An Update on My Mom

Many of you have asked, so I thought this would be the easiest way to let you know the latest information.

My mom started chemotherapy treatments last Wednesday. Blood work was showing that the cancer is back. It had been elevating slightly each month and after the 2nd month, the doctor has decided to start chemo. She had a cat scan on Tuesday. Initial reports show that there is a spot close to her colon and tail bone. I don't know if it's the same spot or if there's more than one. There was also a little concern about her liver. The nurse called her on Friday afternoon to give her this information, but she hasn't spoken with the doctor yet. The nurse said that they would continue to do the chemo treatments (1 treatment every 4 weeks) for 3 treatments and then do another cat scan. She has bloodwork at least once a month. She didn't mention surgery. The nurse also stressed that they are still considering it "Ovarian Cancer" (it's not Colon cancer, it's just spots that are close to the colon).

The 1st treatment did not make her sick like in the past. It's a different form of chemo and the side effect of this type is something called hand and foot disease (I think). She has to take many precautions with her skin, not exposing it to extreme hot or cold temperatures. She must continuously put on lotion and limit her time outside.

It's been a long fight (it will be 5 years this spring) -this is the 5th round of chemo and she's had 1 round of radiation. She's a fighter and has more tolerance for pain than anyone I know! I appreciate all of the people who have been asking about her and who are praying for her and my whole family. I will keep you updated with new information.

Sulayne

Happy 4th Birthday, Micah!

We put candles in your peanut butter sandwich and sang Happy Birthday to you! Your new bike! (You have your Hannah Montana necklace in your mouth)
New clothes, flip flops, sunglasses, and High School Musical panties!

Micah,



Today you are 4 years old! You are growing so fast. Here's some things about you:

• You love preschool and your teachers.
• Your best friend at school is Emma and she hugs you each time she sees you!
• You love to play dress up.
• You LOVE clothes and shoes! You like to "look pretty!"
• Your favorite color is pink.
• You want to be a cheerleader and practice your cheerleading moves all the time!
• You want your hair to be longer.
• People love the color of your hair and someone makes a comment every time we go somewhere!
• Mamaw Laney teases and says when she babysits you, it's like raising Sulayne all over again (except with attitude)!
• You love Cubbies and your Life Groups teachers.
• You sing along with Rhett as he's learning his Spark's Bible verses.
• You love playing with your doll house, Barbies, and baby dolls.
• You love High School Musical 2 and Hannah Montana!
• You watch Cinderella at least once a week.
• You love going to people's houses and playing.
• You love playing with Blair and making her laugh.
• You like to help Mommy in the kitchen ... your favorite things to make are pizza and pudding.
• You look absolutely adorable with your 2 front teeth missing!
• When you play pretend, your name is either Rachel or Erica (and Blair's name is Claire).
• You sleep in your own bed in your room (most of the time) and when you get scared, you crawl in bed with Rhett (or Daddy).
• You love all of your grandparents and they spoil you!!
• You tell your "papaw's" that you love them all the way to the moon and back, but sometimes you tell your mom that you love her all the way to the grass and back!
• You are always asking when you can spend the night with someone!
• You like to read books with mommy, to color, and to play board games ... although you don't like to lose!
• You do things in your own time and don't like to be rushed.
• You have your dad's strong will and you're stubborn like your mom -not always a good combination!
• You expect Rhett to cater to your every need (and most of the time he does).
• You will always be mommy's little girl!

Happy Birthday, Micah! We Love You "all the way to the moon and back!"

Our Week in Review

Monday: Tony worked on grading papers and the church budget. I fixed dinner (Spicy Chicken Casserole) and folded laundry. Damon came over to help move our basement furniture to get ready for the new carpet. Yeah!!



Tuesday: Snow Day!! That was the day I had all of the neighbor kids. Tony taught at Ivy Tech that night.



