Whew, what a ride!

So Steven has been home 11 days so far. We have been crazy busy running errands and taking care of details. He is making progress but definitely still adjusting to his new surroundings. Of course we are all thrilled he is home. The main focus has been tracking down job openings and filling out applications like crazy. Oh, he's also been to the gym 8 days out of 11 so far. I don't ever remember having that kind of excess energy. He's still pretty jumpy but I expect that it will take a while before he can breath deep and relax.

My chemo treatments are rolling on. Only three more left then I guess we'll have a new PET Scan and see where we are. I wish there was an alternative to being stuck with those IV needles. Every 4th chemo my veins all run away and hide and I end up being stuck 4 or 5 times to get the IV started. Just what do these people have against lidocaine anyway? After the 2nd stick you would think they might be concerned about my feeling like a pincushion. Arrrgh!!!!

We're going on an ATV ride tomorrow with the Myers clan. It'll be nice to be outdoors and run the bikes. I have to remember to take the camera and get some pictures. Too bad Sean is hanging with Mom this weekend, he's going to be bummed that he missed an opportunity to take out his dirtbike.

I am so happy to have my family whole again. How truly blessed I feel each and every day.

704

704 days Steven has been away and today he'll be home in the arms of his family. Emotions are running high right now so I'll save the details for later. Rest assured that we are thrilled to have our family all together...

Interesting...

It's New Years Even and so now I suppose it's time to wax poetic about 2008 and all the amazement, angst and frustration it has brought forth over the last 365 days....

Today sucked anyway. Several of my co-workers and I attended a funeral for the wife of a team member here at work. A sad occasion of course. Our thoughts and prayers to the Baluff family and we hope that their family finds comfort in this time together mourning and remembering.

2008 in general was a bit of a roller coaster. Medical tests, Surgery, Recovery, Medical Tests, Radiation, Chemotherapy, Medical Tests, Medical Tests, Another cancer discovery, Radiation, Chemotherapy and before you know it tomorrow is 2009.

Let's hope for more things like this.

Steven's Homecoming to the loving arms of Casey, Sean and the rest of the family, A Smithmas Celebration, End of chemotherapy, Clean bill of health, Sisters' Birthdays, Wife's Birthday, Stevens Birthday, My Birthday, Another clean bill of health, a huge family vacation to Hawaii for relaxation and to celebrate all of our blessings.

Sounds like a plan to me....

Life as I now know it would not be possible without the help those who have supported me over the last year. I hope that all of you know just how important you have been to my recovery and the well being of my family. The blessings we have received have exceeded our wildest dreams. I hope that I find an opportunity to persoanlly thank every person individually. To My bride Melanie. Thank you for being the rock on which I have been able to build this life that I get to live each day. I love you with all of my heart and will keep working to be worthy of your love.

It is my sincere wish that everyone enjoys an opportunity to be loved and cared for like we have.

A blessed and Happy New Year to all that this writing finds a path to.

I found the Christmas spirit!!!

So it's Christmas morning and I am watching my family enjoy playing Wii Tennis. I found the Christmas spirit in the faces of my children this morning. What a blessing they are. It's easy to take them for granted sometimes. I should do less of that. Merry Christmas to all....

May I have another week please?

Apparently today is Christmas Eve. I am sure I could have deduced this by simply looking at a calender so it shouldn't be a surprise given the obvious signs, decorations, Christmas music etc. It has really snuck up on me. I don't feel very Christmasy yet and I am not sure I will.
We will be enjoying our annual Christmas Eve dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Maybe I'll wander into church tonight and see if I can get some religion. Might need to bring my hardhat.

Had an awesome dinner with the Macey's last night. I ate too much but that's not unusual thee days. We are expecting a quiet week as the kids will be at Mom's from Christmas to New Years.
Maybe we'll get a chance to catch our breath a little, watch a few movies an relax.

Here's hoping for a safe and happy holiday season for everyone.

Saturday Hangover?

A new twist (at least for me).. First hangover in more than a year. Three too many margaritas at the company Christmas bash last night has me on the tylenol this morning.


We (Melanie mostly) drove up to Flagstaff last night after the party to hang with my Sis and her family. Lots of snow to play in and flatlanders to watch. Snowbowl opens today and the town is packed. It's good for the economy and entertainment value. We are taking the kids to play in the snow today. We won't be able to come back till Smithmas so it was a good time to come up.


Looks like the hair is starting to go. I am not sure what to do about that. Maybe I need to streamline more.... We'll see.

I hate Christmas cards. Every day for the last three weeks when the mail comes there is yet another reminder of what a schmuck I am for not having sent out any Christmas cards yet. Truth be told, I do like them and I am even one of those people who enjoys the sometimes included synopsis of the last twelve months' life history of the sender. It's nice to see that stuff too! Pictures are even better. This year I have been trying unsuccessfully to come up with a theme for a card. No luck there though. I managed to get a copy of some of my abdominal scans posted onto a mocked up card from Shutterfly. Melanie didn't think is was very funny. I guess I can see her point but I do revel in the absurdity of it all... These damn cards aren't going out till Wednesday at the soonest which means they will all be late.... Oh well I didn't even want to send one out but each one we recieved is like a challenge waiting to be answered.... I can't stand it... I wanted to wait until after Steven comes home (21 days today). I'll bet there is no way I can get those made after Christmas. Bummer. Oh well, better luck next year.

