Catch up- MarioKart Tournament, Playdoh, Cupboard Fun and fun outside!

If you can't tell by the title, this is a very random blog, come along for the ride!

Jesse and Christopher were sick last Friday, so we had to start getting creative when we have an unplanned 4 day weekend! In my brilliance, I thought it would be fun to have a MarioKart tournament. Colton, of course, beat both of us for first place (and all the bragging rights), I was second and Jesse came in last! It was a great lesson in competition and good sportsmanship! PS I got the bracket at bracketmaker.com.



Weeks (and weeks) ago I had realized that Christopher was getting close to the age of fingerpaints and playdoh, so I had bought some and put them on a shelf. So I pulled out the playdoh and we played with it for almost an hour, everyone had a lot of fun! And it was very quiet!

Intensly working on his sculpture

Colton with a blue Playdoh tongue


Colton had a "cubby" at this age and now (to keep him out of the pantry), Christopher gets one.


we captured a little bit of (fairly) warm temperatures and got outside for a little bit!

Happy Valentines Day

I have to brag that I was very loved on Valentines Day! It all started with me ditching my family... er, I mean, Jesse taking Colton and Christopher on a "boys day" and I went to LB's to scrapbook for 7 hours!!! When they picked me up I was bombarded with love (and cards) that led to a "treasure hunt" for my Valentine gifts. (Set up by Colton) It was alot of fun to see how excited he was to surprise me! Jesse also got me The Love Dare book (all I asked for- I am very "into" being specific about what you want).

All of my "goodies"!

1st Clue: Anniversiry Castle (the flowers were on the
shelf next to our Disneyland Castle we got on our Honeymoon)

2nd Clue: "Christopher's" toy box
(the cake was in Christopher's toy box)

3rd Clue: "Colton and "Christopher's movie library"

(the chocolates were on the kids' video shelf)
-on a side note-I think he is learning quotation marks in school :)

Christopher was very excited about the cake

Christopher opening his V-day gift from us
(a puppy-love book, Gummi LifeSavers and M&Ms)

M&Ms...."yummmmmm"

(oh, to explain his hair, that's what you get when you leave them
alone for 7 hours... and by them I really mean Jesse.) :)

Enjoying his Gummies...

(you think I would learn to do the
pictures before they get the candy)

"I get gifts on Valentines too!?!"

VERY excited about Sour Patch Kids.
(we don't get them often around here!)

My mom's diagnosis

I first want to apologize if I gave anyone false hope from yesterdays blog. I want you to realize that this is terminal cancer and that most of what I said was more hopeful than I should have conveyed.

Unfortunately, after closer and more detailed inspection, it has been determined that it is in her liver and both of her lungs, (along with the lymph system and the larger tumors behind her eye). At this point the doctor has given them several options of treatment, on a spectrum of just making herself comfortable to a very aggressive, very toxic treatment. He is sending them home today to let them think it over and will meet back with them next week to find out what they choose for the best course of action for my mom. We all really like this doctor and have felt that he really cares for his patients. He says that he does not believe in giving people an estimated "time", because it varies so much from each situation and person to person.

However my mom chooses to live out the rest of her life, I hope that we would all be able to support her and help to give her the best time she has left. Continued prayer and support is most appreciated. Thanks

Julie update- better than expected

From a rough reading of the scans, we have found out that it does not look like it is in the brain or liver (big sigh), but is mostly concentrated in her eye and lymph system. There are a few other small, questionable spots, but they will be addressed in more detail by the team of doctors tomorrow. At this point they even may be able to use radiation to save her eye, but that depends what they come up with tomorrow! More than likely this is a result of the previous melanoma that laid dormant for a while. Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers.

Just waiting for an update

So today is the day my mom has her PET scan and CT scan. I'm just waiting to hear news and I will pass it along to you! Thank you for your continued prayers!

On a sidenote: Christopher and I just got back from a baby appt and he slept from the moment I put him in the car, to being put in a stroller, through the entire appt. and then when I went to put him back in the car I realized he was wet from diarrhea from his armpits to his ankles (still sleeping). Yuck! I got him home, cleaned him up, gave him toast and pediatlyte and put him back to bed. Poor little guy!

It's a...

BOY!!!

Boy or Girl?

It's always fun to try to predict what the gender of a new baby will be, so I hopped on the net to find out the different gender predictions. So without having to sign up for a bunch of junk mail, the only thing I found out is that a lot of the tests are the same, but they vary what it means. Let me know your guess. Here's my fun results:

Parents.com Chinese Calendar: GIRL 67% BOY 33%

Storknet.com Chinese Calendar: GIRL

Baby2see.com: BOY

Using oldwives tales:

You have a 45% chance of having a boy.
And you have a 54% chance of having a girl.

And Here's Why...
You are carrying the extra weight out front, so it's a boy.
The hair on your legs is growing faster during pregnancy, so it's a boy.
Boys are carried low. You are going to have a boy.
Sleeping in a bed with your pillow to the north indicates that you will be having a boy.
Your feet are colder than they were before pregnancy. You are having a boy.
You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread. You are having a girl.
Dad-to-be is gaining weight right along with Mom-to-be, which means that you'll have a boy.
The maternal grandmother has gray hair, so a boy will be born.
You had morning sickness early in pregnancy, so you are expecting a girl.
You are not looking particularly good during pregnancy. Therefore, it must be a girl, because girls steal their mother's looks.
Your chest development has not been very dramatic during pregnancy. You should expect a boy.
A needle on a thread held over you belly moves from side-to-side, so it will be a girl.
Your urine is a dull yellow color, so you will have a girl.
You are craving sweets, which means that it is a girl.
Your nose hasn't changed during pregnancy, which indicates a girl.
You have been craving fruits, so it is a girl.
Your baby's heart rate is 140 or more beats per minute, so it's a girl.
You must have orange juice every day, so it's a girl.
You are not having headaches, so it's a girl.
Your belly looks like a basketball, so it's a boy.
You show them the palm of your hand, so it's a girl.
You use the handle, so it's a boy.

And interesting:

Did you know?

One of the earliest written records of a urine based pregnancy test can be found in an ancient Egyptian document. A papyrus described a test in which a woman who might be pregnant could urinate on wheat and barley seeds over the course of several days: If the barley grows, it means a male child. If the wheat grows, it means a female child. If both do not grow, she will not bear at all. Testing of this theory in 1963 found that 70 percent of the time, the urine of pregnant women did promote growth, while the urine of non pregnant women and men did not. Scholars have identified this as perhaps the first test to detect a unique substance in the urine of pregnant women, and have speculated that elevated levels of estrogens in pregnant women's urine may have been the key to its success.

Julie update

The doctor has been meeting with my mom, Bob and Carrie this morning and from the few tests and biopsy's, it was confirmed Melanoma. They will be staying in Iowa City through the weekend and on Monday will do a PET scan and CT scan to assess everything. After the tests, they should be free to go back home and should have the results by next Friday. Next a team of 50 doctors will do a tumor conference (I think that's what Connie called it) to determine, at that time, the best course of action- radiation, surgery or chemotherapy.

Mom

Picture of Christopher, Bob (step-dad),
Mom and Colton at Glacier this summer

A year or so ago my mom, Julie, had a battle with melanoma (cancer) and had a large piece of her arm tissue removed. Well, it has returned and tomorrow (Thursday) she will be undergoing tests and possible surgery to remove tumors that are behind her eye and to see how extensive it has spread. While my family is going to be in Iowa City, IA at the University hospital, my extended family will be checking here to see updates on what is going on. Please pray for my mom and our family during this time. Thanks.