Taking Off

Our vacation began last night. We all took a sleep aid at 6:30PM. It was pretty much the first time Randy and I actually wanted to go to bed so early! With all of our previous family vacations, once the bags were packed and the house was cleaned, we would leave; most times earlier than we had originally planned. It was torture having to wait an entire night. 

I'm pretty sure the alarms that were set (three in all) were unnecessary. It wasn't hard to wake up at all. The only hard part of the whole morning was getting undressed from warm pj's to cold clothes. The rest has been easy-peasy. And oh, so fun!!

We were met at the airport by Dorothy. The moment Shelby saw her, she squealed, "Make A Wish!!!!" And our vacation was begun! We have had special treatment ever since. 

Once through security, they corralled us over to a corner to take our picture. I could hardly contain my emotions. They have been close to the surface any time I thought about what we have been gifted, but seeing the balloons, the sign, and seeing Dorothy there to see us off, set me to crying. We all laughed when I said there were to be no comments made about the crying mom. 

I'm pretty sure the kids asked me 100 times what time it was while we were waiting to board the plane. By 5:17, I just told them that they would have to wait. The excitement in the air was felt by many. We were asked by a few people where we were going, and got many wishes to have a great trip. Smiles were on many faces when they saw us. The joy of my kids brought joy to others. To myself, especially. 

We got to board the plane very first. As in, 15 minutes before anyone else!! The crew welcomed us with giddy-voices, giving our kids 10- carat gold wings. They are much nicer than the plastic wings they used to give. Or maybe still do, I don't know. Instead of the poke-your-chest-if-it-pops-open kind, these have two needles fasteners with caps. Only the best given to those that fly with Make A Wish!! 

I was sitting next to this crazy, until he told me he wanted to sit by Randy, "Because he has all of the treats."

We have been given so much already, I don't know if my emotions can hold. I may have my ugly cry-face in all of my pictures. But they will be real. And they will be beautiful. Because this is a trip that will bring many emotions to the surface. Gratitude being the one most felt.   

We're sitting on the jet way in Seattle, ready to take off. So, like me, sit down, buckle up, and enjoy the ride!!

Make A Wish

Within the first week of Caden's diagnosis, when we were still unsure if our son was going to live, we were approached by a representative for Make A Wish.

I remember telling him about the company before telling him that he could make a wish, making sure to say that it was many different people that donated many different things so that children could have something special to look forward to. We looked online at many different stories where he told me some of his favorites. 

About halfway through our online search, Caden's breath caught in his throat, and with tears in his eyes, he said, "This is a cool thing." I couldn't have felt more excited to be the one to tell him that he would get to make a wish. The tears came even faster. And then he started asking. 

Caden has never been one to jump into something important without much thought. He steps back, reviews every angle, and makes sure he has all of the information. He asked everyone, including the representative that approached me, what they would wish for. He asked nurses, friends, patients, and his siblings. He never asked me, but I wouldn't have said, anyway. I wouldn't want him to try and grant me my own wish. He is that selfless.  As it stands, he already did grant me my wish- he is still here.  We researched more wishes online, and then researched each place traveled, each person that he wanted to meet.  You name it, we researched it. For weeks. 

During this time, we stopped worrying about cancer so much, and started worrying about recovery. He had a Wish to get fulfilled. His first choice was the meet Brian Regan. And then that happened, without the help of the Wish Granting Machine. So what to choose now? I would say it took him to the end of Round 3 to decide.

We were going to Disney World as a family!!

He chose there over Disney Land because of the longer flights. Yay!!! (Cringe) We'll see how he feels about long flights when we get back. Caden could go any time it was cleared with his doctors. He could have gone as early as July. However, wanting to make sure that everything was perfect, MAW recommended a few options. "The weather is SO hot in Florida until about September. We could go, but remember you will swelter." "Halloween is an absolute blast, but it is SUPER crowded. Same with Christmas." "However, if you go the first week of December, they will have started decorating for the Holidays. It is also, statistically, the least busy week of the year. That leaves many volunteers and staff to watch out for Make A Wish participants." And so it was set. 

