Another Sunny Sunday

Samantha got back from camp on Thursday afternoon. She had a great time but was ready to be home. She traveled with many of the kids she went thru chemo with - but because she was the oldest - she didn't get to camp with them. She was kept super busy and loves to brag how she beeped going thru airport security and that she kissed a fish... Yep you heard that one right. She wrote a whole story about her camp experience and has bunches and bunches of pictures. I thought I had all the pictures and was going to put together a slide show - but low and behold - they are missing.

Samantha is with her dad this next week - so as soon as I get her story and the corresponding pictures I will put it all together. There is another camp she want to go to - I have to get the paper work in tomorrow and Sam and Daniel will head off to camp again on July 13th.

Everyone else is doing well. Daniel is having a great time - working when catering gigs come up and then relaxing all the other times. He gets to sleep in until noon everyday - oh I how I miss those days... :) I try to sleep in every once in a while - but I usually only make it to 8am or so.

Daniel got a chance to go to the Renaissance Festival and he came home with a funny looking shirt declaring he has found his calling. I will try to get a picture and post it later. Then today there was a day long concert and he and his friends went. We ran into a little dilemma today. Daniel wanted the van to go to his concert, Jeremy went up to the land to set up the tipi and I had the Miracle 2008 party planning meeting. With only 2 cars - I decided to ride my bike to the meeting - need to train for the Courage Classic. My ride was 23 miles to the meeting - so I got a 45 mile ride under my belt. For the most part I feel good - a bit tired. I think I need to plan my meals better so I can keep my energy level up for the whole ride.

Just think that in 5 weeks - I will do the same mileage 3 days in a row. I guess the true measure will be how I feel tomorrow!

Needless to say I am ready to hit the sack so I will be signing off for now.

As soon as the Miracle 2008 Party web site is up and running - I will post it.

Until then - Love to everyone!

Camp time again

Saturday we spent doing just a bit of shopping so Sam could get ready camp. Apparently my toilet bag wasn't exactly what she wanted. Samantha and Isabella decided first thing in the morning that they wanted to make brownies. So we set off in search of brownie ingredients and a make up bag.

We were successful - Isabella went down for a rest reluctantly (as always) and Samantha relaxed a bit.

There was a Relay for Life (cancer fundraiser) for the city of Parker. This year they agreed to feature Gold Ribbon Families (my mom's support group). Apparently the National Cancer Society wants to highlight GRF nationally so we decided to go show our support. Samantha got a special 'survivor' purple T-shirt and did the first lap. It was probably only a quarter of a mile but I was so proud of her!

We saw some familiar faces like Hope and Brando as well as meeting a new face. Her name is Mallory. Mallory is battling Leukemia and I believe has 1 year left. She is only a year younger than Sam so they hung out for most of the night.

Aren't they cute in their purple shirts! Brando was super cute as well - I think he did the lap in 2 minutes. He just took off and I have a feeling he doesn't stop for too long. :)

We stayed for a few hours and then headed back up north - Parker is a suburb of Denver - but while we are north west, Parker is South east. The night was beautiful so it worked out.

Once home - Samantha and Isabella made their brownies and Sam finished packing. I had to make a late night run to get some candy for Sam's plane ride - so very important!

We got to bed around 11 or so and I set my alarm for 3:45am. Yep that is right - we had to be at the airport by 4:30am.

We arrived right on time to a bunch of smiling faces. The kids were so excited. Sam went to camp with Allison, Kennedy, Jimmy, Kyle, Abby and a couple other new faces.

Here they all are with their counselors - Tonia and Jane. Samantha was a bit nervous. This was the first time she has flown alone. She did fantastic - Allison and Sam are close in age and I think with get along wonderfully. Sam is the oldest of the group...

I got a phone call from her when they landed in NC and she told me that she did indeed beep going thru security and had to get patted down in a special room - even with a doctors note.

But they made it and even though she sounded a bit tired - she also sounded excited. I know they will have a blast but I miss her already. She will be flying back in on Thursday. This is a great experience for all these kids. They get a chance to feel independent again after such a hard journey.

After I dropped Sam at the airport - I was able to catch a couple more hours of sleep. Then I took advantage of Jeremy being home and went for a bike ride. I did about 20 miles in and hour and a half. I felt good and strong. I kind of winged my route - if there was any type of hill - I took it. I didn't find anything like I will see during the Courage Classic - but I keep telling myself every little bit helps. After my ride - I treated myself to a massage - so nice.

