We are not yet home but today is looking to be a 16.5 hour day in car! The girls did Awesome! I really am so impressed with you girls. And our dog Oscar is a champ, peed on command every time we stopped. Lol! I am so happy to be almost home, I needed this change of scenery. I am looking forward to a stress free, low key, time in a place I can remember being stress free. I think that is why I have been craving this. I think that is exactly what I need right now and i am thankful for it!
Rob just brought home the new jerseys for his CHP softball team. I am speechless. AV CHP is a family that has wholeheartedly embraced us. Thank you. This is very special. Definitely a jersey we will keep forever.
Yes this happened today. I don't know. I turned around for one minute and yep there she was. Allie, you are gonna be cracking up over this one in about 10 years. And Dad is already very much freaking out.
Evelyn has done 8 push ups and five sit ups. Now Daddy is teaching her jumping jacks. Chemo? What chemo? Tumor? Nope. All clear and working it out in here!! Ya baby!
About a week or so ago the pediatric cancer foundation we are a part of held their annual bash at Mountasia in Santa Clarita. It was a wonderful event and we had an amazing time...bumper boats, race cars, mini golf and arcade games, what's not to love? While there, the foundations photographer discovered Evelyn and went crazy taking photos of her. Standing nearby was another little girl with her mother and so we struck up a conversation. Within minutes we were hugging and nearly in tears. This little girl with Evelyn had the same diagnosis, staging, treatment protocol, nearly everything is identical. Their journey started 2 months prior to ours and so they finished in late March. We just kept throwing out details to one another and kept realizing how similar our stories are. With less than 500 cases diagnosed every year, the odds of this happening are very very slim. And so I am thankful. So grateful for this experience. The girls played chase and held hands and loved getting their pics taken together, for Evelyn and the big girls as well, seeing kids that look like Macie is so beneficial. And to see them running and playing and just thriving is awesome for all of us. So i thank Erica for sharing with me and for Alina for her sweet spirit. What a connection!
About 9 years ago my Dad began the lengthy process to become a Volunteer at Children's hospitals in Portland, Oregon. He volunteered to be a Chemo Pal. A chemo pal is an individual that gets assigned to a child undergoing treatment and whenever that kid has chemo, you are there. You are there being their ipad buddy or their wagon puller or playing Cars or Princesses; you are whatever that kid needs you to be to get thru chemo that day. So my Dad was playing an integral role in the treatment of all these children we all didn't and would never know. We thought "how wonderfully weird, good job Dad". Because this made little sense to us for a couple of reasons; he lives about 170 miles one way from Portland and we have never had any childhood cancer in our family. So yes, over all these years we thought, "how wonderfully weird".
And then January third happened. Mass. Right Kidney. Inches not millimeters. Cancer. Stage 2. Bed at chla. And then the "wonderfully weird" thing my Dad had been doing all those years for all those kids started making a lot of sense. It is clear that my Heavenly Father put him in that place all those years before to help those kids. And to help Me. And to help Evelyn Macie. He knew the time would come that I would need my Dad to do for us what he then knew how to do so well. He was prepared. In this experience there have been few greater testaments than my Dad making the "wonderfully weird" decision to be a Chemo pal.
Heavenly Father's love is divine, he prepares only to love and bless us. How amazing to me his love for us in preparing my Dad to bless us continously through the hardest trial of our lives. And how thankful I am that my Dad was not only worthy to hear the call but made the faithful choice to heed it. Thank you Dad. Thank you. Happy Father's Day every day.
The girls love their chef's hats that Grandma Vandecar made them. They are ready for Chopped!
Well 2014 continues to be just stellar for our family. Rob went and played softball last night and as I watched him sprint toward us to dive and catch a fly ball I knew something was not quite right. Sure enough his kneecap popped out and his orthopedist thinks he has a partial or fully torn acl. Awesome. He saw Dr. Antebi today and he ordered an MRI for first thing tomorrow morning. It's a good thing we are tough. Seriously being pushed around this year.
Well, we are official. Allie just got her letter that she will be attending Gregg Anderson Academy with Addison in the fall. She is beyond excited and asks daily if "it is real?!" that she gets to go at the end of summer. She is sweet and I am a little nervous about it, but I know it'll be okay. But I have a feeling I will be in her classroom checking up on her sweet little self A LOT. :)
Each year we drive a few miles up the road to Leona Valley. It is the home of Countless cherry orchards. There are small, family owned orchards like this one, and huge commercial outfits as well.
We always have a great time; it's one of my favorite traditions.
This is Addi and her teacher Mrs. Cox.
Rob and I were both able to go to Addison's program.
Addison and two of her friends, Lily and Anna.
Another day another great event. And this time we had a stow away. ;) awesome night!
We ran down to Quartz Hill HS and voted for Tom Lackey. Couldn't be prouder to cast that vote!
For Christmas Robbie got me a Cameo Silhouette. It's a fancy vinyl cutter. Well tonight we finally busted it out and put it to use. It was fun and we look forward to doing a Ton more projects.
