Kons Family Chaos

This is the first year in quite some time that we sent out Thanksgiving Cards without a family "newsletter" or "update" or whatever you would like to call it.  There were many reasons it did not happen, mostly related to running out of time before the cards needed to be sent, but now that Thanksgiving is here I am sad it didn't happen.  We have so much to be thankful for.  So, I have decided to just write this year's Kons Family Chaos as a blog post.

The Kons Family Chaos  Volume 10 (I think)

Twenty-thirteen has not been the easiest year in the Kons Family.  It has been wrought with new challenges and obstacles.  But, despite these challenges, we have never felt so blessed.  So, without further ado, here are the top thirteen things I am thankful for in 2013.

1. My husband.  As you know, in late September, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  During the most frightening week of our lives, Matt kept a calm demeanor, made countless phone calls, sat in on disturbing appointments, held my hand, and was just truly my rock.  Now, two months later, he continues to be my champion - he has stepped up, doing lots of the housework, more of the mom-duties, and just generally taking care of all of us.  He is amazing and I couldn't be more thankful that I have a partner in life who is the definition of what it means to be a "good man".
2. My Mom.  When we found out the bad news, my mom went into church the next day (where she worked) and quit her job.  She has been at my house every weekday since.  Her new job, apparently -- taking care of me.  And, wow, has she.  Actually, she mostly takes care of our children, but that is what I need the most right now, in order to be taken care of.  Many people have referred to my mom as a saint, but I don't think they truly know.  She really is.  I am so thankful to have her as a role model, care taker, and friend.  She is amazing.
3. My kids.  Oh boy, these kids are challenging.  Some days, I wonder if they caused me to lose my hair.  But, geez, do they make me laugh and smile.  The thing they give me is the drive to fight this thing.  It was never an option not to, but they make it all worth it.  I want to be there for every ridiculous moment of their lives.  I can't wait to move past this challenging time so I can focus more on just enjoying them again.  I am continually filled with a sense of wonder at their individual personalities, quirks, abilities, and gifts.  I thank God for trusting me enough to be their mom.
4. My family.  Everyone in my family has been so great.  Baby-sitting.  Making soup.  Going to Chemo with me.  Giving me encouraging words.  Giving me all kinds of stuff.  Perhaps the greatest thing they give to me is how they make sure that everyone continues to pray for me.  They share news with their friends and mine, with people I've never met and who have become a part of "Kelly's Army".  They have been there for me every step of the way and I am so grateful that Matt and I have such amazing siblings and parents.  We are so blessed.
5. My friend, Beth.  Beth lives all the way out in Sacramento, CA, but has found ways to be there for me, always.  In this instance, she has organized meal-bringing for our family.  This has been such a blessing.  My energy levels are not what they used to be and I am so grateful that so many people have brought us such delicious, nutritious, allergy-free, food.  My jaw drops three times a week.  Not only that, Beth flew to WI last week just to go to Chemo with me.  She is amazing.  I am so thankful for her love and support.
6. My book club.  How can I describe this group of women?  They are so much more than just a book club.  They are movie-buddies, and travel companions, prayer warriors, and technology geeks.  They are like my second family.  When we started this group over five years ago, I had no idea if it would even last.  Now, I don't know what I do without these ladies.  They keep me sane and real and feeling alive.  I never have as much fun as I do with them.  I am so thankful we all met and that you all brought others into the group and that we have expanded into such an unlikely bunch of friends.  It is really the coolest thing to me.
7. My husband's Sheepshead group.  I am so thankful that Matt has such wonderful friends.  Honestly, I don't think everyone can say that.  These guys give Matt the outlet he needs, while supporting him in a lovingly, yet manly manner.  All of these guys have such great hearts.  And great wives!  Though the wives of the BS Club do not regularly get together (hey, why don't we?!), we have some kind of bond via our husbands.  We roll our eyes at them and laugh at their good-naturedness.  It's lots of fun.
