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Friday, February 24, 2012

Sorry for the delay in updates.

Devin continues to do well. He takes about 20 pills a day to keep his Crohns in check. Other than a flare or two here and there he seems to be doing well. He's actually gaining weight in addition to getting taller, so that is all good. He loves school, stays busy and is getting ready to get his driver's license!

Little sister will turn 14 next month. She has had health issues of her own that have put tremendous stress on the entire family. Evidently the car accident she was in several years ago continues to cause serious problems.

January 13th Willie (black lab) got sick. After weeks of illness, tests and medications, he passed away on Feb 17. Two days later our guinea pig passed away. Maddie is very lonely and our house is much too quiet.

We appreciate you continuing to check on Devin and our family.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Things are busy.

The kids are back in school. Kara started the 18th of August and is in 8th grade; so far, so good.

Devin started the 22nd of August. He loves it, but still
having gastro issues. Waiting on word from the gastro dr.
as to what the next step is. Its not fair.

The left ankle bone he broke on July 4th is looking better. He wore the boot for 3 weeks and has been being careful. We flew out to OK, then drove into Missouri and
his health cooperated. We saw grandparents, went to Silver
Dollar City, went to a family reunion, visited the
Bohannon family, spent time at Tablerock Lake....and more.
It was a fun, exhausting trip.

We had a St. Judes event (5K, 10K, fun run) last weekend. It went well. Our entire family volunteered and had a good
time. Hoping to double our number of participants for
next year.

Light the Night is coming up the end of this month. I'm
also headed out to Washington D.C. the middle of the month
for a big St Baldricks event. My friend, Sam, is one of
the 46 Mommas............www.46mommas.com

Life is busy. We'd like to forget about 'c', but
unfortunately its always at the forefront of our minds.

Thanks for continuing to check in on our family and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

The colonoscopy/endoscopy went well last Wednesday.
There was actual IMPROVEMENT with his Crohns......we
were all shocked! Evidently the 'miracle drug' has
been working! Lucky for Devin, after 6 weeks of
fighting the insurance company, the drug has been
approved.

Vitamin D level continues to decline. We got a call
from Latent Effects to schedule appointments to get
to the bottom of the problem.



Donate to Devin's Cure Search Team today!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Devin finished 9th grade last Thursday. He has
been sick and in bed ever since. He was only off
of the 'miracle' drug for a few days before his
symptoms came back with full force. He's just
taking the Entocort and his other 'preventative'
drugs right now............they aren't working.
His gastro. has scheduled for ANOTHER colonoscopy
and endoscopy on the 15th...fun.

We got news on the dexa scan and it was not good.
He has been diagnosed with Osteopenia everywhere...
all bones are not looking good. The dexa right
after chemo completion was 'good'.........evidently
the steroids continued to wreck havoc even after
he was off of them. Lovely. I guess I was a little
surprised his lower spine wasn't worse than any other
areas, due to the numerous lumbar punctures, but just
glad that it wasn't. I'm just glad right now that
they aren't talking about avascular necrosis...we've
had that scare a few times.

He is still running a low grade fever and not keeping
much food down. He sleeps 18-20 hours a day. When he
is up he talks non stop about getting back on his bike
and racing again. It is definetly something he has
high hopes to be doing again soon. I sure hope so. I
just want him to be able to do 'normal' 15 year old boy
stuff...not have to worry about what is going on with
his body. Questioning if this damn cancer has somehow
taken up residence once again. I hate it. He hates it.
We all live on the edge it seems, waiting for the other
shoe to drop.

He'll find out in mid July about his AP Geography class,
but he feels good about it. I do too. He's got pretty
much a photographic memory when his body has the fuel
in it to make it work. He's certainly got that on his
side.

We've signed up to walk for 'Cure Search' this summer.
I'll get the details posted soon. I'm still looking for
a good picture to put on the donation site. I don't know
exactly what picture I am looking for, but I'll know it
when I see it.

Thanks for checking in on our family. Please leave Devin
a message.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Devin has been sick now for a week. He came home
from school last Wednesday not feeling good and has made
very little improvement. He missed last Thursday, but
made himself go on Friday so he could take his first
AP (Geography) exam. By the time school was over on
Friday afternoon he was wiped completely out.

He has been having 'Crohns' issues for quite some time.
He's been on and off of flagyl several times this year
in attempts to get him to feel better. This go around
his gastro decided to try something different. Our
insurance thought Dev's dr. must be crazy so they denied
coverage on the drug. Not once, but three times. In
the meantime Devin continues to get sicker. He is
sleeping about 16 hours a day and when he is up, he is
'not' with it. Weak, hurting, irritated.

Finally the doc's office got ahold of the drug rep for
the 'miracle' drug and had a supply donated. 2o pills
was supposed to cost around $800. We got a few more
and Devin started them on Thursday night; along with his
regular Entocort (just FINALLY got drug assistance on
this drug to knock my copay from $636 to $30 per month).

We have seen NO improvement. I had Devin up and dragging
him all over the city yesterday for various bloodwork and
to see the pediatrician. For whatever reason the gastro
thought maybe the ped. could figure out something. The
only thing he figured out was that Devin was terribly
sick and it was most likely due to his body being down
due to this damn Crohns.

To say we are worried is an understatement. We have seen
how quickly Devin's condition can worsen. It is very
scary. No news on anything today; including the latest
bone density test that was re-administered last week.

I am exhausted from worry. I have bought everything in
the grocery store to try and find something....anything
he can eat. I do think for the most part he wants to eat,
but doesn't like the side effects. He is one sick puppy.

Thank goodness he doesn't have cancer anymore, but WHY
should this be the PRICE for being CURED of childhood cancer? These chemo drugs are TOXXXXXIC for everyone,
but especially children. I know as discouraged as I feel, he feels more so. He is fifteen years old. He just wants
to do his thing and not deal with illness or doctors.
Sometimes I wonder what we have done. I cannot imagine
life without him, but wonder how much 'life' really means
when you feel like this all of the time.

Please, if you are feeling generous and even if you're
not, check out these charities that are in need of your
donations. The ones that specifically target children's
cancer are especially close to my heart. We've got a
friend in Boise, ID doing a St. Baldricks event this weekend.
We were hoping to make it, but looks like we
will be staying close to home.

St Baldrick's!!!!


Thanks for continuing to keep Devin in your prayers. We
appreciate you.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Devin has been very sick. I thought it was just a virus
and took him to his pediatrician. The only problem he
could find was a vitamin D deficiency. White blood count
was a little low, but nothing alarming. He stayed home
and rested for a few days, but no real change. I finally got ahold of the gastro nurse and got in to see the gastro.

Gastro took more blood and his vitamin D has gone DOWN MORE since being on supplements. His body is not
processing things correctly, therefore he is sick all
the time. Gastro is ordering a 'mal-absorption test', as
well as another bone density/dexascan. He has broken 7
bones since off chemo.

Gastro has also suggested getting Devin a 504 or IEP to
get a little school stress off of him. The school stress
(he insists on A's and B's) is keeping his Crohns flared
up. He has been sick.......and sick and sick some more.

He's back on flagyl, although he doesn't test positive for
any c-diff. He'll keep going on 10 days, off 10, then back on until this stops working. They have upped his entocort again............so we'll see if he can get well.

Kara is back in physical therapy due to onngoing problems
from the car accident back in August of 2006. She is also going to a rehab medicine doctor due to no longer responding to botox; although since her trapezoid muscles
haven't been 'shot up' yet, they are considering that. We got her IEP in place yesterday due to some 'brain scrambling' from the accident. Geez.

Dev finally got a haircut tonight. We are headed out to
Mexico TOMORROW night for some R and R. Hoping to come home to less stress.

Thanks for your prayers.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Happy Birthday Devin!!!

The boy who doctors thought might not make
it to see age eight is now FIFTEEN!!!!!!!

Thank you to all who continue to pray for
Devin's lifelong remission.

We appreciate you all!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

I come to this site to ask for prayers. New kids
being diagnosed, people on the street relapsing after
15 years off treatment, new problems arising from
these horrible chemo treatments.

Devin is doing well. His cast comes off tomorrow.
He's found a way to ride his bike while in his cast,
so needless to say its in poor condition. He's on
blood thinners, so once again had to forgo getting
his wisdom teeth out. Its always something.

Kara is trying her hardest to flunk 7th grade. Why someone who is so smart tries so hard to sabatoge her
life, I have no idea. Its times like these that I
am so thankful that I really had a 'village' of people
while I was growing up. The unconditional love of both
sets of grandparents, along with cousins, aunts and
uncles really helped me feel good about myself while
growing up. Thank you to those of you who continue
to keep our family and my kids in your prayers. It
seems the world is such a hateful place sometimes that
your prayers and positive thoughts are certainly
appreciated.

Oklahoma is still snowy and icy. GG spent most of
the week home due to work being closed. T-shirt
Grandpa tried to 'prep' for a colonoscopy and got
himself in a horrible situation. His seizures are
in full swing and he is not at all 'with it'. This
morning he really fell and hurt himself. He is in the
hospital now undergoing surgery. Hopefully they will
get him stable and send him up (50 miles) to the VA.
He's got full benefits up there and any bills incurred
at the local hospital cause a huge headache.....

Speaking of HUGE bills, found out my favorite husband's
boss changed our insurance policy. LOVELY....not. We
now owe THOUSANDS in hospital bills for Dev's scans,
surgery, my MRI, etc., etc.................at this
point just glad that nothing we owe is actually
c-related.

I FINALLY got pain relief this week. I went to yet
another doctor ($$$$$$$$) and he re-read my MRI.
He found new things that the radiologist missed.
Long story short; I had a 'cervical epidural' on
Wednesday and feel human again!!!! I feel so much
better that I have plans on getting back on my exercise
routine and back on track!!

In other news, my 'rental' is back on the market again.
Our 'friends' decided to split up and have left us in a
bit of a mess. I've got the house listed, but nothing
is happening so far. Scary!

Ok, that is it for now. I will write more when I have
something positive to say.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Devin's surgery went well on the 28th. The surgeon
put in two permanent screws on the outside of the ankle.
He felt the other break would heal on its own. He left
Devin in a splint, which doesn't seem to give much
protection. HOPEfully this Monday he will receive a
cast.........

We went up to PCMC on Tuesday to visit the urologist.
I was NOT impressed. He wants to 'wait' and see when
Devin is in excruciating pain, then do emergency surgery.
Not my idea of a pro-active approach. I wish he would have
reviewed the scans and saved us the trouble of getting out
of school early and navigating the hospital with crutches
(not to mention the snow and ice). I could have sent him
his copay easy enough.

Finally got news on my MRI last night: bulging and protruding discs in my cervical spine. Hoping to see
yet another dr. for some pain management soon.

Dev is in good spirits. He is disappointed with NOT
being able to snowboard, but is hoping the cast doesn't
last all snow season.

Great news we'd like to share! Our friend, Tias, up
in Idaho finished his treatment for NHL the end of
December. He's on the five year countdown to cancer
free status. Our friend Jana, who was on the same
protocol as Christopher, just had a BABY boy!!! Its
so exciting to hear good news from our cancer friends.

Hope you are enjoying your new year!! Thanks for the
prayers and continued well wishes.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas!

Things were going a little too smooth around here.
Devin was doing all the fun things that teenagers like
to do and was attacked by the dreaded Crohns.....

A CT to check for any 'new' gastro issues showed he
now has kidney stones.......

He was playing around on the stairs on Thursday night
and fell wrong...........broke his ankle in TWO places!
We spent a while in the ER and will see the ortho dr.
AGAIN.

NO more snowboarding this year...........we will see
when the swelling goes down if he requires surgery.

We are glad Grandma Gwen is spending Christmas vacation
with us. It should be an exciting (sarcasm) week this
next week with many visits to the hospital for the
various issues.

Friday, October 8, 2010

A lot has happened since the last update. Anita passed
away on 9-23-10. Her service was on the 25th in Seattle.
Randy was able to fly out, but the kids and I stayed home.
She is having another memorial service up in Farmington
later this month, so hopefully we will be able to make
it to that service.

