Chemo & TLC

Sorry for the delay in the update but fall has been keeping our family busy.  After a week home from the hospital my mom was moving around the house, making grocery lists and planning family dinners like she didn't JUST have brain surgery!  She had her follow up appointment with her neurosurgeon and neuro-oncologist down at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and they were very pleased with her recovery. She was thrilled to get the okay to drive and lift things less than 50 pounds, which means she can finally hold Tristan again :)

Together with her doctors we decided to follow a slightly different plan from her last course of treatment.  We are going to avoid oral chemotherapy and brain radiation and just do IV Avastin therapy.  She will be getting her infusions up here in Bellingham every 2 weeks and will have follow up brain MRI's down in Seattle every 2 months.  Her first infusion was this Wednesday and went very well.  Besides feeling a little tired for a couple days she tolerates Avastin very well.  We are so thankful to have surgery over with and have positive hopes for her treatment to work again for her.  More than ever we are spending lots of time together as a family and looking forward to celebrating Tristan's first birthday and Thanksgiving together next month. God Bless!!

Home At Last

After 3 days and 2 nights at the hospital my mom finally got the okay to go home. They were thinking about discharging her the day after surgery because she was doing so well but decided to observe her one more day due to the placement of her chemotherapy in her brain and the possibility of increased swelling. We were prepared to meet with speech therapy if swelling caused any difficulty with her language. Instead when we got to her room on Wednesday morning she was reading her breakfast menu and calling to order her own breakfast! This is so amazing because after her first surgery she had some difficulty reading and forming clear sentences for a couple months. We even got a text from her that night in our hotel room saying goodnight :)

                                               

Ordering "room service" in the hospital (she doesn't know I took this picture but it was too impressive NOT to!)

 Sporting our new scarves! She talked her surgeon into not shaving her entire head for surgery and once her incision heals up I bet she will be rocking a new hair do that my sister will do for her.

So impressed with the level of care my mom received at UW. All of her nurses were so sweet and allowed our whole family to be a part of her care as much as possible. Her surgeon and his team of attendees were incredible, answered all our questions and gave us such a positive perspective on fighting this disease. Plus my mom said the hospital food was the best she's had so far, top notch hospital all around!

                                         
She traded her hospital gown for her Maui clothes as soon as she got the news she was going home soon! My parents were supposed to be leaving for a vacation to Maui a week after they found out my mom's brain tumor was back. So we have postponed their trip for now and plan to take the entire family  to Maui next spring to celebrate her awesome recovery!

She is so happy to be settled in at home again and is sleeping and healing up excellently. She gets to slowly start tapering off her post surgery medications and is feeling more and more like herself everyday. My sister Taryn and I are so thankful to be living just a few short miles from my parents, where we can come by all the time to visit and help out wherever we can. My Aunt Barb stayed down in Seattle with us for the surgery, made food for us this week and has been so amazing! All of our family and friends have once again amazed us with their outpouring of support and help. Every meal, card, text message and facebook comment reminds us daily of how lucky we are to have such a wonderful support system.

We really could not have asked for a better outcome and thank God for guiding her surgeon and giving my mom strength through the surgery and recovery. She seems to have no side effects so far from the chemotherapy working in her brain and we meet with the doctor in 10 days for her postop visit and to figure out where to go from here. Please keep my mom and our family in your prayers, we love you all!

Success!!

This is going to be brief but I just wanted to get the word out to everyone waiting for news...my Mom's surgery was a HUGE success!! After being in surgery for 2.5 hours we got a phone call from the operating room nurse letting us know that everything went well and she was on her way to recovery. Her surgeon Dr. Silbergeld met with us shortly afterwards to tell us they were able to remove all of the tumor and successfully place her chemotherapy. They did another brain MRI just prior to her going into surgery and they used this image to guide the tumor removal. She had minimal bleeding and after coming out of sedation she was already talking on the operating room table! We didn't share this earlier but the one major concern we had prior to surgery was the possibility that her speech could be damaged due to the location of the tumor being so close to her language center.

