the end of 2015....a little late

I've started to write my thoughts here several times, but I would get side tracked and I never wrote a word.  October, November, and December came and went.  So much to remember.....so much to write.  I started this blog as an online scrapbook and journal of sorts.  A place for me to share my thoughts and pictures of our family.  Then in 2010 it became a place to keep everyone updated on Dave's health. After Dave was better, I found it hard to write.  But, I'd like to get back to my original purpose of this blog.  A place for me to scrapbook and journal through my life.  So.......where to begin?

Back in July we put our house up for sale.  We have tried to sell it on and off for around 4 years.  We had just sat down to watch  JSU play for the National Championship when our agent called.  She had someone who wanted to see our house at noon that day......it was 11:10 when she called. We all jumped up and started cleaning our house.  We were pulling out of our driveway when they were pulling in.  They made an offer the next week and we had a contract on our house!!  Now we have to find a new house....yikes! We close on February 19....so hopefully we will find something before then.

After being home with the kids for 15 years, I started working at the hospital in July.  What a huge transition that has been for all of us.  I thought maybe I wanted to go to nursing school...nope. no thank you. So glad I got a taste of hospital work before I ventured into that.  I've been doing unit secretarial work.  I decided to renew my teaching certificate back in the fall....so I took the Praxis in December and I am officially certified to teach again!!  So I will be applying for teaching jobs soon. 

Look what came today!! 

So excited to see that!!

The kids made it through their first semester at Donoho.  Lots of tears were shed but we made it.  I'm proud of them.  They did well considering all the changes that were thrust onto them.  

Our holidays were a bit different this year.  I had to work on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.  We made it work though. We all learned how to be a little more flexible.  We left for Houston on December 26th.  Dave had his yearly scan scheduled on the 28th at MD Anderson.  We got really good news. He had a clear scan.  He has officially been NED for 4 years!  

I'm sure there are so many more things of importance that happened during those months that I could write about tonight.....but sleep is calling, so the writing must wait.

Ahhhhh......September

Finally! August has come to an end.  This is probably the month I dread the most.  Maybe dread is not a good word.  August is just filled with so many things to do that we don't necessarily look forward to.  But then September rolls in and we begin to get into a groove.  85 days until Thanksgiving.......114 days until Christmas.....how can you not get excited about that  

The kids have 2 weeks of school behind them.  They are getting use to their new routines.  I think they are even starting to like it.........for the most part anyway. We are all adjusting to the homework.  It's exciting for me to see what they are learning.  

Friday was the first football game of the season.

It was a great night.  

The weather was perfect and the band sounded great.  

Oh...and the Falcons won the game!  

So what am I doing since they are in school?  I started working at the hospital in July.  So Most days I'm at work while they are at school.  Before Abby was born, I was a high school Family and Consumer Science teacher.  Maybe I will do that again.  Maybe.....we will see.

Welcome September.  I'm glad you're here.

Back to school.....a new school

It's that time of year. 

 The mornings are cool.  

You can almost smell fall in the air. 

 Football season is upon us. 

 The leaves will be changing colors soon.  

This has always been my favorite time of year.   

When the kids were little we would go on leaf hunts and see how many different colors and shapes of leaves we could find.  

This book was one of my favorites to read to them. 

 We would do our school work in the sunroom and watch the leaves fall. 

 Oh how I miss those simple days.  

School at home.  

Adding and subtracting, learning colors and shapes, writing simple sentences, coloring page after page, and frolicking all afternoon.

Now look at them.  

 7th, 9th, and 10th grade.  

So big.  

So handsome.  

So beautiful.  

Growing up fast.  

Going to school. 

 No more school at home.  

School school. 

School with other kids. 

 Everyday.  

I miss my days with them.  

They are smart.  

They are sweet.  

They will do well.  

So all of our days are different now.  

Change is always hard.  

But change is often good.  

I'm thankful we had school at home for 11 years.  

Now we are ready for what's to come.   

The fall is busy. 

 No time to sit around reminiscing.

School.

Football Games.  

Band.  Band.  Band.

Costume parties.

Youth group.

Thanksgiving.

Christmas.

Then we will do it all again.  

"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

the year so far....

Oh my goodness.  Where have I been?  I think about posting here and then get busy and forget.  So its catch up time. 

 

Dave had his scans in December and got great news.  The doc said he thought we could put this sarcoma behind us.  What!!??!!  Yep.  That's what he said.  How exciting is that.... So we will go back this December for his next scan.  Once a year scans!!  That's amazing.  We are soooo thankful!! 

 

Erin had the dermatofibroma removed from her back in November.  It was an easy surgery and everything looked good.  We were a little worried but all turned out fine.  She is now playing the clarinet in the band.  She is also turning into a good little artist.  She will finish the 8th grade next month.