Wednesday: Another Snow Day!! The refrigerator went out. Since it was so cold, I packed up all of the food and put it in trash bags on the back deck. Tony went to my mom's that evening to watch the IU game and he took the freezer food up there to store in their deep freeze. Of course the refrigerator goes out right after we just spent a ton of money on carpet for the basement!!! Murphy's Law???? I fixed Fetuccine with Chicken for dinner. Church was cancelled due to the ice on the parking lot.

Thursday: Back to school!! It was Valentine's Day and Micah and Rhett both had their parties at school. My mom went to Micah's and I got someone to cover my class so that I could go to Rhett's. In the afternoon, my own class had their Valentine's party. Mom met me afterschool with the kids and we all went to the JJ Boy's Basketball game. I was supposed to work "Crowd Control" but I don't know how well I did my job since I was holding Blair most of the game. My brother Lee and his friend Robbie met me at the house to fix the refrigerator. Thankfully, it just needed freon and we didn't have to buy a new refrigerator!! After we got the kitchen back in order, Tony picked up Charlestown Pizza Company for dinner. I guess this was our Valentine's (family) dinner!! ;) We both are not good at giving gifts and had decided back in our dating days that gifts wouldn't be exchanged. (Plus, if you think how much money we just spent on the new carpet, that's my "Valentine" gift for the next several years.)

Friday: It was a Half-day of school!! It was also the day the new carpet was being delivered. My mom met the installers at the house in the morning. Rhett just stayed with me after school and I finished up my lesson plans. Then we went to get Blair's 9 month pictures (I know, I'm a little behind) and then met my mom at the house. She left and I had to entertain the kids since they couldn't go upstairs (we also got carpet for the stairs going up) or in the basement. We all played in my bedroom. We played with the dollhouse (Rhett had a log cabin built out of Lincoln Logs), we played hot wheels and legos, and then just talked and read books. Damon volunteered to keep the kids so that Tony and I could go to the Charlestown vs. Salem game (at Salem). I really wanted to go to this game because Salem's head coach is a former Charlestown player -and friend of the family.

Saturday: In the morning, I ran some errands. I went to Once Upon a Child, Target, and Old Navy. No luck shopping. I did get some storage bins to organize the toys for the basement. When I got home, Tony went to Ivy Tech to grade papers and Damon and I put the furniture back in the basement while watching the UK game. Damon volunteered to keep the kids again so that Tony and I could go out for Valentine's Day. We went to the Cheesecake Factory ...yum! While we were waiting (nearly 2 hours) we did some shopping. I got Micah and Blair matching shirts to wear on their birthday party day.

Sunday: We went to Life Groups and Church. It was an AWESOME church service. A lot of people gave testimonies and the songs were really good. I felt the urge to give a testimony, but always hesitate because I don't like speaking in large crowds. At the end of the service, Brian pretty much summed up exactly what I wanted to say (and it sounded a lot better than if I would have spoken). I asked for a special prayer for my mom. She goes Tuesday for a cat scan and starts chemotherapy on Wednesday. This will be her 5th round of chemo in 5 years. Please pray that the cat scan doesn't show anything on her liver (or anywhere else) and that the chemo doesn't make her sick or lose her hair. We all took a nap (except Rhett) in the afternoon and went back to church that night. It was "dress like someone" at AWANA so Rhett was a cowboy and Micah was a cheerleader. We came home and watched "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" because it was about a family from Louisville.

Monday: Today Micah and Rhett had dentist appointments (we are out of school for President's Day) and my mom came along to help. We went to Chick-Fil-A to let the kids play and then went to visit my Grandpa Chandler. Then we came home and I folded and put away about 8 loads of laundry. I fixed fajitas for dinner and decided to update the blog.

Busy, busy, busy! Micah and Rhett are playing basketball and Tony is trying to get Blair to go to sleep. I'm off to give the kids their bath. Tomorrow I have to go back to work. Please pray for my mom tomorrow!!

Two Snow Days

Today is our 2nd Snow Day this week! Unlike most teachers, I absolutely LOVE Snow Days. There's nothing better than waking up to a day with nothing planned! It's even better now that I have kids because I can devote an entire day just to them without any interruptions.

