Tag Archives: cancer

Trading earth’s cross for heaven’s crown

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Dear Lisa,

Woman.  It is the most breathtakingly STUNNING day here today.  A rough start with the rain and wind this a.m. but now….oh.  My.  Not a cloud in the sky.  Nice wind.  Hovering on the 70’s….just barely.  I can’t think of a better day to celebrate you.

Somehow I managed to make it through with 3 tissues.  Your humongous family, your beautiful girls and your brave and valiant husband filing in just made my heart ache.  In the same breath, my heart was filled with joy at the sheer numbers present.  You seriously made an impression on a lot of people, an indelible print on their hearts.  Way cool.  What a blessing to call you friend.

Your faith and courage in your fight with Ovarian cancer could not help but to spill over on to everyone you came in contact with.  Sharing that faith just came natural and so did encouraging your students and friends to live life to the fullest.  Embrace every day and when you introduced Brendan (and our family) to the story of Nick Vujicic your genuineness and love of God became that much more real.

Thank you for your friendship.  It was a true blessing to know you.

A few words from today that I KNOW you’d be shaking your head “YES” to:

  • You traded earth’s cross for Heaven’s crown.  WOW!  I just love that.  You are free.  You are free.
  • When we let go of fear we step out and grow in faith.  Like taking off without training wheels for the first time.  May we ALL be propelled to grow in faith by crushing fear with the same German stubborness you had.
  • Fight the GOOD fight.  Life is busy and we get pulled in so many directions.  May we all focus on those priorities of living this life and fighting the GOOD fight.
  • Life is hard.  So many people, situations and choices constantly turning us sideways; faith is what guides us through.  A beacon of hope.  You stayed focused on that faith in God’s plan to the very end.  I can think of no better race that was run.

Rest in peace, my friend.  Until we meet again!

XOXO

Tracy

The bluest of blues. Sky today.

The bluest of blues. Sky today.

Good, bad, ugly and a conference!!

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I’ve been MIA and so very hit or miss lately….life, ya know?  Sorry.  I’m preaching to the choir, I know.

It looks like our weekends are slowing down a leeeeeeetle bit here to a more manageable busy-ness which is good and gives me hope to recharge and reboot and refresh and all that because I needs me some down-time, people!  Wahhhhh, cry me a river, I know.  We are all busy.  So.  I am done complaining about that.

Here’s a few things my mind is juggling lately, good bad and ugly.  Ok.  NOT the really ugly, because I’ve already sent THAT email to a few people and I’m just not ready to go live with that.  Yet.  It is brewing though.  It will probably be a total **it-storm when it happens, I’ll say that.  Intrigued?  Well, guess you’ll have to keep checking back in.  wink-wink-wink

Goodnesssssss……all over the place.  The busy-ness has been good stuff.  Kids music stuff, going to All-county for two kiddos 2 weekends in a row.  A certain almost-12 year old birthday coming up and a trip to Plato’s closet to feed her shopping desires and birthday gift!!  Last minute visit from an old friend from Tally in town with her daughter’s volleyball tourney.  (I didn’t get to visit with her but Hubby did and it does a soul good to have some quality friend time!)  A coming visit from Hubby’s Alaskan cousin this weekend for the night.  A total nut and very fun!!  A great AA dinner party meeting Hubby’s AA friends.  Always nice to put names with faces.  Even nicer to hear the inspirational stories coming out of these people.  My dear friend may (HOPEFULLY) be doing Apologetics classes for middle and high schoolers.  Y’all she is DANGEROUSLY on fire and the most AMAZING teacher EVERRRRRR.  I am completely committed to bugging her to YouTube the classes because this is something the Church needs…this area is so lacking.  So offer up a prayer for her would ya?  This cookie dough pie made by our 16 yo.  Oh.  MY.  Deliciousness.  **one special note:  USE the blender/food processor for the beans.  Makes allllllllll the difference in the world.  Hubby and I are planning on renewing our vows this year.  The big 2-0!  Point of contention:  our audience.  Our church generally does this in front of the general Mass.  All several HUNDREDS of people.  Hubby is in favor of this venue.  This gives me absolute palpitations and anxiety I cannot describe.  I’m all for the quiet chapel route.  Also, I know I will be bawling and this is not a good look for me.  Let’s face it, half of our marriage was the “for worse” part and having come through that……..Phew!  Good stuff, but man, oh, man……what a ride!!!