8. My church(es).  Because our kids are still pretty young, Matt and I have not had as much of a chance to get as involved at ECUMC as we were at our old church (OLUMC).  Naptimes and bedtimes seem to get in the way of Bible Studies and social groups.  But, we make it a point to be there almost every Sunday and our children are in the choirs and attend Sunday School, so I suppose we are involved via them (as opposed to on our own as we used to be).  I guess this is why I feel so amazed at the amount of support they have given to us.  Meals and cards, gift baskets, phone calls, visits...so much!  If I don't know them personally, my mom does, and because they love her, I guess they love me.  Wow!  But, not only have the people of ECUMC stepped up to help us out, so have the people of OLUMC, and BDUMC, and...church friends from these older churches who have also moved to new churches have gotten their churches involved in praying for me.  If I had to take a guess, I would say that there are at least twenty churches praying for me, quite possibly many more that I am just not aware of.  Sheesh, that is amazing and so wonderful.  Thank you all for every moment spent asking God to heal me.  He is listening and you are magnificent!
9. Matt's job.  We are so blessed not only that Matt has a good job, insurance, and a place he likes to go to every day, but also that he works with my father and brother.  As far as co-workers go, they could not be more understanding about his plight.  Matt now makes the kids lunches in the morning, and gets them to school when their cello needs a ride or they have early morning Spanish class.  This tends to make him late for work.  I am so fortunate that my Dad and brother are okay with this.  It makes my life so much less stressful.  Not only that, Matt likes where he works and who he works with and the people he works for.  That makes such a difference in life.  Thank God for "The Berrall Kons Group", Bill Berrall and Casey Berrall, and all of their clients!
10. Medical professionals.  I am not going to limit this to just my medical professionals.  Our family had another health crisis(? that may be a bit strong.  I am not sure.) earlier in the year when Hugo spent two days in the hospital for asthma.  I kid you not, at one point I felt like the two nurses looking over him and then at me gave me the sorrowful eyes of death.  I felt like they were giving up on him and were trying to find a way with their eyes to show me sympathy for his eventual demise.  Thank God for people who don't give up and helped Hugo to fight his asthma.  It was a very scary two days holding my normally super-active child who had become very still in his effort just to breathe in and out.  I don't think he was out of my arms during that time for longer than 10 minutes.  And, thank God for miracle medicines; steroids, and inhalers, Chemo (ugh) and antibiotics.  Thank you for superb pediatricians, funny oncologists, smiley surgeons, kind lab people, and nurturing nurses.  You all amaze me.  Thank you for putting up with us crazy mothers and patients.  It can't be easy!
11. A warm house.  Functioning vehicles.  Food on the table.  Books to read.  Toys to play with.  Clothes to wear.  Coats and hats and boots and more hats.  Pictures to smile at and cameras to take them with.  A pretty Christmas tree and soon enough, presents to go beneath it.  A snuggly comforter, and pretty duvet cover to beautify it.  Water to drink and refrigerators to keep it cold.  Ice and ovens and microwaves, computers and iPads, and iPhones and things to keep us entertained.  Pajama pants and silly socks.  Have I mentioned hats?  All somewhat simple.  All, I am profoundly grateful for.
12. My TV.  Yup, this gets its own category.  We have never had a TV in our bedroom before, but Matt went out and bought one the week after my diagnosis.  Almost every night now, we try and watch a light-hearted comedy before going to bed.  Believe it or not, I sleep better with this laughter on my mind.  And when I don't feel good, I have somewhere to lie down and just veg for a few hours.  I still love to read, but more often now when I am a bit dizzy or just plain tired, reading is not the thing to do.  I love my TV.  I love the husband who bought it for me.
13. And finally, I am, of course, thankful for you.  Do you know that I have had a family blog for well over 8 years now?  In that time, according to the site statistics, that website has had a little over 20,000 pageviews.  In the two months that I have had this blog, I have received almost 15,000 pageviews.  Holy moly!  That's insane! Who are all you people?!  Thank you so much for caring about me, my family, our health, our fight.  Thank you for your prayers and your support.  I am so thankful for you.  (And, by the way, would love to know who is all visiting this site.  Why do you not make comments?  You do not need a Google account.  Just choose "anonymous" but then sign your name at the end of your comment.)  Thank you all, so much.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

With all our love and gratitude,
Kelly & Matt
Kyrie, Lariska, Declan, and Hugo

Kons Cousins Kickin' Cancer

Wow, this post is way overdue.  On Sunday, November 18th Matt's cousin, Dawn Kons, was super-awesome and threw a party in my honor that she called The Kons Cousins Kickin' Cancer.  Matt's cousin, Lucy, came and dyed pink hair streaks for anyone who wanted one and not only did many of Matt's cousins come to the party, several Aunts came as well.  Those who could not make it all said they would wear pink that day.  How cool!

