Our family was shocked last week by a crazy series of events.

My sister, Katie, started getting some back and leg pain and went to see her family doctor.  She was given some pain meds and muscle relaxers and sent home.  By Saturday morning, her pain was so bad that she went to the emergency room.  They were giving her pain medication and started doing some tests.  While she was in the hospital, her infection (that she got before Kayla was born) started acting up again. She spent a few days in the hospital, and the doctors saw that she had appendicidis, and needed her appendix removed.  It seemed like one thing after another, and then they found a tumor when they removed her appendix.

It turns out to be colon cancer.  We were all completely shocked and scared when we heard those words. Greg, my parents, and I were at the hospital that night with my sister.  We were all very confused and had a lot of questions.  The next day, they all met with the surgeon and the cancer specialist.  A lot of their questions were answered, and many of our fears relieved.  Luckily, it seems like they caught it early, and with surgery, it will be taken care of.  Right now, Katie is back home and needs to completely clear up her infection before she can have surgery. 

It's been a hard few weeks for Katie and Greg, but we are all very hopeful that everything is going to be okay.  It's going to be several weeks until the surgery, but we are all hoping for a quick, full recovery.  Thanks to all our family and friends who have been very supportive and helpful to our whole family during this time. 

We love you Katie! XOXO

The Holidays

We celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas day, we and got to see everyone in the family.  It was a really fun, busy day filled with food and LOTS of presents!  Ray's truck was so full that we could not have fit one more thing in it!  Kenley had such a fun day.  I think she was actually expecting Santa to be at our house the morning of Christmas because when she woke up she was a little afraid to actually come downstairs.  The rest of the day everyone was asking her if Santa came to her house and she would say, "No, he didn't."  On Christmas Eve, Santa made a brief apperance at my parents house to visit Kenley and Kayla, but Kenley wanted NO part of it!  Maybe next year.....  She had the best time playing with Kyle and Jordan at Ray's mom's house, and my cousin's son, Kyle at my mom's house.  Next year, Kayla and Rachel will be old enough to get in on the fun!

THEN.....on the 27th, Ray and I flew out to Cancun with Katie and Greg!

It was 80 degrees and sunny most of our trip, and we stayed at a gorgeous resort right on the beach. The best parts of our trip were jumping the waves, swimming with the dolphins, and the boat and snorkel tour. I had always wanted to swim with the dolphins, and we got so lucky that our group was just the 4 of us.  We had 2 female dolphins, and there 2 babies swimming by us, which was really cool.  We also had a lot of fun taking out these small boats for a ride through the "jungle" and then snorkeling at a reef.  We also had a lot of nice dinners and did some shopping. 

I missed Kenley while we were gone, and I was glad to come home to her.  A few times I called home to talk to her she said, "Are you on vacation with my daddy?"  She had a great few days with my parents and Ray's mom.  The last few days have been pretty low-key. I even took a few naps while Kenley napped!  Just call me old, but I needed a vacation from my vacation! I haven't even been able to motivate myself to get any of my Christmas decorations down yet.




2012 has been a great year, and I am excited for 2013!  I hope everyone else is off the a great start in the New Year!


*I'm having issues adding pictures, but I will try again soon!