Val does it again!

Yikes... just catching a simple football at church yesterday and Bam! another broken bone -- actually it's a fracture - a chip fracture in her middle joint, but a fracture none the less that needs to be splinted for 4 weeks. 

It
happened right after church yesterday, and at first glance, I noticed
the black and blue between the base of the finger and the middle joint - I check for a break in the bones of the finger, but it seemed
fine and she was able to bend it some, although she was having pain if you pushed on or tried to move her middle joint of the finger.  So I was just hoping it was
jammed.  It didn't look so great last night, so I taped it to her middle finger. However, this morning she woke up and it was very swollen and
more black and blue. 

I was thankful that they didn't cast it -- this way she is able to unsplint it for a shower and then has to resplint it again - so no messing with not getting it wet.  Very thankful it wasn't worse - but a bit exasperated at the amount of breaks and fractures this kid has had (I think this makes 4).  My hard core dainty princess!


Since I had to go to the doctor, I took Julie too -- as she has been having sinus problems for a month.  We had tried several types of meds and nothing seemed to give her any relief.  Turns out she has a sinus infection.

Praise God for dr's, x-ray equipment, anti-inflamatories and antibiotics!!!  They both should be mending up just great!!!

Have a great week.
~Di

Rush, rush, rush....  December has been a blur.  Usually I have family here at Christmas (this year they went to my sister's in Idaho), and as much as I love that, it's exhausting after Christmas because they're on vacation and want to go, go, go... and I'll all I want to do is stop, stop, stop!!  I can't tell you how nice the last two days have been. 

Wednesday was spent with my girls shopping -- relaxing and without direction, a time limit or deadline.   We went to the mall to exchange a few things and then down to the beach.  There we ate a little lunch (pizza, yum!) and then met up with some good friends to mill around with at the Main Street shops.  Good deals were to be had -- lots of stuff 50% off.

Yesterday was another pleasant day.  In the morning I messed around on the computer (changed my xanga), then watched a movie with Valerie, dropped El off at work and then went to Dee Dee's house and for a few hours (so relaxing!!) and just hung out - I only had one time constraint (to pick up Ellie from work), but even that my husband ended up doing, so again nice not to have to be doing something.  Came home, had a nice meal (which my husband also picked up), and then watched a couple more movies with the kids.  That was a restorative day of rest and I feel very blessed for it!!

Today, I have to do something - my chores are piling up!!!  Laundry, especially.  And things are still a bit disorganized since Christmas day.  This year I took of an extra week after Christmas (typically we'd start school again on Jan 2, but I don't go back until the 7th).  So I am looking forward to another 11 days with nothing on my schedule (there are actually a few things, but fun things, like Bunco!)

Here are some pictures from Christmas:

Christmas Eve with the Parsons & Grandma Pauline

Christmas Day:

 

 

It's been cold here the last couple of days for SoCal.  I'm blessed not to be having to do anything outside.  The temperature just dropped 2 degrees -- it was 41 at 8:30am and now it's only 39 (9:05am) ----- burrrrrrrr!!!!  My heater is working overtime - as we usually only turn it on in the morning to take a bit out of cold, but we have been leaving it to come on most of the day, as we need to get that bit out all day long!!!

Hope you all are keeping warm!  Have a great weekend.
~Di

**Edit**
My funny Gracie:

**End Edit**

We have much to be thankful for every day.  This day, however, holds special thankfulness for me.   This day 4 years ago, I had a biopsy on my breast. Three days later I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was something that changed my life -- one of those defining moments like getting married or having your first kid, only not so happy.

If God had not caused me to have so many medical issues that year having the outcome of meeting my deductible, I would not have gone and had it done -- And that would have cost me my life.  However, that seemingly random decision saved my life.  So, I am very thankful today as I reflect back -- thankful for these continuing years with my family and friends that God has and is allowing me to enjoy.  All praise to Him!

Here is my post from 3 years ago, December 4, 2004:
Many of you have asked me about my cancer -- so I thought I'd blog
about it -- especially because it'll be a year on Tuesday that I was
diagnosed.
 

Lots was happening at the time.  My daughter Gracie fell (a year
ago today - she was 6 at the time) in the kitchen and had broken her
femur.  That was the day of my biopsy (running from emergency to
the cancer building in the same parking lot to have this done). 
Grace was admitted and had this external fixator attached to her leg in
surgery the next morning.  She was hospitalized for 6 days. 

Gracie's leg a day or so after surgery

During that time was when I was diagnosed with stage Ia breast cancer -
which is the best it can be for cancer (caught real early).

