What's Been Happening...

Well, we are settled back into the routine of school and the kids are off to a great start! Caleb is a 6th grader this year. It's his last year at PDS, so we are in the process of deciding what he will do for 7th grade. He is playing intramural football at school and enjoying it. Carley is now a 2nd grader and loves her friends and school, Lakeland Elementary. She did amazing on the achievement test they took in first grade. She loves reading and is taking gymnastics. 

Chris is excited football season is back! Our family went to Dallas last weekend to see a Cowboy game. Friday night we stayed at The Great Wolf Lodge. 

It is a super cool hotel with an indoor and outdoor water park. We loved it and had a great time playing there!  Saturday we went back to the water park then I took the kids to Lego Land and an aquarium while Chris picked up his sister and brother in law, Carmen and Chris. 

We ate at In-n-Out Burger for lunch which was yummy!

Carmen told us about Rally Day at Cowboys Stadium. It was great! We took a tour of the locker room, got a picture with their five Super Bowl trophies, played on inflatables, and had plenty of time to play on the field. 

Chris and the kids threw the football and had a blast! It was hard for us to believe we were on the field where the Cowboys play!

Sunday was game day! After breakfast, we headed to the stadium. We had great seats on the 4th row and we were so excited the Cowboys won!! 

After the game we took Chris and Carmen to the airport and met our friend Kevin for dinner. He was in town for a conference. 

It was a busy but fun weekend!

This weekend Caleb and Chris went on the PDS 6th grade Father-Son trip to St. Louis. They aren't home yet but from what we've heard so far they have had a great time. Carley and I enjoyed some girl time this weekend (movie, nails, shopping)!

Lots have asked how Chris is doing over the past months. He is feeling great, things are back to normal, and he is running and working out again. He goes back to the doctor on October 31 for a CT scan to see if his kidney is functioning properly and if any cancer has returned. We would love you to join us in praying that his scan is clear!

Annual Beach Trip 2013

Well, we had another fabulous week at the beach with great friends this past week. As I type this, we are headed home to Memphis. This year, the Dowtys, Zermenos, Worths, and our family as well as Dan, Kevin, and Nick were at the beach. We missed the Gosa family as they were in Australia on a family trip. 

If you haven't heard about our trip before, we all rent one house on the beach for a week. It's usually in the Gulf Shores area-this year it was in Fort Morgan. 

We set up three tail gate tents right out from our house on the beach for the week. We keep all out chairs and beach stuff out there all week. It's perfect! We saw more dolphins this year than we have seen in the past. They were even jumping out of the water several different times. It was amazing! Lots of fish, sting rays, and a guy even caught a shark from the beach! The Blue Angels practiced several days above us.

Each family takes a night to cook for everyone. We had great meals - taco night, chicken stir fry, baked chicken and dressing, BBQ nachos, fish tacos, and John made shrimp po-boys for lunch one day which Caleb said were better than the Shrimp Basket's. We all went out the last night at a restaurant at the Wharf. 

I really think this is my favorite week of the entire year. It's so nice to just get away and relax. We really just unwind this week. Play games, laugh, visit, and just slow down from the craziness of life. 

Our first year of doing this (which I think was in 2007), we either said we would hate each other after this trip or love each other more. Well, after seven years, we are all still great friends and not sick of each other. I can't imagine life without these amazing friends God has placed in our lives. It's a blessing to have the older kids in the lives of our kids. Caleb and Carley absolutely love them all and I am thankful for the love they are shown-even from friends of theirs that were on the trip this year and in years past. 

The Gosas have moved to Alabama and the Zermenos are moving to Denver soon, which makes me sad,  but I know we will stay in touch. 

We are already thinking about next summer and I know it will be another fabulous week. Thanks friends for letting us be a part of this group-we love y'all!

Update on Chris

Chris had a doctor's appointment today. They removed his stitches and put on bandages that help keep the incision together. The doctor said he looks good and could tell he is moving around (walking) a lot which helps recovery.
We got the pathology report. Basically, this is what we know:
The tumor was cancer.
It was Stage 2 (out of 4).
Chris will go back in 6 months for CT scan.

So, he will take it easy for five more weeks to recover. Our lives will go back to normal trying to live each day to the fullest. We are putting our trust in God that He has Chris in His hands and will keep the cancer from coming back. Chris and I talked about the fact that we can't live in fear these next few months. I'm not saying that will be easy, but that is what God calls us to do.

The kids are handling this great and they are counting the days until Chris is back on our basketball court with them.
They were glad to hear the news that all the cancer is gone. They made their dad the signs below when he came home from the hospital. It brightened his day. :)

Thank you all for the prayers and support. The meals have been so delicious and helpful as well! We feel so loved and blessed by all of you!