Everything at the party was pink.  Pink bread, pink candy, pink snacks, pink favors even.  I brought the girls with me and Dawn even gave them some pink feather boas to wear.  It was so nice to catch up with several of the cousins and to just sit and enjoy a leisurely time with such wonderful people.

Thank you so much, Dawn!  What a truly wonderful thing to do.

Lucy, dyeing cousin Felicia's hair.

 The food!

 A group photo (Carrie Kons and Aunt Janet missed being in the pic)

Hmmm...I don't think I was there for this portion of the afternoon.  Looks good!

Carrie, Aunt Marcia, Kyrie, Lari, and me

Cousin Dawn receiving finishing touches

Lari being goofy

 More hair being streaked.  Fun!!!

Whoops!

I am so sorry I have not posted in so long!  I have many excuses (mostly centered around having four kids, not feeling super-energetic, and the like), but really what good are excuses?  No good.  So, I will just say I am sorry and add that all is well.

To give you a very general update, I felt somewhat lousy last Friday (it's my worst day - the Friday after the Thursday chemo).  Then Matt left to go hunting over the weekend and I was super-crabby.  And, my mother always told me that if you don't have something good to say, don't say it all.  Actually, maybe that was my father???  Regardless, I didn't have much good to say this weekend, other than I was extremely grateful to my mother-in-law, Linda, for taking the girls for the weekend.  And, to my sister, J.J. for taking the boys for a few hours Saturday morning and Declan for most of the afternoon as well - and for taking Declan for a few hours on Sunday, too.  And to Heather Schwar and her girls, Julia and Katie, for coming to entertain Hugo for several hours Saturday evening!  And, to my dad, Bill, for getting Declan to a birthday party on Sunday.  These things helped big-time. 

I wanted Matt to go and have fun with his Dad and brother and cousins and uncles, but on the Saturday after chemo I am still not feeling quite right (very dizzy), and I was feeling a bit abandoned.  The boys are just so in-your-face, and that does not mix well with dizziness.  I really only had them by myself for like a total of 10 hours this weekend, but boy, they weren't easy during those hours.  I am so blessed that so many people helped during those other hours!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And now, if it's okay with you, I will do some "back-posting"  I will pretend I actually posted last week and finish the updates I should have done back then.  If you scroll down, you should be able to see those posts soon.

Thank you!!!!

Thursday, Ugh.

Can I just say that every third Thursday is not my favorite?  It's really not.  The treatment is quick and easy, it's just that I know that the next day I am not going to feel so hot, so I have quickly come to semi-dread this day.  Still, I had my mom, Steph, and sister, J.J. come with me to make it better and easier and they so did.  J. took these photos of me.  I think she thought I looked pretty bundled up in my coat and warm blanket - it was cold, people!  (Do you like my hat?)

 

And, eating cold popsicles does not help!  But, my tongue was super-red and that needed to be documented.

After the treatment, we headed down to the café for some lunch and I think that actually helped me to feel better.  Thank you, Steph, mom, and J.J. for coming with me and keeping it light-hearted and fun.  (Why didn't we get any pics of you guys?!)  And, thank you, Linda, for babysitting!!!

Monday Pics and Info

So, on Monday, November 18th, I had my third round of Chemo.  While, I do not really look forward to getting Chemo, I was kind of looking forward to this day because my oldest and bestest friend, Beth (Mergener) Lawson, flew all the way from California just to come to Chemo with me.  My closest and other bestest friends, Heather (Whitman) Schwar and Jenny Rybarczyk, also came to Chemo with me, and we were planning to have an epic board game.  Laugh all you want, it is a Lego game based on Harry Potter, but really is just a game of strategy, that is extremely fun to play (involving being mean to your opponents while the board is continually changing).  Beth had never played before and I was really looking forward to what I felt was a legendary gathering.  Yeah...I am a bit silly.

Anyway, can you believe Beth won the game?!  Ridiculous.  I have a feeling Jenny and she teamed up while I was busy receiving toxic chemicals. I can't prove anything, but the feeling was in the air.

At our doctor appointment earlier that morning, we learned that the tumor had shrunk again.  Dr. Cheng then told us this new terminology - "Complete Response".  If I understand this correctly, now that we know I have a "minimal response" to Chemo, we can hope for a Complete Response, which would be the cancer "completely melting away".  It sounds like if this happens, then the future prognosis is even better - a better chance the cancer will not return.

