Welch Belch Bunch

Welch's Winter Adventures

2012-01-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

I love the Holiday season, but this year it seemed to fly by. It felt like we had Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas within a three week time frame. I am glad that Christmas is over, I like it, but its a lot of work. I was even too tired to make cookies for Santa, so he got Oreos. I think that everyone really liked what they got which is a good thing. Caitlin got a pink Nintendo DS, Smurfs Ds game, Toy Story 3 Wii game, some DVDs, 3 Monster High Dolls, a Magnet color easel, PJ's, a dress, and some books. Allie got a pink Nintendo Ds, Super Princess Peach Ds game, 6 Monster High dolls, Monster High book, PJ's, a Church dress, slippers, an Ipod, and a Monster High Wii game. Jake got a Blue Nintendo 3D DS, Mario Kart 7 game, some shirts, Roboto Uno, cologne, and Framing Hanley cd. I got PJ's, a hot/cold massager, lotion, Breaking Dawn cd, and a heart necklace. I am sure everyone got more stuff than that but its tricky to remember everything. Like I said I like Christmas, but when its over its over, so the day after I took down the Christmas tree. On December 29th Elder Kenny Hugie made it back home safely from his Mission in Milwaukee Wisconsin. We are excited to have him home. His welcome home was on January 1st, which he gave a really good talk. So New Years eve was spent with my family playing games and eating good food. Now we are just looking forward to a new year, and hopefully accomplish some of our goals. Also looking forward to the Superbowl, the girls birthdays, and welcome our new baby girl sometime around the first of April.

Drum Roll..... Please!

2011-11-12T09:07:00.001-08:00

Well we had an ultrasound of the baby on November 9th. And....Its another girl! Jake and I were a little shocked at first just cause this pregnancy has been so different we really thought that we were having a boy. Oh well, we will try one more time in a couple of years for a little guy. We actually had to come home and look up some girl names because we only had a boy name and it wasn't really unisex. But everything looks normal and healthy, and my due date is still set for April 5th. So the good thing is we don't have to buy any new clothes, well maybe just a few. I think we will have to spring for a new crib though, ours is kind of trashed, with the wood cracking and splitting in places. I will try to post ultrasound picture but no promises it may not work.

Total Slacker

2011-10-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

Well sorry everyone but I have really been a totally slacker lately in just about everything but sleeping, eating, and working. I must be getting too old for this pregnancy thing, hopefully my body can make it until April. Well, here are a few updates Jake and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary this year on October 21st, I was hoping to do something big and fun, but since I haven't been feeling the best that didn't happen. We did go out on a date (out to dinner and to a movie Real Steel) we also got some Christmas shopping done, since I realized that will be here before we know it. It has been five crazy and exciting years, if you are an avid reader on my blog you pretty much know what I am talking about. But we still love each other lots! It was kind of funny the other night I had one of those weird pregnancy dreams. That when Jake and I were dating something happened and we decided to break up. Time passes and Jake is about to marry another girl, when this crazy women (me) goes to the wedding and makes a whole big speech about how he can't marry her he is suppose to be with me. Anyway, end up breaking up the wedding. Then I woke up. I told Jake about it, he got a really big kick out of it, since he knows that I am kind of shy and hate getting up in front of people and talking. Since the words don't come out of my mouth the way I want them to in my head. Crazy Pregnancy Dream! Also on October 23rd, we hit another milestone Caitlin is now 3 years in remission from cancer we are so excited. You really have to look hard to see her scars now, she is such a blessing in our lives. I just can't imagine life without her. I guess I have to mention too that I had my Birthday on October 25th, which I am becoming a very old lady. Maybe I will just not tell the truth about my age. Sorry I am also been a slacker when it comes to taking pictures. Also we are going to have another ultrasound on November 9th to find out the sex of the baby. So I will try to remember to update about that, until then.

Little Update

2011-09-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

Well most of you probably already know but we are finally expecting our third child, we are so excited. I have been feeling pretty crappy this time around so we are hoping that means its a boy. The Baby is due April 5th, so we are also keeping our fingers crossed that the baby is not born on Caitlin's birthday which is April 2nd, I don't think she would be too happy about that. In other news, the girls are back in school, and enjoying it. Me as well, they were just so bored at home. Allie really likes her teacher and they have lots of fun things in their classroom. Caitlin is excited to be back with her friends at school. Jake and I are doing good too, just busy with work and household chores, etc. But we are excited for the new seasons of all our favorite shows to start up again. I know we are silly people but its nice to be able to escape from the drama and stress of life and enjoy sitcoms.

2011-07-28T17:50:00.001-07:00

Summer Fun!

2011-07-28T17:21:00.000-07:00

Well we have had a fun couple of weekends, we went to Lagoon twice, and to Bear Lake. The girls were so excited to go to Lagoon and ride the rides. Caitlin liked the Merry-go-round, the Train, and the boats. She was even tall enough to ride the new roller coaster ride, and she just loved it. Allie's favorite rides were the white roller coaster, the wild mouse, and rattlesnake rapids. She loves any rides that give her butterflies in her tummy, she even went on the Spider. It was a lot of fun and very warm. Jake and I, unfortunately got sunburned at Bear Lake, that always seems to happen. Caitlin also had her Preschool program it was really cute, and she did a great job playing Mama Bear (in Goldilocks and the 3 Bears).

2011-06-11T20:05:00.001-07:00

Well summer is slowly starting for the Welchs, mainly because the weather hasn't been very good, it just wont stop raining. The girls are excited to be out of school for the summer. Allie completed 2nd grade, She is growing up so fast. Caitlin also is doing very well in preschool too, and scary thought she will be starting Kindergarten in the fall of 2012. Caitlin is doing very well health wise too, you wouldn't even know that she is a cancer survivor, except for the dot tattoo on her chest from radiation treatments, and that her hair is a lot thinner in the back at the base of her neck, but its long enough to hide her scars. Today we decided to have a family fun day down at Boondocks. It was a lot of fun! Caitlin said "Best day ever" but granted she says that a lot. Afterward we took the girls to the Mayan restaurant for the first time, the girls thought it was really cool watching the drivers dive into the water. I have realized one thing, I really need to start taking more pictures, the girls are growing up to fast to miss too many fun moments. Sorry Random thought, but I have somehow turned my girls into Gleeks! (Glee Fans) I don't let them watch the TV show but they just love to dance and sing so I let them watch and sing the songs. I am determined to someday get them on camcorder but most the time when I get it then they won't do anything. But it is really cute and funny!!!

2011-05-01T15:56:00.001-07:00

2011-04-22T18:04:00.001-07:00

Caitlin's Fourth Birthday

2011-04-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am really behind on my blogging. I have been pretty busy with work, and getting stuff ready for Allie's baptism next Saturday. Caitlin had a good birthday we opened presents, and went bowling, out to eat, and watched the movie Hop.

Quick update

2011-03-29T16:25:00.001-07:00

Well Caitlin's MRI came back clear, Yeah!!!! So she has been in remission from cancer for about 3 years.

Allie's 8th Birthday

2011-03-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

I am really behind on my blogging, but working six days a week doesn't leave much time for anything else. Caitlin is doing really well in school, she is such a smart and silly girl. We just love her personality. Allie is now 8 years old, she is growing up so fast. For her birthday Jake took her balloons to school, and we went out and ate at Golden Corral. We got her a Barbie Wii game, some new PJ's, and the Barbie Fashion fairytale movie. The next day we went to Disney on Ice, the girls really liked it, it was really cute. Allie and I liked the Princess part. Caitlin liked Minnie and the Toy Story 3 part. I think Allie had a good birthday. We are now looking forward to her baptism on April 30th. As for the rest of us we have just been busy with work, and church callings. Poor Allie did get strep throat a week after her birthday, hopefully she will get better soon. Also please keep Caitlin in your prayers she has another MRI to check and make sure the cancer hasn't come back on March 28th. I will make sure to update with the results.

Not Much Happening!

2011-02-01T16:52:00.000-08:00

Wow, I am really slacking on my blogging, but there hasn't been much going on. Jake and I have just been busy with work, and the girls with school. Any time we have together we play together on the Wii and Xbox 360 and just try to relax. I do have some good news to mention on January 27th, Caitlin has been off chemotherapy treatments for a whole year. She is doing so good her hair is growing in very quickly and curly. She is doing really well in her preschool, now if we could just get her potty trained. I will try to blog more when exciting things happen, but sometimes not too much excitement is a good thing.

Some Updates!

2010-12-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

Wow, where has December gone, I swear time just flew by after Thanksgiving. Sorry it has taken me so long to update this. Been busy with Christmas shopping, wrapping, writing letters to Elder Kenny Hugie, and working, and keeping the house clean. I think I slept somewhere in all that craziness, at least a little bit. Thanksgiving was good, we ate dinner at Grandma Hancey's and then we went and watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. That Saturday after we went and watched the Festival of Lights up in Preston. But we were a little disappointed but it was so cold, I think most people stayed home. On December 14th, Caitlin had her 3 month check up down at Primary Childrens. She had an audiogram, which she did really good on, she is having a hard time hearing the higher pitches, but they want to just keep an eye on that for now. She also had a MRI of her brain and spine. Thank goodness, everything came back clear and cancer free. She is doing so well, its so exciting. In one month she will be done with her chemotherapy treatments for a whole year. We have been watching family home videos of us on Christmas morning, I about cried when I saw her and her cute bald head. The girls are so excited for Christmas and can't wait until it here. We are so thankful for all the blessings and miracles we have witnesses over this past couple of years. Now if we could just add another member to our family we would be all set. We also want to wish our friends and family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I always forget until its too late to make Christmas cards and send them out. Hopefully next year, but don't bet on it.

2010-11-04T17:30:00.001-07:00

Tag, I'm It!

2010-10-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

Well I was tagged by my Mother in Law so here goes.
1. Post your favorite picture and explain why.
I picked the picture of our family outside the temple after we were sealed together for all eternity. This picture is important because it means no matter what happens if we live worthy we can all be together in Heaven. Caitlin's cancer showed us how easily we could lose her, she is doing awesome now. But I am glad to have this assurance in case anything happens in the future.

2. Time to admit it, what is your favorite reality TV show? I like watching the Biggest Loser, its actually the only reality show that I watch. The rest have too much drama in them, and I don't need any more drama.

3. If you could go anywhere is the world where would you go? Who would you take?
I would love to go on a cruise to anywhere warm. I would take Jake with me to celebrate our years of marriage, the past few years have been kind of crazy so we haven't been able to do much for our anniversaries.

4. If you won the lottery what would the first three things you would spend the money on?
Pay off all our debt, buy a beautiful house, put of lot in our girl's savings accounts, and donate to Cancer patients at Primary Childrens and Huntsman Cancer center.

