2014... Happy New Year!!

A new year is here. Looking forward to what 2014 has in store for us. We spent Christmas in Ruidoso NM. It was fun. We went from snow to sand. We visited white sands while were there. 

The kids loved it and can't wait to go back. 

The L's are halfway done with 1st grade. I can't believe it. They are staying so busy.  Logan played football this last fall and Lindsi cheered. Then we moved on to basketball. They are both playing so our nights are still full of practices. And Lindsi is still tumbling. All is well with them. Knock on wood. Just a cold and allergies here and there. 

This year has special meaning to me. February 20 will be 5 years since Diagnosis day. Then September 18 will be the 5 year mark of being cancer free!! Many ups and downs in the past 5 years but with Brian and the kids by my side I can conquer anything.  I see the oncologist this month for my ck up. 

Brian saw the neurologist and he doesn't have much change from the last set of tests so that is good. He had cataract surgery and can now see clearly. 

I lost my grandpa in October. A great man who lived an amazing life. I miss him dearly. He was the last one for us both. We are now without grandparents. :-(

Oh, I almost forgot I am the president of the PTO, Yikes! I am thankful for the opportunity to be so involved with the kids school.  

Love to all. 

So much to tell.....

I am not sure where to start. We have had so much going on. The L's are doing good except for allergies. Lindsi has sneezing, coughing and snot again. She just got over it a week ago and it took antibiotics. Logan is playing coach pitch baseball. He is enjoying it. Lindsi is still doing tumbling and loves it. I can't believe kindergarten is almost over. They are doing good in school. Making straight a's and they are both reading a second grade level now. They are going to have the kindergarten music program in a few weeks. They both have a speaking part and a solo. We are very proud of them. We finally got done patching Logan's eye. The dr said she got his vision 20/25 and she hasn't ever gotten him that good. That was in march and he can still see so hopefully we have him good for awhile. This changing glasses every two months was for the birds.

I am doing good. Go for my next checkups this summer. I saw the plastic surgeon in January. The boob on the right side was getting hard. He said it was scar tissue building up from radiation and surgery. So in February I had surgery to take the implant out, scrape out the scar tissue and get a new implant. It is amazing the difference. It feels real like the other one now!! I saw him the other day and he said I look good and he will see me in two years. We went to the race for the cure in San Antonio again this year. It is always an emotional time. Had some good food and great company!! I can't tell anything much has changed with the femara. I still get a pain in my shin along with other things. I have heard of a new medicine I have to do some research about made specifically for your blood chemistry that should fix things. It is called BioTe. I have heard its not cheap but then what is with cancer. I am at 4 years!!! February 20 was 4 years since diagnosis. Every time when this time of year rolls around I think, I was having chemo etc... Ohhh the memories. I am here though and so much to be thankful for. I am truly blessed.

