Goggle Run

On Thanksgiving morning K participated in a 10k with her aunt Sheri and uncle Ryan.

Officially it was called the "Give n' Gobble" run but K and I decided that it ought to have been called the "Give n' GOGGLE" run because it rained and rained and rained - an absolute torrential downpour for the entire race!  They were soaked to the bone but the rain didn't drown their smiles!

LOVE these runners!

24 hours in Medford, OR

With the week of Thanksgiving being a "no school" week for our kiddos we took Monday & Tuesday and drove south to Medford Oregon.

We didn't have much of an agenda, and even the little agenda we had was whittled away at when time seemed to go faster than we had expected.

What we did do?

swimming, reading and relaxing at the hotel

pizza at Kaleidoscope Pizza

Medford library (COOL library!)

tour of Harry & David's

In & Out burger

Medford temple

Advice from Elder Busche

Five years ago I was one month post mastectomy and I wrote some thoughts that I want to share today.  So much has happened in five years but I find myself in a similar place emotionally battling a little bit with the idea that I shouldn't have to be back in this place.  Sometimes it just is.

Nov 24, 2011...
My dad uploaded a video to my desktop a week before my surgery.
It was a video filled with pieces of advice from Elder Busche.
I have watched the video every single day since.
Every time I watch it, something different touches my heart.
The video begins with, "Embrace this day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks"
My most recent days haven't looked the same as they did just a few weeks ago.
But I am quickly learning that my days don't have to end the same way that they begin.
I guess I am working on that enthusiastic welcome :)
The video ends with, "when you are compelled to give up something or when things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be learned right now.  But know also as you are learning this lesson, God wants to give you something better."
It is that line that gives me hope to get through the rest of my day.

Below is the video I referenced five years ago (along with a transcript of his words).  I hope that as you watch this that you can find something that touches your heart as well.  Just as my dad gave it to me, consider it a little gift from me paying it forward...

I want to share with you a vehicle, an instrument, that I developed some time ago for myself and for my family. It can assist us to reach our focus as we read the suggested vision of true discipleship as a Latter-day Saint. It helps when, from time to time, we ponder and seek identification with the following thoughts:


* Embrace this day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks. The covenant with God to which you are true enables you to become enlightened by him, and nothing is impossible for you.
* When you are physically sick, tired, or in despair, steer your thoughts away from yourself and direct them, in gratitude and love, toward God.
* In your life there have to be challenges. They will either bring you closer to God and therefore make you stronger, or they can destroy you. But you make the decision of which road you take.
* First and foremost, you are a spirit child of God. If you neglect to feed your spirit, you will reap unhappiness. Don't permit anything to detract you from this awareness.
* You cannot communicate with God unless you have first sacrificed your self-oriented natural man and have brought yourself into the lower levels of meekness, to become acceptable for the Light of Christ.
* Put all frustrations, hurt feelings, and grumblings into the perspective of your eternal hope. Light will flow into your soul.
* Pause to ponder the suffering Christ felt in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the awareness of the depth of gratitude for him, you appreciate every opportunity to show your love for him by diligently serving in his Church.
* God knows that you are not perfect. As you suffer about your imperfections, he will give you comfort and suggestions of where to improve.
* God knows better than you what you need. He always attempts to speak to you. Listen, and follow the uncomfortable suggestions that he makes to us--everything will fall into its place.
* Avoid any fear like your worst enemy, but magnify your fear about the consequences of sin.
* When you cannot love someone, look into that person's eyes long enough to find the hidden rudiments of the child of God in him.
* Never judge anyone. When you accept this, you will be freed. In the case of your own children or subordinates, where you have the responsibility to judge, help them to become their own judges.
* If someone hurts you so much that your feelings seem to choke you, forgive and you will be free again.
* Avoid at all cost any pessimistic, negative, or criticizing thoughts. If you cannot cut them out, they will do you harm. On the road toward salvation, let questions arise but never doubts. If something is wrong, God will give you clarity but never doubts.
* Avoid rush and haste and uncontrolled words. Divine light develops in places of peace and quiet. Be aware of that as you enter places of worship.
* Be not so much concerned about what you do, but do what you do with all your heart, might, and strength. In thoroughness is satisfaction.
* You want to be good and to do good. That is commendable. But the greatest achievement that can be reached in our lives is to be under the complete influence of the Holy Ghost. Then he will teach us what is really good and necessary to do.
* The pain of sacrifice lasts only one moment. It is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes you hesitate to do it.
* Be grateful for every opportunity to serve. It helps you more than those you serve.
* And finally, when you are compelled to give up something or when things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be learned right now. But know also that, as you are learning this lesson, God wants to give you something better.
Thus, we prepare all the days of our lives, and, as we grow, death loses its sting, hell loses its power, and we look forward to that day with anticipation and joy when he will come in his glory.

He lights up our home (in more ways than one)

This year marks the year that C is old enough to take over the hanging of our Christmas lights.
Exciting for him!
Overjoyed (possibly with a few tears shed) for me!

Who wouldn't feel completely secure with their 8-year old brother in charge of "holding" the ladder?  Ha!  Rest assured that I was at the bottom of that ladder for the hanging of the lights and T was only my stand in for me to take quick pics :)

Brace Face

Another metal mouth in the family.

#weinvestinsmiles

{K} WHS Cross Country 2016

Last night was K's Cross Country Banquet to end off the season.

It was a great season for their team.  They truly had no competition when it came to their season meets.  On both the Varsity and the JV - on both the men and the women's side - they obliterated their competition all the way through districts.