5. Your biggest regret in your life? My biggest regret is how much I hurt my family during my first marriage, for that I am truly sorry and hope that they can forgive me. Hopefully I can make it up to them with the years I have left.

6. Where has your favorite trip been to? My favorite was our trip to Disneyland this September. We dealt with a lot of crap this past few years, so it was fun to make some fun and new memories, and spend time together as a family.

7. How did you meet your spouse? Jake and I went to high school together, He had a crush on me then. But I already had a boyfriend and I married him out of high school. Four years later, after he would not keep a job and became an alcoholic, I divorced him. I then re met Jake at RR Donnelley where we both were working. We became best friends, and fell in love. He truly is my soul mate.

8. Name something that irks you? Oh wow, just one thing, I have to put two- health insurance and the fact the cost of living continues to increase but income from employment never raises.

Four Years, wow time is just flying by!

2010-10-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

Today is our four year wedding anniversary, wow time is really flying by. We didn't really celebrate today because we used all of our vacation time for Disneyland and we both had to work today. But we are celebrating on Monday my birthday and our anniversary together. We still enjoy being together after four years and are excited about spending eternity together. I should write more but its been a crazy week and I have lots to do tonight.

2010-10-05T17:43:00.001-07:00

2010-10-01T18:54:00.001-07:00

A much needed Family fun Vacation

2010-10-01T18:12:00.001-07:00

Well, anyone who has been following this blog knows that we have had a couple of rough years with a few good moments mixed in there too. But we decided that we needed a fun family vacation to recharge our batteries. So we headed to Disneyland last Thursday, we kidnapped my parents and stole their RV. The trip down was pretty long, but we made it there by Friday evening, and then went shopping at Downtown Disney. On Saturday we spent the whole day in the park, riding rides and getting pictures with Characters. Caitlin was such a trooper she made it through the whole day and didn't crash until the end of the fireworks show. We watched Fantasmic that night, it was really cool. The next day we headed to Carlsbad, to Lego land. Its was really cool what things they can make out of Lego's. Monday, we went to Sea World and watched the animals shows, we even got to see the new show Blue Horizons it was really awesome. Allie wanted to get wet so we sat on the fourth row at the Shamu show, we didn't only get wet we got soaked. Caitlin didn't like that very much. Tuesday and Wednesday was spent at Disneyland California adventure and Disneyland park. Allie favorite ride was Splash Mountain, I think she went on it four times. Caitlin liked anything where you could ride in a boat, and meeting Minnie Mouse, she even gave Minnie Mouse a hug. It was really cute. Tuesday night we also watched the new water show at California Adventure called World of Color. It was so awesome, I wish they had a DVD to buy of the show but they don't yet. Our camcorder is older too, and it would of been to hard to hold it during the entire show. Wednesday was Jake's Birthday he even got a pin that said Happy Birthday from Disneyland. All in all it was a fun vacation. I am sure I forgot a lot but I am still pretty tired from the trip. Enjoy the pictures and I will try to remember to add more later.

Girl's First day of School

2010-08-31T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well the Girls have started school again, thank goodness, they were really getting bored at home. I have gone back to working full time on day shift. It's nice to see my friends from work again, and now I have weekends off to spend with my family. Well that's all the news from the Welchs for now.

Some fun in the Sun!

2010-08-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

So here are the Welchs adventures for the past weekend. Caitlin finished her summer preschool and performed a program, it was really cute. She did such a good job! We went to the Preston Rodeo parade, and got a bunch of candy. On this last Monday we went to Bear Lake with my family. We rode on wave runners and played in the sand. We also went to Pickleville Playhouse and watched Bandito rides again. It was really funny, Jake and Allie laughed the whole show, then we spend the night in my parent's new RV. The next day we spent most of the day in the sun and water enjoying the nice weather. Then we went back to the campsite for Navajo tacos, scones, and roasting marshmallows. It was tons of fun, but everyone did get a little sunburned. Oh, well it was worth it.

2010-08-05T17:50:00.001-07:00

2010-07-16T15:48:00.001-07:00

2010-07-16T15:27:00.001-07:00

For all eternity!

2010-06-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a great one. Our family was sealed for time and all eternity in the Logan LDS Temple. It was an awesome experience to have our girls be sealed to us. We were able to have quite a bit of family there as well. Its an experience that I will never forget. Now for the blessings to come and to start enjoying eternity together.

Good news and bad news

2010-06-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

Well lets start with the good news Caitlin had an MRI on Tuesday and everything is clear. Yeah!! Jumping up and down! Also her eyesight is good and we got all of her cavities taken care of, so hopefully we can avoid the hospital for another 3 months. The sad news is I guess we were so excited when we found out we were pregnant that we told people too soon. Unfortunately I had a miscarriage we were pretty sad and upset, but we are trying to be positive and move forward. Keeping our fingers crossed for next time. Sorry no new pictures, we are still waiting for Caitlin's hair to grow out more. A lot of people are still calling her a boy, even though she is usually wearing pink or purple. Oh well!

2010-04-06T12:02:00.001-07:00

Caitlin's 3rd Birthday and Easter Weekend

2010-04-06T11:29:00.000-07:00

On April 2nd, we celebrated Caitlin's 3rd Birthday. Jake and I both had to work on that day, so we didn't do a whole lot. But we did open presents and then went and ate at McDonald's, and let the girls play on the slide there. For her birthday, Caitlin got some clothes, nightgowns, a Talking Elmo Mr. Potato head doll, a Hannah Montana movie, and a Princess and the Frog Polly pocket doll set. Easter Sunday was fun we found Easter eggs and our baskets, and watched Conference. We also went to Grandma Hugie's to eat dinner and hang out with my family. So all in all it was a fun weekend. This week Allie is out of school for spring break, but since it snowing we haven't been able to do anything fun. We are planning on going to see How to Train a Dragon tomorrow. Caitlin was also accepted in the early preschool program at Allie's school, and will start next week. They will help her to continue to get stronger with her walking and other gross motor skills and vocabulary.

More Good News!

2010-03-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

Well time for some more good news, Caitlin had another MRI scan on Monday, and it was clear. Meaning they couldn't see any cancer cells, so she is still doing really good. She is walking really good and her hair is continuing to grow. On another note, Elder Hugie (my little brother) is finally out in the field in Wisconsin, he was delayed in getting out in the field because he got pneumonia. (Poor guy- he was sick for the majority of the time that he was in the MTC. ) But I got to talk to him on Monday when he was waiting for his connecting flight out of Chicago. He sounded good, excited, and a little nervous. But he was happy to be out of the MTC. Good luck Elder Hugie, we love you and miss you! Don't forget to Suit Up!

2010-03-12T11:56:00.001-08:00

2010-03-12T11:43:00.001-08:00

Happy 7th Birthday Allie!!!

2010-03-12T10:59:00.000-08:00

Wow, Allie is already 7 years old that means I am getting older and older. Oh Crap! I will just keep telling people that I am only 25! For her Birthday, Allie wanted to go the Utah Children's Museum at the Discovery Gateway. So Jake took the day off and we took Allie out of school and went down to Salt Lake City. We figured since it wasn't the weekend that there would only be a few people there. Boy, were we wrong! Three schools were there on a field trip, so it was really busy. But I think the girls had fun! Since there was so many kids there, we left for an early lunch to McDonald's. After we went back to the Museum and it wasn't so crowded then. Then we went to Build a Bear to pick out new outfits for the girl's Bunnies. I also had a coupon for a free animal, so Jake and I got us a puppy since the girls already have tons of stuffed animals. Then we went to Toys r us, and then to dinner at Golden Corral. All in all it was a pretty fun day. Allie said it was the best birthday ever. For her birthday Allie got a craft kit, a new horse shirt, a High School Musical doll, a diary, and two outfits for her Build-a- bear bunny. More good news, apparently Caitlin's hearing loss was only temporary, so as of right now she does not need a hearing aid. Also her leg braces have been cut down so they only cover her feet now. She is doing really good with walking and in preschool.

Good news!

2010-02-23T15:28:00.000-08:00

Sorry that it again has taken me so long to post but when I explain what we have been up to, you will understand. Caitlin's line was removed on Tuesday February 9, she did very well and it only required about one stitch. After she woke up she was pretty good, but soon she was crying and wanted to leave the hospital. I don't blame her the poor girl has spent most of her little life in the hospital. It is so nice to have her line out, she loves being able to splash around in the bathtub. I have gone back to work part time, I like that I can still be home most of the time for Caitlin and Allie. I am working nights, so that is a little hard for me to get use to. Allie is still doing well in school. Caitlin started preschool on Monday, we decided it would be good for her to learn to be around other kids and other adults. Since her immune system has been low she hasn't been around other people, so she has been shy. But I was really proud of her, she did very good at preschool, we only had a problem when we had to go home, and she didn't want to leave a toy. Caitlin has a hearing test on Thursday, to gauge her hearing loss and to be fitted for a hearing aid. Other than these things we have just been watching the Olympics and working. Trying to get life back to normal.

2010-01-28T16:16:00.001-08:00

At Last!

2010-01-28T15:43:00.000-08:00

Well the day is finally here, on Tuesday January 26th Caitlin had her last dose of her 21 at home oral chemo, which means she is totally done with all her chemo. I want to cry tears of joy, but I am also afraid because Caitlin will not be considered cancer free until five years from now, and then still for her it will be a lifetime of worrying if we really have beat this thing. Also she will have to deal with the side effects of chemo for the rest of her life. One of these will be that she will have hearing aids. I am so glad this trial is over, I am hoping we get a little break before our next trial comes along. I am sure Jesus's arms need a break from carrying me this long throughout this whole ordeal. Her hair is slowly growing back we are not really sure what color it will be yet, or if it will be curly or straight, and she is finally walking more and more on her own. Because of her hearing loss we still have a few trips down to Primary Childrens in the near future. We are hoping to get her tube out next week or the week following, we will also continue to have MRIs about every 3 months to check for new or regrowth of the cancer. Since Caitlin is in the Up to 3 program they offer sign language classes, which we are going to attend to learn a little sign language in case her hearing continues to worsen. That for me is going to be a challenge. I couldn't even learn Spanish in high school. Hopefully for this I will be more motivated. Since Caitlin is done with chemo we are trying to get our lives back to normal, I am hoping to return back to work at least part time, and maybe I will try to start to take some classes with Bridgerland to work toward getting my associates degree in accounting. That is between running Allie to school, and all the programs Caitlin is in to help her continue to recover and work on her gross motor skills. We also have the challenge of potty training Caitlin, wish us luck. We are also hoping to add another member to our family, preferably a boy. Jake says he is already surrounded by enough girls.
I want to thank everyone who has left comments and prayed and supported our family through all this. We have greatly appreciated it. Hopefully now only happy and exciting news will appear in my future posts.

2010-01-08T14:41:00.001-08:00

The end is almost here!!!!

