A Wedding & Vacation

I finally was able to sit down tonight and update my page!!  I know that people are wondering what is going on, but I have been super busy!  Ian and I got back from vacation on Sunday and I went back to work Monday, so I have been exhausted every night that I have come home.  Tonight, I am actually not too tired, it's probably the adrenaline rush with a couple patients right before I left work that gave me all the energy.

Today is my little princess' birthday!  She is 5, and I can't believe that she has been in my life that long! When I was diagnosed, I was in the hospital for 5 days, Ian said he would go home at night and she would sit on the couch and stare at the door waiting for me to walk through it at anytime.  When I came home Mia trembled in my arms for 30 minutes!  She knew, she always knows!  On my worst days she cuddles with me a little more and licks my tears away…she knows when I need a little extra lovin'!

Happy Birthday baby girl…you really do make our little family complete!  We love you princess!! 

Family picture from our trip to PA last year!

My little Chiefs cheerleader!!! 

WEDDING!!!!
On June 18th, I was a part of a very good friend's wedding!  I was so honored!  Lexie was as gorgeous as ever and as happy as I have ever seen her!  Her wedding was amazing!!  However, I now have to-do list a mile long and I've had a mini freak out session about how much I need to do when I thought I was pretty much done planning my own wedding!  But, I'm not! Anyway, it was so good catching up with sorority sisters that I haven't seen in years and introduce Ian to all my friends that I always talk about, but he has no idea who they are!  Ian had a great time and is a social person, so he made himself right at home at the Delta Zeta table!

The Bridesmaids and the beautiful Kansas City skyline!!!

Love that gorgeous bride!!!

Ready to line up!!!

Love this girl!!! Mel, you are one of the strongest women I know!  I love you attitude and spunkiness despite the trials that you face in life!!  

All the Delta Zeta's that were in attendance!!  I don't think any of us are on the wall in the house anymore, but that doesn't mean that we still don't love each other after all these years!

Ian and I at the dance!  So glad that he had fun!!!

VACATION!!!

Ian and I left Kansas City Sunday morning and headed to Pittsburgh to see his mom for a week!  We always have a great time when we visit there!!  We went into Pittsburgh for a Pirates baseball game, hung out with his family, shopped, and his mom threw us a couple's shower!  We had a blast!  Although we love going back to PA, we were ready to head home!!  

The City of Pittsburgh from PNC park!

Ian and I with the beautiful Pittsburgh skyline behind us!

The set up was AMAZING!!!  Linda went all out for us and we will be forever grateful!!!

Everyone enjoyed the food!  Linda chose Ian's favorite, Chicken Parmesan!!!  She will forever spoil her boy! 

Enjoying the yummy food!

Ian's dad's family!  Including the only grandparent we have left between the both of us!

Ian's mom's family!  They are so much fun!!!

Can't wait to be part of this family!  We were just missing Shannon's (Ian's sister's) husband!

We had a great time at the shower!  I was so happy that Ian's college buddies showed up!  It really made Ian light up!  We didn't want our time to end, especially Linda!  The next time we see each other, it'll be wedding time!

I had chemo 2 days before I left for the wedding I was in…right during my achy phase of recovering from the treatment.  I took the claritin that the NP recommended, but it didn't work for me; probably because I only took it two days before my aches started!  So, I had to resort to my pain pills that I had left over from when I was in hospital and had surgery.  The flight to KC was great…I was so relaxed and slept!  The day of the wedding wasn't too bad, and I only took one pain pill all day!  I also had my mind on the wedding and having fun, so I'm sure that took some of the pain away!  After Saturday, I felt good…I was just tired from the excitement of the wedding!  Ian and I both took naps when we got to PA…we needed them!!

I went back to work Monday, and I am gad to be back!  Sitting at home was getting the best of me and I would find myself thinking about cancer all the time!  There was a couple time Ian would say, "I don't think about the cancer anymore." And I would think to myself, how can you know think about it, it is our reality, we are living this nightmare, it will forever be a part of our lives; but his mind was busy with work and I was just sitting at home with my mind going non-stop.  I'm getting in the swing of things.  My director and new manager are so understanding and letting me work office works full time for a while until I get back in the groove!  I'm so thankful for that!  

Yesterday marked 2 months since my diagnosis and it's hard to believe I have been living with this for 2 months. My next chemo is July 5th!  MY LAST ONE!!!  I am so happy!!!  The first 3 treatments gave me so much anxiety before I had them because I dreaded the side effects.  While I still dread the side effects of this time around, I am happy that it'll be the last time that I have to endure it!  I am guessing that we will do more scans 3 weeks after my treatment on the 5th because each treatment is a 3 week cycle.  

Tonight I pray for my friend Lexie and her new husband as they begin their life together, I pray for my soon to be new family that we will have the happiest times together and our love will continue to grow, I pray for Mia's health and to be with us as long as possible, I pray for everyone that loved us enough to come to our shower, I pray for peace as I come upon my last chemo treatment, I pray that this chemo is knocking this cancer out (every time I have a little cough, I worry), I thank God for all the people at work that have been so supportive and understanding, I thank God for the opportunity to be healthy enough to go back to work, I thank God for Ian, he is my rock through all this, and lastly I thank God for him, he truly has given me the grace to carry this diagnosis and not be angry with what I can't control, he has given me humbleness and to realize that cancer knows no one, he has given me love, from so many people; some I know, some I don't.