I have checked off several things on my To-Do List. The laundry is caught up, the floors are swept, the bills are paid, all of my papers from school have been graded, and I'm able to have a little free time as well.

Yesterday my house was the meeting place for all of the neighborhood kids (I think they were 8 kids). I had the boys upstairs and the girls in the basement. Every once in awhile, they would switch. Later, the girls went to the other neighbors house and I was left with the boys. However, I didn't get much accomplished because I spent the majority of the day catering to all of the kids. I had to clean spilled hot chocolate, cookie crumbs, cracker crumbs, spilled soft drinks, and dry all the wet coats and gloves- oh the live of the stay at home mom! By 4:30, Micah was being dropped off and I told the last kid it was time to go home. I was almost as exhausted as if I had been teaching all day! The kids had a blast though! If only I had their energy!

It's 11:15 and Micah and Rhett have already played outside in the snow, went sledding at the neighbors and are back to warm up (with just one friend from the neighborhood). I just looked out the window to see the bigger kids and what I (as a mom needing to prepare myself for the the teenager's idea of a good time) have to look forward to- they've got a sled hooked up to the back of a John Deere Gator and they are pulling each other through the yards. It does look like fun! Maybe I'll go and join them later ... or maybe not!

The "Teacher's" Pep Rally

Karen is my back spot, but you can't see her face. I don't think I got a good picture of her ...too bad!

So I had the bright idea of getting some teachers together for a Pep Rally to get the kids excited about a recent Family Night that we were having (Super Bowl Themed). These were pictures taken of us re-living the "Glory Days"!! :) We all stretched for about a half an hour to make sure we didn't get injured! It was hilarious to see, I'm sure! I had several teachers tell me that they were so sore the next day. By the way, it was my idea to do the pep rally ... thinking we would do one simple band dance and spell out P-I-R-A-T-E-S with our bodies (so old school); then Karen had the big idea of putting up 2 preps! I haven't been put in a prep in at least 14 years!!! ;) Oh the things we'll do to motivate our kids!!!

She Needs a New Home

Buttons kept closing her eyes when the camera would flash! 1st attempt ...
2nd attempt ...

Finally! She has such pretty eyes ... this picture doesn't do her justice!

We are looking for a new home for our cat, Buttons. We found out a few months ago that Micah is allergic to cats so we've been contemplating what to do with Buttons. Since we've had kids, we just don't give her the attention we once did. We are also getting new carpet in our basement and a portion of the upstairs and have decided that Buttons must go. I don't want to expose our new carpet to cat hair and dander (due to Micah's allergies). She is a really good cat. She is about 9 years old. She is declawed, has had her shots, and has been "fixed". She is good with kids and isn't a problem. The only problem is that we must find her a home ASAP (the carpet is coming on Friday). We had a few people in mind, but they weren't able to take her. If you, or someone you know, is looking for a great pet, then please let me know! We would love for her to go to someone that we know!

Thanks!

Thanks to Pat and Sharon for donating several items for my kids at school for inside recess! We received construction paper, crayons, scissors, tissues, legos, barbies, and several board games ... just to name a few! The kids were super excited! We've had to set up a special "Arts and Crafts" section of the room for all of the kids wanting to make hand-made cards and drawings! It's also fun to watch the kids play the board games too! You can see them developing people skills as they work out the rules and use problem solving skills to agree and get along! There are so many social skill lessons that occur during recess (unstructured times)! Thanks so much!!

Yummy Snacks!

These yummy treats were made by Abby for the AWANA kids at church a few weeks ago. She had some left over and asked if I wanted them for my kids at school. I said yes, but they never made it there! The next day was a SNOW DAY and all of the neighbor kids ended up at my house. I served them the extra snowmen and they LOVED them! They thought they were so cool! They all ended up taking one home with them as well! So, thanks Abby for the wonderful treats!!