Sunday April 29th

We have had a fun weekend hanging out with Daddy. Jon has been working on his garage all weekend and it looks pretty nice. He painted the floor and put cabinets up. He also got some help from Vernon yesterday and our basement is finally ready for the first inspection before we start to drywall. Since he has been working on the garage the kids have been able to be outside with him and play around. It has been beautiful here this weekend. 70's and 84 was the high today. I am loving it! Yesterday I went to an eye appointment and got my new contact perscription and then the kids and I went to the park with my friend Jenn and her boys Caleb and Nicholas for lunch and to play. Last night my friend Courtnee's parents offered to watch ALL our kids while the 4 of us went out to eat. We went to Olive Garden and then over to a going away party for my friend Janna. Her and her husband are moving to Reno. Bye Janna! The kids had a great time playing with Taylor and Drew and staying with Cheryl and Jay, Thanks! Olivia told me the other day, "Mom, I can't wait to see Drew so he can show me again how he can burp the ABC's" Oh the things that make a 4 year old's heart go pitter patter. They are so funny! We had a great time and I can't remember the last time I have laughed so much. My sides hurt all night.
This morning I woke up with a terrible sore throat. I still think it is my allergies, but it is getting really old. It always seems to feel better towards the afternoon. I stayed home from church and had intentions of relaxing, but ended up doing laundry and getting my room organized. I have had books all over my floor that people have let me borrow about cancer, and whatnot since I was diagnosed and finally have everything picked up and put away or ready to give back to the lenders. It's nice to have a "clean" room again. I also sat down and got all my coupons clipped for the grocery game shopping tomorrow. Sad to say that those few things have taken up my whole day. But, at least all those things are checked off the list. We are having the missionaries over for dinner tonight, which I forgot about until they called to remind me late this afternoon. Whoops! Speaking of which if anyone is interested there is a PBS special on tomorrow night and Tuesday night about "The Mormoms". It is a documentary put together by PBS, Front line, and the American Experience and should be interesting if anyone is interested in checking it out. From what I have heard it is about the church's history, beliefs, and views. Here is a quote from the PBS website, "Mormons have always had a peculiar hold on the American imagination, but few know who the Mormons actually are, or who they claim to be, and their story is one of the great neglected American narratives." If you want to read more about it click on this link http://www.pbs.org/mormons/
I got this email this weekend from my friend Pam and I thought I would share it because it was cute:
An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the
>> ends of a pole, which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a
>> crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full
>> portion of water, at the end of the long walk from the stream to the
>> house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
>>
>> For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing
>> home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was
>> proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its
>> own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had
>> been made to do.
>>
>> After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke
>> to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this
>> crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your
>> house.'
>>
>> The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on
>> your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?' 'That's because
>> I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your
>> side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For
>> two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate
>> the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be
>> this beauty to grace the house.'
>>
>> Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws
>> we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and
>> rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look
>> for the good in them.
>>
>> SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to
>> smell the flowers on your side of the path!

Friday April 28th

I just wanted to mention this quote that they had told us at the relay meeting last night about being optimistic. Jonas Salk, the gentleman that found the cure for polio, said "I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams. " Hope everyone has a great day today!

