Grandma and Grandpa, Tonsellectomy and Chemo!

Wow! We have a lot going on this week! As I write this we are once again at Chemotherapy. Diane did the sticking today and first time was the charm, so things have gone pretty smoothly. Chemo day also means I get a little time to update on what is going on with us. Well. . . .

Friday afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa Larchar arrived from Upstate New York. We had been hoping to share some of our beautiful, sunny weather with them, but it has been raining almost nonstop since they arrived. Today is the first day of nice weather and Kenneth and I are stuck inside at Chemo, Arianna is recovering from a Tonsillectomy/ Adenoidecotmy/ SNR of the Turbinates yesterday, and Grant and Emma are sick with a cold/ cough. And the rest of the week rain is in the forecast. Such is life. At least we have green beautiful mountains to look at!!! When I talked to Grandpa a little while ago, he said Emma and Grant were outside playing- so I guess they aren't sick enough to miss out on the opportunity!

The children LOVE having Grandma and Grandpa here. They are eating up the attention, the story reading and the snuggling! It has been about 10 months since we've seen them, so it is good to get to spend some time with them.

Last week I took Arianna to see the ENT (Ear Nose Throat Doctor). He took one look/listen and knew surgery would be beneficial. We have known her entire life that something is up. She has always been a mouth breather, was very often congested the first 2 years of her life, and has an abnormal breathing pattern at night. Lately, she will complain that she is tired in the morning after 12 hours of sleep at night! So, upon the doctors recommendation, I scheduled the surgery. Since I knew I would have extra help this week, I figured it was the best time as any to go ahead and get it done. She was a champ! She was adored by all the nurses in pre-op; they called her Princess Arianna. I wasn't sure how she was going to do getting ready for the surgery. Last time we went to the doctor for her 3 year check-up she gave me a really hard time. She absolutely would not allow herself to be measured for height or weight, screamed when the nurse tried to check her ears and throat. It was not fun. So, I was pleasantly surprised when she was very cooperative yesterday morning. She put on the cute tiger hospital gown, fuzzy socks and hat no problems and even asked if she got to take her 'surgery clothes' home with her. Of course, at the end of it all, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with them!!
She did very well in surgery and the doctor said her adenoids were huge! It took her a while to get back to herself after the Anesthesia (which is normal) and she definitely needed a lot of love yesterday. One thing is for sure, she is a smart little girl (she takes after her mother, you know) and she is taking advantage of the ice cream and popsicle diet. She even woke up twice in the night and had some- that's not including the 4 or 5 bowls of ice cream she had during the day and the 8 or 9 popsicles! She is loving it! I am thankful that she is keeping hydrated and has something in her belly. Emma is being very understanding that she can't also have that many treats! So, we are hoping that this procedure will help her breathe/ sleep better.

Kenneth is doing great! Gained 2 more pounds since the last treatment. He generally feels pretty good. The Oncologist said today that after the 4th treatment, they usually expect all the cancer to be eradicated. The fifth and sixth treatments are for good measure; to make sure it's gone and stays that way. Here we are at the fifth treatment!! It is really going by so fast!
On the way to the doctor's office this morning I looked over at the traffic backed up on his normal route to work and jokingly asked if he missed it. He reminded me that he will be returning to work in just 7 weeks! It will be a big adjustment for all of us when that day comes. We are so used to having him around!

We purchased our plane tickets and will be in New York state the last 2 weeks of May. We are very excited to go to graduation and visit family and friends. When we return home, Kenneth will have the PET scan which will reveal whether or not the Chemo has done what we hope. We are so thankful for all the prayers, fasting, sacrifices and kindnesses of all who have made this experience as pleasant as possible.

I had an insight the other night while preparing dinner. Grant was crying and whining at my feet, as usual. I tried to give him a piece of cheese to hold him off and let him know dinner was coming soon, but he refused it and continued to wail and tug on my pants. I wonder how often our Heavenly Father is trying to offer us a 'piece of what is to come' and encourage us to be patient. Just like Grant, we can't see the whole picture. We don't understand what is happening in our lives and what do we do? Like Grant we wail and moan and in essence have a tantrum. How thankful I am for a patient Father in Heaven, who continues to love me and hold me, even with all my tantrums and impatience at not being able to see the future.