After a long 3 hour wait we were able to see her in ICU. She had a big sleepy smile on her face and was able to recognize us and tell us all about her amazing team of nurses and doctors that had been taking care of her the last couple hours. With very little help from a physical therapist she has already been up and out of bed. Our mom is AMAZING!! Her brain may experience some swelling tomorrow which is normal after this surgery and it may effect her speech temporarily but it is nothing that would be permanent. There is actually some talk of sending her home tomorrow if she continues to do this well.

Thank you to all of you who kept us in your thoughts this morning, we could FEEL THE PRAYERS! Once again God was watching down on us today and we are so grateful for His blessings. The University of Washington has surpassed all of our expectations and we could not have found a better place for her to come. The chemotherapy they placed in her brain today will be effective for the next 6-8 weeks and we will be working on starting another treatment plan in the meantime. Today completely reaffirmed that we have found the right doctors to take care of my mom and help us formulate the best plan of care for her. More updates to come tomorrow, time to rest and regroup for her recovery. Much love to you all!

A Time To Fight

I am sitting in the waiting room here at UW Medical Center this morning and I have literally started and erased my first ten attempts to start this blog post, because flat out there is no easy way to share this news again with our friends and family. For the past 18 months my mom has been off of cancer treatment and has been enjoying and living her life to the fullest. She was still being followed closely by her oncologist and her brain MRI's every 4 months were consistently coming back with no tumor regrowth. Then 2 months ago there was "a change" detected in the area of her first tumor. After 4 different doctors reviewed the scan they could best describe the change as a "shadow" but with no detectable tumor. They recommended to repeat her next scan sooner. On September 5th they repeated her MRI and gave us the grim news that the cancer was back and a glioblastoma brain tumor had regrown in the same area as her first tumor. We all knew that this could and probably would occur again sometime in the future but we were still not prepared to hear this news and go through the same fear, worry and concern all over again. My mom has been feeling very healthy and objectively we have not noticed any symptoms of the a tumor returning (confusion, headaches, difficulty with speech). 

"I'm ready to fight" was the first thing my mom told the doctors after hearing the news that her cancer had returned. After the initial shock wore off we agreed as a family that we would go to Seattle to meet with Dr Chamberlain the head of neuro-oncology at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. My mom had seen him in consultation 3 years ago when she was originally diagnosed and he helped formulate her plan of treatment up in Bellingham. Dr Chamberlain explained that my mom was a perfect candidate for another surgery to resect and remove the tumor. Unfortunately this type of brain cancer is the most aggressive form of tumor and removing it soon was the first place to start. Neurosurgeon Dr. Silbergeld at the University of Washington was immediately the surgeon recommended due to the fact that he only operates on brain tumors and does over 200 surgeries per year. He met with my parents and scheduled surgery for today, September 18th. Because my mom is in such great health and the location of the tumor site is so close to the surface of her brain it is easily operable. Her doctors also recommended a procedure to implant a type of chemotherapy called a Glio Wafer into the area where they remove the tumor. This is an excellent form of treatment because the chemotherapy will be localized to only her brain and is unable to cross the blood brain barrier to effect her body systemically. 

I can't help but feel like wow, is this really happening again to my mom? And the answer is yes is it but in a brighter perspective this time around we have a lot more positives on our side. In 2009 when she had a seizure which lead to the MRI that found her tumor, we were unaware of her diagnosis going into surgery. On her surgery day today we are blessed to have been given the option to remove her tumor and start her chemotherapy all of in one procedure. This is a way for her to start kicking this cancer's butt right full force right out of the gate! 

Today I feel our family is empowered by the knowledge and tools we've gained over the past three years. We know what she is facing, know what treatments worked for her in the past and we have discussed options for new treatments that are available down the road if she needs them. I hope we are even more prepared this time with the VERY BEST doctors/surgeons, medications and therapies to ease her discomfort from treatments and have our family and friends behind us prepared to offer all the support we may need down the road of treatment and recovery. 

My mom and our family is a true believer in the power of God's hand in all things. We know that only He knows the plan for my mom and it is our job to stay strong and put our faith and trust in Him. I am grateful for my education and training in nursing to be here today as an advocate for my mom and family. I will do my best to post updates as often as possible. Please continue to pray for strength and healing for my mom and all of those lending a hand to support our family through this journey. We are so blessed!