Thursday April 27th

Another day in the life of a cancer patient.... It's been awhile since I have felt like a "cancer patient" since I haven't been in to the doctor much and have had a nice break before surgery and after surgery. Today it is starting to sink in again. Today was day #6 of radiation treatment and then I went over to my oncologists office for a doctor's appointment and for Hercetin. My blood pressure continues to be low, like most always but my nurse suggested that I hang out and do some hydration to help boost it a little. She asked if I was dizzy very often, which I do get dizzy almost every time I stand up from sitting down. I had no idea the 2 were related. I hung out for chemo for probably a hour and half. The longest that I have been there in months. I also tried to use my "old" tube of Emla cream to see if it would work any better and it was much better. I think my new stuff is a bad batch. Good to know that I wasn't just getting to be more of a baby as time went on. I am not sure why more oncology offices don't tell their patients about this cream. There really is no need to suffer through all the pokes when you can just use the cream and be numb over your port and have it be painless. I just told one of my BC friends, Shari, about it and she said she used it last time and it was great. Good thing I had a woman on the inside tell me about the cream before I started treatment! (Thanks Cyndi!) I was worn out by the time I got home and spent the afternoon trying to relax. Jon got home this afternoon and was quickly busy with his to do list starting with the garage......still in the garage. But it was nice because the kids got to go outside and run around for the afternoon.
Last night I had a few of my Breast Cancer girls over for dinner and to visit. Lanie and Karen that I met in our many chemo sessions together and then Shari and Tonia that I have met here in Loveland. It is always nice to get together with other women dealing with the same issues your dealing with. It was great to talk about everyones progress and see what everyone was up to. Miss Lanie is ALL done. She had her last surgery about 6 weeks ago. I am SO proud of her! I also was able to pass on some of my scarves to Shari. I had some passed on to me from a gal I met at chemo that had a few different scarves that matched a smaller scarf that her daughter would wear. Olivia and I did that a few times and I think Shari will have fun doing it with her daughters!
It seems like the twins keep getting up earlier and earlier as the week goes on 6:45 on Tues 6:30 yesterday and 6:15 today.......this madness needs to stop and quick! They went from going to bed and being asleep by 8:30 and sleeping until almost 8am and now they just barley fell asleep at 9:45 which is the new normal and getting up before 7. AAHHHH. Those little stinkers!
Tonight I went to my first Relay for Life Captain's meeting. Wow, I am so excited to do this and what an awesome cause. I need some more good fundraising ideas. If anyone has some suggestions leave me a comment or email me at elizajonbrock@msn.com I am prepared to kick some bootie and do all the fundraising I can, I just need some ideas. Also they talked about Luminaria's. If anyone is interested in ording one you can do that through the website or you can email me personally and I will order one for you and even personally decorate it for you. These are to honor people who have survived or passed on from cancer. I will even take pictures of them for you. I think they are on a strictly donation only basis, but I think they recommend a min of $10. Any-who....so excited to do this and PS if anyone is still interested in joining the #2 team then they said we needed to have our roster finalized by next week. So I suppose that will be our deadline. You can email me if you are not able to figure out how to join the team online. Also I got a few posters to hang up and advertise the race if anyone is interested in taking one to hang in your work place and see if people will give us donations I will get it to you along with some cash receipts so they can write off the donations to ACS on their taxes next year. Until next time.........

Tues April 24th

So of course I always have these "problems" when Jon isn't around..... I woke up this morning hearing water dripping from somewhere only to find my window saturated with water. It was dripping out of the top of the window where it meets the drywall......SUPER!!! Not what I would have expected from a 3 year old home. I didn't really have the time to deal with it this morning before radiation so I dried off my wood blinds (thank goodness those weren't ruined) and the wall all around the window and wedged a towel up there to prevent it from dripping all over the place again. I dropped my kids off with my mom and headed over to radiation. Same routine there, except I see the Doc on Tuesday. I had to wait a bit longer today for treatment and my appointment. The office has these one million piece puzzles set up to do while you wait. I think it is to keep you from looking at the clock wondering "If they never see me until 15 min after my scheduled appointment and I am always at least 5 min early, maybe I shouldn't come until 9:30" I am sure nobody else ever waits in the waiting room longer than they are actually being treated or visiting with the doc. I bet I am the only lucky one out there who has experienced that......Yeah right! Small chat with her, but nothing to exciting to report. Keep using the Aveeno lotion twice a day and hopefully it won't get burned very quickly, oh and try and take it easy. Um, right, remember that whole 3 kids thing and a husband that is out of town Monday through Thursday? That might put a damper on the taking it easy routine. Ha! She said, can you go home and take a nap today? I laughed out loud, but told her I would try to get to bed earlier tonight. I don't know why I have such a hard time "slowing down". I just hate feeling like there are things that need to be done, and I am not doing them. Such is the life of a mom I suppose. Always something that needs to be done.
After I picked up the kids we had a pretty relaxing afternoon. It rained the whole day, without stopping. I saw on the news if had been cold enough to be snowing we would have had 19 inches of snow. Glad it wasn't cold enough! But, bringing me back to my window. I had to replace the soaked towel when I got home with a dry one. After Cody napped for 2 hours in there this afternoon it was soaked again and Jon finally called me to check in and heard about the window. He sent our friend Vernon over to rescue me this evening and he fixed it the best he could by caulking the outside of the window, but we will have to fix it after it drys out again probably this weekend. I am not sure what all that is going to involve since the drywall is soaked all around the window as well. Good times! Yet another thing to add to my "Honey do" list. I am just glad it didn't fall completely off the house. I could just imagine myself outside trying to duct tape plastic to the outside of my house....I can just picture that! Anyways, fixed for the time being. Vernon to the rescue!!
Olivia started her swimming lessons tonight at the Chilson center. She was so excited to go and then the first 10 min of the lesson she spent crying and sitting on my lap. Oh wow. Such drama with that one. She finally got in with the class and was fine the rest of the time. Turns out she just didn't want to have to go all the way under water. Hopefully she will do better next week.
Cody has had a little bit of a fever the last 2 days but it has actually helped him sleep better and not big issues with bedtime because he has just been out. Poor little guy. When I woke up this morning to the window problem I walked out of my bedroom and he was just sitting on the couch by himself. So unlike him. He is always loud and wakes up his sister when he gets up and out of bed. He was just sitting there, for who knows how long. Man they are cute when they are being good.
Everyone's favorite thing to do when they see me now is rub my head since my hair is growing back, I have officially had 'bed head' a few times and it is long enough to need some gel so it doesn't lay funny. I remember now why I never had short hair. My 6 or so cowlicks make it grow in a thousand different directions. It is getting pretty thick though which is a nice change and I am not freezing all the time. I look like a chia pet. Ha!

