Just a little too big!

I've been cleaning the junk and clutter out of the house over the last week. I guess you could call it "spring cleaning" in hopes of making spring come faster. I pulled Natalie's old carrier out of the closet and left the room for a minute only to find her in it when I returned. She stayed in there for almost and hour having the best time. She even took her bag of chips with her for a snack. Forget the dolls, kitchen and castles - just give her a car seat and she's happy.

Poor Little Fly

This is Braxton with his Batman shoe.....and a fly smooshed on the bottom of his shoe. He came running in the bedroom the other day claiming to have seen a fly in the office. Jason & I told him to go catch it. The next thing we knew there was a banging noise followed by "I got it, I got it. It was on the window and I hit it with my shoe." Luckily the window made it, but the fly didn't. He was so proud of himself. Little boys are so fun!

Locks of Love

Wow, that's short.

Mom on the couch with Dustin, Chris & Danny on the floor.

Danny removing all traces of hair from Dustins head.

Danny, me & Natalie, Dustin and Chris

Chris, mom, Danny
Nati, Me, Dustin & Dad.

Not quite two weeks into her first chemo treatment my mom started to lose her hair. We knew this was coming and she & I went and got her a fabulous wig the weekend before. It thinned out for a couple of days and she made the huge decision to cut it all off. This was last Saturday. To say that it was hard is an understatement. She asked me to do it for her, which was hard and humbling at the same time. I started to cry and she was comforting me. It amazes me that someone going through so much can be strong enough for everyone around her. That afternoon Danny & Dustin decided to wack their hair off. Danny had his friends "bick" him and I buzzed Dustin and his son and my two boys that day. Monday afternoon I couldn't handle it anymore so I took my shears to my own hair. The look on Braxton's face was totally worth it. He thought I was nuts. My sister-in-law came over and held the mirror so that I could try to make it presentable in the back. I have never had my hair this short before, NEVER. I will never regret it either. Mom was so touched by the three of us cutting our hair. And to make it even better my brother Chris who lives in Idaho made a surprise visit for the weekend. He flew in today and came straight here to get his hair "bicked". Dustin decided to follow suit and my cute brothers are bald. We all went over to see mom and she was in shock that Chris flew here for her. She had her second treatment yesterday and the doctor checked and said that the tumor has started to shrink!!! And it took every ounce of control not to scream right there in the office. Miracles happen everyday. We're still in for a long haul but we are making progress. She is the most amazing, strong and faithful woman I know. And I have 8" less hair, which I am starting to like.

Blue & Gold Banquet

Oh, how I love the scouting program. It was the annual Blue & Gold Banquet tonight. Dylan earned his Bear. He should have received it a few months ago but we were slackers. He finally completed everything right after Christmas and got it tonight. It's amazing the amount of stuff that is required for these things. He has great leaders that do a lot with them and make it easier on us parents. They also had each family decorate an "American" cake. My dad came up with the idea of making it like the Liberty Bell. Dylan thought it was a great idea. I went to work on it this morning and our internet went into some sort of wacky convulsive state so I couldn't google a picture of the Liberty Bell. So I, having already cut and frosted the initial bell part, pulled out a picture of the bell that was given to New York City by London right after September 11th that I took last year while visiting. It took some major time to write it all and probably didn't mean that much to the kids but the adults knew why it was important. He got the award for "Best Memorial". Way to go Dylan. Now we get to start working on the next advancement award. Yeah for scouting!!!

Update on mom: 12 days into the first treatment and suffering from extreme exhaustion, lack of appetite, food all together tasting awful, mouth sores, and sadly the start of hair loss. She & I went and got a wig on Saturday and I picked her up some hats and scarves today. She is still in good spirits and "fighting like a girl"- line from a blog my sister-in-law found on a breast cancer website. Now we say we are "fighting like a girl".

On a much lighter note....

You better be sitting for this one. No seriously - I'm not telling until you are for sure sitting down. My brother Danny got engaged on Friday!! Yeah!! Not only did he get engaged but we really like her. Her name is Jentry McKell. She has a 3 year old little boy named Kacen, so I also get a nephew too. The date is set for May 29th. We are so excited for them. Jentry is perfect for Danny. He is already pulling "daddy duty". She is going to school to be a nurse and works also so Danny and Kacen hang out every night and Danny even puts him to bed. I know what your thinking - Danny getting married and being a dad. It's about time! It made a great weekend and a big boost for my mom and dad. Mom is doing great and made it through the first part of the first treatment so well. She was totally wiped out all weekend but is staying strong and moving forward. We needed some good news so thanks Danny and thanks Jentry for saying yes!