What we have been up to...

Connor:

Connor is loving being in kindergarten. He is a funny kid. This is his first year of soccer and he has done great. He has scored every game and he has a smile on his face the whole time. It is fun to watch. He is in the primary program today and this is his line: "pwophets testify of Jesus Chwist." That is exactly how he says it. I know we need to work on how to say our r's but it is just so cute.

Kristoffer:

Has been loving playing soccer. He is fun to watch most days. He still gets winded pretty easily. We are finally at our 1 year mark since he has been done with chemo. The year that would never end has now been over for a year. The time is flying by. Why couldn't it go by that fast when he was sick? We have scheduled the surgery to remove his port for November 11th. He just loves life. He is just happy to be here. He is in the primary program at our church today and he has to give a talk on the miracle in his life. I am gonna need a tissue!

Ashley:

Went salmon snagging with her Uncle Bob and Aunt Gaylee. She had a great time. You haven't gone fishing until you have fished with Uncle Bob. He is a great teacher. She caught 2 fish. She said it is a lot harder than it looks. This is what she caught:

**Ashley also made the basketball team at the junior high. She was so excited. Basketball is a huge deal in our small town.

Katelynn:

Katelynn had an 80's dance at the church. She went with some friends and had a great time. I helped with the hair. We were listening to 80's music while she was getting ready. This was how our conversation went:
Me: "I don't think your hair is big enough!"
Katelynn: "I can't believe you guys looked like this!"
Me: "I love the 80's!"

I know you are all thinking, "i used to have an outfit just like this!"

Homecoming!!!

I can't believe my little girl is old enough to go to Homecoming. She is so excited and looks beautiful!! She went with a group of good friends because she is not old enough to date yet! They look like they are having a blast.

Katelynn played a great game!!!

Katelynn had her first district game last night. They won 3-0! It was so much fun to watch! There is a really nice article in the paper with her name mentioned! Follow this link:
http://www.daily-times.com/ci_16139652

CT Results...

The CT scan showed no evidence of cancer!! The lymph nodes are the same size as they were on the last scan! The Doctor wants to just do an x-ray instead of a full CT scan in 3 months so Kristoffer will not be exposed to as much radiation! That is music to my ears! We will also schedule surgery to remove the port. That will be nice, so the next time Kristoffer is sick and runs a fever I can just give him some motrin instead of running him to the ER and having heavy antibiotics put in his port and paying for a hospital visit! Isn't life great? We appreciate all of the staff at UNM. They truly love these kids and they miss them when they haven't seen them for a while! It is so sweet! And of course we appreciate our wonderful family that helps juggle our children so we can run Kristoffer back and forth to his appointments. They are the best! They love this little guy almost as much as I do!

CT Scan Results Tomorrow!!

Well it is finally here! Our appointment with the oncologist is tomorrow! We have been wanting this day to be here since the last scan. We are hoping to see normal sized lymph nodes in the abdomen. The last scan showed that they were larger than they had been. I always worry that the scans will show that the cancer has spread. I probably think about this possibility every day! This is the new normal for my life! I will post results tomorrow and if the scans are normal we will schedule the surgery to remove the port in Kristoffer's chest.

On a lighter note - Ashley made the volleyball team!! Yeah!! She was very nervous because there were almost 60 girls trying out and only 35 spots! She is very excited! And Katelynn scored her first goal on the varsity soccer team! She kicked it in off of a nice corner kick! One of my favorite things to do is watch my kids play sports!

I LOVE SCHOOL!!!!

I really do love my kids but I love them even more when they are all in school! I now have all 4 kids in school. It is such a liberating feeling!!
Ashley is in 7th grade. This is her 1st year of Junior High!

Katelynn is in 9th grade! She is loving being in high school!

Connor is in kindergarten! His mom loves this!

...and Kristoffer is in 1st grade. He and Connors' classes are right next to each other. He loves his new teacher and school! His cousin Gentry is in there and she made him feel really welcome and showed him around!

How do they do it??

How do people do it that have a lot of kids? I feel like I have been sooo busy all summer. Running kids to practices, going to softball and baseball games, taking Kristoffer to his appointments, getting the kids ready for the next school year, cleaning house, camping, birthday parties, etc. I am tired!! I need my kids to go to school so I can rest. And I only have 4 kids!! Wow! My hat is off to those with more kids. I still have a few more school supplies to buy and then we have Kristoffer's CT scan on Thursday! Then maybe I can relax! Of course then we have to start with soccer for Katelynn, Kristoffer and Connor and volleyball for Ashley! And of course HOMEWORK, more visits to specialists in Albuquerque for Kristoffer, etc... Well you get the picture!! Never a moment to relax and yet I love being a mom!! Crazy!