Saturday, February 28, 2015

Winter Time Fun

This week has been full of a lot of things. Some pleasant. Most not so much. We have had lots of doctor appointments, lots of sleepless nights, lots of little man throwing up and feeling overall crappy, lots of cleaning away germs and......lots of cold weather. This week we even seen ice and snow!!! And while that was fun....for a short while the rest was not! We are finally on the mend and the snow is on it's way to being gone. Cabin fever set in a few times and we were happy to have something fun to look forward to outside to play in. Even though, as you'll see that was short lived too! 



It was really a pretty snow! BIG snowflakes!!!






Of course the boys got out in the snow! They wasted no time getting our the sleds and riding there bikes through the snow!




After a few hours they were more then ready to come in and cozy up to the fire and eat vanilla wafers while sipping hot cocoa. 





And build Lego creations of course!



During all this fun we ended up having to go into the doctor's office and Hensley was officially diagnosed with the flu. We started Tamiflu which was very short lived because Hensley's stomach had some pretty terrible reactions too it! We decided to stop the meds and let it run its course which was hard. He wanted to play so much but after a little bit outside he found himself needing to come in and rest. It was hard to see him frustrated that his body wouldn't do what he wanted it to. We learned a valuable lesson that Hensley and Tamiflu don't mix! Just as he was starting to feel a little better we all went out for a sledding session before the day was over and....low and behold his sled took a turn and went right under a parked van and a busted is lid open :( He couldn't catch a break!!!  

 







The next morning after lots of tears and ice packs he was all smiles and ready for some more fun :)
















Friday, February 27, 2015

Come into my heart......



Tonight as I put Hensley to bed we were having one of our nightly chats. After we said our prayers he was asking about why his cousin Brooke got baptized (which happened many many months ago) as I explained to him why he said he wanted God to come into his heart like Brooke's. I told him what that meant and together we said the prayer. He got very emotional and even cried saying how important it was for him to go to heaven to see grandma one day. Our five year old asking God to come into his heart and being saved is such an amazing blessing. I was totally shocked and caught off guard. We speak to him often about God and religion and pray nightly and for those in our lives that need prayer and he spent the last 4 years in the most amazing preschool teaching him all about it as well. I am so so thankful for his strong foundation he is being raised on and so proud that he already understands and welcomes God's amazing love for him. My heart is full!!


I pray that this is the beginning of a wonderful relationship with God. I pray that he talks to him like a friend and looks to him for guidance. I hope he always finds himself surrounded by uplifting and positive friends. I trust that God will always place him right where he need to be guide him through life. He is such a light in our lives and I know he will do great things in life. He has a strong foundation and a good heart and that will take him far :) 

Feb. 27, 2015 



Thursday, February 26, 2015

SNOWMAGEDDON 2015

This week we got our BIG snow!!! We don't always get a really good snow here it's usually sleet, freezing rain, and a little snow mixed it. We don't usually get lots of the powdery, fluffy, great snow!! But this week we did and we got a lot of it (a lot in our standards anyway). We awoke Thursday morning to 8 to 10 inches of awesome snow!!!!!

The night before when the snow started we couldn't help but to go out in it :)









Hensley's reaction to first seeing the snow 



We spent the morning admiring the beauty of it all and eating cereal and playing board games :) 

Hensley and Sophie snuggled on the couch




It was absolutely beautiful and otherwise would have been a truly magical day at home playing and eating and watching it all out of our window, but, we had no power! :(






After a few hours of moping around about not having power we decided since the roads near us had been scraped and our sweet friends had power, we would grab some lunch and head over to their place for some snow day fun!!! 
And I am so thankful we did because it was beautiful :) 




Snowball fights with Gavin :) 



Our friends the Williams' have a great hill in front of their house to sled :) It made for a lot of fun for the kids! 



Then we got the bright idea to build a snowman...but not just any snowman!  A GIANT SNOWMAN!



Watch the video below to see some of the ideas the guys used to get the snow man built!!!










And our verison of Frosty the snowman was done :) We were pretty proud of him :)  It was a perfect snow day spent with friends. Listening to our babies laugh and watch them play and be so happy :) Nothing's better!

The ride home was really beautiful too!




Sunday, February 15, 2015

Happy Love Day 2015

Happy Valentine's Day!!!! We had a great one this year because it was on a Saturday and we were all able to be together the whole day :) It was great except for one little set back....Hensley had the flu :(

He was in great spirits though and even from the couch with his little vomit bucket he was happy and smiling :) 




We opened some gift and had some breakfast made by my sweet husband :) I spent most of the day cuddling Hensley on the couch, cleaning the vomit bucket, washing EVERYTHING in our ENTIRE house! Andy was great he ran some errands for me and was right there to get whatever Hensley needed. 


Andy ran out to pick up some meds and some food for us and came home with the sweetest card and some chocolates :) He let me take a nice long nap and waking up to these made a tough day a little better :)





To the man who loves me with all his heart even though at times i can sure make it hard. He works harder then anyone i know. Thank you for giving me the best little boy in the whole wide world. Thank you for coming into my life and giving me my happily ever after. I loved you yesterday. I love you today. I will love you always.


By the end of the day we had a happy smiling boy who was ready to play some video games with Dad. It was a nice day to remember to take a step back and just spend time together. It doesn't have to include going anywhere or doing anything crazy it was just a great day at home with the ones I love the most and those who love me back unconditionally. 
Happy Love Day :) 
Today and everyday! 


