Giving Thanks...

Ahhhh, the obligatory Thanksgiving post, where I ponder the things that I have to be thankful about.

I have many, yes I do.  Many, many.

But do you ever notice that sometimes you have one thing wandering around the back of your mind that prevents you from ever really properly focusing on the things that you have to be thankful for?

Yeah, I am totally suffering from that as well. 

My job is really going well right now, way more than I’d ever believed it could again.  Rainbows and sparkles abound.

We’ve got good friends and family that consistently support us through this mad process.

Shelley and I seem to be healthy enough considering this is about the most stressful thing a couple could go through, at least in my limited experience.

I’m healthy enough, Shelley an Anya are healthy, and Amelie is doing amazingly well with this round of chemo.   Amie is getting 21 days of chemo out of every 28, and she’s thriving right now.  Hair growing?  Check.  Gaining weight? Check.  Happy and energetic? Check.

All of that adds up to really good stuff, and should make me thankful as heck.

But the ticking time bomb of things, and the lack of any discernable plan for her treatment other than “Let’s see what it looks like in another few months” is this flapping bat of a thing in my head most days.  Need to figure out a way to work on that, and to start treasuring things as they are more, and not worrying about how they are not.  Yep.  Need to do that.  Follow my own advice.

SO….  Happy Thanksgiving everyone, from us to you.  No news from us on this front is very, very good news.

One funny before and after shot from Amie today:

This is Amie with her "sprouts" in...  She doesn't have enough for ponytails, but these Mileyesque hair buds are her favorite.

This is what her hair looks like afterwards.  CRAZY!  Her stupefied look probably doesn't help anything though.  :)

One more thing...  for those of you who want to feel good about students, go over to my school's website and watch the video that I produced for the staff this week.  Each of the kids volunteered their time and effort to be kind to staff members with no offer of compensation, credit, reward, or anything.  They just wanted to say what was on their minds.  I love it.

MRI brings clarity? Ha!

Just got off the phone with Dr. Robertson, and the results are....  boring?


The MRI from today shows that the tumor has not grown, but it also has not shrunk.  It's sitting tight.  That's a good thing, we think.  Right?

So.  That's not exactly good, but that's not exactly bad.

Dr. Robertson is going to present the results to the tumor board in the next few weeks, and see what they think regarding next steps.  Cancer grows, but now cancer is not growing.

So we're in a positive place.

Life in Casa de Strzalkowski has been great.

Things are really, really doing well for me at work, which is a smashing change of events.
Anya has really taken some great steps in reading, sight words, and math...and we're loving that. She truly loves each day she gets to go to school, and is so excited about each and every opportunity to learn, even though it doesn't come as easy to her as some.

Amie gained a pound this month, even though she had 21 days of chemotherapy over the past 28.  She's happy, energetic, fun, smart and always wanting to have her hand in everything we're doing right now.

Shelley is doing her best to keep an even keel with things, and enjoying every moment she can with the girls.  Yoga, knitting with friends, spending a few spare minutes talking with me....all good stuff.

As you can see from the pictures, Amelie's hair is getting wicked long.  I'll do a post soon with lots of new pictures.  For now, you'll have to sate yourself with this one.

No new news really.  Cancer isn't growing, isn't shrinking.  They're going to start another round of chemo next Tuesday with the same protocol, unless they don't.

Hope all is well!