L is for love the beach

I really love the beach when the weather is this perfect. The boys and I took quick trip to the beach late on Monday. We had a blast - I only felt a little guilty having so much fun on a school night.

I saw my radiation doctor in Salem and he thinks my skin looks good and will just follow up with me again in January - he told me to have a good holiday season - I was confused - it does not seem that it would be that time of year already, but by the time I see him in January all those crazy busy days will have come and gone. My ankle is feeling almost normal - no swelling or itching. Next check is OHSU in November.

PS: Happy Birthday Mom - Thanks for your constant love and support!

L is for Learning

This summer I took an online class on how to write children's book. I enjoyed the class, but I had forgotten how much time and effort goes into learning. I have now written two stories and had fun with the process. I am now trying to decide if I want to continue the process or have fun with other dreams - cooking contests, scrapbooking, raising three wonderful boys, etc. I did not have much time for fun reading while taking the class because it was online you spend a lot of time reading other classmates posts. So I just finished reading a great book The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan - she writes about her fight with cancer for herself and her father. It reminded me so much of my time during my treatments and all of the support I got from my friends and family - thank you again. I am once again thinking of my thankful list and will work on adding to it soon.

Stormy update - she has barked 3 times in the two and a half weeks we have had her. She is very playful and loving - the boys are really loving having a dog.

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer!

L is for living longer

Today is my 41st birthday! I got a card from a dear friend that said "Birthdays are a gift from God". I totally agree. This morning I got to help William take Stormy, our new dog, out for the first morning - we got caught in the automatic sprinklers in our pajamas - it was very funny. Stormy is the best dog - she has not barked once. William and Luke are at soccer camp and Jake and I are playing board games. William says he taught Stormy a trick called "hug". See picture! I love it when you came make their dreams come true - Happy Birthday to Me!

L is for lighter than air!

My Mom and I just went on a hot air balloon ride. We had a fantastic time and if you get the chance you should go. We had to be in Newberg, OR at 5:15am so we left my house at 4:15am.

It was beautiful weather and a nice breakfast after. Here are some pictures.

L is for Long day, but worth it!

I will start out with the end results of the day - all of my scans at OHSU are clear of cancer! I will go back again in 4 months for the same scans. My first appointment this am was at 9:45 for CAT scan of lungs (usually 10 minutes), then 10:30 am for MRI of ankle and foot ( usually 2 hours) and then 3:30pm to get results from my doctor. I got delayed in traffic for an hour and a half and thought I would not be able to make any of my scans. Luckily everyone was having a late day so when I showed up at 11am I waited for 45 minutes for my CAT scan - it still only took 10 minutes, then I waited another 1/2 hour for my MRI - it still took close to 2 hours. I had about 1/2 hour to have some lunch before I got to see my doctor for results - he was on time. Now I am home getting ready to go out for a celebration dinner. I plan to make the most of the next 120 days before my next scans.

Disney Pictures

L is for lines

I just realized it has been a month since my last blog entry. I guess the kids have been keeping me very busy.

We just returned from a week in Disneyland and we had a great time - lots of wonderful memories. Some of my favorite time was spent waiting in lines for rides - that may seem strange, but you really get a chance to watch other people and talk to the people you are waiting with - Disney does a good job of keeping the lines moving. We had been to Disney World most often when we lived in Wisconsin, so this was my first trip to Disneyland since my teenage years. I was surprised at how little Cinderella's castle is compared to the one at Disney World and how large the Small World ride looks compared to the ride at Disney World. I will try to upload some pictures in the next few days.

I just started an online class on how to write children's books - it was fun to have my first week of class and be on vacation at the same time.

I have my next follow up at OHSU on July 8th - I will let you all know the results.