And, as if this incredible trip we get to go on isn't enough, Make A Wish threw Caden a party to present him with his packet. He got to choose every detail. And it was tonight. 

Jamie has some amazing tools, so I asked her to help me make some decorations. I didn't want to go all out, but I did want to make a banner. My own Mickeys. 

I hate that the lighting is so horrible. This is Sri and Dorothy, his Wish Granters. They kept monthly contact with us, bringing our kids gifts, and keeping the excitement fresh in our minds. Make A Wish gave Caden, and our other kids, excitement for something wonderful during the rough spots. I will forever love them. Words are not enough. 

Not perfect, but better than before. 

Caden was given a choice of whom to invite. He invited the Scouts and Leaders, plus three friends from school. He was surrounded with love! 

I didn't get many pictures, mostly because I wanted to be present. To watch the excitement on his face, to hear the sound of his laughter, to revel in his health. My son is alive. And he is living that life. And I don't want to miss a thing. 

I was able to capture this little cutie. Look at that face!!

In addition to Winco providing a bunch of the food, Michelle Walker providing the fountain, Make A Wish providing the other portion of the food, Game On also donated one hour to Caden. 

That is a huge trailer full of video equipment, enough for 28 people to play!!! And, I kid you not, dance!! And even though he has to have surgery tomorrow, the owner, Robert Lenzi personally came to our home for our party. They donated the hour, outfitted Caden with a t-shirt, and showed his party guests the time of their lives. Just one more amazing couple that have given us such kindness. 

(L to R) Kade Harrison, Hunter Peterson, Caden, Logan Powell, Mason McShane, Spencer Hammond, Nathan Haggard (from Caden's Crew) Zachary Bagley, Zachary Graves, and Satch Berkey. Missing from the photo, Brother Bagley, Brother Elsberry, Brother Haggard, and Brother Walker. 

Tonight was magical. My heart is full to bursting. Our week of Wishes begins on Sunday with a 6:00AM flight, returning the following Saturday at 11:59PM. This is going to be a week to remember. 

We are completely open about cancer in our home. We talk about it often. The kids ask questions, we remember times of hardship and blessing and talk about them, and we always have the kids tell us their feelings about things. We asked Caden if he wishes his life had been different. His response, "I'd keep it exactly the same." Cancer was HARD. Cancer SUCKED. But we are all stronger because of it. And this upcoming miracle week, we get to bask in the luxury of health. Our son is going to be given a gift that was granted at a time of mortal uncertainty. And now we can enjoy it fully, knowing that our son is cancer free!

Hinged

The drywall is textured and painted. 

We got the pantry shelved just the way we want for our food storage. 

Doors installed, just needing to be painted. 

And the kitchen cleaned after weeks of clutter. And now our lives are hinged on one thing...cabinets. They are schedule to be delivered to Home Depot on December 1, Our first full day in Florida. Once the cabinet is placed, the last haul will commence. Our project will end how it began. In a hurry!

Brennon

Let's just take a moment to pour over this adorable picture.  Look at those cheeks.  Look at those beefy arms.  Look at those Buddha thighs.  Look at those ankles.  Look at that cherubic face.  Man, I love this boy.  How did we go from that, to this...

No cheeks.  No beefy arms.  No Buddha thighs.  So tall.  One thing has stayed the same. 
He still has a cherubic face! 
I just couldn't resist the birthday picture.  Love my B-Boy!!!

Chance Encounter

My sister, Brooke, is a manager at Planet Fitness in Utah.  A man walked into her gym wearing a shirt like this...

She made the comment that she loved his shirt.  As they were conversing, she said that her nephew had just finished cancer care.  The man paused for just a moment before asking who her nephew was.  When she said Caden Dirks, he said...