Devin had his first bike race on the 25th of September.
He WON!! It was by default, but he won. Some of the
kids were cheating (didn't have gears blocked) and they
were disqualified. Interesting. Lots to learn about
bike racing.

Randy's dad landed up in the ER last week. The next day
he was in surgery getting a defibulator/pacemaker. He
is not feeling so good and we've been unable to go visit
him at home due to excessive illness at our house. Devin
has been sick most of this week and went to the dr. today
with high blood pressure, dizziness and headaches......
dr. says sinus infection (after horrible cold) and
dehydration. Chest xray was clear......waiting on results
of blood work; including results of Epstein Barr (mono)
test. Z-pack for now.....plus an order to take it easy,
get lots of fluids and rest.

Grandma Gwen came in this morning. Our big Light the Night
walk is tomorrow night: October 9th It looks like Devin
is doing really well with his fundraising. There is still
time to donate if you'd like:

Devin's Light the Night page

Thanks for checking in on us. We've got some upcoming
trips planned to meet up with some of our CB friends..
getting excited about that!

Please sign the guestbook!

Thanks

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Devin landed up in the emergency room Wednesday
with a caffeine overdose. He had actually ordered
caffeine powder online and created his own drink.
He drank a bottle from the bottom of the batch which
was loaded.........it was not good.

He called me from school to talk to me. I couldn't
really understand him. He was talking too fast and
not making much sense. I picked him up, brought
him home and called poison control. Poison control
made me read the packaging contents and told me to
take him to the ER. Evidently these energy drinks
are worse than anyone ever thought......a teenager
in SL valley died Tuesday night from energy drink
overload. Too much stress on his heart......talk
about scary!

At the ER the doctors and nurses hooked him up and
questioned him thoroughly. They explained to him
that those drinks are NO good for anyone; especially
someone who has been through chemo! (Some of the
chemo drugs Devin took actually can cause damage to
his heart)

After some IVs and drugs to counteract the caffeine he
was sent home with instructions to NOT drink these
drinks again!! However, the doctor was impressed that
Devin seemed to have a business plan for distributing
his drinks.......glad that didn't get off the ground!

On Sunday we will celebrate Devin's FIVE YEARS off
treatment. We've got several 'surprises' in the works...
its just unbelievable that we are at this point.

IF you live in the Salt Lake area, we'd like to invite you
to attend 'Alex's Lemonade Stand'. We will be helping
with that event on Saturday. Here's the link if you feel
inclined to donate.

Brinley's Grandstand

As we celebrate what we HOPE will be the end of Devin's experiences with cancer, we also are saddened that Anita is coming to the end of her battle with cancer. She is currently on hospice and surrounded by her family. Cancer
just isn't fair. They both fought long and hard, but
two totally different outcomes. Just not fair.

Thanks for checking in on our family.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Hello Friends!

This month is almost over! D and K start back to
school on Monday. I think they are both ready.
It has been a fun summer, but I honestly think they
are ready for school. I cannot believe Kara will be
in 7th grade! She is excited and got a new '7th grade'
haircut last night. I think she is ready.

Devin is growing and growing. He'll have his FIVE
YEARS OFF TREATMENT scans soon. I have not scheduled
them. I don't know if the people in the clinic will
recognize him........he is about 5'10"!!! He is
just doing so well. He's really loving riding his
bike.....a Trek........same as Lance Armstrong. He's
begging for flight lessons and just being a teenager.
He's come a long way and its just exciting to see him
thriving. A few Crohns flares, but hoping those will
leave him alone soon. He doesn't need to lose any more
weight!

As friends, family and followers of this site you know
that September is CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS month.
Some friends and I are working on trying to actually
get some awareness this year. If you'd like to help,
please e-mail me at tiredofcancer@yahoo.com It would
also be helpful to 'friend' me on facebook. Seems
we're meeting more there...and less here.

Devin's big OFF TREATMENT day is September 19. Five
years off treatment. A milestone to say the last...
its still very difficult to comprehend. When we were
told back in September of 2003 that he would have to make
it to 9-19-10 in order to be considered cured I honestly
couldn't see that far down the road. Thanks for the hours
of prayers, positive thoughts, research, babysitting, dog
sitting, etc., etc.. that have helped Devin and our family
reach this goal. I truly believe YOU all had a big part
in getting him to this goal. Thank you, thank you, thank
you.

We've got something in the works to CELEBRATE Devin's
big day. Its a work in progress, but I think it will
be something Devin will enjoy.

Again, I'll remind you our family is participating in
the Light the Night through the Leukemia Lymphoma
Society on October 9th. If online credit cards aren't
your thing, send me an email and we'll work out a way
to get a check or cash.

Donate today!


Thanks again from a very grateful mom to Devin.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Sorry for the lack of updates.

I'd tell you that Kara got a guinea pig, but unfortunately it passed away yesterday. We bought it off of the online classifieds and it was almost 4 years old. We had a funeral and burial last night.

Devin DID take his first flight lesson a few weeks ago.
He is waiting for some money to come his way before he is officially signed up for lessons. One of these days.

Randy went to the ortho doc last week and has a torn
ACL. He is scheduled to have surgery on Sept 9th after
his trip/work schedule slows down a bit. I think he is
trying to get all of his frequent flyer miles this month.

Kara is doing better. We MADE her take math in summer school. I don't know that she learned anything, but she did get the point that she needs to DO SOMETHING with her school work besides hide it in her book. Pretty interesting class she was in........several juvenile delinquents. We told her not to get too friendly with any of them.........especially since most of them were SKIPPING the summer school class.

Our renters moved out effective 7-31-10. I have never seen a filthier house. Every wall in the house had been painted at least ten times, then repainted. I'm thinking maybe Helen Keller had a hand in the painting. It is unbelievable!

Did I mention that the renter's dog ruined the a/c?
Excessive peeing in the same location. They handed me
some receipt for a half-a$$ repair job that is NO longer
working. I'll meet the A/C guy over there tomorrow and
see what we need to do. I had cleaning people over there
today and also got the locks changed. Yesterday I got
the garage door repaired. Every where I look I see another
problem. This puts me in a bad mood!

Devin fell almost two weeks ago in a skateboard/longboard
accident. I took him to the ER, where they thought he had
a broken arm and pelvis. Turned out he had neither, but
they casted his arm because they felt it WOULD break if not
set. After a week or so of limping around he is almost
back to normal. He did have to cancel his golf camp. (He
took one week of golf camp before his accident)

Tomorrow we attend the kick off for the Light the Night.
We do have TEAM DEVIN ROSS set up.

Donate today!

Not much else to report here. Thanks for checking in with us.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Happy July!!

We had a wonderful time visiting family in Seattle both
before and after our cruise! On the way out we were able
to see Randy's cousins Scott, his wife Amy and daughter Emily, as well as cousin Tracy and her middle daughter, Heidi. We had a great dinner visiting with Bud, Anita
and family.

On the Saturday of our cruise we were able to meet up
with long time caringbridge friend, Lynn Worley. She
met up with us for breakfast, took us for a tour of
Seattle, fed us lunch then took us to meet up with the
cruise ship! It was fun to meet her in person after
corresponding with her for MANY years!

The cruise was great! Rain was forecasted, but the
weather couldn't have been nicer. We didn't see any
rain until arriving back in Seattle! We saw brown
bears, whales, seals and TONS of bald eagles!
We rode a sea plane, went on hikes, visited
glaciers and just generally had a good time. LOTS of family time; when
Devin wasn't busy with his 'teen group'. I think
Devin had more fun than anyone on the boat. He had
a smile on his face 24/7!! Kara; not so much, but
I keep getting told that "she's at that age"....hmmm.

Lots of pictures to share. I'll leave you with a few
of my favorites!

Thanks for checking in on Mr. Devin. He is doing well
and looking good. He's scheduled to get his braces off
the first part of August. He's hoping to get a team
together for LIGHT THE NIGHT (Leukemia Lymphoma Society)
It will be here in SLC on October 9th. All are welcome
to join our team. I'll get some details on here soon.

GG is coming out on the 4th, so we are excited for her
visit! Hope everyone has a safe fourth!!


Randy, the favorite nephew, with his favorite aunt!


Group minus photographer(Amy) at Bud and Anita's



Lynn, Alisa, Devin & Kara at Seward Park


Leaving Seattle! Beautiful sunny skies!!


Our family in Ketchikan, Alaska


Momma bear and 2 cubs


Devin and Kara with Mendenhall Glacier in the background


Close up of Mendenhall Glacier


Waterfall at the base of Mendenhall Glacier


Two bald eagles in a tree


Picture of the ship deck in Glacier Bay


Seals hanging out on glacier ice in the bay


Devin with 'Sarah Palin' at a store in Skagway, AK


Welcome to Prince Rupert!


Devin & Kara in front of a totem pole in Canada


Kara and dad checking out the scenery.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

I guess I spoke too soon about things all going well.

On Thursday night Kara was cleaning a large vase for
her fish. Something went wrong and it busted; cutting
both of her hands and wrist. We rushed her to the ER
and they sewed up both hands and wrist. She has a
big gash on her left hand and wrist and a smaller
cut on the right hand. She is bandaged up and moving
a bit slower than normal.

Devin went to Lagoon with his school on Friday. On
Saturday he slept in, but when he got up he wasn't
feeling good. His jaw was swollen and he was feeling
chilled.

Sunday he slept a lot and was chilled, but Monday he
acted like he was feeling better. He went to school,
but by 10am he was calling me to pick him up. His cheek
was swollen more and he had the hole in his cheek like
he did back on 4-14-03. (At that time we were told he
had parotitis.........infection of the parotid gland)

Randy took him to the doctor and was told he had
Cellulitis. He was put on Augmentin twice a day and
was supposed to be feeling better by now. No such
luck. His swelling is going into his ear and his
other cheek is now swollen, but not droopy right now.

The pediatrician ran a CBC, as well as a test for
mumps; since we are not sure if Devin's immunizations
are still good due to chemo. The mumps came back
negative and so far all blood work is in the normal
range. My mind wanders, but I do think this doctor
is keeping a close eye on Devin. He called to check
on him TWICE yesterday. Still waiting to hear from
him today.

Kara and Devin were supposed to see the orthodontist
today. I called and cancelled Devin's appt, but now
the ortho wants to see him in the morning to see if
the braces are doing anything to irritate his mouth
further.

Anita is still hospitalized. Things are not going
exactly as planned, but she seems to be getting
stronger. We are excited to see her on the 11th.

Thanks for your prayers. Please sign the guestbook.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Four months from today Devin can say he is CURED
from cancer! WOW!

I've got some recent pictures to share. He is doing
so well. He's excited to be done with 8th grade and
on to summer vacation!! We are leaving a week or so
after school gets out to go to Seattle, then a cruise
to Alaska. We are all excited.


Here's Devin out on Antelope Island BEFORE the haircut


AFTER haircut with his 'LOUDMOUTH' golf pants on....he
spent some of his birthday money on these!!


Randy and Dev hiking in Moab (Arches NP) over Mom's Day


Off roading in Moab, UT


Mom and Kara on Mother's Day in Moab


Hiking in Arches NP


D & K tired of hiking


Interesting rocks in Moab


Petroglyphs near ghost town of Sego, Utah

Doesn't he look soooooo much better with shorter hair?
I think so and he hasn't complained once since getting
it cut!!! So much easier to fix in the mornings...just
wet it down and go!!

Thanks for checking up on Devin!! Please keep our
friends and Aunt Anita in your prayers........she
is back in the hospital.

Anita

Thanks

Wednesday, May 12, 2010 10:48 PM CDT

Things are going well here. School is almost over for the year and we are contemplating putting both kids in summer school; Devin to move forward.......Kara just to get on track. Devin has the option to take geometry over the summer, then take calculus and qualify for concurrent enrollment (IN 9TH GRADE) for the community college. Pretty exciting if we can make it work!

