One.

Yesterday marked a milestone. Our little Baby Mac, as he has come to be known, turned one. He continues to steal our hearts each day as his sweet little personality shows itself more. He still is the happiest baby I know and he loves his mommy dearly. I say that because Taeden is definitely going through a "I am obsessed with daddy" stage and it makes me pretty happy that Macalan prefers me, for now. Taeden still loves his brother so much, but I am gonna be honest...sharing is becoming an issue...oh, the joys!!! :) Mac is content crawling for now and I am soooo ok with that and enjoys chasing after his big brother. I am thankful that the Lord has blessed Mac with great health this year, now more turning yellow for him, which means his blood condition is staying under control. We are so grateful!
We can't imagine a life without our sweet smiley little guy and can't wait to see how he grows and changes during this coming year!
On another note, I am going to become an auntie again TODAY!!! My sister was induced this morning and I am waiting by the phone for updates. I fly out to California on Friday, and though I am bummed I am not going to be able to witness little Oaks making his entrance, I am thrilled to be able to be there for the first week of his life to help my sister out a bit!
Been trying to upload pics , but for some reason the computer won't let me...bummer!! I had some cute ones of Mac, but I will try again later!

Alive and Well

Just a note to say:

I am here (here being my new home..Illinois).

I am alive.

I am thankful for family here.

But miss my family horribly.

My dad may be getting treatment in Reno- a non-conventional one. they are encouraged. We remain hopeful.

I am daily trying to remember that God is in control of my life and I am not!

Brandon has started his new job. He leaves early, but is home early and once he is home, he is HOME and not running off to soccer games, meetings and activites. I love that!

Brandon's parents have been beyond gracious by letting us take over their home.

I love the weather here. 70 degrees is fine with me. You'll have to check back with me in the winter on that one.

Did I mention I miss my mom and dad????

Going home in Oct...only a few weeks away!! I can't wait.

We miss our friends! and Wolf Creek. Badly!

And now I am realizing that this post is getting much longer than I intended. Opps.

And I have no pictures to post. Sorry! :)

August in Pictures...

Shower for my sister and baby boy Oaks!!! Can't wait to see what he looks like in a few weeks!!!

We all grew up together and I love them all!!

At my cousins wedding

My parents dancing the night away!

Me and my sister doing my dad's famous dance move with him...both thumbs in the air :)

me and my "little" brother

me, my sis, and our oregon cousins, megan and mallary..don't get to see them often enough!

me and my daddy!

brunch at our place before the wedding

I am not sure what we were doing, but we were laughing pretty hard!

Taeden and my parents new dog..labordoodle Bailey! He is huge and the best puppy ever!

papa and taeden hangin in the hot tub

taeden loves being thrown in the air by johhny

we are going to miss our friends mandy

and johnny soo much!!!

The Big Move...

Hasn't happened yet, but our last days in California our slipping away from us quickly. I have had a hard week this week because of everything going on. I think I have cried everyday (my poor husband!). Things with my dad did not go as we had wished in Chicago. He went out to Chicago this week to try to become a part of a clinical trial there but was not accepted. It is so hard for me (and him and my family) that it has been so hard to find something out there to try and fight this cancer! He is willing to try anything, but because his cancer is so extremely rare, there is just not much out there for him. They are pushing ahead onto the next thing (possibly in either Alabama, UCLA or up in Seattle). We know that God is in control and I think He just wants our complete trust...this is so hard, but a good lesson that we all need to learn!

I have also just been down thinking about leaving our home here in Ca and all our friends. We have had to start saying some goodbyes already...and I am not liking it:) I know how hard it is to make great friendships and I am so sad to be moving so far away from so many friends and loved ones here! You can definitely pray for me! I am trying hard to have a good attitude and I know that God has a plan for our lives in Chicago.

We leave on Tuesday.... :(

Pictures of our Family Vacay in Newport

The boys enjoyed playing together lots in Newport

Me and my baby boy

Can't really get enough of that face!

Taeden, Daddy and Mac wrestling...boys will be boys!