Redwoods and Natural Bridges

The second adventurous day we had during Diane and Joseph's visit was to the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and then to Natural Bridges State Beach. It was a lovely day, albeit slightly chilly. Both of these places are also within an hour drive of us. It really is amazing to me how diverse and beautiful this whole area is!

Arianna climbing around and having fun before our walk in the woods.

Gorgeous trail and very good for bringing strollers, for which we were grateful!! The walk would have taken all day if we didn't keep them all strapped in! (4 children 4 and under!)

The gang minus me (the photographer) in the Redwood forest. We even saw a number of banana slugs on our walk. They are pretty cool.

After the walk in the woods we drove just 10 miles to get to this beautiful place. I had never been here before and loved it!!! This is Natural Bridges State Beach. It is just up the coast a couple of miles from the Santa Cruz Beach that has the huge boardwalk/ carnival area. I had been to that portion of the beach when we first moved here and it was nice to be on the beach, but the loud, brash boardwalk kind of turned me off to Santa Cruz. I don't enjoy the noises of carnival games and arcades. So, when we discovered this portion of the beach that is so natural, calm and beautiful I was delighted!!

The girls had a blast in the sand!

Arianna having the time of her life. I hadn't seen her this happy in a long time!!

Daddy and his girls

Our family. Poor little Grant was miserable at this point- coming down with a pretty bad cold at this point, so he never got to get down and play in the sand.

Diane, Joseph and Benjamin

Kenneth and Heidi

The children running free!

Sandy girls.

Emma, Benjamin and Joseph exploring among the rocks

They were all sopping wet, sandy as can be and happy as clams!

We had so much fun with Diane, Joseph and Benjamin!! Here are a couple more pictures of their visit:

The kids playing at our neighborhood park.


Uncle Joseph reading all the kids a story. You do that and you are their new best friend.

San Francisco

I have been meaning to post about this fun adventure for a while and figure I really should before our next set of visitors are in town in just 2 days!
We've been here for over 7 months now and finally made it to the big city!!! We live just 1 hour from San Francisco where we currently live. Diane, Joseph and Benjamin were our big motivation to get us over there. They came to visit from New York for a week to be here for the fourth Chemo treatment. Because Kenneth was feeling so well, we decided to take a couple of day trips and enjoy this beautiful area with them. Kenneth and I had been to San Francisco together once before way back when we were just dating. We came out to California for my sister's first baby's blessing and for Kenneth to meet my parents. At the time, my parents lived up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas- just 2 1/2 hours from San Francisco. I also have an Aunt and Uncle who have lived in Berkeley (just East of San Francisco) my entire life. So, I have been to this city a number of times. I love San Francisco! However, this trip confirmed to me once again that I would never want to LIVE there. Too crazy, too cramped and too many interesting characters! It does have it's own kind of beauty that is certainly fun to visit.
It was an interesting day in the city- much different than planned or that I had ever experienced. Benjamin, Diane and Joseph's 3 year old son, had a mild cough when they arrived here in California for their visit, but the morning we got in the car to go to San Francisco, they decided that a trip to urgent care for an antibiotic might be necessary. So, our first stop in the city. . . A doctor's office!!! They had to wait for about an hour and then have the appointment, so Kenneth, the kids and I had a little bit of time to kill in a random neighborhood in the city. We took a walk and explored the area. It was interesting to see the mailmen. They walk to deliver the mail, but instead of carrying the mail in a pouch like our mailman does where we live, they have a pouch on a cart of sorts that has one handle bar to make it easier to push it up and down all those hills. We also found a Studio apartment for rent for $1,500 a month!! (An extra $250/ month if you want covered parking!) (Wanna move?) The kids favorite 'treasure' we found was an area of sidewalk where marbles had been pressed in the cement when it was still wet. They plopped right down on the sidewalk and were happily playing for a good 10 minutes. (Wish I had brought my camera on the walk!) Also during our walk we passed by a fenced yard where a big dog lived. Immediately when the dog saw us he barked very loudly and ran toward the gate. Emma was so startled she jumped and clung to my leg. Grant, however, hunched right down in a funny little stance and barked right back at him. It was hilarious. He wasn't scared one bit, just wanted to communicate with that dog!!
So, after the Doctor's office we went straight to the Pharmacy to get the antibiotic and ate a late lunch in the car. Then we were off to see these cool things:

Here is the cable car we rode.