2010-01-08T14:07:00.000-08:00

Let me explain by the end I mean that Caitlin is almost finished with her chemotherapy treatments. On Tuesday we picked up the 21 days of oral at home medicine for Caitlin. We also had an appointment with the ENT doctor to clean out Caitlin's ear wax, for a little girl she sure has a lot of it, and because we don't want to cause an infection we have to be careful with almost everything. After our chemo appointment we went and got another hearing test done since this time we knew for sure that she didn't have much or any ear wax plugging her ears. Unfortunately this test still show that Caitlin seems to have a little bit of a hearing loss from her chemotherapy, so the next step is for another sedated hearing test in mid March and then she would be fitted for some hearing aids. I am a little bummed about that, but we figured we would have to deal with some of the side effects from chemotherapy and radiation. Allie is back in school, thank goodness, she was so bored at the house, some days she is a really silly girl. Jake is now on his January shift which means he has to work everyday, which sucks but the overtime money is nice. Thank goodness, he is also working day shift, so we have him home at nights with us. I am ready for the new year to start, I have made some goals for myself, and for our family. Hopefully we can stick to them, one of my goals is to drink less pop, and to exercise, I have been doing pretty good so far. I also received my first letter from my little brother, Elder Hugie. I am also hoping that I can be a good letter writer to him, another goal. Thanks to all who have prayed for our little angel. We are so looking forward for her to be healthy and done with chemo, and for her hair to grow back in. I have really missed her hair!

2009-12-28T17:41:00.001-08:00

The Busiest Time of the Year!

2009-12-28T16:18:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been so long since I last updated my blog, there was nothing really to report for a while and then there was so much going that I didn't have time to update my blog. On the 11th of December, Caitlin woke up with a fever, so unfortunately we had to take her down to Primary Childrens, I guess I spoke too soon when I said the overnight stays were behind us. Her ANC was so low that she had to stay in the hospital until Sunday afternoon, and then come home with antibiotics, needless to say Caitlin and I were very tired after a very long week. Thank goodness she was feeling better and we were able to attend the Hancey Family Christmas party, which we missed last year, since we were at the hospital with Caitlin. The party was way fun, good food and family. Thankfully Jake and I were finally able to finish up the Christmas shopping too. Christmas was a lot of fun. Christmas Eve was okay, Jake had to work so that was kind of a bummer. The girls got a lot of fun stuff. Allie got a glow in dark coloring board, a bed for her American girl doll, and lots of craft stuff. Caitlin got a little laptop, Elmo microwave toy, Little people animal farm, and a Tinkerbell doll. Jake got the new Tony Hawk ride skateboard game for Xbox360, and I got some clothes. This Christmas was especially fun and sad, because yesterday was my brother Kenny's missionary farewell. He is leaving for the MTC on Wednesday. His talk went really well, as did the luncheon afterward. Sorry there is no new pictures of course I had the camera sitting out ready to go, but no pictures were taken. We did get Christmas morning on our camcorder thank goodness. Well I guess thats it, until next time.

2009-12-04T16:04:00.001-08:00

Great News!

2009-12-04T15:40:00.000-08:00

Caitlin had an MRI scan on Monday November 30th, and there was no sign of cancer cells anywhere. She also had a lumbar puncture the next day, just to be certain. We have not received the result of the lp yet. But is looks like Caitlin is finally on her last round of chemo. On Tuesday was her last inpatient chemotherapy, so as long as she doesn't get sick we are done spending the night in the hospital for a while. As long as things continue to go well , she should be done with chemotherapy at the end of January. I am so excited for her to be healthy and for her hair to grow back. More good news is that my little brother Kenny got his mission call to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He leaves in 26 days, we are very excited for him but a little stressed since he has to leave so soon.

A few updates!

2009-11-17T15:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been so long but there hasn't been really anything to write about. On November 3rd, we had another chemo appointment to have a check up and pick up the at home chemo medicine. Dr. Lemons says that she looks good and that things seem to be going really well. Caitlin has been continuing to do well on this at home treatment and her blood counts are not falling very low like with the other chemo. Which means that we still have to be careful with germs, but we usually don't make her wear a face mask when we run errands, which I think was making some people nervous. They thought that she had swine flu and her cute bald head doesn't always clue people into the fact that she has cancer. That the face mask was more for her protection than theirs. On November 10th, I had a meeting with up to 3 and the school district to decide if Caitlin qualifies for more help and preschool readiness when she turns three years old. Because of where that brain tumor was located she is a behind with some of her motors skills, unlike most toddlers Caitlin is still just learning to walk or stand up by herself. She now has braces and a walker to help her walk. Just recently she took her first steps on her own. She has gone through so much but she has made tons of improvement. We are getting excited for chemo treatments to end and then hopefully she will be accepted into the preschool program to continue to improve her social and motor skills. Anyway, for the rest of us, Allie seems to be doing pretty well in 1st grade, and is slowly becoming a good reader. She is totally a mini me, people say, except for her bad attitude which escapes sometimes. She always seems to relate more to boys in her class than girls, just like I did when I was little. Hopefully that won't cause us problems. Jake and I are doing good, but very tired of being woken up in the morning by the construction that they are doing on the road next to our house. Hopefully they will be done soon. Also a couple of Saturdays ago Jake and I were able to go out and get some Christmas shopping done. I hate leaving the shopping until the end! Surprisingly we found more stuff for Caitlin then we did for Allie, I hate buying things that the girls only play with once. But Allie loves craft stuff, so I guess our next Christmas shopping outing is to the craft store.

2009-11-02T19:18:00.001-08:00

Big Thanks!

2009-10-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

Big thanks go out to my Mom and Dad, who stood and sat in line in the cold weather, so my girls and I could receive our H1N1 vaccine. Since last Friday I have been calling everyone trying to find one for Caitlin. The flu had hit Allie's school, so this week I kept her home to stay away from germs. Anyway we were first in line and everything worked out just fine. So again thanks Mom and Dad for waiting in line for us, so I didn't have to entertain the girls and have them stand out in the cold. Hopefully we will have built up enough antibodies when it really hits our town.

2009-10-23T09:29:00.001-07:00

One Year Ago

2009-10-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

One year ago today I can truly say was the worst day of our lives. One year ago today Caitlin was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 18 months old. We had a MRI that morning at 5:30 am and then received a phone call from Dr. Armstrong around 11am, and told that Caitlin had a brain tumor and it was causing fluid to remain on her brain, so within a hour and a half we were packed and in the car driving down to Primary Children's for Caitlin to have surgery that night. Thank goodness, everything went well with her surgery and they were able to release the fluid on her brain as well. The brain tumor was about the size of a walnut. Also soon after we found out that the tumor was a medulloblastoma tumor, which is a type of cancer. So throughout this year Caitlin has undergone chemotherapy treatments and a round of radiation. She has been such a tough and brave girl through all of it. Our family has cried, been upset, and found strength through this hardship. I have learned a lot of cancer terms and treatments, my extended family thinks I should become a nurse, but I am not sure about that. We are thankful for the good Doctors and nurses at Primary Childrens. But I do have one thing to say to other families that may go through the same thing, you as a parent or family member need to be aware of the kinds of medicines that the cancer patients needs and what doses. I know that Doctors and nurses try not to make mistakes but sadly mistakes do happen. A few times I have had to stop the nurses from giving Caitlin the wrong medicine or wrong dose. I have never really been very hard-headed but when my child life is at stake you better watch out. Anyway, off my soapbox, our hearts go out to other families who are going through the same trials. Also a big thank for all our family and friends for all their prayers, support, and love. I do have some good news to report if Caitlin's next scan looks good, we will only have one more cycle of chemotherapy left, so we will hope to be finished with chemo sometime in January.

2009-10-21T09:07:00.001-07:00

Three years and going strong

2009-10-21T08:22:00.001-07:00

Today is Jake and my three year wedding anniversary. Wow time does fly some days! I remember we were both really nervous on our wedding day, since we both hate been up in front of lots of people. But it turned out pretty well, I think. Allie was upset since we had got her a flower headband to wear on her head, which she didn't want she wanted my bouquet. We decided not to have a reception because of the expense of weddings and that my parents had already paid for my first wedding. So after the ceremony and the picture taking we went and ate dinner at the Bluebird restaurant in Logan, it was so good. So all in all the day turned out pretty good, a lot better than my first marriage, since during the ceremony my ex-husband said his brother was his best friend instead of me. I should of saved me the heart ache and just let him marry his brother. Oh well!!! We are hoping that in the future we will have better luck in celebrating our anniversary. Last year we were planning on going to a hotel, enjoy a break from the girls and relax in a jetted tub. Unfortunately Caitlin was diagnosed with a brain tumor on the Thursday before, so instead we spent out anniversary and my birthday at Primary Children's Pediatric ICU. This year money has been really tight with only Jake's income and a few extra expenses to care for Caitlin, so we decided next year we will save up our money and go do something really fun for our anniversary.
I know that it sounds silly, but I really do believe that Jake and I are soul-mates. It has been three years and we still can find things to talk about, we still call each other on lunch breaks. We really never fight, we might get upset with each other but usually that is because one of us is really tired or being too OCD. We always enjoy spend time together, we love to snuggle on the couch and watch our favorite shows and movies. We love to play games together, and we love to spoil our girls. Jake is a great man and father, he always put his kids before himself. He has worked hard this year to make sure that our family has been provided for. He is always willing to help out, and give me back rubs and foot rubs. He is the greatest husband in the world and I would be lost without him. Happy Anniversary, Jake! I love you now, always, and forever.

Just a Little Update!

2009-10-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

Caitlin's scans came back looking good, so we should only have about 4 months of Chemotherapy left. Hooray!!! We are so excited and hope that things continue to go well for her recovery. It has been a very long and trying year for us, and we will be happy to have made it through it. Thanks to friends and family who have helped and supported us. Now if I can get the Christmas shopping done before December then life would be perfect. Well okay not perfect but a lot less stressful.

2009-10-05T15:37:00.001-07:00

Busy Time at the Welch Household

2009-10-05T15:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since I updated but we have been kind of busy at the Welchs. Jake turned 26, on September 29th. Yeah, he is finally as old as me, but not for long. Due to our little girl's condition, we didn't get to do much, but we did go out to dinner, and I think he liked his presents, an Elmo hoodie and the new Halo game. Also my Mom's Birthday is October 6th, this year she turns the big 5-0. So we wanted to have a big family party, I said that I would make a slide show of photos of my Mom. It turned out okay, but my computer is kind of outdated and was enjoying giving me stress in putting it together. Caitlin thank goodness got over her shingles without any problems. Last Wednesday the whole family went and got our flu shots, Allie was not happy about that at all. But it worked out well since she was out of school for UEA. On Friday we got Caitlin's braces for her legs, since she tends to walk on the side of her foot. Also on Friday was my Mom's 50th Birthday party, which was really fun. Walmart messed up on the cake, but oh well. At least it tasted okay. On Saturday we went to the Texas Roadhouse restaurant it was really good. On Sunday we went up to my Mom to watch conference and eat yummy food. So all in all we had a fun weekend. Caitlin seems to be doing pretty good with her braces. I am hoping she sleeps better tonight than she did last night since tomorrow we have to get up early for another MRI, and she will start another round of Chemo on Thursday. But if everything still looks good, this will be her second to last chemo round. Yeah! Please keep her in your prayers and think good thoughts!