"I am the store manager of Warren's in West Roy.  We are the store that won the challenge to raise the most money for his fundraiser (May 2014).  You know, that has been the most emotional fundraiser of my life.  I have never done anything like that before.  I feel as if I know your nephew."

The shirt he was wearing is the one of the shirts that we purchased for all of the employees of the West Roy store.  We were able to personally deliver them in July when we ended Round 6 earlier than we ever could have imagined.  While we didn't get to see this man in person that day, I will never forget his kindness.  

On the day that they presented the blown up check to my other kids, he mistook Brennon for Caden.  As he grabbed Brennon in a hug, he told Brennon that 'he had said [his] name so many time.'  Brennon was a little thrown off by his approach.  My mom quickly stepped in to correct him.  In his defense, Brennon had just gotten a hair cut and still looked quite bald.  He may not be a part of my physical family, but the love he has for my son makes him a part of my worldly family.  I will never forget his kindness.

Before he left the gym, he pulled Brooke aside to give her a hug.  He loves Caden so much, he just needed to give Brooke a hug!  It just goes to show that 'When we are in the service of our fellow men, we are only in the service of our God.'  It truly is a small world.

Extortion

(Halloween 2011.  We had just dressed him in his lion costume.  Apparently it was the worst thing we could have done to him!)

Our neighbor Blake was an only child for seven years before his little brother came along.  He was telling my kids on the way to school the other day that they were lucky to have so many friends that lived in the same house.  I couldn't agree with him more.

One day Blake was getting a little too rough with my kids.  Brennon was complaining and went inside.  Blake was telling his mom (who happens to be named Stephanie!) that he couldn't play with my kids anymore, because he was just too rough.  Tyson said, "Blake, you can play with me.  As long as you play my game or give me $1.00."  Way to make friends and influence people, Ty!

Nickels and Names

Shelby found a nickel and a penny at the checkout in Walmart the other day.  The nickel was incredibly shiny, looking like it had just been made that day.  Shelby was commenting on how happy she was to have found money and that the nickel had been made in 2014.  In an exasperated voice, she said, "I am so happy I found this nickel.  I mean, I can't believe I found this!  It was made this year.  Who would throw away something so valuable?!"

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I love listening to the conversations of Tyson and Cassidy on their way to preschool.  Yesterday it was about gymnastics.  Jamie and I thought we got our kids in the same gymnastics class until I took a different turn than her on the first day of classes.  Tyson asked Cassidy if her gymnastics was at the blue house.  His is in a HUGE blue industrial building made specifically for gymnastics.  Cassidy said 'no, hers is in the white house.'  Hers is in a HUGE white industrial building, also.  I loved that they were calling them houses.  Cassidy made the comment that her coach's name was Coach Riley.  She asked Tyson if he thought it was a silly name. 

"OH MY GOSH!!  My teacher's name is Coach, too!  We have teachers that have the same first name.  I don't know her other name, though.  But her first name is Coach!"

Cuties!

Ceiling Fan Fun

We have always needed more light in our entry. First off, it's two-stories high. Second, it only had one light bulb. Third, the world-class painter that sprayed our whole house upon vacancy of the previous owners actually sprayed the light fixtures, making it even darker than it was before. Nice! There was an amazing sale on lighting, so we rented some scaffolding and had some fun. Well, Randy and the kids did. I had six mini-heart attacks. Because you know they each wanted to climb to the top. And Randy, being the "funnest dad in the world," let them. 

It was so rickety, Randy actually secured it to the wall. That made a huge difference, but not enough for my nerves. I was almost in tears by the time he was done. 

View from the top. 

Look how far down that is!!!

We got a basic white one with three daylight LED bulbs. It's brighter than the noon-day sun, I tell you. Never has that entry been so well lit. And since we already rented the scaffolding, this just happened to be the perfect time to paint up that high. Since we have to paint for the new pantry, this ended up being quite perfect. Pictures coming soon. We are not quite done yet. It's a HUGE undertaking. One that has made a huge difference in our builder-grade home. Man, I love my house!!!

