Awesome News

Wade went to the doctor today and he got GREAT news! All of the tumors have shrunk "considerably"!!! When the doctor was talking about the two blood transfusions he had to have, she said she was shocked that was his first time ever and that he was the only patient of hers that has ever gone so long without ever receiving one!! Pretty awesome. He will start more chemo January 3rd in order to keep attacking the tumors. This is awesome news.

We had a great Christmas! It's a CRAZY couple of days, but it's all worth it!

We start Christmas Eve morning at Cracker Barrel.


That night we go to Wade's Aunt's house in New Waverly.



Kaden and Reagan in their matching pajamas.

The kids went outside to hear/see Santa. Reagan was soooo scared!!!





This is the first time that I've ever had Christmas away from my own house (well, the kids too!). It was a little hard, but it turned out great.






Christmas Day we go to Granny's house...





...and then back to Wade's mom's house.
(I didn't have good pictures here...they were all blurry!) :(
However, here's a cute picture of Reagan all wrapped up! The best gift EVER!



Let's not forget my mom and dad's. We did that Sunday after Christmas. It's too bad I don't have pictures from Gran's Christmas (which was on our anniversary and the week before Christmas!).






We played our new game...LCR. It's so much fun...as you can see! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCR_%28dice_game%29

Merry Christmas

Last night we went to Santa's Wonderland. We debated about going this year, but I'm so glad we decided to go. This was the third time we've gone and it definitely won't be the last. It will be something that we will make a tradition and do every year. The kids had a blast. I hope y'all have a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Time

I love this time of year! It's the best! The lights, trees, smells, cold weather...wait a minute...HOT weather! What is up with this hot weather?!?! It can really get somebody out of the Christmas spirit. But that's okay. As long as it is cool on Christmas Eve and Christmas, it will be just fine. More than anything, I love spending time with my family. I couldn't be more blessed. This will be the most magical Christmas yet, thanks to the amazing people that I work with!! I can't wait to see the looks on the kids' faces when they wake up Christmas morning. Several weeks ago, we rode The Polar Express in Palestine. It was so cool! I have some really good pictures from this. My grandmother bought our entire family tickets to go. She even got the kids matching pajamas. I believe she initially thought it was called The Polar Bear Express hence the polar bear pajamas. Either way, they were all super cute! The only negative thing about the trip was the thousands of bees! One even flew inside Reagan's pajamas and stung her! It's a pitiful face, but a cute one!!! After the train ride, the city of Palestine had their Christmas parade so we made our way down there. It was soooo cold!!! The weather was perfect!

And one more cute Christmas story. Santa Claus called the kids one night! They were soooo excited. http://www.sendacallfromsanta.com/ Santa makes each call personal by calling them by their names, saying where they're from, and calling them a nickname (plus more). Mommy Santa made the mistake by calling Kaden first and not Reagan. Just watch the video...it shows why this was a mistake!!!




Our Christmas shopping is complete. Oh, and by the way, please make sure you always check the handles of your car doors before you open them. Unfortunately, when Wade and I were leaving Walmart last night around midnight, I went to open my door and I felt something mushy on my hand. When I looked down, my hand was covered in POOP! Yes people, POOP!!! I was so disgusted! I cursed a little, gagged a lot and then we EVENTUALLY laughed it off. It's all we could do! I did go in and wash my hands ...for about 10 minutes straight. When I came back out to the car, we noticed the two cars parked next to ours had it on their doors too! Who does this!?!?! I began to leave a note on one of the cars when the guy was on his way out and we just explained to him what happened. The girl parked next to us also came out so we were able to tell her too...before either of them would get a hand full of poo. I went in to complain to the security guard (who was inside sitting instead of monitoring the parking lot). He pretty much just laughed and then went to his little corner away from the store to smoke a cigarette! Come on now...do your job! I was parked two parking spaces away from the store. How hard is it to do your job?!?! So anyways, silly me, when I went to get back in the car, I opened my door again to get ANOTHER hand full of poo! Back in the store I went to clean my hands!!!! Not so happy at this point. I've called, but was unable to get the response that I was wanting. According to the manager, my car was not vandalized or broken into, it just had poop on the door handle! Nice! Okay, so back to the jolly, happy Christmas times stories. Only 4 more days until Christmas! Woo Hoo! Wishing you all a VERY blessed Christmas with your family and friends!