Time is a Funny Thing!

2009-09-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, some days it seems like time has just flown by, and other it really seems to drag. For example I can't believe is has almost been a whole year, that I have been a stay at home Mom, this time has seem to go by pretty fast. But most days I feel like time drags by at home, thank goodness, my favorites shows are returning next week. Its kind of sad when That is what I have to look forward to. I am also excited for when Caitlin will finally be done with Chemotherapy but that is such a question mark, we are hoping she will be finished in about six months, but not for sure. We hit a little roadblock on the way, this past week, Caitlin somehow got Shingles. At first we thought it was just a rash, but it didn't go away. On Sunday, it looked way worse, so we took her to Instacare and they diagnosed it as Shingles. Poor girl, poor Mom and Dad, we would give almost anything to just have a health child. She is so brave and tough, adults have said that is the most painfully disease but she seems to be doing pretty well, with just Tylenol. Hopefully she will get better soon, and we can continue her chemotherapy and be that much closer to be free of all of this medicine.

2009-09-02T17:58:00.001-07:00

Caitlin Shiny new Toy!

2009-09-02T17:05:00.000-07:00

Today Caitlin had an appointment with Cache Kids since she is still not walking yet. They decided that she needs braces for her legs, so they made mold cast to send to have them make the braces. Caitlin and I picked out the colors and the design for them. We will take pictures when they get here. They also sent us home with a walker to help Caitlin find her balance. Here are a few pictures above to show her progress.

2009-08-24T13:42:00.001-07:00

Crazy Week!

2009-08-24T13:17:00.000-07:00

Wow, some weeks I am so bored with nothing to do, and other weeks I seem to be so busy that I don't get a chance to update my blog. To explain my crazy week. On Monday I woke up early to take Allie school shopping. She has pretty grown out of all of her pants and shirts, so we spent the morning get some much needed new clothes. Tuesday we made a trip to Walmart to buy the New Hannah Montana movie, the girls just love it. On Wednesday was Allie's back to school night at 6:30. I must be a dumb parent but on the note for the back to school night it didn't say when the first day of school was. So I just assumed that it was today, but at the meeting we found out school started on Thursday, and Caitlin had clinic on that day. Lucky her appointment was later in the day, so I was able to take Allie to school and Jake took off work so he could pick her up. Anyway Wednesday night was a pretty crazy night at our house, making sure everything was ready for school the next day. Thankfully everything worked out. Thursday we spent half of the day at clinic. On Saturday we went up to Preston to watch my little brother Kyle play soccer and then my family and us headed up to Bear Lake to swim and play on jet skis for a couple of hours and then we went to Pickleville Playhouse for dinner and to watch Annie get your gun. It was really fun, my parents got engaged there, and I have never been there before, so it was fun to go see it. We left during intermission since the girls were tired, and we all had a very long day. I was kind of surprised but the girls really liked the play. So all in all last week was pretty busy but full of fun.

Getting closer to the end!

2009-08-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since I updated but we are kind of really boring people. We use to hardly stay home, but since Caitlin can't really go out any where there is germs, and our income has decreased a bit, we have turned into homebodies. Which someday I really love, and others I feel stir crazy stuck in the house. Anyway on Thursday we headed down to Primary Children's for the next round of maintenance chemotherapy. We are almost done as long as things continue to go well, I think we only have six more months left. Yeah!!! The hospital trip went pretty well, except that we were trying to get out of there quickly on Friday, since Allie had a Birthday party to get to at 4 pm. Of course, when you are in a hurry nothing seems to work out right. We didn't leave the hospital until noon, but we did make it home in time to clean up and head to the party. The party was a Princess party, and Ariel showed up. Allie had a lot of fun! On Friday night, my mom and I went to go see the Time Travelers Wife, it was really good. I liked it a lot more than the book. On Saturday, Jake and I went shopping for clothes for Caitlin, since colder weather will soon be here. At four we went to the Hancey family reunion, which was fun and the food was good. So today was a nice lazy day, well kind of. Caitlin figured she could wake up at 6:30 am, thanks to Jake who got up with her, and let me sleep in. But I did let him go back to sleep when I got up. So that was our week in a nutshell! Caitlin and I will be heading down to Primarys again on Thursday for a quick clinic appointment for more chemo. We are hoping that these last few treatments go by fast.

2009-08-03T17:47:00.001-07:00

Preston Night Rodeo and Parade!

2009-08-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, was the Famous Preston Night Rodeo and Parade. The girls and I went up Friday night to watch the parade. Unfortunately Jake had to work that night, and doesn't have many vacation days left, so we figured we better save them. Allie just loves parades, I bet you can't guess why, the candy of course. Caitlin loves the music, she doesn't really care about the candy just yet. After the parade, we went to my mom's and hung out with my family, and watched movies. On Saturday, Jake met up with us, and we went and walked around the sidewalk sale, and then my family all went to eat lunch at Big J's, I just love their cheeseburgers. After that we went back to my parents to escape the heat and wait for the parade. We watched part of the X-games and then we outside and played the basketball game PIG. Saturday's parade was better than Fridays, Walmart threw a ton of candy. Then we went to my Mom's for Navajo tacos and put the girls to bed and watched the new Fast and Furious movie. On Sunday my little brother Kenny was ordained an elder, and we took some family pictures. We also went and ate at Grandma's Hugies, she is a really good cook. So all in all, it was a pretty fun weekend. Thankfully both my girls are doing pretty good right now, so they got to enjoy the fun too.

Allie's Turn!

2009-07-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

Well I haven't been blogging because there hasn't been a lot to blog about. Caitlin has been doing really well with the at home chemo medicine and her counts are not dropping as fast as they were before. Which is nice, we have not been totally confined to the house, and we haven't had to make any trips down to Primarys.
Now I will explain this post title, I guess Allie has been feeling left out with all the trips Caitlin has had to make to the Hospital, so she wanted a turn, I guess. I'll explain, Allie woke up Monday morning pretty early, and said she was feeling very good. At first I thought that she was just tired because she hasn't been sleeping very good lately. She didn't eat a whole lot and pretty much slept all day. By nighttime I figure I should take her temperature, and it was 102.3. I know that your body temperature rises a little bit at night, and I figure I would give her Motrin and she would sleep off the fever. On Tuesday the fever was still pretty high, so I called the Doctor's office and made an appointment to come in at 11:30. Dr. Armstrong looked her over and couldn't see anything that stood out why she would have a fever, so he sent us home with instructions to give Motrin and Tylenol. At eight pm I checked her temperature again and it was 104.9, not good. I called Jake to leave work, so I could take Allie to the Emergency care center at the Speciality Hospital. There they did a CBC, a urine test, and a flu test. They figure it was a kidney infection, thank goodness. I say thank goodness, because I was fearing it was swine flu, that would just be the worst. Now both my girls are on the same antibiotics, Allie to clear up the infection, and Caitlin to help her bodies blood counts to recover from chemo. Another crappy fact, Allie's white blood cell count was low at just 2.4, and the doctor wasn't sure it was because of the infection or something else, so in a week we have to go and get another CBC done. Hopefully it is nothing big, I think we have had enough excitement with cancer and doctors to last us a lifetime.

2009-07-17T14:59:00.001-07:00

Vacation and other good news!

2009-07-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we packed our bags and left for a much needed vacation. First on our trip list was Caitlin's Doctor appointment to find out the results of the MRI scan, and great news the scans were clear. The spots they saw before on her neck are gone. So we are so excited! Hopefully things continue to go well. After that we headed to the Hogle Zoo, it was fun and a little hot. We had rented a wagon for the girls to ride in, but after about 15 minutes Caitlin wanted to walk by holding someones hands. She walked the rest of the way through the zoo, which is a long walk. We then spent the night at my uncle's house in Centerville. The next day we went to Cherry Hill, which is a waterpark, and other fun stuff like batting cages, a rock climb, and miniature golf. We went golfing first, since it wasn't very busy. Caitlin even wanting to try. Then we went to go play in the pools, Caitlin at first was crying and didn't want anything to do with the water. But after a nap she walked in the little kiddie pool, and put her feet in the bigger pool. Allie loves the water and keep jumping in and out of the pool. Jake and I went on the cardiac canyon which is where you go down a rapid like river on tubes, we kept getting stuck and really wet, but it was so much fun. Allie and I also rode on the Double Dragon water slides, which are tubes that you slide down on mats, they went really fast. After Cherry hill, we got ice cream and then grill hamburgers and hot dogs at Doug's. It was a really fun day, expect we brought the wrong kind of sunscreen so everyone got a little bit burned.
Unfortunately the good news didn't continue for some. On Wednesday we found out the our little friend that I wrote about it my last post, had passed away on Tuesday night. Please pray with us, for comfort and understanding for her family. We will miss her, and wish that she didn't have to leave us so soon. But in our hearts we also know she is now healthy and feels no pain, and upon her beautiful bald head has returned her beautiful curls.
On Thursday we went to the Gateway Theater, to watch Harry Potter (Caitlin and I, my family) Ice age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Jake and Allie). It was fun, they have a pizza hut inside the theater so you can eat pizza during your movie. I was so proud of Caitlin, she was so good during the movie, she didn't hardly make a sound. After that we head to Boondocks fun center, which was almost better than Lagoon. They have a kid's jungle gym and arcade, where Allie and Caitlin spend most of their time. They have these Bumper boats, that is like bumper cars, but you can squirt the other people. They also have Go-Karts, that was the boy's favorite. Allie like them too, she kept telling me to drive faster. They also had a fun different miniature golf course. They even had little go-karts that Allie could drive, but she forgot to brake when the ride was over, good thing the operator guy was fast and caught her. We also played laser tag, which apparently I suck at, since my score was -1300 at the end. I don't think I really knew how to work my laser gun. Today we were maybe going to stop at the Dinosaur park in Ogden, but everyone was so tired and worn out we decided to save that for the next trip. So all in all we had a really great time, but now we need a vacation after our vacation.

2009-07-11T17:53:00.001-07:00

Pray for our nephew and our little Friend!

