Lil' Chefs

My boys dressed up to help their Dad cook breakfast this weekend and I just thought it was so cute I had to take a picture. =)

Cameron's Baptism

Saturday was a very special day for Cameron. It was his baptism day. In the LDS Church (www.mormon.org) you are baptized when you are 8 years old. We call it the age of accountability when you are old enough to choose right from wrong. Cameron made the decision to be baptized and we are so proud of him.

Here is a family photo after the baptism.

Scott was the one that baptized Cameron. Here they are in their white baptism clothes.

Many family and friends came to support Cameron on his special day. Here is some of the group gathered on the stairs at the church building. Thanks to everyone who came!

We had a family luncheon at the house afterwards and the children had a fun time with the character plates! We served some of Cameron's favorite foods and it was nice getting a chance to visit with everyone who had come from out-of-town for the baptism. It was a really nice weekend.

A quote to Inspire...

Recently I read a quote by Michael J. Fox. As you know, he suffers from Parkinson's disease. The other day I came across something he had said that really resonated with me and I wanted to share it here. In speaking of his disease and the impact on his life he said:

"There are things that I can't do to the extent that I used to do or, in some cases, at all. But there are more things that I do that I didn't do before. We sometimes see subtractions when we're ill. They're not just subtractions. I'm not me minus anything; I'm me plus this experience. Whether it's good or bad is a subjective thing, but this has assuredly changed my path. And changed the way I look at things, changed the things I do..." He goes on to say, as encouragement for those trying to overcome challenges, "You still get to write the book (of your life). It's just going to have some chapters you might not have anticipated, but its still your story."

I appreciated this and felt I could relate to it!! I so often feel that my illness takes away from who I am and that I'm not the person I could be without my illness. That's why I like what he said about subtraction...and how he's not "Mike minus anything, he's Mike plus this experience(of having Parkinsons)".

I need to put my mindset in this way. I also appreciated what he said about still being able to write your story. My life story has had many chapters in it over the past few years that I never would have written...and yet I hope that I'll still be able to add many more chapters that are more uplifting and cheerful than the past few. Even though my story isn't what I planned to write, it still has a lot of beauty and value to it if I count my blessings and focus on the ways I've grown.

Cathing up....Easter Time

Here are the kids in their cute Easter outfits! This year we had to be resourceful for Easter. I found Cam's shirt for $6 on clearance at Kohls. Dallyn is wearing Cam's shirt from 2 years back and Kyler is wearing Dallyn's shirt from two years back! So we are recycling the Easter clothes! Kaylie's shirt is from DI matched with a cute white skirt and sweater. It makes for a much cheaper ensemble than my usual Gymboree purchases!!

This year we celebrated with an Easter Bunny visit after Easter. On Easter we focused on the true meaning of Easter--all about Christ. Last week we wrote a letter to the Easter Bunny asking him to come a few days later. It worked out great! The children each received a Webkinz from the Easter bunny. A chipmunk for Kyler, a Heart Frog for Kaylie (matches Moms), a tree frog for Cam and a Dino for Dallyn!



Here's the whole family on Easter--Less Mom---I was in Utah and I missed my kids and Scott..but we celebrated when I returned home.

Kyler finding Easter eggs...isn't he cute?

Quick Utah Trip

I took a quick trip to Utah this past weekend and got to visit my Sister's family and meet my new niece! She's just two weeks old, isn't she precious?? I got to spend time with both of my brothers, my parents, as well as some extended family, so it was a great trip!

Here I am on temple square..i love the statues!

And a great view of the Salt Lake Temple standing in front of the reflecting pool. It was a nice little trip!

It's Toe Problem

So you'd think it'd be no problem for me to avoid seeing all the specialists known to man?? Well, apparently I'm trying to win some award for spending the most in co-pays to see all sorts of doctors this year.

The newest Dr. added to my list is the Podiatrist I saw today. Tuesday I went to see my Primary Care Dr. about my latest ingrown toenail that is super infected (Yes I already went through this twice a few months back) and he said I needed to see a Podiatrist.