Things are Looking Up

Long story short, Wade went in Monday to do his blood work and it showed his hemoglobin was dangerously low. By Monday night he had to have a blood transfusion and received 2 units of blood. The very next day, he began running a fever so back to the hospital he went. He stayed in the ER over the night and came home Wednesday after getting 2 more units of blood and after they pumped him full of antibiotics. They sent him home with even more. He is now feeling much better.

J.R. had surgery on his eye on Tuesday and HE CAN SEE!!! Praise God!! Truly a miracle! We were all thrilled and J.R. was even more excited. I am so happy for him. We were all together this past weekend to celebrate Christmas at my grandmother's in Coldspring.

Saturday, December 18th, was our 6th anniversary. I can't believe it's been 6 years. Where does the time go? I remember that day like it was yesterday. I married my very best friend and with every passing day, we grow closer and closer. We've been through so much together...more than most people should ever have to go through. We've been blessed to experience life at a whole new level. We enjoy every day to its fullest. I love you Wade more than you will EVER know!!!

Dance, Dance, Dance!!!

**See the most adorable video below!!!** :)

Yesterday was Reagan's first ever dance recital. She was absolutely beautiful. I do have to say, she was the prettiest one there...and I don't just say it because I'm her mom. She was also the best dancer. Again, it's not because I'm her mom!!! Seriously though, she did an amazing job. I am so very proud of her. I knew she'd be so good at this. She loves to dance and she's good at following directions (wish she did this at home!). Anyways, here are some pictures.

Rollercoaster

Sometimes I just feel like I am on an emotional roller coaster. When things are up, they're up, when they're down, they're down.

Since Wade's last treatment, quite a bit has happened. My brother was in the hospital over Thanksgiving and stayed there for a week. They drove down from Dallas even though he wasn't feeling so good. When they got here, he began throwing up blood. They immediately rushed him to the hospital. After days of trying to get his blood pressure regulated, trying to get him to stop throwing up and many other problems, they found he had a yeast infection in his esophagus. His body was struggling to keep up and fight it off because of his diabetes. Due to the straining during the vomiting, he can no longer see. He went to the doctor on Thursday and they have planned to do surgery on his eye. The doctors think that once they clear out the blood and cut off the blood vessels, he will be able to see. Please pray that J.R. is healed and that his vision will soon return.

Over Thanksgiving, I took Kaden in to get X-rays on his legs. He complains quite a bit about his legs hurting at his knees. It's a painful cry! My babysitter even said he complains more than any other kid she knows. However, I don't think she's ever known any other kids as active as Kaden!!! While I was almost certain it was nothing, something in the back of my head was saying get this checked out. So, while Reagan went to the doctor (for strep), the doctor decided to have him come back and do some x-rays. She knows about Wade (and I'm sure felt sorry for me once I started crying in her office) and just wanted me to feel okay about it. So, the day before Thanksgiving we went in for the x-rays. Now, Kaden is fascinated with bones and the skeleton. When I explained what they were going to do, he was beyond excited. Walking up to the doctor's office, he yells, "This is the best day of my life! I'm getting x-rays today!!!" He did great too! They even let him back there to get a look at his leg bones. He loved it! However, he did not like getting blood drawn...nor did I!!! Reagan was very comforting though telling him, "It will be okay buddy. I'm here honey!" She's such a mommy. So, the Monday after the break, they call saying they found a benign fibrous area in his lower left leg. Of course this sounds horrible to me and I immediately panic. They were certain it was nothing but because of Wade they wanted us to go to an pediatric orthopedic. To make us feel better, they said this was pretty common and to try not to worry. Scary news...not really wanted to hear...but I'll take it and pray constantly!!!

We went to the orthopedic doctor (Kaden had his cape on) Thursday afternoon. After examining him and viewing the x-rays, the official name for what they found is nonossifying fibroma. Sounds bad, but it's not (http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1083/mainpageS1083P0.html). It is something that will get better as he grows. This is usually found accidentally on an x-ray. The pain that Kaden feels is not coming from this, but rather growing pains. Just as we thought. Praise God! He gave us some exercises to do with him before he goes to bed every night. Thursday was a good day! This was also the day they told us that J.R. would have surgery and they were not eliminating the chance that he would be able to see! Great day!!!!