I've been being sick a lot lately, but everyone else seems to be staying well. Randy has been making weekly visits (pretty close to it) to work with a client in Denver. He has been busy, busy, busy. He's also been appointed to the school board, so that takes up more of his time as well.

We did manage to FINSLLY get out of town last weekend. We drove down to Arches National Park (Moab, UT) and spent a couple of days. Randy got some new tires on his Tahoe, so he was soo excited to try out the new off roading tires. We did have some mystery engine problems, but luckily we were able to make it home late Sunday night without a hitch. It was a GREAT Mother's Day. We did quite a bit of hiking and just enjoyed being with each other.

I got a big present for Mother's Day. Randy got our family tickets for an Alaska cruise for June 12-19th. I don't know if I'm more excited to see Alaska, or get to be able to see Anita and Bud in Seattle. Hopefully Anita will start feeling better and feel like visiting with us. Also, I am hoping LYNN is reading this and can take time from getting all of her new grandkids and meet up with us???? What do you think Lynn?

Its been raining like crazy here. We have nothing planted outside garden-wise. Its been a different spring to say the least.

I've got lots of pictures to upload. Hopefully I'll have them posted soon.

Thanks for checking on Devin and our family. Please takea minute and sign the guestbook.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Happy Birthday Mrs. Pam!!!! Thanks for all of your
support for Devin and our family over the years!!!


Every one is fine here. Devin has been out on spring
break and just enjoying being lazy! He did get to
go to one more snowboarding lesson, so sounds like he
may just be ready for the olympics! Gotta start
somewhere..

Here's some recent pictures from life. I want some
feedback on this hair situation. Any one out there
think my son may be in need of a 'summer cut' besides
mom and dad??


Devin at the Utah State Science & Engineering Fair, March 2010


Devin on his way to snowboarding. How in the heck did he
get all that hair in that cap??? Is it just me, or doesn't he look better when his face can be seen????


Dad and Devin; April 2010

We went to an author signing this last week to meet
Gary Paulsen. He was quite entertaining and spoke for
one and half hours before beginning signing.


The kids with Gary Paulsen


Gary Paulsen speaking at Deseret Books

Thanks for stopping by to check on Devin. Please
sign the guestbook.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Our visit with GG and Emily went well. Emily was NOT a fan of skiing. She did seem to enjoy the other activities we did; visiting SLC landmarks, riding the trax train, shopping, celebrating birthdays, etc..

Kara had a good birthday. She received a new long board, clothes and MONEY. Her birthday party plan did not work out while Emily was here, but we did have 2 family parties. Guess we will most likely wait until AFTER Easter to try again. That will mean 3 cakes for Kara this year!!

We sent GG home sick. Now I am sick too. Randy has been out of town the past few days (Denver, CO), so luckily the kids have been easy to manage and are staying well.

Devin participated in the state science fair on Friday. He didn't receive any awards, but it was a good learning experience. I think it at least has him thinking of what needs to be done for next year. One student (10th grade and up) went away with a $10,000 scholarship to the school of their choice. A few kids from our school received $1000 awards to Westminster. Maybe next year.

State math competition was last week. Our team did very well. We had one student in the top ten. I'm thinking Devin was very close. The top four in the final competition go to Nationals. (Disneyworld I think)
This was Mathcounts. We still have at least one other competition with the other math team. Honestly, our coach has been lax this year..........so in turn, the kids have been lax.

Devin signed up for a 3 week snowboard clinic. He started yesterday and seemed to really enjoy it. Grandpa Ross took him up and skied while Dev was in class. Afterwards they had lunch and hit the slopes again. I think they both had a good day. Gpa said that Devin was showing tremendous improvement. That was good to hear. Maybe in the next 2 weeks he'll become the next 'Shawn White'. I think that is what he is thinking anyway. LOL. He is such a cutie!

Thanks for checking in on us and for the birthday wishes for Miss Kara. I can't believe how fast these kids are growing!!! 14 and 12!!! Wow.

Please sign the guestbook.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Dev had a good 14th birthday. He had some friends
over and went out for pizza and bowling. They all
seemed to have a good time. He really seemed like
he enjoyed his gifts this year; a new skateboard,
zune, a few clothes and MONEY. He's planning on
something......just not sure what yet.

Anita is doing much better. They did set up
a CB site for her. Thanks for your prayers!
Anita's site

Grandma and Emily got here last night. So far everyone
seems to be having a good time. The kids are planning
on going skiing either this weekend and/or Monday.
It will be Emily's first time. She is very excited!
We can't talk GG into trying it........

Our friend Stephanie had a broviac place yesterday. She is still waiting or a transfer to Wisconsin to see the motility
specialist. Hang in there Stephanie!!

Kara's big day is less than a week away. She has
1001 ideas for her birthday. She's more of a planner
than Devin. He usually waits until the last minute
to plan anything, but lucky for him it tends to work
out for him.

Thanks for continuing to check on Devin, our family
and friends. We appreciate you. Please sign the
guestbook.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

What a crappy week.

Aunt Anita finally had her nutrition counts up (thanks
to a feeding tube) to have surgery for an 'ulcer' on
Monday. I'm not sure if she really did have an ulcer,
but they found out on Tuesday night that she did have
cancer. On Wednesday afternoon they were told it was
stage III Adeno Carcinoma. They will be doing scans
sometime to see if it has made a home any where else
in her body. I am praying what they found is it...
no more.

I do believe our entire family is in shock. The kids
are understandably mad and worried. I am so mad that
I'd like to really tear something up. Cancer is so
damn mean and I can't understand why it has to pick
on such nice people. Anita is one of my favorite
people. She and Uncle Bud were such a source of
support while Devin was on treatment (and beyond).
I guess its time for us to step up to the plate
and return the favor.

I am hoping someone will set up a CB page for Anita,
but for now I will give reports here. She is going
to need a lot of prayers to get better from this
surgery before she can think about anything else.
I am sure she needs to get some strength up before
she can make the trip home to Seattle.

PLEASE pray for Anita. Pray for her family and those
who love her.

Also, our friend is sponsoring a ST. BALDRICKs event on Saturday; Devin's birthday. Go ahead and donate!!! He's got a link on his site.

Thanks.

Its been a busy weekend! We had the wedding yesterday
and seems like 100 other things going on all weekend.

I'll post a few pictures of the kids dressed up for
the wedding. I found a good deal on the western suit,
so that is what Devin was wearing. If he looks taller
than me its because he's wearing boots. I'M still
taller than him!!


Devin and Kara


Randy, Kara, me and Devin


Grandpa Ross, Devin and Randy 3 generations


Bride, Groom, Madison with both sets of parents

My pictures weren't that great. I was trying to take pictures over people's heads and in between the real
photographer's taking pics.


Here's a picture of Kara with her award-winning
'Hot Air Balloon' valentine box.........

Devin did place in the school's science fair; he got
7th place. The top 3 projects go onto the state
competition.

Tomorrow he has a follow up with his gastro doctor.
He has been doing pretty good with his ultra expensive
drugs. Today he is feeling lousy; like he may be
getting sick, so we'll see what tomorrow brings.
It seems we have been waiting for this appointment
forever!!!

Thanks for stopping by to check on Devin and our
family. We are getting so excited for his FIVE
YEAR OFF CHEMO CELEBRATION coming up on September 19th.
We want to have some type of over the top celebration,
so if you have any ideas you can e-mail me or leave
a message in the guestbook. Thanks.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 11:26 PM CST

Ouch.

Just lost my update. Haven't done that in awhile.

Things are good around here. Devin got his science
fair project turned in on Tuesday, so that is a big
relief. He did something about how motion affects the
eyes and ears..........lots of dizzying experiments.

Kara had her history fair last week. She did her
report on Anne Frank. I missed the presentation,
due to a school board meeting, but was told by a
friend that she did a very good job...the kids had
to dress up. She also had a Valentine's day box
contest and won two prizes. She did a hot air
balloon for her box. As soon as I find my camera
I can download the pictures. It was very cute and
had a VERY large balloon.

Tomorrow night is science fair at Dev's school. Its
always fun to see the different projects. There were
some really good ones last year.

Saturday my nephew is getting married again. Devin is
wanting me to buy him a 'cowboy suit' to wear to the
wedding. Ever since we went to OK he has wanted to
get a cowboy suit...........one of those shiny suits.
I don't get it, but I bet he would look cute in it.
Kara has a new dress to wear, so I guess he figures he
needs something new too.

We've got some friends in need of prayers right now.
In particular, our friend Stephanie

Please sign the guestbook. Thanks.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Things are good here. Devin had a math competition
on Saturday, but his team did not place. We are in
the Northern Utah region, so there is still a chance
the team will be going to state after the other
region's scores are calculated. We'll see. I don't
think Devin cares one way or the other....

He has a science fair project due next week. He has
big plans for something about carbonation. Hmmm
I wish he were showing any amount of progress. The
wondering about his project is driving me crazy!!

The funeral in OK went as well as funerals go. I did
get to see most all of my family around that area, so
that was nice. The weather even warmed up a little
while I was there and melted away some of the ice.
I had no trouble getting home.......just getting out
there.

Kara informed me today that she and Devin have had
their braces on for ONE year today! Seems like just
yesterday they got them on. They have both done
really well with them.

We've had horribly sad news here in SLC. I'll link the
story here. It is just awful. Horrible news story

We know how dangerous pesticides can be, but
this wasn't even in the home. It is so scary.
I feel so horrible for the family. Devin's
specific type of cancer, Non Hodgkins T-cell
Lymphoma, is usually found in older men with
a high exposure to pesticides. He was seven
years old..........he didn't have a high
exposure to anything!!

Please be careful with the products you use.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Randy and I spoke with the dean and got Devin's
schedule straightened out. He's swapping out
his AMSP time slot with Algebra II. He will
have study hall final period with a self study
for AMSP (Advanced Math). I think the dean thought
we were going to pull Dev and put him somewhere
else. Truth is, there aren't too many options.
The big jr. high has really big classes and we just
don't feel that would be a good option for Dev right
now. He needs more one/one with his teachers in
order to get things done; chemo continues to play
havoc with his organization skills. Even with all
the side effects he is still the #1 math student!!!
YES! Chemo can't screw up everything!

He has his first math competition this coming Saturday.
Today he spent at the movies and hanging out with his
new friend. He seemed to have a good time. He's been
practicing his skateboard a lot more this week too.

Tomorrow I am going to OK for a few days. My Uncle
David passed away early Thursday morning. I would
have gone out sooner, but the ice storms have had
the OKC airports shut down. Hopefully I will have
an event free trip.

Uncle David was a good guy.
He was always a lot of fun to visit and joke around
with. He was always my favorite uncle. I have
many good memories of growing up with him, Aunt Sue,
Scotty and Tara. We were very close when I was
younger and spent a lot of time together. You could
always count on him to get everyone laughing. He
was very quick witted.

Rest in
peace Uncle Dave. We're going to miss you.
It is hard to believe that he is gone. It seems
every time I go 'home' there are less and less
people to visit. It's sad.

Thanks for your prayers for our family.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Thanks for the prayers.
Devin is feeling better. I just went and picked
up another month's supply of his medicine today.
Thank goodness for our health insurance; our portion
was $372 !!!! This is the drug that keeps him out
of the hospital. He's finally got his follow up
with gastro in a few weeks. He absolutely despises
those appointments. I mean what kid enjoys talking
about these type of things?? Not mine!!

Devin has met a new friend in the neighborhood. They had
a sleepover last night and Devin went to church with
the friend this morning. He seemed like he had a really
good time. They both like talking about girls, riding
skateboards, and cooking. Hopefully this kid will be
around to hang out with Devin. He's not really made
too many new friends at his school this year.

Randy and I have an appointment tomorrow with the
dean at Dev's school. I was too disgusted/mad to
talk last week in addition to me not feeling well and
Devin out sick. IF we can't get something settled I
don't know what will happen. Devin is not a 'self-study'
type of kid. The Wii, cell phone, playstation and
computer always find time before any self motivated
study!! One of these days he will have to learn to
study........but for now he seems to be doing very well
with his method. I know the feeling. I didn't really
do a lot of studying until college. We'll see.