Nice to have a routine.....

Fastest Chemo day ever... 4 hrs, 30 minutes. I think I was sleeping for at least 4 of those hours. Nice way to spend an afternoon. Unfortunately the IV needle was the size of a small tree trunk. Ouch was the word of the day (among others as I don't want my 2 yr old niece Maddie to repeat). Many thanks to Carla, Karen, Claire, Karen, Julie, Nancy, Jane, Bonnie, Jan, Corinne and all the others at the Infusion department who I forgot to mention. You guys have have taken such good care of me over the last 8 months. What a blessing you have all been.

Congratulations to my bride on her first completed college semester and a 4.0 GPA. Daughter (Casey) is working hard at school and the results are starting to show. I am proud of her efforts.

Amuse yourself.. Go to http://www.jibjab.com/ and make a video..

Brrr.... It's cold out there...

Another Elk hunt came to a close for us on Sunday morning. A quick look out the window was all it took to get me on the road back home. 3-4 inches of snow and 40+ MPH winds is no place for someone with an immune system that is less than 100%. A good time was had by all even if the weather wasn't cooperative. I walked nearly a mile and a half on opening morning with little trouble which was very cool. I had been concerned that I might not be able to go very far but I was pleasantly surprised. I guess I really am making progress of some kind. It's sometimes hard to see the forest for the trees. I have been saying that my acid test will be to be able to get back on the softball field. I have been fantasizing about running bases and swinging a bat again. mentally I think I am ready but my physical condition is another story completely. I have a ways to go. I am looking forward to rehabbing in ernest when Steven comes home. Only 27 days left as of today.

I see the Oncologist today. yet another follow up. Good news, no needles till tomorrow anyway. I rescheduled my Chemo for Thursdsy this week. I have a high profile project at work and I am trying to stay on top of it so that the others on my team don't have to keep picking up my slack.

The hunt goes on.....

In a fitting tribute to all the hunters who have gone before the Hirsches, Naperala's etc. I am off on another annual elk hunt with my dad DeWayne, my youngest son Sean and our hunting partner Mike Cline. Cline is a veritable mountian goat and we are constantly trying to keep up.
He is a valuable asset to the team and much of our success in recent years is due to his effort as well. Lucky for us Mike has a summer home in Show Low. We have all the comforts of home. I do miss Camp 6 a little but this will do just fine. I am lookng foward to hot coffee and an early start tomorrow.

Goodbye old friend..

This, the week of the Thanksgiving Holiday has been been a little more sentimental than usual. I'm not sure what drives this. There is no shortage of potential answers to that question given my current health circumstances, the time of year or other influence.

Jack Naperala passed away November 19th. When I was a youngster of 10 or so I started big game hunting with my Dad. Jack was my Dad's longtime hunting partner. Jack, Dad and I would leave town the day before our hunt in Jack's green 1968 ford truck to go off to some remote part of Arizona to pursue Deer or Javalina or whatever we were able to get drawn for.

I thought it was awsome to be one of the guys but sleeping on the vinyl front seat of a 1968 for truck in below freezing weather is not fun in any sense of the word. We often gravitated to the less popular areas where game tags were plentiful but success not so much. A lot has been made over the years of our "Success" rate. We still receive unyielding amounts of harassment from family and friends for our lack of contribution to the magament efforts of the Game and Fish department. All I can say is that "Success" in this context is a relative term. Given that I have been able to trade countless numbers of school days and subsequent work days to spend it outdoors bonding with my Dad and others in a way that many other people don't have an opportunity to experience is beyond compare. Jack was my hunting buddy too. Not the kind of buddy I would call if I had a flat tire unless I was in his neighborhood. Not someone I talked to about the politics of the day either. Our talks usually centered around where we were and where we were going tomorrow to stalk our prey. I am having trouble remembering the last time I even saw Jack but I am not sorry for it. Our time spent together was focused on the task at hand and we never left much room for anything else. I didn't know he was from Chicago or even that he had served in the Marines. I would have loved for him to tell me stories of either of those subjects. At the very least I would have been proud to have thanked him for his service. One day My Dad annouced that we were gong hunting with a different group. What about Jack", I replied.." "Jack decided not so hunt anymore" he said. Hmmph. Ok well where are we headed this time? Jack, I wish I would have taken the time to tell you that I enjoyed your company. I appreciated the talks we had around the campfire. I still remember the sesame crackers, baloney slices and tuna salad as hunting trip staples on the menu. Oh, dont' forget the tapioca pudding! You let me ask a thousand silly questions and never had a cross word or frustrated reply. You were one of the first to congratulate me on my successes and bust my ass when I acted like a bonehead. I liked that fact that you were always late. Not becauase I wanted to be late too but because it drove my Dad crazy and that it wasn't my fault. You were more than a hunting partner you were a role model and friend. Thank you and goodbye my old friend.

BTW- The new hunting partner guy is crabby and hates pickles so no tuna salad. It's been an adjustment to say the least.