This was K's first XC season and she ran JV at all but one meet.  I know she set a PR goal for herself that she wasn't quite able to reach but she ran everyday, every practice, every meet and I am nothing but proud of her for that effort and commitment.

She is definitely looking forward to next season...and by looking forward to next season, she begins winter training on Monday!!!

They say that XC is an individual sport - that you are really competing with your own times.  

And when you are out there running, you are definitely on your own....

For being an "individual" sport, this girl of ours sure seemed to find a love of team!!!

{TRUTH} Surgery results

I'm three weeks post-surgery and finally feel like we have all the answers so that I can write this post.

My surgery went off without a hitch...

* removed the port-a-cath

* removed the tumors

* removed the implants

* placed expanders for future reconstruction

I spent one night in the hospital

 Was off pain medication by day four

Was back to cross fit by day six (JUST KIDDING MOM!)

Am still supposed to be limiting my arm range of motion and activity (which is hard to do when you feel as good as I do)

Since my surgery I have had appointments with my plastic surgeon, my oncologist and my general surgeon.  All the appointments went well with the tiny little exception that the pathology results didn't have clear margins - meaning that despite my surgeon taking a larger area around the tumor than she had originally planned to take, there was a small area of the tumor that was further into the muscle than the thickness of muscle that she removed. 

So the question we have had since getting that news has been, "what does that mean?"

Do we proceed with the planned radiation and let radiation take care of any remaining cells or do we go in one more time surgically and remove a little bit more muscle before beginning radiation?

Today my case was reviewed by the "Tumor Board" (a gathering of multiple surgeons, oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, etc) and the agreement was made that no additional surgery is needed prior to radiation.  My radiation "field" will be mapped to include the area of concern and radiation will take care of any pesky cancer cells lurking in my muscle.

I'm just okay with that plan!

Chemo - CHECK

Surgery - CHECK

Next up - radiation mapping on Nov 29th

{TRUTH} finding beauty in baldness

It's hard to believe, but I have been bald now going on 5 months!  You would think that I would be used to it by now, but I have to admit that I often forget that I am bald until I answer the door or go outside without my trusty bandana and the reaction of others is a pretty bold reminder that I have no hair.

To be honest, my hair is actually beginning to grow back so I expect before too long my baldness will be a thing of the past.  Yeah!  Before my hair began to make it's comeback I decided that I needed to document my bald stage of life.  I haven't allowed many photos to be taken of me these past few months but I finally decided to be brave and bare my head for the purpose of posterity.  My awesome teenage daughter agreed to be my photographer and I think she did a great job (she didn't even complain when I asked her to do the photos a second time because of my squinty eyes in the first photo shoot).  I'm sure it was not a big deal to her but those two outings to capture these photos meant so much to me and I love her for going along with her crazy mom and not batting an eye when people walked by and stared.

So here is the reveal...this is what the amateur photographer and the amateur model came up with...

from Acorn to Oak Tree

Two summers ago my boys planted an acorn seedling in our back yard.  After minimal growth that first year, that acorn surprised me this past year when it took off!  Earlier this summer we realized that we needed to find a new home for that "little" tree because acorns grow into really big trees - much bigger than what we really wanted growing one foot away from our patio :)

Over the weekend T joined Rich in moving our tree to the park down the road, where it will have lots of space and we will be able to continue to watch it grow; just no longer from our kitchen window.

It's Going to Be OKAY

I am seriously LOVING this song right now!

My brother sent this link to me last week and my kids and I have been listening to it, pretty much nonstop, anytime that we are in the car together.  I liked the song initially, but bopping down the road with four kids singing along has taken this song to the top of my chart!

Last week I was with just J and T as we listened to it together in the car.

T was trying to move his fingers as fast as Jon Schmidt and he came up with a plan...it went like this,

"I can be the piano player, J can play the cello, K can sing the words and C can....(pause)...sell t-shirts"

I laughed out loud!!!

Then, T realized there just may be need of a drummer so C was reassigned from t-shirt vendor to drummer, at which point T said, 

"and mom and dad can staple the papers to the trees!" 

(referring to the event flyers that he sees all over town on utility poles).

Glad that I have use, as long as I'm armed with a stapler :)

Snapchat creations

I don't have snapchat...but apparently the boys have found their way around that with a friend's mom that does and who sends me these crazy creations while on field trips.

They make me laugh!!!

Chicago Cub's break the curse!

What a night last night!

I can't honestly say that our family is a big MLB family, but my boys enthusiasm for the game has increased with each win that the Cub's have enjoyed against the Indians.

With last night being GAME 7, we went all out and declared it a World Series night, complete with hot dogs, nachos, creme soda and donuts (that we called baseballs, bats and gloves).

The boys took sides with the Cubs and then we waited and watched and waited....through all nine innings, a rain delay and then a tenth inning.

And in the end "our" Cubs won! And what a win it was! 

Halloween 2016

Halloween 2016 feels like it came and went in a blink of an eye.

I miss the years of making "theme" costumes for all four of the kids.  I think that I was as excited for Halloween as the kids were back then.

Luckily I still have these two who are willing to decorate pumpkins (from our garden) and dress up in costumes that were once worn by K and C.

The cavemen had a pretty successful "hunt" after their school Trick-or-Treat night, the ward Trunk-or-Treat and Halloween night in the neighborhood.  Three events bring in a LOT of candy!

C didn't dress up this year, but he did find himself picking Frankenstein's nose at the Trunk-or-Treat all in the name of getting a piece of candy!

K dressed up for her XC team's costume run on Halloween..a fun tradition of having all the XC runners in costume running through town.

I think she made a pretty darling "Rosie the Riveter"!