Thankful - Thursday November 8

I'm very thankful for the location the Lord has put me in and the excellent medical facilities nearby.  Being 20 minutes from UIHC has been a GODSEND during Morgan's leukemia treatments, as well as with managing Will's arthritis!

Thankful - Wednesday November 7

I'm thankful for a pillow and a comfortable bed to rest after ONE OF THOSE DAYS!

Thankful - Tuesday November 6

I'm really thankful that this election will be over tonight.  I have to say I'm tired of all of the phone calls during dinner, the TV ads and wasted money on bulk mailings to our home.  With that said, I'm still grateful for this country and for the chance we all have to voice our choice.

New Family Picture

Through our journey with Morgan's illness, we've become acquainted with a wonderful photographer here in eastern Iowa.  She has taken some photos of Morgan for the upcoming Man & Woman of the Year campaign for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's yearly fundraiser.  Morgan will be the 2013 Girl of the Year.  Below are some of the photos she took of Morgan:

We also had her shoot some family photos as well and the photo below is the first sneak peek we have but I can't WAIT to see the rest!

Thankful - Monday November 5

I'm thankful for the right to vote. I'm thankful for this country and that my voice (quiet as it may be) can be heard.

Thankful - Sunday November 4

I'm thankful for the joy AND the pain in my life. Thankful for the growth of my faith and the guiding hand of my Father in heaven. Always. I am never alone.

Thankful - Saturday November 3

I'm thankful for my extended family. My in-laws who love me as their own and are so giving and helpful. My incredible grandparents who have always been there for me and are such an example of commitment to family and each other. My cousins who I've shared both good times and bad. I have such fond memories of our times together. I love each of you! 

Thankful - Friday November 2

I'm thankful for my family I was given at birth.  For my mom who gave up her life for several months this spring and summer to help us care for Morgan and so diligently attends nearly all of her appointments with me. She loves us and her grandchildren well and we are all blessed by that.   For my sister who I can laugh and cry with. With her I have someone to remember the past - the good and the bad and the funny, too ;). She also keeps giving me babies to love on without having to be pregnant! :)   For my loving Daddy who would have just turned 70.  For the 18 years he was in my life here on earth he loved me unconditionally and taught me to follow God.  I miss him every day and give great thanks that I will see him again.

Morgan's Journey

Morgan has a carepage that I'm using to document her journey: www.carepages.com/carepages/MorganClaire

Thankful - Thursday November 1

I'm thankful for the family I have created.  For my husband who loves me unconditionally and far better than I deserve. For my growing-way-too-quickly, strong and sweet son Will who made me a mommy.  For my cancer butt-kicking warrior Morgan. She is the strongest person I know. To wake up with them each day is a gift.

A long time

I can't believe my last post was almost a year ago.  I've continued reading blogs, doing a lot of journaling on my own and doing a lot of other things in the last year.  As I look back at the last few years it feels like something HUGE and LIFE-CHANGING has happened each year.  2007 was precious Morgan, 2008 was my divorce, 2009 was learning a new reality and learning to love again, 2010 was the year I married my incredible husband, 2011 was marked by the loss of my beloved Auntie Les.  That brings me to 2012 which will be marked in my memory as the year was that my sweet daughter was diagnosed with leukemia.  Morgan has ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia).  It is the most common form of cancer in children and praise God, the most treatable. It's been a wild ride since her diagnosis on March 29.  7 months of fear, tears, joy, blessings and pain all rolled into one.  She's ok.  I have faith that she WILL be ok.  She has approximately 2 more years of treatment in front of her but she will beat this and it will be part of the story of who she is.   It has been a journey this year to truly hand over my daughter to the God who created her.  Who loves her more than I do. It's showing me that I'm really not in control of anything - something my head has told me for years but my heart ignores whenever possible.

We've had lots of other things going on as well.  We took a quick vacation a few weeks before Morgan's diagnosis, Will played baseball in the midst of our crazy spring and tackle football this fall, Eric had weight loss surgery and has lost over 90 lbs (and looks INCREDIBLE), I switched jobs and Morgan started Kindergarten.  Add all of those to weekly clinic appointments and frequent blood draws and we're running around a lot around here. I've frequently seen a list of "Things that cause stress" on the internet or in magazine and let me tell you we've checked the box on far too many in the last few years (both good & bad).

In the midst of all of that I've lost sight of so much. So much of myself, so much of my beautiful family, so much good in the world, so much beauty.  I've been bogged down in the details of the craziness that has taken over. God hasn't let me go, I've let myself go - let myself fall victim to fear, sadness, and anger. I've gained weight.  I've eaten horribly. I've had trouble sleeping or slept far too much. I've been selfish in so many ways. I've forgotten to be thankful, to be grateful for all that I've been given. So many things.  So I'm trying to get back to me.  To being grateful. To being humble. To being content. To loving my family and my life the way the deserve.

