Christmas Greetings - A Little Late!

We had a busy and fantastic Christmas - quite different from last years!  I told Doug that I wanted a "do over" of last years festivities as I was only an onlooker and not a participant!

We had a fun Christmas Eve at Doug's cousins - 8 kids ranging from 8 to 17.  Christmas morn was just the 4 of us to open presents.  Doug's sister and brother-in-law were here for Sunday brunch and yet more presents for the kids!  On Boxing Day my family was over for a BBQ!  It was mild with the temp around 5C!  Perfect BBQ weather in Winnipeg!  And of course more presents! 

Our Christmas festivities are still not over, we have dinner in Oakville with 5 more cousins for the kids to play with!  We also have my mom's famous and huge dinner with hopefully some of my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins joining in the celebrations!

Oh yeah in the midst of this we have had our puppy Hope for 2 1/2 weeks.  We have become potty trained once again!  She is our 5th member of our family and we love her! 

What a difference a year has made! 

Thanks for all your prayers and Christmas Wishes - we have heard from lots of people over the holidays!

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

Love,
Karen and all

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday it was my 1 year anniversary of being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.  Today I got the results of my 1 year MRI - To everyones delight and surprise it has shrunk yet again - so much so that I have a hard time finding it in the MRI copy that I have.  I am so grateful and thank God for every day and for answering our prayers.

Once again we want to thank everyone for all their support, prayers, cards, rides, taking the kids and everything else.  We are certainly surrounded by wonderful people! 

Thank you and enjoy your weekend - we will!

Love,

Karen and gang

A Beautiful Fall

So far the weather has been great!  The kids had a mild Halloween - Luke Skywalker and Wilma Flintstone came home with waaaayyyy too much loot! 

Things have been quiet on the CancerCare front - MRI and appointment are the end of the month.  I am feeling the same - some days I am exhausted and some days I am not!  Probably how everyone else feels too!  Somedays I have numbness and somedays I don't.

Once again I'll update shortly after my next MRI.

Thanks for caring, thanks for praying!

Love,

Karen and all

61.......

My Platellets that is!  I am half way to normal - watch it I know what you are thinking!  I actually have 5 weeks off from CancerCare - a mini vacation!  Whatever will I do with myself?  Oh yeah - I have piles of laundry from closing up at Bird River, cards to catch up on, apparantly "there is nothing to eat in this house", you'd think they'd give their mom a break!  I guess that I have had 10 month break in their minds.  I never realized how tired and sore a body could get until this year.  I can't complain - I am alive and I thank God for that everyday!  I try to treat everyday as my last day and enjoy it to the best of my ability!  Someone asked me once "how can you be so happy with all that is happening?" - I replied "because I am alive".  The conversation ended fast!

I must go - I promised them soup for our sore throats and baking for breakfast!

Thanks for all the support, prayers and love that we continue to receive!

I want to wish everyone a Belated Happy Thanksgiving - I know that we have a lot to be Thankful for!

Love Karen

A New Angel.....

I have some sad news to share today, a fellow brain tumour patient, Ramsey, passed away last week.  He leaves a beautiful wife and 3 kids behind.  Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.  For those of you with kids please hold them close and tell them how much you love them everyday!

Karen

New Orleans......

Well it's not sinking!  Thank goodness! Doug had a conference/meetings to attend there and I was able to tag along.

I had last been to New Orleans some 20 years ago - it was a different trip this time - much more subdued!  If you have never been there it is a fantastic city to visit, for short time!  We had a wonderful hotel, excellent food, the people are so friendly and so grateful for visitors.  With Katrina and then the economy crash they are still struggling.  At one restaraunt we overheard 2 waiters talking about how the love it when it is busy - and it was packed that night!  There are still vacant high rises/ houses and buildings with windows smashed and blown out from the hurricaine.

My highlights were, of course getting permission from CancerCare to travel, finding wonderful people to care for the kids while we were away - Thanks so much - eating great food - even if a bib was required, the hustle and bustle on every street, the music that filled the air, riding the street cars - it was like stepping back in time, and of course my favourite - getting to spend time with Doug!

Thank you once again for all you do for us.  We are so lucky and grateful for every day! 

Love,

Karen

Seasons are Changing.......

Fall has always been my favorite time of the year, I love the colours, covering my plants - to try to save them for a few more days (weeks as Doug would tell you), the cool air, and this year the fact that it has been almost 10 months since I was diagonosed - and I am still here!  I am grateful for every minute that I am alive!  I have been feeling stronger each day.

 I was at CancerCare for blood work today - some things are up, some are down - nothing too bad.  I managed to squeeze in a visit today with a friend I used to work with & the gang in ER!  I miss that place - well really the people in it!  What a great bunch!  I was reminded that I still have not made the radiation mask into a flower pot - something to hopefully do next spring.....

Sorry that I have negligent with the Blog updates over the summer - but I guess `no news is good news`

Thank you for all of your concerns, prayers and love.  If you could please include Ramsey and Michelle in those prayers I would be very grateful.`

Thanks again,

Karen