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I have loved every minute of this Christmas. It is such a blessing to be immersed in family and friends with with my heart full of gratitude and this feeling of “peace” that I haven’t felt in so long. Our Christmas could not have been any more perfect.  We were able to celebrate with all of our families with 3 happy and healthy boys of our own. There is not any gift that can top that!

When we weren’t celebrating Christmas, we were running to Michael’s hockey games and getting together with friends. It feels as though we had something going on every day. The boys even got some outdoor skating in before the weather turned so frigid!

Today all 3 boys went to a movie with me. We saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I think the 2 older ones went for me and that’s ok. It made my day to do this with all of them. It has been years since we’ve all gone to a movie. The boys all agreed it was ok as far as movies go. I know Michael and Jeffrey enjoy more action packed story lines and Mikko was confused at times with all Walter’s day dreaming. It is a challenge to find a movie all 3 boys can see and enjoy, but I loved my time with the kids.

This afternoon I got my Christmas cards in the mail, except for a few that I need to find the address for. Tonight I made chocolate chip cookies and chocolate Rolo cookies. Jon is in shock because in the last month I’ve baked twice for the first time in almost 2 years. I didn’t even get after any of the guys when the first dozen were done and eaten in about 5 minutes. I’m sure they feel they better get their full because who knows when they will see baked goods again from me!

A friend of mine had talked with me recently about the tradition that their family has with a special plate. This reminded me that a student had given me a Pampered Chef plate that says, “Celebrate” and I thought we should start a tradition as well. A few weeks ago we had received Jeffrey’s report card and it was an awesome one!  Without embarrassing Jeffrey…..this is reason to celebrate! When I was reading the Hastings paper last night I saw Jeffrey’s name in it for being on the 8th grade “A” honor roll and I brought up the plate to him. I told him he could eat his dinner off of it tonight and he liked the sound of that. Someone that didn’t like the sound of it….John! He demanded to see the plate. So off we went to the kitchen to locate it and as soon as I handed it to him….he securely tucked it under his arm and he was not giving it up. “I’m eating off of this plate. After this last year….I get the plate!”, he said with all seriousness. Jon said something like, “How do you argue that?”, which sent Jeffrey off into the , “John always gets what he wants” rant.. all the while the plate is still tucked under John’s arm. Yes….the stinker ate off of the plate tonight and I told him Jeffrey gets it tomorrow. Then tonight, I reminded him that tomorrow he will be getting 5 immunization shots and I was prepared for him to express apprehension. John’s immediate response, ” 5 shots, I get the plate.” He’ll get the plate. Just to add a little more chaos to the situation, Michael started telling John he deserved the plate. I may need to buy 2 more!

The other night when I tucked John into bed we were talking about New Year’s Eve. I told him that I am so excited for 2014! I’m so excited for it to be a happy and healthy year. Without going into specific details, my little guy knew just what I meant.

John is in such a wonderful place health wise and “today” is so good. I don’t know how tomorrow, next week, or next month will be, but  I am doing my best to enjoy the “right now”. I pray every day for all the other children and their families that are fighting this ugly beast…childhood cancer. I hate it so. I know that even with all John has endured we are blessed and I pray, pray, pray… the worst is behind him and that his story can bring inspiration and hope to the children and parents that need it most.

Tomorrow John will go for those 5 shots. I think it is several months before he will go again – working on getting all the immunizations caught up that were wiped clean during the stem cell transplant process.

Thursday afternoon Jon will take him for his monthly blood draw, urine test, and to see Dr. Rawaas. John will also have an occupational therapy evaluation that day as well. The OT therapy while in patient was his least favorite activity and he gave the nice gal a run for her money every time. I hope she sees a different kid on Thursday!

During the last week of January are when the next scans are scheduled. Enough said about that!

I was thinking about what my New Year’s resolution should be. It’s not that it’s difficult to think of one…it’s which one?!