2009-07-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry its been awhile since I have updated but this week I have been so tired I can't think clearly to write whats been going on. Thank goodness, we didn't have to go back to the hospital for the 4th of July weekend. Caitlin's blood culture from the Tuesday that we left the hospital was negative so that's good news, but they like to keep her on the antibiotics so I have been giving them to her every 8 hours, which makes for long days and sleepless nights. But anyway, we did try to have a little fun last weekend. On Friday we went with Jake's family out to lunch and then to the car show, and then watched the fireworks at my Grandma's house. Caitlin loved the fireworks, she was saying "Oooo, Pretty." On Saturday we went to the Hyrum parade with my family, and then my mom watched our girls while Jake and I went to see Transformers 2. Which was really good but a little long. On Sunday we went to a family dinner at Jake's parents house and Allie and her cousins played in the swimming pool. Yesterday we headed down to Primary Children's for another MRI to determine if the spots they saw before our growing or if they have disappeared. Caitlin did pretty good, except she was a little dehydrated so her blood pressure dropped a little bit, but they just gave her fluids and she was just fine. We won't find out the results of the MRI until Tuesday and then we are going on vacation after that but I will post the results when we get back. Keep your fingers crossed for some good news! To explain this post title, our nephew Ryker's doctor found a lump on his neck and thinks it might be lymphoma, he is having surgery on July 21st to remove it and test it for cancer cells. The doctor believes that it is not cancerous, so hopefully he is right, and everything will go fine.
Since Caitlin has been diagnosed with cancer, we have connected with friends going through the same difficulty. There is little girl who is only a couple months older than Caitlin, and was diagnosed with a brain tumor as well. Unfortunately this little girl has been a lot sicker than Caitlin, the doctors thought that they had got all of the cancer removed. But just recently they found that it is blanketing her brain, and the doctors gave her 1-2 months, and then it changed to 1-2 weeks. We are heart broken to find out this news. Please pray for our nephew and our little friend! Thank you for your continued prayers for Caitlin.

Update on our little angel!

2009-07-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

Well since my last post, here's what we have been up to. Caitlin had another chemo appointment on Monday, which was a little long. Sometimes I just don't understand it, there are nurses who have four patients to take care of, and then they are two nurses walking around doing nothing. Who knew nursing would be a field where you could get away with doing nothing. Apparently there are some lazy people in every profession. Anyway enough complaining, on Friday Caitlin and I headed back down to Primary for a blood transfusion. When we arrived she had a little fever but I thought it was cause she had her jacket and blanket on her in the car. Anyway her temperature didn't go down, but she didn't seem to be sick other than that. So they gave her an antibiotic and drew a blood culture before we went home. But at 3:00 in the morning on Saturday, a doctor called me and said that the blood culture came back positive, and to bring Caitlin down that day, so they could start her on antibiotics. So that's where we spent our weekend. They found out that Caitlin had a Gram positive staph infection. Also poor Caitlin gets the red man face which is a side effect of this VancoMycin antibiotic she is on. Thankfully with Tylenol and Benadryl she doesn't get it anymore. Thankfully we were able to come home on Tuesday with antibiotics and hopefully we won't have to go back for the fourth of July weekend. I wish I had a genie so that I could wish for just a normal day at least every once in a while.

More from the Welchs!

2009-06-18T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well there is not really much to tell, but a few tidbits. Caitlin had more chemo on Monday and also a eye appointment. Dr. Dries (eye doctor) says that her eyes are looking really good and that he will check her again in a year. Then we headed over for chemo, we were kind of early for our appointment. Since we had tried to plan the appointments for the same day so we would not have to make any extra trips to Salt Lake. Therefore we had to wait awhile for Caitlin's chemo to be ready. Two hours later we were finally out of there, and the medicine only takes about 5 mins to give. Also her counts have gone down again, which means she is on house arrest. I know that sounds weird, but that's kind of how it feels. Today I got a nice break, I was able to go out to lunch with my friend Meghan, we both have been pretty busy and haven't been able to do anything together.( me with Caitlin, and she has a 5 month old little girl) So it was fun to catch up and have life feel a little more normal for an hour. I posted a few more pictures, I hope you like them. I really like the one with Jake and I. I am not very photogenic so very rarely will I let anyone take my picture but this one turned out really cute.

Back to Chemotherapy

2009-06-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday Caitlin started her eight months of maintenance chemo. We are still unsure of what the spots are from the last MRI scan, but the doctors decided to continue with chemotherapy and then have another scan done on July 10th, to determine if the spots are changing, growing, or (hopefully) gone. I must of gotten a little confused since I thought this chemo was given in the clinic over one hour, instead we had to stay over night for Caitlin to receive it. Thank goodness, we usually pack an overnight bag just in case, so we were kind of prepared. Everything went pretty good, and she was done with all her medicines by 3 in the morning. So I was hoping that we would be released pretty early this morning. But it seems like they like to drag the feet about discharging us. Its not bad there, but I would just rather spend the least amount of time there as possible. Caitlin seems to being doing really well, except that she has been a little sleepy lately, we are thinking that the radiation treatments are catching up with her. Otherwise our family is doing pretty well, just trying to enjoy the warm weather, well if it would stop raining. Sorry no new pictures I am really bad at taking them.

Good news, but still ?????

2009-06-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

Dr. Lemons called me today to let me know the results of the lumbar puncture. Thank goodness, the l.p. was clear, but they are still unsure of what the spot is that the techs saw in the MRI. So they are going to have Dr. Hazard and Dr. Brockmeyer look at the MRI scans again and see what they think. I should receive another phone call by Wednesday with more information on what is the plan or what they believe the spot is. So good news but still a little worried about what the spot is. On another note, poor Caitlin was called a little boy twice at Walmart on Friday, and one lady thought I actually gave my child her hair cut. It does look a little different since her hair is starting to grow back on top, but the back isn't growing in yet. I am not really sure why not, maybe because of the radiation. I am hoping it is not permanent. Fingers Crossed!

2009-05-27T19:36:00.001-07:00

Not good news, not sure what kind of news!

2009-05-27T18:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Caitlin had an MRI and an audiogram at Primary Children's, which was interesting (ha ha ha) Unfortunately many things went wrong, first I had the time wrong so we had to wait for a whole hour in the waiting room, and they had messed up the scheduling. Caitlin was suppose to be under sedation for both the MRI and the audiogram but they can only give her the medicine once. Anyway since the MRI took so long, and then it took a little while for the audiologist to come, that Caitlin was awake before they were halfway done. From what they did get, they say that her hearing is still good, meaning that the chemotherapy hasn't affected her hearing. After that we went to see Dr. Lemons to talk about the results from the MRI. Where the tumor was before shows no new or re-growth, so that was good news. But they did find plaque-like lesions on her spine at the base of her neck, which right now we are unsure of what that really is. So on Friday we are heading back down to Primary's to get a lumbar puncture done to see if that gives us a clue to what the growth is. Jake and I were kind of heart broken, we had hoped that we were at the end of this awful journey and that we were just going to have to finish up the maintenance chemo. Now we might just have to go back and do some of it all over again. Before yesterday I felt like a broken vase pieced back together with just one more piece to put back in to complete it. Now I feel like that piece instead of fitting in perfectly caused the whole thing to break apart again. I am okay, I am just feeling a little defeated right now.

Still not much happening!

2009-05-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

I feel like I would be boring people to death if I wrote something everyday, since there really isn't very much going on in our lives right now. Caitlin has been doing really good, and is enjoy the break from chemotherapy. Since her counts are good, we even went to Gymnastics class last Friday, a class set up by the Up to 3 program to help kids learn how to walk. Caitlin liked it, I think. Mom was exhausted by the end of it. She seems to be doing pretty well, she wants to walk everywhere but she still needs you to hold her hands. Allie is doing really well in school, and has been learning to read. She only has 7 days left. We decided since soon Caitlin will be starting chemotherapy again and her counts will probably go down again, we purchased a little slide and waterwheel play table for our back yard. Then she can at least play outside, since we wont be able to go the park soon. On another note, since Caitlin is not home bound we went to our new ward yesterday. They were so nice and most of them already knew who we were. Anyway I guess that's all for now.

Not Much Going on

2009-05-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

Well sorry it has been so long since I have updated, but unfortunately and thankfully not much is going on right now. Unfortunately because I am usually pretty bored. Thankfully because Caitlin is doing so well, that we have a nice break from Primary Children's. She has another hearing test and MRI scan on the 26Th of this month, and then maintenance chemotherapy after that, if the scans look good. I don't know if being a stay at home Mom is a right fit for me, I love my girls but sometimes they are also a bit much and I think I have watched enough Hannah Montana and Suite life of Zack and Cody to last me a lifetime. I also miss my friends from work. Maybe if I had a bun in the oven, then at least I would feel more productive. No that is not a confession, more wishful thinking! I just feel like after cleaning the house, and taking care of the girls, I have nothing to do. I know I need to find a hobby. I just feel bad when Jake leaves for work everyday, I wish I could help take some of the financial load off his shoulders. I am so proud of him, instead of coming home when he is offered no works, he stays and works hard to earn money for our family, which we definitely need. Also I am pretty sure Jake would freak out if we would have another girl, (he is the only boy in his family) truthfully I don't know if I could handle another drama queen either. Another reason I am still being a stay at home Mom, is that we were approved for Medicaid which is a blessing come true, unless you have been through this, you have no idea how expensive going through chemotherapy and radiation is. Our insurance is pretty good, but it does not cover everything. Anyway I am not quite sure if any of this makes sense. I have kind of had a lot on my mind lately, just trying to decide what our plans are for the future.

2009-05-01T14:03:00.001-07:00

Week 4 and 5

2009-04-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry is has been so long since I last wrote an update, but there hasn't really been a lot of extra time for me when I was near a computer. Radiation has been going pretty good, Caitlin is such a trooper. Good news though, Monday is the last day of radiation treatments and then we have a month break before we restart chemotherapy. Yeah, no more long trips down to Salt Lake, my wallet and my car are almost excited as I am. Caitlin's hair is also starting to grow back, I know its weird but I am hoping that it grows back the same color as Jake's hair. More exciting news, Caitlin is starting to stand up by herself. She started doing it on the bed, which was different, since you would need more balance to stand up on the bed, but maybe she feels safer since when she does fall down she has a softer landing. We are very excited about this, hopefully soon she will be running around. I know I am crazy, what parent wants her child to be able to run, but with everything she has gone through I would gladly welcome that challenge.

Week Three

2009-04-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

Well week three wasn't as exciting as week two in a good way and a bad way. Monday treatment went fine except I had taken Allie down with me, because it was her school's spring break this week. She is not one for being quiet or sitting still, but she was okay. Jake had some bad luck on Monday, he accidentally locked his keys in the car, and I took the other set with me. So we had to make a trip back, but that was okay, since Allie had changed her mind that she didn't want to stay with me. She thought it was too boring, so she stayed with my mother for the rest of the week. Thanks Mom and I am sorry! So Monday we got to spend some time together which was nice. But I had to get up at 5:30 am the next morning to get down to Huntsman on time. The rest of the week went by pretty fast. Caitlin and I just finished up the Easter shopping and I caught up on Lost the TV series. I usually don't watch it on Wednesday because I like to watch Criminal minds, and there are both on at the same time. I am really glad to be able to be home for Easter, and spend time with Jake and Allie. One great thing about this week, on Wednesday we were halfway through radiation treatments. Which is totally awesome.

