Uncle Nick's Wedding

Back at the end of September my brother got married! We all had such a wonderful time. It was a lot of driving- here to PA, PA to MA, MA to PA, and PA to NE- but it was worth it. Oh and the photos are all out of order and I do not have the patience to fix it right now, but I'll caption them so they make more sense. Ruby woke up at 3am this morning and was downstairs crying- very weird, she's never done that before. Needless to say, I've been up since 3 and there is only so much caffeine a pregnant lady can have, so there is  very little patience in my forecast today-ha!

The bride and groom at the rehearsal.

Instead of the whole story, I'll let the photos do the talking.

My mom and dad :)

Here comes the bride!

Saying their vows.

It was a beautiful wedding and Kerry looked beautiful. Our family is very lucky to have Kerry in our family officially now! We love her and we just had a wonderful weekend.

Married at last!

Not to mention that the girls definitely love New England as much as I do! Sadie just kept saying how beautiful everything was.

Ruby collected all of the flower girls' flowers and then cut the entire receiving line. She had to get to Uncle Nicky!

Here come Lilly and Phia!

Waiting for everyone to walk down the aisle.

My sissy Gabbie and her fiance Chris.

Me and my handsome Airman!

Ruby fell in love with Kerry's brother Jack and dragged him onto the dance floor with her.

Mother/Son Dance

The girls were on the dance floor the entire night!

My mom and dad.

Nick and Kerry dancing with the girls!

Papou and granddaughter dance :)

We did have a couple of interesting moments. Before we left PA to go to MA, Sadie kissed a lit light bulb. She burned her lips and her chin pretty badly, not bad enough to go to the ER but bad in itself. It looked so painful and I know it hurt tremendously. Steven held her until she fell asleep. She wimpered the whole time and Steven held something cold to it on and off to keep her comfortable. The next day she was totally fine except for the evidence on her face.
At the rehearsal dinner I had a bad case of the shakes. I'm pretty sure it was a combination of things, but the big thing was my hormones being completely all over the place. After a few glasses of water and some food I was definitely feeling better.
All 4 of the girls went nuts at the reception. The second they were allowed on the dance floor and the music started, they were there. They never left the dance floor for more than a minute or two. They had a blast!

As we were literally leaving Massachusetts there was the biggest, brightest, most vivid double rainbow I have ever seen!

We were definitely all sad to head home, but Steven had work and Lilly had school so we had to leave. We all had so much fun and can't wait to head back out to PA again and see everyone!

You should always go to your followup appointments!

After we had Ruby we decided we were done having kids. There were some complications that just plain scared Steven and he didn't want to risk me or the baby being sick or worse. He had a vasectomy while we were in Turkey and we thought, okay that's that. But he never went back in for the followup. Well folks, that followup should have been made because we're now expecting our fourth baby! After the first couple of weeks, in which we walked around completely shocked, we are getting excited to welcome this little surprise  in July! Shocked is a complete understatement, but we are happy. Now we pray for a boy- ha! Steven is pretty concerned about having 4 daughters so we are hoping for a boy but praying for a safe, healthy pregnancy/birth/baby! So folks, the moral of this story is always go for your followup appointments lol!
This pregnancy will be tough. With messed up thyroid hormones and regular pregnancy hormones, I'm pretty much screwed. But I'll do what I always do, push threw and look and hope for the best. Prayers are surely welcomed :)
We are due on July 23, 2013 but with my past pregnancies I know baby will be here about July 2nd! We are so excited to find out what you are and to meet you! Summer can't come fast enough!

Happy Birthday Sadie-Mae!

Sadie-Mae, you are 5 years old now and boy did those years fly by. You are smart and stubborn and you have the cutest quirks. You have a set way of doing things and that is the way it has to be done. You know that you have to be 5 years old to start kindergarten so when Daddy told you "Happy Birthday" you asked, 'Now can we go sign me up for kindergarten?' I truly cannot believe that you will be starting school next year, but you are so ready.

December 10, 2007


December 10, 2012


We love you so much! You are a beautiful little girl and are so special to us! Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Happy Birthday Sweet Ruby Doo!

Today our sweet and sassy little Ruby is 3 years old and I'm left wondering how so much time could have passed. She is 3 year old full of life, love, and imagination. We are so blessed and lucky that she's ours. She may be quite a handful but she really is just plain awesome. We love you crazy girl!