We topped off the day by hanging out listening to some free Jazz down in Denver's City park with some friends. We had a picnic and drank some wine and watched the kids play.

Jeremy and I laughed today as we told each other our 'to do' lists - they are never ending. The week is already planned out and it is only Monday.

I am going to sign off now with a special request. Please keep another child in your prayers. Our friend Thomas Buck was placed in hospice today. He had some aches and pains and his MRI showed that his tumor came back. The doctors have done all they can. His mother is one of the nicest people I have ever met. Every time we crossed paths - she always was smiling and always asked about Sam. She cried happy tears when we saw her on our way out from our last chemo treatment. They have fought so hard for so long... They have a care page - carepage.com and the page name is ThomasBuck.

Good night - Love to everyone!

Quick update

Just a quick update - let me know if the You tube link works. I have also found that you can choose to watch it in standard or high quality. High quality is definitely better.

I will put Isabella's continent song and some other videos we have. This may be fun! :)

night again - Love to everyone!

I know, I know - it has been a while

Believe it or not - I have actually been working on this blog each night this week. Isabella danced on Saturday and I recorded it with my digital camera. But it turned out that the file was almost 400mg - way too much to load directly onto the blog. I figured this out after trying to upload it all night Sunday night. So then on Monday I figured I did something wrong and tried again...

Tuesday I finally decided I should trim it down a bit. Guess what? To trim and avi file you need an avi file trimmer. I downloaded that and started that process on Tuesday night. I was able to get it down to 280mg. Still too big, so Jeremy suggested converting it to an mpeg. So I went back online and found an avi to mpeg converter. I did that on Wed - but the file was still 200mg.

I decided to try a direct upload to the blog again. I started it Thursday evening - I think about 8:30 pm - I woke up at 7:30 am this morning and it was still uploading. I decided to give up and try You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S8X6AWvSCM . I just watched and the video is a bit blurry - I am going to try to go back and load the original uncut version to see if it is any better. But until then you at least have something to look at.

So now I have to learn how to add and display videos on You Tube. I hope it works.

I will start with Isabella's Dance - the one that I trimmed down. She was pretty cute.

Sunday was a nice day. Daniel and Samantha headed over to their dad's house after camp to spend fathers day.

Jeremy did a bike ride on Sunday while Isabella and I took care of some things at the house and prepared for father's day dinner.

Uncle Ike and Jeremy's friend Brad came over for some BBQ and beers. It was a nice relaxing day.

Monday was back to work. Samantha also had a prosthetic brace fitting on Monday. Right now she wears a boot cast - it is a Velcro black thing - kind of big with a rocker foot.

The new brace is lighter weight and she was supposed to be able to wear a shoe with it. We went to pick it up Thursday afternoon. Samantha tried her big tennis shoe and her crock - but neither would work. I think when she gets back from this next camp we will have to go back in and see what they can do to trim it down a bit.

Daniel was finally added to the family insurance this week and he spared no time asking to use the van. I think he stays up all night figuring out a new reason he needs to use it. Today he said he needed it to do some job searching.

Samantha came home on Tuesday night but Daniel decided to stay at his dad's for the whole week. I have seen him almost everyday when he needed to use the van however. He is working both Saturday and Sunday - helping out Chris' friend Matthew who is a caterer.

We will be hitting the Parker relay for life Saturday evening. We didn't sign up to do the event since Samantha is flying out so early Sunday morning - but we are heading out to provide some support for those folks who will be walking all night.

Samantha needs to be at the airport by 4:30am - she will then fly with her fellow campers and counselors to North Carolina - to camp Victory Junction. She will then return Thursday afternoon.

She found another camp called Sky High Hope camp and that is the 3rd week of July. Both her and Daniel had so much fun at Wapiyapi they want to do this one as well.

I have 6 weeks left to get into shape for the Courage Classic. I ride almost daily - not long rides but I always pull Isabella. This weekend I am hoping to get a longer ride in - we are heading up to the property in Alma. Jeremy will put the tipi back up and I am going to try to ride the pass between Alma and Breckenridge. I guess I will get a better idea of how I will fare on the actual ride. Even though I haven't lost gobs of weight - I feel pretty strong. Each time I have to fill up the van with gas - I get more motivated to ride my bike.