Then comes Friday...which is actually the day I started writing this blog. It was a terrible day. It was one of those days that you just want to hurry up and get over with! The morning started with me learning that Wade fell during the night. I didn't hear him because I was in the other room. When he does chemo, he gets restless and sometimes sleeps on the couch. So apparently, he fell not once, but like four or five times. His mom saw him crawling to the bathroom and asked him what he was doing. He said he couldn't walk and that he was going to fall if he tried to walk. He hit the back of head, his forehand, his knee, his ankle and I'm sure many other parts of his body. By Friday afternoon, he was extremely sore with a swollen eyebrow, horribly bruised and swollen ankle and swollen knee. He was having to use a cane to walk around. On top of being a little toxic from the chemo he started this week, he was also taking ABH, which is a combination of ativan, benadryl, and haldol. He said he would remember walking and then he would black out and fall. He took it before he went to bed and when he woke up...probably shouldn't have taken it so close together. Either way, he had a VERY bad side effect from this and he won't be taking it again. So that's how Wade's day was.

I started the day learning about this. Not good. It was our Polar Express day at school. It was supposed to be a good day. And it really was a good day at work. Although, the kids are crazy to put it nicely! Only one more week!!! Woo Hoo! So anyways, I just had one of those days where you just want to cry at anything and everything. I was worried about Wade and for the last week I've just sort of been on my own. He's been so out of it this time. I told him today, "I don't want you to feel bad, but I just want you to know that I want you to feel better because I need you to talk to." Don't get me wrong, I have people I vent to and people I can talk to who I love dearly and I know these people would do absolutely anything for me. However, Wade is my absolute best friend and there is just something different when it's just me and him. I just miss him when it's like this. Plus, I've just been so stressed with the kids. Sometimes dealing with 5 and 6 year olds at school and then coming home to my kids who lately seem to not want to listen or do what they're told, is a little stressful...especially when it's just me. I really don't know how single moms do it. They are truly AMAZING people! I just feel like I never have time to myself. And yes, we do get tons of help from my in-laws. But staying with them sometimes is hard too. I hate when they get too loud or do something they're not supposed to because I don't want them (in-laws) to get irritated. And God love them...they are special people for putting up with us for so long. We're so thankful for all that they do for us. But long story short, sometimes it's just hard. So, I just cry. I just cry when I get frustrated and when I've had a bad day. I cry when I can't find the video camera, chargers, memory cards, etc. because that's what Wade normally does. I cry when I'm tired of coming home, getting my things and the kids' things ready for the next day, griping at the kids for not listening, eating dinner, giving them a bath, griping some more and getting them in bed (with me included in the bed!). I sometimes just want some peace and quiet all by myself...and with Wade. And yes, I know I'm not the only one that wants this once and a while. I'm just saying...I just had one of those days and I'm feeling much better by ranting on and on about it on here! Don't judge!! :) See, I already feel better.

Now, because this is ridiculously long, I will post later about Reagan's dance recital (she was sooo dang cute), Polar Express and other happy times that take away all my stress and any negative thought I've ever had. And this I promise you, I am so okay today. Wade's feeling a little better and Reagan was the highlight of my day. I ask you not to feel sorry for me. I'm just a normal person who just had a couple of bad days. But I do thank the people who already prayed for me while they were reading this! haha. Believe me, I did a lot of that yesterday...which is why my today is MUCH better!

Sickness and Good Hearts

Wade did his first round of the new chemo. He went in on Monday and then had his shot on Tuesday. He's really doing great considering. He was feeling so good that he went to work on Thursday and Friday after being off for months. Unfortunately a little bug struck our family and Reagan had strep and Kaden had a fever with lots of congestion. I think Wade caught a hold of what they had and he ended up with fever too. I had to take off Thursday for Reagan and then I took off Friday for Kaden. That's usually how this works. One gets sick and then they all get sick. Knock on wood, I've been fine...just extremely exhausted from not getting sleep because I was checking on all three kids every 2 hours. But today is a good day. Praise the Lord.

For the last few weeks, my good friend Carla and my friends at my school have been working hard to collect money through our school district for our family. They offered a Jeans Week to each school. If anybody from the schools wished to participate it would cost them a minimum of $10.00. As of last week, 13 schools participated and they raised a total of $3200. Wow! I am just speechless!!! It couldn't have come a better time. My family feels EXTREMELY blessed that so many people were moved by our story and helped us out more than they could ever imagine! It literally brought tears to my eyes.