Now onto Brian. I haven't posted because I wasn't sure what to post. He has been to 3 neurologist now. Let me catch you up. He saw the orthopedic dr and he sent him to a neurologist in Abilene to check the nerves. The neurologist in Abilene did an electrical nerve test and said Brian had nerve damage in both arms and sent him to a neurologist in Houston. Brian said it must of been above that guys pay grade. So the problem is Brian has no muscle in the thumb pad (or fat pad as i call it) on either hand. And the right hand his thumb joint won't move. His thumb moves he just can't snap or grip. So the dr in Houston did a battery of tests. He repeated the electrical test and said he had nerve damage throughout his whole body. So then he did blood, urine and a spinal tap. They were all normal. He was puzzled and said he wanted to biopsy the nerve. Meanwhile we were having a hard time talking to him so Brian went back to the orthopedic dr and he got him into a neurologist in Dallas. So Brian took all the tests he had done and as all this was happening we discovered that larry has neuropathy in is feet. I am sure we knew it we just forgot. Anyway the dr did the electrical test again and he was able to find a nerve in Brian's leg where the guy in Houston couldn't get it to respond. He said it wasn't right though. So he has damage. He gave Brian two things it could be. One genetic and one acquired. He did a different blood test and urine. He said Brian was b12 deficient and gave him a shot and told him to take pills. Not that it will fix this but he needs that straightened out. He said he wouldn't do a nerve biopsy so he isn't. He wanted to do genetic testing so they got that set up. Well, we just heard back from them. Because this testing place in Massachusetts holds the Patent they are the only place who can do the test. It is going to be right at $12,000. Insurance will only pay $1,800 so we would be stuck paying a little over $10,000. Well that isn't going to happen. I talked to the genetics place because the insurance said sometimes they will reduce it. Well NO, they offered to set me up a payment plan. Not happening. We found out that larry had the electrical test done a few years ago when they checked him for Parkinson's. So they compared his to Brian's and since they have similarities they are going under the assumption that it is genetic. Not 100% but that is all we can do for now. So under that assumption the genetic disorder is called Charcot-Marie-Tooth. Brian would have Axonal Type II or X-linked he thinks. There are so many types. Part of that means it is his hand not his feet. Usually this presents in the feet. Larry's is in the feet and he didn't have trouble until in the last few years so Brian is getting it 20 years sooner. There is no known cure. Maybe one day there will be. I read somewhere about a cure for breast cancer and a dr said why would they want to find a cure then all these big research companies would be out of business. So I will pray for a cure for both. Until then I am healthy and we are going to keep him that way. His hand will never be any better than it is right now. He doesn't have any pain so the dr said they would just keep an eye on him and check him in 6 months. Oh and he definitely doesn't have carpal tunnel. It is the nerve damage. We are going to see one more neurologist in Houston. A different guy than before and take everything to him and see what he thinks. Just to get another opinion and make sure we are doing everything we can. I will keep you posted.

We keep pushing forward....... Love to all

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9 NIV)

Happy New Year! Dr appts etc...

Happy new year!! Well my birthday came and went. I am officially 40. Sounds funny. I am glad to be 40 or whatever just as long as I am here. I hope everyone had an amazing holiday. We spent Christmas in Ruidoso, NM. We had so much fun. It snowed Christmas Eve. The most beautiful flakes I have ever seen. One day we went to Cloudcroft and took the kids sledding. The next day we went tubing. It was so much fun. I felt like a kid again. We were home two days and off again to Houston for New Years.

Lets see where to start..... I guess with me. Let me start by saying I am healthy and alive, no worries. I saw the cardiologist and I am having palpitations in the bottom chamber of my heart. They feel like a slow deep beating. They sent me home with a monitor for 24 hours. I took it back today so I won't know anything about it for awhile. They want to do a stress echo just to check things out. I will do that February 6th. Good news I had an echocardiogram before chemo so they have something to compare it to. They had to do it then to make sure my heart could handle chemo. I saw the plastic surgeon today and I am going to have to have surgery. The right breast which was the one that got radiation is getting hard. The other one is soft and feels real. He said we need to work on this one before it gets worse. So he will do a day surgery February 18th. He will take out the implant, scrape out the scar tissue and give me a new implant. He can't guarantee it won't happen again. Just one of the down falls from radiation. This won't be a big deal at all. I also saw the oncologist today. She said I am doing good. She took me off the tamoxifen and is starting me on femara. It is a newer drug that is better. It does the same thing blocking estrogen. I will probably be on it for 5 years. She also wants me to have a bone density test. All these medicines and the hysterectomy taking the estrogen isn't good for the bones. My blood looks good. Still no more CAT or Bone Scans.

Brian found out he still has nearly perfect vision even with his cataract so he isn't doing surgery right now. They are just going to watch it. They sent him to be tested for diabetes etc. of course his blood is perfect. He said maybe he should give me some of his blood to water down my cholesterol. No diabetes and no explanation for the cataract. He has had a cyst on his wrist for years. They didn't want to do surgery to remove it because it is by an artery unless it got to bothering him. Well he has gotten to where he really can't grip with that hand. He went to the orthopedic dr and he has carpal tunnel and he is also wanting to check his nerves. He did an MRI yesterday and goes back on Monday. He told him he will go to a neurologist to have the nerves checked out but we don't know when.

