Grieving & Hoping

I'm back. I feel like I am always apologising for never posting. Should I start out a post a post with an apology or just leave it and hope that someone is still reading? I am thinking that I am just going to leave it and continue on with my first post in like 3 months. Life is just so busy and complicated sometimes that things that used to be so important to me are no longer on the top of my priorities. Unfortunately this blog is one of those things that has been neglected.

Part of the reason is my busy schedule. Part of the reason is some sad events in my family. And part of the reason is just my laziness.

I bet you are wondering how the title of this post fits in with this entry. Well let me start with the hoping.

I believe that HOPE is one of the symbols or sayings for breast cancer. Well my 88 year old Grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple months ago. She has had two surgeries to remove the tumor. The second surgery caused internal bleeding which lead to an emergency surgery. That was crazy scary! Anytime someone is diagnosed with cancer it is a shock, but to have my Grandma get diagnosed with breast cancer at her age is just really hard to stomach. Luckily she is a tough old bird and she has fought this with a strong faith in God and a determined attitude. Now it is just a wait and see game. With the second surgery it appears that all the cancer cells in the margins were removed so hopefully she will continue on with her life and hope that the cancer grows back slowly since she is not a candidate for chemo or radiation.

Our family also experienced a terrible tragedy 12 days ago. This is where the grieving comes in.

On November 6th my 28 year old cousin Cody was killed at a party he was attending at his sister's house. It was a late halloween party and they had about 20-25 people at the party, including their parents. It was all close friends just having a good time. Some young punk came as a guest of one of my cousin's friends. This punk brought several homemade bombs along to "scare" people with. However he did alot more than scare people when one of those bombs killed my cousin. This was not a wild party, and my cousins did NOT know this punk or his intentions. This punk has changed our family forever. He has taken my Grandma's only grandson. He has taken my Aunt and Uncle's only son. He has taken a "favorite Uncle" from his niece and nephews. He has broken the hearts of so many people that love Cody.

It makes no sense, and it is impossible to not ask "why?". This was not God's plan for Cody's life. I have moments everyday where I stop and wonder if this has really happened. It just seems so unreal sometimes. And then other times it seems too real as I watch his parents grieve over the loss of their child, and see my Grandma sob and asking how could this have happened. My heart breaks with the indescribable pain this has caused my family.

I grew up with my cousins Miranda and Cody. We spent all the holidays and birthdays together. We spent summers at the lake cabin and camping. Cody was in my wedding and he walked me down the aisle at his sister's wedding. He helped me move out of my mom's house. I used to take him to hockey games with me. He loved playing with my girls. This is going to be a really hard loss to recover from.

If you are still reading this I am asking you to please say a few prayers for my family. Especially his sister, parents, and grandparents. They are all really struggling right now in the wake of this horrific tragedy.

Until next time,

Liver Life Walk 2010

Hello!!!! Can you believe that I am actually updating my blog. Goodness it has been a long time!! It has been a busy summer and I can't believe that school is about to start again.

I actually have a selfish reason for updating. I wanted to let you know that I have created Team Rick again this year for the Liver Life Walk. We are super excited to be doing the walk again this year. Samantha is really looking forward to it again as well. It is September 12, so time is really running out for me to get some donations for our team.

You can visit my personal fundraising page by clicking here. I really appreciate donations. Any amount is great as it all adds up.

We had so much fun last year and we are really looking forward to being there again this year. I am very happy to report that Rick's health has been very stable this year. We don't take that fact for granted however. I know it can change in the blink of an eye. Which is why this fundraiser is so important to me.

Thank you in advance for anyone that is able to make a donation. I will post more information as we get closer to the walk.

Until next time,

10 Years Old

Ten years ago today I was holding a sweet, tiny baby girl in my arms. Tonight I am hugging a big girl that is now 10 years old. Wow!! 10!! I can't believe my little girl is 10 years old.

Sam is definitely her own person. She is strong-willed and smart. She is loving and kind. She is a challenge and a joy. And I couldn't be more blessed to have such a compassionate daughter!!

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY SAMANTHA!!!!!

I love you Sam!!

Love,

Mom

Is Anyone Still There???

Hellllooooooooooo! Is anybody still out there? I don't blame you if your not. I have literally been MIA from blogging for a month. I just am in a bit of a dry spell. I am sure you all are wondering whats been going on with all of us. We are still here. I am working on coming up with some posts. There is a lot going on. Sam has soccer, both of the girls have Girl Scouts, I have been working more, Rick keeps coming down with colds, I am still trying to lose weight, Sam's birthday is next week, and the list goes on and on.

I feel pathetic for not having the energy or the drive to update this poor excuse for a blog. I have some pictures I need to post. I will get to it. Just put it on the pile.

I will be back, I hope you don't completely give up on me.

Until next time,

Final Weigh-In

I am sure you are all aware that today was my final weigh-in in the Biggest Loser Challenge at work. I managed to spend the majority of the challenge in first place. However, two weeks ago one of my male co-workers was able to drop an insane amount of weight in a week and I was never able to catch up to that.

But I am proud to say that I finished in 2nd place. I lost a total of 25 pounds in 13 weeks. I am proud of myself. I look different and feel better. I am not done losing weight however. I only got half way to my original goal of losing 50 pounds.

We are going to start another challenge at work for those of us that want to continue. I will definitely be signing up. We are looking at making it a bit different this time with the possibility of having teams. The new challenge will start at the beginning of May. I hope to have lost another 10 pounds before the challenge starts. That is probably a long shot but having a goal will keep me motivated.

Thanks for everyone's support!!

Until next time,

Quicky

I know I haven't been blogging much lately. I have lost my touch or something. I don't know. I guess I am just busy with life stuff and blogging has kinda fallen to the side. I hope you all aren't too disappointed. I mean I know how witty and charming I am. You must be missing me an awful lot. Or not.

But I am thinking about all my readers. Please be sure to keep checking in. I just may surprise you. I do plan on blogging after my final weigh-in on Monday. I have lost 25 pounds so far. Just because the contest ends on Monday doesn't mean that my losing weight will end. I am only half way to my original goal of losing 50 pounds. So keep checking back to see if I can make it.

Thanks for sticking with me!!

Until next time,

Unexpected

My sweet youngest daughter Megan has always been a tough kid. She has a lot of little quirks that we have always just chocked up to being "Megan". However, recently it has become obvious that her life has become a bit more frantic. We have known that she suffers from ADHD and had originally decided not to medicate her for it. But it has been starting to affect her schoolwork. So we took her to the doctor last week to discuss putting her on medication so that she is able to focus and catch up in school. However we got more out of the appointment than we were expecting.

It has been discovered that Megan also suffers from a form of Autism called Aspergers. We have only had a few days to absorb this information so I don't have a lot of details to pass along. But I do want to get it out there as a means to explain Megan. All these things we thought were possibly naughty behavior are actually from the Aspergers and she honestly doesn't have any control over these behaviors.

So please bear with us as we navigate what this means for Megan and for our family. We have some serious adjustments to make. Please keep Megan in your prayers. She is going to have rougher time in life than I wanted for her.

Until next time,