Updates! (finally)

Oh my goodness, I am terrible blogger.  I really thought I had updated this in December but... I guess I didn't?  December was a pretty yucky chemo month for me as I finished up AC chemo doses 3 and 4.  So I wasn't very energetic to do anything besides work part time and be present with my family.  Then you add in the holidays and essentially December was a month of ...  chaos mixed with nausea mixed with sleeping?

OOOooh exciting - my daily ritual to keep nausea "at bay"

So now halfway into January I am all finished with the AC chemo.  4 doses over 8 weeks.   Wahoo! It was a rough go-round for me with the side effects, especially nausea.  And somehow I also managed to catch a virus from my children (surprise surprise), which held me down for a few solid weeks with a minor fever  and the usual sore throat/cough/sneeze/snot routine.  It is finally (4 weeks later) reduced to minor sniffles that I imagine I'll keep with me until spring allergy season :)  I am thankful to be on the mend from the virus, even if the snot is annoying.

In and around all the medical appointments, we were able to celebrate Christmas with our families!  Not hosting was a new and different experience for us as we typically love to host Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and any and all holidays.  I was so thankful that others hosted those events and let me be a relaxed guest in their homes :)   I found that I did sort of miss planning a menu and cooking and serving and sharing our home with other folks, so I'm optimistic we'll be up to that next year.  Here's a few holiday photos (totally non-edited with terrible lighting).

Forest had the sweetest ukulele, song, and poetry concert at Mountain Springs.

Johnny was the concert photographer.

Santa brought the boys a large stack of games this year :)

What do my eyes behold - two children playing nicely together?  A Christmas miracle!

Cozy at my mamma's for Christmas

We also survived Steve's fire academy!  He officially graduated from academy on December 21st over in Marysville.  We were joined by many of Steve's family and friends to celebrate over there, which was so encouraging.  Steve was chosen by his class to be the keynote class speaker and did a great job speaking to the crowd.  After that were a few more weeks of Steve being gone during the week for department specific training, but Steve is now on his "normal" schedule and rotation, and is home for larger chunks of time, wahoo!

Last Friday I started a new chemo - Taxol.  This one I'll be getting weekly for 12 weeks - so 1 down, 11 to go.  Since it's weekly, mentally, I think it will just go a little faster.  At least I hope so!  So far, the side effects have been slightly different.  I still have the tired/weariness, I am still struggling with insomnia, and I think I have carry-over hand rash from the AC with ITCHY SWOLLEN FINGER SAUSAGES...  But I do NOT have nausea.  I feel like a whole new woman.  I can deal with tired and needing more sleep - most parents function on that for a solid 18-20 years anyway, right?  But I had really struggled with the nausea, so I am pleased as punch to know I might feel a little more normal from here on out.

I can never end a post without saying how grateful I am to my support group of friends and family that are getting us through this.  From meals brought by so many wonderful folks (too many to even name here but I love you all so much!!), to care packages filled with books to read (thanks Marianne!) or supplies to keep nausea at bay (Aunt Pam!), or gift baskets with activities for both me and the kids (Traci & Friends! City of Wenatchee friends! Perteet! Deanna!), and hats, scarves, cozy jammies & socks keeping me cozy, to cards (Aunt Chris I cherish each one! and Cathy M I laugh at yours!) and emails (Theresa I keep meaning to reply - yours are the BEST and so helpful to me!), phone calls (Joanna! TARA! Shannon!) to friends driving John to/from daycare (Michelle! Katie! Erin!), dear friends helping with bedtime and getting ready for school when I'm too tired (Jaimi! Jenny! Christie! Angie! Julie! Anne! Lois!), friends taking me to chemo (Katie! Molly! Jaimi!) and neighbors plowing our driveway and taking out my garbage when I forget (Haakon and Craig!)…  and that's just the physical support - I'm also surrounded by words of encouragement and affirmation, and daily prayer for my health and my family.  It's mind-blowing and I'm so grateful.

It's really all just further proof to me that my God is bigger than my troubles, and we are absolutely meant to live in community with one another.

Snuggle buds.

PVNT Rockin' Relay Race!  I loved watching Olaf's cape fly.

Forest's cape was flying too as he and coach Angie took off!