Minstrels of Mischief

Poor little Caden had a "collision" at school yesterday. His friends teeth with braces "collided" with his cheek! They apparently hit heads really hard. The placement just happened to be very unfortunate for Caden as you can see. He is such a tough kid. Not a single tear or complaint! This will be his fourth major head injury. He already has 3 scars on his face. For Halloween he was Harry Potter. I thought it was perfect! He already makes such a great Harry Potter with his look and I used an eye pencil to draw on a scar off of an existing scar that is lighting bolt shaped and everything. This new one was pretty jagged and icky but hopefully it will seal and heal well with minimal scarring.
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"When I accept that learning through trial and error and making mistakes is the way to wisdom I will see that failure is an Illusion."

Jason took the kids fishing today. They went up to a trout farm in Oregon City. I stayed here while Joci was napping. They had a blast! We cooked up the 8 fish they brought home for dinner. The kids were so proud that they had "caught" dinner and I don't know that I have ever seen them eat so enthusiastically! ;) It was a great memory for all of them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOCELYN!

Joci turned 2 on Wed. Oct 12th.

Photo courtesy of big brother Logan

" Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain."

Here are the kids on their first day of school at "Stafford". New school for us this year. We will miss bolton but look forward to making new friends. Ashlynn is starting kintergarden, Caden 2nd, Logan 4th.

The kids are starting their second week now and still have smiles when they come home. They seem to be adjusting really well. They like their new school. It is such a sweet age. pictures like this make me wish I could freeze time.

I couldn't decide which picture so here are the 3 Jason took. =)

I wanted to let you all know the good news. The MRI looked great! There is no new growth. Just a big black hole still ;). That means we will not have to look at further treatment options just yet. whew! I don't have to go back in for another MRI for 6 months, which is as long as they will let me go in between from here on out. I am just supposed to continue watching and monitoring my symptoms. If there is any major or alarming changes I will go in sooner.

I will continue to see various counselors and Doctors. I now also see a neuropshychologist, a Phyciatrists, a neuro Opthomologist, and just started seeing a Speech Therapist. The speech Therapist is not for "speech" per say. I speak fine,... if not a bit too fast and disjuncted, and yes I know I get so lost and confused in my own head that I actually interrupt myself. Yes, pretty pathetic but amusing to watch i'm told. ;) Anyway, the Speech Therapist I am seeing will look at how my brain is or isn't processes things, auditory memory, visual memory, and many other brain functioning and such. Which I need A LOT of help with. I spent a few humbling hours with him this last week and went through a barrage of tests. Things are definitely not working like they used to but I still have some key things in place so he was hopeful and thought they could help. I am hoping with the addition of these new doctors to my team I will continue to get better and stronger and clearer. I can't know how to do that without knowing where the holes are and finding strategies to understand them, building on my strengths and trying to maximize what I have left.

With the new MRI results we can breath a bit easier for now and try to focus our energy on how to make current things work, which is no easy task, but it will be easier to do with out having to juggle that with going through chemo, radiation, or another surgery. I, we, are so grateful! We have been wonderfully fortunate to be on the receiving end of so many earthy angels that have come to our aid. Thank you so much to all of you for your loving care and thoughtful heartfelt prayers. It makes such a difference! I draw strength from your strength. Thank you for helping me to feel loved and looked after. I couldn't have done it without you. Let's hope this trend of "Clean" MRIs lasts as long as possible!

I'm having my next MRI tomorrow. Any Prayers or happy good thoughts my way are welcome. Wish me luck!

Jason had surgery yesterday...again. He had surgery about 8 months ago for a torn rotater cuff. He tore it the day before we moved into our new house, about 1 year ago. Yes, i know. Really bad timing huh. Many of the projects we had planned for the house got put on the back burner and are still there. recent MRIs have shown that the rotater cuff's repair is still intact but there was still a problem because he is in constant pain which wakes him up each night and he still cannot lift his arm above his head. We went with a different surgeon this time who did a repair to the biceps tendon. we are pretty sure it was damaged a year ago but was overseen in the first surgery. it has been really frustrating but we are hoping that this surgery will fix the problem. The recovery for this one should be less than the first but he still is not supposed to lift much (the equivalent of a coffee cup) for 6 weeks. As unpleasant as surgery is Jason said he was actually looking forward to it. He doesn't want to do surgery but if it will fix the problem it would be well worth it. He is really sick and tired of not being able to lift his left arm. Also, the poor guy is exhausted from all that has hit our family and deserves a break from trying to be both Dad and Mom's caregiver and manage a house and 4 kids. I remember feeling similar before my last surgery. I was really scared but saw the surgery as a chance to have a bit of a break. How backwards is that! The fact that he feels the same way shows how overburdened he has been. I hope he is able to recharge a bit this month and i hope this time the surgery will work. Wish us luck.

We went to the beach this weekend. Here are some pictures:

I love quotes. I found this one today on the inside of my dark chocolate dove square wrapper.

"Do not look back and ask why, look forward and ask, why not?"