Monday April 23rd

I guess it is time to start a new week, beginning with Jon leaving town this morning. Darn it! I hate it when he goes, but I sure like to watch him leave :-) Ha, Ha. Funny movie lines again. So things with radiation last week went well. I did films on Wednesday and had my first experience the the treatment process, which actually wasn't too bad. You have to walk down this long hallway to the treatment area and it reminded me of Project X when they take the monkeys down to the nuclear reactor....okay not that dramatic with the nice wall paper and decorated walls but that's how I felt. Then they lay you on the hard, metal table that moves around to put you in the right positions. They have these green laser lights that are in different areas of the room that shine on your body to line you up correctly with the tattoos that they put on me the week before last. It's all a very technical process actually. They even have this light that shines on my chest that is a ruler to make sure I am sitting right. The most uncomfortable thing is that I have to keep my arms over my head the entire time and they always fall asleep. After 10 or 15 min it can be pretty uncomfortable. The machine that delivers the radiation is this big circular thing that moves around your body to the different fields they are treating. Then these little teeth like things move inside to get the exact area they are treating. Pretty high tech stuff. No actual pain during the treatment just loud noises and arms and fingers falling asleep are my biggest complaints. By Friday afternoon I did notice that my skin is already a little pinkish and it is tender so I don't like to have anything tight on next to it for more than a few hours. I did feel noticeably more tired this weekend also, and we weren't really doing much so I hope the fatigue doesn't get too bad.
This weekend Jon did all sorts of odds and ends around the house on his to do list like aerating, mowing, cleaning the garage. I took Olivia to a birthday party on Saturday afternoon for Braxton Morby at the swimming pool. She had a good time swimming and playing. On Saturday night we went out with the Valdez's and a newer couple in our ward the Morgan's. We went out to eat and then back to their house to play card games. It was fun getting to know them better and hopefully we will hang out with them again. We seem to have lots in common. Sunday we went to church and I was exhausted by the time we got home. The twins weren't cooperating for nap time very well so I never got the chance to lay down and rest. I was working on and off during the afternoon and evening. I have had allergies so bad this weekend that I have been taking 2 of my allergy pills. I had a horrible sore throat this morning when I woke up from allergies also. Hopefully this will let up soon. I have had such a hard spring already with my allergies. I think it is the trees....
No real exciting plans this week. I have to do radiation every morning and Olivia starts swim lessons on Tuesday night. I also have a meeting for Relay for Life on Thursday. Speaking of which there are still 7 openings on our 2nd team, "We Cancer-vive #2" so if anyone is still wanting to participate make sure to follow the link on the side bar and join the team. I just heard about another gal this weekend that was diagnosed with cancer that just had a baby early that is in the NICU. It is people like her that are fighting to survive for their children that make me glad that I am able to participate in Relay for Life. Keep on fighting girl!

