I Graduated!

Doesn't this just look so fun? Aren't you all jealous you couldn't take this class with me each day? Imagine 30 minutes of laying under different machines like this holding perfectly still and holding your breath over and over again?? It's definitely not a class I'd recommend enrolling for. Avoid it at all costs! =)

I did it-I graduated!! Of course it was only a 33 day course but it seemed like forever! Tuesday was my last day of radiation and after my treatment my doctors played the 'graduation theme' music and presented me with this Diploma!! Isn't that funny? They said I passed with high honors in optimism and good breath holding techniques. =) Anyhow, I hardly know what to think now...is it really true? Will I get some of my 'normal life' back now? What is normal life anyhow?? =)

Just had to share the great news!

Times to Remember...

These are just some really cute photos I wanted to share. Definitely times to remember...special times!!

Here is our first photo of the "cousins" on my side of the family. My sister had a baby girl 4 months ago and my children got to meet her for the first time Sunday. My kids are so excited to have a darling little cousin and Kaylie is excited that there is another girl in the family that she'll get to play with in a few years!

For Family Home Evening Cameron had our lesson. He taught about the importance of choosing the right. Then he had us build things from the scriptures out of Legos. It was very cute and everyone was really creative. We had a fun time! =) Thanks Cameron for a great lesson!

The boys playing "Police Chiefs". You'd better watch out-- they put up 'crime scene' notes throughout the house and were ready to take any 'bad guys' off to jail. Even Kyler had a little badge Cameron made him. Aren't they so cute??

I came downstairs and found Kyler in his pajamas still, wearing a toolbelt and playing Dad's drums, including the foot pedal. Is this a sign of things to come?? Perhaps another drummer boy in the family???

Climbing on top of the world

Scott's company had it's annual springtime picnic in Rancho Cordova on Friday and there is a great park there. I couldn't pass up the chance to take some photos of my boys climbing all around on the mountain and tower!

A Baking Holiday

So Scott said this is the first time in 10 years of marriage that he's seen me wear an apron in the kitchen! That's right..I'm getting serious about all this baking stuff and today was the fun day that I tried some new recipes. Some of these recipes come from my new favorite recipe book about Baking with Agave Nectar. A few come from my natural cookbooks as well. Four of the recipes use agave nectar instead of sugar as a natural sweetener. Agave nectar is a natural, organic, kosher, plant-based sweetener made from varieties of the agave plant. It's my favorite natural sweetener as I've been experimenting with different types. The power bars use Brown Rice Syrup which I'm experimenting with also. I got my books at amazon.com so you can search for agave nectar and get more info!

So tonight the children taste-tested things and I got 5 stars on everything I made! Yeahoo! These are winners! Of Course you should see my kitchen, oh my what a mess--yikes!

The fun recipes I made were:
1-Cranberry Orange muffins
2-Pecan Orange Granola
3-Fruit and Nut Bars
4-Do It Yourself Power Bars
5-Zucchini Raisin Bread

Wondering what makes up these great treats? Here are just a few of the ingredients that my children are eating while they say "yum yum" with each bite! Gotta LOVE it! Not only am I eating healthy but my kids are too!!

1-Cranberry Orange Muffins--Whole Wheat Flour--yes really! Wheat bran, unsweetened applesauce and nonfat yogurt.
2-Orange Pecan Granola--Wheat bran, Ground Flax Seeds, Almond Meal & unsweetened applesauce
3-Fruit and Nut Bars--Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Macadamia Nuts & Apricots
4-PowerBars-Wheat Bran, walnuts (which my kids claim they don't like), brown rice cereal & wheat bran
5-Zucchini Bread--Whole wheat flour, flax seed meal, & nonfat yogurt

I'm so excited to have some more yummy options for 'snacking'. As many of you know I'm not eating any sugar or processed foods and so I've been struggling to find some more recipes and this is exciting!! =) Happy Snacking....

A Flashback to Feb...

