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!

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

• 
  
  Love sitting by the pool sipping a cold drink
  


• 
  
  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



• 
  
  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.

HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY CHRISTOPHER!!

It's hard to believe that today you are 14 years old! It really does seem like yesterday that you were just a little baby in my arms. Today you are taller than me!

I remember the day you were born.........

I was admitted to the hospital on December 22, 1995 as they were monitoring your movement and since they weren't happy with the lack of movement, they decided to induce me.......well they got really busy with other deliveries and told me I'd have to spend the night. There I laid in the room where patients came in to make toast......hooked up to a monitor listening to your heartbeat and scared out of my mind at the thought on induction. I had to listen to all these women deliver their babies. Around midnight they moved me to my own private room.

The next morning I woke up early, showered and was so nervous about what would happen to me in the next few hours. The nurse came into my room around 6:30 a.m. to tell me that they were ready to get started. So off I walked to the delivery room, with my chapstick in the pocket of my housecoat and a glamour magazine tucked under one arm.......ya like I ever read that magazine that day! lol

Daddy got there after they'd broken my water and hooked me up to an IV with pitocin to start the contractions.......and boy it worked fast! I was up and walking around, and had to go back and lie down as the pain was getting bad.They called my Dr. as I had asked for an epidural. In the mean time they gave me nitrous which took the edge off. Trouble was that I sucked so hard on the mask that it bruised my nose! Dr. Docherty arrived to check me and found me to be 5-6 cm dilated. She went on some rounds and told the nurse to page her over the intercom as she'd forgotten her beeper at home. Well, they called her back pretty quick as I went from 5-10cm in less than a half hour!

At 12:05 p.m. you came into this world with blonde hair and a loud cry. You weighed 8 lbs, 12 oz and were 21cm in length. You had so many visitors. On Christmas Eve Daddy brought supper to the hospital from Nonna. It was delicious! There we sat that evening staring at you and feeling such joy that we were now a family.

And here you are today.... you have grown into such a wonderful young man. You're a good student, and a good athlete, and you continue to make us proud of you.

Happy Birthday Christopher! We love you!

Bulletpoint highlights of July...........

Here are some high lights in bullet form of July 2009:

• The weather was H O T!
• 2 forest fires in the hills behind our house.One was caused by lightening.
• I took the boys to Vancouver to see American Idol Live
• The boys LOVED the concert.....3rd row baby!
• Had a spike in my tire so that delayed us at the coast for an extra day till they could locate a tire to match my other three
• Didn't pack enough clothes or puppy food for the extended stay, so spent that afternoon driving around with a teeny spare tire and looked for Shiloh's brand of food.
• Missed going to the lake as we didn't arrive back into Kelowna until Friday evening,and I was just too exhausted to go anywhere else.
• Gianna, Derek and the girls came for a visit. They all enjoyed the hot summer weather and the pool
• Canada Day soccer tournament for Michael. His team finished in 2nd place
• Our good friend Rob suffered a massive heart attack while in Bellingham for the girls soccer tournament
• So many people prayed for him.
• We were thankful for the updates from Elaine's brother who was in Bellingham
• Rob stayed in ICU for 8 days.He was very critical,and we prayed harder than we ever had for his recovery
• Elaine had the loving support of her girls and her siblings as well as the many e-mails she received which helped get her through each day.
• Rob was taken off the ventilator, and continued to improve a little each hour
• He came home the middle of July.
• We had them over for dinner/swim,and Rob looked good, but tired. We continued to pray for his recovery
• The boys attended a golf camp and a soccer camp this month
• Nicholas won the coaches award at soccer camp
• Our puppy Shiloh is amazing! She's just a dream puppy.
• The boys all had pool parties
• I can't remember a summer with such fantastic weather
• Landscaping continued to go well.
• Andy hired one of the teachers sons to help. He was a God send and the work got done
• Slowly things are coming together with regards to landscaping, and furniture for our living room

The trouble with posting AFTER the fact is that I forgot.....

to blog about stuff and now it's all out of order!

In May Michael and Nicholas competed at the school track meet. There were 2 other Christian Schools competing. The boys did well. Michael qualified to compete in the district championships in long jump and Nicholas qualified for triple jump. Michael also qualified for the 4x100m relay(an event I LOVED in school).

The day of the Districts came and the sun was of course shining brightly.....the boys were a bit nervous to say the least.

Nicholas placed 6th in the triple jump.

Michael placed 4th in long jump.