2009-04-10T15:20:00.001-07:00

Week Two

2009-04-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

Well week two was a little more exciting then week one in good ways and bad ways. Monday, things went just fine at radiation, but Tuesday was a little different. We had an appointment at Primary Children's because Caitlin hasn't had a messy diaper in about 12 days. I waited to take her because I was giving her all the medicines they gave me to help keep her regular. I figure she would just go, and also she was doing just fine she was still eating, and wasn't vomiting. Anyway at Primarys they sent us downstairs for an X-ray to make sure there wasn't any blockage. They found that she was totally backed up, then they had to decide how to clean her out. They really don't like to do suppositories with cancer patients because of low blood counts. So they decided to put a feeding tube down Caitlin's nose to give her some medicine called Go-lite. They had someone come in and explain to me what that procedure meant, and then they tried to explain it to Caitlin. I know they were just doing their job, but you can explain something until you are blue in the face to a two year old, they are just not really going to understand it. Sometimes you just have to do it, after they got it in, poor Caitlin was just exhausted and she fell asleep in my arms. Again we had to get another x-ray to make sure the tube was in the right spot. After they put us in a room to stay for the night, finally they decided that her blood counts were high enough that they could give her a suppository to help get things started. If I had one complain about Primarys it is this, they offer room service to the child in the room, but they do not offer it to parents. Since Caitlin also had radiation that morning we both had not ate any breakfast, and we didn't have a chance to eat anything until 3 pm. I had some treats in the diaper bag but I wasn't sure if I could give her anything until they decided what to do. Since Caitlin is so little I can't leave her in the room by herself and she screams bloody-murder if I leave her with one of the nurses. So I had to have my mom come down to Salt Lake to sit with Caitlin while I ran to grab me something to eat and my stuff to stay overnight at the hospital which I hadn't planned on doing. Anyway thankfully the medicines worked and about a pound less the next day we were able to leave the hospital. Thank goodness because Thursday was Caitlin's Second Birthday. Which we had a lot of fun. Jake and Allie drove down so we could spend the day together, so after Caitlin's radiation treatment, we went to lunch at Applebees, and then we went to the Hogle Zoo, this was Jake and Caitlin's first time going there. The Zoo was pretty fun, it would of be nicer if the weather would of been warmer, but most of the animals were in the buildings anyway since it was too cold outside for them too. We are planning to go again in the summer time so we can enjoy it more. After that we took the girls to build-a-bear, which is exactly how it sounds. You go in and choose which kind of animal you would like and then you get to help put the stuffing inside of them. You also get to give your animal a heart and make a wish. Since it was Caitlin's birthday we all got to give her animal a heart and make a wish, I know it seems a little silly, but of course I wished that Caitlin would get all better soon. Both girls picked out Bunny's instead of bears, and then we had fun picking out clothes and other things for them. So all in all I think it was a pretty fun day. I know everyone was worn out by the end of the day, but at least we had fun.

Week One

2009-03-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

Well week one of radiation treatments went by pretty smoothly. If you have ever been up to the Huntsman Cancer Center you know how nice it is. Caitlin does really well with treatments, they let me walk her back to the treatment room and stay with her until she falls asleep. The medicine they give her works really fast they put it in the line and in about ten seconds she is asleep, then I go back to the exam room, where they bring her back to me about 20 to 30 minutes later. She then slowly wakes up, we have to stay there for about 30 minutes afterward so they can watch her after the sleeping medicine. So far it has been going really well, Caitlin has not had any of the side effects yet, which is awesome. The spot where she is receiving the radiation is usually a little red after she comes back from treatment but that usually goes away before we leave. After Caitlin's treatments, my mom and I did a little shopping in the big city since Caitlin's counts have been so low she has really been able to go anywhere, but radiation doesn't affect her counts like chemotherapy does, so it was fun to get out and go to different places. On Thursday we went shopping at Toys R Us, to pick out birthday gifts for Caitlin since she will be turning two next Thursday. Then we went to Babies R Us to pick out some clothes and buy a much needed new stroller. Its pink, and durable and will be well used on our upcoming radiation treatment trips. We then stopped at the mall for some food and to check out the Build-a-Bear store which we are taking our girls to next Thursday for Caitlin birthday, weather pending we are also hoping to go to the Hogle Zoo. Thanks for all your support and help with everything. Hopefully week two will go as fast and as well as week one. I forgot to take my camera with me this time, I will try to remember to take it next week.

Not much extra time!

2009-03-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

I can't write too much right now, I am trying to get ready for another long week of Radiation treatments for Caitlin down at the Huntsman Cancer Center. Last week's two treatments went pretty good, hopefully this week will go just as smoothly. I will try to write a lot more next weekend.

Allie's Birthday

2009-03-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Allie's Birthday, she turned six years old. Ah! That means I am getting old! I took cupcakes to her class and did a spotlight on her, which was scary. I hate standing up and talking in front of people even Kindergartners. But I think it went really well. One funny story, this little boy ate his cupcake in about ten seconds, and then the teacher ask him to clean up and throw away his cupcake wrapper and napkin. But all he had was his napkin, so the teacher ask if he ate the paper, he just looked at her. Then he asked if I had taken off the paper I said I didn't, he got this funny look on his face. I tried very hard not to start laughing. I know that I shouldn't laugh but if you would of seen the look on his face, you would of too. Of well, I am sure paper isn't very bad next to eating glue. After Allie got out of school, we went to McDonald's to eat and so Allie could play on the slide. Caitlin really wanting to go and play too, but she is still too little and there was too many germs. Then my family and us came back to our house for cake, presents, and root beer floats. I think she had a fun Birthday, she kept telling me that this was the best Birthday ever. We gave Allie a Leapfrog Leapster to help her learning her letters, and a High school Musical DVD game. My family gave her a Troy and Gabriella doll, and some clothes.
Today was a different adventure, we had to wake up at 5am to drive down to Caitlin's doctor appointment at the Huntsman Cancer Center to make her mask so they can plan her radiation treatments. The Huntsman Center was really nice, and it really didn't take very long. Thank goodness, cause we were all really tired when we got home. The mask is a little bit different than I thought it would be, but with it they will be able to line up the laser in the correct position each day, and she only got one tattoo, which is really only a little dot on her chest, to help line up her body. We will have to start radiation treatments next Thursday, but we are hoping that everything will go smoothly.

The Next Step!

2009-03-05T10:06:00.000-08:00

Well, on Tuesday we hit a little milestone, Caitlin finished the first round of her treatment. We will now be starting radiation treatment in about a week, which is the next phase of treatment. Clinic was at 10:30 for Vincristine, and then we had an MRI at 1 pm, poor Caitlin couldn't eat anything until after the MRI. We talked the doctors into doing a lumbar puncture, just to check that cancer cells hadn't traveled down the spine. After the MRI we went back to clinic for Caitlin to receive a blood transfusion. Before we left we were able to find out the results of the MRI, and it was awesome news. The MRI showed no regrowth or new growth and the lumbar puncture was clear. Which is so awesome, this means that the chemotherapy treatment is doing its job. She will still need more treatment, just to be certain that we kill all of the cancer cells. But with this good news, it just means that the end of this is a lot closer. As horrible as this has been to get through some days, we have been really blessed. Hopefully radiation really go well, and Caitlin can continue to get better. She has been such a trooper and has done really well through all these treatments. She is starting to try to stand up on her own, which is really cool. I am sure it won't be very long before I will be chasing after her. Next Thursday we will be going down to the Huntsman Cancer Center for a meeting with the Radiation therapists, and to make Caitlin a mask for treatments that ensure that her head stays still so the radiation will only hit the area where the tumor was located. Also from now on, it may be longer between posts since I will be spending Monday thru Friday at the Huntsman center for Caitlin's radiation treatments. Again thanks for all the support and help all our friends and family have given us, so far.

Chemo Treatment

2009-02-23T09:06:00.000-08:00

Well we finally made it down to Primary Children's for our next chemo treatment. We were suppose to go down on Tuesday, but since the flu and RSV is going around they didn't have any open rooms. But we were able to go down on Thursday, also we were able to get our other appointments taken care of which was nice. We went to see the eye doctor, which said that Caitlin's eyes are looking a lot better, she doesn't seem to be crossing them anymore, so we don't have to put on an eye patch every day for an hour anymore. Then we went to the Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctor to check if Caitlin needed tubes in her ears, and again more good news. She just needed the wax cleaned out of her ears. Then we went back upstairs to start chemo, this time was a little rougher for Caitlin since she was really constipated. But we have medicine to help with that and hopefully her diaper rash will clear up soon too.
On Friday we had the Radiation techs come talk to us, since she will be starting radiation treatment about mid March. This hit me hard because its has some pretty bad side effects, most of them are long term not short term ones. The side effects are a learning disability, and it may cause her to be sterile. I just hate that she has to go through this now, and then have to deal with side effects 25 years later. But we later find out that she will only get radiation on the spot where the tumor was, instead of the whole brain and spine. Which will hopefully limit the side effects. Usually they try not to treat kids under 3 years old, and Caitlin will barely be turning 2 on April 2nd. This is the treatment that they have found works the best, so that's what we will be doing. I just hope and pray that radiation treatment will do more good than harm to her little growing body. Unfortunately she will probably have a treatment on her birthday. But we will try to make it a fun day for her anyway.
Anyway we will just keep on trucking, thanks for all the warm thoughts and support. You have helped our family greatly.

Sorry so Long!

2009-02-18T15:59:00.000-08:00

Well its been awhile since I last wrote, but not much has been happening. We have had a long break between chemo treatments this time, with the holidays and Caitlin's counts didn't recover as fast this time. Hopefully if they have a room open and the weather is good, we will be making the trip tomorrow. Don't get me wrong I am not excited about going for Caitlin's chemo, but I keeping telling myself the sooner we go, the sooner we will be done with all of this. Sorry to all my family and friends, for how moody I have been lately. The depression and anger from Caitlin's cancer has finally kicked in. With my personality I like to be in control of certain things, and this difficult time has just thrown me for a loop. So it I snap at you, please realize that it really isn't for you. I am just frustrated with the our situation. I hope soon my fog will lift and I can get back to working through. I think I am stressed about Caitlin's radiation treatment that is going to start soon, I am hoping that we can talk the doctors into letting Caitlin do her treatments at the new Cancer Center here in Logan, if not I will have to be away from my family for a week at a time for a whole month. That would be really hard on our family right now, but we will do what we have to do.
Anyway Valentine's Day was fun! Jake got me a pretty heart necklace. I got him cologne, and the week before we both got us some new shirts, which we really needed. We decided just to stay home and watch movies, we did get Wok on Wheels takeout for dinner. We knew that since it was Saturday and Valentine's day everywhere would be packed and we didn't have a babysitter. We hope to go out another weekend! On Sunday we went to Grandma Hugie's for dinner, which was very good, she is the best cook I know. Other than that, we have just been hanging out at home, Allie has been watching High school musical 3 non stop since it came out on Tuesday. I have been reading and trying to keep my house clean. Hopefully the next update will be more interesting. Caitlin seems to be doing pretty good, she has been more moody lately, but we think that might be the terrible twos kicking in, or she is cutting more teeth.

