We had a few inches of snow on the ground going into Tuesday night. Overnight we got an additional 14 inches which was a record for a one day total. When morning came the snow changed into frozen rain and coated everything with a layer of ice. The snow up on tree branches froze in place.

As this continued on into the evening, branches and trees started dropping all over the place. Our yard went from this scene on Wednesday:

 To this on Thursday:

It's hard to tell in this picture but there are two power lines (maybe cable lines?) being pulled down about to the limits by the tree on the left. Fortunately it hasn't been very windy or things could have been much worse.

We survived well since we had hot water and a nice fireplace with plenty of wood. It was a little eerie going into the grocery store only on auxiliary power and most of the store in the dark. I've never seen the power off in Olympia for more than a day so we could have been a little more prepared but we got by ok.

After the first day it started to get a bit tiresome until we started thinking of it more as an unplanned camping trip. A trip that could suddenly end at any moment and magically transport us back to our house. So as vacations go it was pretty great. No travel time, no need to pack, a comforable place to stay, and a grocery store a four minute walk away. 

I'm ranking this storm above the snow storm we had three years ago even though we got a lot more snow and it lasted for a long time, we never lost power then. I'm also putting it ahead of the inaugural day storm in 1993. That storm had the freezing rain coating everything and had high winds, but most power was recovered quickly as there was no snow to contend with. In that storm we only lost power for for less than 12 hours. This one was also a little worse in that the ice was not anticipated. The large snow fall was expected but no one was talking about the freezing rain until it came.

I'm sure my Grandparents will rank the blizzard of 1950 above this one though, which probably would merit the top spot on it's own but my Mom was also born in the middle of it (Happy Birthday Mom!).

What's the craziest storm you've endured?

I had fun with my friends eating cupcakes. 

I like my school friends, I am so excited almost everyone came!

We like to hug each other!!!

I like princesses because they are pretty pretty pretty! I dressed up like Cinderella Cinderella!!

My friend Skyllar!!

 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Still physically feeling great! Actually feeling quite normal. I am remembering though that the normal before #@$% wasn't all that good. (: HOWEVER, much better than during #@$%! No icky nausea which is the worst. 

Today we are getting ready to have a little party at a local cupcake shop with Dahlia's friends from school. Celebrating her 6th birthday! Pictures to come soon! 

A History of Recharchable Batteries

When I was a kid we had NiCad batteries, they didn't hold their charges all that long and even when fully charged, they didn't have as much power as the standard alkalines. In the mid-ninties with the advent of NiMH recharchables they fell out of favor. The NiMH batteries contained as much power as alkalines, but they would loose their charges completely after a few weeks. These were great for high drain devices such as cameras and CD players but were poor choices for low drain items such as clocks or remotes or anything where you'd typically not have to change the batteries after two weeks.

And Then Out of Nowhere

Only a few years ago the folks at Sanyo came out with a 'low self-discharge NiMH battery' under the brand Enloop. They have good capacity and can hold their charges for a couple of years.  I've been using them for a couple of years and I've been very pleased. For a while Enloops were the batteries in this class. Now there are similar offerings from Duracell and Rayovac.

Bottom Line

If you're buying batteries, look for recharchables branded as 'Pre-Charged' or 'Low Self-Discharge' and you'll be set. They will work with any NiMH charger you may already have. You can pick them up form Amazon and I've found them at Costco over the last month. Costco seems to only stock them around Christmas time but that may be different for you. They usually run about $2 - $2.50 per battery. They are only found in AA or AAA form factor at this point. You can buy some adapters where you essentuially just put a a AA battery inside of a case for a C or D battery.

First of all, from now on no one is allowed to say the word that rhymes with shemo(don't even say that either!) !! This will be my code word for it #@$%!! Seriously folks, I don't want to think about it, talk about it, smell about it or even imagine the doctor's face ever again! I am so tired of being nauseas and those things bring it on. gross. 

It has taken me a bit longer this time around to recover from #@$%. I have been so exhausted and nauseas until yesterday. Just in time for Christmas break! I refused my next #@$% appointment and am giving myself some vacation! I need a vacation and I don't care what the doctor says!