Kara 'forgot' to bring her report card home so I guess
we'll find out the truth tomorrow. She doesn't seem
too worried about it. My threats of repeating 6th grade
don't seem to phase her one bit. She is certainly on
a rebellious streak these days. IF you see her on FB
please let me know. Dad didn't shut down her account,
but changed her password and she is NOT supposed to be
on it. Please let me know if you start getting 500 quizes
a day from her. I just don't check mine too often.....
maybe when the laptop gets back home!

Tonight we went to our first ever Sundance film. It
was one here in downtown Salt Lake City. We had a really
good time. We went to see a show called 'Catfish' which
was about the internet and how people can make up a new
identity. It reminded me A LOT of that fake caringbridge
site a few years ago.............did I ever mention that
my mom and I actually saw the 'real' kid involved in
that fiasco about this time last year??? WIERD. Anyway
it will be an interesting show when it comes out. Devin
was the one who talked us into getting into the lottery
for tickets. My name got picked, but Randy's didn't. We
went a few weeks ago and bought all the tickets we could
get. Randy and Devin are at show #2 LATE tonight...'Armless' It sounded a bit bizarre to say the
least.

Everything else is good here in Utah. Our big snow
storms missed us completely so we still have a clean
driveway!! The air is clean and the sun was out today.
I like these kind of days!!

Thanks for checking on us! Please sign the guestbook.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Dev is in the middle of a Crohns flare. I'm having
trouble getting ahold of his gastro doc. He stayed
home today in bed most of the day. He is terribly
irritable. All these teenage hormones and bad
stomach problems make him a grouch!

We also found out on Tuesday that his Algebra II
class was cancelled.............again. The school
is recommending a 'self study program'. I don't
think so. For now it looks like he'll have to
drop out of his other honors math class to take
Algebra II, then be free for 'study table' for
last period. Not a good plan.

Kara's school year is still as strange as ever.

I've been reading A LOT while my laptop is away....
if you have any book suggestions I'm open.

Thanks for continuing to pray for Devin and all of
his friends.

Please sign the guestbook.

Friday, January 8, 2010

So far, so good for 2010. Devin has stayed well
while Randy, Kara and I all traded minor illnesses
around. Hopefully after almost 4 1/2 years his
immune system is FINALLY back to normal. I don't
care what the blood work says, since cancer he has
definetly had more than his fair share of getting
sick and staying sick.

I still can't believe he is going to be 5 years OFF
treatment in September. I remember the day his cancer
nightmare started just like it was yesterday; feeling
so defeated with no end in sight. He's made it so
far...............through 2 years of hellish chemo and
radiation, over 4 years of side effects and now the end
is really in view. WOW.

Thanks to all of you who have helped our family get to
this point in our life. We couldn't have done it without
all your prayers and positive energy!! Thank you.

From this:



To this:


Devin and Kara on Christmas


Devin & Kara today

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!

We've got a white Christmas here; along with two
kids with strep throat! They are actually feeling
better today after being on antibiotics for the past
couple of days. Santa was good to them; bringing
Devin a bass guitar and Kara a cell phone.

Hope you are all enjoying the holiday.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Happy December!


Kara and Devin


Its been awhile since my last update, but that just
means we are busy enjoying life. We had a good
Thanksgiving at our house this year with Randy's
parents, sister and her family at our house. It
was a nice day. Exhausting, but good.

The kids are both staying busy with school work
and after school activities. Kara doesn't have
much homework so we have her working out of a work
book each night. We are still really worried about
her school for many academic reasons. Devin's
school is good academically......just struggling
financially. I do believe the negative articles
in our newspaper have made matters at his school
worse. It is too bad there is so much discrimination
in this world.


Mr. Devin

The house is decorated for Christmas. Randy is not
so happy with our outside lights, but I think we are
stuck for this year. We have about 7 inches of snow
right now so its not so easy to rearrange things or
even add anything else. Our two front trees have the
trunks wrapped with lights and part of the lights
have already burned out. Not exactly the look he
was going for this year.


Miss Kara

I have 3 trees up this year. Our upstairs tree is
our mish-mash of ornaments. Kara decided the smaller
tree downstairs would be all homemade. Two creative
kids over the past 13 years makes for A LOT of home
made ornaments!! I just love getting out all of the
ornaments each year. Every one of them is special and
reminds me that my kids are growing up WAY TOO FAST!!!
My smallest tree is the 'Sponge Bob' themed tree that
Devin's second grade class put together for him while
he was so sick. It brings back a lot of memories and
had not been put up for at least a couple of years.
It is really cute with glittery shells and figurines
on it.

We went last Saturday to take the dogs to see Santa.
Maddie was quite comfortable sitting on Santa's lap!
Willie was pretty mellow too. I'm afraid he told
Santa he wanted a horse. I hope Santa realizes that
we just don't have room for one. Willie is such a
silly dog!


Devin, Willie, Santa, Maddie and Kara

We will be celebrating Miss Maddie's
4th birthday on Monday. The doctors
didn't give her a year, but she proved
everyone wrong. I credit the prayers from this website for her being here today. Thank you. She brings so much happiness to our family.


Miss Maddie shopping at Petco

Grandma Gwen is coming out next Saturday so we are
getting excited about that. Hopefully I will get up
some energy and start baking today. Its one of my
favorite things about Christmas, but I like to get
stuff wrapped, mailed and taken care of before I
begin. Once I start baking I seem to lose ambition
for anything else.

Thanks for stopping by to check on our family. We
are all staying healthy and feel so fortunate. As
I think about how my kids are growing up so fast and
feeling sad I keep reminding myself of how very lucky
we are. From our family to yours Merry Christmas!
Thanks to all of you for your continued prayers for
continued remission for Devin. That is the best gift
of all.

Monday, November 16, 2009

We got a few inches of snow over the weekend. The
kids had fun sledding at the park down the street
from our house. Devin is convinced he wants to
try snowboarding this year. Maybe he will. Kara
says she'll stick with skiing. They have both
grown so much since last year I am sure they'll
have to get new ski pants. Devin is ALMOST as
tall as me.......

I went out last weekend for a surprise 40th
birthday for my friend Sheila. She certainly
was surprised. We had fun hanging out around
Springfield, MO. It was fun meeting her friends
and going shopping. They had so many 'flea
market' type places. I am a sucker for depression
glass, so brought home quite a few things; not as
much as I would have liked, but some neat stuff.
Randy and the kids managed to keep the house standing
and get to school while I was gone. I've been
slowly getting things back to normal around here.

I think we're having Thanksgiving at our house this
year. I'll have a couple of really big cooking days
in a row; Devin's school has a T-day meal on Wednesday
and I'm signed up for turkey, dressing and pies for
that. Should be fun! Kara is excited because she'll
be out of school and able to go. She LOVES hanging
out at Devin's school. He, on the other hand, hates
her being there..........go figure!

We got Kara's grades figured out. They are NOT where
they should be, but definetly better than were
originally reported. She has a brand new teacher and
lets just say he has A LOT to learn..........don't
get me started. We are still VERY worried, but have
put some things in place to make sure she gets things
turned in and given credit.

Thanks for stopping by to check on Devin. Please
remember his friends in your thoughts and prayers;
cancer is NO fun!!

Please sign the guestbook.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Greetings from warm and windy Utah! We've had nice
weather this week. Luckily it started on Saturday so
the kids were fine without coats for Halloween. That
is always nice. Anything is better than snow....in my
opinion!

We are over-loaded with candy here. The kids seem to
be trying to eat it all in one setting.......not a good
idea!

Parent teacher conferences for Devin last night; it is
agreed that he is very smart, kind and just an all around
good kid. We knew that, but its sure nice to hear it
from teachers as well. He really is a sweetheart!

Kara got a 'surprise' report card today. It was a
surprise because I have had contact with her teacher
and assured all was GREAT. All is not great. There
were no comments explaining anything........and she has
yet to bring any finished work home. To say Randy and I
are worried is an understatement. The only work we have
seen has been the 10 minutes of math she does at home
each WEEK!!!

No real plans for the weekend. Luckily the wind took
most of our leaves OVER the fence into the school yard,
so not many leaves left to rake. I bet dad will have the
kids out there anyway. He doesn't like to see them sitting
around when 'there's work to be done'........he has been
gone all week to Kentucky, so its good to have him back!

Devin had another gastro appt. late last week and is
doing pretty good. He will most likely stay on the
steroids forever. He was also told to get an H1N1 shot;
which we did yesterday. Hopefully he will stay well.

Thanks for continuing to pray for his continued remission.
We appreciate you all.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

I took Devin to the bus stop this morning in the snow!
I think the temps dropped about 30 degrees last night.
It is cold this morning!

Devin's school had their first dance of the year on
Friday night. It was a Halloween dress up dance and
he won 1st place with his costume!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Hello from Oklahoma!!

We came out for a quick fall visit and the U2
concert. We got a surprise when we went to
Grandpa's this morning. Check it out:



Grandma Gwen had turned in a story for a special
cancer survivors part in this months paper, never
expecting to get front page coverage!!

Check it out!! We're off to pick up some more copies
of the paper.

Kara did well at the fair!!

She had 4 entries and got 5 ribbons and a plaque!
One dahlia received 1 blue and 1 high blue. The
other dahlia in the same division was the 2nd place
winner. Her roses received 1st and her mixed
flower arrangement received 1st place and a special
horticulture plaque. She was very happy with her
winnings!!


Kara and her ribbons!



Grandpa Ross' 'Sweepstakes' ribbon for dahlia grouping.
He also received 2 reds and 3 other blues...


Kara and her roses before the judging

High award for arrangement


Kara and Devin at the fair.

Both of the kids are entering a cookie contest tomorrow.
Devin is making some chocolate chip sandwich cookies with
nutella in the middle. Kara is making "Kara's Cowgirl
Cookies"...........and will drizzle them with chocolate.
The kitchen is a mess, but they sure are having fun!!

Thanks for checking on us.

Please sign the guestbook.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

We went this morning with Gpa Ross to take flowers to
the county fair. Kara took 2 vases of dahlias, a vase
of coral roses and a mixed arrangement. We're fixin
to head back to the fair and check on her status. We
are hoping for BLUE ribbons!!!

Grandpa took over several dahlias and several roses, so
we're hoping he gets some good awards too. I'll post
pictures after we've gone this afternoon.

Friday is another competition (flowers) with completely
different judges. Kara is hoping to have some more
dahlias ready to enter by then...........we shall see.
She does have a couple of buds.

We got a notice this week that Utah has got the LIGHT
THE NIGHT fundraiser back!!! We are so excited. If
you're wanting to walk with us, mark your calendar for
October 2nd!!! We haven't had the LTN for a few years...
long story. We are just glad to have it back. The
Leukemia Lymphoma program gets donations specifically for
leukemias, lymphomas and other blood cancers.

Here's a couple of pictures from our camping trip a
couple of weeks ago...........I'm always a day or so
(or week or so) behind.


Mirror Lake


Two camping dogs........

Please sign the guestbook.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Happy August!

Things are still busy around here.

Grandma Gwen came out again on the 24th to watch
2 cutie kids and 2 crazy dogs while Randy and I
went to a conference in Sacramento, CA. It was
a nice getaway...for all of us. We had a break
from the kids; while GG enjoyed some one on one
time with kids. I think it worked out well for
all of us!

Devin has been staying well this summer. He's
had a few issues with the Crohns..........so after
seeing the same dr. for several years without any
real improvements I think its past time for a new
dr. That should be fun with our new 'improved'
insurance..............the fun of this new policy
is amazing.....don't get me started!!

Randy and I took a trip to Napa while in CA. It
was great fun. Randy even came home with a few
souvenirs...........hmm.

