Skate For Cancer

 This is a special post to write.  Every time I think about this event I am blown away with how blessed we are to have amazing family.  Cass has a 9 year old cousin who started ice skating about two years ago.  Her skating class did an event called Skate for Cancer.  Each skater was to pick someone they know with cancer and then skate for them along with raise money for them to pay medical bills.  Lucy choose Cass and did an amazing job at the performance.  Here is a picture of  Lucy and what she wrote about the night.  

When we arrived to see Lucy skate on Saturday night we learned that she had prepared a new routine as well as bake and sell 450 cookies all in about two months.  We were blown away by how selfless she was and her enthusiasm in serving us.  Her whole family had to sacrifice to bake, package, and sell cookies for our little family.  And to top it off there several aunts, uncles, and cousins there to watch Lucy and support her in this huge undertaking.  We truly are blessed to have so many people who care about us.  The picture below is Lucy in the group number she did.  Lucy is on the end in black.  

Cass and Lucy.  They were so cute exchanging flowers and cards.

Here is a group shot of most of the family that came to watch Lucy.  It was pretty late so a few people had already left.

And finally here is a video of Lucy's performance.  She is did fantastic for just learning to skate a couple of years ago. 

Now there are just some random pictures of Alden that needed to be posted.  

One night we taped a cut up wrapping paper tube on the wall for Alden to drop things down.  He had a blast for quite a while until he pulled it down trying to stand up :)

This picture is just to prove now that Alden can walk he decided to try crawling the right way.

And finally what post is complete without a mess eating picture?  Alden had chicken croissants all over his face and up his nose, but he loved feeding himself so it was worth it.  We love this little guy and his easy going happy attitude.  We are so blessed to have this little guy in our lives.  He keeps us laughing everyday and reminds us to appreciate the small things.  

Party Time

In the end of February we were able to go to Idaho Falls to celebrate Sam's 1st birthday.  We are so excited for Alden to have cousins so close to him in age so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to party with Sam.  Laura did an amazing job putting the party togethers.  The biggest for the kids though were all of the balloons.  Alden was so excited he couldn't even stay in the same room for too long :)

The birthday cake was in the shape of an ice cream cone with cupcakes for the ice cream.  Sam wasn't quite sure about what to do with the candle.  

Eating cake was another story.  She dove right in on the cake.

Sam understood present too :)  She got a wagon just like Alden from grandma and grandpa.

Like I said earlier the balloons were a big hit.  After the party they were corralled in to the entry way where the kids jumped and played in them for quite a while. 

These pictures are from the next morning just to show every one how cute these two are together.  Both had to hang out with grandma at the same time.  I don't think grandma minded though. 

And both were really excited when Dane sat down to eat breakfast :)

After the party it was back to Utah.  Which meant Home Depot Day.  This month we built a race car.  Warning if you suck on your car your mouth/face will turn red. 

A New Face

This is just a fun face that Alden has started doing.

Love this little boy.

"One" Crazy Monkey

Last week (January 27 to be exact) our little boy turned 1!  We can't believe how fast the last year went by or how much this little cutie has changed.    

 

This is a big milestone so of course there had to be some sort of a celebration.  It started with Alden's first time to lick the beaters.

 The party itself was small with just our immediate families.  We were luck y to have the Las Vegas people make the long drive.  Here is a shot of the food table.  It was a monkey themed party so we had Monkey cupcakes, Monkey mix (muddy buddies), and Monkey munchies (vegetables and dip).

A close up of the cupcakes I am really happy how cute they turned out.

The cake for Alden to destroy

 Here is the birthday boy with his presents.  He definitely was spoiled and enjoyed every minute of it.

Does he look excited about the cookies he got?

We love that BJ and Shawna give us books for presents.

 The wagon is a tradition from the Peterson family.  The oldest grandchild in each family gets a wagon for their first birthday.  It was a big hit with both little boys.  Even now Alden still loves to push it around and got for rides inside with it.  

 Finally, it was time for cake.  Dad helped blow out the candle. 

 And then Alen knew what to do from there :)  There are a lot of cake pictures to follow. 

 After a quick bath it was time to play with all of the new toys.  It was fun to watch Jonathan push Alden around.  We had a good time with all of our family and can't wait for the next years to come with our little boy. 

Milestones for Alden's first year.  He can say mama, dada, and uh-oh.  He can take up to 5 steps on his own and loves to walk whenever he can.  He sleeps like a champ and is the most easy going content little boy you have ever met.  We are so blessed to have him in our family at this time and can't wait to see how he chnages this year.

January 2013 Happenings

 Here are some pictures from the month of January to prove that we haven't been shut-ins  :)

Helping build a bird house at Home Depot Kids Work Shop

Men at Work :)

One weekend Cass had to go up to the Huntsman for a shot.  His parents went with us so we decided to take our time coming home and stopped at the new Scheels store.  They have a lot of picture opportunity places set up like this one. 

And a Cougar go BYU!

And Scheels isn't complete without looking at the giant fish tank

Could he be any cuter!

Finally over Martin Luther King Day we used our pass of all passes to go to the Grizzlies hockey game  for free.  This was Alden's first hockey game and there was a fight and everything.  Too bad we lost.