Boy, would I like this.  Please put all of your praying power into this happening!  Not to mention, I vaguely mention Dr. Kong (surgeon) saying something about how they have a party when this happens.  I want a party!!!

Complete response.  Complete response.  Complete response.  Complete response.  Complete response.  Complete response.  Complete response!

And now, for some pictures:

The gang, complete with popsicles.

 Co-conspirators Beth and Jenny

 

Here you can see a bit more of the game

Notice Matt's awesome shirt.

 

The "Sew and Sews" at church made me this Chemo Cap that matched my shirt (which Lisa Maas sent me) so nicely.  Thank you!

And, when I got home....more flowers from my sweet husband.  Thank you, Matthew!

Ruby Tuesday

It is so odd that the day after Monday Chemo (so yeah, Tuesday), I actually feel pretty good.  I know it is the wunder-drugs they give me.  One of which is, apparently, a steroid.  But, it sure was an awesome thing this week! 

Long back-story:  My sister-in-law, Carrie's, mom's neighbor (did you follow that?), heard from Carrie's mom, my story.  It sounds like she was very sympathetic to our family and wanted to do something for us.  So...she gave Carrie's mom $100 to give to us.  What?!?!  Wow!!!!

Carrie brought this money with her to our last book club gathering and it engendered a somewhat philosophical conversation (well, it was for me, anyway).  I felt that my family is extremely blessed.  Matt has a good job.  We have insurance.  Yes, this whole nonsense is costing us a pretty penny (which means a sacrifice somewhere else in our monetary lives), but at least we have the means to pay for it.  We are not going broke.  As such, I felt like I should take this money and donate it to cancer research, or to someone who needs it more than we do.

I was surprised that almost everyone disagreed.  They felt, pretty strongly, that this woman (her name is Renee) gave the money, because she wanted me to have it and that I needed to spend it on something that would make me happy.  Carrie knew I had been looking at some Downton Abbey-esque hats on Etsy and that they were extremely expensive.  No way I could justify the cost for a hat.  Carrie said, "Now you can get one of the hats you wanted."  Umm...wow.

Fast-forward now to Beth being in town.  She heard the story as well.  I showed her some of the hats I had been looking at.  She, being extremely clever, did an internet search and discovered there was a store downtown, Anthropologie, that carried some felt hats.  Thus, a field trip was planned.

We headed to the Third Ward, had a grand time at Anthropologie, where I did find a beautiful felt hat, for a lot less expensive than the ones on Etsy, and some presents for some others as well.  (Oh, and Beth and I got matching "Happy Socks"!)  Then, we headed to Café Benelux where we had the most delicious lunch - we shared hamburger sliders and a four-cheese grilled sandwich with bacon and avocado.  Yummmm!   And topped off our day with a stop at Trader Joe's where they sell lots of allergy-free stuff for my boys as well as some extremely superb chocolate.

What a wonderful day!!!  Thank you, Beth, for getting me out on the town!  Thank you, Mom, for babysitting Hugo!  Thank you, Erin Wurtzbacher, for taking Declan home and keeping him for a playdate, which meant I was able to stay out for lunch and not have to come back to pick up, Declan.  It was such a fantastic day.  Thank you!!!

Beth enjoying some tea at Café Benelux - this is a classic-Beth facial expression.  I love it.

 

And now smiling about her tea.

 

And, me, enjoying my hot chocolate!

And here is my new hat!  (Sorry, no make-up or "chemo costume" when I took this picture.)  But, isn't it cute?  I wore it to Thursday Chemo and received several compliments, including a suggestion that I wear it to the Kentucky Derby, which I loved, since I would really love to go the Kentucky Derby someday.  Yay!  A future use for this hat as well!!!

Thank you, Renee, if you read this blog.  I just love it.

Quickie Post

Very quickly (and I will add more later):

- Round 3A complete.  Woo hoo!
- Tumor shrunk again!!!  1cm x 1cm now.  Tiny!
- New terminology - "Complete Response" - this would be the best as it would mean the chemo got rid of all of the cancer even before the surgery.  We would really like this as it means better prognosis for future.  Please pray for "Complete Response"

More later!!!  Lots of pictures as Beth came in from California just to go to Chemo with me.  We had a great time, despite the grumpy nurse.