Attempted family shot

My parents were able to join us in Newport for two days

Taeden LOVES swimming and is actually really good at taking breaths now all on his own...with no lessons!

My grandparents live a few miles away from Newport so they were able to come spend the day with us

A new park that Taeden enjoyed exploring

Love this pic of my dad and baby mac

I heart Newport.

I am sitting in an amazing villa in Newport Beach right now, courtesy of my great in-laws who let us use their time share for a week. It is beautiful here and the place is amazingly nice. I love waking up to overcast skies and having the temp. high be 75 degrees. We have spent lots of time in the pool and just hanging out together as a family. I love it. My parents and sister and her girls were able to join us for the first 2 days and then we had some friends who came up for a night and left this afternoon. I am trying not to think about the fact that when we return home on Sunday, we will have 2 weeks to pack up our lives and move our little family of four across the country...I still can't believe it. I am getting a little more used to the idea, but I don't think it will be real for awhile.
My dad had a doctors apt today at UCLA (he was getting a second opinion since the first doctor he went to was a ...-I can't really come up with something nice to say about him, so I won't say anything at all- my mom would be so proud :)
Anyways, they really liked the doctor they met with today. She spent a lot of time with them going over some different options they have. Unfortunately, their is no cure for the type of cancer that my dad has-as it is extremely rare, but the doctor is trying to get him into a clinical trial (and amazingly enough one of the trials she is looking into is in...you guessed it...Chicago!) How amazing woud that be! My dad is still amazingly upbeat- even prayed last night as me, my mom and sister sobbed around him- that God would do what is best for His glory even if it is something we don't like. He is the sweetest!
It was hard saying goodbye to all of them, knowing that I won't see them again before I move! My sister and I have gotted so accoustomed to seeing eachother almost everyday, so I know that this separation will be really hard for me. I am planning on coming back out to CA for her little boys birth though...so that will be fun. And after she has him, her and her hubby are moving out to Indiana and will only be 3.5 hours away from us...another blessing from God!
Ok, my eyes are tired and I want to go to bed. Goodnight. Sorry I have no pictures to post, don't have my cord :)

My Precious Dad...

He is the sweetest!!!

Just this past monday, playing a little wiffle ball as a fam...good times!

He loves his grandkids so much and they love their papa!

My mom and dad... could they BE any cuter??? NOpe

The five of us

I have kinda been neglecting this little old blog lately and part of it because writing about what has been going on lately makes it seem much more real...and to be honest, I kind of wish the last few weeks were all part of an awful nightmare, but I know that its not and despite the fact that I feel this way about it, I do know that God is in control and know that He is testing my faith, as well as my families.

My dad has cancer. Again. When we went through this three years ago and to be honest I thought we wouldn't have to go through it again. But God has different plans. Things are looking much more grim this time around, which is incredibly sobering. It looks like the cancer is already in his lymphnods as well as in his lungs. The kind of cancer that he has cannot be treated with chemotherapy and because of the amount of radiation he had last time, it does not look like radiation will do much either. My parents are amazing and have an amazing attitude about this...my dad is prepared to fight in any way that he can, and I know that he will. Their are possibilities of surgery and also possibly some type of clinical trial or also alternative methods that my parents will for sure look into. They will do all that they can, at the same time, their faith is strong and they know that this is all in God's hands.

My dad is the most amazing man I know. He has been through many trials and always handled things with grace and humility. He loves the Lord with his whole heart and is loyal and faithful. When he found this news out his two concerns were- 1. he hates that he is putting his family through this and 2. how can I use this to share the gospel with anyone who will listen. As you can see, his focus is not on himself...its on others...he is truly my hero! I love him so very much and my heart aches that he has a long and difficult journey ahead, but I know that God is going to use this for great things and it will not be wasted. I could go on and on about the man that my dad is, but I would probably work my self into sobbing by the end of this, and believe me...my eyes need a little break. :) So I will leave you with some pics of my precious daddy and just ask that you will please keep him in your prayers as well as my mom. I will try to update when we know more...for now we are waiting on insurance to ok a CT scan of his whole body to see if the cancer is anywhere else. Thanks!