December 9, 2009


December 9, 2012


My how you've grown! Please slow down, pretty please!

Happy Birthday Sweet Ruby!

The Lake

I've been trying to keep the girls busy lately. I try to give the things to do during the day and the occasional movie or two. But when Steven is home we definitely try to get out of the house to let them 'run out their crazies' before bedtime. It helps bedtime go a little more smoothly, especially Lilly who will try to keep herself awake until she can't keep her eyes open any longer. We've been going to the playground behind our house, but we decided to try and find the lake that the base owns here. We've tried to find it before but always ended up in the wrong place, but it wasn't a 'need' to find place, we were always just exploring.

Last weekend we finally found it! Since we don't really fish, yet, or go boating, Steven took the opportunity to try and teach the girls to skip rocks. It didn't go so well, but they had fun anyways and I got to take lots of photos of them. I edited some of them and the rest I'm going to save for my treatment days. 

Lilly got a little frustrated because she couldn't skip the rocks, but she kept trying. 

Sadie figured out an alternative way to skip rocks. She would throw handfuls of small rocks and since they hit the water in different places she said they 'looked' like skipping rocks.

Ruby? She collected sticks and rocks. And tried to bring them home. We had fun and the girls seemed very interested in learning how to fish.

 Hopefully sometime soon we'll be able to take them out there to fish with Daddy. I'll go and take photos, ha! For now they are just happy to go and throw rocks and play at the playground there.  I think we'll try to spend as much time there as we can this summer. 

Oh, and when we left to go home, we got stopped by a freight train. I thought it'd be fun to count the cars. We started counting and I thought it'd be a small train, but it had 120 cars! Crazy long, but they had fun. And they slept pretty well!

-K

What's Next

So typically when you have thyroid cancer you have your thyroid removed and then have radioactive iodine treatment. A few weeks after surgery, you have a thyroid scan which shows you if the cancer has spread to any other part of your body, which then dictates how much radioactive iodine you need to take. Usually you start taking a thyroid hormone pill, since your body cannot produce it anymore, but a few days before the thyroid scan you are given a shot of thyrogen that will get rid of all the hormone in your body. They do this to 'starve' your body of it so that when you take the RAI- radioactive iodine- your body absorbs it quickly. The RAI then kills all leftover thyroid cells and consequently the cancer.
Unfortunately the thyrogen is no where to be found in Omaha right now. Which means I cannot take the thyroid hormone at all. Before thyrogen, patients would have to suffer through extreme hypothyroidism in order to starve the body for RAI. I get to do this the old fashioned way. Lucky. Me.
When the doctor called and informed me of this, you better believe I was scared. No one wants to hear that you have cancer, that you have to do this the 'old fashioned way', and that as a result of this you'll be so tired you won't be able to get out of bed. After being reassured that I'd be okay by the doctor and my mom and hubby telling me not to worry because I'm pretty darn stubborn when it comes to be sick or in the hospital. For goodness sake I was able to get doctors to discharge me in less than 24 hours after a c-section and
pre-ecclampsia, not once but for both Sadie and Ruby's births. I hate being sick and I hate whining about something I can't control even more. So here I am almost 4 weeks without thyroid hormone.

On the Mayo Clinic's website, it states:
At first, you may barely notice the symptoms of hypothyroidism, such as fatigue and sluggishness, or you may simply attribute them to getting older. But as your metabolism continues to slow, you may develop more obvious signs and symptoms. Hypothyroidism signs and symptoms may include:

• Fatigue
• Sluggishness
• Increased sensitivity to cold
• Constipation
• Pale, dry skin
• A puffy face
• Hoarse voice
• An elevated blood cholesterol level
• Unexplained weight gain
• Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness
• Pain, stiffness or swelling in your joints
• Muscle weakness
• Heavier than normal menstrual periods
• Brittle fingernails and hair
• Depression