Christmas Miracle

Christmas came early this year for our family as my mom received another clear brain MRI this month. She has now passed the 2 year mark since her diagnosis of a stage 4 glioblastoma brain tumor in her left frontal lobe. It has also been 1 year since she was given the okay to stop all treatment because she was doing so well. I am unable to put into words what a true miracle my mom is and how the power of a positive attitude and prayer can truly save a life.

For a recap...my mom was given a 7 month time stamp on her life by the neurosurgeon who performed her brain surgery to remove her tumor. She was even recommended to not pursue any treatment because it wouldn't prolong her life. Our family demanded a second opinion and immediately sought care from Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. We were amazingly referred back to an oncologist right here in Bellingham because they had the best technology in the area to treat brain tumors. Here we were given a sliver of hope that there were options for treatment. My mom was given that tiny bit of hope and ran with it. She immediately started a month of brain radiation where she had to combat her fear of clausterphobia, lost almost half her hair and dealt with radiation burns to her scalp. She then underwent 14 months of chemotherapy and participated in a clinical trial with Avastin IV therapy.

After 5 MRI scans of her brain her oncologist could see no further growth of her tumor and decided it was best to give her body a break from all the chemicals that had been pumped into her body to fight off the cancer. I feel like we held our breath through the next 3 months for her first MRI after stopping treatment and when it came back clear we were so relieved. With each scan since then we feel a little less apprehensive and are even more amazed at the true miracle God has given our family. It may not be a gift of a true CURE but its the gift of TIME. Time for us with our mom and time for her to enjoy life, her kids and now her grandkids as we welcomed my first child into the family on November 17th. From our family to yours Merry Christmas and thank God all of our everyday miracles.

 Nana with her grandson Tristan James Ortiz

Healthy & happy

Hello friends, family and fellow bloggers. Sorry we haven't posted in a while but I wanted to give everyone an update on how my mom and the rest of the Smith family is doing. It has been 10 months now since my mom was given the okay to take a break from her cancer treatment and she has had 3 clear brain MRI's since then! She continues to feel wonderful and she is back to her full high level of energy.

Her oncologist is extremely pleased with how she has battled her brain cancer and has even mentioned the "cured" word. We continue to take nothing for granted and appreciate everyday that she feels great and gets to enjoy time with her family.

This picture was taken on August 27th, my wedding day, which was a day I will never forget having her there by my side. She was such a special part of our celebration and is now anticipating the next big event...the arrival of her first grandchild, due on Thanksgiving Day. Sending all our love your way and more updates to follow soon!

It's About Time...For A Break!

As of today my mom has been through 14 months of treatment: 30 days of brain radiation, 14 rounds of chemotherapy, 28 Avastin treatments, 5 MRI's and too many doctor's visits to count. Her scar on her head has healed, her hair was gone and has now grown back thick and curly. After after all that she has faced it's about time my mom gets a BREAK!! And she's finally going to get a one because her oncologists all agree that she is doing well enough to take a break from her treatments. Today we celebrated her last dose of Avastin in the clinical trial she was participating in.  

So what are the plans now? Well first of her MRI scans have been pushed up to every 2 months just to keep a closer eye on her. Of course she is going to continue to see her naturopath and acupuncturist and eating a very organic diet. But her body gets a much needed break from all the drugs. We are continuing to research possible treatment options for the future and are holding onto hope for a cure someday!

My parents have also been up to their own plans. The first which includes 2 week trip to Maui in March! It has been way too long since they've taken a vacation together just the two of them. They more than deserve to kick back on the beach and just enjoy themselves.

The idea of my mom being off of treatment is a little hard to wrap my mind around because she started her therapies almost immediately after being diagnosed in December of 2009. We are all wondering how she will do off of therapy? But at the same time we are so thrilled for her because she has worked so hard to fight this cancer off and now gets to enjoy a break. There is always fear in the unknown and I guess that’s how cancer works, it leaves a lingering unknown. Mostly though it keeps us on our toes, keeps us aware of every breath we take and keeps us in awe of all the blessings in our lives. So for now we are going to all keep calm and carry on. Way to go Mom! Kick your feet up and relax for a while :)

Home For Christmas

This post is a little late but is too important to our family to not share…

After 6 months of counting down, on December 17th Skye arrived home from Afghanistan for 2 weeks of R & R. His daughter Kayleigh and mom Michelle flew in the night before from Georgia and California for his homecoming. It took almost 4 days for him to make the long flight home and time seemed to stand still for all of us waiting at SeaTac for his plane to land. 

