Twas the night before Christmas............

when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;The children were nestled all snug in their beds,While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.Away to the window I flew like a flash,Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snowGave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,With a little old driver, so lively and quick,I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roofThe prancing and pawing of each little hoof.As I drew in my head, and was turning around,Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;He had a broad face and a little round belly,That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,And laying his finger aside of his nose,And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Wow! It's December 23rd already....

I can't believe it's already 2 days till Christmas. All the presents are bought, cards and parcels sent in the mail, and today is a very special day......our baby boy Christopher is 15 years old today! Where has the time gone?? Our little baby boy who was 8 lbs. 12 oz at birth is now 5'10" tall, and 140 lbs.

Happy Birthday Christopher! You continue to be a joy and a blessing.

July is flying by!

Jacob and Shiloh

Sunset


Shy Jacob

Maria and Andy

We finally got the hot summer weather we were wishing for + a few grass fires in our area in the last week just to add some excitement, and make us remember that it is drier out there than we think!

The boys are all home safely from their summer bible camps. All three had fun and came back with amazing stories of the all the activities they did.

I LOVE SUMMER!

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  Love having company over and sitting out on the deck watching the sunset

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  Love sitting by the pool sipping a cold drink
  


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  Love summer time radio and all the Hits on Hits 1



Love that we don't really have a schedule or have to be anywhere early in the morning




Love that Andy has time off to spend with us enjoying all the great weather



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  Love that this summer Andy is helping the boys build a half pipe for skateboarding in our yard


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  Love floating in the pool with my Jakey!

My oh my where has the time gone..........

Life through us a curve ball in February when we found out that my Mom had Breast Cancer again. They tell us that it's odd it came back in the same spot as her previous cancer 4 years ago. They also say that with ductal carcinoma, that once the breast is removed there's a 96% cure rate. Hmmm, so now we are faced with a more agressive form of Breast Cancer, 6 months of chemo, possibly followed by radiation. Quite the curve ball!

So, to fast forward from then till now I'm going to list it all in bullet form below:

• In March Mom started the first phase of her chemo. She would be seen every 3 weeks for Adriomycin(chemo drug).
  
• She was to expect some nausea, but they assured her that the drugs she was prescribed would do the trick.


• After each chemo treatment, I would go over and spend the night there just in case Mom or Dad needed anything.


• She seemed to do well the first three days after chemo but we now know that it was the very strong steroid they were giving her that made her feel good.


• Once she stopped taking the steroid, she wasn't feeling well at all.


• Had a whole host of side effects like nausea, chills, fever, mouth sores


• The first 2 of the 4 cycles she rebounded quite well after not feeling well for a week.


• The last 2 cycles however weren't as well tolerated.


• Mom missed Michael's Confirmation as she had just had Chemo and wasn't feeling well. A happy day for our family, but we missed having her there with us
  
• Mom caught a respiratory infection which lingered and drained her of any energy and appetite.


• We took the boys to Palm Springs for Spring Break and had a GREAT time in the hot sunshine. We loved it there!
  
• Went to the Joshua Tree National Park(boy was that interesting and sooooooooooo HOT in the desert!)


• Soak City USA was a blast! So much fun.


• Andy took the boys golfing one afternoon and I went out to the Desert Hills Premium Outlet....and that was amazing
  
• Met Jason, Jen the kids, Granny, Grandpa in Disneyland for a day. Fun in the sun(89F). Shut down the park and drove back to Rancho Mirage. Arrived after 1 a.m. with sleeping boys.
  
• Mom went in for her first treatment in phase 2 and she developed a fever a few days prior, couldn't shake the respiratory infection, so the Oncologist prescribed 2 antibiotics and her chemo was delayed for a week.


• She missed Alyssa's First Communion as she was so sick she had to go to the ER


• Phase 2 consists of 12 appts. for chemo once/week in conjunction with the clinical trial drug Lapatanib which she takes orally at home daily for 1 year.


• Michael and Nicholas went to the Kamloops Tournament May Long Weekend with Nicholas team bringing home the Gold and Michael's team brought home the Silver


• School went by so quickly this year!


• The boys all did well.


• Christopher was presented with awards at the year end assembly: Honor Roll(4 terms),Special Merit(All G's for 4 terms), Top Student PE 8, and an award for Most Improved for Band! So proud!


• Michael did well despite some struggles this year. A, B+, C+'s and one C. Not bad!


• Nicholas did well with mostly all A's and some B+'s
  
• Jacob did well even got above grade level in some subjects!


• The weather this Spring, and into July has completely sucked! So cold and rainy.


• I know we need the rain, but having to put on the fireplace in July is completely ridiculous.


• Now summer has arrived, it's hot, sunny and I LOVE IT!


• Mom had completed 6 out of 12 of her treatments and I'm happy to say that she's doing well. Has energy again, is thrilled she can now drink coffee again and is doing well.


• Andy's off work this week.


• Christopher is away at summer camp for a week
  
• Nicholas is away at summer camp for a week


• Jacob and Michael are at home having fun with friends


• BBQ's everyday!
  

That's it in a nutshell. I will set a goal to blog every day this summer............we'll see if I can fulfill that wish!

What happened to our healthcare system?