Tues April 17th

I am praying for those poor families that lost someone in the VA killings. What a senseless act of violence. Just goes to show you never know when your time is going to be up, so live life to the fullest!

We had a short but fun weekend. Jon had a buddy getting rid of his little 80 four wheeler so we picked it up for Olivia. Hopefully we will be able to get out to ride a bunch this summer with her and practice. We didn't get up to the mountains much last summer. Here she is with her new toy and pretty pink helmet! What a cool chick!

Jon took her across the street to some dirt hills to ride it a little bit and she had a blast. We also were able to get together with the Barkeys for dinner on Saturday night. Danny and Jon have been buddies since grade school and it was fun to get together with him and Wendy and their boys. (I posted some new pictures on my snapfish link of Easter and some other misc things)
Sunday we went to church and then had our home teachers over in the evening to share a message with us about being prepared financially and starting a food storage that could feed us for awhile if any kind of disaster were to happen or something where we couldn't get to the store or couldn't afford groceries for whatever reason. We have a little food storage but not an awful lot. Jon had to leave for work later on Sunday night at about 7pm.
Monday was pretty uneventful. I went out and did my grocery game shopping in the morning and then went to my Echo appt for the ultra sound on my heart. I finished the grocery shopping in the afternoon while my mom sat with the kids and then we all loaded up and went to her house for dinner. She usually has us over once a week and helps with the kids for the evening and helps me with baths. We were home just in time to not make any messes of the house and get the kids right into bed. Then I got some "me" time and went straight to work. :-) But I actually enjoy working so that was okay. Plus I have a hard time sleeping when Jon isn't here. You think I would be used to it by now, but I don't think I will ever get used to it.
Today Jon's parents came over to watch the kids while I went to a meeting for work for most of the afternoon. It was great to jump back into things at work and am really enjoying what I am doing. I learned all sorts of new things about my co-workers while doing some team building things. All good and interesting things of course! :-) Tonight the kids and I went back to my moms to hang out with them and also my sister Heather and her kids. Our kids don't see each other that often, even though they are only in Milliken so it was fun to visit and let the kids play. Good thing my parents loves us so much!
I go in tomorrow for my chest films and then start radiation on Thurs morning at 9:15. So far I have a permanent person to come and sit with the kids on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. I think my mom will just come over the other 2 mornings since it isn't something she can go and be with me for.....I will have to go it alone, unfortunately. I feel like a 2 year old always wanting my mom or someone to go with me to treatments or appointments. For some reason it is just easier when there is someone else there for 'support'.
On another note, we had such an interest in the Relay for Life team that we have started another team. I didn't realize that there was a max on the # of participants per team so we met that last week when our 10th member joined. Thanks Cindy! The 2nd team my sister is listed as the team captain, Heather Snell, and there are a total of 3 people on the team currently. We still have 7 openings so if you're interested....Jump on in, it will be a ton of fun. Staying up all night, or at least most of the night and being in great company. The 2nd team name is listed under We Cancer-vive #2 and is June 9th-10th from 1pm to 8am. Best of all it is for a great cause, to raise money for the American Cancer Society and help fund finding a cure for cancer.

Monday April 17th

I am going to STRAIGHT copy my sister's blog today because it said exactly the same thing I was feeling today with the going ons in the world.....

In lieu of the news about Virginia Tech, I thought it would do us all some good to listen to the words of this Black Eyed Peas song. The lyrics are listed below.

What's wrong with the world, mama
People livin' like they ain't got no mamas
think the whole world addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma
Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the loveThe love, the love

It just ain't the same, always unchanged
New days are strange, is the world insane
If love and peace is so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
Nations droppin' bombs
Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones
With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young
So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone
So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong
In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin'in
Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends
Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother
A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover
The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug
If you never know truth then you never know love

Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the love, y'all

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek
Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above'
Cause people got me, got me questionin

'Where is the love (Love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love, the love, the love?

