Lauren turns 17

Lauren turned 17 on January 7th. She felt great, went to school, celebrated at California Pizza Kitchen, and came home to this masterpiece.

I stopped making cute and fun cakes years ago, but Rachel was home sick that day. Her creative juices started going, and before long, Lauren had a horse cake. She was very surprised and quite happy!!

Lauren keeps reminding us that next year will be her last birthday at home before going off to college. How did I get so old?

Other good news: Lauren's annual heart cath, angio and biopsy were at the end of December. Her coronary arteries look beautiful and there are no signs of rejection. Congrats!!

Charity Bash

For the last 2 weeks of school in December, Lake Zurich High School tries to raise money for a charity. Each year, a different charity is chosen based on nominations from students. Lauren nominated Make-A-Wish and, based on her essay, that was the charity chosen. At the assembly to kick things off, Lauren made a speech and our family was highlighted in a video. They gave a brief account of Lauren's story and then encouraged the student body to "make a difference."

Activities designed to raise money included a human foosball game, silent auctions, bake sales, talent show, T-Shirt sales, duct tape teachers to the walls, penny wars, $2000 day, and a dance.

The grand total was $45,632!!

Think of the wishes that will grant. What a way to start off our holiday celebrating.

Christmastime

Don't you just love Christmas trees and decorations? This morning we are having our first real snow of the season. It is beautiful to watch when I don't have to be out running errands in it. This is our first holiday season since Nathan was born (2000) when we haven't been traveling, had company, been in the process of moving, or had a hospital experience going on. I realize it is only Dec 8th and things could change, but I am really looking forward to the calmness of this year. Merry Christmas!!

More Celebrating

Rachel's new smile. After 4 1/2 years, the braces finally came off yesterday. She was counting down the days, then minutes. I don't blame her!

Nathan works hard in cub scouts and earned 2 beads towards his Bear Award at pack meeting on Tuesday night. I went to my 12th elementary school Halloween parade - only one more left!

The last item of celebration - no visits downtown to hospitals this week, not for clinic or labs or procedures or emergencies. That means I had at least 6 more hours added onto my week!

CELEBRATING

Megan is on the school 6th/7th grade basketball team. She is quick, thinks well on her feet, has a great shot, can see what all is happening on the court and is a tough defender. We had a fun time watching her games and seeing her team succeed. The season ended this week and then her teammates voted her as the MVP. What an honor - I am so proud of her.

It is hard to catch her in action, but this shot is after one of her last games. She got tangled up with another player and ended up with bruised knees and a pulled hamstring.

Lauren - It's Official - the CT scan this week shows no sign of the mass of lymphnodes. She also had a heart biopsy which had no sign of rejection or other problems. The YW/YM came for a surprise celebration. We also went out to dinner and to a horse show she was excited about.

Nathan - Finally got to build his fire outside. The summer didn't quite go as planned but he was a good sport and held out until September.

Stay tuned because Rachel has something exciting coming up in 4 days.....

A Chapter Ends...

Today another chapter in Lauren's medical journal ends. Is it wrong to hope it will be the last and final chapter? Her last round of chemo was this week. The scan is clear and her heart has done very well. She will still feel sick for a few weeks, but we are hopeful she'll be back to normal soon. It is amazing to think that a mass 11cm by 5-6 cm was dissolved and destroyed by these drugs. The oncologist never would guess at how long it would take the tumor to disappear, yet told us she is surprised at this fast response.



Being on the other side of the hospital was an adventure - we could see the Sears Tower right out of our window!
Children's hospitals are almost a hallowed place. There are so many parents and families praying in their own manners, hoping for a miracle for their child. Illness is no respecter of age or nationality or religion - there are all types and sizes here. It is a place to witness great acts of charity from nurses especially. The veil is thin here as it is the place from which some kids leave this life. It is a place of rejoicing as problems are detected and solved, and literally hearts and bodies are healed. Life is simpler here - In a strange way, I'm grateful for the many important life lessons that have been taught to me here.

Some might wonder what I do at Lauren's bedside all these days. I read a lot and do some writing. My portable hobby is cross-stitch. Since January 2005, when Lauren was waiting for her 2nd heart, I have been working on this one piece, which I finished yesterday. It was very involved and detailed and kept my mind busy when I needed it. I only got it out when we were heading to the hospital - now it is done and ready to be framed.

I always go home thankful for my own bed and comforts of home, grateful for kids and a husband who are understanding, and grateful we don't have to stay in the hospital any longer than we did. We always seem to meet someone who has it worse than Lauren, who has struggled more than she has, or who doesn't have the support she does. I am always grateful that her mind hasn't been affected by this - that her faculties are in place, that she can do the basics of life - eat, walk, talk, see, etc.
Today I am excited to go home, sit and watch general conference and soak in all the apostles and the prophet have to inspire me with.

Rachel Marching Band

I apologize for the randomness of the order of these pictures and videos.

So, I had my second football game last night. It was really fun!! We did a show called One Hit Wonders. We played "Tainted Love", "Mickey", "Play That Funky Music", and "Thriller".

This is a picture to show you how big the marching band actually is. We have 201 members. It's so cool, becuase when we all march out on to the field, we look like we're migrating because we're all together. (I know this because the band director videoed the last game, and then we watched the video.)

So, this is the band during pregame. We spell out the letters LZHS since those are our school initials. I am in the 'H' right next to the big white things (called Sousaphones).

This is a picture of me and my amazing band geek friends before the band lined up to go onto the field. (I'm in the middle)

This is before we went onto the field for pregame. I am standing on the 40 yard line. We had to stand at parade rest for like 15 minutes before we could start. It's hard to hold a metal instrument with two fingers for that long. Plus, we play with gloves which makes our hands slightly slippery.

This is near the beginning of the song "Thriller", when the trumpets have the melody. We sound just like Michael Jackson.

All throughout half time, I am in the front row, second from the end on the right.

This almost the end of "Thriller". This is us marching one of our nine sets of drill (meaning we are marching to one of the different pictures we make on the field). Seven of the nine are in "Play That Funky Music", but two of them are in "Thriller". This last video is the last move and ending of the song.