I came back from CA and went to my every 2 year
visit to my neuro-opth..........aka...migraine
clinic. I thought I was doing better, but found
out I'm not so good. What I thought was allergies
is actually a wierder type migraine than the one
I usually have. The doctor said its probably
from the car accident a few years ago.......I think
she was half-way excited to get a patient with this
type of migraine.............I wish I could remember
the name. Also, turns out I am now the proud owner
of HIGH blood pressure. Lovely. Looks like my 20
pound weight loss and exercise program was none too
soon..............yikes!

Everything else is good here. GG went back to OK
last night. Devin and Kara are enjoying their last
few weeks of freedom before school starts. No real
biggie plans for this month. I was hoping the kids
and I could tag along to Florida for a job with
Randy, but its a NO. One of these days...

Thanks for stopping by to check on our family. I
am going to try and set up all of Devin's scans
before he heads back to school..........guess I
better get busy!!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Devin is finally coming home tonight!!! He has been
gone for a full week and it has been tough. This has
been the longest we have ever been apart and I don't
like it!!

Kara has been keeping busy with horseback riding camp,
then some swimming in the afternoon. Its been plenty
hot here this week for the pool.

Speaking of the pool. We put Willie in for a swim a
few weeks ago. He was not so sure of it...


Willie and Devin in the pool

We've been shopping around for camp trailers the past
week or so. Randy is really in the mood to go camping
in style. We're having a few issues with trailer
weight, but hopefully we can settle on a trailer without
him buying a new(er) vehicle.

Thanks for the birthday wishes. I am still finding it
hard to believe I am 40 years old. That used to sound
soooo old..........not so much anymore!!

Over the hill


Here's some pictures from my birthday.




Devin and GG


Maddie was tired from too much partying...

Thanks for checking up on us.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Happy July!

Tomorrow is Kara's last day of 5th grade. It
should be fun having both kids home all day
every day!!!! A little sarcasm here....they
have really NOT been getting along these last
few days. Hopefully they will lighten up on
each other and get nicer to each other.

She went to the Olympic Park museum up in Park
City today with the other 5th graders. She
acted like she had a good time....even though
they didn't get to ride the zipline. Last
time we went there was with Rosi, Kenny and
Mrs. Pam. That was fun.

GG is coming out on Saturday for the big holiday
and my BIG birthday. I will be saying good-bye
to my 30's pretty soon. Uggg. I'm sure it will
be fine. Seems like I just turned 30 a few
weeks ago.........

Devin has been keeping busy out of school. He
went swimming with a friend yesterday, then went
to a water park with a couple of friends today.
Needless to say he missed a few spots when he
re-applied his sunscreen today. He is a little
'cooked'. Hopefully he will tan up a little and
not peel. His skin is soooo sensitive. Thank
goodness its not as bad as the Hawaii sunburn...
that was just awful!

Devin has a math/space camp coming up the 9th.
I'm not so sure I want him going, but he is
starting to get excited. He will get to do
a lot of fun stuff, so that will be good.

Kara has horseback riding camp the week of the
13th. She is really getting excited about that.
Its half days, so she can come home and swim in
the afternoon. Hopefully she will meet some
new friends who share her enthusiasm for horses.
I just hope she doesn't get any big ideas about
her daddy buying her one..........not going to
happen!!

Thanks for stopping by to check on our family.

Please take a minute and sign the guestbook.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Well, Devin did have a good time at camp. He
came home with a cold (a bad cold), but seemed
to have a lot of fun. Kara's fever left on
Thursday afternoon so she was able to drive
out with me and Randy to pick up her very
much missed brother!!

His cold seemed to be getting better, but he
went to bed last night with a slight fever.
This morning he woke up with a fever and Kara
woke up with a NEW hacking cough and headache.
I tell you, the fun never ends!!

I did get an email this morning from camp that
some campers and counselors from teen week had
been confirmed to have the swine flu......so
evidently these people have a different ped.
than we do.........or possibly were diagnosed
in the oncology dept. I hope everyone gets
to feeling better soon. Flus and colds are
especially hard on the immunocompromised.

Randy had a good Father's Day yesterday. We
grilled steaks and had his parents over for
dinner. He cheated on his diet last night,
but still lost about 1/2 pound this morning.
We are both doing well following the diet...
its getting a little easier; although some
days I have a hard time choking down all the
lettuce.

Devin was supposed to go to a space camp this
evening through Wednesday, but he had to cancel
due to this cold/flu crap.

I've got Kara signed up for a horseback riding
camp in a few weeks.

Thanks for checking up on us.

***Mrs. Pam I wonder if you are dialing the wrong number? My phone is not showing that you have called? I am home just about 24/7 these days....

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

After a couple of days of 101 temperature
Kara seems to be feeling better. I did
call the pediatrician's office yesterday and
explained what had happened. Right away the
nurse told me that she would talk to the ped.
and call me back. Well........she did call
me back, but said they did NOT want Kara in
the office possibly infecting anyone else.
Also, if she got dehydrated to take her to
the ER, not their office. I was thinking
that they maybe would want to officially
test her, but evidently not.

No word from Devin, so we assume he is having
fun and doing regular camp stuff. We pick him
up on Friday afternoon. We had planned on
going camping this weekend, but unless Kara
starts feeling a lot better I would imagine
we'll be staying home. Its supposed to be
raining AGAIN this weekend. Its raining now.

Not much else going on here. Just alternating
between tylenol and ibuprofen for Kara. Her
cough seems a little better, which is good since
she refuses to take the liquid cold medicine...

Thanks for stopping by.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Kara had a great time at camp; despite the rain.
I think it actually rained less up there than it
did in SLC. She has talked non-stop about the fun
she had there. So glad she had fun.

She came home with a 'little' cold.........now
she's not feeling so good. After dropping
Devin off this morning at teen camp she started
feeling worse.......she came home with a fever
and went to bed. This afternoon while checking
e-mails there was one from camp:

SOME Of the campers and counselors from last
week have tested positive for the swine flu.
She MAY have contracted the flu, rather than
JUST a cold...........so tomorrow we will be
headed to the dr. for testing.....

The email went onto say that current campers
that exhibit symptoms will be sent home....
sooooooooooooooo although Devin went to
camp well this morning, he may be coming
home sick...........oh, and he forgot his
sleeping bag, but has blankets and a pillow.

I'm just praying the kids/campers will be able
to stay and enjoy camp this week without the
sickness spreading.

I forgot my camera this morning to take Dev's
picture at camp. I took some of Kara last week
and when I get a minute I will download them.

Its still rainy here. Nicer today than it has
been for a couple of weeks.

Thanks for stopping by......

Friday, June 5, 2009

Things are going well here. Devin has his last
finals today; English and PE. For PE he has to
run a mile. He is not looking forward to that..
he was complaining all morning before he left
the house. I would imagine he will be running
in the rain. It is really thundering and getting
dark outside. He has another partial day of
'field day' on Monday for a few hours, then he
will be done with 7th grade.......where does
the time go??? My goodness.

Kara and I have been having a pretty lazy week.
Just hanging out around the house mostly and
taking it easy. Today she has a physical for
camp, then Monday she is headed for Camp Hobe!
We are all soooooooooooooo excited that the
kids get another go at Camp Hobe without having
to go through chemo again!! What a nice surprise!

Today is our friend, Kayla'sbirthday. We are so glad that
she is now so healthy and
doing so well! Happy Birthday Kayla!!

We have a few friends that are in need of extra
prayers. Stephanie is STILL in the hospital trying to get
a diagnosis. She has been very sick and trying to
figure out why.

Also, our sweet friend, Tias is back in the hospital with more complications.
Poor kiddo!!

Ben is currently doing well, but can always use more prayers.
He and his family have gone through soooooooo much over
the years.

Thanks for stopping by to check on Mr. Devin. We appreciate your continued support and prayers.

Please visit our friends and sign their guestbooks. YOU
can brighten someone's day with just a kind word. Thanks.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Happy Birthday Randy!!! Hope you have a great day
and get everything you wish for!!!!!

We have been partying it up all weekend in preparation
for dad's birthday..............Randy and I decided to
go on a serious diet on June 1st, so no birthday cake
for either of us tonight.

Everything else is going well around here. The house
was still intact after Kara and I were out of town last
week. Good thing we came home when we did............
I think both boys were about to run out of clean socks.
Randy has yet to find the laundry room in our new (almost
2 years) house!!

We had a short visit in Oklahoma and got to attend Sheila's grandma's funeral. It was nice. Pretty short and sweet. Sheila's grandparents and mom are buried just
steps away from my grandparents (dad's parents), so that
is kindof neat/interesting. I knew that before, but
hadn't really thought about it in awhile.

Kara is off track here for a few weeks. Devin is in
his last week of school with finals this week, so short
days on Wednesday-Friday. He really pulled a fast one
on us. He said he had a major project finished, but
come to find out he didn't check it before he 'tried'
to turn it in.............its currently pending what
kind of English grade he will get.............geez.

Good news; Camp Hobe, our local cancer kids camp, did
not have enough campers, so invited some previous kids
to join. Devin and Kara BOTH get to attend. Kara will
go to kids camp next week; while Devin will go to TEEN
camp the following week. They are both super excited
to get to attend another year at Camp Hobe. Me too.

Thanks to all of you who continue to check on Devin
and our family. We appreciate you.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Greetings from rainy Utah!! Things are going
okay here. Just busy with end of school stuff.
Kara went 'off track' again on Friday and will
be out for 3 weeks. Devin still has a couple
of weeks to go before he is out for the summer.

Kara and I are headed out in the morning for a
quick trip to OKlahoma. My good friend, Sheila's,
grandma passed away on Thursday. We are going
out for the funeral and to see our family and
friends for a few days. It will be a quick
trip.

Devin seems about the same. He went golfing with
his dad and a friend yesterday and was wiped out.
He went to bed early last night, but surprisingly
ONLY slept about 12 hours straight. It seems like
the past several weeks he has slept about 20 hours
straight, when he got a chance. Maybe he is
finally getting rested up?

Thanks for stopping to check on Devin.
Please sign the guestbook.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Its been awhile since I updated. Seems like stuff
is about the same around here. Devin is muddling
through the days, then gets to about day 7...usu.
Sunday and sleeps ALL DAY. He has been back to the
pediatrician almost every week for the past month.
I decided this week to stay home and see if I could
get the dr. to call me...........sure enough it
works.

I discussed the 'sleepy' problem AGAIN to
deaf ears. The dr. said he felt like Dev was most
likely 'depressed' and that is why he is sleeping
like he is..............hmmmm........I asked why
he hadn't thought this was a possibility the past
3 weeks that he had seen him..........oh yeah,
guess he forgot about that. The dr. then back
tracked and decided maybe Devin is just lazy...
I don't buy that reason either. Not that Devin
is Mr. Energetic, but he has been keeping up with
7 classes, homework and clubs for this entire
school year...........I don't know. I just know
there is a problem. I know I have a problem when
a doctor runs a few blood tests, doesn't find anything
obvious and tries to make me think I'm crazy.....

Other than the above, things are going well. Kara
is in her last weeks of 5th grade, so has lots of
fun stuff going on. Devin's school had a 5K on
Saturday, so between that and picnics and the 'last
chance dance' he has been busy too.

Mother's Day was good. It would have been better
if Devin could have been awake for our family party;
Randy's parents, sister and her family....including
baby Madison came over for a cook out. It was a
really nice evening and Devin feel asleep around 3
and slept until 9:30 or so, back to bed by 10 and
slept until 6:20 the next morning!

We've been doing tons of yardwork around here. The
water issues from last summer (ongoing) caused us
to have trees rotting. Randy and I have been taking
out trees as our garbage allows..........I think we
have 2 more to go before we finish. I DO NOT want
to take the last 2 out; luckily one has our bird
friend from last year with a new nest and babies,
so Randy is forced to stop his chain saw wizardry
for awhile.

Speaking of baby birds..........we have located
another nest in a broken part of our cinder block
fence with 4 eggs. Luckily it is too high for the
dogs to get into............Willie has been keeping
an eye on it since we found it last week!