Can't wait to share more, but I am off to enjoy some time with my friend while she is here for just this last day today.

Lots of love!!!
Kelly

Some Awesomeness

My sister made us these caramel, pretzel chocolate chip cookies.  They are seriously made of a little piece of heaven.  Thank you, J.J.

Confession

When I first received my diagnosis, I have to admit that I received a lot of sympathetic looks and pity stares.  Which I have to say kinda confused me.  I felt like, yes, this is bad, but it could be worse, and I don't intend to give in, and I have every intention of being around for Hugo's high school graduation and to babysit my grandchildren and all that jazz.  Plus, I am not one (in general) to feel overly sorry for myself.  If there is a problem to face, my general attitude is to face it head on; find a solution, solve it, and move on.

I think it was a few weeks ago now that I suddenly realized why all the sympathy...  I believe it was on a day that my mom left a little earlier than she usually does, and it was a good hour before Matt would be home from work.  Kyrie and Lari arrived home from school and Hugo and Declan were running around.  Kyrie probably started asking me incessantly what she could have for a snack, and Declan was probably pretending to be Jay, the blue Ninja, and Hugo was more than likely taking the phone off the hook and dialing China, while Lariska was crying or whining about how someone said something mean to her (Declan or Kyrie, take your pick).  I would've been tired.  And, it was likely on a day when we did not receive a meal and so I needed to start figuring out dinner and just the thought of listening to kids say, "___ again?!" (I mean, do kids ever not complain about eating leftovers?  It doesn't matter if it was the best meal ever, if you try and feed it to them again the next day you are going to get an earful.) made me bang my head against an imaginary wall. And, all of a sudden I felt really sorry for myself and wanted the pity party to begin.  I also just wanted to go lie down on my bed and sleep for a year.

I have yet to get mad about this whole situation.  I figure it is going to happen eventually, but since I have mostly remained in denial about the seriousness of all of this (and I intend to stay that way as long as possible, since it is a much happier place to be) and since I firmly believe that God does not give people cancer, I am not sure exactly what or who to be mad at.  Plus, blaming people or deities doesn't really get you anywhere or change anything.  And since anger takes a whole lot of energy, something I am not particularly stocked up on these days, I think I will just try and avoid this stage for as long as possible.

So...in the middle of trying to balance our already chaotic life, you throw cancer into the mix, and what you get is one very tired Mommy.  Not angry, not sad, not entirely mindless, not 100% crazed, just physically tired, and a bit heart-weary.

And, the ridiculous thing about facing this head-on is that the "moving on" stage is a minimum of 2 years away - 24 weeks of chemo, then surgery with a month to recover, then 6 weeks of radiation, then a year (hopefully!) off, and then reconstructive surgery and 6-8 weeks of more recovery time.  Sheesh!  What the heck?!

Stupid cancer.

"Suck it up, Buttercup!"  (Thank you, Jenny!)  Here is the silver lining that Jeanne told me I would find - I am so blessed to have these four crazy children.  They may have weird quirks and issues with ridiculous things, but they are my children and I love them.  I wanted every single one of them and I am so lucky to have them.  So, even though they exhaust me to the Nth degree, I still feel so fortunate to have them and so blessed to be their mom.  They make me laugh and they make me cry and I love them so much.  So, who needs sleep?  It's over-rated.  I choose these guys.

Some Major Awesomeness

I received the most awesome e-mail today from the sister of a good friend of mine (whose husband also happens to play Sheepshead with mine - you can see Renee' in my Sheepshead post).  I wasn't going to post the whole thing because I feel like it was just too, too nice.  But, I changed my mind.  I guess my thinking is that if it helps anyone else out there to be more aware as it sounds like Lauren (a 6th grader) now is, then it would be well worth it.  And, wow, it is just so nice.

 

Hi Kelly!

While you are so thankful for all of the awesomeness around you, I wanted to write you and thank you for your awesomeness.  You see, Lauren and I are faithful readers of your blog.  By sharing your journey with us, you have reminded us of some important lessons we so soon forget as we get caught up in the busyness of our day to day lives.  You have reminded us not to "sweat the small stuff" and that we are never given more than we can handle; to feel blessed and grateful for each day we are given and to make the most of our time; to be thankful for the family and friends that we have; to be more generous with our time and resources.  More importantly, you have given the gift of awareness to my daughter.  My mother-in-law is a breast cancer survivor and went through her diagnosis and treatment before Lauren was born.  I pray that through this awareness and following your journey, it will give her cause to be faithful in the years to come with self-exams and regular mammograms at an early age especially with the heredity factor. 