Ok, so I was really not into posting photos of myself while I was going through treatment (Yuck!) but I know many of you never got to see me with my cute wig...I must say my wig was really fun...and so I thought I would post this photo I just received. This is from our stake temple day in February. I was struggling to have energy and stamina and it was a stretch for me to make it, but I was able to attend with Scott and I was so grateful. What a blessing it was to spend some time in the temple. Boy, my wig sure covers up how frail and sickly I really was in this photo!! Anyhow..here we are! =)

On to the "Boost" treatments

Well this is all very exciting because I am in my last few days of radiation!! YEAH!! I am now having my scar area getting a "boost" of extra strong radiation for 5 days and then I'm DONE with radiation! I can hardly believe it. I'm so grateful to be almost done with the radiation because my skin is really starting to be sore, itchy and red, red, red! It looks like I have a sunburn.

One thing I've noticed is when I walk outside my neck starts to sting. (My neck is red because they radiate my clavicle area and halfway up my neck) I asked my Dr. about this and she said that I'll have to wear hats, collared shirts, that sort of thing to cover my neck up for the next few months. She said for the next year my skin will be much more sensitive than normal. So I guess hats and sunscreen here I come!! =) Wait..I thought I was done with hats!! =) No such luck!

Anyhow..count your blessings...i'm counting mine!! =)

Sometimes it is Hard!

Ok, so everyone thinks that I'm super cheerful Heidi about this whole cancer routine that has become my life story..and its true, MOST of the time I try to be cheerful about the whole thing and make the most of it. After all your attitude and the way you react to a situation is half the battle really. So I try to surround myself with people and activities that build me up and encourage me and are cheerful, because I NEED that!

But some days are just HARD! I've never written a blog post on a hard day, so I thought I should do so today. Can I just complain for a minute? Ok, here are my 4 complaints for today!

1-My arm hurt SO BAD during radiation! I don't know why! Usually it only hurts the last few minutes after holding it perfectly still for 30 minutes---and did I mention its being held above my head in a weird position? Uncomfortable...but today was really hard and my arm was KILLING me. But I couldn't move it. It was so hard and I had to use 'mind over body' exercises to help me to not go bonkers. It was so painful.

2-Holding my breath today was HARD too! I hold my breath 20+ times a day for radiation treatment and usually its not a big deal. But once a week they do x-rays along w/ the radiation and I have to hold my breath much longer. Add on to that the fact that I have sore muscles in my chest area from the radiation and it just hurts to hold my breath. Well today I seriously thought I would pass out one time. I had to hold my breath SOOO long I about died. And here' s the clincher...if I let out a breath then the machine will be radiating my HEART!! So I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO hold my breath in. It was so hard, I couldn't stand it. I opened my eyes (I usually always have them closed) and looked up to the ceiling and started counting the bolts on the ceiling and kept telling myself to just keep counting and ignoring the fact that my lungs were on fire from holding it so long. Combined with my sore arm it was just really a hard day at radiation today.

3-As some of you know our car was broken into two weeks ago while we were at church. The result of all this is that our car has been in the shop this entire week and will be there a few days next week. Since I have radiation daily I have to have a car. So we've been juggling things all week long between Scott and I and friends help. It's so stressful on top of everything else. Next week we are going to just break down and rent a car. The stress is just too much!!

4-My last complaint is just how hard it is to get things done when I'm gone every single day for several hours. Its really starting to wear on me and some days I feel like I'm going to burst. The whole commuting thing (30 minutes each way downtown), the dropping my kids off at all sorts of friends homes (bless each and every one of them), but its just so hard to go through this day in and day out. There's nothing more to say except its hard.


Ok, that's it. I got it out of my system now! I'm done complaining!! I'm grateful that I have only SEVEN MORE DAYS of radiation. What an exciting thing. I'm also grateful to have a vehicle that normally is working and at my disposal, something I take for granted often. Certainly going through trials helps us to realize the blessings we take for granted daily--like our health. If you have yours--be so grateful!

Love and Hugs,
Heidi