Be Prepared!

This is our family motto for 2010.

We are each coming up with individual goals with this statement in mind.

As a family our goals for 2010 are-

1. Become completely debt-free

2. Increase our grocery-type food storage to a three-six month supply and long term food storage to a one year supply (as it is, we could possibly survive for a couple of weeks if our diets consisted mostly of canned fruit and oatmeal- yummy!).

3. Save enough money for vacations to Washington DC with Grandpa and Grandma Ross in August and Camp Sunshine in October.

4. Have Family Home Evening each Monday night.

2009 was a good year for our family, with many blessings and accomplishments. We are hoping 2010 will be a year full of growth, peace, and happiness for all.

Christmas 2009

Every Christmas wish came true...

Cousins played together...

Daisy found a comfy place to nap and hide...


Clint fixed one computer after another...

Dinner was yummy (although this little one would rather eat a banana)...


Grandpa got a rockin' new hat (that freaked out the cat)...


We had a big, loud, houseful of family...

Family pictures were taken outside in smile-freezing-17-degree-weather (think we'll try again in the Spring)...




I received three mentionable gifts, a new laptop (that I haven't figured out how to use yet), a cookbook compiled by my dad of my Grandma Roesner's recipes (including some of my dad's memories and pictures of my Grandma), and a written history of childhood Christmas memories from my Grandma Edwards...

And, Clint and I had our second totally debt-free Christmas (thanks, Dave Ramsey)...

All in all, a very Merry Christmas!

Eight

On this day eight years ago, Caitlin was diagnosed with a brain tumor- it was the worst day of our lives. I remember wishing for a crystal ball that would allow me to see our families future. I wanted to know that Caitlin would survive and that someday we would have a normal life again, normal in the way Clint and I had planned it to be. I wanted control, I wanted answers, and I wanted someone to tell me how to do this.

There are still some things I wish I could fix, that I fight for control over, and questions that I want answered. But for the most part, I feel that the unknown in this trial was and is a blessing. The unknown gives us the opportunity to learn lessons, rely on our Heavenly Father and others, make memories, and not take the little things in life for granted. The unknown also allows us to grow, find our inner strength, develop patience, feel true happiness and sorrow, and become more than we could have become under normal circumstances.


Eight years later, this is what I feel I have experienced and learned:

*Caitlin has bravely faced diagnosis, surgeries, a relapse, treatment, therapy, countless MRI's, and a variety of other procedures

*Caitlin is a survivor- her redheaded spunk and stubbornness saved her life

*Clint and I have had to make decisions we felt we were not qualified to make

*Our family can speak and understand cancer terminology and Oligodendroglioma practically rolls off our tongues now

*Clint and I have learned to flush ports and administer chemo

*We have learned to accept acts of service (well, kind of)

*We have learned that working with insurance companies is not fun or easy and that cancer is expensive

*We have an increased gratitude for Forever Families and the healing powers of the Priesthood

*We have had several opportunities to share our story and hopefully have increased awareness of childhood cancer

* We have learned that most situations allow you one of two options- laugh or cry

*We have looked for and have been given opportunities to *pay it forward* through service projects benefiting PCMC's oncology department

*We have made the best friends we could ever hope to have

*Caitlin has had a Make a Wish

* We have celebrated and grieved with friends fighting cancer

*Our family has traveled to Camp Sunshine in Maine for the past seven years, appreciating the new friends and support offered there

*We have lost young friends to this disease along the way

*We have felt the love and support of our community through several special organizations

*We have learned that time is the best healer, and to keep some memories close to our hearts and let others go

*We have come to appreciate, love, and respect Caitlin's medical team

*Children are strong, resilient, and brave

*Prayer works and miracles do exist

*Normal is overrated

*We never could have survived this journey without our Heavenly Father, our family, our friends, and Caitlin's doctors

Fifteen

Fifteen... is how old Caleb is today. It is also the number of years I have been a mother. Fifteen seems like a really big number tonight, but it has gone by way too quickly.

At 15, Caleb is pretty amazing. He is making good choices and good friends. He is learning the gospel and visits the temple at least once a month. He works hard in school, is on the high honor roll, and has big plans for his future. He is kind, patient, funny, and everything I could hope for in a son.

Fifteen is going to be a big year. Caleb will start driving, complete his project and become an Eagle Scout, he will participate in the National Scout Jamboree and travel to and around the East Coast for three weeks, and he will go to High School. It's enough to make his parents feel really old, but also very proud.