Logan keeps having eye problems. Every two months we have him at the eye dr because he can't see. He turns his head to look out one eye. We are now patching his eyes for one hour a day. We rotate eyes everyday so we are working on them both. I hope this fixes it. He doesn't mind it at all because the dr told him he had to play games on the computer or watch tv for the hour.

Lindsi is good. No issues with her, knock on wood. Oh, she is finally going to loose her 1st tooth. There is a loose one. It better hurry up because the other one is already coming in behind it. I don't think she will catch Logan anytime soon he has lost 8.

They are both doing so good in school and they love going. They had their first awards assembly the other day. They both got 3 awards. All A honor roll, knowing all their letters, sounds and sight words and no tardies. If they both hadn't been sick one day they would of gotten the perfect attendance. Dang bug...They didn't care, they were happy with the 3 they got. They are working on the kindergarten spring musical right now. I can't wait for that.

January 25th will be our 21st anniversary. We are going to spend it taking kids to the dentist. Maybe we will go eat somewhere good.

Sorry I wrote a novel... So much to tell. I pray each of you has a blessed day, week, month and year.


The pictures are of our cabin & the snow Christmas morning. Also sledding & tubing.

Turning 40

Well next week is my 40th bday!! I made it and I plan to make at least 50 more. My body is rebelling though. I started having heart palpitations the other day. I saw the dr today and he said my heart sounds fine. He is sending me to a cardiologist just to be checked out. I will see him the 7th of January. That puts me in ft worth on the 4th for blood work, the 7th for the cardiologist and the 11th I see the plastic surgeon and the oncologist. Those are just check ups. No scans. She said mine have been clear so we are okay. Anyway, hopefully they can figure out what is going on with my heart. He also put me on cholesterol medicine starting today. It was bound to happen. Everyone in my family is on it. Mine is always over 200. Right now it is 220 something.

Brian got to where he couldn't see out of one eye so he went to to eye dr and he has a cataract. He will go to see another dr on the 19th of December and then I am sure have surgery. That is what the other dr said. He was ready to sign him up that day and he said he wanted a second opinion. I think we are falling apart.

We are spending Christmas in Ruidoso, New Mexico. We are so excited to head to the snow. Logan and Lindsi want to ski. We will see.

I guess that's it for now. Time to get the kids from school. Have a blessed day!!

Love to all!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

I went to the oncologist on Monday and had my blood drawn again. My platelets were normal. So we will say lab error or body error. My guess is body error. My white count was low but it has been since chemo. Probably always will be. So I am good and I will see her in January.

As I sit here today I have so much to be
Thankful for. I thank God everyday I am here and for the strength he gives me. I am so thankful for Brian, Logan and Lindsi. They are my rock. For friends who are family and of course family. I am thankful for life!!!

We are in Houston for the holiday. Brian came in last night and will go home today to work again tomorrow. The kids and I will be here until Sunday. We have so much planned. Yesterday we went to the zoo. To tomorrow we are going to the children's museum to see Santa. We will go back to the zoo tomorrow night for zoo lights. Saturday we are going to get dressed up and go to the theater and watch little house on the prairie Christmas. While we are dressed up we are going to go to a fancy restaurant as Logan likes to call it. Somewhere probably Friday we will have to fit in chuck e cheese!

I wish each and everyone of you a blessed day! Love to all!!!

What a year so far...........