Here we are waiting for the Cable Car. Benjamin was asleep in the car, so Kenneth stayed with him and met us at the other end of the line. Diane is taking the picture.

Me with Grant. He wasn't so thrilled with the Cable Car ride. He kept whimpering and saying, "All done." He got a little more used to it as the ride progressed, but still didn't really like it a whole lot.
Downtown shot. I liked the domed building against the skyscraper.

Shot taken from the Cable Car at the top of Lombard Street. You can see Coit Tower in the distance.

Kenneth and Me at Fisherman's Wharf

View of the Golden Gate Bridge

No visit to San Francisco is complete without seeing the 'Silver Guy'. This isn't the best shot of him, but off to the left you can see that guy in the jump suit standing on the crate. His skin is painted silver and he will dance and do cool things if you pay him. Notice Arianna zonked out in the foreground.
In addition, no visit to San Francisco is complete without paying a visit to the Sea Lions at Pier 39. This was the highlight of the kids' day!

Another shot of the Pier and Sea Lions with the city in the background (from Joseph's camera)

My little jumper in action. She jumps off of everything nowadays.

Nice landing!

Alcatraz
I liked this ship out in the bay. I don't know what it is, just liked it!

Here are Benjamin and Grant in the stroller. Doesn't Benjamin look miserable!! Grant kept touching his arm and Ben kept saying, "He's bothering me!"

Here I am by the blooming tulips. Diane and Joseph were so thankful to have a break from the record snows in New York. They were amazed by the flowers and trees in bloom in late February!!
Some cool Sourdough Bread shapes we saw in a window.

The whole bunch of us. What a fun day we had despite the detour in the beginning.

On the way back to the car, we got some fish to eat and completed our day in the City by the Bay. If you have never visited, I highly recommend it!

If mama ain't happy. . .

ain't nobody happy! I remember reading this saying in my best friend's house growing up. I think about it quite often. I have been in somewhat of a 'funk' lately. I don't know exactly what has been going on, but I have been having a hard time being happy, or nice, or friendly, or any of the above. I apologize to friends and family who may have had to interact with me during my period of unpleasantness. I wish I could promise it were completely over, but I seem to be having a hard time with life lately. It's not just all that's going on with Kenneth, although that certainly must contribute. The children seem to be yelling and fighting a lot lately. Probably because of my bad example. I have not been a calm and happy mother lately. AND, they've all been sick with coughs and colds, so Kenneth hasn't been touching them or interacting with them a whole lot for about a week and a half now. That certainly is contributing to my crankiness. What's worse than your husband being gone all the time working and studying? Him being home all the time, but unable to help with the children!!!!!!
On top of all we are dealing with health-wise, we have been dealing with a mold problem in our home we are renting for about 2 months now. I haven't mentioned it up until this point on the blog because A) for a long time I was trying to pretend it wasn't happening and B) the pile of laundry it created was too big for me to think about and C) It's just not fun to talk about!! We noticed mold growing on the back wall of our master-bedroom closet a while ago. I tried to wipe it down with some bleach. It was still there. I tried to spray it with straight vinegar. It was still there. I tried to ignore it some more. It was still there. Then one Sunday, Kenneth was getting ready for church and noticed there was mold on his suit. Then I knew I could no longer ignore the problem; we had to tell the landlord and get it taken care of. So, they had a mold remediation company come in and they sealed off our bedroom for about a week and a half and removed all our stuff from the closet into the garage, tore out drywall and insulation, ran air purifiers and dehumidifiers for a good 4 days and then put it all back together. Fortunately, we have an extra queen sized bed, so that wasn't too inconvenient, but unfortunately, all of our clothing which was now in the garage had to be washed by US. I don't know about y'all, but I have a hard time keeping up with the regular flow of laundry around here, much less having to wash every article of clothing in my closet!!!! So, once again, I pretended it wasn't there for over a month now. Yesterday, however, it was such a gorgeous Spring day and we were feeling particularly productive, so Kenneth set me up a clothes line in the backyard and we got to work!!! (My ultra-money-wise husband couldn't bear the thought of all those loads of laundry going through the dryer- and rightly so. The sound of all those loads would have driven him mad- he wouldn't have been able to concentrate on anything- all he would have seen in his mind were money signs all day- all that money down the drain!) All that work inspired other things. All of a sudden, Kenneth's inner farmer came out and he started planning out an extensive garden in our backyard. We even went and got seeds and planted some last night!! All the digging in the dirt inspired the girls and I between loads of laundry to start actually pulling all the weeds in our backyard. (When we moved in we were told there was a 'gardener'; so I never actually thought this is something I would have to do and haven't MADE the time for it. But, in actuality, he just mows the lawn.) Well, I should have started pulling weeds earlier. The kids loved it! They actually were in the same space for quite a long time and didn't fight or argue. We had not been this happy in a LONG TIME!! It felt so good to be out in the sunshine with the daffodils blooming, the trees flowering, working in the dirt, hanging laundry, eating oranges off the tree. It was wonderful!!! So, just for remembrance sake and to share our crazy life with all of you, I documented the day:

This picture was actually taken a couple of days before. In addition to the work in the bedroom, extensive work was done on the outside of the home to prevent the mold from returning to the closet. Here are the kids watching the workers prepare and pour cement around the house. How would you like to be one of the workers on the other side of the window mere inches away from 3 little spectators. Poor guys!

Here is Kenneth, preparing the soil for seeds.

Oh the laundry!

Emma picking weeds and Grant enjoying life!

18 months old!

Handsome little guy!

One of his contemplative moments. . .can you tell he is the little brother of 2 sisters? (Notice the headband- he put it on himself)

What a little sweetheart! Giving Dad kisses and zerberts!

I can hardly believe that Grant is already 18 months old! In fact, he was 18 months old about a week and a half ago, but because of our circumstances, it hasn't quite been the milestone it usually is in our life.
Normally, at church, the children can go to the nursery at 18 months old. For the parents, this is a wonderful thing! That means you can finally listen to your class without chasing/consoling/entertaining a toddler. Or it means you can finally teach or lead music or whatever your calling is without having to also pay attention to your little one. But, right now because of Kenneth's chemo, we aren't sending any children to nursery. We feel there are too many germs floating around in there. All those sweet germy children are touching too many of the same things. Arianna, who is technically still in nusery has been going to Primary and Grant goes home with Kenneth after Sacrament meeting. (Kenneth wants to go to church, but also doesn't want to be exposed to too many germs by being around lots of people for 3 hours, so this is the compromise we have decided on.) So, at least for another couple of months, Grant won't be going to nursery.

So, Grant is indeed 18 months old and is such an active, intelligent little guy. He says so many words! Here are the ones I can think of right now: Emma, Anna, Mama, Dada, dog, tractor, yogurt, cheese, milk, juice, light, book, ball, engine, all done, raisins, apple, orange, pants, diaper, car, bird, truck, socks, shoes, sweatshirt, coat, door, water, couch, chair, bench, bread, go, dog, bus, snack, mouth, spoon, nose. He even tried to say 'Joseph' when D and J were visiting. Oh! and he tried to say excavator the other day! Still needs some work on that one, though!

Here are his 18 month stats:
Height: 32 1/4 inches (49th percentile)
Weight: 23 pounds 8 ounces (19th percentile)

He had some blood drawn and the doctors says he is borderline anemic. So, I am supposed to give him Polyvisol with Iron. Anyone else had problems with anemia in their little ones? What did you do to help them?

She's a big girl now!

You know your child is ready to potty train when she refuses to lie down for diaper changes and wants you to strap the diaper on her standing up. Oh, and then you find her strapping the diaper on herself standing up. . .