This next week - since Sam will be at camp - maybe I won't have to drive the van at all. Wednesday is ride to work day. I try to do it every year.

I don't have Samantha's camp pictures put together in a slide show yet - but stay tuned. Hopefully tomorrow or Sunday.

Until then - I think I am going to sign off and finish enjoying the movie with the family.

Night - and love to everyone!

Quiet time without the Big Kids

The kids are scheduled to come home on Friday morning. They are going to go to their dad's for father's day weekend - but at least they will be in town and I can talk to them. I know they are having a great time - but I miss them both.

We have been doing ok this week. Monday was a bike ride to the park with Isabella. Yesterday, Tues, Jeremy and I took a drive to down to Aurora and ate at a restaurant that was having a benefit for Justin Miller. Then I stopped by Jenna's funeral. Service was slow at the restaurant so I got there late. There were so many people there - I had to leave before I had a chance to talk with Jenna's mom and dad. I waited over an hour but Isabella was getting tired. I didn't take her in - she hung out with Dad and played at the church park. I felt like running out of the church many times but in the end I am glad I stopped by. Even though I didn't get to speak to the family - I know they saw me and I hope they know that Jenna is in our thoughts.

Tonight was quiet as well - I could get used to this - wink wink...

Good night - love to everyone!

Lots of Pictures

Yahoo - it is sushi time. Samantha was in heaven - she stuffed herself with good food -finally!

Daniel loves sushi too - I will keel over if I can ever get a normal picture of my son.

Uncle Ike and close friend Garth - celebrating with us.

Not only were we celebrating Samantha's wonderful scans, but Uncle Mike's birthday was last week. He is so excited to finally hit his 30s -- lol.

Isabella is slurping her lemonade. She is not a big sushi fan yet - so she shared Uncle Mike's dinner.

Friday was a wonderful day -Daniel had a friend hang out and they watched movies and played some video games. Samantha had her friend come over as well. I ended up taking the whole gang to the mall - (surprise!) Actually it was really pleasant. Samantha's friend stayed over. Then Saturday -we all loaded into the minivan to get Daniel to work. He ended up helping his dad's friend (who is a caterer) all day and evening. The rest of us headed over to friends for a wonderful dinner.

Then Sunday arrived. The kids finished up packing and we all loaded back into the minivan for a trip into the mountains - up near Estes Lake - Camp Wapiyapi time!

We arrived to cheers, smiles and hugs - all around. Sam was a bit nervous - although she would never admit it - but she is a trouper. I think this week up there will be wonderful for both Sam and Daniel. I miss them terribly...

After we dropped off Samantha and Daniel - Isabella and I hit the trail. She had a class assignment to fill up a nature bag since they are studying mountains and plains this week at her summer program. We had a wonderful time.

Big Tree - above.

Itsy bitsy - teeny tiny tree.

We hiked until snow started falling - it wasn't much but we were pretty high (at the base of Long's Peak) so it was kind of chilly.

After Isabella filled the bag - we hopped back into the van and headed home.

We did a wonderful bike ride tonight (Monday) - took a bath and headed for bed. So normal and ho hum... The house is so quiet.

Please say a prayer for a member of our hospital family - Jenna Anderson died Thursday evening from the cancer she had been battling. I didn't see much of Jenna - she usually was feeling crummy - but I talked with her mother a lot. She was devoted to taking care of Jenna - always moving and grooving on her behalf. I am going to try to go to the funeral tomorrow. I want to show support - but it will be really hard - can't lie about that. Again - I am so grateful for our family. Samantha's beautiful smile is always on my mind - I want all families to be as lucky as us!

There is also a fund raiser for Justin Miller - so I am going to try and stop by there as well.

Positive energy to the Anderson and Miller families!!!

Love to everyone - big hugs all around.

I LOVE scan day!

Sound a bit different than yesterday? Well Sam has finished up all her scans and x-rays and every one of them looked wonderful! She is still free and clear of cancer!

Yahoo!

She got the ok to have sushi for dinner so that will be our next stop.

I will post later with pictures from dinner.
Yahoo! again!

Love to everyone!

