make glemonade

Merriam-Webster online defines the word almost as... ... Oh wait. I'm not the youth speaker and this isn't a high school graduation. I'll skip this attention-grabber and get straight to the guts. We've had a lot of almosts going on in our life lately. First, for those of you who thought I already graduated... PSYCH ! I still had one class to take in the Spring. I had originally signed up for it in Winter, but due to Eric's chemo appointments being on Thursdays I had to postpone it. It ended up being worth it considering the busy schedule of a cancer family, but taking the last class in the Spring was awful! I had almost graduated. The good news is I got through it, it ended last week, and now it's official. I'm done with school. Mom, I know those last few phone calls where I asked you to pray for me really made the difference. Thank you. Second, I had almost got settled in to my new job a couple weeks ago when I was asked to interview for another one in t...

Eric did have a doctor's appointment this week. Again, these are all quick checkups only until July 1st, when he will have all his scans etc. again to see if the cancer is all gone. But I know everyone still likes to know what's going on. He's normal and he's gained a bit of weight back (~4lbs.). He talked to his nurse for a long time and she said she really thinks he won't have anything show up on his scans. She has been pretty right so far, so we won't start doubting her now! We are both a bit obsessive about his hair growing back. It looks so good! It's still really short, but it's there!

We went to our friend Nate's wedding, wait! Look back at our first post with a Visitor of the Week, and it was Nathan and Rachel! Yep, them. They got married last weekend, so we drove out. We wanted to fly, but Eric wasn't allowed to after transplant. He got the okay last doctor appointment, but it was too late to buy tickets. So we rented a Jeep. It was so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. The drive was gorgeous and we had a really good time. We took the back route through Napa Valley and it was well worth it. The wedding was on Friday, and we got to see the Oakland Temple and the gardens on top of it. It was really windy. We really love Nate and Rachel and are so happy for them! We love when a friend gets married to someone great, because we get to double our friends! Terry Herrera came out for the wedding; he is really close to Eric and Nate from their mission in Houston, Texas. It was really nice for me to meet him, and we got to hang out a...

Eric and I wrote this song while he was desperately ill this summer and couldn't work. He had just been told he had shingles, but we knew something else was up. We were reminiscing the other night about it, so we decided to share it with all of you! Here are a couple of photos to go along with the song... He pulled his hamstring during city league football a couple seasons ago and kept playing on it. The second pic is of course, his shingles. We didn't take any pictures of the kidney stones, sorry. :)

Yesterday Eric and I were standing in line at the movie theater waiting to see Iron Man 2, but we were standing in separate lines holding a place for some other friends going at a different time (yes, we are nice). You might be thinking that Eric shouldn't be at the movies with his low immune system, but you would be wrong! He went to the doctor yesterday and everything is great! His counts are as good as most other patients at their 100 Day mark, and we are around 50 days out if the quick math in my head is right (ANC = 3.5 for those of you that have been paying attention). He also gained 3 lbs. So we can do whatever we want now. So a guy in line behind Eric asked said that he always wants to shave his head but never gets a smooth shave. He asked how he gets his head shaved so close, and Eric said you get cancer. He said well I put my foot in my mouth. On an unrelated note Eric's eyebrows are starting to grow back. I am really excited about it. His facial hair too. It won'...

Alright alright it's my turn to blog. Eric here, going to give you the readers an update on our lives. Be forewarned I am in no way a good writer. I can't compete with Holly and her blogging skills. And don't make fun or judge me if I use the wrong kind of "there". So without further ado let's get on with it. First things first. We went to the doctor last week for my 2 week check up. (I will be going every two weeks until my 100 day mark which will be the beginning of July). The check up is just some blood work and talking to my doctor. My levels were great last week. My levels were great last week. My white blood cells were at 2.98! Anything between 3-10 is normal, so I'm getting there. All other blood work looked great. Dr. Gilbert talked to me and pretty much said don't get sick in these next 100 days and we will go from there. They took my pick line out of my arm, so I'm normal. Since then my showers have increased dramatically. The doctors al...

Everything has gone great since we've been home. There was a bit of an adjustment period, Eric was cold, and we didn't sleep well because we were scared he'd get a fever. Now everything feels almost normal. It's weird. He had an appointment a couple days after we got home, and his counts had increased significantly (ANC = 1.1). I can't wait to go back and see how much it's grown this week. He finished his homecare medication so all we have to do is flush his lines daily and take it easy. Eric is still tired and weak, but I wish you all could see him. He's starting to be highly amusing again, and he's back to singing before and during showers. When we both start working again things will really feel normal. Old normal. But for now things are going well. I started a new job on Tuesday. And I graduate this week. And we bought a teeny charcoal grill. Life is good.