Daughters

Last night, Shelby got to sit next to Randy at the piano recital. Tonight, Keilie gets to attend her second Daddy Daughter dance with him. My girls have such a special relationship with their dad. They are so lucky to be his daughters. 

Unfinished

I have never liked that our carpet was so close to the island. Or that when you came in from the back yard you had to come onto carpet. So, with the need for a new floor with the kitchen remodel, we decided to extend the kitchen a few feet. Like 3!

And since we already needed subfloor for the other places in our floor, it only cost us $10.53 to extend it. Bonus!!

What little boy wouldn't love shooting a gun?

We got a good start on our floor today. We can't finish more until we get our base cabinet, dang it. Hope it comes soon!! I am getting excited for this to be done. 

Electricity

We have been playing so many games since our summer truly began.  If we have free time, we pull out our assortment of games. Sometimes we even play games in-between chores. It has become a fun obsession for all of us. 

I have not been feeling quite right for a few days, so there has been many hours to play with my kids this weekend. Brennon and I were playing Mancala for the one-hundredth time, when he stopped and said, "Mom, I like playing games that don't need electricity."  

My heart sings. 

Heads Up, Seven Up!

We played a game as a family last night that took me down Memory Lane- Heads Up, Seven Up.  It is such a simple game, but we had so much fun!!  The game was already in progress when I came down, so rules had already been made.  1. No licking thumbs.  2. No hitting thumbs.  3. No kicking thumbs.  4. No peeking.  Can you guess which 5-year old little boy prompted all of these rules?  One guess only, please.

If you guessed this cheeser, you are correct!  He has always been funny!

For those of you like me, you may have forgotten the rules to this game.  They are as follows:

Choose two or three people to be the thumb touchers.  Everyone else closes their eyes and holds their thumbs up.  The thumb touchers choose one thumb to touch, careful to be as sneeky as they can.  Once everyone has touched a thumb, someone says, "Heads Up, Seven Up!"  Those that had a thumb touched will take turns guessing which toucher touched them.  If they choose correctly, they switch places with the toucher and become a toucher themselves.  If they do not choose correctly, the toucher gets a point and continues another round of touching.  That's it!  Play it with your kids.  It is hilarious.

Giggle Moments: Tyson decided that he was not going to touch, but was going to pound his hands together with Randy's thumb in-between his hands.  Hm...I wonder who that could be?!  Brennon got so excited each time, that he'd jump up-and-down in front of you before he touched your thumb.  Instead of saying "Heads Up, Seven Up!," Caden said "Trick-or-treat...wait, what?"  

I love simple games played together.  These are the moments that make me smile!

Shots

We have always gotten flu shots. With the asthma in our family, we always made sure to get them. With the whole cancer thing, it is mandatory that we all get them each year. There was a free clinic today, so we prepared to get all of them. And by prepared, I mean taking Keilie alone. 

She is her mother's daughter. We do NOT like needles. I have seen the devastation she can inflict with her screams. I've gotten them all done together, and have vowed to never do it again. So we loaded her up without telling her what was going on. Less time for her to fret. We walked in and got in line and then told her. I was glad the line was so short. And that there weren't any little kids. She surprised me, though. I think it was the fact that Randy was there. I may need to make sure he's always there for her shots, she didn't make a sound!!

With Keilie at gymnastics, we picked up the other kids and went back. A few people ahead of us was a mother and her four kids, age 18 months-9, I would guess. She did the baby and the next oldest without much of a fuss. Then comes the four year old. Who starts screaming. And crying. The little girl, about nine, starts to cry. And this sweet, frazzled mother now has another kid that she has to hold. I felt for that mother. I have been there myself. That is just one way a mom has to be strong when the dad isnt there. No fun!