Happy Birthday, Caleb. We love you!

What’s Been Keeping Us Up at Nights

Our family has been busy this month…

We took the kids to the Festival of Trees

To Temple Square

A Voice Male Concert

Jon Schmidt’s Concert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXtVBJDPs6k&feature=player_embedded

The Symphony

And then we cancelled the rest of our plans because we’re exhausted! Maybe we’ll venture out again after Christmas.

Out With the Old, In With the New

Maybe I should have waited until after Christmas, but today I decided to clean and purge the kids bedrooms, closets, and toy closet. I do this fairly often, but am especially thorough before school starts in the Fall and at Christmas.
I have to believe the Lord has a great sense of humor, He sent me a certain female child so unlike myself in just about every way possible, but most definitely in the "have to have things clean and organized" way.
Good thing the garbage man comes tomorrow... I think I'm more excited about his visit than Santa's at this point!

Just a Question

If you are too tired to finish your last minute Christmas shopping and decide to go get a pedicure instead, can it be counted as decorating?

I chose red with white/silver snowflakes. Merry Christmas to me, hee hee!

A Special Tradition

For the past seven years, our family has attended the LDS church services on the Sunday before Christmas, in the hospital were Caitlin has received treatment. It is a simple, short, humble, and sweet version of our normal Sacrament Meeting and the Spirit is obvious and strong. Today we sang Christmas hymns and listened to passages of scripture about the birth of our Savior, it was perfect.
I loved the closing prayer where a special blessing was asked for the patients, families, doctors, and caregivers. I would like to imagine a prayer like this being offered almost eight years ago when Caitlin was diagnosed at Christmas.
Vicky and Lauren, we are so happy you could join us. Terry Family, we are praying for you and are so sorry for your loss.

A Few More Photos from the CCCF Party

 

The Most Anticipated Party of the Season

Due to a very special man following through with a dream to make life happier for children with cancer, our family has experienced true kindness from our community and made wonderful memories for the past seven years.

It is a true blessing to be in the company of our cancer friends for two nights in a row each December. Watch volunteers from our community play with and entertain the kids, and most of all, feel the spirit of love , generosity, and service.

Here is the link to the CCCF Party as seen on KSL news:

"BYU basketball hosts 11th annual Christmas cancer party"

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=9060531

It's Beginning to Look (more or less) Like Christmas

Our family lives in a community full of cute and colorful houses. Ours is beige, inside and out (sigh...) If it were up to me, our house would be red, or light green, or a cool shade of blue, maybe yellow, I'm really not sure. What I do know is that our house looks best when decorated for Christmas, it's like adding jewelry to a T-shirt and jeans outfit. It makes my little beige house look happier and helps give it some personality. So, we added the lights (they went up in October before the weather turned bad). The fresh evergreen garland and vintage sleds, skis, and ice skates go up after Thanksgiving. And, as I find new things, those are added as the days grow closer to Christmas.


Inside the house, decorating for Christmas really doesn't take that much effort or time because our decorations are few, but meaningful. In our early married years I collected Eddie Walker Nativities, Santa's, and ornaments- I love them. It's a good thing we got them when we did because she is no longer making them (sad).





Another thing I love is our Christmas art. Caitlin sketched "The Grinch" in her Fourth grade art class and did such a great job. This year she is giving copies as gifts to some lucky people who have blessed her life.



The Santa sketch is my uncle Rob's work from several years ago. When I saw the original, I really wanted it. He found a printing company that could make copies without losing the amazing detail and shading and now I have my very own.



Some of the other things that we get excited about bringing out this time of year are our many Christmas books, music, photos, and toys. There is something special about decorating for Christmas and displaying collections that have meaning and memories.

The Best of 2009

This year we are sending Christmas cards, but no letter. I love to get them, but hate to write them. It has been a great year in many respects though and I wanted to quickly write down the highlights.

January- Caleb was ordained a Teacher in our church and got his braces off. Caitlin won first place (4th Grade) in the science fair at her school. Our family attended the open house for the Draper Temple

February- Caitlin participated in the play, Aristocats. Clint and Jamie (and Caitlin) participated in Financial Peace University

March- Caitlin had a MRI.

April- Clint and Jamie went to Wicked and graduated from FPU. Caitlin, Jamie, Grandma, and Aunt Toni went to Wicked. Our family had a backstage tour and met several actors from Wicked. Our family traveled to San Diego for Easter.