*Eat less junk

*Exercise more …..more then never

*Drink less pop

*Drink more water

*and on and on and on

So in my long mental list I was making I have chosen….. sleep. Yes…sleep. Obviously I ‘m not starting tonight as it is 1:32 am right now, but on January 1, 2014 it becomes my goal. I am worried about this goal as sleep has not come easy for me in a long time. My hope is if I can get a healthy amount of sleep each night, that it will run over into all the other possible New Year resolutions I could have made. Wish me luck!

Wishing all of you a Happy, Happy 2014! CELEBRATE!!

Love, Hope and Blessings,

Shelly

Life has been crazy busy with school, hockey, holiday gatherings, and lots of Christmas preparations! This past week the kids all had games. We were at the rink, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday! That’s a lot of hockey!! I was able to squeeze in fun and merriment with neighbors, friends, and fellow hockey parents on Thursday, Friday and Saturday! The last week of school before the break is always full of extra excitement.  Just typing all of this makes me exhausted!

I even managed to squeeze in some baking this year and of course the kids have eaten every last cookie and almond bark pretzel. I even hid some in the freezer and they didn’t even last a day! Linda, who happens to make delicious cookies, gave me a platter of delicious treats and Michael got into those as well…but my scream when I saw him munching them scared him away!

We have been enjoying the bliss of everyday life. That doesn’t mean everything is rainbow, glitter and butterflies. 🙂 We experience time outs, attitudes and the occasional grief all parents have the privilege of encountering.Even with those moments….we are all in such an awesome place….healthy and together!

We are living with a 7 year old bursting with Christmas spirit! He’s decorated, sprinkled, and glued to his heart’s content all for the love of everything Christmas. I so wish I was able to tape our conversation when he was setting up the Nativity set. Like always he was full of questions and he demanded quality answers!

A new family tradition this year is our elf on the shelf. This is a little elf that watches over the kids during the day, reports to Santa at night and shows up in a new place in our home to continue his “watch”. Mikko absolutely loves looking for the elf each morning. The past few mornings Mikko has found the elf caused a little trouble during the evening (Thanks to ideas on the internet.). One morning our elf was found in the bathroom sink taking a bath in marshmallows and the next night the marshmallows were strewn all over the bathroom in the elf’s haste to get to our Christmas tree to toilet paper it! Last night….caused giggles this morning. The elf had replaced the boys Christmas stockings with their underwear! I was planning on giving the boys rudolph noses in their sleep tonight with a red washable marker,but then thought better of it. I wasn’t too worried about Mikko and Jeffrey, but I thought Michael could possibly pay me back, even though I think going to hockey practice tomorrow with a red nose would be cute. 🙂 Tomorrow night the elf will leave until next December.

I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to Christmas with our families this year. Last year Mikko was feeling crummy from his antibody treatment and he stayed home with me while Jon took Michael and Jeffrey to his parents’ homes and we weren’t able to go to Rochester last year either. As a family unit we are in such a different place. Yay!

I love reading family Christmas letters, but I’ve never been one to write them. (Heck, the Christmas cards I ordered haven’t even arrived at our home yet!) However, when I look back on our past year (My parents had John’s Caring Bridge journal entries bound for us and it totaled 4 books. I spent a lot of time reading through 2 of them on Sunday.) ,it is impossible to not be reflective and count my blessings. Yes, it was heartbreaking  difficult at times, but it was also stuffed full of so much love, support, amazing opportunities, and the kindness and generosity of an endless number of people. Jon and I are eternally grateful for each and every one of you and we wish you a Christmas filled with faith, family and friends!

Love, Hope, & Blessings,

Shelly

Below is a temporary Christmas card until I get ours in the mail.  Enjoy!:)

http://host-d.oddcast.com/php/application_UI/doorId=1177/clientId=299/?mId=56003181

I had to cut this entry short because my husband just woke up and found me awake in the living room! Sleep….that is going to be my New Year’s resolution!