Badness:  (I know, not a word, but in keeping with the theme)…..I didn’t get a job I applied for.  Again.  I DO have promises of other positions in the next few months, so we shall see….but disappointment, I’m really over you.  Really.  16 yo broke his foot skateboarding.  Not super bad, but definitely waylaid the skating for a while.  Good stuff is coming out of that, though…..the ole stepping back and getting a bird’s eye view of friends, new likes and maturing.  Colds.  Several have blown through this house.  5 of 6 of us have had the flu shot, so holding steady there…… lastly, a friend of mine (son’s 5th grade teacher and the best EVER! and not just because she reads my blog) is suffering mightily these past couple years with a recurrence in her ovarian cancer.  The past few months have been tremendously brutal.  It’s heartbreaking and I’m so sad for her suffering and for her family and mad. Mad that the prayers I pray for her don’t fix anything.  Mad that the dinner I’ll take her family won’t fix anything.  Mad that God allows this.  Mad.  Mad.  Mad.  And this is so definitely going on my list of conversations God and I will have in heaven.  Because I just don’t see the purpose of it.  At all.

And on that total bummer note:  let me offer up some fun times for you….There is going to be a little conference in Austin, TX this summer.  A weekend of Catholic gal fun!!  All the deets are here……  my pocketbook can’t swing this, but maybe yours can and I think it would absolutely be worth every second!!!!

Go on and have a super day.  Providing you aren’t snowed in for the umpteenth time this winter.  We’ll be scooting through the day in the humid 80s here…..  tough.  tough life it is.

Blessings!!

Celebrating life

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Last night I went out to meet old friends for a few hours.  A very old friend, Stef,  (since middle school!) was setting up a celebration for another friend, Shannon, who was coming into town.  However, the celebration was celebrating LIFE!  This friend coming into town was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer 8 months ago.  She just finished her chemo and 2 weeks ago her energy returned.  She’s sporting a fancy wig and some apprehension of her upcoming tests to assess the efficacy of her chemo, but for these two weeks she is celebrating with friends and family.  Stef had set up a beautiful slide show for Shannon of old and new pics, including treatment pics and a few from a 5K Shannon did right at the end of her treatment for her birthday.  To say the tears were flowing, is an understatement.  Life is short.  Unfortunately, the older we get the more we realize how precious each day is.

My face hurt from laughing and smiling so much (these people are Facebook posting picture crazAY!!) and catching up with friends I haven’t seen in months and some in years.

Camera hams. Every last one of them!

Another friend that was there is on the backside of her breast cancer treatment is in reconstruction stage.  My mom used to work for her dad (an orthopedic surgeon…now 87 and working and patenting new forms of electricity and power for the love!!  how cool is that!??!?), she is the sweetest thing.  She found her cancer because a friend of hers was diagnosed, so she went for a baseline mammogram @ age 38, no symptoms.  They found cancer.  3 young children and a husband.  She’s doing wonderful, because they caught her cancer early.  Moral of the story:  LADIES.  GET.  YOUR.  ANNUAL.  MAMMOGRAM.

It was a fun night overall.  I left to pick up our son from roller skating so I missed destination #2 (and that’s a good thing!).  However, the hilarious finale was when someone discovered the restaurant had a GIANT camera in the billiards area and you could post straight to Facebook from this wall camera….OH.  LOOK.  OUT!!!  **all of these pics are from that camera.  Enjoy.

Happy Weekend!

Mayhem, chaos and sore glutes…

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It’s the last day of school.  Give a little idea of why no blogging lately?