He loved holding on to the chair to watch the game.

We can't believe January is over all ready.  I hope the rest of the year doesn't go this fast.  Stay tuned for pictures of Alden's birthday.

The "C" Word

As many of you might already know I was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer at the end of November. For some people when they hear the word cancer they think of this terrible desease that can seem hopeless or even devastating in many ways. I can say I have not felt that way from the day I found out that I personally have cancer.  My first reaction when I heard that it was most likely cancer is "well that sucks" but outside of that I have felt nothing but love and support from friends and family.

To help everyone understand what has happened since the end of November I will give you all a little rundown.

On the 30th of November I had the preliminary diagnoses of cancer after seeing my doctor and having an ultrasound (they cannot say its cancer until they do a biopsy on the tummor). They day following I met with a Urologist to discuss my options and what I was going to look forward to for the next month. After meeting with that doctor I had an appointment for a CT scan and a date to have the tummor removed. 

From the CT scan we found out that I had enlarged lymph nodes, meaning that the cancer had spread into those lymph nodes in my back. Because I had spread this would require another surgery and handing me off to another specialist and the Huntsman Cancer Institue.

Here are a few fun pictures.

Picture of me drinking my dinner or breakfast of champions prior to my CT Scan.

Randi really loved my yellow socks they gave me.

This picture was taken after I got out of surgery and I don't remember Randi taking it.

After my surgery I met with my Urologist once more and he traded me off to the Huntsman Cancer Institute for Chemotherapy and to discuss a second surgery.  At the Huntsman we met with both my new Urologist and Oncologist and decided that I would go through Chemo to help shrink some of my lymph nodes prior to surgery.

While I am only a few days into my Chemo I feel that I am doing rather well. I have not had any nausea or other major side effects that many people hear about, the only thing that I have had is some fatigue.

Just to let people see a little of what I go through here are some pictures of the infusion room where I get my chemo. Most of the chairs have a great view looking over the Salt Lake Valley.

I know that I am just starting this process but I thought I would give a few lessons or things I have picked up along the way.

1. Being active in religion has been a great blessing at this time. The countless lessons taught every sunday and a number of scriptures I have read only reaffirm my faith in Jesus Christ and that I know he cares and loves me dearly during my short time of difficulty. Whenever I feel that my problems seem rough I only have to think of stories like Job or Christ's sufferings for all of us. This past Sunday during a lesson we read a scripture that has really changed my perspective on the reasons for my challenge.
Doctrine and Covenants 122:7-9
7 and if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.
8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?
9 Therefore, held on they way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are know, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.

2. I have an amazing family. Randi has been a great help in giving her time to get to all of my appointments and in keeping me company during long infusions at the Huntsman.  Alden has also been a great help in showing me that some of the littlest  accomplishments in life are the greatest joys.

3. Extended friends and family. As more and more people have found out about my cancer I have received large amounts of support and comfort. I cannot thank everyone enough at this time; from the people who are too far away to do anything physical your prayers and love have been comforting and necessary relief. For those who are closer, and that have taken on the challenge of watching Alden, or bringing meals and treats, again I cannot thank you all enough for your help.  For many that know me I don't really like to be served upon, I usually like to be the one doing the service. This experience has forced me to be humble and allow for so many great people to receive the benefit of serving me.

4. Trusting in my medical team. Cancer is a new element to my family and with that I don't really know all that much about cancer. I have put most of my trust in my doctors and nurses to tell me what to do and where to go. I can say now I am thankful for the great medical care that I have received and that I live so close to state of the art facilities. I have an oncologist who I can tell is brilliant in doing research and in his field, but has a hard time with using social skills. I have nurses that have taken the time to get to know me on a personal level and make my long days as comforting as possible.
It is still going to be a long process.  I have to finish two more weeks of chemo before we start the whole thing over again two more times and then have another surgery.  Hopefully more lessons will be learned along the way and we will continue to have so much support from friends and family.

94 Great Years

This last month I lost my grandmother Beth Peterson after 94 great years. This is a women that I have always admired from her stubbornness to her willingness to serve others. She was a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother and will be missed.

She served in the U.S. Navy during WWII as a W.A.V.E. coding and decoding messages in Washington D.C.  A few years ago I had the opportunity to interview my grandmother about what she did during the war.  I loved hearing about the social aspect of her and that time period.

Here is a picture of her during the war.

The funeral was held the Wednesday following her death in Springville, where she lived nearly her entire life. My father and cousins Kristina and Stacie did a great job talking about their memories and the life of my grandmother.

The grave side services were short and cold. It had snowed just a few days before leaving 6 to 8 inches of snow to deal with, but it made the cemetery a beautiful untouched white landscape.

One of my greatest memories of my grandmother was her ability to bake, even after loosing her eye sight and not being able to read a recipe. One of her greatest recipes is raisin cookies that no matter how hard we try, we can never get quite right.  She on the other hand could get it perfect every time without being able to see the recipe.

A few weeks before she had passed away all of Cassidy's family was able to go over and visit her together. It was wonderful to see how she would liven up and play with two of her great grandchildren Alden and Samantha. 

We will love and miss you grandma but have fun in heaven with Grandpa Alden.