Hallelujah!!

DAD IS HOME!!

We are so excited that we finally have Dad in his own bed.

It was a bit of a rough discharge day. We had a blood clot in the lung scare (no clots!) and it seemed like forever to get all the right people to sign Dad out. He has a lot of new gadgets and he's still on a lot of medicines but he's home. 

It'll be a small challenge at first trying to get everything right and working on a new schedule to make sure everything gets done when it's supposed to but it's worth it to have Dad out of the hospital. 

Dad was home and settled in by 8pm last night. We had to run out and try to get some prescriptions filled and the home health lady was still there at 9:45pm. It was a very long day but we couldn't be happier to have Dad home. 

Now we just have to get him well and get him back to his old self again! Getting him eating is the goal for now. 

                                     

God Gave Me You

We have had a really rough week. Dad is still in the hospital. After doing so well he had a setback this past weekend. He will probably not be home for another few days.

I really can't say this enough but people have really surprised me throughout this whole ordeal. It is amazing to me the kindness that has been shown to my family. It seems people only talk about the bad things going on in the world, but there is good if you look for it.

One person in particular is my dear, sweet husband. I know I rave about him often but words cannot express how full he makes my heart, especially in difficult times. He is my rock! It melts my heart the way he cares for my family like it's his own. He is a "yes" man for anything my family needs. How lucky am I to have such a kind hearted husband that he would spend every day at the hospital since we've been home from our honeymoon?! We've been here most of the day, every day since our return and Jesse hasn't complained once. I can't tell you the last time the poor guy got to play his xbox. He even comes during the day when the rest of us have to work. He gives my father water to drink, fluffs his pillows, and helps him out of bed without a second thought. He even comes out in the hall with us when dad goes for a walk to help cheer him on.

I am so incredibly blessed to have such a selfless husband who would do anything for me and my family. We've had a tough  9 months, and they seem only to bring more challenges as they go on, but the load has been made a little easier to bear with Jesse by my side. 

He will be a shining example of what a good, honest, genuine person is for our future children. I have no doubt in my mind that if they turn out half as good as Jesse, they'll be pretty dadgum special!!

   

Cancer Blows

Well, Dad has had a setback. While we were away, Dad had to have emergency surgery. He had been feeling kinda crappy for a couple of weeks but the doctor said to keep trying different things. Well, Saturday he felt better and thought he was finally turning a corner. Sunday, the pain was back with a vengeance. He went to the ER and they ran some tests. Turns out part of his colon had died from the cancer and then it ruptured. So his cavity was filled with fecal matter and they rushed him off to surgery. They had to re-route his digestive system and it is a big lifestyle change that will take some getting use to. They were very worried about sepsis and infection but he has had no symptoms. He is doing very well considering what he has gone through. He is making progress every day. The doctors are amazed at how quickly he is healing. He has a huge open incision about 10" long on his abdomen that they are letting heal on its own. It should be closed in 2-3 months. His goal right now is to get eating again. Because of all of the trauma, his digestive tract shut down (which is normal). It has begun to start up again so hopefully he will be on liquids, soft foods, then real food soon. As soon as he can eat solids and they make sure everything is working properly, he can go home.

Mom called us Sunday but we were in the middle of nowhere sailing to Canada on our honeymoon. It was terrible feeling so helpless. There was really nothing we could do from the ship. We hurried home as soon as we could once we got back to Seattle. As soon as we landed mom drove us to the hospital to visit Dad. We've been keeping him company the past couple of days but I have to go back to work tomorrow. Mostly he has been sleeping but today he has been more awake and alert. They have started getting him up and about with short walks. He's doing so good, hopefully he'll be home soon and we'll get him back on track. He won't be able to do chemo for 4 weeks because of the surgery. We are praying that the cancer does not grow uncontrollably without it and that it stays under control until he can resume the chemo.

Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he continues to fight his battle with cancer.

Our Alaskan Honeymoon!

Hello y'all! We're back home from our honeymoon. We had an absolutely awesome time! Alaska is so beautiful and we'd love to go back one day. We took too many pictures to post but I'll try and hit the highlights.

First, we flew to Seattle. We spent time downtown and rode the Great Wheel. We also went to the zoo there. The animals were super active and it made for an awesome zoo day. We stayed at the Maxwell Hotel and it was spectacular! The bed was so super comfy and the restaurant downstairs was delicious!!

On Tuesday, we boarded the Carnival Miracle and set sail for Alaska. When we got to our room it was decorated with honeymoon stuff. The first day was a sea day. We spent the day exploring the ship. We played bingo, watched some karaoke, ate dinner at the on board steakhouse and saw a comedian. The steakhouse was yummy! The best thing was the blackberry port wine sherbert I had for dessert after I ate my perfectly cooked steak. It was elegant night on the ship so we dressed a little fancier for our steakhouse visit.