  • Soccer tryouts (for FALL) were Wednesday night….2 hours long…little girl and Mama enjoyed supper at 8 p.m.   OY!  Need to plan better!!!
  • Dunkin’ donuts stop yesterday morning for Munchkins since I didn’t make any “Birthday snack” for my summer birthday girl who asked (so sweetly I couldn’t say no) if we could bring something to share.  After soccer.  Good times.  The Munchkins were a hit though!
  • Made a quick batch of “Deliciousness:  melted butter and brown sugar poured over saltines with melted chocolate chips spread on top and then frozen” for my other daughter’s class.  EVERY.  ounce.  of.  willpower.  NOT to eat a huge piece myself!!!
  • We celebrated 18 years of marriage this week! (actually we have dinner plans in another week, but we celebrated with PB&J tea sandwiches and watermelon dinner since our band kiddo opted out of Awards at the last-minute and we were unprepared for dinner home!)
  • A childhood friend got great news on his post chemo lab work for his Leukemia:  ALL CLEAR!  Such awesome news!!!
  • Seriously hard boot camp/Cross Fit class last night.  Big mistake:  dinner prior to class.  Thankfully.  Only an hour-long.  Sitting may be optional later….I’ll be back Saturday morning!!

I’m the “Early girl” and need to get those kids moving!  Happy Summer Y’all!!!  Did I mention our garden is going nutso!!!  Tomatoes!!!

Friday=Spring Break, Day1

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Spring Break for my kiddos, not me.  Not their teachers, as they post grades for the 3rd Nine weeks which means……folks, we are moving into the home stretch of the year.  HOLY!  COW!!  As once again, I scratch my head in wonder and confusion at how time DOES that!!!  And, so I’ll wrap up my week with Jen @ Conversion Diary and other people from around the globe as they wrap up THEIR week, too!  Happy Weekend!!

1.  Time change week.  I think…..just as we are adjusting to the time change we now go into Spring Break and will have a second transition week AFTER the break.  <sigh>  Well, at least I am off for  a few days and can enjoy a little sleep-in  here and there as well!

2.  I took our oldest to his HIGH SCHOOL REGISTRATION this week.  Again with the time clock.  OY!!!  He’s all signed up for classes.  Happy with his electives.  Relieved he gets a second chance at Algebra 1.  Looking forward to high school.  And I am just dazed wondering where my boy went who  was all about dump trucks, mud in the yard, tree climbing and Rescue Heroes.  <sniff>

3.  Bike Week 2012 is in full swing here.  LOUD. Congested.  Crazy sights.  Hope to get some pictures this weekend and share some of the zaniness that comes to us twice a year.  We try to lay low and stay out of the traffic though, so maybe we’ll just hit the beach instead…..

4.  Great gym time this week.  2 HARD days of strength training and lots of cardio.  Heading into spring in a good mindset.  Week 11 and still going strong.  Can’t say the same for the rest of the gym as it’s gotten much less congested the past few weeks as New Year’s Resolutions peter out. (which is GREAT for me on my lunch break!)

5.  Along with fixing the washer and sink sprayer, Hubby has also fixed the gate where out little Caramel the Cat likes to make a break for it and indulge his stray cat roots.  Dirty little stay-out.  He always comes home though.  Now, it appears he is relegated to the backyard and chasing lizards.  So long as no one shows him how to jump the fence we’ll be good.  For some reason, he hasn’t figured that out yet and I like it like that.  Hubby was rewarded with homemade chocolate chip cookies last night for all his efforts.

6.  Swapped out winter clothes for spring clothes and are taking stock of spring/summer needs.  WHAT am I feeding these children?????  My baby appears to be leaving the 7/8’s behind and entering the 10’s.  And my oldest daughter and I can almost share shoes.  WTH?!?!?!??  She’s 10.  Our boys are 5’8″ and 5’10” @ 12 and 14.  We may need to trade the cat for a cow and dig up the yard for an organic garden or just stop feeding them.  For now, I am just singing the praises of Aldi and Hubby is getting in tight with the Produce stand people…..

7.  Three days off next week.  Thank goodness.  I need a break.  Work is crazy.  I am getting burnt out.  Am having a hard time compartmentalizing patients and their illnesses/diagnoses lately since I  have had far too much bad/sad news lately:   a)my daughter’s 8 yo friend diagnosed with a tumor in her chest and surgery this week to remove it (still waiting to hear how she’s doing), b)my girlfriend’s 30yo daughter diagnosed with a (so far) benign brain tumor to be removed Tuesday with a risky and complex surgery and c)another friend with a recurrence of ovarian cancer cells and will re-start chemo in a week.  UGH.  UGH.  UGH.  Why is life so hard sometimes?  A reminder to embrace each day and to let the petty stuff slide and remember what is truly important and that God has it all under control far better than we EVER could imagine.

God Bless and Happy Weekend!!