Tossing and Turning

The last couple of days have been a bit hard. You know - just when you think you have a handle on things - your mind steps up ...

Yesterday was Samantha's last day of middle school. She is now officially in high school. I remember back when it was Daniel and I remember how hard it was. I was scared for Daniel to go to high school - wondering if he was ready. I know it is necessary for our kids to become more independent - but sometimes it is hard. I miss the days when I could hold Daniel and Samantha in my lap like I can Isabella now.

Anyway at the 8th grade ceremony - Samantha was awarded the Comet Courage Award. To tell you the truth I was looking forward to it as well as dreading it. We have been plugging along day by day - doing just fine and blocking out the past year. To have it recognized in such a public way - I knew it would be hard for Samantha who still doesn't tell anyone that she had cancer. But she really deserves the award - she is so strong and she is an example - I am so proud of her and I would love everyone to know what she has accomplished.

The following picture is her accepting her award. Here is what her teachers had to say:

Every once in a while, you get a student that shows more than an ability for academic achievement or athletics. Once in a while, you get a student that shows so much courage that no matter how bad your day is, you just look at that student and what you are dealing with simply melts away. Samantha Gray is that student.

Samantha came back to Century while recovering from a very serious illness during the school year. She literally bounced back into classes and devoured every bit of information that she could. Her enthusiasm, passion for school and her passion for life has certainly made a difference with everyone she has come into contact with. Her courage and determination to battle and beat her illness has taught us all a great deal about what it is to really look at life and look past some of the smaller things we deal within middle school.

The Liberty Core would like to recognize Samantha's enthusiasm, passion and determination with our Comet Courage Award. Thanks for coming back, thanks for not giving up and most importantly thanks for teaching us about the bigger things in life.

She began crying almost immediately - needless to say so did Jeremy, Chris and myself. She received a standing ovation and the presenter - her history teacher was also all choked up. I am so proud of her - I can't say it enough.

My BEAUTIFUL girl!!!

The rest of the afternoon I spent following her around while she got her friends to sign her yearbook.

Yesterday was also Daniel's last day of school. He did ok and will finish up the year with a solid B average. He will be able to drive soon. Both of them had friends over in the afternoon and again all day today.

Daniel will have to start looking for a job. June is pretty booked for them but July and August are still up in the air.

Tomorrow we have to be at the hospital by 7am. I haven't slept - tossing and turning - for the last couple of nights. This time is definitely harder than the first time. Deep down I knew last time that there had not been enough time for the cancer to grow since the end of chemo. This time however, 3 months have passed. If it does come back - most of the time it comes back in the lungs. We will be paying a lot of attention to the CT scan tomorrow.

I was doing fine - but as I mentioned in the last post - Justin's cancer just came back after a 15 month remission. They also found some suspicious nodules in another girls lungs we met this past year - Kate. Her mother told us how hard it was to get that news and watch as her daughter cried hearing the news. They have not confirmed cancer yet - they have to watch to see if they grow - they may just be calcified (I think that is the term). But even if it isn't, it is heartbreaking to think of the uncertainty Kate and her family are feeling right now.

I was reading an article on children's cancer a couple of days ago. Thru out the article, it kept mentioning how rare children's cancer really is - I can tell you that it doesn't feel rare at all. 2 children in Samantha's 8th grade class had cancer in the last year. Allison and Jimmy go to the same school in Colorado Springs... Kori's son and another child from mothers group live in the same neighborhood. Is it rare everywhere else? Just common here in Colorado?

I was reading a caring bridge of a mother who lost her son in March - she listed about 20 people to pray for who had also lost their children to cancer. That just seems like way too many.

I am going to add this link to my links section of the blog: www.thepetitionsite.com/1/gold-ribbon-support-for-childrens-cancer-on-consumer-products Please go here and sign this petition. It is for adding a gold ribbon (similar to the pink one for breast cancer) onto consumer products to raise awareness of childhood cancer.

Sorry for being so mushy tonight. I know that living with this uncertainty is now a part of life - but it is a little more in my face just before scan day.

I know scans will be clean and we will be celebrating with a sushi dinner tomorrow evening. My mood will be bright again! :)

Until then - Love to everyone!

Where do I start?