On Wednesday, we were still at sea but we traveled Tracy Arm Fjord. We were able to see the South Sawyer Glacier. We got within 3/4 mi of it and it was awesome! It is a 15 mi glacier. We spent a lot of time on the deck watching the beautiful scenery go by. There were tons of little icebergs floating around. We swung in the hammock and enjoyed the nice cool air. We were able to see mountain goats and sea lions! One sea lion we nicknamed Porky because he was fat as can be and picked the smallest piece of ice to lay on. We couldn't get enough casino or comedy so we did both that evening. P.S. Jesse's "Best Husband Ever" shirt was a hit on the ship :)

Thursday was our first port day. We visited the small town of Skagway. It was about 4 blocks and only had 750 residents when the cruise ships weren't docked. Here, we took a bus tour up to White Pass Summit. The guide would stop every few miles and let us off to take in the scenery and take pictures. He told us all about the gold rush on the trip. We went up 33,000 ft. When the tour was over, we walked around town and bought every souvenir known to man. We also found the most delicious pizza place for dinner called The Station.

Friday, we stopped in Juneau. This was one of my favorite days. We went whale watching in Auke Bay and hiked around Mendenhall Glacier. The whale watching tour was phenomenal! We saw so many whales! It was so cool to watch for the breath puff and then see them emerge! There was a mom and baby that kept appearing. We also got to see eagles and sea lions. One sea lion caught himself a salmon and started to play with it. He was slapping it all of the place and at one point a bald eagle swooped down and tried to snatch it away. At the glacier, we took a short hike hoping to see a bear but had no luck. It was beautiful none the less. We also saw more mountain goats near a huge waterfall at the glacier. Another (less funny) comedian entertained us when we got back on the ship.

Saturday, we were in Ketchikan. We went on an eagles, totems, and rainforest preserve excursion. We hiked through some rainforest (still didn't see a bear). After the forest, we saw a couple of birds who were injured and being taken care of there. We also saw a man carving a totem. He told us he was working on 5 salmon that would eventually end up near the docks, one for each type of salmon in Alaska. It was another elegant night on board. We visited the casino again and saw the last of the 4 comedians (he was super funny!).

Sunday was part sea day, part port day. We sailed all day and then got off the boat about 8pm in Victoria, B.C. I really wished we had more time in Canada and that it had been a day port. It looked like a beautiful place and I'd love to go back some day. We were shuttled downtown and shopped until it was time to board the ship.

That is the short version. If you want to see more pictures, visit my facebook page. We had such a blast and it was definitely a dream honeymoon!! We had good weather almost the whole trip, gorgeous scenery, fun excursions, and 9 blissful days spent together <3

Honeymoon Time!!

It's just about HONEYMOON time!!! We are so super excited for our trip. 

We leave for Seattle tomorrow morning. We are going to spend a couple of days there and then our cruise leaves Tuesday!! We will be boarding the ship Tuesday afternoon. The cruise will take us to Tracy Arm Fjord, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and BC!

It will be a nice break for both of us!! I'll be off for 7 work days and Jesse deserves a break for finishing school. 

Look for a lengthy post when we get back!! Bon voyage people!

Graduation Day

It's official... Jesse is a college graduate!!!!

I am such a proud wife! Words cannot describe how excited I am for Jesse. He has worked so incredibly hard, harder than most have to. It was such an awesome day. He was surrounded by lots of loved ones! After graduation we all headed over to Fuddruckers for some burgers :) Here's the highlight reel!

The handsome graduate :)

 

"Enter with Hope, Leave with Achievement"

I'm married to a college graduate!!

 

Delaney, where our love story began. We will forever be grateful for Schreiner. This is where we met and this is where we fell in love. Schreiner was more than just a school, it was home and it will always hold a special place in our hearts.

May May May

May is proving to be an awesome month already!

We celebrated Jesse's 25th birthday May 3rd :) We took him to an arena football game. It was definitely a different experience but we had fun.

Last weekend we helped move my parents. We spent pretty much the whole weekend getting them into their new apartment.

Tomorrow will be the best day yet!! Tomorrow is GRADUATION DAY!!!! I can hardly contain my excitement :) I am so proud and can't wait for everyone to get together to celebrate Jesse and his awesome achievement. He is so deserving of this day and I want him to enjoy every second of it!! I will be sure to post all about his big day.

Tomorrow also puts an end to our 6 year (mostly) long distance relationship! Since Jesse is graduating, he gets to come home for good :) It will be so freakin' amazing to have him home every day forever!! I cannot wait to get off work and have him to come home to.

We are also just over a week out from our HONEYMOON! I am so stoked for our trip to Alaska. Between school and work we can both definitely use a vacation.