75% : A Surgery Update

Chris had surgery to remove the tumor on his kidney Thursday afternoon. He did great! The doctors were able to remove just the tumor and save most of his kidney-75% to be exact. This is what we were praying for and we were so pleased to hear the entire kidney didn't have to be removed.
Chris was on a pain medicine pump the night and most of the day after his surgery. He got off that Friday afternoon after the doctor saw him and started oral pain medicine as needed. The doctor visit was great and he again told us about the surgery and said Chris looked and was doing good.

Many asked how the kids are doing and they both came to the hospital Thursday night and again for a visit on Friday night. They were very glad to see their daddy. They brought cards and balloons for him and their smiles brightened the hospital room. Many thanks to all of you helping get them to school, doing after school activities with them, staying with them, and loving on them at school.

It's now Saturday morning as I type this post. The doctor just left the room. He removed the dressing from around the incision as well as a drain tube that was draining some blood from the kidney area. The dressing was pretty gross and made me so nervous about it bleeding at home but once it was off, the incision is so clean and just has staples. I'm so relieved. :)

The doctor gave Chris clearance to go home so we are waiting to be released.

God is SO good! Our prayers for saving the kidney were answered, his lymph nodes looked clear, the doctors were successful, and Chris is recovering nicely. We can't thank you all enough for all your prayers, support, meals, love, texts, visits, messages, and love you have shown our family!

On a total side note, ALL our nurses loved Chris. He was a great patient and had them all laughing! Did you expect anything different? Ha ha!
Germantown Methodist has been a great hospital and we are also thankful for everyone that helped us while we were there!

Oh, we will get the pathology report back on the tumor Thursday or Friday when Chris goes to the doctor for a checkup. We are praying for the best results. Again, thanks for all the support. We are truly blessed!

The Masters and an Update

Chris was able to go to The Masters this weekend with his buddy, John. I am so happy for them that they get to go. I hear it's quite an experience and I think that it will be good for Chris to have a stress free, fun guys' weekend! :)

Many people ask how Chris is doing...well, it's really great because he feels totally normal. He has been able to work out some and hasn't experienced pain.

Chris spoke at PDS Chapel last Friday and shared a little of his story with the 1st-6th grade boys. He did a great job and I was so proud of him.

The surgery is in less than two weeks...please continue to pray for Dr. Chauhan and the medical team and they he will be able to remove only PART of the kidney. There is a 50/50 chance he will be able to save half of his kidney, so that is what we are praying will happen! Prayers for Chris to have a smooth recovery as well.

We truly appreciate everyone's concern and prayers! Blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family! Have a great weekend!

Spring Break 2013

We decided to go to Atlanta to see Chris' sister and brother-in-law for spring break this year. We haven't seem them since thanksgiving.
We left Friday afternoon and drove half way. We arrived in Atlanta Saturday around lunch time. While checking in, they asked Chris if he wanted an upgrade to the presidential suite...so we had a great room with a great view. After lunch at Legal Seafood at our hotel, we went to the aquarium. We had lots of fun there. The kids took pictures with their iPods. We saw a 3D movie and a dolphin show that was like a musical with live dolphins.
That night we went to the Atlanta Hawks NBA game. Hawks games are nothing like Grizzlies games. There were a lot of empty seats and not much cheering from the crowd...except from the Kia 6th man section which we were right beside. They all had cowbells are chanted cheers the whole game.
Sunday we went outlet shopping and the to Carmen's house. The kids counted the hours and minutes until they got home (they had been in LA at the Dream Center for a week of service).
Monday we went to see Oz and Tuesday we went bowling at a neat place with arcade games and also played laser tag.
Chris flew out of Atlanta on Wednesday to a conference so after dropping him off at the airport, I drove home with the kids. Carley was so sad to leave her "Aunt CiCi." It was sad leaving.
We had a great time and are thankful for time to visit with them as well as seeing Chris' cousins and aunt and uncle who live in Atlanta as well.
Now we ate home and it's great weather for the end of our break. We spent the afternoon Friday at the Memphis zoo and the kids loved the stingray exhibit. Thankful for the time off work and school...breaks are always nice!

Surgery Date & Update

Well, we heard from the doctor and Chris' surgery will be Thursday, April 25 at Germantown Methodist. The doctor said he will be in the hospital for 2 to 3 days.

Fun at the neighborhood park

As for Chris, the doctor told him it would be ok to work out, so Friday he was back at it. I asked him to please not run as my thinking is the impact may irritate the tumor, so he isn't running, but is using the elliptical machine as well as weights and other exercises. The GREAT news is that this is not irritating the tumor and he is in no pain so far from exercise. :) Chris really seems "normal" (yes, I laughed as I typed that), so that is a huge blessing as our lives aren't really disrupted by that stupid tumor. The kids are doing fine and I think it's because they see their daddy doing every day activities-like this past Sunday, we all rode bikes to the park and they played on the playground!


Thanks so much for all of your prayers and support! We are looking forward to a quick trip to Atlanta to see Chris' sister and her family during Spring Break.