Family Portraits

Kenneth and I were talking last night and happen to remember that our Portrait Club Membership at JC Penney expires this month. Then we thought we might not have too many more days until Kenneth looses his hair. So, we went to have pictures taken today!! They went pretty well, I thought. The kids did better than they have at times in the past. It was pretty smooth. Luckily, this studio has a t.v. and the girls were kept occupied with Dora while we looked at the pictures. Of course, bribbing them with fruit snacks also seems to work wonders!

It is also Arianna's Birthday at the end of this month, so she has some 3 year old shots in there, too. Emma was trying to encourage Arianna (who can be a little difficult to get to cooperate) and so we got some unplanned ones with Emma with Arianna and Emma alone with the white background. I love the one of the 2 girls together; you can see really well how different they are. It amazes me that people inquire at least 3 or 4 times a week as to whether they are twins!

Thought we would share the link to the JC Penney website for you all to see:

https://viewimages.jcpportraits.com/sharealbum/sharealbumlist?rndId=AAMJBANBXV9bVw==&uId=AAAHCAhOXg==

Recent Joys

Kids say and do the darndest things, don't they?! Here are some of the latest joys that have brought smiles to our faces:

1. If this doesn't bring a smile to your face, I don't know what would!
   
   


2. Animals in bed: I bet many kids are like this, not just mine, but lately the stuffed animals in our girls' beds have gotten out of control. We used to try to limit the number they could have in bed with them. We started with 2, then we let them have a couple more, now, it's a battle I don't choose to fight. They just have to have them all situated when it's time for bed. It's not just the number of animals in bed that cracks us up. Lately, the girls have been separating the animals on either side of themselves according to sex: boys on one side, girls on the other. It is funny to see which animals make which side. Arianna chided me for putting a girl on the boy's side last night. A couple of times, Emma nearly flipped out when one of her animals did not have an animal to hug goodnight. What's next?!
3. At dinner tonight Arianna said, "I love Daddy because he is so cozy". Emma added, "Yeah, he is so nice to lie on!" They sure are loving having their Daddy around so much!
4. One of the greatest joys: having a little one fall asleep in your arms.
5. So, this one is sarcastic. Arianna actually went through FIVE pair of pants in one day yesterday!!! Yes, five. Joy. It all started at breakfast. She spilled her milk all over. Then she had a dirty diaper which got on her pants, then she was riding her tricycle in the backyard and got mud all over her pants and then pooped out again!!!! I know what you are thinking- isn't that girl almost 3 years old? Why is she still in diapers? We ask the same thing daily. . .
6. Emma's new hobby: Emma has been quite diligent lately about writing. It started that she would just write words and phrases she saw around her. Then she started taking books and copying the titles. Then she started writing ALL the words she sees in the books- starting at the front cover. It is really adorable. Maybe it's time for some lined paper!

This was one of the first papers she wrote. She was in our office and wrote all kinds of random things she saw on our desks and around the room. I had a recipe on my desk for Roasted Asparagus Lasagne. It cracks me up that she wrote: "Prep: 20 min bake 45 + standing". My favorite thing that she wrote is: "Welcome to a better banking experience". What a funny girl!


Above are some book titles she has copied.

More book titles.

This one I had to pull out of the garbage to take a picture. You can see the title and author of the book at the top and then she started to copy all the words. I am not sure what happened, but she sure was writing to fit the story!!! She must have thought it was a mess herself since she crumpled it up and threw it away.

A wonderful Christmas with the Dawes Family

Figured I would start with my favorite picture of the bunch today. I sure love these kids and my sweet husband! Here we are on Christmas Eve. We feel so grateful to be together as a family!

Kenneth's sister, Karen and her family came out for Christmas. We were grateful that Kenneth was feeling a little better by the time they got here- with the fluid off his lungs. They arrived Friday afternoon (Christmas Eve) and left on New Year's Eve. We had a wonderful Christmas together. It was a little crazy at times with 8 children in our little home, but we are SO glad they were able to come. Karen and Allen took very good care of us- helping around the house, doing dishes, helping with meals and watching the kids. We were especially grateful they were here on Monday the 27th to watch the kids while we were gone ALL DAY LONG for the first round of Chemotherapy. It was nice that the kids were with family in their own home. Our kids loved playing with their cousins. Many of the days, Karen stayed here at home with us, while Allen took their 3 older children sightseeing. We didn't want them going stir-crazy stuck in the house. The week flew by and it was sad to say goodbye. Here are the pictures of the wonderful week with the Dawes Family:

Grant loved Uncle Al! Quite often he would come right up to Allen and want to sit on his lap. Here he is pointing out all the parts of his face.

Watch your eye, Al!

Christmas morning- Karen, Tyler, and Joslynn opening stockings

The girls playing with the loot from their stockings- Emma's first set of markers!! ALL the girls were excited about them!