And with this news, I learned that our Sunshine Committee decided to give our family Christmas!!!!! Talk about CRYING!!! I honestly didn't even know what to say. I was told to make a list of the things the kids wanted, what Wade and I wanted AND other things that needed repairing, such as our cars. I'm not even sure how to put into words what I was feeling the moment I was told this good news. It's hard for me to think that Christmas was going to be nearly impossible for us this year. I think I stayed in denial that it was going to be fine...or maybe I just prayed REALLY hard that it would all work out somehow. Boy did it!

Though it's been a super crazy week, we're all starting to feel better. And to think we have so many wonderful people in our lives...it couldn't get any better than that. We are EXTREMELY blessed!

Though we are starting to feel better, my brother J.R. is having more problems with his eyes (see http://mylifeaskatiebaker.blogspot.com/2009/09/good-news-and-bad-news.html and http://mylifeaskatiebaker.blogspot.com/2009/10/updates.html for just a little background on the things he's been through). This past week, on his birthday, he was in the hospital for a staph infection on his face. He went home but has had an upper respiratory infection. He's been coughing quite a bit, which is believed to be the reason why he is now unable to see out of his only good eye. They believe his eye has hemmorged. The blood is covering the lens of his eye. The good news is retina is still attached but he will have to get his blood pressure and blood sugar under control. His blood pressure was 172/90 and they said if it got 175/95 he would have to go to the emergency room immediately. They are hoping the blood on the lens will clear up on its own. He goes to the doctor on Tuesday and hopefully if they blood hasn't cleared, they will be able to put a syringe in his eye and draw the blood out like they've done before. Please, please, please pray for good news!!!

Disappointing

Wade went to the doctor today for the results from his scans. Unfortunately, all of the tumors have grown. The biggest one grew 1 cm and the other four tumors grew just a bit. Enough to be annoying and cause the doctors to look to other options. They feel that possibly Wade has become immune in a way to the Ifosfamide. They will now start him on Adriamycin (AKA "The Red Devil"). This was the first chemo he had ever received back in 2003. When he did it then, he would do at least 3 or 4 days back and forth from the hospital to home. He would also have a little backpack that continuously pumped non-stop all those days. For now though, they are choosing to only do one day of it and then home he goes. He will come back the next day for a a Neulasta shot (see www.neulasta.com/patient/howcanhelp/how_canhelp.html for more info on this). Of course he will continue to do blood work 3 times a week, but other than that, he wouldn't do anymore treatment for 21 days. So the good news is that he does not have to be admitted into the hospital. The bad news is that the last time Wade did this chemo, he had a really hard time (hence the nickname "red devil"). However, we're hoping because it's only one day, it will be a little different. So this is definitely not news we hoped for, but we are continuing to pray, pray, pray!!! He will begin this new round of chemo on Monday.

For a little background on Wade and his cancer go to www.mylifeaskatiebaker.blogspot.com/2009/09/heres-approximate-timeline-of-events.html. And if anybody knows how to insert a one word link, feel free to let me know!! I haven't quite figured that out! :) Lots of love to you all!

Reagan's Dance Recital

I am super excited about Reagan's upcoming dance recital in December. She's been practicing during dance class for the last month or so. She loves dance! They're dancing to, "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" and one other teddy bear song. Here's a picture of what her costume looks like...

(from curtaincallcostumes.com)

Cute, huh?

My Baby is FIVE!

Yes it is true! Kaden is officially 5 years old today. On this day, five years ago, at exactly 7:07 p.m., Kaden made me a mommy. It was the most magical moment and everything I had ever dreamed of (even if he came out peeing on daddy!). I'll never forget the feelings that I felt the first time I held him. He had a head full of blonde hair and personality like no other. He still has that blonde, blonde hair and the most loving, hilarious personality. He is such a smart boy. A boy at best. The kid loves dirt. He might as well be called "Pig-Pen." He tends to turn a nice dirt color once he's been outside for only seconds. He loves Power Rangers right now and pretty much everything red. He uses all of his mee-maw's rags as capes and pretends he's an actual power ranger. He's pretty good at the drums and he drives us crazy as he bangs on them and sings the many different theme songs of Power Rangers". He gives the best hugs and says "I love you" at least 5 times a day (to just me alone). He loves his sister and his daddy and I couldn't ask for anything more. He calls them both his best friends. He is by far a mommy's boy and I'm okay with that. He's my buddy! I love that boy with all I have. I can't imagine life without him. When I tell him I'm so sad that he's growing up too fast, he never fails to tell me, "I'll always be your baby boy mommy!" Happy Birthday my sweet baby boy!!