Love this picture of Kayleigh pressed up against the airport window watching her Daddy's plane taxi in

Waiting patiently at the gate for him 

My sister Taryn took this video for us to capture the first moment we saw him getting off the plane. I will never forget watching Kayleigh run into her Daddy's arms. Those first few moments were so precious and indescribable!

I had been envisioning this day since the day he left 6 months ago and when it finally came it was so intense, emotional, amazing and all about our family being together again!

We were so lucky that his R & R dates brought him home for Christmas. Of course everyday is difficult for him to be away from us but Christmas would have been by far the hardest day. Skye's parents and daughter spent the holidays up in Washington and it was our first holiday all together as a family.

We spent 3 days up in Whistler and it snowed almost 2 feet while we were there. Kayleigh spent a lot of time out in the snow playing and sledding with her Daddy. The village was absolutely beautiful covered with fresh snow...a true winter wonderland!

Skye and I stayed up late on Christmas Eve putting the finishing touches on the last of Kayleigh's gifts. Christmas becomes so much more special when you have a child in your life to share it with.

We were so excited to finally be together to get some wedding planning done. Amazingly the weather cooperated for us to take our engagement pictures with Kayleigh. Dan Deward and his lovely wife Tracey from Hatch Photography spent the day with us at Semiahmoo and up at Mt Baker. The snow was falling ever so gently during our session up at the mountain and Dan captured our day perfectly. The pictures turned out more amazing than I could have ever could have imagined. 

I still have no idea how all the military families do it. I can't believe I am so close to being a military wife. I definitely do not even come close to understanding what lies behind all heartache and trials we experience, but I think I have at least a teensy bit of a clue. I am awed by out nation's military families. They are heroes. All of them.

I am grateful there are brave and honorable men and women in this country who are willing to sacrifice so much for us. I am thankful for the families of those soldiers who support and love them even though it breaks them down in so many ways to do so. God bless them all. And I am honored to soon call one of those brave men my husband.  

The 2 weeks came and went so fast and all of a sudden it was time to say goodbye again. For the next 6 months again our relationship will consist of carepackages, emails, Skype dates when possible and constantly static-y phone calls. As hard as it was to let him go again I am so grateful that this is the last goodbye we will ever have to go through because when he gets back in June he is getting out of military. We appreciate all of you that are continuing to pray for Skye and the entire 170th MP Company. I choose to avoid the news these days but as many of you know things continue to be extremely dangerous in Afghanistan. Please pray for their continued strength and for a safe return home to their families this summer. 

A Feeling of Extraordinary Healing

On December 1st our family received the most wonderful holiday blessing...the gift of extraordinary healing. My Mom has an MRI scan of her brain every 3 months and once again it came back with no new cancer growth.  December 6th was the one year anniversary of her grim diagnosis of a stage 4 glioblastoma brain tumor. And one year later yes she does have brain cancer, but she is tumor free and living life to the fullest! Her oncologist says he would like to take some of the credit due to her success with her chemotherapy treatments and clinical trial study, but he said he is giving my mom ALL THE CREDIT :) Her story is nothing short of a TRUE MIRACLE. The cancer specialists are learning so much from her because no one has progressed so well through treatment from this type of brain tumor. Her fight is being witnessed by many and others draw hope and strength from her success.  

This year I have really treasured the time I've gotten to spend with my mom decorating our houses, christmas shopping and making holiday plans together. Even through chemotherapy she is a ball of energy and wears me out! We are looking forward to spending a very special Christmas together as a family with my fiance coming home for 2 weeks from serving with the Army in Afghanistan and his daughter and family coming from Georgia and California. There are so many challenges that we have faced as a family this year that makes us appreciate the simple act of getting to be together for the holidays. There may have been years that we have taken that time for granted, but this year is a reminder to all of us that it is so very PRECIOUS. Everyday with my mom here is a blessing and we are celebrating this Christmas season with a tremendous amount of joy and optimism for the future! Many blessings to all of you and your families this Christmas season.