 

Abby has done a gazillion honor bands this year.....not really but it feels like it.  The biggest accomplishment was 1st chair middle school All State.  Needless to say, this girl loves playing her French Horn!!  She is almost finished with freshmen year of high school.

 

Samuel.  What to say about Samuel?  He is playing soccer this Spring.  It has rained ALOT, so he hasn't gotten to practice as much as he would like.  He still loves playing with legos and dares anyone to touch his lego creations.  He is almost done with the 6th grade.

 

I started back to school last August.  I decided at the very last possible minute to register for an Anatomy class.  It went really well.  I made a B.  This semester I have been taking Anatomy 2 and Microbiology.  It has been a busy few months. I have really enjoyed taking classes.  I have applied for nursing school and will find out if I got in sometime this summer.  So....that's been a big adjustment.  We are finishing up our 10th year of homeschool.  I'm thankful I have been able to be home with these kiddos all these years. 

 

Hopefully I will keep this blog more up to date.  I do like being able to go back and see what was going on in our lives. 

Long Overdue Post

When Dave was first diagnosed, I searched and searched for anybody and everybody that had the type cancer he had.  One thing I noticed was, it seemed once anybody and everybody got better or stopped treatment, they also stopped writing about it.  I totally understand this now. Once everything seemed good, I wanted to think about other things.  Really just didn't want to visit this subject anymore. I also felt a little guilty posting my good news when so many of the women I met through this journey were losing their husbands to this beast.  I blogged my way though Dave's cancer journey.  I did it because it helped me cope. I did it to keep our family and friends informed. I don't go back and read it often, but Dave does.He doesn't remember everything so its good for him to look back and remember what we were doing at certain times of the year.

I'm glad I wrote all those words so that I can remember.....if I want to.

Its been 4 years since his diagnosis.  He was 37. Abby was 10.  Erin was 9.  Samuel was 7.  I was unaware of what I could do If I had to...........how much I could handle.  I was stronger than I thought.  Nothing really ever seems the same after cancer. I guess we see everything through a different lens.

Dave had a scan in June.  He got great news.  No evidence of disease. 3 years of no disease. His doctor thinks we may be able to put sarcoma behind us. Did you hear that!!?!  Put it behind us. Can you ever really do that? He still wants to see him every six months for a couple more years.   Then he will move him to yearly scans.  That's pretty good news!!!

We celebrated our 16th anniversary in June.  The kids are growing up.  FAST!!  Abby just began the 9th grade.  She loves music of all kinds, reading, and playing the French Horn.  Erin is in the 8th grade.  She loves drawing, painting, and is beginning to love playing her horn.  Samuel is in the 6th grade. He loves soccer, football, and just began playing the trombone(and if you ask him, he is a master of all 3).

So.....Erin has to have surgery on Nov. 6.  

 During the summer of 2013 she developed what appeared to cyst on her back.  We went to a local surgeon and they did a punch biopsy.  We really thought it was a sebaceous cyst.  It wasn't and they biopsied the tissue that came out.  It came back as nothing so we just forgot about it.  But the tissue grew back and this time was bigger.  We took her to the dermatologist and she scheduled an appointment to remove it in the office.  So we had the cyst removed in February of this year.  They biopsied this time and it came back as cellular dermatofibroma.  This means its a tumor and there is more in her back.  It does not appear to be malignant......but it scared us to death.  There is a sarcoma called  dermatofibrosarcoma. So you see why we were a little on edge. We have been waiting since February to see a surgeon at Children's Hospital.  We saw him today and set the surgery date.  It is important to get this out

and get all of it....clear margins.  It is not cancer!!!  It is rare though(we are the rare family!!) It will grow and could be bad if we don't get it out.

So......we are gonna get it out. 

16 years!!

Its our Anniversary!!

16 years

How can it be that I have not blogged in almost a year?  I think about it all the time, I just haven't taken the time to post. 

 We had a great school year.  I completed my 9th year of homeschooling. We completed 8th, 7th, and 5th grades.  The girls are both playing French Horn in the band. Abby did several honor bands.  She loves playing her horn, being with her friends, and reading (yay)!!  Erin completed beginner band and is doing very well.  She loves art and learning different ways to braid hair.  Samuel just loves life.  His favorite thing right now is having air soft gun wars with his friends. He also loves reading about history.   We are continuing to do math all summer.  The kids love this........well, not exactly.......but at least they are not complaining about it.

Dave is doing very well.  Its almost time for his 6 month scans.  He still sees his doctor at MD Anderson when he has scans.  This August he will be NED(no evidence of disease) for 3 years. Its so hard to believe its been that long......and yet just seems like yesterday we waiting on that first appointment in 2010.  As the years pass we are a little less nervous about scans.  I think.  Yes we are.  Well....maybe a little nervous.  He has had a surgery for the last three summers.  It is nice to not be headed for any kind of surgery this summer. 

 We are praying for clear scans next week. 

Please pray with us.