May- Clint, Jamie, and Caleb participated in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. Caleb participated in the Youth Celebration for the temple. Clint and Jamie traveled to New York with friends.

June- Jamie celebrated a birthday. Clint and Jamie celebrated 18 years of marriage

July- Clint celebrated his 40th birthday! Our new niece and cousin, Halle May was born.

August- Back to School, Caitlin is in Fifth Grade, Caleb is in Ninth. Our family went to the Dedication of the Oquirrh Mountian Temple. We met President Thomas S. Monson and Dieter F. Uchtdorf. After working hard for a year, Caleb finished earning $2500 so that he can attend the National Scout Jamboree in 2010.

September- Caitlin celebrated her 11th birthday at the zoo with many friends. Our family participated in our first 5K for Hopekids. We celebrated Caitlin's 6 years off treatment anniversary.

October- Our family traveled to Maine for Camp Sunshine. Caitlin and Jamie traveled to Denver to see Wicked with friends (we have a bit of an obsession!). Caitlin had her second MRI of the year and again, it looked good.

November- Had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Jamie survived an extensive training for her job.

December- Looking forward to Christmas and spending the month enjoying the blessings of the season. Caleb is excited to turn 15 this month and can't wait for Driver's Ed.

Ouch

Yesterday started out like this

It ended up like this

Caitlin started her orthodontic treatment yesterday with an appliance (torture device) called a MARA.  It’s going to be a long couple of days until she gets used to it.

Now we are off to the pediatrician for immunizations and more fun.

The Spirit of Christmas

"The Christmases we remember best usually have little to do with worldly goods but a lot to do with the spirit of caring, the spirit of love, and the spirit of compassion."

-President Thomas S. Monson

Caleb (almost 8) and Caitlin (4 years old and on chemotherapy)

I was reading the Ensign the other day and came across this quote. It made me think of the year I experienced the true meaning of Christmas.

Caitlin was diagnosed with a brain tumor on December 28, 2001 and then relapsed 10 months later, in early November 2002. The relapse was even harder than the initial diagnosis due to knowing more about Caitlin's type of cancer and how a relapse lessened her chances of survival. As the holidays approached I felt hopeless and scared. We were up to our eyeballs in chemotherapy and I just didn't care about gifts, decorations, or anything else that required effort or cheerfulness. I wanted a miracle for my daughter and our family.

The miracle didn't come in the form of healing, but in the form of caring, love, and compassion- those very things President Monson mentioned. These sweet acts of service and love came from my husband and children, from my extended family, from our neighbors, friends, and church members, from our medical team, and from our community. I realized in our trial we were given the best gifts of the season.

This Christmas we are aware of several close friends who are hurting and struggling with trials far larger than what our family has experienced. It is my hope that I can find many opportunities to serve, show love, and lighten a burden, making this another Christmas to remember.

The Most Inspired Christmas Gift

A little over five years ago something rather strange happened. Out of the blue, I had a strong feeling we should get a dog. I played with the idea in my head for awhile before mentioning it to Clint, because out of the two of us, I am definitely the picky one. Once we had talked about it and he seemed to be open to the idea, I started looking at online classifieds for our new family member. Another strange thing is that I knew what kind of dog we should get, a Shih Tzu, even though I didn't know a thing about this breed of dog, or any other for that matter.

A few weeks into the search, we went to my parents house for Thanksgiving as we usually do. Shortly after arriving, my mom mentioned to me that she and my sister had visited a pet store earlier in the week and there were the cutest puppies for sale. I instantly knew our dog was sitting in that pet store, waiting for us.

The day after Thanksgiving, we left Caleb and Caitlin with my dad and the rest of us went in search of "our dog". We found her in a big cardboard box with a whole litter of Chiwawa's, not very nice Chiwawa's I might add. She was a fluffy black and white ball of pure cuteness and I fell in love with her on sight.

My parents bought her for us as a family Christmas gift and to this day, she is the best gift we've ever received.

Daisy came into our lives after being abused by her former owners. She was filled with love and sweetness, but had some fears and insecurities that resulted in some odd behaviors. Our family came into Daisy's life with some fears and insecurities of our own. We were putting our lives back together after a battle with cancer. I believe we were meant to heal and love each other. She was a gift to us, we were a gift to her. We love our Daisy.