Familiar faces...

Yesterday I ran into Wal-Mart after work.  It was a quick trip with the kids.  A woman was standing by the jewelry counter with a friend and she said hello to me.  I said hi back and kept walking.  Then I stopped and did a double take because I knew that I knew her from somewhere.  She had turned as well and she asked me if she knew me from somewhere as well.  Instantly I knew her face and realized that she was one of the Child Life Specialists we had met on our trips to the Children's Hospital with Molly.  She is a very kind woman with a big smile.  I will never forget her.  That part of this story isn't as important as the part I want to share about my feelings after I saw this familiar woman.

You see, it's been 4 years since Molly had so many set backs from surgery complications.  It's hard to realize that she has doubled her life (she was 3 1/2, she now is 7 1/2) since she was in the hospital.  I don't think about it all the time but certain things trigger memories and especially feelings of that time. 

My reflections on that 6 months 4 years ago is still very strong.  I know with even more time it will soften.  And I will always be so very grateful and recognize how very blessed we were to be a success story.  It was a God moment.  I truly know that. 

I try really hard to not talk about it too much.  But I also realize that it is an important part of who I have become, especially as Molly's mom.  I learned that you ALWAYS speak up for your child, you ALWAYS ask for further explanations on things if you don't understand and you ALWAYS tell your children the truth about what is going to happen.  I know many parents believe that sheltering their children from the harsh realities is best but I do not.  No, I don't give the gory details but I do not lie and I do not withhold information.  Both of my parents had serious surgeries when I was a kid/early teenager and they always told my brother and I what was going to happen.  I have always appreciated that my parents were honest and Mr. Shook and I have done the same.

Last week my girl, Molly, was star of the week in her 2nd grade class.  You get to take in show and tell every day for a week.  On the first day Molly took Josh, the dog you get on the pre-op tour when visiting the Children's Hospital.  Molly has loved that dog from day one.  She sleeps with it almost every night.  I asked Molly what she was going to tell her class about Josh.  She said that she would tell them that she got him from the hospital.  The best part to me is that Josh is a part of her life, but she doesn't actually remember being given Josh.  She was too young to really remember.  When you ask her about her hospital experiences she can't really share many details.  Molly remembers getting to watch movies, getting a new set of Polly Pockets, having a catheter.  That's about it.  I find this absolutely perfect.  I am willing to bear all of the feelings we all had during that time myself.  Molly doesn't remember hurting, being scared or being in any pain.  I remember it all. 

And, I am the most proud of how well Mr. Shook and I handled ourselves through the experience.  If you are reading this blog and you are not our family or from the time we lived in Michigan or Ohio we didn't know you 4 years ago.  We had only lived in Illinois a little over 4 months.  I think God has now put people in our path that we can really call friends, but it was just the two of us, our two other children and thank god, my brother and sister-in-law.  We didn't have many to turn to so we turned to each other.  I am so lucky to have Mr. Shook as my rock.  Not just in this situation but every day. 

4 years ago on Valentine's Day Molly had her third surgery in a week and we ate Avanti's carry out in the hospital as our "romantic" dinner.  I will skip the flowers and candy every year just so I don't have to have Valentine's any where but with my family.  God blessed us that Valentine's Day and I will always remember it. 

And, I will try my hardest not to talk about it too much.  But, I make no promises.  It's a part of who I am. 

Enjoy this week of love and family! 

Cameron #9...

 Our first family picture 2004

 Cameron's first birthday

 Cameron's 3rd birthday

 Turning 6

Yesterday my first baby turned 9.

For the first half of the day I was a blubbering mess.

I cried taking him to school.

I cried thinking about this same day 9 years ago.

I called Mr. Shook at work crying.  (Note to self, I don't think he's a fan of that.)  Not that he cared I called crying, I think I made him feel a little teary as well.  Not very global finance-ish.  Mr. Shook talked me off of the ledge.

The thing I couldn't get over for most of the morning was...

HE IS HALFWAY TO 18!!!

HOW DID THAT HAPPEN??

These first 9 years have flown by and I know the next 9 will too.

Mr. Shook and I were so very blessed 9 years ago + 40 weeks when we were given the wonderful gift of our first child.  Cameron was the easiest baby ever.  EVER.  He was a joy from his first breath.  He is turning out to be a great kid, who loves his sisters, knows just how to get on their last nerve but is the best of friends with them as well.  Cameron does well in school, tries his best and is learning responsibility.  

Happy, happy #9, Cameron Michael Shook!!

Livestrong...

If you know me very well then you already know about my love affair with sports.  I love watching them and love rooting for them, especially a good underdog story.  I faithfully watch the Super Bowl even if I don't care about any of the teams in the game, I love college football and one of my favorite times of the year is from March Madness to the Masters.  The first 2 days of March Madness are my favorite.  When else can you watch games non stop from noon to midnight?  And they always are very exciting games.  I am also a sucker for the good vs. evil story that is sometimes spun into a sporting event.  Or the little man vs. the giant.  I love for the human interest story that makes some professional athletes seem more like every day people.  The obstacles and challenges that they have had to overcome.  I love it all.

But, one of the things I struggle with is the inappropriate moral values that some of the athletes of today occasionally have.  I don't like it when young people choose to idolize people who have made some really bad choices in their lives but they choose to ignore or not be aware of every day heroes that are in their lives.  

That brings me to someone like Lance Armstrong.  I am not a follower of cycling.  I don't even understand why the Tour de France is days and days long and how the switching of the yellow jersey means something.  But, I know who Lance Armstrong is.  And, I know what he started his own foundation called Livestrong.  And, I know that it is backed by Nike.  Cha-ching.  Allegedly Lance Armstrong has confessed to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance enhancing drugs while competing in cycling.  This allegation has been going on for years and I'm not sure why Lance decided know to fess up.  I also know that the foundation Livestrong has raised millions, maybe even billions of dollars for cancer research.  I heard on the radio yesterday that even without Lance being the face of Livestrong that their sales only dropped 7%.  

The question I have is simple.

Do we overlook the misconduct that Lance Armstrong did to his body, the sport of cycling, and all the followers of his sport for the huge contribution he has made in the world of cancer research?  Are these two different issues or will eventually American's look past his moral flaws in support of his humanitarian contributions?  Is his name ruined forever or will Lance be able to one day restore it?

I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but I do know one thing. 

Lance Armstrong needs to give Mantei Ta'io a big shout out for being the ultimate diversion in the news.  We may have already forgot about Lance Armstrong's poor choices.

Back on track?...

Was there a month of December??  I think I missed it.  Or at least I missed it in the blogging world.  Oops.

But I'm hoping now to get a little back on track.

We had a very nice Christmas that included a (really) long stay with Mike's parents in Ohio.  We saw other family and the kids got some Aunt/Uncle/Cousin time that they always enjoy.  I really love Mike's family and they are very good people.  When we get together with his extended family it's always a nice visit.  He has a VERY small family, 2 uncles, 2 aunts, 3 cousins...small.  But when we get together it's always a fun time.   We got to see some of my extended family as well and we feel the same about them, too.  We are very blessed to have such wonderful family.

But, the holidays come and go, oh so quickly.  Then it's back to real life.

The kids started school up again on Tuesday and we're back to the routine.

Today I got to do something really special, though.  Today I got to take my friend Becki to her chemotherapy appointment.  Becki first goes for labs, then saw the doctor who gives the a-OK for that day's treatment and then she begins infusion.  There is no rushing through this day.  We were together for 6 hours.  Some of the day was exactly like I envisioned and some was not.  Because Becki already has a port the actual receiving of the drugs wasn't as dramatic as depicted on TV.  I checked it all out, asked what things were, and even tried to figure out if the Taxol she was getting could possibly be from the pharmaceutical company that I worked for many moons ago in Cleveland.  I feel blessed that I was able to spend this time with my friend.  I made a Chick-Fil-A run for us, my first visit ever to one.  What a perfect place to have your first sandwich from Chick-Fil-A...the Illinois Cancer Center!  I started out the day by attending about 45 minutes of my weekly bible study.  It is regularly taught by our previous pastor but he has to be out for a few weeks so our new church pastor filled in.  We were studying some of the psalms and were reflecting how many of them are now songs and hymns.  We even sang some!  When I had to bow out of class Pastor Gary asked me if I had to take off.  I shared that I was leaving to take Becki to her appointment.  He immediately stopped class and we prayed for her.  All my anxiousness was gone and I knew that I could confidently take her to the clinic.  I really appreciated that moment.  Thanks to all who were there this morning for giving me the confidence and strength to be there for my friend.

I think it was one of those God moments.

Thanksgiving is a yummy holiday...

I have to share this.

No, I don't want to super duper embarrass my first born, my little guy, my son.

BUT...this is just too good to pass up.  He makes me smile and laugh all the time.  The things he does are funny and so innocent (the majority of the time).

I have to share his essay from school about Thanksgiving.  Grammar is third grade.

Thanksgiving is a yummy holiday.  I travel to Ohio because that is where my whole family is from.  It takes a long time to get there.  The food is awesome!  Turkey is the best of Thanksgiving.  I meet my uncles and my aunts.  They are fun!  I like Thanksgiving because it is when Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean and found indians on the island.  They ate with the indians so that's how  Thanksgiving began.

This essay is a keeper.  My boy is a keeper.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, and Christopher Columbus!

For those who have served...

we salute you!

Cameron had to decorate a star for Veteran's Day for school and on it he was to include a person he knows who served in the Armed Forces.  Luckily for him he knows two!  (Actually we have more in our family but the star wasn't that big...)

Thank you to both of  Cameron's Grandfather's for serving in the Army.  Because of the dedication of many, many men and women we are able to live in a country that is free.  We have so many freedoms here in the United States of America.  We need to embrace those freedoms and remember that they didn't come without many sacrifices and many lost lives.

The easiest thing we can say is...thank you!

Smile!...

It was been over a month since I did a blog post.  I felt like I needed to give my writing and posting a break. It's a long story, but I felt like my blog had been violated.  Someone or something was linking some of my blog posts to a site without my permission.  I had to ask for them to be removed and luckily, the person obliged.  I really don't understand their need to link my posts but the hits on my blog when crazy.  There really isn't anything here to read, unless you want to know about what my kids did on a boring summer day, or what we had for dinner one night.  I censor myself ON MY OWN BLOG with the fear of offending someone or something.  This is truly boring reading.  But, don't stop reading, please!!

Since I last posted I've had a birthday, which was very nice.  My parents have moved apartments within their complex (which was no minor undertaking!), we've had Halloween (very fun!).  The regular mundane things.  

Tomorrow we elect a new president or re-elect the one we already have.  I can't remember feeling like any other election has meant or mattered more.  I don't know what to wish for in the outcome.  I just know that I will be glad to have an end to the campaign ads, literature and phone calls.  I pray for our country and it's leadership.

Probably the biggest thing to happen here in a while is this...

The first loss of a front tooth at our house!

This is big news and I marvel at what a cute smile!

Maybe we'll be singing the famous Christmas song after all...