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder
Most of us only care about money makin'
Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema
Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality
Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down
There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under
Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found
Now ask yourself

Where is the love?
Where is the love?
Where is the love?
Where is the love?

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin
'Where is the love?

Sing wit me y'all:
One world, one world (We only got)O
ne world, one world (That's all we got)
One world, one worldA
nd something's wrong wit it (Yeah)
Something's wrong wit it (Yeah)
Something's wrong wit the wo-wo-world, yeah
We only got(One world, one world)
That's all we got(One world, one world)


I love you guys!

Saturday April 14th

I have been back to working a few hours a day from home since Wednesday and am enjoying the change and feeling "normal" again. I got my phone call from the radiation oncologists office on Friday to schedule my radiation. I will go in next Wednesday to do my chest films and then start my radiation on Thursday at 9:15am. I will go every morning at 9:15 Monday through Friday for 33 days. I am still not sure what I am going to work out for the kids but at least the treatment will only be about 30 min at the office, so I might only be gone from the house for an hour. I guess it could be worse but it is still a pain. I also have to go in for another Echo cardiogram on Monday to make sure my heart muscle is still doing fine being on the herceptin. That is the one concern they have with herceptin, glad that doesn't make me nauseous.
The Children's Place had a huge 4.99 sale this week and it was nice to be able to load up on tons of cute stuff for the kids for next year. Who doesn't love to get stuff on sale? That's the only way I buy my kids stuff. I always have their next season's stuff bought with clearance rack stuff from the end of season. It saves so much money. My sister actually told me about the sale from this website that she frequents called. Vicky's Deals. If anyone is interested in checking out the site, click here: Vicky's Deals.
Jon came home on Thursday, trying to avoid our "big" snow storm. Turns out that it didn't even snow a drop yesterday, which was fine by me. I wish it was just warm already. Yesterday morning I met my friend Shari, that also has breast cancer, to see another woman, Tonia, off to her surgery. Then I went with her to the cancer center in Loveland to get her blood drawn. They tried twice on her arm and then had to go to her port and had a hard time accessing that also. I felt so bad for her. Like it doesn't suck bad enough that you have to do it and then they can't get it the first time. I ended up telling her about the Emla cream I use over mine to numb the skin up so hopefully she will find it more comfortable when using that. Although I have to say I don't know that mine is working as well as it used to. The last few times mine was accessed it did still hurt. I think I am either more sensitive and need to leave it on longer since I have scar tissue there now, OR I got a bum batch of medicine in my new tube of cream. I will try putting it on earlier next time I have chemo. The rest of the day yesterday I worked since Jon was here and he did a bunch of stuff around the house. He finished all our storage selves in the basement so we can check that off the hubby do list. I wonder if there will ever be an end to that list? :-) Probably not, so don't get your hopes up Jon! We have a pretty laid back weekend with not many plans, which will be nice since we were SO busy last weekend running around. Then Jon is back to Montrose for the week on Monday.

Tues April 10th

Wow, that is a few months in a row I have missed out on Buddy check 9 day. But at least I am only one day late this time. So yesterday was buddy check 9 day and I am reminding all the ladies out there that it is that time of the month to do your self breast exam. If you are interested in more information about self breast exam or buddy check 9 day follow the Buddy Check 9 link on the side bar of my blog. Hope everyone is Lump-free!!
Today I went into work to meet with my boss Merrily and am going to be jumping back into working from home doing Insurance Audit Review. I am excited to feel back to some-what normal and am excited to be doing Phone Audit review again, which I love!! It was fun to be able to go into work and see so many familiar faces and all my co-workers that I haven't seen for a few months. I love you guys and am excited to be back to work again. The kids got to hang out with my neighbor Ann while I went into work for a bit and always love playing with her. It has been SO windy here today, I hate the wind. I am glad I don't live in WY. The kids and I went to my mom's for dinner. It was nice of her to feed us and to hang out there. Jon won't be back in town until Friday and I am still waiting to get the call from the radiation oncologist about when I am starting radiation. I expect either this week or next.

