The Second Quarter of 2013 in Photos

It's been a busy second quarter for us.  Lots of life has happened and time spent with friends!  The beginning of the month was marked by saying goodbye to my dear friend Katie whose brave battle against stage four colon cancer met it's conclusion here on this earth on April 4th.   Sadness for sure but the celebration of her life was such a beautiful sea of purple and with a packed out church a wonderful testament to the lives Katie touched in her brief time we had with her.    Perhaps as a bright hello from Katie in heaven, the sun has been shining brightly - early and often for here in the NW - where normally our April and May would be quite gloomy.

The weather has been gorgeous!  So much so even on April 24th it was warm enough to break out the sprinkler (people in Cali would most certainly disagree, but eh us NWers tend to melt quicker up here so 68' is more than adequate weather for sprinklers.)   I also ventured to see the tulips for the first time after having lived here for seven years.   We went on the last day with the Playground Pack and had a blast with 9 kiddos and 4 mamas!  

May breezed past us with Mother's Day programs, birthday parties and fun!  More water fun was had and weekend wrestling with dad!

June - to say June was busy would be an understatement!    We were quite busy with the Playground Pack: a trip to the splash pad, many park visit, an outing to a flower garden, petting zoo,  last day of school, graduation (stay tuned more on this!) and the ultimate excitement the color run (a separate post on this to come too!)   Splice in time with family to celebrate Father's Day, a visit with my Uncle, more birthday parties, BBQs, bathroom remodel, and planning a baby shower  we've been busy!   

Summer is in full swing and with two busy kiddos (a kindergartner and a 2.5 year old!) life is fun and chaotic!   Many posts to come... eventually!  :)

Still Smiling

How do you say goodbye to someone that you've known for nearly a decade?   Who in the last two years impacted your life more in that short time than ever before...   Who in two years lived more life than some do in a lifetime...   Who never let cancer take her smile...  Today Katie is resting.  Katie is near the end of this ugly road she's been forced to walk.  Today when I went to see Katie, she still smiled. 

 

Cancer is ugly, it's mean, and it's ruthless and yet it still doesn't have control.   Katie decides and with that Katie wins.  We may never have a clear understanding of our purpose here.  However, we fortunate enough to know Katie and love her have been given the gift to see the impact and perhaps her very purpose on this earth - to show hope, love, grace, determination and most of all - the beautiful mother she's been to Kennedy.  Kennedy is Katie's heart, her love, her life and the part of her that will go on in this world.  Katie accomplished so much in her lifetime, but Kennedy was her most cherished accomplishment and a beautiful legacy.

 

Katie, as I said today - I love you.   I love that you 'stole' my wedding date and in turn 'gave me' an extra week of a honeymoon as a result... (After Loving Husband and I got engaged we picked August 7th, but then found out that Ryan and Katie were getting married that day and as a result we got married the weekend before and since LH was in their wedding - we had to delay our destination-honeymoon by a week, thus giving me an 'extra week' of a honeymoon stateside.)  I love that our girls play so well together.   I love that in these last two years we've become closer friends. 

Thank you for sharing your love, your story, your time with not only me - but everyone.   Thank you for being you.  Sometimes that meant being down right embarrassed and annoyed by your husband who is rocking out to karaoke at Dana's house.  To watching football sometimes more intently than the men in the room.   To always being generous whether at baby showers, birthdays, hosting parties, etc..   Thank you for the privilege to capture your memories this last year with Kennedy. 

May your final time on this earth be peaceful - may your goodbyes be all that you hoped and planned for them to be.   May your continue to never let cancer take your smile in this final stage, even if it's only on the inside.  It was beautiful today, my friend.  Go with God.

2008 at Ace's baby shower.  Not my finest, but I think Katie looks stunning.

February in Photos

For being a short month, Feburary was packed full of photography and fun.    Yes from birthday parties (half and whole), a new(ish)born photoshoot, to more pictures of my friend Katie and her sweet daughter - February gave my camera a workout!   It was a good month!   