Daddy and the kids Christmas morning

All the cousins except Joslynn

Opening gifts Christmas morning- Tyler, Allen, Karen, Grant and Joslynn

Pillowcases from Grandma Pilz. Grant laid them right down and. . .

Got comfortable!

Arianna loving Daddy. The kids are having so much fun opening presents.

Our Christmas Day afternoon activity: Making gingerbread houses.

Evening stories.

These little rascals. In the morning they just can't wait til breakfast is ready. Both Grant and Arianna grabbed a bag of cereal and hid around on the other side of the refrigerator.

Grant joined in on the dress-up parade one morning.

Here is a video of these crazy kids and our full house:


One more video for fun! Here are the kids playing on the back patio. Emma is riding her new bike Santa brought for Christmas. The last bike she earned just a little while ago was really too small for her. She still needs to grow into this one, but is loving it!! We are thankful for such a nice back patio and large yard. It's a fun video except for Emma's little outburst at the end.




Photo shoot of the kids right before the Dawes family drove away. It was such a beautiful day! Can you see Ashley in a short sleeve shirt!!! This was December 31st!

The whole gang minus Allen right before they left. Thanks for coming!! We love you!

Doing great!

First of all, Happy New Year to all of you out there! We spent a quiet evening at home last night. We had the kids in bed by 7 and us in bed by 10:30. At this stage in my life I feel no need to stay up to officially ring in the New Year. Grant was up at 6:15 am. Enough said.

I guess I didn't make it clear before, but the Chemo happens every 3 weeks. We were told that the first week after treatment would be pretty rough, the second week Kenneth would be tired from the first week and the third week would be pretty good. So, we had envisioned him lying flat in bed the first week. So, to have him feeling as good as he does has been a wonderful blessing! We are definitely grateful for every day that he feels good. Part of his discomfort leading up to the first day of Chemo was the anticipation of what was to come. He practically made himself sick thinking of how he could/would react and how bad it all could be. When he completed that first day of injections, he was so amazed at how well he felt that a huge weight was lifted off his mind and he felt better just walking out of the doctors office! His cough has been much alleviated, which is a blessing and he has no pain to speak of.

He is having trouble sitting on our hard dining room chairs, however. Let's just say there is a lot less cushion on his end than there used to be!! His sister was quite surprised at how thin he was when she saw him this week. I guess for me it has happened more gradually. Since last year this time he has lost about 30 pounds. Part of that was him exercising and eating less the beginning of 2010, but most of the weight loss has happened in the last couple of months. NO more love handles on this guy!

One of the side effects of the medicines is that food tastes different. Plain water is very difficult to drink, so Kenneth is trying out all kinds of things to get around it- Propel, lemon water, Crystal light, etc. Sugar is not good for cancer- the cells feed off glucose, so we are trying to stay away from that. His appetite has been much less than normal; sometimes he has to make himself eat. One of the nurses said he might have to think of food as medicine for a while- to eat even when he doesn't feel like it to keep his strength up.

Kenneth is definitely more tired than normal- sleeping 10 hours or so at night (sometimes restlessly) and taking at least one nap a day. Arianna has already gotten used to having Daddy home everyday and is napping with him in the recliner every afternoon. She loves it!! (So does Daddy!)

Many of you may be wondering about hair loss. Yes, most likely that is going to happen. They say it usually happens between 2 and 4 weeks after the first treatment. So, Kenneth has a week or 2 more with hair. We've tried to warn the kids about it so they are not too scared when it happens. I worry more about Kenneth's morale at that point than anything.

Emma said this morning, "I bet Daddy's work workers miss him". What a sweet lady. At lunch time Arianna said, "Dad, I want your neck to be better. . so I can go on your head!" (She must have heard us talking about the growths that are in his neck) They know Dad is sick and they know something is different. One thing is for sure, they are loving having Dad around all the time!!! We are really going to get used to this!! In the midst of all the ugliness of this disease, what a blessing to be able to spend so much time with Kenneth after so long of him being so busy and away from us so much.

With tomorrow being Fast Sunday again, we thank those of you who are fasting on Kenneth's behalf. We really appreciate all of your encouraging emails and prayers.

Arianna napping with Dad

The kids watching a movie with Dad and loving it!

Emma and Dad looking at the computer

Snuggle time!


Playing a game


Arianna napping with Dad again just today!

Delightful days of December

Even though Kenneth was dealing with a lot of stress with the end of his semester, work pressures, health issues, we still had some pretty good times in early December. I love this time of year!! I love the weeks leading up to Christmas even more than I like the day itself. I love the music, the smells, the chocolate, the decorations, the family time. . .did I mention the chocolate!!!! But, really, I enjoy this time of year- especially with the children. It is magical.