On Tuesday evening John had the fabulously fun opportunity to go to the North Pole for the evening! This night was made possible by Make A Wish and Sun Country Airlines. Make A Wish children were invited to Terminal 2 to board a Sun Country jet for the North pole. When we got to the airport we went through security and headed upstairs to Gate 5 to wait for John’s boarding time. While waiting there were games to play, mascots to meet and plenty of space to run around. Make A Wish and Sun Country people were decked out in holiday gear.

As I watched John play and enjoy himself, I looked around at all the other families…each one with their own heroes, their own stories. Tonight, however, they were all just kids filled with mountains full of excitement.

Yes, John was very excited and also apprehensive. He thought from the very beginning that going to the North Pole would be great, but he wasn’t going without me. I had explained over and over that parents didn’t go with. That this was kind of like the Polar Express, but on a plane. He didn’t care.Yesterday morning he told me he wasn’t going. When I saw John at lunch I asked him if he was thinking about the North Pole. His response, “I’m thinking you’re going with me.” When I got home from school he told me he wasn’t going. I really had no idea how he was going to be once we got there. It all went very well. I only had to give him one little shove to get on the plane. 🙂

This is my take on what happened. The kids got on the plane and they sang Christmas songs and enjoyed a chicken strip meal. Then they taxied on the runway for a little bit. The plane portion of the evening was about 40 minutes. John and I took this opportunity to have a beverage and nachos while John was at the North Pole. When John got off the plane he told me that they didn’t go to the North Pole, but it was still fun. He figured this out for a few reasons. 1. The same Mrs. Claus that was waving in the airport windows was waving at the North Pole. 2. John told me the plane never took off. 🙂

When the kids got back to Gate 5 Santa was there and of course the battery on my camera was dead then and I wasn’t quick enough with my phone camera. Thankfully a photographer was there taking pictures and I will be able to download a picture this weekend.John sat on Santa’s lap and got a gift bag of goodies. He was one happy boy!

It was a great evening and we are very thankful to yet another memory making night. Thank you Sun Country and Make a Wish!

Love, Hope & Blessings,

Shelly

If I had the opportunity to sit on Santa’s lap I would have shared my wish…. a hair cut for Michael!

John and I busted out of school at noon today to get to his 1:00 physical therapy appointment in Minneapolis. We got there on time and he passed with flying colors today. We were given a few more exercises to continue at home and we were given the clear for 6 months! When we notice John going through a growth spurt we are supposed to hit the stretches extra hard…other than that we are to continue what we have been doing..even if it includes jumping off of couches!

Next we headed downstairs for his blood labs to be drawn. Once again there was a little confusion over what was needed as this is a new study for Children’s. We waited patiently while calls were made and things were straightened out. John and I came armed with his first morning pee (Little did anyone at work know I had pee in my school bag ,tucked away safely in a sealed Ziplock, chilling on an ice pack….It would have frozen in the truck!) and there is always a little confusion with that as well. We come with pee, they want additional pee, John was going to pee his pants while we were waiting for the blood instructions and the lab gal to come back. We needed that cup! All ended well and dry.

By the time the lab commotion was all worked out we were 1/2 hour late for our appointment with Dr. Rawwas. Once again he spent a lot time with us…examining John, talking with him, talking with me. While I was talking with Dr. Rawwas John was on the examining table attempting to tie his shoes and being very vocal about his disgust in the lack of progress he was making. He basically was grumbling to himself the entire time…ticked off.

During this shoe tying trouble I asked Dr. Rawwas about John’s last CT scan of his lungs and that spot. Like Dr. Chu, he is not concerned. On one scan there is nothing to see in that spot and on another scan you see it. He explained that on the one you can see it, is a type of scan where several pictures are “stacked” on top of one another and it may very well be that nothing is actually there. (The angry shoe tying kid, that hears everything …even when you think he’s not listening…threw in a couple of , “Is that bad?” questions during our lung discussion. We both reassured him that it is GOOD! We also talked about scheduling the next set of scans for the last week in January. By the time we were done visiting John had learned to tie his shoes and they were in double knots!