A Choice in Destiny

Sometimes in life you get to choose your own path, make your own choice in how you live out your life's path. Sometimes you just don't get any say at all. Its what you choose to do with your destiny, whether self established or written on your behalf by circumstance that matters.

 

Everyone has a choice. Everyone has a voice. No matter what hand in life you are dealt. There are moments inside it that you have a choice - to be happy, to be sad, to fight, to grieve, to share, to love - whatever the circumstances.

It's hard to know why life happens the way it does sometimes.  However,  I find it admirable to watch and observe those whose destiny is chosen for them due to circumstances beyond their control, how they triumph and live through it.   The power and strength one has to make the best of their circumstances beyond their control. 

Katie since her diagnosis is one of these people.   This is never a path she, or anyone, would ever choose - but it was destined to be for her and as she journeys through this battle with cancer she focuses on the positives, she grieves through the magnitude of it all, and she fights with unimaginable strength.    She still chooses her destiny even if her path was decided by something beyond her control.

Katie fights and as we stand beside her watching her do so - we are all better for it.   Our time on earth is never known.  God can call us home at any time, for any reason. It is what we do with our time we do have that matters.   I'm using some of my time Praying in Purple for my friend.



Because there are never enough kisses!

2012 in Pictures

Year One of Triumph!

A year ago today my friend Katie was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer.   She's had a few bumps along her road to recovery but she has not let colon cancer define her or most importantly take her smile.   Here are Katie's thoughts on her journey this past year.  Continue with me to Pray in Purple! 

Ten on Ten - May



Weight check, post illness! 17lbs 15.5oz, up 13oz!
Also grew about an inch in the last month! 28.75"



Good news today!

The Purple Power of Prayer

I pray nightly for my friend Katie and her fight against colon cancer.   This week I prayed even more than normal because on Tuesday she went in for another scan to assess where her tumors stand.   Her previous scans have been encouraging either by shrinkage or no growth - today that story changed.   Today, Katie had to hear words of 'growth' and in two places.    I encourage you all to visit Katie's page and share words on encouragement and stories of triumph!  I know that with Katie it won't take her long to regain her positive footing, but these words she heard today certainly won't be easily brushed aside.  Today she begins a new chemo that will hopefully help in shrinking those mean-ol' tumors into nonexistence.   Please pray with me that the side effects will be few and the effectiveness abundant.  And rock a little purple this weekend in your wardrobe in honor of Katie and her 17th round of chemo.

Now to lighten the mood a bit, let's enjoy a picture of Katie and her husband Ryan with their spoils from The Great White Elephant Gift Exchange of 2006!  

Thankful

During this week leading up to Thanksgiving it is easy to be reminded to be thankful for what we have.   We can only hope that those holiday reminders course through our veins and truly helps keep our perspective on what we should be thankful for all year long.   My friend Katie is not only someone that I am thankful is in my life, but I am thankful that I get to witness her inspirational attitude on life.
 
If you are a follower of this blog, you know her story.  Today marks her second scan in her battle against stage 4 colon cancer.   I will be praying for good progress and continued signs that the chemotherapy is working for her.   On Wednesday she will also start another round of chemo which will continue over the holiday break.  While some would be upset and lament to the vast audience (and completely justified!) over the crummy timing on top of the crummy curveball life has thrown at her, Katie does neither.  She simply says 'oh well, I can't eat most of those foods anyway' and went shopping this weekend with her daughter.  There are lessons to be learned here and I love Katie's attitude.    

In honor of today and to reflect on a happy moment, I provide you with a thematically tinted picture from Dana's baby shower last year, where all three of us ladies were pregnant with now: Kennedy, Ethan, Kaylee & Mae.  :)

30 weeks (with one), 28 weeks (with two), 9 weeks (with one)

Team Katie

Today many friends and family of Katie gathered together to participate in the Get Your Rear In Gear 5k.   Together we formed the largest team:  Kickin' The Stink Out Of Colon Cancer!   With the kids in tow, I headed out early on this chilly Sunday morning to join everyone dressed in purple to walk.  

