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!

Life Lately Continued...

We took a trip to San Diego and went to Sea World with our friends the Moss's. Taeden's favorite part was the play place and the birds he saw wandering around. go figure.

Our trip happened to fall on our 4th anniversary. We celebrated with a date last night. I am so so so more than thankful for my wonderful husband. He is the best!

The Moss and Wolf boys. Taeden LOVES his little friend Chase and asks for him constantly.

Macalan is in love with the pool. He pretty much has this expression on his face at all times. yep, he is still angel baby.

this was fathers day. we had so much fun celebrating the best dad on the planet and showing him how much we love him!

a trip to the LA zoo. taeden loves it more than anything.

taeden now loves to pray. it is kind of the cutest thing EVER!

one of my best friends from high school came to visit with her daughter norah. the boys loved her and taeden keeps asking for "dora." it is pretty cute.

macalans future wife??? :)

my happy boy at 8 months.

Macalan saw a specialist last week for his blood diesease. It is a weird thing because he has been great and his health has continued to be great, but he warned us that it can creep up at any point and make him pretty sick. He gave us good pointers on what to watch for and how to prevent any further damage to his spleen. We felt really confident that we are prepared to care for it a little better. He continues to have a great disposition and all three of us adore him (yes, taeden still loves him immensley and macalan lights up the second he hears taedens voice).

And now for the biggest news of all...

We are moving! I am still getting used to the idea myself and my eyes were swollen from crying for about a week straight, but we really do feel that it is the best thing for our family at this time. We are moving to the western suburbs of chicago (about 40 miles from the city) at the beginning of Sept. so that brandon can join his brothers who both work for a food distribution company that his dad owns. This California girl is not going to know what hit her come winter, but I am a little bit excited about the prospects of actual seasons! I am pretty devestated to be moving so far away from my parents and the rest of my family, but I know that we will do whatever we have to to make sure that we still see them a good amount! I am praying so hard that kersten and clint will move to indiana (they go out there next weekend one last time and will make their minds up then) because if so, they will be less than 4 hours away and who knows maybe we can get my parents and brother out there eventually! I am trying hard to trust in the Lord and know that God will use this to stretch me greatly and hope that I will allow Him to do just that! You can be praying for that as well! So thats the big news and now my hands and mind are just plain tired from all this blogging..so it will probably be at least a week until you hear from me again:)

Life Lately...

So, apparently my cameras cord was like the most basic one out there and turns out that we have like 10 in our house that works just like the one that came with the camera. (my husband sweetly pointed that out after listening to me whine about not being able to download my pictures). So here I am. We have been super busy lately and loving every minute that Brandon gets to spend at home because of his summer break! Here are lots of pictures of our life lately... the boys playing with johnny. they love him and we do too!

brandon and i had the opportunity to chaperone the senior trip to hawaii...which was amazing!!! no kiddos meant- sleeping in, laying out and lots of eating out at restuarants other than mcdonalds :)

brandons brother wayne and his wife heidi came to see us along with their 4 kiddos...it was a full house but we had so much fun with them and taeden loved being with his cousins

just a brag moment...my husband is the king of laudry. he is meticulous in his folding and this is often what i come home to after a night out with the girls...yep, he is pretty amazing!!!

my bf kristen and i got to go away for an amazing girls weekend in santa monica. we stayed at the fairmont miramar which is by far the most amazing hotel i will probably ever stay in. it was such a relaxing and fun time together! i love kristen!!!

here's taeden in our white trash backyard. yep, its a pool from wal-mart and a broken chair providing hours of fun for taeden and his cousins.

macalan ate babyfood for about a week. he never really liked it. he already eats as much table food as taeden. he loves everything we give him!

the yearly mothers day shot. i think this was after church and i think the boys were pretty much "done" at this point. but we tried.

taeden with his cousins. he is obsessed with them. it has been such a blessing living so close to them for the past few years. they help me take such good care of the boys!

me and my boys. don't worry, taeden hair has since been cut and is much cuter. :)

Off the Wagon...

Well, I've done it before, and it will surely happen again...me falling off the blogging wagon for awhile, but here I am with just a quick and boring update to let you know I am still alive! My reason for not blogging is because I can't find the cord that downloads our pictures from our camera to our computer and blogs are just no fun at all without pics to go along with them. I will soon break down and buy a new one, but I am just so annoyed at myself for misplacing it. When I get my new one I will post like crazy so stay tuned, hopefully it will be soon and we have some BIG news to share too that I can officially share tomorrow. (By the way, I am NOT pregnant, thank you very much. :) So check back this week to find out whats going on with us!