Well first off some good news:
United States Senate
For Release:May 23, 2008
Contact: Steve Wymer (Allard) 202-224-6207 Clinton Press Office - 202-224-2243
Senate Passes Allard-Clinton
‘National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day’ Resolution

Washington, D.C. – September 13, 2008 will now be recognized as “National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day” as a result of a Senate resolution introduced by U.S. Senators Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY).

“Never before in history has the dream of eliminating childhood cancer been so attainable, yet seemed so elusive,” said Senator Allard. “We live in a nation where the effectiveness of treatments and technology offer hope to children who dream of a bright future. Each case of childhood cancer is a very personal tragedy that can strike any family with children, at anytime, anywhere. In setting aside September 13th to recognize this battle on cancer, we continue of our efforts to draw attention to the victims of childhood cancer and the great work of the families and organizations who continue the fight.”

"We have made tremendous strides in the fight against childhood cancer, but far too many children still suffer and lose their lives to this illness. The more we know as a nation the better able we will be to prevent and treat the disease and help those who are battling and surviving pediatric cancers. National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day is an opportunity to reach out to all Americans with the facts about childhood cancer, and this day will be an important symbol of our commitment on all days to find a cure," said Senator Clinton.

Childhood cancer is the number one disease killer and the second overall leading cause of death of children in the United States. More than 10,000 children under the age of 15 in the United States are diagnosed with cancer annually.

The above was a press release. A step forward for a cure for childhood cancer. On the heals of this wonderful news - we found out that another child who had been in remission for 15 months had his cancer come back in his brain. I just met his mother at the Miracle 2008 party planning meeting. She was so positive and has started a Justin Time foundation to give back. This was hard news for me to take - Samantha has her next set of scans on Thursday. She is super excited for this milestone. At 3 months her doctors told her she can have Sushi again and that she can stop taking one of her antibiotics. I know that her scans will be clean - I know it!

Well the good news is that we stay so busy I don't have too much time to dwell. Speaking of which - Isabella has a yearly 'Culture Day' where the families celebrate different cultures with food and a small presentation. For some reason I thought this was on Friday - but as I was dropping Isabella off at school Thursday morning at 9 am I found out it was that same day at 10:30 am. So I rushed home to finish the cookies (we signed up to bring Grandma's cookies - Italian biscotti) and print off a quick map of Italy/Sicily. I made it back to her school in time to enjoy all the wonderful presentations - we have a families from Ireland, Germany, Spain, Mexico and India. We are really lucky to live where we do and learn from so many.














Ok - moving on - Friday Samantha and I went to the play Mamma Mia. I have created a monster... We got dressed up and went out for a nice dinner then off to the theatre. She had a wonderful time and absolutely loved it and wants to do it again and again.





Here is the picture of Sam after the show. Look at how much hair she has! She is doing well in school - 3 As and a B. Can you believe that... After a year of kicking cancer's butt, she can step right in and do the same at her school. Most of the time she is smiling and planning. Full days still tire her out a bit but she is getting better and better. I know the doctors will be impressed with her progress.








Daniel is doing great as well. He is anxious for school to be out - he only has 2 more days of finals before he is done. He watched Isabella for us on Friday night. Jeremy had a couple of commitments and Daniel likes earning money - so it worked out for everyone.

On Saturday - we spent it at home. The house was calling out for some attention since we were gone last weekend. Isabella needed some sandals and another bathing suite - she was so excited to get some pink flip flops that light up when she walks.

On Sunday - Jeremy and Daniel went up to the land to take down the tipi. Isabella and I did some power cleaning, mowed the yard and then headed to the zoo for the afternoon. We have been many times - but this is the first time that Isabella got really excited. First we watched the seals at mealtime - she giggled and giggled. Then we wandered - had some ice cream and hit some of her favorites.




I don't know if you can see - but behind Isabella there are some goslings. She was pretty excited.







Yummy chocolate ice cream.



Isabella insisted on seeing the penguins. Then we were off to see her favorite - the elephants.

This elephant was taking water with his trunk and spitting it back onto the ground to make mud. The it would pick it back up and squirt into onto itself. Isabella was laughing again!

Well we made it home and decided to chill out the rest of the evening. Jeremy is watching a movie and I just looked at the clock - 10:52 pm - way too late for me. It seems that I can't get to bed before 11 anymore. The days start early - can you believe it is already June? - Holy Moly.

Oh well - one day at a time. Night and Love to everyone!