I went in for a mammogram yesterday hoping to see some progress. Unfortunately the doctor ordered the wrong test and the radiologist said he couldn't really see much. I need to have an ultrasound or an MRI to really see the details of what is going on in there. All I really wanted to know was if behind the chest wall improved. But honestly there is no way to know if that spot is cancerous (unless it disappears) all they know is that there is something there that looked suspicious. That is the only reason I agreed to do #@$% in the first place. I was all set for a mastectomy to get it all out of there, but with this little unknown spot sitting there we felt we had no other choice. I admit, I was extremely frustrated with my oncologist yesterday when I heard the radiologist tell me this test wasn't helping anything. I didn't quite feel like myself. I wanted to rush over to the doctors office and punch the doctor in the nose for ruining my life! There was lots of tears and frustration and fear. Took me a few hours to calm down, and obviously he isn't single-handedly ruining my life, but it sure felt that way in the moment. I know that all I can do is surrender this whole cancer thing to God and not try to hold too tightly to my own plans in life. It doesn't help anything or anyone to worry about the future! I keep telling myself that! He says he will walk with me through this all and I know he is, but some days it hurts real bad and I just want it to be over. 

I know God can and does heal. He is capable and able and my life is not in my own hands. He works in all things even if he chooses not to heal me.  Please pray for his will to be done. Please pray for peace of mind in the decision making. Please pray for a miracle. Pray that he gives me the strength and hope to learn from whatever is thrown at me. Pray for patience and peace! Pray for everything! (:

Photography by LCS Photography

I know what you're all asking though, what language is this writen in??? I'm still using MonkCMS for our backend but I rewrote the front end site in Node.js. I'm also using Redis for caching. Node.js can be pretty challenging at times as it really makes you think about what you are doing, but it offers some pretty steller performance. There are some pages that used to take six seconds to come up pre-cached that now come up in a second. I think I've worked out the kinks, but please drop me a line if you see anything out of place.

I go in the morning for the last treatment of this specific drug. I know you all are praying, but please pray for a perfect infusion. Last time I had an infection in my vein. Somehow it leaked. I am feeling a little anxious about it all tomorrow. I know it will be ok, but just being in that building just makes me squirm! I've gotta take two xanax to just keep me in the chair! (: 

We figured out the right formula for taking care of the nausea last time, so that is a HUGE relief! Just got to get through tomorrow and I will be ok!! 

Losing my hair hasn't been so bad either. Besides clogging the drain... I feel so fresh and cute. (: I will post a photo once it is completely gone. Still a few stubborn spots that won't fall out! Hair was such a bother anyhow. Kind of nice to have a change!

 It was nice to actually eat three entire meals today! Yum! 

Trusting God doesnt mean I won't let some tears fall. They are here, they came with the rain clouds. The pain was just too much to bare, I had to let it down. I am not alone, don't worry, I know that for sure, I am not safe but I am saved. not because of what I have done or what i can possibly do or could think to do. However, I am His. No matter what I may go through, I know where forever will land. Jesus holds me tighter every day, he gently holds me so that I can stand. There may be pain, but he never lets go. Never. Its hard. I'm not saying it is easy. No. Not in the least. But I know He holds the future, even when I cannot see. God is still good. God is still God. No matter how much life can suck. Its yucky and gross and it certainly doesn't ask politely to ruin our fun happy party of a world sometimes. Life happens and we must hold on to Jesus. nothing else is for sure.

Last night  I noticed in the middle of the night that my head was hurting, felt like there were hundreds of needles poking all around it.  I reached back and pulled gently on it and yep, it came out. So today is the day we buzzed it off and be on the lookout for some cute wigs! Dahlia has gently been trying to pull it out for me and has two bowls set out to see which one of us can get more first. (: Everything is a game/contest for her. 

I have a couple new looks that I would like to share...I will post pics later today when I feel better.

Do any of you have some fun/cute wigs just lying around that I can borrow for a few months? Or some nice soft hats?  I have a few, but could use a few more. 

Thanks!

He loves to play cars and/or trains most of the time. It is fun to listen to him talk between the cars. He also loves to snuggle mommy and read books together. That has not changed. (: He is such a sweetie. Everyday when I take or pick up Dahlia from school, Valen always wants to come with me. He loves to see the "traffic boys" and all the school buses. We run errands together and I cannot believe how different Dahlia and Valen are. I can take him just about anywhere and I hardly hear a peep out of him. He is so content to just observe and be with me. I am so blessed!