Husband Tag!

2009-02-09T17:25:00.000-08:00

My friend Ashley had this on her blog, and I thought it would be really fun to do, also great timing since it is almost Valentine's Day.

1. Where did you meet your husband? Jake and I actually went to high school together but he was younger than me and I had a boyfriend then so we didn't really date then. He did have a crush on me, I do remember that. We re-met after my divorce at RR Donnelley a place where we both worked.

2. How long did you date before you got married? We dated for about seven months before we got married. Dating is kind of hard when you are working different shifts, going to school, and being a single mom.

3. How long have you been married? We have been married for two years, it will be three in October.

4. What does he do to surprise you? I have to have my house clean or it drives me nuts, he is very good about helping me keep the house clean and doing laundry. He is very OCD, so he usually organizes the cabinets and the fridge for me.

5. Your favorite feature of his? I really like Jake's eyes and hair. My favorite is probably his smile, he takes really good care of his teeth. I also like his muscles.

6. What is his best quality? He is really fun to be around, he is a real people person, if you are in a bad mood, he can put you in a good mood. He doesn't get mad really easy, and he doesn't yell.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Usually its babe, honey, or baby doll. My favorite is Eri-bear, its kind of silly but its different.

8. What is his favorite food? I know he loves peach cobbler. He isn't a picky eater, and eats almost everything that I cook. Which is saying alot since I am not a very good cook.

9. What is his favorite sport? He likes to play basketball, and has been bummed since he hasn't had a lot of time to play very often. He will watch any kind of sport of tv, so usually I have to keep my hands on the remote.

10. Where and when did you first kiss? In his car, I don't remember the date, but I am pretty sure I made the first move.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We like just being able to hang out together, snuggling on the couch watching a good movie, we also like to go bowling and miniature golfing.

12. Do you have any children? We have two beautiful girls, Allie is five ( mine from previous marriage, but for all that matters she is Jake's since he takes care of her like his own) and Caitlin who is almost 2 (April) We are hoping the next one will be a boy to even things out for Jake. But that we have to wait until we get Caitlin done with chemotherapy and life settles a little bit.

13. Does he have any hidden talents? I don't want to embarrass him but he does an awesome job painting my toenails and fingernails. Also he really gives good massages, but these talents are thankfully only enjoyed by me.

14. How old is he?
He is 25, a year younger than me. Hopefully that keeps me young right?

15. You said I love you first?
I don't really remember who said it first, but he is really good at saying it, he probably says it a lot more than I do, but I am usually trying to answer Allie's twenty questions.

16. What is his favorite music? Wow, this might be hard, they are too many to name, but a few are Hawthorne Heights, Nickelback, and Yellowcard.

17. What do you admire most about him? I think what I admire most is that he is a very good Dad, and he always treats me with respect. He usually does what I ask him to, which is great. He is a hard worker and always makes sure that his family is taken care of before his self.

18. What is his favorite color? I am pretty sure its blue, but I think he also likes green.

19. Will he read this? Probably not, he doesn't like to read.

20. I tag.....
Irene, Sharee, Amber, and anyone else who stalks my blog and would like to share more info about your husband.

Nothing New

2009-02-05T16:49:00.000-08:00

Nothing new to report, Caitlin lucky has a two week break from chemotherapy. Which makes me very happy since I was really tired of the long drive down to Primarys. I shouldn't be complaining Caitlin should be the one complaining. Anyway things are going okay. Sorry about not a whole lot going on right now.

Nothing really new to report

2009-01-28T16:04:00.000-08:00

Nothing new to report on really, but thanks for my mother in law last Saturday Jake and I were able to go on another much needed date. Usually we don't go on dates very often, but since Caitlin has been diagnosis with cancer, we don't let her leave the house very much. Also in January Jake's job requires lots of overtime, so that limits our time together too. On Tuesday Caitlin and I drove down to Primarys pretty early since her counts were down and she needed a blood transfusion, it always seems to take forever for the blood to be ready. Anyway everything went smoothly, and she is doing pretty good for a little body that is going through so much. Everyday I wish I could trade her places, at least she is really young. So she probably won't remember much. I sure hope that we get through this quickly, I am not really use to being a stay at home Mom, I am kind of getting a little stir crazy. Thanks for all your support and help through all of this.

More Chemo!

2009-01-19T15:45:00.000-08:00

This weekend was spent down at Primary Children's for more chemo. We left Thursday night and spent the night at my Uncle's house since we had to be at the hospital on Friday at 8:15 am for a hearing test. Thankfully it didn't take very long and the results were normal but she seems to have fluid in her inner ear, I think that's what the doctor said. Anyway she might have to have tubes in her ears, which is fine. Then we headed upstairs for chemo treatments, which went really well. I am so proud of Caitlin, its like she just knows that this has to be done. I on the other hand, I am getting tired and bored of hospital stays. I know she needs this, but I also hope that treatments go by fast, so that we can have a semi-normal life again. On Saturday I got a nice little break my sister Debbie was able to get us tickets for the Draper Temple Open house. Everything went well with the chemo so we were able to come back home on Sunday. So all in all, we are just trooping through it.

A nice break!

2009-01-13T15:47:00.000-08:00

Well so far so good, Caitlin hasn't had any fevers and her counts have been good so we haven't had to make any trips down to Primary Children's. But of course just my luck the weather has actually pretty nice. On Saturday Jake and I were able to go out to lunch for a much needed date. We went to the Coppermill, which was really nice to be able to be alone and have some time to talk. After lunch we did a little shopping because I needed some new pants and we found some cute outfits for the girls on clearance. After that we went to Grandma Gigi's for a family dinner we weren't going to be able to stay long, but luckily Jake got a no work and so we were able to stay longer and hang with family. Afterward, we just went home and hang out together, Jake helped me give Caitlin a bath, since its a two person job cause her line can't get wet. This week has been pretty relaxing but I still wish that my girls would learn to sleep in a little bit. We have to go to Primary Children's on Friday for a hearing test and for the next round of chemo. Hopefully everything will go really well.

Too Long!

2009-01-06T15:47:00.000-08:00

Wow, I will try to catch up on everything. Life has just been crazy, with Caitlin's treatments and the move. Well I went down to Primary Children's on the 29th, thankfully we were only there for about an hour. So that was nice, and the weather was pretty good for that trip. We have also been trying to move into a bigger apartment, since Caitlin diagnosis we have put her in our room so we could keep a better eye on her, but that didn't leave much time for Jake and I to have any alone time. So we found a three bedroom townhouse, that has brand new carpet and a new dishwasher. So thanks to my family we were able to get everything moved on the 1st. I just love our new place they is so much room, now I have space to spare. Oh before I forget Jake and I are kind of party poopers we were so tired and really didn't have anything to do so we didn't stay up and ring it the new year. On the 2nd of January I had to make another trip down to Primary Children's since Caitlin needed a blood transfusion and platelets cause her counts were so low. I had to rush down there, and they it took forever for the blood to be ready. I didn't leave Primarys until 9 pm. Of course it was snowing so I didn't really want to try to make it home, so Caitlin and I spent the night at the Chase suites that is just down the hill from Primarys. Then next day I started my trip home early I was not going to spend another day away from home. Unfortunately I also had to make another trip to Primarys on Monday, but this time they were pretty good to get us in and out quickly. But not quick enough we got stuck in Layton for about two hours, waiting for a bad accident to get cleaned up. I feel bad for who ever was involved in the accident, but I just really wanted to get home. We finally made it home at around 5:15 pm. Right now I am hoping that Caitlin will stay well enough that we won't have to go back until next week. So keep her in your prayers.

Picture overload!!

2008-12-26T16:41:00.000-08:00

Sorry but I just added a lot of pictures. Hope you enjoy them. I am still trying to figure out how to do the slide show thing.

Christmas!!

2008-12-26T16:01:00.000-08:00

Well finally the day arrived. I am still like a little kid I get so excited for Christmas. Not because of what I am getting but because I love watching my girls open their presents and get so excited. So I hardly slept the night before. Christmas eve was pretty fun we just stayed home and watched Christmas movies all day. Debbie and Will stopped by to visit on their way to my Mom's house. Which was fun, but Allie was so hyper she was causing trouble. Suddenly the doorbell rang, I wasn't expecting anyone so I wondered who it could be. By the time we opened the door, there was no one there, just three bags full of gifts for our family. Someone must of been a Secret Santa to us. I still have no idea who it was, so whoever you are, thank you for thinking of our family during our struggles. Jake also had to go to work that night which we were really bummed about, but thankfully they let him come home early. Christmas morning was really fun, Caitlin was still not really sure about the opening presents thing, but about half way through she got the hang of it. Allie got the Disney sing it game, a Hannah Montana guitar, clothes, Pjs, and a bunch of other things. Caitlin got a crawl and cruise jungle toy, a baby stroller with a baby, a shopping cart, and clothes. Jake got his Iron Gym that he has been wanting and Gears of War 2. Erin got much needed Pjs and scrap booking stuff. Hopefully since I am not working now I will have time to actually work on them. Also Friends from my Mom's ward collected donations for us to help with Caitlin's medical bills. We are very thankful to all who have given us help, we couldn't do it without you.

And the next round of Chemo!

2008-12-23T11:07:00.000-08:00

Well thankfully Caitlin's counts went up so we were able to start the next round of chemo. I am not really sure if that is good news or not, but the sooner we get through this, the sooner Caitlin will be cancer-free. On Friday my mom and I braved the stormy weather and slowly made our way down to Primary Childrens. We were about an hour late, but that was okay since we had to wait for a room. I think the people in it before us, were not excited about driving home in the snow. They set up Caitlin's IV , while we waited we sat and watched Jake's Dad's movie called Money Making Morons. It was pretty funny! She did good with the chemotherapy on the first day, but the next day she threw up as soon as she received the VP-16. But we think we did a no-no by letting her eat peanut M&Ms! So anyway that was a very long night. But the next morning she was doing very good, so we were able to come home on Sunday. Yeah, that means as long as everything goes well, we will for sure be home for Christmas. The nurses and doctors down there are so nice, Caitlin got a stocking full of Hello Kitty stuff and candy. I got Christmas socks and pjs for Allie. Also Caitlin got this really cute and soft teddy bear. Yesterday I must of been crazy but I had a little bit of Christmas shopping left to do. So I went out and almost got hit four times and was about ready to scream. I don't do well in crowds, hence I will probably never be part of the Black Friday crowd. Anyway I believe we are all done, except some things that we ordered online haven't showed up yet. But oh well hopefully the in-laws will understand.