Monday April 9th

Time to get back to reality. Jon left again this morning to go back to Montrose for the week. ugh! We had a really busy weekend filled with Easter get togethers. We went to see Jon's mom sing in her Easter Cantata at her church on Friday night. Sounded like they practiced quite a bit and sounded great. The kids did pretty well considering it was past during their bed times.
It has been pretty cold here the last week or so and sprinkled snow on and off all weekend. Man I am ready for it to be nice and warm already! Saturday we had lunch with my parents, my sister Heather's family, and brother Ethan's family. The kids also did an Easter egg hunt after lunch. Saturday afternoon I spent a few hours at the crazy stores getting stuff for the kids' Easter baskets. It was so nice to be able to run errands by myself. No getting kids in and out of the car. Jon and I decided to spend some time with Olivia on Saturday night and we took her out for a date and left the twins with our sitter Kylie Louder. The kids just love her. She decorated eggs with the twins while she was here and said they had a great time. Jon and I took Olivia out for pizza at Old Chicagos and then met Desi, Aislinn, and Isabella at the movies to see Meet the Robinsons. It was a really cute movie and it was fun to get out and do something fun with Jon and Olivia. Needless to say Cody was still awake when we got home from the movie at 9:30 and stayed awake getting in and out of bed until 10:30. That stinker.
Sunday we got up and SURPRISE!! The Easter bunny visited our house in the middle of the night. Olivia got the new Charlotte's Web movie, Alex got a Dora doll, and Cody got a toy lighting McQueen car. We went to church and then went over to Jon's parents in Windsor for a late lunch. His Aunt and Uncle, Clara and John, we also there. The kids had a blast with their baskets from John and Clara and doing an Easter egg hunt in grandpa's train room in the basement. By 5 we were all pooped, especially since the twins didn't nap, and headed home. Everyone fell asleep in the car on the way home. We had a relaxed evening and had "movie night". We watched Olivia's new movie and ate popcorn until bedtime at 8pm. Even though I know they were tired the twins were naughty again and kept getting in and out of bed and goofing around. They didn't quite down until 9:30. I wonder if bedtime will ever be easy again for them?? Probably not until our basement is finished and they have their own rooms. Hopefully we can get that finished this summer!
Last night our friend Vernon Brandt, we call him uncle Vernon, called us to say we had to listen to this new song by Craig Morgan. He is a DJ at the country station K99 on Sunday nights. We turned on the radio to hear his new song called "Tough". I tried to find the video to put on my blog but I guess it isn't out yet. Here are the lyrics:

She's in the kitchen at the crack of dawn Bacon's on, coffee's strong
Kids running wild, taking off their clothes
If she's a nervous wreck, well it never shows
Takes one to football and one to dance
Hits the Y for aerobics class
Drops by the bank, stops at the store
Has on a smile when I walk through the door
The last to go to bed, she'll be the first one up
And I thought I was tough

Chorus
She's strong, pushes on, can't slow her down
She can take anything life dishes out
There was a time Back before she was mine
When I thought I was tough

We sat there five years ago
The doctors let us know
She'd have to fight to live, I broke down and cried
She held me and said it's gonna be alright
She wore that wig to church
Pink ribbon pinned there on her shirt
No room for fear, full of faith
Hands held high singing Amazing Grace
Never once complained, refusing to give up
And I thought I was tough

Chorus

She's strong, pushes on, can't slow her down
She can take anything life dishes out
There was a time Back before she was mine
When I thought I was tough
She's a gentle word, the sweetest kiss
A velvet touch against my skin
I've seen her cry, I've seen her break
But in my eyes, she'll always be strong
There was a time
Back before she was mine
When I thought I was tough


What a cool song huh? After the song was over Vernon said on the radio that he was dedicating that song to me, because it sounded like the song was written about me. That was really sweet of him, I have never had a song on the radio dedicated to me before.
I haven't heard back yet from my radiation oncologist about what my "time slot" will be everyday for radiation or when it will start. She said sometime this week. I am also going to be starting back at work shortly. I was working from home before I was diagnosed doing insurance audit review. It will be nice to start feeling back to normal somewhat. Hopefully I won't get to tired with the radiation.
I just looked at the relay for life site and my team is currently in the #1 spot for money raised. We are at $1,195 raised between 9 people that have signed up for my team. I would still love to have anyone join up and come do the relay or sponsor the team. Sounds like we have a fun group of people so far. I know you would have a great time......so follow the link on the side bar sign up to do the relay for life and support me, our community and the American Cancer Society!!!

