Thursday, February 26, 2009

GO CHIEFS!!

Just wanted to say congrats to our Lady Chiefs! They had a big win last night against Ozark and will play Nixa in the championship on Saturday. It must have been the pregame talk they got from a very special guest speaker.....MY MOM! Steph and I, along with so many others, can tell you that her pep talks are the best. We can't wait for the game on Saturday night. NO ONE is as excited as Cohen though. All he has talked about since the game last night is his "girlfriend" who plays for the Lady Chiefs. Oh yes, Madi Miller has been the hot topic today! We were counting like the Count from Sesame Street today and I said, "One batty batty, ha ha ha!" He looked at me and said, "NO momma, one Madi Madi, ha ha ha!" Yup, my boy has his first official crush!

Good luck to the boys tonight as they take on Branson. Roy, if you need a good pep talk, I'm sure my mom is available!!!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Mrs. Brightside

**UPDATE** Just in the last 24 hours, I learned that two more people who are very dear to me have received news that they have cancer. One is breast cancer and another is melanoma. Seriously?

Is it just me, or is cancer EVERYWHERE?! Claire and Drew have a sweet little friend at school who was fighting for his life at the tender age of 2. (He is currently CANCER FREE!! Praise the Lord!) Their teacher Miss Holly lost her husband Jeff to a VERY brave yet very short battle with Melanoma. Another mother at their preschool had breast cancer. A player on an opposing team a few weeks ago had recently discovered that her mother would soon be undergoing treatment for melanoma. Trish Marsh is a friend of ours and coach of one of my AAU teams in Jr. High. She fought stage 3 breast cancer and beat it. Go HERE for a great story about her victory. A former player's mother was diagnosed shortly after Steph with breast cancer. My 8th grade basketball coach Kent Watts is supporting his wife as she battles breast cancer. Too much cancer if you want this girl's humble opinion.

The bright side...the people who I am surrounded by who are battling this disease have done it with such courage. They have faced uncertainty with such grace. They have inspired me and the people around them in ways I never could have imagined. Especially my dear friend Steph. I sometimes break down and ask God, "WHY?" I know that I may never truly understand why, but it is becoming more clear to me as I watch the world around me change. He is using Steph. He knew all along that she would be facing giants someday. He knew. She has been chosen to fight this battle and He knew that she would be strong. He knows that people around her need to see a miracle. She is encouraging people all around her. She encourages me more than she will ever know. Don't just take my word for it. Go HERE and read Michael Stacy's wonderful article in the Springfield News-Leader. Be careful though, it left me in tears. Okay, I lied...it left me "ugly crying." You know what I'm talking about...tears, snot, swollen eyes. The works. I am so proud to call her my friend. Steph, because of you I am a better wife, mother, daughter, friend and sister. Because of you, I CHERISH every single day. You, my friend, are a true hero in every sense of the word.

Please pray for Steph this week. If you are familiar with chemo you know that it makes you feel pretty rotten for days afterward. You also know that it continues to work in your body so skipping ONE treatment won't really do any harm. She made the decision to skip chemo last week. This week is districts. It was very important for her to be at her best for her girls. Unfortunately, she has apparently picked up some sort of bug and is feeling lousy anyway. So pray that she is feeling better by tomorrow night.

Good luck to our Lady Chiefs tomorrow night at districts!!

Friday, February 13, 2009

My Funny Valentine.

Today as Levi arrived at the babysitter's house she was preparing Valentine crafts for the kids. The kids each had a plate with a small amount of red paint and a small amount of white paint. Levi looked at the plate and said, "Oh look! She has ketchup and ranch!" In case you didn't know, the world pretty much revolves around food with us! Here is a little slideshow of my kids. (You didn't think I would let a holiday go by without forcing you to look at pics of my babies now did you?) The song is dedicated to Claire and Drew. It's their fav and they LOVE to dance to it. The "cutie pie" picture is dedicated to Levi from Claire. She INSISTED on having her picture taken with the "cutie pie" heart so she could give it to Levi because that is what she calls him! It's pretty darn cute if you ask me!

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Hope everyone has a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

F1.

Dear Mr. F1 tornado,

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for deciding to touch down where you did on Tuesday night. You see, had you swirled just one mile north, you would have hit my dear friend's house. You may not know her but she's got plenty going on right now. Not only is she a wife, mommy, daughter, sister, friend, teacher and coach...but she is kinda sick right now. The last thing she needs is to have her home destroyed by the likes of you. Thank you for being so cooperative.

Sincerely and Fearfully yours,
Chrissy

Friday, February 6, 2009

Smells Like Chemo.

Today was chemo day. I hate chemo day. It means that my friend is hooked up to bags of poison. It means that my mom has a headache. (She has sympathy symptoms for Steph.) Which means that Steph has a headache. It means that once again....it's real. OOooohhhh how I hate cancer. I wish so badly it would go away and Steph could still take Friday's off to have girl time with me and mom. But, you know me....forever the optimist, so I will list a few things that I DO like about chemo day.

It means I get to pick up Drew from school and see the excitement as he and Claire jump up and down with delight and demand that we listen to Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make me Feel."

It means that I get to hug Steph as I return Drew to his rightful owner.

It usually means we get to eat together.

It means I get to hug her again as we leave.

We honestly don't get to spend enough time together so the days when we do get to hang out are precious to me. But it is so hard. Hard to imagine that she is so sick. It is so strange. Strange to think that this is really our way of life now. I look at her and she doesn't look sick. She is so brave and I am not sure if she understands how thankful I am for that. If it weren't for her strength, I would be a mess. I'm working on a post about that, but haven't found all the words I need yet. Please continue to pray for her, especially on chemo days. They.....stink. Which leads me to a story that is a little funny, and a little sad but 100% real.

Drew hugged his mom this afternoon and said, "Mom, you smell like chemo." He then followed up with, "you know like a hospital."

Ugh.