November 3, 2005 - Mommy and Kaden


First Birthday - First Haircut


Two Years Old


Three Years Old


Four Years Old


Five Years Old

Bragging a Bit

I'm not usually one to brag, but there's a picture of me with my limo bus friends on the Humble ISD website! Pretty cool!!!! I'm not sure how long it will stay up, but go ahead and check it out.

http://www.humble.k12.tx.us/humbleisd/site/default.asp

Great Day

Today was a wonderful day. I was picked up from school today at 10:00 in a limo bus. We drove around picking up about 7 other teachers and headed to the civic center for a lunch given by the Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce for Teachers of the Year. We all laughed about how it felt like we were being pampered. My principal joined me at lunch to support me. She rocks! We had our pictures made, were given a little award with our names on them along with a few roses and a certificate. Then we were on our way back to our schools (after lunch of course!). I was the first one on and the last one off!! My kids and all of kindergarten came out to see me off. When I returned, they had all gone home for the day. They were so sweet.

Reagan had dance tonight and it was her first night for tap. She loved the tap sound her shoes made. After about 10 minutes of it I started to feel sorry for her dance teacher who had to listen to about 20 tap shoes all at once! Yikes!!!! She did great though. After tap, they practiced for their winter dance recital. It is ADORABLE!!

And the best news of all...Wade gets to come home TOMORROW! He originally thought it would be Thursday so coming home one day earlier lifted his spirits and our spirits. We can't wait to see him!!! Perfect ending to a great day!

Not So Warm and Fuzzy Post

So it's just been one of those days. It really started with yesterday. I had a terrible stomach ache (due to some horrible Chinese-which by the way I just started really liking!!!). I went to the hospital and just saw horribly sad things. You know, things like people crying in the hallways and I suspect saying their last goodbyes. I cried all the way up the elevator, but once I got to Wade's hall I sucked it up and put on a happy face. I don't talk much about what we're, well mostly what I'm going through. I know Wade is miserable and he hates every second that he's doing chemo. For me, I don't tell him much about what I feel because I don't want him to feel worse than he already feels. It kills me when he apologizes for making me deal with the things I deal with. It's not his fault. It's what it is and I learn to adjust to it. But I'm allowed to have bad days right???? I first wanted to do this blog so that I could vent and get things off my chest. So this is what I'm doing. I'm just releasing some emotions and thoughts.

Yes I think it sucks that we have to deal with this crappy situation. Yes we had a great summer and yes we enjoyed our holidays last year. But who wants to live their life month by month saying, "Oh this month was a good month?" It just sucks. It sucks that Wade has to be away from the kids and that the kids miss their dad more than words can explain. I hate pulling into the driveway seeing Wade's car and hearing the kids yell, "Daddy's home!" I hate sleeping by myself and I hate not being with my best friend everyday. I have conversations with him in my head all day because I know it's not easy for him to be on the phone. I hate that while Wade is going through all of these treatments, we don't get paid. We rely completely on my salary which feels like nothing when you have tons of bills piling up. I hate that Wade feels like a burden and like he's not a good husband because he's unable to provide for his family. I just hate when I have days like these.

So, now's the time when I take a deep breath, look at my babies, suck it up and move on. Time doesn't stand still. All I can do is pray with all I have. I do know the devil is working overtime on me on days like today. So now I pray, pray, pray and let that devil know who's boss! I realize more than anything how blessed we are to have such amazing friends and family who would do absolutely anything for us. And yes, more than anything, I've gotten pretty good at taking advantage of the good days we have in between treatments, whether that be during the summer or during the holidays. That's one thing I know we're good at. We're awesome at loving one another and our family and more than anything we rock at enjoying the good days! And I know there are people out there who have it way worse than I could ever imagine. Things could be worse. So, now I pray and get over this little pity party I throw for myself. I'm already starting to feel better. It feels good to get things off my chest. I'm getting good at doing that lately too! I'm allowed to have a bad day every once in a while, right?!?!

Chasing Lightning Bugs and River Pics