So today I went there and had horribly painful shots in my toes--yikes---and the other half of my nail was removed on my left toe. So now I'm all bandaged up and the numbing agent is wearing off so I'm starting to feel the pain and I'm hobbling around the house.

So I'm wondering if I'll be able to wear sandals this summer at all??? So much for cute painted toes..Oh my poor ucky toes! It's always something with me isn't it?? =)

Reverence Tent

This is the third time we've made a reverence tent for the kids to sit in and listen to conference. It's becoming quite the tradition and the kids really love it! They are able to listen to conference that is broadcast on TV and work on their packets and take notes as they listen. Kind of like the people that turned their tents to listen to King Benjamin...that is where we got the idea!! It was a great weekend listening to the all the uplifting messages AND celebrating Cam's bday too!!

Hair Update

Well back on March 9th I talked about my bald spot and all the hair that was starting to fall out. It had been falling out since around Feb 25th. Well, today is April 5th and I am here to report that my hair has continued to fall out every single day since then! The intensity is still the same, I can't believe how much hair I lose everyday!!

The good news is that my bald spot area has some little stubble on it as that hair is growing back. BUT..the rest of my hair, all over my head, is still falling out. I had planned to get hair extensions to cover my bald spot. However, we have to wait until my hair stops falling out so I'm stuck for now!

My oncologist mentioned that hair loss is also a side effect of steroids sometimes. So..that might be my problem too...if you can believe that.

Anyhow..that's my little note about my hair...I keep thinking it'll stop, but it is still falling out like crazy everyday. I'll let you know when it stops...or when I'm completely bald I guess you'll figure it out!

One year flashback...

Here is Cameron one year ago today...again the theme was Star Wars!

Here I am with Cameron...my hair had just started growing..and I was going through radiation at the time.

Here I am one year later...about 25 pounds heavier and with crazy hair and a brain tumor..but nonetheless, I'm still here! So I'm grateful for that!

Cameron Turns 8!

Today Cameron turns 8 years old! I can hardly believe it..he's growing up so fast!! This was his 'off year' from having a birthday party, so he just had his two best friends over to watch Star Wars with him.

Here they are with his gifts...can you sense a theme? Star Wars and Legos?? =0)

We got the boys Tops Yogurt for dessert since Cameron doesn't like cake. So here he is blowing out his candle!

The boys played Star Wars Trivia together..

There was also some 'pin the blaster on the clone trooper' playing. The boys enjoyed pizza and mac n' cheese and strawberries for dinner--Cameron's birthday request--and watched the movie together. It was a fun night!

Cam's Birthday Part Two

Kyler gave Cameron a watch! Cameron has always wanted one that works (he wears a pretend Star Wars one right now that doesn't tell time...we figured it was about time he have a real one!)

DJ gave Cam Pirates of the Caribbean Legos.

Here Cameron is with his two new friends...the Chihuahua is from Mom and the snake is from Grandma and Grandpa Black. Cameron loves animals..and Webkinz!

Another hit was the Nerf guns he got from Grandma and Grandpa Wright!!

Cam's Birthday Part three

Here's Cam with his fun sugar cereal & hot chocolate birthday morning breakfast!

Kaylie gave Cam a Bakagan?, a cute card and some quarters!! =)

The gift from Dad...can you tell how excited he is??

A common them for his birthday---Star Wars Legos! =)

Short-Term Work

Well, Scott has joined the ranks of the unemployed this past month. It's been wonderful to have him around and having him here for dinner every night has been a dream. But the stress involved with not having work certainly has its disadvantages, so it comes with a price!

Today Scott was offered a short-term consulting position for a company in Roseville. He'll be working for them for the next 6-8 weeks helping them clean up their financial situation as they are unhappy with thier current Controller and are letting him go. The accounting manager is going on maternity leave for the next 6-8 weeks too, so they really need some help.

Scott is excited about the opportunity to help figure out ways to improve their company. They don't believe they'll need someone at Scott's level for the long-term, but since Scott was referred to them they decided to interview him. After meeting Scott they realized there was a lot he had to offer their company and the idea for consulting work was born!!

We're grateful for this opportunity which will give Scott some work for awhile, and which also gives him more time to find a full-time position.

Just wanted to update you all with the good news!!