She has begged me for a pink hair extension since reading your "hair shaving" entry and seeing Aunt Jenny's.  Here she is as a member of Team Kelly:

 

Thanks again Kelly for sharing your personal journey and for your AWESOMENESS!!

You have our continued prayers and love,

Renee'

Wow.  I wonder if I will ever stop being amazed by this whole experience.  Welcome to the Army, Lauren.  I think you are the awesome one!!!!  And, I love what you have done with your hair!

Kelly's Army Across the States

Love it. My very oldest, bestest friend, Beth, was recently at Disney Land with her family.  She took this picture:

Kelly's Army in California!  So cool!

And...my long lost cousin, Pat Monahan, recently entered a tennis tournament, I believe near where he lives in Florida.  This is taken from the article he sent,

"The Landings was the site of more than the Grand Prix this past weekend. Tennis Director Paul D’Amico and his staff also hosted the Second Annual Pink & Blue Charity event, which sought to raise funds for chemotherapy chairs at Lee Memorial Regional Cancer Center. 

The Pink & Blue was a fun mixed doubles, round robin competition.  Eight teams played in the event and at the end of the three rounds, Lori Emmons and Patrick Monahan emerged as the Top team, and Jan and Terry Carlson claimed second." 

Here they are, the winners!  Patrick Monahan and Lori Emmons!  Playing tennis in Florida for Chemo chairs.  So cool!  Thanks for sending this to my Dad!!!  It is good to know what you are up to and wonderful that some of what you are up to is helping to fight cancer!

Update

Apparently, I am not doing a very good job of keeping everyone updated.  My mom and sister inform me that people are asking them to tell me to say "how I am doing" on this here blog.  Hmm...I guess I thought that was kind of boring.  But, since the people demand it, I can certainly comply.

My last Chemo date was 2B on Thursday, October 31st.  So far, it seems like the Friday following that second treatment is the roughest day for me.  And, seriously, it isn't that bad.  I just don't feel super-good that day.  I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I take anti-nausea drugs Monday through Thursday and then on Friday I have nothing.  I almost think it is the coming off of those drugs that throws me off even more than the Chemo.  But, it does seem that by Saturday I am pretty good.

I am tired.  A lot.  But, I equate it to pregnancy.  It is something you just get used to.  When I can, I lie down in the afternoons and either take a nap, read a book, or watch a little TV.  The tiredness is partially due to having Chemo and partially due to being the mom of four young-ish children.  I think at least 70% of nights one of our kids wakes us up at least once, if not multiple times.  That's just the way it goes when you have kids.

Sometimes it is just Hugo squawking in the middle of the night and he goes back to sleep pretty fast.  But, sometimes Declan needs someone to accompany him to the bathroom.  Friday night it was Lariska - throwing up.  Matt heroically handles all of those calls, but I am still awake.  And, it still takes me awhile to fall back asleep.  Especially, if my brain gets revved up.

Yeah...it's just the way it goes when you have kids.  So, you add that to the fatigue of your immune system trying to fight the Chemo and it equals a slightly higher degree of tiredness than what you are generally used to.  But, it's doable.

In fact, I think I have been a lot better this round than I was last round.  I told my mom and sister -- like pregnancy, I think I am just getting used to being tired.  It is the new norm.  My mom tells people my energy-levels are not what they used to be.  That's definitely true.  I am not sprinting after Hugo as fast as I used to.  I don't catch his cup with Spiderman-like reflexes like I used to.  I move a bit slower now, but I think overall, it's really not that bad.

So, I have a few more days left of the "nadir" (when the immune system is at its lowest), and then I get a couple of days of normalcy(???), or I suppose a couple of days for my immune system to build itself back up again, and then I go back in for my third round of Chemo on Monday, November 18th.  I see the Oncologist before the Chemo and that is when I get an update on how everything is working.  Yay!

Thank you so much, for asking how I am.  You are all so wonderful to care so much.  I really appreciate it.  Please keep praying!  I really believe in the power of prayer and think it is working!  Thank you!!!!

