Winter fun

So, The other day I posted my goals for the day. I did all of them except to make blueberry muffins.

Today I am on to new goals.

One of my BFF's and "sister by choice", Anna, came out last night with her two daughters. They spent the night and today we are going to make Christmas cookies, play games, maybe ride the 4-wheeler around outside. And whatever else we are up to, as less if we aren't.

So, I will definitely be posting pics later. Stay tuned as time passes. And it will. As it does every day. Pass, Pass, Pass, way to fast fast fast.

Love,

Dani

Goals

Today I have many things I want to accomplish.

Bake Bread....
Bake Blueberry muffins....
Make cookie dough for doing Christmas cookies on Thursday...
Laundry...at least one load...
Play with Littleman...
Exercise....
Drink lots of water....
Eat Healthy....

Is this too much to ask for just one day?

Bread dough is already rising,
I already exercised,
I have had some water so far....
Update later, maybe pics too of yummy foods.
Gotta get these things done as I have treatment tomorrow!

Dani

Kissing Wars

Mmmmm, I love getting kissed by Littleman. Especially gentle kisses. I'm talking about this now because he just got done kissing me all over the face.
He was feeling especially tender and loving I guess. Heres' how we came to this moment.........



This morning we ran errands, going to the dump being one of them. Littleman loves going to the dump because Mommy lets him help throw things over the edge. And I lift him into the back of the truck to reach things I can't without myself getting up there. It's a good thing I went to the dump today and not My John. There were a few things I found that were not meant for the dump. Good Save.

After lunch, a fraction of which Littleman ate, we bundled up and went outside to play. Well, let me rephrase that, I scooped poop and Littleman played. He assertively pushed his dumptruck around and dropped off ice chunks from it here and there around the yard. At one point he dumped some into the ditch in front of our home and later went to retrieve them, talking to them saying, "I found your Dad, but he's frozen in there!" Then more jibberish I didn't catch. I burst out laughing. Littleman is famous for having conversations with his toys, or whatever he is playing with, like ice!

We came in, relaxed, and then I have been preparing things for dinner and cleaning the kitchen when Littleman stated he was hungry. He was demanding ice cream, to which I replied, "we aren't having ice cream until after dinner so if you want to eat, it has to be this apple." He started eating and I was looking through his "FRIEND" magazine for a message for tonights family home evening. I came across an article on how to be more like Jesus. I asked Damon...uh Littleman how he could be more like Jesus, he started talking about how he was going to be Jesus for the next Halloween. He proceeded to try and describe what he would wear. I listened then asked again, how can ACT more like Jesus? What things can you do to act in ways he would act?

He cocked his head, rolled his eyes as if thinking intently, and said, "I can be good, and nice."
Perfect!!!! That's what I was looking for. That is when I approached him to hug him with hugs and kisses, to which he responded with fervant kisses for me, all over my face and a huge, sweet, loving, wonderful HUG! I love and live for these tender moments between me and my and son!

I was reading the blog, "NieNieDialogues" earlier and she wrote about how she is having a hard time with her kids getting older and she doesn't ever want her sons to grow up. I can SO relate. I always felt that way while raising Kaili, and now I feel the same with Littleman. Even more so now...but I also have a strong desire and determination to survive and be thriving into his adult yrs. At the VERY LEAST until he serves a mission and comes home from that.

Mmmmmm.....lovin' the moments!

Here is a scripture I happened upon during Church on Sunday....


"And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to , thy faith hath made thee whole."
Enos 1:8 Book of Mormon

My Faith can make ME whole!!!!

Read it again and replace thou and thee and thy with yourself...My, me, I...however it works. lol
Blessings to each and everyone of you...my readers.
Dani

We made it

That tiny Bearded Dragon made it through the night. I was sooo worried he would get too cold. But I guess they tolerate cooler temps at night. When morning came he let me know when he was ready for the basking light! So cute.

He took only about 1 minute to devour three baby crickets for his meal this morning. Damon observed and laughed, stating out loud how neat that was to watch him eat those "bugs".

Today was a good day. We made a trip to the dump, then to the Salvation Army to drop off a bunch of stuff. We are trying to get the garage cleaned out and organized so we can finish unpacking, and of course feel like we are organized. Tomorrow is a community food drive, so I have a box packed for that.