Friday April 4th

Wow, I can't believe it is April already. Although I wish the weather was nicer. It has be really chilly here the last few days and even sprinkling snow on and off today. BRRRR!! Jon finally got home this morning after working all night and then driving home this morning. He is sleeping with the twins now while they are napping.
I got my new table delivered on Tuesday morning and I love it!! It is actually big enough to fit all 5 of us plus there is an expansion that will allow up to 8, and I was able to get rid of my high chairs. We can finally have dinner company over with room to all sit at the table. I am slowly easing out of my "baby" house. Here is a picture of my new table.

My friend Aislinn also came over on Tuesday and helped me arrange some different things above my mantle and also add some fake greenery. I defiantly don't have a nack for interior decorating. I think it all turned our really nice. I had my appointment with a plastic surgeon in Denver at 8am on Wednesday morning so Olivia stayed the night as Aislinn's so she could take her to preschool in the morning.

My sister met me out at the interstate at 6:30am to take the twins so I could get to the appointment on time. It was down in Park Meadows. My mom went with me and we saw Dr. Jeremy Williams. He was great. He did a residency or internship or something at John's Hopkins in Baltimore and did a bunch of breast reconstruction plastic surgery. He said that he usually only charges whatever the insurance company will pay him since he has a passion for breast cancer patients. He recommended that since I am having radiation treatment to look into a free flap reconstruction surgery and more specifically the d.i.e.p flap or s.g.a.p. since I am so thin. These are both micro surgical procedures and they aren't done in Colorado. He thought that the closest place that they were done was at the Mayo clinic in Scottsdale. Dr. Williams did say that it would be very difficult to do reconstruction without transplanted tissue in the breast. At least with this procedure they aren't moving muscles around, only taking skin and fat. He did a bunch of these surgeries at Johns Hopkins but it is a very technical procedure and requires a few different surgeons. They just don't have any facilities out here in CO at this time. He wants to start one in the next couple of years. I really did like the doctor a lot though and would recommend him to anyone wanting to stay here for surgery. When I got home I researched online a bit and found a surgeon at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital in Salt Lake. I also had received an email from a gal in my Hope Lives! support group that had this procedure done in Salt Lake by another surgeon. I spent a few hours on the phone with her on Tuesday night getting to know her and chatting about our cancer experiences. Her surgeon's name was Dr. Chen and she really liked her and is pleased with her results. Dr. Williams said I should wait a least 6 months before doing reconstruction after I stop radiation to let my body heal. I think that I will try and schedule a consultation with this Dr. Chen sometime after I am finished with radiation. It will also be nice to have someone in Salt Lake do the procedure since I have family there and it is also a workable commute. Not as expensive as flying to Baltimore a few times and paying for lodging at least.

Thursday I was back in for Heceptin. I had the lovely "Herceptin" taste in my mouth for the rest of the day. Jon's parents took me and the kids to lunch at Chick fil A. The food is much better there than McDonalds. Bev and Vern decided that they wanted to try and have Olivia stay the night and see how she did. They took Olivia for the night so it was just the twins and me again. We had a quiet afternoon with napping and I went through a huge box of clothes that were hand me downs from Olivia and things I had bought on sale last year for the kids this summer. Last night I went to a meeting to help organize committees for the big Hope Lives! gala in October. It was fun to hear about the exciting plans they have for this year's big fund raiser. This is the support group that provides 2 services a month for each of their clients currently in treatment for breast, ovarian, or cervical cancer. I use my 2 services each month for Merry Maids to come and clean my house but they offer massage therapy, acupuncture, reike, and all sorts of other things. It costs about $1600 a year for one patient to receive these services so they really count on these fund raisers in the community. I have really appreciated everything that they have done for me.