Happy Veteran's Day

Happy Veterans Day to all of America's veterans who have placed our country's security before their own lives, creating a debt that we can never fully repay. Our veterans represent the best of our country and sometimes I don't feel like that on a daily basis they get the respect or praise they deserve.  America would not be the country that it is today without those who have served and continue to serve proud, freely, and valantly.

To those of you wear the uniform of your country with pride today, and for those of you who wore the uniform in days past, these few words go out to you, and hope they bring life in its fullness unto you and yours...You gave of yourself, to protect and keep the life that Americans cherish, a life that comes with the freedom to love and dream and are filled with many treasures. You gave of your family, you gave of your life. Some came home, some never did, some live in our memories, some in our tears, taken in life both young and old, no score card to determine who went and who returned. So accept these simple words of thanks. THANK YOU...

Veteran's Day Tribute

Thanks to my good friend Julie Price and the FBLA students at Lynden High School, we were able to take part in a local project to support our troops and do some charity work overseas where they are serving. LHS students participated in OPERATION SHOEBOX and collected 140 pairs of shoes which were mailed to the 170th MP Company troops and handed out to the kids in need in Afghanistan. 

My fiance Sgt. Ortiz captured some great photos of the kids with their shoes and made a video for the students at LHS to express the appreciation of the soldiers in his platoon. This was the video that was played at the LHS Veterans Day Assembly this week...very touching and a great way to recognize our Veterans this week. Thank you Julie & LHS!

Barb Won't Be Sidelined...

Last weekend our Auntie Barb had a scary and unfortunate accident that resulted in a broken back. Her T3 & T7 vertebrates were fractured after she landed on her head/neck on the hardwood floor at a Halloween party with friends and her husband. The news was terrifying but we were immediately relieved to hear that she was responsive at the hospital and could move her arms and legs. It was very scary to see her laying in the hospital in so much pain and not knowing how serious the damage was. But by day 2 at the hospital she was fitted for a special back brace and had taken her first couple steps. 

She is going to have a very long and painful recovery ahead of her but was extremely lucky that the break in her spine was a "stable" break, meaning it was somewhat protected and supported by her ribcage. A break any higher up in your spine can easily result in permanent paralysis. With the support of our family and some very wonderful close friends, she has had around the clock care and homemade meals delivered to her and her boys. 

Most of us know that Barbie's boys play football for Lynden High School and are pretty tough athletes! From the minute Barb left the hospital last Monday her goal was to make it her boys' playoff football game this Saturday. So last night we bundled her up in her wheelchair and wheeled up the ram to the Lynden bleachers to cheer on her boys to a 48-0 victory over Bellingham. Just proves that Barb won't be sidelined by any injury, even a broken back! God be with her on her road to recovery and with the Lynden Football boys on their fight to the state tournament. 

Shoe Drive Off & Running

I'm very excited to announce that OPERATION SHOEBOX is officially up and running as of this week! Thanks to my first couple collectors and a couple of very generous shipping donations we were able to ship off 50 pairs of kids shoes this week. Skye and his soldiers should be receiving the packages in the next couple weeks and plan on taking some pictures and possibly video clips of their first handout on the streets.

A couple of friends have offered their ideas and efforts towards the project and I really wanted to give them how much I appreciate that. This is the first time I've started a charity project from scratch and I am open to all suggestions! I have a new friend, Kim Goertz, who runs an organization called Whatcom Homefront (http://whatcomhomefront.org/) that ships packages to local soldiers serving overseas. Kim got me in touch with some of the right people at KGMI and they have invited me to do a broadcast with them sometime this month to get the word out! I'm sure I'll get all tongue tied and not be sure of what to say, but hopefully the announcers can do most of the talking for me! Our long time family friend Donita, has gotten the YMCA and Aquatic Center involved also. And my teacher friend Julie Price is running a shoe drive at Lynden High School and their goal is to have 400 shoes donated by the end of October! I am still worried about coming up with enough funds to cover the cost of shipping so if you would like to get involved or have some more ideas for me please email me at Tanisita16@aol.com. God Bless!!

More special thanks to: Marge Roberts, Dena Smith, Mary Schwisow & Barb Kraght

A Real Life Wonder Woman!

