Waiting in line for the big rides

Floating down the lazy river

Trip to Kings Island

This is the Diamondback. The first drop on the left is a 215 ft high, 74 degree drop picking up to 80 miles/hour. I have to admit that I wouldn’t have climbed on this ride had it not been for Ethan. It was thrilling, scary and exciting. And by far the smoothest ride all night. The wooden rollercoaster we were told we had to ride, literally cracked my neck and shook my brain up a bit more than I remember the Texas Cyclone doing. A few bruises, little nausea, and a coke and  fish and chips later, I was good to go. At least for a bit. Then I wimped out to go relax in the lazy river back at the waterpark while we were kid-less.  Even with all the whining, the struggles of bedtime, the discomfort of hotel beds, the lack of eating, the perceived germs, this trip was near perfect. A good end to summer 2010.

We returned on Thursday to make it back in time for treatment #6 of 8! Whoo-hoo! I can’t believe we are this far and only have 6 more weeks of chemo to go. This last round of Cytoxin has been much easier. Very little recognizable side effects and I have felt great. Praise God! My eyebrows and eyelashes are finally starting to thin and based on a conversation with another girl, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go before this is all over. But ya know, you just get used to that stuff. Yes, I would love a full head of hair, long, a bit thicker and preferably blond, but things are in transition right now. Lets put looks and outwardly appearances on the back burner for now – maybe forever. There are things that are more important than fitting in to the crowd. Which is why after 2 days at the park, I was perfectly fine with wearing only my Bondiband and a very well seen bald head from the back. Thank you for your support. I am not sure where I would be right now without the prayers of so many. But I know where I am, and that is strong and hopeful.

We tie-dyed matching shirts.

Alyssa and BK still get along so well even though they are getting older. They did a good job letting Megan play too. I hope these girls keep a relationship like this for the rest of their lives. Thanks Jen for coming to help take care of me and my family. We enjoyed every minute. Well except the 35 minute airport delay we got stuck in after dropping you off. But that was my fault for making you run to your plane. Love you both!

So today. Father’s Day. We all made Daddy a card. We went to church. We offered him lunch of his choice, but Cracker Barrel was incredibly crowded. So we opted for home. I had intended if nothing else, to give him a day off. (Mainly, because that is what I would like.) So he tried to do some dishes and I sent him away to watch soccer and relax on the couch. (Yeah, me) So, I did the mundane task of unloading the dishwasher only to fill it back up with the dishes in the sink. I attempted to get lunch made for the girls, but lost my temper in the process and broke a dish. Megan asked me, “why did you break it?” I told her that it just broke. Then later she heard Ethan ask, ” Did you get mad or did it just break?” I admitted, “I was mad.” I hear Megan in her sweet voice, “soooo, that’s why you broke it.”

So lunch is underway. Everyone is eating or not eating (like usual). Audrey is throwing stuff off her highchair. Megan is twisting and turning in her chair because she chose to not sit in her booster. And helpful Alyssa, is getting up and down “helping” Audrey with all the stuff she is throwing off. I suppose the kicker was when Audrey continued to bang her hands on the tray in a fit of rage. When that didn’t work, started to grab her hair and pull. Again. I slid my chair back in anger, slapped her in on the hand and said NO. Again. I threw her tray on the counter, pulled her out of her chair and promptly took her to bed. (I did of course hug and kiss her on the way, telling her I was sorry her mommy got so mad. Rocked her for a minute, then she took a nap. I just can’t stay mad at that girl.) Then I crawled into my bed where I proceeded to take a 3 hour nap. Awesome, huh?

So the great part of this story is the man behind this family. He didn’t complain. He didn’t question why I was in bed. He came to check on me, gave me a hug (few tickles) and left. In and out of cycles, I noticed how quiet the house was. But it was not till I finally got out of bed that I noticed what was going on. He had taken Alyssa and Megan to the store to pick up milk (I never have milk) and the ingredients to make my favorite dinner. Not his…. mine. Then they had gone to Lowes. Oh, because before we sat down to eat, I was yelling out the window at the flowers that continue to wilt. Our saying is now: If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the garden. Just the sight of the wilting flowers was pushing me over the edge. So, he goes to Lowes, and spends who knows how much on flowers. Not to replace those in the corner, something is seriously wrong with the water, sun and ground combination, but to make the front of the house look pretty. And as I type this, he is outside washing my car. He knows the way to make this woman happy.

So my story today could be of my father. A man I admire. A man I respect. A man who taught me to pray. A man who through his failures has become more of a father to me than he might imagine. A man who never gives up. A man who loves his family and the Lord.

But today is about my husband. A man who is tired just like me. A man who is exhausted from work. A man who is exhausted from his wife’s illness. A man who needs his downtime on the weekend. But a man who knows how to step up. A man who can put aside a restful day meant to serve him to instead serve his wife. I love you, Ethan. Thank you for continue to take care of us all when I fall miserably behind.