I wondered if my kids would get nervous. Nope! If anything, it fuel their excitement. Brennon was giddy!! All four kids sat down without a worry, lifted their sleeves, and just looked ahead. No fuss. No worries. No nothing. It was so nice. As soon as she stuck Tyson, I knew something was wrong. His eyes bulged. When she pulled out, he was near tears. Randy made eye contact that promised more news. I got mine (which burned like crazy) and we left with a crying Tyson. Apparently, the nurse was trying to be quick, which meant a quick insert of the two-inch needle. All.the.way.in. He's a skinny five-year old. Skin and bones. Which means she probably hit bone with the tip of the needle. He cried for a while, saying it still felt like it was growing. Which I take to mean as throbbing. Poor thing. 

I realize that these things are life-saving in some cases, but I wish they didn't have to use universal needles for tiny kids. On a happier note, he let me examine and snuggle his sweet baby arms. I love little kids!!!

Muddy

Pretty much the only time I like someone playing with mud in the house. 

Randy worked from 6:30AM-6:00PM last night on a fun development at work.  I could tell that he was pretty focused on his work. He needed something to take his mind off stress. Why not try a new skill?! I had to stop him at 10:00PM. I was exhausted just watching him! I am SO excited!!!!!

Amazing

Last night we met with the Primary Presidency and all of the other families with children that will turn eight this year. Shelby counted down the hours and minutes until her meeting. We did a mock baptism day and got to take a tour of the font and listen to talks about being baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and about receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. She was SO excited, bordering on ADHD! Since all of our family lives out-of-state, it was important for me to get the actual date of her baptism secured to give them enough notice. We found out for sure that it will be January 31, 2015. Exactly one year since Caden was flown to Seattle. What was considered the worst day in all of history, will now have sunshine again. We will have come full-circle. I am so proud of her decision to be baptized. It will be an amazing day for our family!!

Open

With a completely open Saturday, we decided to ask around to find a nail gun to borrow. Work began at 11:00AM. 

First wall. I think I may have squealed!

Framed!! But it doesn't stop here. When Randy has time, he's gonna stay busy.

Sheetrock!!!! And can you believe it, I measured and cut some of those peices BY.MYSELF!!! I feel so accomplished!!

We had everything put back in time for dinner. We came down again after going to bed to just look at our new kitchen. I do kind of wish that we could contract out the mud, tape, and texture. I would love to have it done while Randy works this week. This would leave time on Saturday to lay floors. 

Man, I am just SO excited!!! 

For now, I just love looking at my new pantry. 

Eager

Did I say he would want to start at 6:00AM this morning? I meant at 6:00 PM last night. Caden waned to take the kids trick-or-treating, so Randy left me in charge of the door and pulled out the big guns. 

Our first hurdle came in the form of... 

Maybe this is why Brennon has such awful asthma. Ya think?! We got a few different recommended sprays and went to town. That thing didn't look that bad before the spray. But, it's not like it looked much better, either. Come on, that's black mold!! Yuck!!!

View from the front room. 

And now from the kitchen. Look at all of that space!!! You're still looking at the mold, aren't you?! It's eye catching, isn't it?! 

Time for the pantry. 

This turned out to be a huge pain in the neck. Since most of our tools are in Utah, a fact that I wish I would have remembered before we started this project, this turned out to be quite difficult. That 2x4 is actually shared with our neighbor's laundry closet. Stupid builders. We had to use a tool for different purposes to cut it. Not a fine cut, I must admit. But, it served a Nobel purpose. The pantry is demolished.

 We aren't able to push it flush yet, but it gives us a perfect opportunity to imagine what it will be like. *squeal!!

First view when you come into our great room area. 

The space next to the fridge is going to be an 8'x8'x18" pantry. I can NOT wait. Except I have to. Tools in Utah, remember?! This may take longer than I want. But who can complain about a much more open kitchen design?! Not me!!!

Where is all the food from the closet, you ask?!

Beauty!