Every 3 months my family gets that anxious feeling that slowly creeps up on us, as the date gets closer and closer on the calendar to my Mom's next MRI scan. Her doctors have planned these scans according to her treatment schedule. At the end of August she finished her 6 months of chemo she is feeling stronger and healthier than ever! But its hard to see her go through 3 months of treatments not really knowing if its working?? We just try to take comfort in how good she looks and says that she feels and leave the rest in God's hands.

Well today God showed us in all His glory that the treatments and my mom's hard work are working!! My mom's MRI scan came back GREAT! This means that the area in her brain that they have been watching (after her surgery to remove her tumor) has not grown more cancer cells. This news gives not only our family but my mom sooooooo much hope and inspiration for the future!

We sat down with her oncologist this afternoon to pow-wow and come up with our next plan. It wasn't an easy conversation because Dr. Kaminski explained to us that because the course of treatment for this type of brain cancer is just being developed, there isn't a "crystal clear" plan of action for my mom. There isn't a guideline to go by, my mom is the creating the guideline! Which in a way is very exciting but also kinda scary because there isn't a clear road to take.

After much discussion, my mom felt very nervous about taking a break from treatment in fear of the cancer coming right back. We all agreed that her treatments are working and her body is holding up very well with pretty minimal side effects. Dr. Kaminski did end up mentioning, "Why fix was isn't broke?"...meaning he supported my mom's decision of continuing treatment especially since it is working so well for her right now. I think she felt very empowered leaving the doctors office today!

So the next 6 months will include 6 more rounds of chemotherapy, continuing the clinical trial of Avastin and MRI scans every 3 months. From what I understand, after 12 months of Avastin therapy, the double-blind study will be unblinded and we can find out if she was receiving Avastin or the placebo. But we already know she is getting the real stuff! And we are so proud of her for being brave enough to be a part of such an important study that could potentially help so many other patients in the future!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all our amazing family and friends who continue to pray for my mom. And a huge thank you to all those that follow our blog or have heard about my mom and continue to pray for her having never even met her. My Aunt Barb introduced me to a couple at the fair this year, who have never even met my mom but are part of a prayer team that is devoted to praying for her weekly! How awesome is that?!!

Today serves as a reminder to us all that without faith we can do nothing. But if we depend on our faith in every situation, God will move heaven and earth to grant us peace wherever we need it most in our lives.

OPERATION SHOEBOX: Supporting Our Troops

Helping Our Everyday Heroes Reach Out To Kids In War Zones

When my fiance Skye and his soldiers from the U.S. Army arrived in Afghanistan this June, they were immediately swarmed with barefooted children from the area. Children that walk long distances to school and to look for work, to try and create better lives for themselves and their families in some very hard conditions. These children remind the soldiers of their very own kids back home and it touched them, knowing these local children are lacking basic items like a pair of shoes.

Skye asked me to get our families and friends back home involved in a special project. We are collecting gently used kids shoes in all sizes to send to our soldiers overseas to give out to the children they encounter in the streets. Some of these kids have never owned a pair of shoes and are in desperate need of footwear to protect their feet from the harsh terrain and extreme temperatures.

“If these children don’t remember anything else about us being here, they might remember that an American soldier gave them their first pair of shoes or socks,” Skye said. “Giving the children items they need helps them get over the fear of people (Soldiers) in uniform . It shows them that people in uniform are not bad and are actually there to help."

Show our soldiers how much we appreciate their service, by donating shoes to hand out to children to allow them to walk to school and to better their opportunities for the future.

Please email me at Tanisita16@aol.com for more information about getting involved or where to drop off shoe donations. Feel free to get your neighborhood or your kids' classrooms involved, I have so many wonderful friends that work in the schools or the medical profession who are offering to help me spread the word! Back to school is a perfect time of year to get this going because so many kids are trading their summer play shoes for their new school shoes. The Goodwill and Value Village are also great places to pick up shoes for around $4 a pair. I am looking for any ideas for fundraising to raise money to help with shipping costs as well.

Family Vacation

Our annual family vacation to Spectacle Lake was much needed and much deserved this summer! We've been coming here with our friends Nancy Warwick, Marsha Saar & the Schwisow family for 14 summers now, but this summer was extra memorable because we weren't sure if my mom was going to be able to go. She got the go ahead from all her doctors and spent 2 amazing weeks lounging around in the sun, floating on the lake and beating all of us at cribbage! The weather was in the 90's to low 100's everyday and we had a couple lightning and thunder storms at night.