                                               Logan & Lindsi's first day of Kindergarten

I have started to write this a thousand times and just haven't gotten to it.  February 20 was my 3 year anniversary.  Hard to believe three years.  Seems at times like 10.  Everything was going good when I saw the oncologist in July she said she wouldn't do anymore scans unless necessary.  They will just keep an eye on my blood.  Then today I get a call from GYN.  I went to have a routine blood drawn because I have my annual after thanksgiving.  They said my cholesterol is high which is normal then they said I needed to call my oncologist because my platelets were low.  I got them and they want me to come Monday to have my blood drawn again there at Texas Oncology.  I know deep down it is all going to be fine.  It just sucks going through this and having the worry.  They want me to wait on the results Monday which I have no problem doing.  I want to know what is going on.  Hopefully we can say lab error.  I had a total hysterectomy the first of June.  I was glad to get it done and not have to worry about those parts getting cancer.  Plus the monthly upside!!  I think that is all medically.

We bought land in town (1 1/2 acres) in February.  They started building our house in April.  I will put a picture as soon as I upload a newer one.  We moved in the end of July.  We are loving the house and the L's have their own room now.  They shared a room at first and after a few weeks Lindsi moved out and they have never gone back.  They love having their own space. 

They started Kindergarten.  I can't believe it.  My babies aren't babies anymore.  They love school and hate to miss for any reason.  I went one day to get them early to take them to the pep rally and they didn't want to miss class.  I hope that always continues.  Logan played T-ball this last summer.  Lindsi is taking tumbling every Monday in Dublin and really loves it.  She wants to be able to do all the flips.  Logan has been playing fall soccer.  His last game is tomorrow.  He likes it and can't decide if he wants to play again next year or play flag football.  I vote soccer although some of his games this year were almost like tackle soccer.  We will leave that up to him.  I know he is going to play coach pitch little league this spring.  He can't wait. 

I am still keeping J'lee and have started keeping Gunner Mahan.  It keeps me busy while the kids are at school.  They are the two sweetest little things.  Well J'lee isn't little anymore she is 18 mos old.  Gunner is nearly 4 months old.  Someone asked me if it made me want to have another baby.  My response was NO.  I love having them but I am glad my kids are the age they are.  I don't want to start over...

That is all I think of at the moment.  My brain is tired.  I will try to be better about updating.  So much going on with Logan and Lindsi.  I forgot they had their first school play the other day.  It was about the first thanksgiving.  Logan was an Indian and Lindsi was a pilgrim.  So cute but the school thanksgiving dinner was awful.  I forgot about school food.......  I will end with that.

Love to all!!!!!

Stock Show, Dr Appt & 20 years!

The Ft Worth Stock Show turned pink....  We went to the stock show on Tuesday because it was the Susan G Komen Day.  Logan finally got a cowboy hat and he loves it.  Now he wants to wear his boots and hat everywhere.  As you can see they both loved the tractors.  I think they had to sit on every color.  There was also a gator they wanted and a 4 wheeler.  The 4 wheeler was blue and Lindsi said she didn't want a blue one she wanted a pink one.  Like we were getting one.  They were $2,000.00.......

Wednesday was our 20 year anniversary!  20 years wow.... It has been an amazing 20 years and I can't wait to see what the next 50 have in store for us.  We celebrated with appointments.  That is our life though.  Logan had an eye appt to ck his progress since we have been putting the drop in his good eye.  It is working.  His bad eye was 20/50 and now it is 20/40.  We will keep putting the drops in and he goes back in May.  Well they both go back in May for a check up.  I also had an appointment for physical therapy.  My arm is improving.  The Lymphedema is going down.  I think the night sleeve is doing the trick.  It should as much as it cost.   Logan is missing 2 more teeth.  The top two are gone now.  They have been loose for 6 months and were starting to buck out so we helped get them out. It has only been a little over a week and one has already started to come back in.  The tooth fairy had to visit us two days in a row.  I just couldn't torture him and pull them both the same day.  So he will have 4 permanent teeth.  He also has 2 of his 6 year molars now and the other two are swollen.  Poor Lindsi hers are all still attached.  I think after we pulled his she is glad, although she was sure enjoying us doing it to Logan. 

Update on the land.... The surveyor has been there and hopefully we can get everything wrapped up and it will be ours in the next few weeks.  We are going to talk to Tilson this next week and get things started there.  We already know which house we are going to build we just need to get the paper work started. 

Have a Great Day!!!