Our group gathered together with Blake setting out with the twins to run the race, while the rest of us took a nice stroll through the course. We joked that it was fitting that we were at the back of the race pack.  :)  The kids did pretty well - Mae rode in the stroller for about half.  My friend B helped push the stroller for about 2/3rds of the race (thank you!)  Ace did pretty well, but his hands were pretty cold.   He was pretty excited when he got a GIANT leaf to hold for a while.

We finished the race just as the kid's dash was beginning - which means we finished at just about 55 minutes after we began.   We jogged in - Mae was a bit unnerved by mommy jogging with her in the Ergo carrier, but she did ok.    Afterwards we stayed for the award ceremony - where Katie was awarded a pretty 'legit' (her husband's word for it) plaque for having the largest team (27 adults with several babies not included in that number!)   We grabbed a few pictures of the whole group, and with my camera we snapped this shot of our portion of the group.  :)


We were glad we were able to come out and support Katie in this way through her journey and help raise money and awareness on colon cancer.    To continue to support Katie, please stop by her CaringBridge site and sign her Guest Book.

Praying in Purple

Today my friend Katie is having yet another round of chemo.  It began just a little while ago (if all went according to schedule) at 10:15am PST.   She is on my mind today, as she is every day, but today I am thinking and praying for her continuously as she hunkers down for another several hour session in the hospital of chemotherapy.    Living across the country there is nothing that I can do for her beyond that.   I can't watch her daughter for her, I can't bring her a meal, and I can't sit with her in the hospital passing the time.   Although she has an army of support that is with her and that are filling those roles.

So in honor of Katie on the days that she has chemo - to make it a reminder to us to say some extra prayers for her - we are wearing purple. Ace not as much, but I did make him a cool bracelet for him to wear for the photo op  to be included.  Mae and I are dressed in our purple to show support from afar for our friend Katie. Loving Husband can't wear purple on his uniform and I'm pretty sure he'd kill me if I dyed his underwear purple... plus that might be a bit weird... so he's just remembering on his own to say extra prayers today. We are sending her good thoughts of recovery and prayers of the same.  We are Praying in Purple.

Katie truly is an inspiration for her strength and courage through all of this.  For goodness sake the woman is still working as a teacher to young kids on the days of the week she isn't seeking treatment and/or recovering from it!  She has amazing family and friends (and coworkers)  that are rallying behind her to keep her strong.   So while I am afar I will continue to pray and share her story to help spread the prayers to anyone and all that can pray as she continues her fight against stage 4 colon cancer.    To follow her story, please click here.  

If you would like to be a part of Praying in Purple please do.   Dawn your purple attire and say a prayer today or any day for Katie. Also I'll be putting a list of blogs writing posts for Katie on my sidebar - that way she can come to my page and find a network of support through a list of blog posts for/about her and a list of people praying for her that she can read  all in 'one place' - I've created #tag for Katie specifically and that is the link that I will be including on my sidebar.  If you wish to do the same just shoot me an email with your blog title with the link to the blog posts you wish to have me put on the list.   If you'd like to include just your name (or blog name if you prefer more anonymity) indicating that you're praying for Katie I can add that to the list to with no hyperlink.   Prayer is a powerful thing and to rally together in a church, as friends, or in the cyber blogging world it all means one thing: support for Katie.

For Katie

It's been over a month now since a friend of mine had her world shaken to the core.  She went to the doctor thinking she might had a mild issue and came out with the understanding that instead she was about to face a major battle against stage four colon cancer; but that didn't defeat her.   It empowered her.    She took on this fight with postive forward attitude.  For her family, for her daughter, for her life.   

She's gone through two rounds of chemo thus far and has weathered it amazingly well and she begins another tomorrow. But tomorrow is another day.   Today is her birthday.  A day to celebrate and be happy and at her husband's request we as her friends and family have been asked to light a candle or two in her honor to help show her that we are here to light her way forward.   So for you today Katie the candle has been lit, but even if it isn't burning every day - we are praying for you every day.    To send your own encouragement to Katie you can follow her journey here.



A little tinting with what happens to be both Katie and my favorite color
on an already silly photo (of me) from our 20's NYE party in 2007