His relay team placed 2nd in the District! He was the lead runner for the team, and man alive he was FAST! Unfortunately they slowed down at the third exchange and that cost them the race, but what excitement at the Apple Bowl that day!

St. Joseph School won lots of events that day. We were all cheering the kids on and enjoying the excitement of the day.

June 28, 2009

My baby boy turns 8 years old today!

My goodness where has the time gone. Jacob you are a joy, and such a wonderful part of our family. Your sweetness and thoughtfulness will carry you far in life.

You are a determined little boy....always trying to keep up with your older brothers!

This year he wanted a Monkey Cake...so off I went in search of a Wilton Monkey pan. He loved the cake!

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY JACOB!

Schools out for summer!!!!!!!

Another school year came to an end. The boys are thrilled to be out of school and are looking forward to a long hot summer!

June...........last month of school!!!

I LOVE the hot summer type weather we've had so far. The boys have been in the pool a lot since we opened it at the end of April.

I took on the task of putting together the photo show for the Gr. 7 farewell....oh my gosh! What a logistical nightmare that turned out to be. Of course I should have left it alone, and not volunteered, but no one else stepped up to do it, and I know how much the gr. 7's appreciate this, soooooooooooo I jumped in with both feet. It probably wouldn't have been such a big ordeal if my computer photoshow program would have let me use some up to date music, instead of the canned garbage that they offer. So then I had to try using powerpoint which I'm not familiar with, and oh the stress I put myself under was something that I don't want to repeat anytime soon. Also, if the deadline for photo submission is May, then why on earth am I still without photos for some kids in the middle of June????

So, I plugged away at it day and night editing, moving stuff around, etc. and the perfectionist in me took over and needless to say I didn't eat or sleep for 3 days! The darn program wasn't doing what it was supposed to do, the photos weren't transitioning with the music, and I was going crazy! It was right down to the wire with glitches, and finally I called a friends brother who was a computer genius and he walked me through it.

The Gr. 7 Farewell was lovely. Speeches were great, and all in all it was a good evening.

The photo show was good despite one minor glitch with the audio, but everyone liked it, and my job was done!

Back to updating events from the Spring..........

May continued to be a busy month with soccer games for the boys. May long weekend took us to Kamloops for Christopher and Michael's tournaments. Michael's team placed 2nd in an intense game against Kamloops. Christopher's team losing against Penticton.

It's hard to believe that the boys only have one month left of school. One month left with all my boys at the same school. Never again will this happen, as when Jacob is in grade 8, Christopher will already have graduated. I wish there was some way to slow down time just a bit. It seems to be going by so quickly.....

The landscaping of the yard continued this Spring beginning with the installation of our putting green on the back burm. The boys were eager to help,and fascinated with the heavy equipment used in the process.

First Communion Day and Party............

Our little Jacob received his First Communion on Sunday May 3rd. It was a beautiful day!

He looked so sweet all dressed up in his suit. Mass was lovely and that was followed by breakfast in the Parish Hall.

That afternoon we had a combined party for Christopher and Jacob at home. I had rented tables, chairs and Lynda was catering the dinner. It looked amazing in our living room with all the tables and linens.

God Bless you Jacob throughout your life!

Jacob and Sophie

Christopher and Jacob

Nicholas turns 10!

Our sweet Nicholas turned 10 years old on April 26th!

Wow time sure does fly by.....

My favorite memories are:

• He was in such a hurry to be born, he didn't even wait for the Dr......a lovely nurse named Marion delivered him!


• He was such a dream baby....ate, slept and sigh, just a dream!


• He was the youngest of the boys to walk at 11 months.


• When he would wake at night I'd go to his room and he'd be standing up in his crib. I'd go over to him and he would reach out for my face, and then put his forehead against my forehead and just hold my face there. Sooooooooo sweet!


• He cut the cord to the baby monitor(that was plugged in at the time)with a pair of scissors!Ok, not funny!


• He sat in his kiddie pool fully clothed!


• He rode a two wheeler at age 4 after begging Andy to take his training wheels off


• He loved his chucho....so much so that he still had it when he was almost 4! One day he came outside with it in his mouth and Andy told him to take the silly thing out of his mouth...he then reached for it in Nicholas' mouth but Nico put up his hands to block him and that resulted in the choocho becoming airborne and landing right in the gutter! Good bye chucho!


• I loved all his chubbiness!


• He's a great soccer player


• He's a great hockey player


• He has lots of really nice friends


• He rode the California Screamin Roller Coaster all alone this past March!

We love you Nicholas you are a joy!