Today I went in to see Dr. Lisella, my radiation oncologist. She went over the process with me and explained the radiation treatment to me. She said that there were actually four fields of radiation and that they would last between 2 and 3 min each, everyday for 6 weeks. They would also do a few days of extra doses on the actual mastectomy scar since breast cancer is more prone to returning in the scar area. They also had to take some pictures, do a cat scan, and do my tattoo markings to indicate the radiation field. I have 4 black tattoo dots now to keep forever. one on each of my sides under my arms and then 2 in the middle of my sternum between my breasts. Those really weren't very pleasant to get. They only took a second a piece but they feel like a painful shot, especially the ones on my sternum since the bone was right there. They should call me next week sometime with my daily appointment time and to let me know what day they will start my treatment. Dr. Lisella said that the radiation area does hit a small part of my lungs but less than 4% of patients have lasting effects in their lungs and the small percentage that do can be treated with an oral steroid for a short term. She said the most common side effect I should experience are fatigue or low blood count. No hair loss or nausea. She also said that I was okay to use whatever creams or lotions on the area and even my essential oils if I wanted. I liked her and all the nurses there seemed great.

The merry maids came this morning and also my neighbor Ann was over this morning when I got home. Ann and one of my other neighbors Brenda made me a beautiful red lap quilt. She also brought the kids some Easter goodies and a rabbit cake from Schmidts bakery. Their cakes are always so yummy and I am really excited to dig into it later. We are going to Jon's parents church later tonight in Windsor to hear his mom sing in their Easter Cantata. I sure hope the kids will sit and behave through it. The weather here just makes me want to sit at home in front of the fireplace on the couch and watch a movie!

I am still looking for people to join my relay for life team and walk the relay with us. If you are interested it is the weekend of June 9th-10th here in Loveland and costs 10 bucks per participant. My team name is "We Cancer-vive". Follow the link on the side bar of my blog to sign up!

Monday April 2nd

It is defiantly turned out to be your typical Monday, wishing you had more of a weekend. Jon was done with work on Thursday night and met up with his buddy Brad and they went out to Moab to play on Friday and Saturday. I think they both had a great time and it was good for Jon to be able to do something fun and get away from working constantly for the last 3 weeks.
Saturday morning I fought with the twins for the millionth time about having to sit in their high chairs for breakfast and not at the table. Ever since we got back from visiting at my sister's house and they got to sit at the table they have thrown fits about sitting in high chairs at every meal. Our kitchen table only is big enough for 4 chairs and so we don't have them up there yet. So Saturday I decided that I would go pick out a new dining room table that fits our whole family. After walking around American Furniture Warehouse for 2 hours with the kids and my friend Alyssa, I finally picked one out and ordered it. It will be delivered tomorrow morning and I am so excited. Funny how you get excited about the silliest things when your a grown up. I already have booster seats for them that we used last summer in the trailer when we would go camping. It will be nice to have a place for everyone to sit and eat during meal time and I can chuck those high chairs. This is the first piece of furniture I have ever bought, everything else we have inherited from a hand me down so that was also a bit exciting. I will have to post a picture of it after it gets here tomorrow.
I went to a surprise party for a girlfriend on Saturday night for a couple hours so that was nice to get out and have some adult time without the kids. Jon didn't get home until after 11 on Saturday night so I didn't get to see him much this weekend.
Yesterday we just hung out at home for most of the day. I watched the morning session of General Conference which we get on BYU TV on our satelight. Jon played outside with the kids all morning and then we went to the park before dinner. Needless to say one day wasn't really long enough to get my fill of him before he turned around and left again this morning. He will be gone again until Thursday night or Friday morning in Montrose.
This morning I was able to parent help in Olivia's preschool class which was a lot of fun and I know she really likes it. Her teacher Mrs. Miller is wonderful with the kids and Olivia just loves her. It is so cute to see all those kids who want to share about their weekends and the things that they get excited about.
I have been saving my coupons for the last few weeks out of the Sunday paper and did the grocery game this week. I must say I saved a ton of money on the stuff that I bought. If anyone is interested in checking it out go to www.thegrocerygame.com and you can sign up for a free 8 week trial for $1. Use my email address for who referred you and I can get a few weeks free. It is elizajonbrock@msn.com I think it will save us a bunch of money in groceries and toiletries.
I am still pumped about the relay for life and have already formed a team of 5 people. We can use anyone who is interested. Just follow the like on the side bar to join the team. It is $10 per participant and is the weekend of June 9th-10th.