Tonight Maddie found a baby bird on the ground and
decided to show her power. Thank goodness I was
able to get her off of it before any blood was drawn.
That poor little bird's heart about beat out of his
chest!!! (I think Willie was scared of the bird)

Better go switch out laundry. Devin wore his PE
clothes home from school and I need to get them
dry for school tomorrow............never a shortage
of laundry around here!!!

Thanks for checking on Devin.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

I took Devin back to the pediatrician on
Tuesday. He says since the bloodwork
was all good and that he simply believes
Devin is just 'extremely tired'. He
didn't think sleeping basically non-stop
for 19 hours was that unusual. Devin had
lost another 3 pounds since being there
last week.......again, not a problem.

Devin seemed good today (Wed) after school.
He did his homework without being prompted
and stayed up all evening. He even helped
me plant some flowers.........quite a nice
change from his usual lethergy.

Kara is her class's representative for the
school spelling bee tomorrow. She has been
going back and forth as to whether she wants
me to be there...........last thoughts before
going to bed are NO. Whatever she wants. I
can remember the nervousness when I used to
be in spelling bees!

We've had warm weather this week. Its been so
nice to send the kids to school with NO jackets!
I am hoping spring is going to stick around at
least through the weekend. We are hoping to
have a 'Mother's Day' cookout on Sunday and be
able to eat outside.

Thanks for stopping by to check on Mr. Devin.

Please sign the guestbook.

May 3, 2009

Can you believe it is May already? I can
remember making May Day baskets and delivering
flowers around when I was a kid. You don't hear
of people doing that anymore. Evidently 'May
Day' was even more special when GG was a girl.
She used to tell me stories of the girls doing
the May pole dance with their different pastel
colored dresses. Always sounded so pretty and
exciting!

I think the last 'May day' I did
anything was the year that our neighbor up the
street yelled at us for leaving flowers on her
doorstep..........she was quite fun to have in
the neighborhood..........not. Noticed while
glancing over the old hometown newspaper the
other day that she had died............I cannot
think of that woman without thinking of her lack
of appreciation for our attempt at a May Day
surprise.

Just lots of rain here. I think we'll probably
jump straight from winter to summer here...we
haven't had too many 'spring' days. We did get
a break in the rain this afternoon and got our
back planters fixed up. We were planning on
doing a new raised flower bed this year for
some tomatoes and dahlias, but doesn't look like
that will work out. We dug out an area by the
pool and will just make it work. We're trying
to focus our money and energy into getting our
back concrete work done.....hopefully soon.


Devin being goofy while shopping with mom



Devin is acting a little better. Still just
very tired all the time. The pediatrician did
test the thyroid, blood sugar (not fasting), CBC
and I can't remember the last one.........nothing
with hormones or I would have remembered that. He
does have another follow up appt. this week so we'll
see what happens then. I was hoping that Devin
would get rested up since there were NO clubs at
all last week due to end of school testing, but no
such luck. There are no clubs this week either.....
I am sooooooooooooo glad. I don't know how he can
keep going so much. He usually is staying after
school 3-4 days a week until 4, then spending most
of his Saturdays up there...........mostly math
stuff. Whew. Just keeping up with his schedule
makes me tired!


Speaking of tired....

Here's a picture of Maddie opening her delicious
mail from Mrs. Pam. Maddie got her haircut a
couple of days after Easter...........whew, this
poor girl has been having to wear her sweaters
until her hair grew back out!! She said the
groomers took the term 'summer cut' just a bit
too seriously!


Maddie and Dad


Willie opening mail

Thanks for stopping by to check on Mr. Devin. We
appreciate your continued prayers for his cancer
free life!

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Interesting around here.

On the news this morning they announced that all
of Park City schools are shut down due to possible
swine flu. No........we don't live in PC, but its
not that far away......too close for the swine
flu!! Scary.

Kara was home sick yesterday. No swine flu, but
just not feeling good. Mostly a bad cold, with
sore throat and headache. She was feeling like
herself by bedtime and is gone to school today.

Devin is still beyond tired. He just is not
himself. He moves in slow motion. I don't care
what the blood tests say; something is just not
right. It always seems like if a person has a
problem and the answer doesn't show itself on
the first test, then its no longer an issue for
the medical community......I guess we'll just
watch and wait..............aaaghhh

Interesting story similar to my experience with
Devin:

We had a contractor supposed to come over last
night to give us a bid on some concrete work.
30 minutes after he didn't show up I called and
left a message to see what was up. About an
hour later the man's wife called with quite a
story. Turns out her 33 year old husband (the
man who was supposed to be at my house last night)
woke up Monday and was paralyzed..........he was
taken to the ER, where every kind of test was run.
MRI, CTs, bloodwork.........you name it. He was
admitted to the hospital and a few hours later his
paralysis disappeared.............no rhyme or
reason to any of this. When all the tests came
back as 'normal' the drs. sent him home. The
wife was furious as she knows that there is absolutely
nothing normal about what happened to her husband.
Sounds familiar............they are scared,
confused and worried about what is happening.
I know the feeling. If anyone has any thoughts
of what the drs. should be testing for, let me know
and I'll pass on the info. to her. Evidently the
drs are at a loss on this.

Other than that we are enjoying (finally) spring
like weather here in SLC. Kara and I are in the
mood to start planting. We've got our planters
cleaned out and are ready to get busy!! Hope
the sun is shining where you are!!

Mrs. Pam..........the doggies received their
mail last week and LOVED, LOVED, LOVED those
special treats. They both said they didn't
realize you were such a great cook!!! Thank
you!!

Rosi......the kids received the birthday
package over the weekend. They loved the
stuff!! Thank you! That Robert Burns coin
is really cool!! Devin loved his hippie
bus card. Very cool!!

Off to get something done!

Monday, April 27, 2009

I got a call from the pediatrician's office
this morning. According to all the blood
tests they ran Devin is in perfect health.
They are blaming his excessive tiredness
on being a teenager. Seems like there is
surely something not right; afterall the
principal of the school had called me with
his concern over Devin.

I don't know. I will, of course, be keeping
an eye on him. Thanks for your prayers and
concern. I'll update more later.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Devin is still 'not himself'.

He came home from school on Tuesday and
went right to sleep. No complaints of
any aches or pains; just sleepy.

Around 10pm he woke up, ate a couple
of cookies and went back to bed for the
night. Around 10am yesterday he woke
up. Not fully awake........groggy, but
awake. Still complaining of being tired.
Just draggy. He did his homework, messed
around the house a bit and was back asleep
by 10pm last night.

He is at school today. I couldn't get him
into the dr. yesterday, but have an appt.
for this afternoon. He will see his regular
pediatrician at 2pm. I'm hoping to get some
blood taken. I cannot express in words how
scared we are of what is happening to Devin.

I wonder a million times a day how things
would be different if cancer never entered
his life. Instead, we have all of these
horrible worst case scenarios swimming through
our heads. I cannot say the 'R' word. I
cannot fathom that. I just do know that something
is not right and hasn't been right for some time.
Hopefully today we will get some answers.

It is exhausting thinking this way all of the time.
I have lots I should be doing, but instead my mind
is focused on the 'what ifs'. I just want so bad
for things to be 'normal'.........whatever that is.
I somehow think 'normal' doesn't include trying to
make up excuses as to why your kid doesn't feel
like doing normal stuff...........why he is so
damned tired that he could care less about the
world around him. He needs extra help in school
right now and soooooooooooooo does NOT want it!
He doesn't want any special treatment........and
we really don't either, but as I watch his grades
slip I know we need some sort of help. I really
don't want to involve the neuro-psych tests or
the drs., but he would/does qualify for help.....
if his pride/our pride would let him.

I just know he has so much potential. I wish the
world could know how much he has to offer without
me having to explain why things are the way they
are. It is exhausting.

I better get busy. Dev's school has a fun run
coming up and I need to solicit for donations....
fun.

Thanks for checking on Devin. Please say a little
prayer that we can get this bump in the road figured
out.

Oh, and sign the guestbook while you're here. Thanks.

Friday, April 17, 2009

***HAPPY BIRTHDAY MRS. PAM***
Thanks for all the nice things you
do for our family and so many other
caringbridge families!! HOPE you have
a super day!!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

I still haven't downloaded my pictures. Always
'one more thing', then Kara is home from school
and I'm busy keeping her occupied. Have I
mentioned before that she is a 'needy' child.
She is needing something every minute of each
day. Luckily she has been pretty engrossed in
a couple of new books lately, so I've been
able to get a little something done.

Devin is still 'off'. His pediatrician had
prescribed some pills that I didn't really
think he needed, but he has been taking. I
finally e-mailed the oncologist yesterday,
who in turn e-mailed the onc-psychologist who
did Dev's last neuro-psych. The Onc-Psych
said that he thought we should continue the
drug trial and offered to talk to the teachers
regarding extra time for assignments, possibly
cutting back on his 'extra' activities....I
spoke with Devin about this and he said NO.
He said he did NOT want to be made to feel
different and he just wanted to 'deal with it'.
I told him, we were just worried about him and
wanted to make things easier for him. I was
hoping that this spring break might lessen his
load, but he is still just not himself. Dr. Lemons
was willing to do an MRI, but I don't think we
can do one with the braces on anyway.....so that
is an issue. At least now all 3 docs are in
communication with each other. I just wish there
was some easy fix.

The onc-psych did remind me (like I needed this
reminder......how could I forget) that Devin
had had some 'regression' since his initial
neuro-psych (while on maintenance therapy).
Yes, we are well aware that his brain was still
experiencing damage from chemo almost 2 years
off of the stuff!!!!! Yes, the same stuff that
kills cancer cells also wrecks havoc on your
system years after you have finished taking it!

I'm going to try and get those pictures downloaded
today. I don't dare download them on this laptop...
this thing is nuts!

Tomorrow is our favorite preschool teacher's birthday!
You can surprise Mrs. Pam with a card at:
preschoolpenpals@yahoo.com

Thanks for stopping by. Please take a minute to
sign the guestbook.


Hiking in Capitol Reef NP




The kids at the top of Petrified Forest...they are sitting on petrified wood


ATVing outside Torrey, UT


Another ATV picture


Dev


Horseback riding....it was COLD!


The kids with their little cousin, Madison

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Happy Easter!

We are taking advantage of both kids being out
of school and free from activities to spend
time in southern Utah. We left early Thursday
morning to visit Capitol Reef National Park,
Grand Staircase, Escalante Petrified Forest...
we are staying in Torrey, Utah.

The weather is questionable here. It was
beautiful on Thursday and Friday. Today has
been a bit rainy, then snowy........now
rainy again. We were able to get in a nice
hike at the Petrified Forest before the rain,
then snow hit again.

The 1st day we spent hiking and testing out
Randy's 4 x 4 capabilities. Yesterday we
rented ATVs for the day and went exploring
for the day. We were wiped out!! It has
been a fun get away. Not too many people and
lots of beautiful scenery. We've even had the
chance to eat at 'Southern Utah's Finest food'..
Cafe Diablo. We're thinking about visiting
there again tonight.

There are even a couple of art galleries here
in this town of less than 200!! Pretty cool.
Devin's decided he's a fan of abstract art.
Me, not so much.


Hope everyone enjoys Easter tomorrow. I'll post
some pictures soon. I've got some good ones.

Thanks for checking in on us.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Gosh I am exhausted! The kids have been on the
worst behavior of their lives. I don't know
exactly what is going on, but I know I don't
like it! Devin is just irritable and wants
everyone around him to be too. He has some
times where he is the 'old' Devin, but mostly
he is just acting sooo out of character. Talking
to him is getting nowhere. Threatening and taking
things away is getting nowhere..........I (we) are
at a loss right now as to what to do. He just
is NOT himself at all. I feel defeated. I'm
not giving up, just don't know quite what to do.

I've got him an appointment with the pediatrician
on Monday and also have an email sent to oncology.
The last time we saw behavior like this........
it was a chemo issue.........but, he's had no
chemo in a L O N G time. I've read stuff online
about ADHD, but that doesn't even seem to fit...
why would a kid be normal and happy one minute...
for 13 years or so.......then........all of a sudden
start forgetting how to do simple things in life?
Start not paying attention in class..........yes,
we aren't just noticing these differences at home...
the school/teachers are aware 'something' is up...
luckily they are willing to do whatever it is that
is decided needs to be done. If anyone has any
thoughts on this.......personal experience....or
just whatever, can you kindly email me? I just
feel helpless and scared.