Most days, these three are what wear me out, but in the near future they will be what keeps me going. Just a few picts to all those who enjoy fun stuff on this blog too.

Two weeks ago Audrey was dedicated at Harpeth Community Church. The other little baby on stage with us, well, his name was Noah. I like this photo with all the hands stretched out toward us, committing their support to help us raise her to follow God. (Think out of your comfort zone for you CofC’ers) The girls all did good on stage, but I think Megan stole the show swinging her beads in circles. This may be the only photo where she looked serious and was not scowling at the audience. And though Mommy did not take a single photo of Audrey that morning, trust me, she did look cute.

Around the House:

While most families are play Wii, we are playing the real old-school games on N64. Alyssa has become really good. She races, plays a Ms PacMan game and Super Mario 64. And for now, Megan loves to just watch her. And when I play, she usually beats me. When I question it, Ethan responds, “Let’s be honest here, games were never really your forte.”

Well, I will tell you what is my forte, and that is baking stuff that is bad for me then running it off. We fried up some donuts for Valentines breakfast and much to my surprise, they were tasty. I may never need a donut shop again. And to offset my horrible eating habits, I have been running. I am in a group with some MOPS girls and we try to run few times a week and get in a long run together on Saturday. But with the weather lately, it is hard. We are up to 6 miles and have a 10K in two weeks. It has been very enjoyable for me. Lacing up the shoes, layering up the body for 28 degree weather, strapping on my new GPS watch and hitting the pavement – usually at 6am. The goal is the Nashville Half-Marathon in April.

And last up was Ethan’s birthday. We have been on a serious Dave Ramsey inspired budget this year, so just going out to eat was a treat for us all (or maybe just me!). We followed it up with my annual Carrot Cake and some good friends for company. Happy 33 to Ethan. Can you believe he is so OLD?

And here is my other project. I am attempting a Photo a Day for 2010 and this is the kit I bought. Here are a few of the pages, click on the photos if you want to see details.

Growing up in Houston, I have never had this much fun in the snow. Ok, I think I went skiing as a kid once, and remember a photo of me riding in a gondola, and it snowed once in 1987 and I ate snow off our pool lounger — but beyond that don’t remember anything like this.

Friday was a snow day, and I heard it was the most snow we have had since 2003. It snowed most of Friday, froze that night and Saturday everything was coated in white with a top layer of ice. We tried to get out for church today, but it didn’t look good. Later today the sun came out and we wanted to play. Ethan found a piece of old wood and made a sled out of it and it worked for a bit. Then we borrowed a friend’s discs and headed to the elementary school where we heard there was some good sledding. Audrey pretended to take a nap at our neighbors and we had a blast. Alyssa was hesitant at first, but after the first time she was fine. Megan I think will be the adventurous one. First time down, all by herself, she had a look of panic and shear fun in one. I’ll admit, I kept riding with her just so I could play too. Now, school is canceled for Monday too. I sure wish we had some ski gear for these kids so we could play without getting wet…and next time we would be ready for some real skiing. It was a great day!

We also bundled up and visited Opryland Hotel. We walked through all the decorations, begged for a boat ride and/or a carriage ride, enjoyed a close-up view of the fountain show and ended the late evening with ice cream. The fun just never ends.

We celebrated our Thanksgiving this year with the Whaley side in Austin, TX. It should have been an easy trip. Fly out Wed and fly home Sat, allowing for most of the weekend to recoup and get ready for school again. However, since Alyssa had the flu the week of and Megan awoke with an ear infection the night before the 8am flight, we had to change plans. After a little disappointment, we decided to just cancel the flight and spend the holiday at home. But with all the family getting together, we didn’t want to miss it. So we packed up the car for the 14 hour trip. I feel like we are pros at this by now, so it wasn’t too bad.

We enjoyed a few days with Ethan’s family and his grandpa, aunt, uncle and cousins. It was definitely worth it. The best part was putting the kids in bed and playing games with the family. If we weren’t playing, we were at least all sitting together playing on iPhones.

Only a few from the family missing.

Grandpa’s 80th and Audrey’s 1st.

All the Whaley cousins

That’s right. We are all superheros. I had planned out a great idea for costumes. The two little ones were going to be home-made hand-me-down costumes that I was very proud of. So I just had to think of something for Alyssa. Well, as it turns out, she can think on her own now. Dang! And she picked Super Girl. Well, then of course, Megan doesn’t want to be a puppy, she wants a superhero too. Then Bat Girl is born. Now there can’t be any fun unless Audrey too is one and Dad comes up with The Flash. Then he stops by Hobby Lobby on the way to work one day (how cute is that) and we all now are superheros. It was a lot of fun putting them together. All pics

Here are some others of my almost ONE year old.

And since I am a words of affirmation type person, here is my Halloween dessert. After the photo, Ethan decided the pumpkin patch needed a gum drop fence. I love him like that.