We also discussed the thinning hair issue and a note will be made of it in John’s chart. I decided that I will also call my contact at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Michigan and see what she says.

John and I busted out of the clinic to hit the road to get back to Hastings for Michael’s 5:15 hockey game. We missed the first period, but got to see the rest. The JV Raiders were up 4 to 1 and then lost it all in the 3rd period. John and I headed home after the game and I was able to squeeze in a little of The Sound of Music before he realized what we were watching and turned the Wild on. They won!

It was an action packed day, but a good one. I do feel a little crummy tonight.

Friday marks the end of Cycle 4 and Saturday is the first day of Cycle 5. 4 down…..20 more to go!

Love, Hope & Blessings,

Shelly

John has been waiting not so patiently to get our Christmas tree decorated. When I called home after school he asked me if we could get some balls on the tree tonight. I promised we could get to it after dinner. When I was changing out of my work clothes I realized that today is the 1 year anniversary of John’s last radiation treatment. When I shared this news with John he seemed genuinely proud and ran to tell his dad. What a perfect way to celebrate! John loves Christmas (He has mentioned a few times lately that he was sick last Christmas.)! He had a bounce in his step…actually dance moves… as he hung ornaments. We had the Rockefeller Center Tree lighting show on the TV and John would take dance breaks during his tree trimming. I have to admit I had a plan for the tree. ..First hang …., then…  I quickly learned my son was in charge and he had a plan and it didn’t include me! He went and got the step stool and my job was to put the hooks on the bulbs and to stay out of the way. The first ornament up was surprising to me. It was the one he had made last Christmas of his school picture with his little bald head. That was one of the two ornaments I was allowed to hang and only because he couldn’t reach. John wanted that ornament at the top of the tree near the star.

At first it became clear John was going to put every ornament on the tree he could get his hands on, I had the plan of “redoing” the tree after he went to bed. As I watched him singing, dancing, and decorating I knew I had to leave it. It doesn’t matter that our tree doesn’t look perfect to someone visiting our house…John loved every minute of this evening and our tree is perfectly perfect for us!

We have been busy with a lot of fun activities. Thanksgiving was the first time in almost 2 years that all five of us have been at my parents house. We had a delicious meal together and later in the afternoon Jon headed towards SW Minnesota for a few days hunting with Jeffrey and Michael. John and I stayed over at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. I got some shopping in and John and I headed back to Hastings on Friday afternoon. Jon and the boys weren’t far behind us as they cut their trip short. They weren’t seeing much and snow would have been nice. Jon would have liked to take the boys at a later date, but this was the only Saturday without a hockey game until March. Yes, March!

John and I had made plans to got to the Shrine Circus on Saturday  thanks to Hope Kids. We had a fabulous afternoon together and John loved the circus. The guy being shot out of the cannon and the motorcycle riders were his favorite activity.

On Sunday John had hockey and he scored his first goals of the season! (

The Gegen guys hockey 2013)

On Monday, Make A Wish sent us to the WIld game! We were in a suite sponsored by Heatly and Cooke…all the hot dogs, mac and cheese, chips and dips, popcorn and pop our tummy’s desired. We were with another  Make A Wish family and we had a blast!

A few weeks ago Michael and John had the opportunity to meet 2 Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders. They both got a calendar and John was upset it didn’t have the game schedule or the players pictures. Uncle Tim and Jon thought the calendars were great!

As you can see we’ve had amazing opportunities and many care free days and lots of quality family time. I count my blessings every day!

Tomorrow John and I will head to Minneapolis in the afternoon for a physical therapy appointment and to see Dr. Rawwas for the monthly blood labs and urine tests. It will give me the chance to talk to Dr. Rawwas  about John’s thinning hair, his November scans and his scans coming up again at the end of January. I am planning for this visit to go well.  🙂

It is time for me to get to bed…no proof reading tonight!

Love, Hope & Blessings,

Shelly

These two are best friends. Nearly every day I hear John tell Syd (or sing to Syd) that she’s a good dog.