Yeah, its almost Christmas!

2008-12-16T17:01:00.000-08:00

Well, sorry it is so long between posts but there hasn't been much to really update. Caitlin seems to be doing really well. But her anc count went down again so we have to push back the next cycle of treatment. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we won't be stuck at a hospital on Christmas day. She is finally sleeping better which I am excited for, that means I actually get some sleep. Caitlin is so cute, we have been trying to teach her to say "I love you" she has the I and you part down pretty well, we are still working on the love part but it is still really cute. I think that we have most of our Christmas shopping done, some things we had to order online, so hopefully they will get here before then, oh well if not. I also hope that the girls like what we got for them, I think they will. But then last year I thought we did good, and Allie hardly played with what she got. Jake wants to open his presents now, but I laid down the law and told him, he has to wait like the rest of us. I was able to go to my friend's baby shower last Friday, and that was fun to be able to take a break from the kids, and visit with friends. Everyone wanted to know how Caitlin was doing. Also on Sunday we went to visit my family and go to Kenny's court of honor to receive his Eagle. That was really cool and I am proud of Kenny for working hard to receive it. Anyway the rest of the week has been spent cleaning the house, wrapping presents, and watching Christmas movies. Sorry no pictures right now, hopefully I should have some more soon.

Another update!!!

2008-12-12T09:12:00.000-08:00

Well, more updates, this week has gone by so fast. This weekend was kind of long since I had to get up at 4 am to give Caitlin her antibiotic, so by Monday morning I was so exhausted. On Monday Caitlin's nurse came over to change the cap, dressing, and draw blood to see where her counts were at. Unfortunately we couldn't get any blood to draw from the line, Carol (our nurse) was pretty sure that it was because of the antibiotics. So we went up to the hospital to have her blood drawn from her arm. The results were pretty good, her WB was 2.3, Anc was 700, Hgt was 35.1 and her platelets were 1207. Since her Anc was above 250, we were able to stop giving her the antibiotics. Yeah, a full night of sleep!! That night Jake and I left the girls with his mom, and did some much needed Christmas shopping. I think we got most of what we needed, there are just a few extras that I need to still get. On Tuesday I had a dentist appointment, which I hated. I just hate the drilling and the tastes that get in your mouth. Of course, because of my bad luck I have to go back again. On Thursday we had a check up with Dr. Armstrong just to make sure that there was no side effects from the antibiotics. But he said that she looked good, then Carol came over to put in some medicine to help clean the line and then thankfully she was able to draw blood from the line instead of her having to get poked again. Her results were again really pretty good. Her Wb was 2.6, Anc was 900, Hgt was 35.0, and her platelets were 2225, which is pretty high but the oncologist thinks that her bone marrow is just reacting to the chemo. They are sending out a nurse today to check her platelets again. So hopefully they will start to come down. Also last night we went to watch Allie's Christmas concert at school. She sang so good. Unfortunately the place was packed so we were able to see her very good, or take any pictures. Next year I will make sure that I go to the assembly instead, this year I was stuck at the dentist so I couldn't go then.

I got tagged again!!

2008-12-12T08:59:00.000-08:00

3 Joys
Jake, Allie, and Caitlin
My extended Family
When my girls are good

3 Fears
Not beating cancer's butt
Losing any of my family members
Money problems

3 Obsessions
Spending time with Jake (sometimes not very easy)
Cleaning
My Girls

Surprising Fact
I am still afraid of the dark.

Tagging.... anyone who wants to share more fun facts about themselves.

Sorry so long!

2008-12-07T12:42:00.000-08:00

Wow, this Cancer thing is a lot to get use to, not that you ever get use to it or want it for that matter. Well on Wednesday evening Caitlin had a little fever. Well as far as I could tell. We bought one of those ear thermometers, (which was kind of costly) but I not sure if it was worth it. One ear was 101.2 f and then the other ear was 99.8. So I was totally confused but I wanted to be on the safe side so I called the oncology department at Primary Children's. They said I should take her to the local ER. Which I wasn't too happy about, but I will do anything I need to, to make sure my girl stays as healthy as she can. Nothing against Logan Regional but they are just not equipped to take care of Cancer with kids. They were really nice but I could tell that they went sure what they needed to do. They found out from Primary Children's that they needed to do a CBC (draw blood and test it) and an X-ray. Caitlin hated the X-ray but I didn't blame her since they had to put her in this straw type of thing, with her arms above her head. Also they had to draw blood from her arm, just to make sure that she didn't have an infection in her line. They then put her on antibiotics since her counts are still so low that she can't fight any germs. We were then put in a room for the night, they were really good about cleanliness, they made sure that Caitlin room was off from everyone else, and the nurse were good about wearing gloves and masks so not to infect her with anything. Caitlin doesn't like to sleep in the cribs at the hospitals so unfortunately we spend the night in the chair. The next day was so long, we spent half the day waiting for answers from Primary Children's. We finally found out the results of the blood work, it looked clear from infections but her counts were still really low. The good news was that were we able to come home but we had to take home an antibiotic with us. Carol our home nurse is so awesome she came over that night to show me how to work the pump and give the antibiotic. She always calls and makes sure that things are going well. The pump is really easy to use the only bad part is that the antibiotic has to be given every eight hours, which means I have to wake up at 4am to give it to her. But things seem to be going pretty good. Caitlin seems to be frustrated a lot easier but I am sure that is right the effects of chemotherapy and not feeling good. I know I sure get grouchy when I don't feel good.

On another note, I took another much needed break and one break I wasn't so excited about. I had to get my yearly exam at the OB-Gyn, but my doctor had moved out of town, so I unfortunately had to get a new one and only the male doctors were taking new patients. Its not a big deal, but I always feel more comfortable with a women doctor. But anyway the other thing was a friend from where I use to work, called and asked if I would be able to go out to lunch with her. Thanks to my wonderful husband who said he would watch the girls, I was able to enjoy a great time with Chris McCrabb. We went to Panda Express, and they actually had my orange chicken this time. I told Chris about the many new and scary experiences we have had to endure throughout this hardships. After lunch, Chris gave me an envelope from all my former co-workers at RR Donnelley. This wonderful friend had gone around work and gather donations from everyone. It was so nice of everyone to give, especially during this time of year and since money is tight for everyone right now. Jake and I are so thankful for the thoughts and help of others. We have been worried about how we were going to make it for Christmas and all the medical bills. Thank you so much to all who have lent a helping hand, and financial aid to us. Despite the hardship that we are going through we have been blessed many times over. Again thanks to all.

On a more sad note, Caitlin's hair has pretty much all fallen out. But she is a bald little cutie. Unfortunately she is not very fond of hats or headbands right now.

The never ending effects of Chemo!

2008-12-03T12:02:00.000-08:00

Caitlin has been such a trooper, unfortunately when she had her blood counts done on Monday, the results weren't very good. Her ANC count was zero which means she is confined to our house and Primary Children's. Also her HGT was at 23, which are her red blood cells, 23 is low so we made a trip down to Primary Children's yesterday for a blood transfusion and for more chemo. She is always so good for the nurses and doctors. She is such an angel, she always knows how to bring a smile to my face when I feel so horrible about what she is going through. The clinic down at Primary Children's is really nice, they have comfortable chairs, movies, and game systems for kids to play while they are down there. We watched Cinderella and Care Bears while we waited for the blood to transfuse. Unfortunately we are now experiencing another side effect of the chemo, Caitlin hair is starting to fall out. I was trying to brush it out a little bit this morning and big chunks of hair fell out. So I stop brushing before I burst into tears since Caitlin has such beautiful hair.

More Updates!!!

2008-12-01T14:37:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was actually a lot of fun. Caitlin's blood counts were a little low, but we were still able to go up to my grandparent's house for dinner. It was so good. Since Caitlin has started the chemotherapy she hates it when I leave the room or when she can see me, unless Jake is also around. I feel bad for family members who just want to give her loves. But at the same time I understand why she gets so upset since she been through so much already and she is not even two years old yet. Anyway dinner was very delicious, and it was fun being able to be with my family. After dinner we played the game cranium is was really fun but also very hard. If you have ever played it you know that sometimes you have to draw clues (like pictionary) but with your eyes closed. Which makes for very funny drawings. Unfortunately Jake and I didn't win but that's okay. I forgot to mention that I got up and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving parade which is kind of a tradition for me. On Friday Jake's family came to visit Caitlin and help fix Jake's car. Also that day I took a much needed break and went with my family to watch Twilight, which was really good. Jake is not much of a reader, so he wasn't really into the series, so he stayed home and babysat Caitlin for me. Allie went home with Jake's parents to play with her cousin Kenidee. On Saturday Jake and Allie went with his family to watch Bolt, they said it was really cute. I stayed home and rearranged the family room so we would have room for the Christmas tree. Later that day we went up to Jake's parents for dinner and visiting. Then we made a trip to my parents house to dig out the decorations for the Christmas tree. I wish our apartment had more storage space. Then we went to see the lights at the Hollingsworth house, for those who don't know the Hollingsworth have a big yard and they have cutouts of Disney characters that they put out and light up with lights. The girls really like it, but sadly this is the last year that they are decorating their house.
On another note, Caitlin seems to be doing pretty good, she had her blood drawn today, and the results were not very good. I know this might be hard to understand but her ANC is zero, and her HGT is 23, which unfortunately means that she is confined to this house and that she will need a blood transfusion. Which totally sucks!!! So we are headed down tomorrow for the blood transfusion and the chemotherapy. I am thankful that it is not something worse, but this disease is still a lot to take each day.

Caitlin chemo treatment!

2008-11-26T16:22:00.000-08:00

Today Caitlin and I went down to Primary Children's for an other round of chemo. This was only one medicine so that didn't take very long. The doctor said that Caitlin seems to be doing really well. She needs to try and eat more. But other than that she seems to be doing really well, she still hasn't vomited once, which it so awesome. Its weird how blind we can be sometimes, I mean I have heard of cancer before, but since it has affected our family. It is scary to realize how many kids are affected with cancer, in one day at the clinic I saw at least seven kids under the age of ten with some forms of cancer. I am sure in the eternal plan there is a reason for all this suffering. I am sure that I will understand the lesson someday. Anyway I am thankful for all the kind nurse and other support systems set up at Primary Children's. So that even though kids are going through something pretty terrible, they are always greeted with a smile from a nurse, a toy, or a goodie bag from volunteers. I swear each time we have to go down to the hospital Caitlin comes home with a new toy. I plan to someday return the flavor and hopefully bring a smile to another child's face.