April/May

These were going to be busy months for us with Christopher's Confirmation and Jacob's First Communion.

Christopher asked Carlo to be his Sponsor. We had prepped for the big day and at last it was here. I bought him a really nice suit at Mexx with a bright blue shirt and new tie. He looked awesome!

You know it seems like yesterday when I held him in my arms at his Baptism, and here we were at his Confirmation. He did the first reading....and of course I had tears in my eyes watching and listening to him.

His chosen name was John after Andy and Nonno Giovanni. After the ceremony we came home for a small family celebration.

Meet our newest addition.........

Shiloh is our new mini labradoodle puppy, and she's gorgeous! We brought her home on May 29th. Up till then only me and the older boys had seen her at the breeders. Nicholas and Jacob fell in love with her instantly, as did Andy. She weighed lonly 8 lbs when we brought her home. The car ride home was interesting. She cried most of the way home(a 2.5 hr. drive) and then around Monte Lake she threw up all over Christopher. Poor thing...luckily he had some other shorts to change into.

We settled into life with a new puppy quite easily I might add. She's was a dream from day 1. We followed all the instructions from the breeder. As this is our first puppy, I didn't really know what to expect,and we'd heard horror stories from friends who have had dogs....but really she's slept well in her kennel beside our bed since the first night. She only cried a bit and I'd put my hand beside the door and she'd nuzzle her nose up against it and fall right to sleep....and sleep she did, for over 8 hrs each night!

Spring Part 2

Once the snow finally melted, and hockey was finished for the season, the boys happily moved on to soccer. Both Christopher and Michael were playing with Kelowna United Select Teams and had great seasons. Michael's team came 2nd in two tournaments and Christopher's team was undefeated in regular season play...only to lose in penalty shots in the playoffs. That was a very hard game to watch.

Nicholas and Jacob also played soccer in the U10 and U8 age groups. They break for the summer and have now resumed play for the month of September. I'll get some photos of them soon and post them.

My oh my where has the time gone?

My last real update was in the Spring after my Dad has his surgery, and now it's September, the boys are all back in school, and I finally get some time to sit at a computer!

So, the updating process will be quite lengthy as I recount all our happenings since March 2009.............

SPRING BREAK:

We went to Disneyland....and what a GREAT time we had! The day we arrived we met up with Franca and her family for dinner at Downtown Disney. One of our fav. restaurants there is Napoli. The kids were so excited to see their friends from school. The next day we met at Universal Studios. The weather was somewhat uncooperative, and we crossed our fingers that it would improve as we were just beginning our holiday. We had soooooooooo much snow this past winter, we just wanted some SUN!

Universal Studio's was fantastic. I think I left my stomach at the top of the Jurassic Park ride!

Oh my what a free fall at the end! The boys, Andy and even Franca and John went on alot of the rollercoaster rides there with The Mummy and The Simpsons Ride being their favorites.

The Studio Tour was fantastic....we had Front of the Line passes, so we didn't have to wait in line which was nice. They were filming Desperate Housewives that day. Andy's favorite attraction was the Terminator Show...one of his favorite movies.

The next day we started our 5 day passes at Disneyland. The weather was gorgeous, hot and sunny.....just what our winter skin was begging for! The boys loved being back in Disneyland.

Jacob being the youngest, and tall enough for all the rides in the park has a totally different Disneyland experience than his brothers......all they wanted to do was ride the California Screamin Roller Coaster.....in fact they all rode it 21 times in 5 days....ho hum, it got a bit boring for me around the 15th time watching....but they had so much fun it was hard not to laugh.

I think my favorite thing to do was to spend an entire morning with Jacob just in Disneyland. We got new hats, went to Minnie's House, saw Mickey, Donald, Pluto and all the gang....we even got to see the Fairy Godmother!

Soarin over California has to be one of my fav. rides. Here I am with the boys waiting in line.

We couldn't have asked for better weather. Here we were in hot sunny California(everday that week it got to 86F) and at home they were still shovelling the snow.

Michael had his 12th Birthday in Disneyland.....he got a gift card from the resort so he bought whatever he wanted...a Mr. Potato Head, a stuffed Mickey, a football, 2 t-shirts. Here he is with his Birthday hat..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!

You are a wonderful boy with so much love to give. We love you and hope you had a wonderful day!

The evening of his Birthday we surprised the boys with tickets to an NHL game....their first ever! Anaheim Ducks vs. Edmonton Oilers.....and the Oilers won.There were lots of Canadian fans on hand cheering them on.

The following day we headed back home. Exhausted, but filled with lots of good memories.