On a lighter note, Kara is back in school after
3 weeks at home. She went to bed not feeling good
on Sunday night and woke up sick Monday, so actually
went back on Tuesday. Miss Maddie was certainly glad
to get her mom back to herself!!!!! 7:30am on Tuesday
morning, she marched into Kara's room and started
barking at her to get up!! She has never done that
before..........I was guessing she was past tired of
having to compete for my complete attention. This
dog is hilarious!!!!

Things are still not going well in our extended
family. My nephew and his wife are separated and
it just hurts our entire family. They have a baby
now, so there is ALOT involved. I just feel so
bad for everyone. I know the kids are worried
about baby Madison and how her life will be.

I better get off of here and start running errands.
The kids broke my laptop (again) last night so I
need to make ANOTHER trip to my friends at the fix it
place. Maybe I'll get lucky and this repair will be
under warranty.............hope so!!

Also, I want to say HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY to my friend 'Little Rickey'.
I cannot believe you are sixteen.....you guys grow up too fast!!!!

Thanks for stopping by to check on us. Please leave
a message.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Its finally Friday!

This has been one of the longest weeks
on record. Devin has been in a HORRIBLE
mood this week. I'm not sure if he is
getting sick, or just sick of school or
what?? He has never been a morning person,
but this week has been hellish..........and
he had NO school on Monday!!

Kara had a good birthday and was glad to have
her brother home with her for her birthday...
even if it did mean taking him to the doctor
to see if he would qualify for a study on
a new migraine med. being formulated for
'teens'. I still haven't heard if he has
officially qualified. I'm surprised to
hear of a drug company specifically targeting
kids...........most don't bother to test
their drugs or dosing on kids....interesting.

The kids decided to start some art classes
through the community education this week.
Kara signed up for 'Mixed Media', while Devin
decided that was too immature for him and
signed up for Oil Painting.........ages 13
and up. Interestingly enough he is the only
student under 70 or so in the class.....
guess they'll be mature enough for him!!

He acted disgusted when I picked him up from
class because the instructor had him mixing
colors, rather than actually painting. Normally
I don't think something like this would have
bothered him, but like I said he is in a
TERRIBLE mood. Whew.

Thanks for stopping by to check on the kids...
and for the birthday wishes.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Devin with a phony smile........probably mad at me about something.



Its been busy at our house. Devin turned the big 13
on the 13th. Kara and I organized a surprise party
for him..........he really was surprised!! We
invited a few of his friends over, then went out to
his favorite pizza and had a sleepover. He had a
good time. One of the boys' favorite past time is
to play poker........with candy as the chips...I
think they were pretty much done with candy by the
time they went home.....too much sugar!!


Devin and friends

We had GG out here for a week. She came out on the
11th and was able to stay through the 18th. We had
fairly nice weather while she was here and got to
do lots of messing around. It was so nice to have
her here to help out.......Randy was gone again...
to San Diego. I think that is about his 3rd or 4th
trip out there in as many months.


Kara, Grandma & Devin

Devin is at a math camp (another) this weekend. I
purposely scheduled Kara's birthday party for later
in the day today so that he could come.........but
turns out he was preoccupied with ANOTHER math event.
He also had ANOTHER math competition on the 18th...
he has no idea how he did on that one. I hate it when
they have to wait so long for results........seems more
like just testing. I think he is about 'mathed' out...
I know I am. whew.


Thank you Mrs. Pam!

Kara's b-day party turned out to be rather small. She
only wanted to invited kids from this year's school to
the party. She took the invitations the day she went
off track and I can almost imagine most are still sitting
in the bottom of unopened backpacks. She did have two
good friends show up...........so MORE cupcakes for them!


Kara


She seemed fine with it. They did crafts, played games,
made ice cream sundaes, ate cupcakes, jumped on the
trampoline and went on a scavenger hunt. They all seemed
to have a good time! Her best friend is still here..she
and Kara have gone over to the school to watch the school
musical together.


Grandma and Kara


Luckily things around here are pretty much party central...
I can't complain. Its just amazing to me how fast these
kids are growing!!

If you're reading this, please take a minute to stop
and see our friends who are in need of extra prayers.

Ben's site

Ben has been a friend for years and is battling cancer,
AGAIN. Poor kiddo. Not only is he super cute and
super brave, I hear he's a pretty cool kid. Please
keep this fighter in your prayers. He is one of our
favorite friends in Wisconsin.......he was also a good
friend of Chris aka Clownfish.

Our friend, Mattias, in Idaho is having some difficulties.
He's kindof a newbie to cancer crapola, so it would be
great if you guys could drop him a line. We're hoping
to get a chance to meet him one of these days when we're
out of school and his counts are UP!!
Tias

Friday, March 13, 2009

Today is Devin's 13th birthday!!!

He was born on 3-13-96 at 2:12pm...

We are so happy to have him in our lives!! He truly is a
miracle!!

He is a great son, brother, grandson, nephew
and friend! We love you Devin!!!

Friday, March 6, 2009

Devin now has less than a week of being twelve!
He is so excited to become a 'teenager'. He's
even been practicing 'acting put out' and having
an attitude. He's been informed more than once
that he doesn't have to act like a brat just
because he is becoming a teenager. I am
having a hard time comprehending that he is
turning 13!!!! Where has the time gone?

Kara has been on a non-stop rip lately. I have
yet to do anything to please her these days. I
am not sure what is wrong with her, but trust
me I am trying to get her figured out.....I
am used to having sweet kids and these attitudes
have really got me down. Whew. It seems like
Kara has to be the victim about everything;
whether its doing homework, doing chores or
just what to watch on tv. Aaaghhh.

Kara's on year round school and finished up
her 'track' today. She'll be home entertaining
me for the next 3 weeks...........I am having
a really hard time getting excited. I'm just
hoping she will start feeling more like herself
and get to being sweet Kara again. I'm thinking
maybe she needs those botox/lidocaine shots
again.......I'll have to try and get that
scheduled while she's out of school. I just
paid off the last ones (from Dec) a few days
ago.......so its probably time.

Devin's still keeping busy with his math club(s).
Its just overwhelming to me the amount of work
that he does. Every day he has homework...then
he has 'math club' work. He takes after his dad
and is a math whiz!! I'm so glad that chemo
couldn't take that away from him.

He's got his second migraine of the week tonight.
I have him an appointment with an optho-neuro
in the next few weeks. Also, I'm trying to get
him into a study for migraines in teens.....they
are checking into the probability of this, since
he had the chemo and radiation. The study
coordinators admitted that most studies automatically
exclude anyone who has undergone cancer treatment...
so we shall see. Its a newer version on imitrex
with naproxen.............so they are checking on
the naproxen, due to the Crohns disease.

Devin doesn't have any birthday party set up yet.
He is wanting me to rent out some big place....
and have a dance and invite the world......and
that sounds great to me. We shall see. We have
to see what will work with his schedule......he's
got several competitions coming up......

Kara's got her party scheduled for the Monday before
her birthday. She is saying a jumping house and
cupcakes....maybe some crafts. She certainly has
an easier time getting things set up and organized.
Although, she has told me that she plans on having
at least 4 parties; including family parties and
a sleepover. We shall see.

The braces are going well. We were back at the
ortho earlier this week for 'emergency' appts.
with broken wires. I've never had braces, but
the ortho assured me that they haven't necessarily
done anything wrong...........just part of the
process. Kara got some lovely pink and purple
bands for her teeth, while Devin picked out
green and navy for upcoming St. Pats day.

Thanks for continuing to check on Devin and our
family. We appreciate you! Please sign the
guestbook.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 10:29 AM CST

Jayla's wedding

I found this on CNN this morning. It reminds me of too many of our friends.

All is well here. Kids are healthy and adjusting well to the braces.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

http://www.cnn.com/video/?JSONLINK=/video/us/2009/02/24/diaz.tx.9.year.old.wedding.wfaa

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Science fair is tonight. As soon as Kara gets
home we are headed over to Devin's school to
see the projects. I'll remember to get a picture
of it this time!!

Kara had her 5th grade program last week. It
was quite good. A patriotic program focusing on
heroes. Each of the kids had made a heart with
information about their 'hero' on it. Most kids
named their parents, but Kara named Devin. It
was very sweet. I'll have to try and scan that in
for the world to see. It was very nice.

Here's what it says:

"My hero is my brother because he survived having
cancer when he was only seven years old. Now he
speaks at events that honor people who have had
cancer, died from cancer and or are going through
cancer treatments. He suffered from it when he was
seven until he was nine years old. Now he is in
remission. (Cancer free) Kara Ross"

Very nice.

Thanks everyone for the valentines. I'll try and
get some pictures up here soon. I have had a headache
off and on for a week, so haven't been getting much
of anything accomplished. I don't know if its the
mold in the house or migraines or what.....I just
know I am tired of it!!

Thanks for checking up on us.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Happy Sunday!! Its been a lazy day for me...
finally. This last week was a bit much. Lots
going on in our extended family that affects
your heart. Hopefully things are starting to
settle down.

As I write this Devin is on his way home from
Denver and Kara is at a birthday party. He left
Friday morning for Denver and has been there this
weekend for a Robotics competition. We will be
glad to have him home safe and sound. It is hard
having him away from us for these type of things.
He is growing up way too fast!!

Science fair projects were due on Friday, so I
am glad to have that out of my house!! The fair
will be this coming week. I can't believe I
forgot to get a picture of his project before
he turned it in. I was beginning to wonder if
it would ever get done......then I casually
mentioned that there would be NO Denver trip
if it wasn't completed on time.........you never
saw a kid work so fast in his life!!! He can
get stuff done, but sure likes to procrastinate!!

His project: Acid rain's affect on plants

The braces are starting to feel better. I'm
worried about their brushing, but I have at least
been able to keep on top of Kara. I worry about
Devin not getting enough to eat while he is away...
he has upper and lower braces on and is taking a
long time to eat anything. I am sure he will be
okay.........just glad to be home.

We are having a birthday dinner for one of Randy's
friends tonight. He is in the process of getting
a divorce and we are all pretty bummed about that...
his wife had 3 boys that the kids enjoyed playing
with, so we will miss them tonight. I hate the
thought of those boys losing their dad. I know
he is missing them too.

Thanks for the valentines for the kids. Devin still
has some to open when he gets home.

Other than that everything is going well here. So
far everyone is staying healthy and away from the
doctor's office. The next ortho appointment is
on March 11th, so hopefully we will stay away
from there until that time.

Thanks for checking up on us.

Monday February 9, 2009

Most of the morning was spent at the orthodontist!!

We now have TWO kids in braces. Devin has a
whole mouthful of metal. Kara just has them
on the top for now. In 6 months or so she
will get the bottom braces put on. She has
some sort of 'bumper' in place on the bottom
right now.

I was surprised at how much older the braces
made them each look; especially Kara.


Here's Devin!




Kara

It was a busy day. A day for lots of ibuprofen
and soft food! We had potato cheese soup for
dinner and I'm planning on something equally
soft for tomorrow. They are both enamored with
their new looks, but say they are uncomfortable!

Thanks for stopping by. Please sign the guestbook.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Dad and Kara

Tonight Randy and Kara had a 'daddy daughter' date
at a Valentine Dance. We've been planning this for
the past couple of days. They went to our local
rec center for dinner, crafts and dancing. I was
surprised to see them back home an hour later...
evidently most of the other 'dancers' there were
a decade or so younger than Kara. Darn it....that
was a bit of a let down. It gave them both an
excuse to get dressed up!!




Devin was sick Monday and Tuesday, but is feeling
better now. They both got spacers (for braces)
earlier this week and are scheduled to get their
braces on Monday. I'm sure we will be eating a lot
of soup next week.

Thanks for stopping by to check on Devin. Please
sign the guestbook.