On the way through the parking lot at Home Depot, Littleman decided he could run all alone without holding hands. He made it about two feet, and fell on both knees and hands. There was gravel covering every square inch and he slid forward like he was sliding into home plate. Then he stood and immediately started screaming and shaking his leg. Dad picked him up and thats when we noticed his palm. He then screamed louder till my ears were on fire. He pressed his hand onto my sweatshirt, leaving a splotch of bright red blood for me to worry about later.
We happened to have some medical tape in the truck along with a napkin (a clean one) and I proceeded to wrap his little palm up and help him to feel better.

By the time we reached the next stop, he was telling me, "mom I am going to need a walking stick." In the mean time, he found a bench, sat on it and stated, "I have to rest, I am too tired to keep walking."

Needless to say he did keep walking after a 5 second rest...
Since that time, he has yet to let me touch his hand. I gently remind him I have to change the bandage before bed, to which he answers, "no, we aren't changing it."

Well, I won't be fighting with him about it tonight. I am drained. I think tonight calls for Ambien!!! Awh, the efficiency with which Ambien does it's job on my body is lovely.
So, I am off to take that, and hit the soft, relaxing comfort of my bed.
Blessings to all of you!
Dani

Here's how it works~~~

So, let's get down and dirty. I have been reading the "Complete Guide to Colorectal Cancer" by the American Cancer Society.

I have a hard time with this book. It is equal parts encouraging and discouraging.

There are typically IV stages to cancer....however keep in mind that stage II has A and B, and stage III has A, B, and C. IV has only IV. Like me, myself and I. DARN IT anyway. People in stage IV statistically speaking have less than 10% survival rate past 5 yrs.

LeSS than 10%, beyond 5 yrs? What the....?????

Then there are variables. Always variables when you talk statistics. I have always hated statistics and only passed that class in graduate school because of the kindness of my professor (thats what I believe anyway).

Variables such as, what age you were diagnosed, what your lifestyle is presently, your attitude, your faith, how you approach your diagnosis and treatment...etc... I could go on and on.

As far as treatment; When I got my diagnosis I had no choice but to have surgery immediately to remove the tumor that was obstructing my colon.

Radiation is not an option in my case as Radiation treatment is very different and not appropriate for tackling my lungs. Chemo was the approach my Doctors took from the start. Here is a quick review of the meds I am taking.

1~ 5-Fluorouracil otherwise known as 5-FU. It is most commonly used to treat colorectal cancer and for decades it was the only one.
In conjuction with the 5-FU I get Leucovorin which is given as part of the 5-FU regimen to boost the effectiveness of it, but is not technically a chemo drug.

2~Oxaliplatin is an alkylating agent, working directly on DNA during all phases of the cell cycle to prevent the cancer cell from reproducing and is also used in conjunction with 5-FU and Leucovorin to treat metastatic colorectal cancer.

3~Bevacizumab, or Avastin, is a monoclonal antibody. Avastin is relatively new and I feel lucky to be able to have insurance cover it. Some insurances only cover it for certain cancers.

None of these chemicals effect hair cells and this is why I have not lost my hair. However, I have more facial hair than I used to...lots of peach fuzz on my jawline...lol

My skin is clear, I have only had mouth sores once, my eyebrows are out of control, and my hair is growing good. Even my fingernails seem to be growing well, and are strong. Some people lose their nails....yuck.

I am not going to give more statistics...I don't think I want to go over it myself again yet let alone bring you down with the numbers. Good news is I am getting all these great drugs together and my body is handling it pretty well considering all the poison, and they attack good cells as well as cancer cells. So it is important I take good care of myself and keep regenerating healthy good cells.

The BEST thing here is FAITH, HOPE, LOVE, and everyones PRAYERS!!!!

And my daily life...speaking of which, here are a few pics of today. Damon has been cuter than ever, sounding like me when he talks. He is stuck on October 31....wearing Ironman costume everywhere! People look and whisper, smile and then glance at me. I don't care if they really do think its cute, or just that I am a strange parent for letting my son still wear his costume! Pretty soon he won't fit into it, and then what will he imagine in his spare time? Let him have his fun! He isn't hurting anyone. I kinda like having Ironman at my disposal.

Our new family member, Atreau. Sounds like A-tray-U. From the Neverending Story. He is tiny, I hope we can keep him alive.

What a difference a Day makes!

It's now Wednesday; so it's been two days since I posted however, it's been one day since day six post treatment.

Days four, five, and six are the worst.

Today, day seven, is MUCH better. I had more energy, and my muscles did not ache so much. My teeth even get sore and they felt better!!!

Despite feeling better I didn't get out to play with Damon until Darkness was falling.

He was shoveling the yard, then pulled a cooler around, to move the snow he says. AFter that he rode his bike around...didn't get a pic of that.

