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What started out as a site to update on our daughter's cancer has thankfully grown into a site to update on our beautiful family of four. Enjoy our journey...

Thursday, November 26, 2009

blessings counted

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

We hope that everyone has a great thanksgiving and takes a special moment...a real moment...to think of all you have been blessed with in this life, this year, this week. Things may not always go our way or on our time schedule, but it is important to remember that He is at the heart of all of our blessings, and our blessings in disguise.

God keeps His promises...

Monday, November 23, 2009

5 months old!

Harper passed his 5-month mark and we celebrated our 5-year anniversary!

Chad sent me beautiful flowers last week for our anniversary - red and yellow roses, I had never seen anything like it - they are amazing!!

We hope everyone has a great thanksgiving...we all have so much to be thankful for.






Tuesday, November 17, 2009

quick update....



Wanted to send a quick update before I felt like time got away from me!!



I was lucky enough to participate in some state-wide training for the ACS (American Cancer Society) this weekend. Janelle and I presented a course to 50+ about leadership/development "type" stuff for team captains for the Relay For Life. We had a good time...since we were focusing on "team" stuff we had a sports theme and we 'sported' husker gear for our session!!! Janelle even out did herself and got us the little black things for under our eyes!! This is our "football" pose! We look tuff, right?!!



I am very excited to share with everyone some awesome recognition Platte County got this weekend at the event. We were the #3 event in the STATE of Nebraska for money raised! We had over $216,000 for ONE event! The #2 and #1 counties had over $400,000 but also had four or five events. Yeah, we rocked!!



Other awesome news...and this is owed to a LOT of you reading this now...Charli's Angels was the #3 team in the STATE this year!! That is amazing!!! WHOOP WHOOP!! We really proved that our county can run with the "big dogs" in Nebraska...heck, we are one of the big dogs :-) I am super honored to be able to be co-chairing the event again next year!





































































































































































Monday, November 09, 2009

lost memories

A fun perk of having a great friend have a baby the
same time as you is sharing in all the things that the kids are doing! Another fun perk is when you have the opposite babies at the same time. I have a friend who has a 1 year old boy and a 3 month old girl. So...we swap the kids' clothes to share, it is great :-)

I was going through clothes last night for miss sadie and got to the 6-9 month tote. Grrr, what a weird thing to make a person remember things! I was about half way through the tote when I saw an adorable green and white shamrock dress. This is the dress that Charli wore down to children's the day we were admitted. All of a sudden each outfit was marked by some kind of memory surrounding the hospital, treatments, tests, etc. I am so glad these clothes will be making far better memories on Sadie!

It is amazing to me how much I forget, and how much I remember. Also amazing to me is how I can realize things that I forgot...if that makes any sense.

Another thing that gets me, is after all of this time, it can still occupy so much of my life and my heart. ...it is a lifetime membership - yet at the same time I didn't think the feelings would always feel so fresh at random times. I know that some of you reading, sadly, know what I mean. And, others of you think I am nuts. I wish there was a way I could adequately put it into words, I guess kind of like "husker nation" for some of us...this is also just 'in my blood' now.


We were not able to attend Landon's benefit this past weekend, broke my heart. Charli was running a fever on Thursday and Friday morning and I just felt it was irresponsible to take her even a few days later. I know for a fact that
had the tables been turned I would not have wanted anyone doing that to us! I so badly wanted to be there to support Courtney the way she was there to support me at Charli's benefit, but I know she had a lot of loving arms to hold her up that day!! Still so weird that she is going through this now too...I mean seriously does this kind of thing EVER happen. We are like a BAD lifetime movie! But hey...any lifetime movie makers out there, if you pay us enough we could fund some major research if you give us a movie deal ;-). Just sayin'.




Friday, November 06, 2009

looking for a good home...

I have a few baby items that are looking for a good home! If you or anyone you know are in need of new bottles, please contact me. We have probably 10-12+ Playtex vent bottles that need a new home! I believe they are all the 6oz size and we both the "standard" and "wide" design. I would much rather these get used by someone than packed away at my house! We bought them all this summer when Harper was born, so they are all less than 5 months old.

Spread the word and let me know if they have a new home to travel to!!

Sunday, November 01, 2009

trick or treat!! :-)

Does anyone need some extra candy?!! We seem to have surplus of it at our house.

This year was going to be Charli's first year of "full" trick or treating...but we had a last minute change of plans. Her two girl cousins (Ryen and Macey) happened to pick the same costume as Charli, so all three girls were going to travel around together! But, Macey ended up getting sick with the cruddy stuff going around :-( Charli still had fun though. We went to her Aunt and Uncles house to hand out candy and then went to trick or treat at the farm. Just as we drove into the farm dad told us that he had cattle out, so we literally threw the kids in the house and took off to move cattle. Typical life of a "farmer", doesn't really matter whats going on - cattle come first!! :-) It was Chad's first time doing this for my dad, so it was kind of fun to see him help! I haven't ran that far in a long time, luckily the cows turned in the drive way on their own, and I didn't have to run the entire way :-) All 61 were safe and sound at the end of the night!!

Anyway, hope you all had a nice Halloween and made some great memories with your friends and family too!! As you will see, Charli is Minnie Mouse and Harper is a dinosaur!





Harper - Charli - Braxton

"been trick-or-treating long"?!

two little thumb suckers...well three if grandpa could have gotten ahold of his hands :-)


Colton - Charli - Harper....poor Harper! Colton is thinking...man, rough life!



Colton and Charli. He was a football player that played baseball he told me!




Harper - Charli - Braxton



Minnie






ROAR!!





no comments on which mask if the scariest...





just the two of 'em :-)




she tried to life them after we carved them...the lids kind of come off!!





i tried to get her to eat the goo...she wasn't into it!




"she can dig it"





her exact words..."mmm, smells like lemonade"



Charli's pretty hair, courtesy of Lynn!





she is "so strong"



for the record, I am so mad at my camera. A great picture of the two of them and for some reason my camera "ate" 1/3 of the picture :( On Friday Charli dressed up in her halloween garb from grandma and grandpa preister and Harper was a "hunter"!





even wearing hunters orange! Believe it or not...this was a hand-me-down from his sister :-) (I didn't realize how many boy clothes she owned!!! I guess I thought if you put pink with anything it would girl it up, if the occasion called for it!!)