Sheri turns 40!!!

That's right, today was Sheri's 40th. I thought about doing a big shin dig with all the folks, but..... One thing the last nine months has taught me is low stress is ok. So we went low stress. Sheri's brother Bret (we call him one "T"...because I have two in my name, so I'm two t's) and his family came up from Entiat for burgers on the grill. The cousins got to play and swim, and the adults caught up with each other. Sheri's actually very excited about 40. It'll sink in later for her. Tomorrow Sheri starts school, with the kids starting on Thursday. We worked hard on the house this weekend. Sheri and I sat down after going for several hours straight, and she said, I feel normal again. She has her energy back to almost 100%. She'll need it for Kindergarten. So another year passed, and a new school year begins. The last nine months will never be far from the front of our minds. Sheri has scans this next week. We'll update as we know new news, or hopefully no news.

Happy Birthday babe! 40 down, 60+ more to go!

Brett

A Hair Cut!!!!!

Yesterday I took Alyssa in to get her school hair cut with Tammy. Graciously she gave me a hair cut too...ok, it was a trim...a very light trim. But it was a trim none the less!!! My hair now lies much nicer behind my ears. Thanks Tam!

It's just nice to have hair to cut! Now I'm praying that my August scans will continue to come out with no trace of cancer so my hair can keep growing! I'm feeling well and thanking God every day for healing me the way He did. Like I've said before, I'm praying for a continued miracle. I have soooo much to be thankful for.

Continuing to look up!

Sheri

All Points Bullentin!!!! Butch is Missing.....

Upon returning home from vacation we found ourselves missing a member of our animal family. "Butch" the cat. Butch, named after the ever famous WSU mascot, is a orange and white one year old kitty. Butch has had a bad habit of jumping in open cars, we wonder if he hopped a ride somewhere? Alyssa is posting a reward if Butch is found. Please let us know if you've seen him.

Brett and Sheri, Bryce and Alyssa

Almost Home......

Wondering where we've been? Well on vacation of course! After Sheri's last treatment we packed up the trailer and headed west to the Kent KOA. We took in the Space Needle and a Mariners game (we lost in the 11th inning, but we saw Ichiro hit a lead off Homer!). Then we traveled north to the Concrete KOA for 4 days. What a beautiful spot. Bay View State Park was our next stop near LaConner, what great sunrises and sunsets! Yesterday we traversed the Northcascades Highway to the Winthrop KOA. We love it here. Trust us when we say, not all KOA's are created equal. Some places pack you in like sardines. Not so here, plenty of room, (except in the pool, it's going to be 104 today!). Anyway there is my half of the update. Sheri and I and the kids have enjoyed our time away, but are looking forward to getting home, (and watching the Olympics on a real TV). It's been fun to dream and talk and play with only a few plans, and no wares in particular to be. We vacation a little different then most. Our lives seem so scheduled the rest of the year, that when we're on vacation we have as little structure as we can. We get up and say, what should we do today? We're weird that way. We continue to thank God for today, and put our trust in Him.

Brett


Ahhhhh, VACATION! We love going, enjoy every minute and yet there is something special about coming home too.
Honestly, we've just enjoyed being a normal family. It's been fun doing whatever we feel like at the moment. One of my favorite moments was watching the sun rise with Brett on the beach. Relaxing fires have been enjoyable in the evenings. Before roasting marshmallows we gave compliments to one another again. The kids are getting pretty good at it. Of course, smores are the perfect motivator!

Looking forward to being home! ...and our own beds!

Sheri

Another Answered Prayer

Forgot to tell you this one... Ok, so I was sitting in the comfy red chair and getting hooked up to the Herceptin. My port was being cranky. They could get the saline solution in just fine, but couldn't get any blood out. (Sorry to gross any of you out on that one.) Anyway, in order to use it, it must be working both ways. Linda, my nurse tried and tried. She then gave me some special medicine to flush it out. We waited about 45 minutes and tried it again. At first it looked like it wasn't going to work. We planned on using a pick line (that means a needle the old way) to give me the Herceptin and try flushing the port out again. All of a sudden she yelled "Yeah! Yes! We got it! Prayer works! I don't care what anybody else says!" I couldn't agree more with her.

Here I was just sitting there comfortably, not even realizing that my sweet nurse was praying. Then I think, how many times is it that we are praying for friends or someone is praying for us...countless? How many times does God answer prayer just because He loves us and we don't even realize it? I thank God for all of those prayers!

Thankfully praying!

Sheri

Wow, I forgot...

Today I got to go down for a Herceptin appointment. The last couple of weeks I was busily running around with my normal amount of energy...buzzing from one project to another. When I returned home from the clinic, I started in on my mental list of TO DO items. Then I thought, I think I'll just sit down for a few minutes...about 10 minutes later I thought, I think I'll just lay down for a bit. Hummm, I forgot that Herceptin can wipe me out temporarily. So I called Brett just to ask him if I was this tired right after Herceptin last time too. He reminded me I was. Phew! I figure that means I'm normal. I'm so thankful that God blessed me with a great husband who can remember all the details that I forget.
We're looking forward to camping this next week. In fact, I think we will be taking off a day early because we are ready to go! We'll be loading the suitcases, bikes and food into the trailer and be off. We'll let you know how it all goes. (Smores are ready to eat!)
Oh, Smores remind me of one of the favorite things we did at Cameno Island. We had smores one night. But before we began roasting marshmallows each of us had to give a compliment to each member of the family. It was great to hear the kids be so positive with each other. It was a neat time of building one another up. Then the roasting fun began!

Looking up!

Sheri

Lazy, hazzy, summer days.....

Yep, summer is over half gone. Today we are over on Camano Island. We won a three night stay this last spring at the youth missions auction, so here we are. We always try to get the kids to the ocean at least one a year. It's beautiful here, and we are taking time to relax, walk the beaches, and just be. Later this week we hook up the trailer and head out to 5 different KOA campgrounds in 10 days. We'll take in a M's game (the kids first), and do some camping. Sorry this isn't very interesting stuff, but after the last 9 months, it's nice not to be interesting! September holds the beginning of school, and the start to Cougar football season. Fall is a busy time in general. Sheri has her next set of scans in the beginning of September as well, so we'll update everyone. Pray for good results. Still looking up, even on vacation.....enjoying every minute He gives us. (I recommend it highly)

Brett