You don't realize how much your tiny thyroid controls until you don't have it anymore and and you don't have   any thyroid hormone at all. I knew that everyday I would just feel worse and worse. It's a rather ominous feeling, like watching a storm rolling in. You know it'll storm, but you don't know how bad it will be until it's right on top of you. I know the storm will pass, I just don't know when it'll be over or if there'll be any damage left from it.
I had my first blood test- to check my thyroid hormone levels- last week and they came back still in a normal range. This week my numbers changed slightly but not even close to the number we're looking for. This past Wednesday makes 4 weeks without any thyroid hormone and since my levels are where they need to be I have at least another 2 weeks until the next blood test.
Life right now is pretty tough. I'm not gonna lie or sugarcoat it. My body hurts, mood swings come out of no where, and I just want to sleep all day. I am just grateful for Steven and the girls. They have been so great and patient with me- more so Steven than the girls, ha! If the girls start acting up, I usually just have to remind them that I'm sick and need their help. I'm just hoping to make it until bedtime. I take things minute by minute and prioritize. I clean when I feel up to it and rest when I need to. I've been trying to fun things with Steven and the girls when he's home from work. I've also been stockpiling things to do, pictures to edit, and books to read for the RAI treatment. During the RAI treatment I need to be secluded for 3 days so that I don't expose anyone else to the radiation. If you know me, you know that I'd rather not be alone. When Steven takes the kiddos out so I can relax, I end up cleaning or twiddling me thumbs because I'm so used to the nonstop life of a mom. I'm not sure how I'll stay couped up by myself for 3 whole days, it may just end up being torture for me. So any ideas would be great, ha! Until then, I just wait.

I know it's been what, 2 months? Well what's been going on. We got all of our household goods on April 10 and it was A-mazing to sleep in our own beds. Surgery was supposed to be at the end of April, but a more serious case presented itself and caused my surgery to be postponed. I ended up having surgery on May 9th and the doctors removed my entire thyroid and several lymph nodes. They had a pathologist in the operating room who confirmed that it was indeed cancer. The cancer had spread to my lymph nodes but the don't think it got into my blood or vascular system. But because it had spread to the lymph nodes, the surgery took longer than expected. When I woke up in the recovery I was completely out of it. All I really remember is that I woke up with a migraine, which they gave me medicine for. And I was really loopy. I remember they put my overnight bag on the end of my bed before they took me to my actual room for the night. As soon as the nurse put it on my bed and walked away, I sat up and took out my tablet and hugged it. Weird, right? I just hugged the darn thing and continued to drift in and out of sleep.

Once in my room I was reunited with Steven and he had brought my mom to the hospital. It was so nice to see familiar faces. Since I was in and out of sleep still, he took my mom back to the house so she could get some sleep. And what is it about hospitals and not being able to sleep through the night? It was a long night of random cat naps. Needless to say I was anxious to go home the next morning.

We were able to get the approval that we could leave that morning, but due to a snafu with a missed blood test we had to wait for a blood sample to be taken and get the results. Once they came back, we were free to leave. But that wasn't the end of it. I had 6 new prescriptions to fill so we headed to the base to fill them. They were able to fill them all except the pain meds. Not good. While the hospital stay was brief, I was still in a lot of pain. So while the other medicines were filled we headed to Target to fill the last. But, no go again. Target has been under renovations to make it a Super Target and the pharmacy was closed that day. Luckily the grocery store next door had a pharmacy, they had the medicine, and they could fill it quick. Once that was done we headed back to the base pharmacy and got the rest of the medicines. Thank the good Lord we were finally on our way home.

I had such a great surprise when I got home! Not only was my mom there, but Steven's mom too! She really is like my own mom and I absolutely love having her around. They also took the girls and got me some 'get well soon' goodies. It was great to sit in my own bed and rest while the girls, who are completely enamored but their grandparents, played downstairs with Yiayia and Memaw!

When this whole journey began way back in December in Turkey, I thought the worst part of it all would be the surgery and recovery from it was going to be the worst part. Boy was I wrong! More on that later.

-K

The One Where I Really Do Have Cancer

So things have been really crazy and hectic around here, and I don't think they are going to slow down any time soon. As soon as we got here we went to the base clinic and scheduled an appointment for me. The doctor referred me to an endocrinologist at Creighton University Hospital. The did another ultrasound and then a biopsy. They came back again as papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. Nothing could have prepared me for that, I guess I was just trying to hold out hope that the Turkish doctors I saw were wrong. But they weren't so now we're just trying to move forward and get all the surgery and treatment done. I was then referred to a great head and neck surgeon and Bergan Mercy Hospital in Omaha. He said that I have the most common and highest recovery rate type of cancer. Since I'm young and have no family history of thyroid cancer I have great chance at a full recovery, so a surgery was scheduled. On April 25th, I will have my thyroid removed, then 4-6 weeks after that I will do radioactive iodine treatments and then I'll have to take a pill for the rest of my life. Luckily I'll only be in the hospital for 1 night and the iodine treatments are only pills that I have to take. I am nervous but I'm also optimistic. I'm hoping that the sooner we get all this done, I won't have to worry about it again.  Now the doctor did say that he will take out only as much as he needs to and there is a chance that it could come back in a few years, but again I'm being optimistic. I am really grateful that I was able to be seen so quickly and the insurance company for expediting the approvals.

Even with all that going on, we really love it here. Our house is much smaller than our house in Turkey but we still like it and we are thinking about buying a house in the next few years. Even if we stay in this house for a few years I'll be happy. I am burnt out on moving. We've moved 6 times in 7 years so I just need a little break.  And our household goods will be here in a week! We are all so excited to have our beds back. This gives me two weeks to unpack before surgery and I'll be happy for the distraction. I'm also sure that Steven will go crazy again and unpack like a maniac. I think our last move he had everything unpacked in a couple of days, that leaves me with the task of finding everything a place in the house which I really don't mind. The worst part is having to wash all the linens, clothes, and kitchen stuff.

I have theory in my mind that once everything is unpacked and placed life will slow down some. I'm hoping I'm right because Lilly's birthday is tomorrow and I have no idea how she is going to be 6 years old?!?! She's getting so big and smart. She is reading a lot, especially in the car. It really trips us up when she reads billboards and store fronts, we're just not used to this. She is way too smart for her own good. Last night we were telling the girls that they had to go to sleep because we had to get up at 5am to take Steven to the airport- he's picking up our car from Illinois and driving it back here. Lilly, without skipping a beat, says,'At least we don't have to wake up at 1 in the morning.' I almost choked. It's just crazy.
Hopefully life will slow down soon because I'm just plain tired. But if you pray, could you just say a little prayer for me. I'm holding out on faith and optimism to get through this crazy journey.  But I do know will get through this a little tougher and stronger.


-K

We're Here!

It only took 2 short flights for us to get here at Offutt AFB. We've loved everthing, except that they don't have FMO loaner furniture here, so far. The night we got here, Steven took a taxi to a local car dealership and bought a truck. That alone has been a huge blessing for us. We've been running around since. Our first morning here Steven went out to get his in processing check list and check out his new squadron. When he got home he dropped a small bombshell, they don't have loaner furniture here. Since we've lived overseas for most of his career we are used to having to wait a couple of months for our belongings and vehicle to catch up with us. Apparently when you PCS around the states your stuff goes along with you so there is no need for it. Without loaner furniture, we'd live in an empty, 4-bedroom house. We managed to find some klik klak futons so we can use them as couches and beds, but man was that a shocker for us.
On our first trip to Target we missed a turn and had to turn around in the local VA home. They happened to have to have a tank sitting out front. We had to stop and take a photo for Papop!



We were so excited when we saw this outside in our yard! We were hoping to see some snow here :)



I was having a serious lack of caffeine issue, so we stopped at a local coffee chain and got some coffee. Ruby has decided she has a taste for coffee so she tried to get the very last drops out of the empty cup. She kept saying it was yummy in her tummy just like Yiayia's coffee.



A beautiful sunset. And if you look closely you'll see a water tower in the back, we live across the street from it.



We took Sophie to get her haircut and when we went to pick her up she had hair bows in her hair. Steven kept saying, "What did they do to my dog?" And the fleece she has to wear most days, our little Turkish bichon frise does not like the cold Nebraska weather.




I forgot to take a photo on the 27th so here's a filler photo instead. This was on the 24th. Literally seconds after Lilly got out of school and into the truck it started snowing. It was pretty much white out conditions. It stopped after about an hour and then the sun came out again and melted it all. It was pretty while it lasted!



I found this idea on Pinterest. When you use green onions, don't throw away the roots. Put the roots into some water and they will grow back. You'll never have to buy green onions again and even I can grow them with my black thumb and all!



Ruby has been pretty sick for a week. When we got to the doctors she had an ear infection, but she did try to stay happy even when she was feeling her worse. She saw me pick up my camera and asked if I could take a picture of her. I obligingly complied. She really is too cute!

>

See I told you even I could grow green onions!



We checked out the thrift store on base. Even though 99.9% of the stuff wasn't for me, Steven did find this for me. It's a Pentax 110 with all the trimmings. It's pretty dirty on the inside so I don't think it will work too well. But for $15 it will look great on my shelf :)



Ruby looking a lot better after starting the antibiotics. She's too much. That twinkle in her eyes, it's her rottenness.



We stopped to check Menard's one day. It is like Home Depot on crack. Seriously, it had electronics, furniture, paint, flooring, window treatments, outdoor things, lumber, automotive things, tools, clothes, food, and so many more things. It was nuts. Steve and I could have stayed there all day, happily! It was nuts!



Like I said, we are loving it here. We are so close to Omaha and it's easy to navigate the area. In the next couple of weekends we plan to go to the zoo, which is only 15-20 minutes away. The girls are so excited. And Lilly, she has been loving school. She's still trying to get used to the longer days, but she has really been enjoying it. Now we just need our things and my car to get here, ha!

-K

Oh boy! This is going to be a LONG post.

We are finally in Nebraska and in our own home again! It's so great to be home again, but with all the craziness I am so behind in blogging! I have about a month's worth of P366 photos to post as well as everything that goes along with a move half way across the world, so please bear with me while I try to catch up.
One night before we left we went to getting something to eat at the bowling alley on base. Steven loves those arcade games that you try and grab a stuffed animal. Every time he sees one he has to try it. This time he won a monkey for Sadie. She loves it, but it was one of those really cheaply made stuffed animals and the butt seam immediately so Daddy came to the rescue and sewed it back up for her.

The weekend before we left we took some time to go to the movies. We went and saw the new Muppet movie. It was so cute and we all loved it. Before the movie they actually had a few of the Muppets there so the kids could take a picture with them. Ruby ran right up, Sadie patiently waited for her turn after Ruby, and Lilly decided she was going to be shy and not take a picture. We managed to convince her to take the photo because she would have balled and thrown a fit when she realized she missed out on something great, it's just what Lilly does and does often. Ruby wanted to keep Kermit and take him with her, but she reluctantly gave him back.

Lilly's last day of school was bitter sweet. As excited she was to get on the plane and leave, she was equally sad. We did our best to cheer her up and thwart off a panic attack. And yes, she does have panic attacks so we have to be really careful with her. Once she's started, it's really hard to get her out of it. Steven asked her if she'd like Papou to bring her something special when he picked us up at the airport, and she said, 'A Dr. Pepper?'. Bless her little heart because she definitely pulled some of Steven's heart strings with that one :)

This year we had the greatest Valentine's Day we've ever had. I really don't know if Steven will be able to ever top it ;) We got on a plane and we headed back to the states! It was awesome. We were able to find some cute little bumble bees that we attached to the girls backpacks. We filled them with chap stick, lip gloss, and some spending money. The were thrilled. We are completely blessed with kids who are the greatest little travelers. They've endured days of traveling with out a stop, long flights, short flights, international flights, and long car rides. They are the best. We arrived at the Passenger Terminal early so we had time to eat some breakfast and hang out in the family room a bit. Ruby was sweet enough to take a picture with me :)

We were thrilled to get to my parent's house in time to celebrate our sweet niece's 2nd birthday! She has the biggest personality and is just so much fun to be around.

We also got to meet and spend time with our new nephew, Logan! He is such a sweet baby.

We were blessed to be able to take a night and go out on a date. We have made a sort of tradition of going out for dinner at Carraba's when we're in town. The food is so good there!

There's a really great McDonald's in Allentown. I know it's a McDonald's, how great could it be. It's really all about the play place. It's music themed and the girls love playing there, so we stole our niece Phia and headed there. After lunch, playing at the play place, we ordered Shamrock Shakes and headed out again!

I forgot to take photos on the 19th and 20th, disappointed about it but hey we've been really busy. So I found a couple of other photos to 'stand in' for those days. The first one is of Phia at Best Buy. We were looking for a protective case for Steven's cell phone.

This one is of our new TV obsession, American Pickers. We love shows from the History channel so this is awesome.

And sadly we had to leave. Before we got on the road, we stopped at Dunkin Donuts. The adults got coffee and the kiddos got Munchkins. Ruby improvised a new way to get the powder off the powered donuts without actually eating the donut. Girl loves her some sugar!


Now that catches up on all the days before we got to Nebraska. All of those photos and days will be in another post. But so far, we love it here :)

-K