Friday, February 6, 2015

A new normal

I haven't updated the blog in a while about my mom's progress on her cancer and the treatments. The last time I did she was mid way through her chemo and radiation was just beginning. It was a hard road. April through December wasn't a fun time. She missed out on a lot of stuff due to the reaction to the chemotherapy and once the radiation started a whole new set of issues began. 

Radiation treatment is different for everyone and for my mom is was six weeks of 5 days a week treatment. It was a very strong dose that near the end really began to effect her phyically. It literally burned her from the inside out. She felt a lot of pain and by the end of the six weeks we could see the burn on her skin. It was hard to watch her go through that but it was harder knowing that after this strong treatment she had to once again start up with the chemo. 

She missed out a lot on the summer time fun we all usually have. We weren't able to lay by the pool. Or go out all day and have fun. She was tired a lot and sick a lot. The fact that she was not able to be with us like she usually is during those few months was hard on her mentally as well and she did go though a brief period where she pulled away from all of us and stayed to herself a lot. She wasn't the fun, free spirited mom she had always been. She was sad and depressed and a lot of days she had given up on feeling good again. 

Chemotherapy was always a challenge and after an allergic reaction to her chemo meds she had to switch up her treatment plan a little. Her doctors had originally told her that near Thanksgiving she should be done with all treatment but after a few tests they decided to be safe and do them until Christmas. It was a struggle to keep her spirits up and keep her going for those last few treatments. Her hands and feet were having a lot of pain and numbness in them more often and the days after treatments go harder with prolonged periods of sickness. 

My stepdad's job started in Texas and with them having such amazing centers down there for cancer she decided to go there to get a second opinion and finishing her treatments if necessary. After having several scans and tests done we got the news that we had so longed to hear ever since this journey began 6 months ago. Mom is in REMISSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nothing was more of relief then to hear that!! They told her it is very possible it can come back. If it stays gone for 5 years the chance of it coming back decreases a lot! I continue to pray that she will stay healthy and that this will not be something she ever has to go through again. I know it was tough on her physically but now that some time has passed those things that were effected by the chemotherapy treatments are starting to fade away. She is starting to return to her old self physically. 

Mentally though, I'm still waiting to see my mom. I'm still waiting for her to come back to us. She left for Texas in part to be with my stepdad but she also left because she thought all the bad things here would disappear. That it wouldn't all be real. The cancer. My Grandma dying. Being alone here without my stepdad with her. But I don't think she has realized yet that what she left behind was more important then what she was trying to avoid. She has been gone for 2 and half months now. Feels like 2 years to me. I was so happy she got to come home and spend Christmas with us. It meant a lot to me. She is home this week too which is what reminded me to write this cancer update. She is here for 6 days. Doesn't seem long enough. Lots of people to try to see before she off again. She won't be back until the end of March hopefully in time for Hensley's birthday party. I am trying to be strong. To not think about the fact that my mom who I usually see everyday is just....gone. Off to another state. Only coming home for short week long trips. On this trip home she talked a lot about them getting rid of their home here in NC. Three miles from our home. A place I always feel comfortable going. Where Hensley has a room with all his stuff inside and where we all have a ton of memories. Not having a house here anymore means one thing....this is no longer home. It's hard for me to even comprehend that. I hope it's something that won't happen. I know it's something I'll have a very hard time with. 

During all of this I have tried to do one thing......not be selfish. I have had days were she calls and I don't answer the phone because I am missing her so much that I am angry and I don't want to be angry towards her. So it's easier to just not answer. Which isn't fair to her. I am happy she is able to go and see new places. Spend time with my stepdad. Meet new people and experience new things. But as happy as I am for her I am equally angry and sad and lonely. I never know from day to day how I will feel. It changes daily. I want her here with us. Attending special days at Hensley's school. Coming over to hang out with me or go get lunch. Summer is coming soon. It will be hard to have another summer without her at the pool. Taking Hensley to do fun things. Just being here. I don't want to be angry. I want to be happy. I want to be happy her cancer is gone. I want to be happy she is seeing the country. I want to be happy to see her come home. But in the back of my mind when she is here all I think about is her leaving again. I miss her. Phone calls, and video chats just aren't the same. Through this whole experience I always thought after the cancer was gone we would all move on with everything and things would go back to normal. I thought hearing the word remission would mean I get my mother back. Instead she's gone anyway. 

I guess it's time to end this post that started as a cancer update and ending in a therapy session. This too shall pass..........right? 

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Homecoming 2015

Hensley going to a charter school I have noticed they do several things a lot different. And since they have a school that houses Kindergarten through 12th grade they include everyone in events such as homecoming.

When Hensley came home a few weeks ago with a slip in his binder saying his teacher had nominated him for the homecoming court I was so excited :) More excited then he was I think!!!




We invited all our friends and family and picked out a super cute outfit for Hensley. They were having a dinner at the school beforehand and a ceremony afterward with a performance by the schools band. 

They did a great job with setting things up and making it all run smoothly. Hensley was paired up with a little girl in his class named Laura Grace and she was extremely excited (and super adorable)!!! 



Hensley and Laura Grace




It was very fun and such an honor for him to on the Homecoming court. Being the type A personality I am and seeing all these pictures I think about how cute it would be for him to be on the Homecoming court as a high schooler and seeing these pictures such a long time from now :)