P.S.  A lot of the reason I am doing so good is because my mom is here everyday helping out.  She chases Hugo a lot and often makes lunch for the boys.  I am playing less of the "Mommy" than I used to, which is highly frustrating for me, but also really nice of my mom.  I am trying to remind myself that I am doing a bad job of doing my job (being Mommy) right now, so that I can do a better job later.  Something else that has really helped has been all of the meals we have received. It is so nice, when the girls come home from school, many nights, not have to worry about what's for dinner or finding the energy to make that dinner.  Thank you all so much for your generosity and time in bringing us meals three days of the week.  It has made a HUGE difference.  (And, Beth has informed me that she opened up the Take Them A Meal for 2014, when I will start doing Chemo once every week.)  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

Some Awesomeness

I am very embarrassed that I have not posted this one yet.  Actually, I am super-embarrassed that I have not sent out a single thank you card to anyone yet, to let them know how grateful I am for the things they are doing.  I hope you all know.  But still, I am super-rude.

In actuality, I could've sworn I posted this.  But, I think what probably happened is that I wrote the post in my head, while not-sleeping one night, and then thought I had done it when I hadn't.  Sigh.

Okay, so here is the actual awesomeness:

Matt's Aunt Tricia sent us this beautiful blanket (like two weeks ago now!) all the way from Nevada.  Not an easy feat.  Aunt Tricia, I don't think you know this, but Kyrie just adores animal prints.  She wrapped it around herself immediately upon my taking it out of the box.

 

On the same day we received Aunt Tricia's blanket, we were at the hospital waiting to see my Oncologist (before Chemo) when my surgeon, Amanda Kong, came in.  She had a huge bag and a big smile.  Apparently, she has a patient who travels all the way from Chicago to drop off prayer blankets for her to give to her other patients.  Just that day she had dropped one off and had told Amanda to give it to someone "special".  Amanda turned to the nurse who was with her and said, "I know who I want to give it to."  Just as the nurse said, "Oh!  I know who should have it."  They counted to three and Amanda said, "The Kons family."  The nurse said, "That family with four kids!"  And that's when they found out we were actually right there waiting to see Dr. Cheng.  She was very excited to give it to me and explained this whole story to me.  I, indeed, felt very special.  Thank you, Dr. Kong and patient!

And now, I have to further explain why my children are wearing them.  I have received a number of blankets over the past month and love each and every one of them.  But, there is only so many blankets you can snuggle into on the couch.  When Aunt Tricia's arrived and I saw those animal prints, I just knew Kyrie would love it.  And, when this one with pink ribbons all over came home with us, I just knew it was made for Lariska.  You see, my girls need prayers, too.  They are dealing with a tired Mommy who sometimes doesn't show up for breakfast or dinner, but instead goes back to sleep or stays in bed to watch some TV.  They understand more than the boys do, they ask questions, they feel the concern of others, they know this is bigger than they comprehend.  I knew when these two blankets arrived in our home on the same day, that I would give them to my girls, so that they could feel your love and prayers, too.  So, Kyrie and Lariska have them on their beds.  And, they just love them.  Thank you.

Selfie

Since playing the new "Trendy Apples to Apples" that Shelley Estes gave to me, I have learned a new word - Selfie.  Of course, now that I know this word, I have seen it everywhere.  Well, everywhere being defined as FaceBook anyway.  Selfie, apparently, is a picture of yourself, taken by yourself.  I am really not into selfies.  But, this morning, I couldn't help it.  Check me out:

My sister-in-law, Cathy, purchased a couple hoodies for me right after my diagnosis, having read that I would need them after surgery.  Well, it turns out that surgery is a long way off, but she still thought I should have the hoodies.  I zipped it up this morning and went to brush my teeth; checked my look in the mirror and thought it was pretty awesome that the hat I wear to bed (made by Dena McDowell's mom - it is very comfy, cozy and fun) kinda matched the hoodie.  Ummm...sweet.

I don't know, I kind of delight in this kind of nonsense.  I have a number of hats, scarves, bandanas, "chemo caps", etc. but you wouldn't believe how challenging it is to try and find the right one for each outfit.  I am not into fashion.  I like looking nice.  I don't always know how to make that happen.  Sometimes I settle for silly, instead.