Devin and Kara

Monday, February 2, 2009

Devin was up until early this morning with a
horrible cough. He was feverish and hacking
this morning so he stayed home.

He slept until almost one this afternoon
and is still feeling miserable. The sun is
shining outside and seems like a waste of
a day being sick. Hopefully the illness
will be short lived.

Kara was off and raring to go this morning.
She missed last Monday with a headache; which
luckily was just a headache. When I called
her in sick the school said they had sooooo
many kids called in sick; all of them started
with a headache. We got lucky with her.

Not much else going on here. Probably should
be reading up on the next section due of the
science fair. This acid rain business is not
making much of a project........yet. I better
check on that and see what he is missing from
today.

Thanks for checking on Devin.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Its been a different weekend. Devin had a reprieve
from math club due to a math competition for younger
kids being held at the school. The kids enjoyed
fighting with each other most of Saturday.....can
you say too much togetherness!!

Saturday night we had our old neighbors over for
dinner and finally gift exchange........Christmas
gifts. They also brought their puppy so the dogs
could all play together. It was an exciting night.

We got some surprise news a week or so ago. I had
taken the kids in for teeth cleaning when I asked
the dentist about Devin's front tooth that had
chipped......again. He informed me that it was
going to continue to hit on the bottom tooth and
wear down. What's the solution? Braces!!

So...I had already been in the process of finding
an orthodontist for Kara, now I'm in the process
of finding an ortho for BOTH. I had already taken
Kara to a couple of consults.........so I had to
take Devin too. We did find the 3rd doctor to be
a fit, so this week we are doing another ortho
appt. this week.

I am still in disbelief that we are going to pay
for 2 kids to wear braces..........whew. Expensive,
but the long term benefits will be good.

Devin's at a super bowl party right now. I don't
know how much they were planning on watching the
game..........they were talking about all of the
wii stuff they needed for the party.

I'll try and update with some new pictures soon.
Thanks for checking in on Devin.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Still perfect!!!


Devin.........

I got a call yesterday afternoon from the pediatrician
assuring me that the CBC numbers were all in normal
range. This afternoon the nurse called me with the
rest of the counts and EVERYTHING is great!!!! All
that worry for nothing!!!

Devin was so brave yesterday at the dr. He talked
'man to man' with the doctor and told him that he
had a lump he was worried about, ONLY one lump, but
he had been keeping track of it, and it was growing.
He told the dr. that he was very worried that his
cancer had come back and he needed to do what needed
to be done to find out. Devin was relieved when the
dr. checked him over and told him that he felt 99R>sure that things were fine..........BUT, with his
history it is imperative that Devin DOES report any
changes; especially lumps/bumps in his body....esp.
those in the lymph nodes. I will never forget the
way the dr. talked to Devin and put him at ease....
whew.

Devin went ahead and took the rest of yesterday off.
He has been sooo stressed and just needed a break.
I think he had himself all convinced that he was
going back to chemo-hell. I am so glad that all
is well.

It makes me sick to think of doing 'that' again.

He was relieved while we were waiting to see the
dr. yesterday that 'Finding Nemo' was on the
waiting room television. He said that Clownfish
(aka Hippie Bus Girl Chris) must be thinking of
him. I would imagine she was. Thanks Chris.

I noticed on Hadley's site that Angela is working on
getting a "Childhood Cancer Awareness" license plate for the state of Oregon. IF you live in Oregon......or know of someone that does,please send them over to Hadley's site to sign. She needs a lot of signatures to get this thing going!

She sparked my interest, AGAIN, about getting Utah on
board for a "Childhood Cancer Awareness" license plate.
If I can come up with $17,000 and 250 people to buy
the plate (another $25 on top of regular renewal fees)
then Utah can have one...........hmmmm..........we'll
get started on that!!

Thanks for your prayers and positive thoughts for
Devin. We appreciate you!

Please sign the guestbook.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Its been a busy week!

The new furniture arrived..........Kara had the nerve
to sit in the new chair before Devin got home....can
you say MAD!! Amazing how he can revert to acting
like a 2 year old over something sooooo simple. He
is usually so mature, but Kara really knows how to
push his buttons!


Devin & the big chair!!



New Bed!


Devin & Kara in the big chair...

Devin has been doing LOTS of homework, getting
ready for an upcoming Robotics competition,
preparing for an upcoming math competition, taking
pictures for the yearbook (that he continually
forgets to take to school for download), getting
ready for yet another sleepover.........getting
ready for another dance. It all sounds 'normal'
enough, but his schedule is wearing me out. I'm
wondering how he can just keep going and going....
surely a kid has to crash sooner or later? Also,
he's got a 'lump under the skin....on the back of
his neck' that we are scheduled to go check out
next week.

We are worried. We aren't talking much about it,
but there is tension in the air. Gosh how I hate
cancer, loathe cancer..........just the threat of
anything 'abnormal' makes my stomach turn.
about it, but we are worried. Please keep him in
your thoughts. I don't know how the pediatrician
is going to react. I don't know how I will react.
I could have got him in to the
doc earlier...........but.......if this isnt a big
deal then I don't want Devin worrying about nothing,
AND on the other hand I don't want him to miss all
of the things that are now parts of his normal.
Does this make any sense? Its one of those catch-22
situations.

In brighter news I finally got Kara's butt motivated
to get that Susan B. Anthony project done and out of
the house. I have a new appreciation for Susan after
reading about her for the past few weeks. I'm hoping
that Kara learned something too. I'm wondering if
there will ever come a day when Kara gets motivated
to get a major project done on her own? For some
reason she still thinks I need to 'watch' her do
research, etc., etc..


Kara

Devin's science fair plants are still dying as
scheduled. Acid rain is just not good stuff. Randy
was convinced that the first acid rain plant died
too soon and brought home another to kill.....its
dying just as fast and looking just as dreary in our
kitchen window............aka...the window of death.
Luckily Randy has been keeping pretty good tabs on the
plants as Devin gallovants from one extra-curricular
activity to the next.


Window of death..........


As people living in the Salt Lake valley we have been
breathing in the 'worst air in the nation' all week.
Our air is a disgusting fog of filth that has a heavy
feel when you walk outside. We have been praying for
some relief.......meaning snow.........for the past
week. Of course, we still have a foot or so left
lingering in our way too long driveway. Also, the hope
of new snow will insure that our ground stays frozen, so
the possibility of water leaking into the basement stays
low. Yes...we still have water 'issues' around here.

Thanks for checking in on us. I've got some new
pics to download..........hopefully today.

Please sign the guestbook.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Its been a nice long weekend. The kids played well
together and really got along well. One of Dev's
friends from the old neighborhood spent the night
on Sunday night and the kids seemed to have a lot
of fun. They stayed up late, cooked, played
Rock Band wii, watched stupid movies, went
skateboarding, sledding, then eventually went
bowling.........busy!! They are both tired and
probably ready to get back into a routine....its
back to school tomorrow!

Devin had math and robotics club on Saturday.
Randy, Kara and I landed up going ice skating
over in Murray. Not such a good idea.....whew,
I fell straight backwards and just about knocked
me out!! I have a serious knot on my head. Kara
and I were skating together when a little hockey
kid swished by right in front of us......and to
avoid hitting him, then her, I went straight back.
Ouch!! Of course Kara fell too and was lucky to
just get a couple of cuts on her hand from my
skates......ouch! Randy fell once while out
there and decided to call it a day. I don't
think we'll be going ice skating any time again
real soon......we always go when Devin is busy
because he absolutely hates it!!

Devin's new furniture comes tomorrow......sometime
between 8am and 1pm. Guess you can figure what I'll
be doing tomorrow. He is so excited. He has been
busy vacuuming and getting ready for the new stuff.
I'll get to try out the new chair before anyone else!

Devin and I got interviewed over the phone today for
an upcoming newspaper article regarding Camp Hobe.
I'll link something up here when it is printed. I
have no idea when that will be. Devin sounded so
grown up when he was talking to the interviewer....
he is really growing up!!

Rosi......it was fun to see you on skype. We went
and got a new webcam and are set up and ready to go
whenever you are........!!! The kids are anxious
to see the kids on the webcam.

Thanks for stopping by. Please take a minute to sign
the guestbook.

Friday, January 16, 2009

We've got 2 birthdays in our family this week!!

First off, Happy Birthday Grandma Gwen!!!
Thanks for being the best mom and grandma!
We love you lots!! HOPE you enjoy your day
today and many more birthdays to come!!


Grandma........a few birthdays back!!

Also, the favorite black dog at our house
is turning SIX!!! Happy Birthday Little Willie!
Here's hoping you stay healthy and accident-free
this year!!!


Willie the Wonder Dog.........

Our new friend, Mattias, has his website set up now.
Please go and offer him some support as he begins his
battle against cancer. He is battling the same cancer that
Devin, Kayla, Hunter, Derek, Daniel and Christopher
had.

Visit Mattias

Devin is finishing his last finals today. He is
excited about the upcoming l o n g weekend.....we
are staying around the house.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Its been busy around here. Both kids have BIG
projects that are due soon, plus Devin has finals
this week. He hasn't been studying much, but has
been busy getting in his missing assignments! For
some reason he forgets to always turn his work in,
then loses it and has to re-do it!! He has been
working his butt off re-doing algebra papers.

He is doing a science fair project about the effects
of acid rain on plant life. He's got four plants in
my kitchen window in varying stages of death.....the
'pesticide' plant is actually doing better than the
'acid rain' plant, but neither look too healthy.

Kara is working on a history fair project on Susan B.
Anthony. Talk about boring.........whew!! I will be
glad when this one is over!!! Its 5th grade, so its
not overly involved, but I'll still be glad to be
able to stop reading about Susan!

Everything else is going well here. We've had a
break in the snow and can almost see the road in
front of our house. It seems it has been covered
in ice and/or snow for a couple of months now. I
don't know when the next storm is coming, but I
know they are talking up a big inversion...yuck!!!

I met a new friend the other night. Tias was
diagnosed on 12-30-08 with the same cancer as
Devin.....and Kayla, Christopher, Derek, Hunter
and Daniel. He lives up in Idaho and has just
started treatment. His mom will be getting a
website set up for him soon. He is almost 6...
I'll share his info. when I get it. Until then,
please pray that this little boy can tolerate
this awful chemo and achieve remission.

Thanks for stopping by to check on Devin. He is
excited for his furniture delivery....Jan 20th.
He is also excited for another upcoming math
contest, Robotics competition in Denver and
spelling bee.

Theres a new website I found that I'd like you all to sign up for:

Cure Childhood Cancer

Friday, January 2, 2009

Happy New Year!!!

Can you believe its 2009?? We really are 'living
in the future'.........I can remember when the
year 2000 seemed so far away and now, here we are!!

We had a great time with Grandma. Plenty of snow,
lots of baking, shopping and just hanging around
the house. Devin was in California until the evening
of the 23rd, but luckily had a great time and was
able to get home to us without delay. He was glad
to be home, but exhausted from his trip.

Right before Devin left on his trip he got a phone
call from Ashley Furniture. He had entered an essay
contest about what he does to make a difference in
the community. He entered and won........a $1000
bedroom makeover!!! We went down there right after
him arriving back in SLC and he picked out a new
bed and super-big recliner chair!!! He was very
excited..........as were we!! The store(s) had
10 kids that were selected as winnners with over
400 entries!!! Pretty cool!! Due to the bed being
out of stock he will receive his new stuff on
January 20th.

The kids have really enjoyed their time off from
school and getting to spend time together and with
their grandma. We don't get to see her often
enough!!! We try to pack as much into her time
with us as possible.

We had a great Christmas. Lots of neat gifts
and the ability to just stay home, BEING HEALTHY,
and just enjoy each others company. It was a
great day! Hope yours was as well.

We finally got a break in the snow over the past
couple of days. We've got more headed our way
today...........it looks like we are headed for
another snowy weekend and shoveling........my
least favorite winter time activity!!

Hope you are staying warm and safe. Thanks for
checking in on Devin. Have a great year!

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