His favorite tv sow at this moment is Busytown Mysteries. Dahlia and valen snggle on the couch together everytime they watch it. Dahlia and Valen also love brushing their teeth backwayds. It doesn't seem to be the best idea... but I am sure they will pick up a new idea soon. They both never stop thinking of new things and having a blast together! they are quite the pair!

I keep telling him to back off on the cuteness or I just might eat him when he isn't looking... It is tempting! (:

Valen does love to talk about Augustine. He likes to pretend that he is him sometimes. Dahlia will carry him around and put him in his crib and everything. They are hillarious together. I love them so much! I have the cutest kids! I have the most amzing kids and the best husband who helped me make them in the first place (:

Last week I was feeling pretty good, just a little fatigued.  I am trying to stay physically active in any way I can. I know nutrition plays a huge part in all this so I am doing whatever I can to boost my immune system and keep healthy now and for later. I borrowed a book called ANTICANCER from the doctors office that has been helpful. They have a library of all sorts of books related to cancer. It is awesome. Anyone can check them out and take them home to read. So many good resources in there! I found also many free brochures with support groups, gym memberships and wigs for free. hooray for free! Hoping to get a couple wigs and maybe a fun colored one for those funky days. (: I saw a green cute bob hair cut at a shop downtown that I might have to get. (: color makes me happy! Any way that I can add it to my everyday life, I do! Today my nails are orange. (:

Emotionally, Justin and I are doing better than we would have thought. We both realize how much the past two years has really been preparing us for this new season. When we first heard the news early September, I thought to myself " How can we fit this on our plate? there is not enough room emotionally for this huge of a drain". But amazingly God has carried us through once again and reminded us that it is not in our own strength that we will succeed or come out better at the other end. We cannot muster up all our energy and then go out and storm the world day to day... we simply say "Here we are God, we trust who you are and what you say. May your grace be sufficient for us, may you grant us peace and wisdom as we walk along."

Thank you for loving and caring about us!

Kasey Keller is in pink!!

Yesterday I was taking a break while the kids watched one of their favorite shows and I noticed my mouth behaving very odd. I went up to talk with Justin about it and was unable to talk naturally. My tongue had a mind of it's own and my stomach muscles were very tight, I could not relax. After about 30 minutes I actually began to worry. We called the doctorsoffice and would hear back from the on call doctor shortly. Over the next few minutes my back started tweeking out and then my stomach and shoulders took turns reacting. I put heat on the muscles hoping that would relieve some discomfort, but no such luck. The doctor called and told us to take benadryl and it should go away. One of the common side effects from a certain medication I am taking causes "muscle spasms". I certainly ended my relationship with that medicine and am not intersted in feeling like a parkinsons disease patient. Seriously, it was weird. Funny in retrospect, but annoying at the time!

All that to say, I never take medications. I hardly ever in my life have even taken a tylenol. Side effects are just too crazy! However I do need to take some meds right now going through chemo to help with some of the side effects like nausea. nausea is by far the worst! I will do anything to get rid of it!

anyways, the first day I came home from my infusion appointment I felt a little dizzy and other than that quite well. it wasn't until a few hours later that I noticed serious nausea and dizziness as well. Some friends had planned a girls nite out that night and I was hoping to go even if I wasn't feeling well. SO I went. A little nauseas and dizzy, but still was able to have a wonderful time with some lovely ladies!! It was so encouraging! 

Once I came home though I felt awfully nauseas and could not feel better all night. Probably the worst night of my life. The next day was better but still lots of nausea. Yesterday (day4) I actually ate an entire sandwich! It was wonderful! and today even better still. I might add that it was the best sandwich of my life! (:

We are so thankful for all the delicious meals we have gotten so far and for the ones to come! Such a relief to not have to worry about that part of the day at all! what a blessing!

Cheers!

Dahlia was extremely proud to wear a lovely ensemble of pink and hello kitty. She very much enjoyed choosing her own clothes for the day. I love it!

super proud daddy!!

sitting at her new desk! She likes the girl Abby who sits next to her, but is not very intersted in the three boys there. She says they are always talking and are too rowdy! (:

Dahlia drew a pretty picture for her teacher of Dahlia and Mrs. M. It was sweet, her teacher loved it! 

Valen and I went to the library together after dropping Dahlia off at school. I wanted to make the day special for him too. I love taking him places!