The newlyweds (Mac & Taryn) were able to come over for a whole 10 days. Mac rearranged his work schedule and drove his motorcycle over. I can't wait for Skye and Kayleigh to be a part of our family vacation next year. We have big plans for Kayleigh to learn how to waterskii, but I think we will ease her into it with some fun tubing next year.

Yes I'm loving being engaged! Of course it would be much more wonderful to have my handsome fiance here and not clear across the world, but God has put us on this road for a reason and I wouldn't change a thing about this journey. It was great to be on vacation for 2 weeks with both my wedding planners, we took full advantage of this :)

Our great friends Brad & Heidi Anderson drove over from Chelan to hang out for the day. Taryn has been friends with their daughter Hailey for years and we were sad she wasn't able to make it with them. Maybe next year Hailey, we would love to see you!

Yes it is the summer of LOVE! My sister Taryn was married May 29th, our good friend Angie Schwisow is marrying Philip Myer next July 4th and Skye & I are getting married next August 27th. Our mom's are all really enjoying the wedding planning process and we look forward to many years to come of family vacationing to Spectacle Lake with our growing families. We had a wonderful family vacation with all our friends and my mom came back feeling tan, very relaxed and ready to start up her treatments again.

Walking For A Cure

On June 25th and 26th from 6pm-noon the next day our family proudly participated in our first Relay For Life. We had been fund raising and looking forward to this event for months but I had no idea the incredible experience we would have there together.
It was amazing being at Relay with our mom, celebrating her journey with cancer and remembering our many other friends and family members who have lost their fight with cancer. It was a very powerful experience sharing the walk with so many people in our community that are going through the very same challenges, fears and triumphs that our family has. Cancer does touch everyone differently, yet it touches us all THE SAME in the fact that it changes our lives forever and puts the same HOPE in our hearts that we will one day have a CURE!
Our team-Bubbles, was recognized for having the most survivors and was given the honor of carrying the American Cancer Society Relay Banner for the first survivor lap. All the survivors were recognized by wearing purple T-Shirts (the color purple representing all different types of cancers). My mom carried that banner with pride, a purple bandana on her head and a smile from ear to ear. I must have taken a million pictures, but even without the pictures I will never forget that moment!

It was important for us to recognize at Relay the grandparents that we have lost in our family to cancer. My mom's mother Joan Leonard to colon cancer, my mom's father George Leonard to lung cancer and my Dad's father Robert Smith to lymphoma. It is amazing the advancements the medical world has made in cancer treatments since our loved ones lost their battle. And because of the American Cancer Society, new options for treatments are being discovered everyday.

Relay day was just a small way our family could begin to show how thankful we are for the AMAZING, INCREDIBLE and OUTSTANDING research the American Cancer Society has done to perfect new treatments for fighting cancer. Our Mom is living and breathing PROOF that we are getting so much closer to beating cancer forever. The clinical trial that she is underoing is trying to prove the effectiveness of a well researched drug called Avastin, in successfully fighting Glioblastoma brain tumors. She is currently the only patient in Whatcom County qualifying to participate in this study and has had amazing results so far.
Lighting the luminaria bags right when it got dark was my favorite part of the event. It was such an overwhelming experience walking around the track and seeing just some of the many lives have been touched by cancer in our community. And whether the bag represented an individual currently battling, in remission, or in memory of, each had been made by the loving hands of someone in support of that person and each bag had contributed a $5 donation towards cancer research.
My Aunt Barb was our team captain this year and was a HUGE part of our team's success in getting organized for our first year. She was my all night walking partner and combined we walked around 30 miles. Here we are at 5am dressed up for the Patriotic Theme laps, representing Skye and our troops with pride! Our first Relay For Life was a HUGE SUCCESS and we can't wait to participate again next year. THANK YOU to everyone who made donations in support of our team, we greatly appreciate it! We would love to add some more enthusiastic team members for next year and are already brainstorming new fundraising ideas. Every lap we walk together and every penny we raise is getting us one step closer towards finding A CURE!