We had a wonderful day when we picked out our Christmas tree- I guess technically that was still the end of November. We first went to Home Depot to find a tree, but they were too expensive. They were, however, having a building workshop for the kids. Since we were there, we thought it would be fun for the girls to participate. They loved it!! They built a picture frame with Dad. Next we he did a little bit of Christmas shopping and headed to the grocery store where we bought some food and our Christmas tree! While we were picking out our tree, the kids were pretending the shopping cart was the sleigh. They were taking turns being the Reindeer and Santa. The highlight of the day was when the Fire Engine just happened to pull up right next to us in the parking lot when we were tying the tree to the van. The fire fighters were out doing their shopping and came right up to us, gave the kids stickers and hats and let us take pictures with the fire engine. Grant was going crazy!! He loves trucks- fire trucks, especially!




The day we decorated the tree, Emma and Arianna decided to wear Halloween costumes. So, we have pictures of these silly girls decorating the tree in their costumes!

One of the favorite activities the kids enjoyed this December was dancing around the living room to the Christmas music.





Just after Thanksgiving, we gave Arianna the Little People Nativity as her surprise for filling up her sticker chart. (The same chart Emma had to fill up to earn her bike.) She was overjoyed! She has had so much fun playing with our different Nativity sets together. Funny little girl.

Arianna matching up the nativity sets. Bad lighting, sorry.

Some other fun times:

Emma reading to Grant. Look how grown up my little man is!!!!

Our first time Miniature golfing with the girls. They lost interest at about the 8th hole. Arianna kept asking why she couldn't play on the elephant. (They didn't like the fact that all the decorations were just that- decorations.) Grant hung out in the stroller the whole time. It was actually quite chilly for this area that night.

Daddy teaching Arianna to putt.

Painting caterpillars. They LOVE to paint!

Good news I almost forgot to share!

I almost forgot to share some good news! When we met with the Doctor this morning before the Chemo started he gave us the results of the Bone Marrow Biopsy, aka, the 'kick in the pants'. It was clear! Which means, Kenneth indeed has Stage 3 Lymphoma, not Stage 4. We are very grateful for this news. Hooray!

Makes for a long day

On Thursday, Kenneth had a procedure done to remove the fluid buildup around his right lung. As I mentioned in the last post, Kenneth has been unable to lay flat for the last 2 1/2 months. Due to the cancer, a good deal of fluid had filled the chest area and put pressure on the lung and limited its capacity. It was a fairly easy procedure- in fact, it took longer to deal with the billing and wait in the waiting room than it did for the actual procedure! Believe it or not, they removed a liter and a half!!! Picture that!!! I was hoping that this would completely eliminate the coughing, but it only lessened the intensity and frequency. Kenneth still coughs quite a bit, most likely due to the growths in his lungs. The good news is, he has been able to sleep in his own bed lying down since Thursday night!!

As I write this I am sitting by Kenneth's side at the Doctor's office where he is receiving the first round of Chemotherapy. We had to be here at the office at 8:30 am. It is now 1:30 pm and we aren't even through the first of the four drugs. They figure he might be done around 5 pm.

My dear Kenneth, who grew up on a dairy farm, delivering calves, de-horning heifers with the blood squirting all over and having experienced all the other nitty-gritty details in the life of a dairyman, has a real problem with needles. Unfortunately, this entire experience is chock-full of encounters with these necessary evils.

The nurse this morning was luckily very skilled and successfully hooked him up the first try. No fishing around like the nurses did when he had the biopsy done. That wasn't fun for Kenneth.

We aren't sure if it was nerves, the Benadryl, or the actual drug but he did have a slight reaction this morning: some nausea, chills and lowered blood pressure. We know that this is a means to an end. The process won't be fun, but we are confident that when this is all over we can enjoy life together again.

It's an interesting camraderie that you feel with the other people in the Chemo room. The room where Kenneth receives his treatments has 11 chairs. All 11 were full this morning with people receiving treatments and more people waiting for a free one. You all kind of look around and wonder what the other one has, you wonder about their families. One lady who was here receiving a treatment when Kenneth first started and was really reacting gave me a knowing wink and sweet smile with a whispered, "Good Luck" on her way out. We had all ages in here today- the youngest person was 19 and the oldest was probably in his late 70's or 80's.

We are so thankful that Kenneth's sister, Karen and her family were able to come on Friday to be with us. We had a pretty good Christmas weekend (More on that to come!) and it is a comfort to know that our children can be in their own home today with family. When we left this morning 16-month-old little Grant was screaming. He is definitely a Mama's boy and doesn't like me to leave the room, much less the house. Heck, he doesn't even like it when I take a shower for 15 minutes! I just pray that he is enjoying his day with his sisters, Aunt and cousins.

Again, to all of you who have emailed and called and commented, we appreciate your prayers, fasting, and positive thoughts on our behalf. We definitely feel a peace in the midst of this trial. We will continue to keep you updated. In the mean while, look for some posts on some of our happenings in December! We want to remember all these good times we have had as a family!