Half way done!

Today I had my big chemo #3! Which means I'm half way done with the nasty chemo drugs!!! Three more treatments & I will hopefully never have to ever go through this again. I will still continue on with the drug Herceptin until next February but that one isn't anywhere near as bad. My hair will actually start to grow back! After my six big chemo treatments I will also move on to radiation therapy. I'm not 100% sure of those details yet but I believe it's five days a week for six weeks. That is NOT going to be fun. The radiation won't make me lose my hair but I understand the fatigue can actually be worse with radiation. Lovely. Still, I will do it since it's the best possible treatment plan for me. I also found out I will have the tissue expanders in for at least six months post radiation. I cannot have the replacement surgery until then. Something about the radiation can literally shrivel & harden regular implants so yeah....we'll hold off on the final surgery. I really don't want to look like I have "granny boobs" yet! I think I'd rather have NONE! lol Honestly, I've been surprised so far at how well I've been handling this. The side effects are not nearly as bad as I knew they could be. Knock on wood!! Let's hope it keeps up! And let's hope when all is said & done this does exactly what it supposed to do!!

The Portraits!!!

The girls & I just got back from Arizona tonight. We drove down last Friday for Shannon's baby shower on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. We got to hang out with family all weekend, go to the zoo with the Linhart clan (woo hoo!), I got to watch Twilight with Spring & Shannon (YAY it finally came out on DVD!), visit friends, shop, eat & have a great time. It's always anticlimatic coming back from vacation but it's nice to get home too. It was especially exciting because the portraits came in the mail from Amy today!!!! There are some really great ones & it's hard to decide what to do....which one's to blow up, which ones to frame, which ones to get in color or black & white. Here are a couple favorites (thanks again Amy....they turned out amazing & we love them!!).

It's the little things

You know how when you get into the shower you just anticipate the water will be hot? Yes....it's one of those things we take for granted. Well our water heater has slowly been dying. The pilot light just wouldn't stay lit. I'd have to go turn it on, wait for about half an hour & then we'd get moderately warm to luke warm water. I just can't handle that. Showering was becoming an ordeal & I probably would have needed counseling from cold water shock therapy. I was looking online at a couple large retailers for a water heater & they're pretty expensive....not including installation. Did I mention our water heater is UPSTAIRS?? So I did what we've done before & called one of the members of our bishopric....Billy Boyle. He's a contractor (well, I don't know if that's his official job but he has a license). He's helped us before with a minor(ish) repair to the girls bathroom. I called him yesterday morning. He said he'd come take a look at our water heater after he got off work, then go over to Home Depot, pick one up & come install it. Just like that. Wow. And thanks for letting us borrow him Kylie! Since all this was done while Coray was at work, Billy called another member of our ward, Ethan Featherstone, to come help him with getting the old one downstairs. Ethan's wife Amber is a good friend & had just been over watching the girls while I was at chemo yesterday afternoon. So Amber came back over with Ethan & let the girls eat half her dinner (some yummy looking pasta salad that she brought with her) while the guys changed out the water heater. I've said it before & I'll say it again....I don't know what we'd do without the church. We'd be out a lot of money that's for sure. Our ward is fantastic. Just the day before our neighbor & friend Darren Jepson had been over helping Coray with some caulking repairs to the shower & tub. And all of the ladies who've helped us with babysitting while I'm at my various doctor's appointments, there are too many to even name. Anyway, the heater wasn't exactly cheap but it definitely saved us a good chunk of change & the service....yeah, that was worth every penny. It's such a pretty water heater, I just want to hug it. lol Now excuse me while I go take a nice, HOT shower! :-)

Gracie having fun

Daylight savings time is evil!

Evil I tell you! And yet another reason I want to move back to Arizona....they're the only ones who agree with me apparently. And what exactly is it "saving" us?? Something about not using as much energy because it's lighter later? I just don't get it. Of course it doesn't help that both girls are sick & I'm still feeling awful from Chemo on Friday....or is it because the girls are sharing whatever they have. Emma is home sick again today. She's been running a low fever on & off since Saturday night. Gracie had it last week but still has a lingering cough & runny nose. Oh the joys of sharing. I honestly can't tell if I'm having chemo side effects or if I have a sinus infection, I've been pretty congested. Still, I won't complain (much), it's not as bad as it could be. We're hanging in there!!

A sneak peek from Amy

Oh I am very excited about the pictures! Amy sent me an e-mail a little bit ago with a link to her photo blog where she has posted just a few of the pictures she took. I wish I had this kind of talent...she does such an amazing job with the lighting & backgrounds. I cannot wait to see the rest!!
http://amyleavittphotography.com/blog/

It was inevitable

I am bald. Well, not razor bald but as buzzed as you can be. There's maybe about 1/16 th of an inch of hair. It started coming out last Thursday. I tried not to touch it so we could get the pictures done yesterday & then I went today to have it shaved off. I didn't want to wait until it was scraggly looking, plus having hair everywhere is just annoying. I took Emma with me & she was fine through it all. I considered taking Gracie for about two seconds & remembered when Emma cut her own hair when SHE was three. Yeah, I didn't want to give Gracie any ideas!! I'm ok with it. Just like I am about everything else really. It was oddly liberating in a way. But this is definitely not something I'd ever do without knowing it was going to fall out on it's own. I have a picture. My Mom is the only one who's seen it so far. I'll consider posting it when I get the nerve!! Gracie was so cute when I got home. I had a hat on & told her Mommy had to cut all my hair off....like we'd talked about. We pulled off my hat together & she was rubbing my head with a big smile on her face. Then she kissed my head. It was too cute.

We had fun taking pictures with Amy yesterday. We went to Calico Basin in Red Rock Canyon. It was pretty & the girls had a great time. We should have them in a couple weeks & I'll ask Amy if I can post a couple. I'm excited to see them!

I went back to work today. It is, of course, like I never left. It's nice to be back into a more normal routine....for the most part. It's going to be a challenge with all my doctor's appointments & chemo every Friday. I hope I can keep up!