Memories of Us

It seems the end of 2013 crept by all too fast for our family as I was not able to post any more blog updates.  Oops.  One of my goals (I don't say New Years Resolution anyway....who keeps those?) for this year is to try and update our family blog on a regular  basis.  I cannot promise how regular the basis will be though. I have noticed that life has a way of getting busier each year. It's probably because as adults, we somehow gain more responsibility.

November, we found out that my sweet mother has cancer.  I remember my sister calling me and telling me and I just froze and cried. Anytime anyone hears the word CANCER they think death right? I know that is the first thing that I thought of when I heard the news about Mom.  I was told to go talk to my dad as he has a very good way of explaining of things better than anyone.  We were in the car as I got this phone call no one wants to take. My husband asked me why I was crying and I told him I would tell him later.  Afterall, it was our 2 year anniversary.  Why ruin a day that we are supposed to have fun and create memories?  Ahh... Memories. I will get to memories in a minute.  We dropped the kids off at school and decided to go visit Mom and Dad before we celebrated our two years of marriage.  We went up and talked with Dad and he explained everything.  For several  years, Mom has been breaking her bones very easily.  The dr told her she was in the early stages of osteoporosis. Well....NOPE, she has multiple myeloma cancer.  The way my Dad explained this to me was like this... We all have bone marrow. Bone marrow is what makes  your bones strong.  I always thought of bone marrow as a yellow sticky, thick substance.  Boy was I wrong.  Its actually blood.  So anyway, Mom has way too  much protein in her blood and it was causing her plasma to be off, which makes her bone marrow weak and in turn it makes her bones weak.  This totally explains all the times she has broken her bones just bending over.  My mom told me the Dr said her cancer is "the best cancer to get if you get any." Now really, who ever wants cancer? I doubt anyone.  Mom said this is completely treatable and she opted to not do chemo at the time. Instead she decided to change her eating habits and eliminate all  meat products, diary, anything that came from an animal (eggs, etc) and any white flour products.  She said lowering her protein intake would help lower the level of protein in her blood.  What a pain as most people do not realize most foods are meat, diary or animal products.  Luckily, she has been able to juice a lot of vegetables and fruits.  My dad had me try and sorry, but that is just not for me. Blech.

Mom has regular bone scans and she had one last week.  The Dr called her and said to come talk with him ASAP. This is never a good sign. Mom went in and found out that she has multiple myeloma and it is in 90% of her body including in her skull, sternum, arms and legs.  She was told if she continues to do  nothing then her kidneys would start to shut down and the Dr gave her 6 months to a year to live.  Not cool.  For those of you that do not know Mom personally, she is the type of person that will give you the shirt off her back.  Mom has always been a giver. She will go without just to give to others. Mom decided to start chemo and did her first round on Thursday.  She will be doing one round for 2 weeks, have a week off, then do another round.  She is hoping to get well enough to be able to do a bone marrow transplant.  If she can do that, her chances of overcoming this are a lot better.  Due to all the costs associated with her medical bills, my sister Melissa has set up a website that you can donate to.  If you cannot donate, please become a sponsor and share the link on you Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn account, etc.  We also surely appreciate the prayers on our family's behalf.  The link to donate is https://fundly.com/help-adell-battle-stage-3-myeloma-cancer#comments

Christmas was nice. On Christmas Eve, we to Jason's grandma's house for their annual Christmas Eve Party.  It was the first time had been back to this since Jason passed away.  I wasn't sure how the kids would do, but they seemed to have done well and enjoyed spending time with their cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.  It is so nice that Jason's family has accepted Richard the way that they have.  On Christmas Day,  we had my family over for dinner and enjoyed each others company.  We made a turkey dinner with all the fixings and just created a bunch of memories.

On New Year's Eve, we stayed in being I had to work on New Years Day. I am a party-pooper and went to bed by 10pm.  I was woken up to fireworks though. Luckily, I was able to fall back asleep but woke up the most awful nightmare a mother could ever have.  I will spare you the details.  On New Years Day, Kendra had an episode and we ended up taking her to the hospital where she was admitted to the psych ward for a week.  With all the abuse she endured by her biological father, she was having a hard time dealing with it all.  She needed more help than what Richard and I could provide for her.  At first, she was very mad at us for taking her there, but in time, she started to realize we did it out of love and now is actually thanking us for taking her.

This year got off to a pretty crappy start, but its starting to look better.  Richard is still looking for work and has applied to many places and hopes to hear something soon.  I am still applying for jobs with the IRS and have done a few tests but have not  yet heard anything back.

Kendra is doing well in school and has started to make some friends and have friends over.  Its so nice to see her giggling with her friends when they come over and acting like a normal teenager.  Shaylee is doing well in school and has started to learn to sew.  If you need anything made, hit her up as I am sure she can create something awesome.  Megan is in her last year of elementary school and will be going to junior high in the fall. She loves to sing anywhere she is and is quite good at it.  Morgan is in the 3rd grade and is totally a social butterfly.  She is always making us giggle so much.

We created a video to recap 2013, so turn on your speakers and enjoy....

click here to see video

Until next month, we hope you all have a wonderful month.

Jen