So that was his dose of outdoors today. It was cold and WinDy out. I stayed on the porch until my face was numb and tingling at which point I demanded we go in and try again tomorrow.

During the day though, we took a very nice quiet time, Ran a few errands, did some laundry, and, don't laugh,
listened



to



Christmas



Music!!!!

Yes, you read that right, I listened to Christmas music today. I just wasn't in the mood for anything else. Only two CD's of it then I switched. I think I got my fix until Thanksgiving.

We'll see.


I am trying to incorporate music back into my everyday doings. I lOvE music but in the past few years haven't spent a lot of time listening for my own enjoyment. I use it at the gym, but that's about it. So, my new daily goal, to listen to at least two CD's of great music. I am also reading again. Of course I am reading Cancer books mostly, but at least I am reading.


Speaking of reading, this is something I came across today in a book..."Finding the 'CAN' in Cancer". It was talking about FEAR. Breaking it down to help one deal with it.

F-Face it

E-Examine it

A-Ask for help

R-Release it

I like that! The Chapter that talks about Fear is the same one which discusses Hearing the news and dealing with it. There are stages of phases one might go through...they are very similar to those that one goes through when dealing with a death...Shock, Denial, Fear, Why Me, Isolation/loneliness, Worry, Anger, Depression, and then the question, What now????

I find myself going through these in waves, not all at once and not all the time every day. But maybe one day I feel fear. Then I won't for a long time again, but will feel Anger, or worry.

Worry is probably the biggest one for me. Suprising I know! Before my diagnosis, I NEVER worried about anything.

nope,

not a thing!

hahahaha, if you believe that, STOP reading now and go back to facebook. lol

Of course I worry, so do all of us. But my worries are so different now. What I have going for me is my FAITH. I was speaking to a dear friend earlier, she is not of my faith, yet can recognize that my faith and my church family/network has been a "Godsend" for me. She understands how important my faith is to me. I am so Blessed. She has always seen things before I realized it myself. Of course I realize my Faith is important, just recently coming to really strengthen it though. I have Faith in my Saviours ability to heal me, to help me, to strengthen me, to uplift me, to give me peace, and to help me endure to the end...whenever it shall be. I do have faith and a certain determination to be around to raise my son, to see him serve a mission and become an adult.


That is my primary FEAR, that something will go wrong in my recovery and I won't be here to raise Littleman!!! But my attitude along with my faith, determination, and strength will give me the power to stick around. And of course, YOUR prayers!

Now let me not leave you with such a sad ending.

Today was a good day. Tomorrow will be better. And each day like that until next week when I start again! ugh. Four more treatments until i have another CT scan. I CAN do it. I CAN get through. I CAN tackle the side effects and still take care of my son, my husband, and my home. I CAN and I WILL. I may enlist a bit of help here and there, but that's OK.

Blessings to ALL of you! Thank you AGAIN and everyday for your happy, positive thoughts, and prayers.

Dani

Oh Monday, Monday...Why do I dislike you so?

Monday, day 5 of treatment!

Not a good day. Morning was ok...I drove into town with my mom and we shopped at Sam's club for a few things, got her packed up, met up with John and took mom to the airport. That was all good. It's my body that was not good. Fatigue in my muscles, tummy ache, neuropathy in my fingers and feet. By the time I took John back to work, I was exhausted and decided to drive home rather than finish my shopping.

Shopping is overrated anyway isn't it? Like, who needs fresh milk in the house?

Who needs bread, produce, or similar things?

I don't even have a snowsuit for my son yet and we have snow. So I can't really justify buying milk and bread when my son can't even go sledding until he gets his snowsuit.

So, the milk and other staples will wait. I must rest my weary body. Can I get Littleman to cooperate by watching a movie or something quietly for a while? I drive home, take the dogs pottie, and put in "The Neverending Story" for Littleman.

He actually watches it for a while so I can relax on the couch. Then we have to drive to pick up My John from the park and ride area. On the way home I tell My John I need an hour or two to myself. I want a HOT bath, and to crawl into my bed for awhile. He totally agrees and takes right over like the fabulous husband I know him to be.
He really is amazing! Sometimes I have to really be a woman and tell him exactly what I want...not expecting him to read my mind, but when I do...the results are wonderful.

I am so grateful today for my family, my mobility (even though it's tiring), my general health, my friends, my Husband, and my son.!!!! I am grateful for My Saviour and his miraculous love! I am grateful for new days, sunshine, snow, a warm home, and the hope of spring!!!
yes, I am already thinking of spring...second only to Thanksgiving! hahaha

Blessings to all!
Dani