Here
I am the day I found out -- My Friend, Sue, took this picture. Here is
where I stayed for 6 days when Gracie was hospitalized.

Grace got out of the hospital completely needy -- wheelchair bound and
had to have everything done for her. My surgery to remove the tumor was
that next Monday (15th). My mom came down to help out as  Grace
need to be  lifted and carried and I was not going to be able to
do it (during the day when my hubby was gone). 

 

My mom helping Gracie in the shower

The surgeon
thought he could go in and just do a lumpectomy to remove the cancer
and some follow-up radiation, but the post-op tests revealed that I had
a second type of breast cancer (ductal). 



Another lumpectomy on the 22nd, test showed that it was all over my
breast and (got this news on Dec 24 - what a horrible time for that!)
that my tumor was very agressive  and I needed a mastectomy and
chemo as an assurance that even though it (after CT & PET scans)
had not spread anywhere, there was like a 40% chance that it had spread
into my blood stream where it could deposit somewhere (thus the reason
for the chemo).  

Gracie and I on Christmas Morning

I cut my hair real short on the 29th.  Chemo started January 5th
and went for 4 sessions 3 weeks apart ending on March 5.  
The first one was pretty bad; I felt pretty sick and was down for about
5 days, but subsiqeunt ones were much better - maybe feeling nauseous
only a day or two.  My hair fell out two weeks after the first
session -- in handfuls!!  That was something that even though you
prepare yourself for, when it happens it completely blows you away!!

January 22nd

Gracie's got her fixator off on our
anniversay, March 3rd.  She had another month of physical
therapy.  She limped for a while, but now you'd never know.

This is her in August - you can see the pin hole scars in her leg.

I chose in April to have a double mastectomy (because, I mean, who
would want to go through this again!). So as of April, I consider
myself to be cancer free as having gone through the chemo and
mastectomies, assuming the chemo has done what it was supposed to do,
which was kill any microscopic cancer cells floating in my body.

Here's me recovering from my mastectomies.

At the time of the mastectomies my surgeon also started
reconstruction.  Now I only have one procedure left for that and
I'm done.  Then just 4 more years of onocologist appointments and
tests , then they'll consider me cancer free. My prognosis is very good.



My hair started to growing about 3 weeks after my last chemo. 
It's about 3 inches long now, growing almost 1/2 inch a month (growing
really fast).  It came in thick, and curly in the back -- which is
so funny because I've always had pretty much stick straight thin
hair!!! 

Me in September. 

My family and friends worked overtime to help me this last year with
meals and driving me places and taking my children here and there etc
etc etc . My mom made several trips down her in the last year to help
me during each surgery and recovery.  It is so humbling and I feel
very blessed and loved.  God's grace and mercy held me up through
every twist and turn.  I felt much peace over the last year
concerning my diagnosis and treatment -- not that I haven't had my down
times, but those, by the grace of God, have been few and far in
between.  I have laughed and joked about it a lot.  Humor is
a good thing.



Well that's about it. 

~Me

**EDIT**

The northern San Diego County fire looks as though it might burn all the way to the ocean!  To give you a idea of where I live -- if you went straight down from the "I" in Irvine, in the picture above, almost to the ocean - that's where we live.

The night time pictures are both striking and horrifying.  It's difficult to image the hundreds of fire fighters that are working diligently around So. Cal to put these fires out - putting their lives on the line.

This picture is awe striking.  I can't even imagine what would be on fire to create soooooooo much fire and how fearless that firefighter looks standing in front of it with that little tiny truck!  How could he possibly help in that situation?  Seems hopeless.  But there he stands as if it's not.

The devastation leaves me even more awe struck -- more than a 1200 homes burned -- and that was as of yesterday.

This is the smoke stream -- it almost looks foggy at my house.  The sun shines through, but it's an eerie orange-ish color.  The outside of my house is covered with a thin layer of ash.  The air quality stinks!  Poor Val is struggling with her asthma through it all.

Please be praying - for these fire fighters, for these many thousands of thousands of families that have been evacuated (like 300,000 in San Diego alone), for these many families that have lost their homes, and for those that have lost their loved ones.  Please pray for safety and for an abundant amount of grace and mercy -- and that God would use this in those unsaved people to draw them to Him -- to seek joy and peace, not in things, but in an everlasting Living God and Savior - that can never be taken from them.  With God nothing is hopeless.

~Di

Here are just some pictures of us with Baby Kalia Stein and family: