friday Fotos

The big news of the week.....

We have a high schooler in the house.

Emilie is standing with her right knee unassisted.  Woo Hoo!    

The Only Thing That Hasn't Changed....

...is his haircut!  

I've got lots of feelings on Paul's first day of HIGH SCHOOL, but I'm just so grateful that I get to be his mom.  Happy first day of high school Paul.  Love you lots!!!

The Sky Is The Limit

1. Neat aisle at our local Mexican market.
2. Local beach mural.
3. Artwork spotted in our church's parking lot.
4. New shoes for Emilie, but way too big...mine now.
5. Straight leg braces and first time on forearm crutches!!!!!  Wow, Emilie is walking beautifully.  Bob, the brace man, told Emilie that with her new braces, "The Sky Is The Limit"!! Thank you, God for muscle return and perseverance!!
6. Night off from cooking. 
7. Super cute iPod case for Emilie. 
8. School supplies.
9. Swimming with Sandy.
        

All I've Got...

This is all I've got for the week  last three weeks.  Lots of photos, but this is the best and the most important of the lot.  I found this quote by Kay Warren on Stephanie's blog, Homegrown Hospitality, and I knew it had a home on our chalkboard!  So perfect!

   

Friday Fotos

         

Oops, Friday Fotos on Saturday!

Still loving my iPhone and Instagram App.  Makes me happy, happy, happy!

   

Friday Fotos

So, I have been following this blog, My Home Sweet Home, and I just love Dawn's Camera Phone Friday. Any blog with great photos pulls me in and Dawn has such wonderful photography and editing skills!!!!    I absolutely L O V E my iPhone and love that I can capture life quickly and anywhere without lugging my "big girl" camera.  Oh, and Instagram...I really don't have to say more.  It's the little things in life!   Please join me and put your iPhone/Instagram addiction to good use...

Baseball, Meat Trays, Funerals and Gratitude

I get lots of ideas for blog posts while just doing life.  Today as I watched the Giants game and the after-game show, I got one more thought for this long overdue post.  The announcers were talking about Ryan Vogelsong, the old guy, almost has-been pitcher for the Giants, who obviously has never given up.  Never give up!  This is a family phrase that we have said for many years, but especially for the last year.  Never give up!  We, especially Emilie, have been on a wild ride this year, but we have never given up.  Never given up on God, never given up hope, never given up our faith....never given up.  When Emilie was diagnosed last year, I tried to explain the situation to the boys.  I explained that Emilie was a 2 strike hitter and she was battling at the plate.  Each successful treatment, MRI, procedure, etc. was a foul tip and she was waiting for that perfect pitch that would put her safely on base.  We are all "2 strike hitters" in this life, so never give up. 

This month is a month of celebration.  Celebrating life, family, birthdays, and graduation.  Paul is graduating middle school and we are so proud of him.  It has been a crappy year for him and he has dealt with it beautifully.   As I was at our local market ordering a meat tray for the graduation ceremony, a lady next to me was ordering food for a funeral. I thought, wow, I could be here ordering food for a funeral, but God has given us another year of life.  A life that is not taken for granted.  A life that is celebrated daily.  Life...live it!

One year ago today, we faced a very scary diagnosis.  In looking back, I am grateful.  Not for the diagnosis or the stuff we had to deal with, but for the Grace that God gave us to live minute by minute with hope and faith.  We have learned to be grateful for all things and to wake up and experience the blessings in life.

Go out and live life big, love  people just because, and wake up to the blessings all around you!! 

So Undeserving Part 3

So undeserving of this gift, this gift that is free for all of us sinners.  The Lord Jesus paid our debt of sin on the cross and, if we receive Him, we are free to enjoy God's love and live in His favor....FOREVER.

God's Grace is truly amazing!! 

We are undeserving and so very grateful!

You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God's gift to you and not anything you have done on your own. It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.   Ephesians 2:8-9

So Undeserving Part 2

So undeserving of a "Wish" donated by total strangers whom we will never meet to thank personally.   Selfless strangers making a wish come true.  We are undeserving and so very grateful!

So Undeserving Part 1

So undeserving of the love, concern and care shown by our "Purple Peeps" who began loving on us when Emilie was first diagnosed back in June 2010.  95% of the "Purple Peeps" were total strangers to us until 2 weeks ago when we were fortunate to meet them at one of their training sessions.   Thank you "Purple Peeps" for the countless emails, the wonderful gifts and for walking and running to end blood cancers.  We are undeserving and so very grateful! 

Fourteen

Happy, happy birthday Paul!  You are growing up to be a wonderfully kind, caring and helpful young man.  Thank you for being "you"!  You bring lots of happiness and joy to our lives. We love you so very much!

Eleven

Happy Birthday to our Supergirl!  We are so blessed to have you in our lives.  In the last year, you have shown us how to love, how to be courageous, how to trust God, how to persevere, how to endure, how to be grateful, and how to be joyful!  You are amazing, Emilie!  Thank you for being the very special "you" that you are!  We love, love, love you so very much!

HAPPY * HAPPY * HAPPY

Happy is what these shots make me feel!  Thank you Pascale Wowak for the dose of happiness!

The Crazy Train Goes Green!