In the beginning of February, we started to try to motivate Arianna by rewarding her with a Little People animal every time she successfully went on the potty. (I found a whole lot of Little People on Craig's list for a great price, so I have a box full in the garage to give for this sort of thing and for Birthday gifts, etc.) She really wanted those animals! (about 30 of which lined the top of the refrigerator for her to have constantly in her view) Arianna has a thing for animals. She LOVES them. She really wanted to earn them and went on the potty a couple of times when we first introduced them and then lost interest for a few days. Then she became interested again, probably from a string of successes when she realized she could really grow her animal collection if she tried. But, even with all the motivation, until she was ready there was no forcing her. About 3 weeks ago now, Arianna decided she wanted to give all her diapers to Grant. She was finally ready to potty train!! The first day went pretty well. About 36 hours after her decision, I think she regretted it. She had 8 'accidents' in one day!! (I think she thought, "Forget this!!! Who wants to get up and go to the bathroom all the time!! And washing your hands every time!! Far too much trouble for me!! I want to just keep on playing!!") But, everytime she had an accident, we took away an animal. She did not like that one bit! So, she eventually earned them back and then we moved on to sticker charts. If she filled the chart she could get a big toy. She earned the Little People Zoo and the Barn. She was overjoyed! When she had accidents, we took stickers away. She was not happy about that at all! So, she learned to stay dry. We are now 9 stickers away from filling up her last chart (60 stickers total) where she will earn her final prize. We are trying to play it up so she knows after this she is a big girl just like Emma who knows how to go on the potty and doesn't need rewards for it anymore.
What has amazed me most about Arianna is how easy night time training has been. She decided that after she gave Grant her diapers that that also meant she did not need a diaper at night time. Of course, I am thinking, "Yeah right, child!!! You have never woken up dry from a nap or night in your entire life!" But she was adamant. She kicked and screamed and would not let me put a diaper on her. So, I decided not to fight. I put one on after she was asleep right over her panties. Luckily she is a heavy sleeper! She did not even wake up. What amazed me though, was that she said she was going to stay dry and she did!!! She did have a couple of nights after that that she did wet, but for the most part she has stayed dry all night. After a couple of nights she would be upset in the morning when she found out I put a diaper on her. So I made a deal with her that if she went three nights in a row without wetting, that I wouldn't put a diaper on her again. And she did it! What a champ!
We are so proud of her. It was about time. She is over three for heavens sake! I am happy to say that after 18 months of double diaper duty I am back to just one in diapers!!! Hippeeee!!!!!!

Four down, Two to go

Life has kind of gotten away with me again!! I am sorry for not updating sooner!
Kenneth had his fourth Chemotherapy treatment on Tuesday. It went okay, but we are learning some things. As I mentioned before, Kenneth kind of has a problem with needles. We have found that one of the Chemo nurses is in cahoots with Kenneth's veins and can start the IV immediately without any trouble. Unfortunately, she is NOT the one who started Kenneth on Tuesday. Another nurse, who is very dear, was having quite a bit of trouble getting the IV in and therefore was fishing around. Well, that kind of makes Kenneth's stomach turn, drops his blood pressure and makes him feel sick; not a good start to a day of Chemo. So, Kenneth slept a lot during this treatment trying to recover from the traumatic hook-up (and from general tiredness from the last couple of busy, but fun days). So, we have learned that we just need to ask for the right nurse from the start. It makes a huge difference for Kenneth. The last few days Kenneth has been a little more tired and had a little more nausea than after previous treatments.

We also have some good news to share:

• The X-ray that the doctor ordered after the last round of chemo (because Kenneth was feeling a little bit of irritation in his lungs) showed that there is no re-accumulation of fluid around the lungs and the tumors are no longer visible. Hooray!! The doctor suspects Kenneth was feeling the tumors shrinking and tugging on the lung tissue.
  
• The last blood tests show the Liver function is back to normal. At the start of this the cancer was affecting the Liver.
• Kenneth gained 5 more pounds in the past 3 weeks!!! In fact, the doctor very sensitively suggested he be careful not to overdo it. He even suggested some light exercise. How wonderful that he is gaining and not losing weight and this stage!!! We feel very thankful for how well he is feeling.
  
• Last bit of good news: the doctor sees no reason why we cannot go ahead and book our flights back to New York for Kenneth to walk at his graduation from Cornell University in May!!! We are so excited to be able to be there for that event and to visit family and friends in our dear New York.
  

Well, for now that is what is going on around here. I have a few more posts to write about our adventures (San Fransisco, Redwoods, Natural Bridges Beach), challenges (the kids are sick again =( ) and successes (Arianna is essentially potty trained!) around here, but I am worn out for tonight, so goodbye for now!!!