So...you wouldn't believe my giddiness when I had this epiphany - the socks that Cheri Beck gave to me come in a set of three and while they all coordinate, they don't exactly match.  I don't think Cheri knew that I love wearing silly socks.  I think it is great fun to look (kinda) put together, only for a little craziness to peak out from the pants legs.  I think it is sort of a metaphor for me - serious on the outside, but crazy underneath.  I seriously had a fit of giggles this morning when I realized how awesome these socks are.  And she gave me two sets!  (That means, I have another day of giggles coming this week!)  Of course, part of the fun was how well the socks coordinated with the hoodie and hat.  Such an easy morning.  So much fun.  Thanks for making my day, guys!  It's been a great one!

 

 

So Much Awesomeness

Having cancer sucks.  I mean, it really sucks.  But the crazy weird thing is that every time I start to get down or depressed something comes along to cheer me up and remind me how blessed I am.  I think that we all know that we are loved, but it takes something like cancer for you to find out just how much you are not only loved and cared for, but just how far people will go to express that to you.  It's very neat.  It's also overwhelming.  It's super-cool.  It sometimes makes me feel kinda bad - like there's no way I am ever going to be able to repay all this kindness in my life.

I want to continue to share all of this awesomeness with everyone.  But, I also want everyone to know that they don't have to give me things to make me feel loved.  Your words, your thoughts, your smiles, your time, your laughter, your prayers - that's all I really need.  And, I am so thankful for all of those.  Thank you!

That being said, now I need to share a whole lot of awesomeness with you...

I think it was on the same day that my sister-in-law, Carrie, found out about my diagnosis that she also heard about Legacy Bracelets.  She got my family to send photos to her and made this beautiful bracelet for me.  Oh my goodness, how sweet.  And, this bracelet is so beautiful.  I really love it.  I am looking forward to wearing it to Chemo and showing it off to everyone there!  Thank you, Carrie!

On Monday, Matt's very good friend, Bryan Rutsch's wife, Christina (did that make any sense?), made us the most awesome dinner.  Ham, rolls, mashed sweet potatoes, pumpkin muffins, and my children's most favorite thing - fruit!  (All of it labeled for allergies!  You have NO idea how nice that is.)  It was such a perfect family-friendly, healthy, yummy meal.  If this is how the Rutsches eat, I would like to have dinner with them every night!

Christina, also made this wonderful care box for me.  Magaizines, decaf(!) tea, a tea mug, warm socks, candy, and my favorite - pajama pants!  I love pajama pants!  I would wear them all the time if I could.  Thank you so much Rutsch Family!

Can you believe this tray of fruit?!  My children were in heaven!

And this evening, we had another super-fabulous meal from the Wurtzbachers - also all allergy labeled!  Wow!  You guys rock!  Erin made us lemon chicken.  Seriously - lemon chicken!  Broccoli (another family favorite) and rice.  So good!  Seriously, I have never eaten so good in my life as we have this past month.  We are getting SO spoiled.

And...as if dinner was not enough, Erin had this water bottle made for me!  With Team Kelly on it.  Awww...that was SO nice.  Thank you so much, Wurtzbachers.  I am supposed to drink a lot of water (64 oz. a day, say what?!) - this will definitely help me to do so in style.  Thank you.

Finally, for this installment, the Mass Family from our church sent me a care package in the mail today.  I didn't know this, but Lisa had breast cancer 5-1/2 years ago and kicked it.  Yay, Lisa!  She sent me all kinds of fun things that the kids loved, probably none so much as these masks:

But, I enjoyed her note. (Oh! And, the Super Man/Mom t-shirt!  LOVE it!)  She had lots of great tips and just a really encouraging message.  Lisa, I do know who you are and I hope we can talk very soon!  I am hoping to be at church this Sunday, but honestly, I am a bit overwhelmed with the thought of all of the people.  Is that weird?  I am a well-adjusted introvert, but any time I am around large groups of people I feel intimidated.  Knowing that so many people are going to want to talk and encourage me makes me feel wonderful and scared all at the same time.  I have been hiding behind the fact that Hugo has, until just this week, still taken a morning nap.  But, he seems to have made the leap to afternoons now (maybe...he didn't do so good today...), so I am going to have to stop using his naptime as (what I think is a very good) excuse.

Love You Through

My husband sent me this stupid tear-jerking video (Cathy also made me a copy of this song on mix CD she titled "Kick It Kelly").  I love them both.