Mom was doing a bit better this morning. Still a bit nauseous, but she managed to eat some breakfast and kept it down. Physio was there to give her some exercises to do at home.

What upset me was that on her bed was a dirty nightgown, ice packs and such. She needed to use the commode and there wasn't a recptacle in it. I had to ask the nurse for it, and then SHE proceeded to hand it to me to put in! What? When did I become an employee of the hospital?

I hope she goes home today so that she can rest properly. They called a code purple this morning which means get anyone out of bed that doesn't need to stay, discharge them as they need the beds. I watched a hospital employee wash down a bed, night stand, handles, mattress and make the bed at lightning speed....that's faster turn over than a hotel for crying out loud! What happened to patient care? Making sure that they fully understand all post op instructions and are capable of going home, instead of having 'manager's make the call that they need to herd them out to bring in the new cattle????? Makes me ill.

Mom

Mom had her surgery yesterday morning. All went well. She was quite nauseous and pale last night when I saw her.

We're not sure if she'll need radiation. We continue to pray.

First game of the playoffs and update on all the boys

We're into playoff hockey now...well for Michael's team that is. Unfortunately Christopher's team didn't make the playoffs, so will only have exhibition games to play for the rest of the winter.

Michael's team played their first playoff game and won 9-1. The next game is this Saturday in Summerland.

Nicholas still has 5 weeks of hockey left with playoffs in Osoyoos the end of Feb.

Jacob has soccer till the middle of March and is enjoying it.

Christopher's basketball team lost in the semi finals last week....and has now moved on to Gr. 8 volleyball.

Michael has also taken on Gr. 7 boys basketball at school. They won their first game!

Tournament Champions!

We had a whirlwind of a weekend away with the older boys in Kamloops. Michael's team was playing in Kamloops and Christopher's team was playing in Chase.

Christopher's team won 1 game and lost 3. They also had two goals taken away from them as apparently there were players on the ice that weren't listed on the roster sheet. Oh my! They eventually(after discussion with the tournament officials) gave them the 2 goals back as it was a consolation game. Had it been for 1st or 2nd place they wouldn't have given them the goals back!

Michael's team played amazing hockey! They went 6 and 0 with 48 goals scored and only 13 goals against! Michael had a really good end to end rush and hit the cross bar which Matty promptly put in the net!

It was very exciting to be a part of it all and even better that we won in Kamloops!

We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends who surround us with love during difficult times and are there to share laughter in good times.

Everyone has been so great calling us to offer their prayers for my mom. Her appt. is tomorrow afternoon.

January 8,2010

Mom found some lumps on her breast bone about 8 weeks ago. She went for a mammogram, ultrasound, and then now a biospy. The waiting has been agonizing. Her Dr. called her and asked her to come in for the results.

It's cancer.

3 years have gone by since her diagnosis and mastectomy. Three years where I held my breath,and prayed for each year to pass so that we could get to year 5. If we could only get to the 5yr. mark then the chance of her breast cancer coming back would be slim.

Her Dr. says she's never seen it come back in the same spot twice. She thinks that maybe they didn't remove all the breast tissue, and that perhaps there were little cells left behind which took time to grow big enough for her to feel.

She sounded good on the phone when I talked to her. She's a strong lady and a fighter.

I have an amazing group of friends who support me and love me. They have been wonderful, and have been faithful in their prayers.

She's to see the surgeon next week and will find out about the surgery.

Not a good start to 2010, and something I never expected, but we will overcome and be stronger for it.

Re-cap of our Christmas Holiday.........

What a great Christmas holiday we had with my family in town! Gianna, Derek and the kids arrived late on Christmas Eve due to a mechanical problem with the plane in Vancouver. We had a late dinner and the kids had fun catching up with their cousins.

After they left I went into prep mode.....prepping the cinnamon buns for breakfast the next day. Setting the dining room table and getting all the presents put under the tree.

The boys did me a favour and let me sleep in till 8 a.m. which was fantastic!

Andy was completely surprised with his new iPhone! I love it when I can pull off a good surprise!

Christmas dinner was at mom and dad's. Good food and fun times. We played the boys new Trivial Pursuit Family Edition game and had a blast.

Mina, Carlo and the kids arrived on Boxing Day. That night we went to Gina's for Auntie Susanne's 60th Birthday party.

The 27th we had everyone over for dinner at our place. There were 27 of us for dinner and it was just like old times. Everyone stayed late and ate, played cards etc.

New Years Eve we had everyone over again and had a delicious dinner of Roast Beef, mashed potatoes, yummy! Mina had cut my hair earlier in the day as well as highlighted it and dried it straight! A complete change for me that's for sure! Everyone loved it. Here we are just before dinner:

The kids all made it till midnight and man were they loud when they counted down and blew their horns......they finally all fell asleep @ 1:30a.m. and I fell asleep not long after that.

Mina and Carlo left on New Years Day. We had a really good time with everyone when they were here.

We also had a nice break from hockey for the past 2 weeks, but were right back at it on January 2nd when I got on the bus @ 6:45 a.m. to go to Revelstoke with Christopher. I slept most of the way there and back.

Happy New Year. We hope this year will be filled with good times, good health and the company of family and friends.