Clubhouse

The kids in their clubhouse today.

Craft for Will's Class

America Reads Day was Friday. I made this simple craft for the kids to enjoy while they were reading.

iPhone pictures

Alive and trying this out

My darling husband mentioned I've been neglecting this little blog. Well we are all alive and doing well. I'm trying out posting from my phone....maybe I'll be better about posting this way? :)

Pictures!

All of these pictures are taken with my phone so forgive the quality!!
Front of the new house:Eric's new pride and joy: 5 ft x 5 ft tiled shower with a rainhead showerhead Custom lockers for all of our stuff in the "drop zone" - organization HERE I COME!!! :)The mostly done kitchen. The large cabinet on the right side of the picture was ordered in the wrong size so they just got that fixed yesterday. Will had a busy summer playing baseball, going to Drake basketball camp, Kernels baseball camp and ECC daycamp. He's really not as grumpy as the pictures make it seem ;) Gotta get that boy smiling for the camera!

The sno-cones at the Farmer's Market were bigger than their heads!

Love Instagram! :)

Morgan's summer has included swimming lessons and lots of time sitting with us at Will's baseball games. She's been lucky to stay home with Grandma for lots of them...but she's sat through quite a few as a REALLY good sport too!

Her sno cone was YUMMY!

Cheering on Will and sporting the black & orange!

We've also spent a good amount of time at the library this summer - she never wants to leave!

And May and June went flying by....

My incredible grandparents with the great grandkids (11 of them!!)The whole family (minus one incredibly missed and loved woman)Yeah, it's June 24th and I haven't posted in nearly 2 months. Eric has laughed at the "framing" pictures several times since the house is now completely done on the outside and the inside is moving right along as well. The cabinets, flooring, tile, trim, etc are all done and I think the painting started today. Our builder told us today that we can expect a July 29th closing date! It's been amazing to watch the progress each time we are there.

We celebrated my Granddaddy's 90th birthday in early May. Our entire family gathered in Des Moines to celebrate this wonderful man. It was bittersweet though to celebrate him while Auntie Les was gone. It was a great family weekend, but different and didn't feel complete. I kept expecting her to walk in the door. We shared many memories and stories and enjoyed our time together. It's always too short. My mama, sister, and meWill had his last day of 2nd grade on June 3rd. He had a great year and we are very proud of his grades. He's excited about his teacher for next year also. He's in summer school/day camp now and is enjoying that. Next week is Drake Basketball camp in DM with his cousins (and best friends!) Max & Charlie! We're looking forward to spoiling Morgan since she'll be an only child for a few days next week.

It seems like the rest of the time is take up with football & baseball for Will and swimming lessons for Morgan. Will had a ton of fun playing flag football again this year and has had the new experience of playing club baseball. It's a fairly competitive environment (kid pitch) and has really been a learning experience. It's a bigger commitment than we were expecting but I think Will has enjoyed it. They are at State this weekend and have one more tournament in mid-July.

Morgan was a superstar at her first "without parent" swim lessons. She's growing more brave each time she gets in the water and we are SO proud of her. We hope to do more lessons this fall to increase her comfort and skill in the water.

As usual, Eric and I have been busy at work. I recently talked to my boss about other opportunities that might be available as soon as this fiscal year (Sept 30) is over. She was very receptive so hopefully I can move onto a new challenge in the same organization soon. It's been a stressful June - but it usually is, so at least it's not a surprise. I'm grateful for my endlessly supportive husband who picks up my slack...what a blessing he is!! He's been busy as well with a new project that he's enjoying - and getting his hands on hardware and testing so he loves that!

That's it for now...pictures later!

Framing!

We've made most of our decisions regarding flooring, cabinetry, siding colors, etc, etc... I can't believe how many choices there are!

She's 4!

Miss Morgan is 4! She had lots of fun and several parties...one with Nana, Aunt Laura, Uncle Buck & her cousins. One at school that MIGHT have involved skittles. And a fun night out with Mom, Eric & Will at Chuck E. Cheese's.

Riding the 'roller coaster'And the horseHello Kitty cake & cupcakesHer magic wandDora coloring bookAnd a BEAUTIFUL pink purse from Grandma & Grandpa along with the polka dot flip flops she loves.Mommy can't quite believe how grown up my baby girl looks in this picture!

Easter

We had a fun weekend in Des Moines over Easter spending time with my family. Mom had an Easter party and egg hunt for the kids and we all enjoyed an uplifting worship service, yummy food and a quick birthday party for Miss M on Sunday.

My handsome hubby :)

Cheese, everyone....

There were lots of quarters to be had:

Twins vs. Cubs....

Nana and her 'oldest' grandson...(never mind that he's the oldest by *1* week, he'll remind you that he's the OLDEST!)

More egg hunting fun