Happy Birthday Riley

Riley had 5 girls over for a birthday slumber party.

They had so much fun, and now I am exhausted.

The party started at 5. My friend Nikki made the cutest Littlest Pet shop cake for Riley.

It had snow ball mounds and a sledding hill on it and even a blue chocolate ice pond.

So cute- Thanks Nik. After blowing out the candles Riley opened presents, we made homemade personal pizzas (flour was everywhere- especially when sam made his) The girls played in Rileys room, We ate birthday cake- we freezer stenciled birthday shirts for everyone- they turned out great.

The girls stayed up until after midnight and we're up and ready to go again at 7:30 this morning. Riley had a great party- the girls all got along and played so well together. At one point, two of the girls were decorating Sams "Cowboy House" that my dad built for him, while the other girls were playing some sort of game in Rileys room that involved jumping on her bed, screaming, then running out in the living room laughing as loud as possible. Not sure who won the game, but they all we're having a blast. Finally at 11 I put it Kitt Kittridge and the girls laid down, a couple of them we're asleep by the time the movie was over, but I think a couple girls stayed up wAAy late!

Today, I am getting us all packed up, Clothes, activities, toys, school stuff- so that John and I can head to Mayo for about a week and the kids can shuffle around between our families in Macon. John starts his radioactive iodine treatment on Tuesday morning- where he will have to stay in isolation for 3-4 days. While he is there I am going to be staying at the Nazarene Well House. I am taking a laptop with me so hopefully I will be able to update while I'm away. Thanks everyone for your prayers for our family.

Long time no post....

Life is still rolling here. Christmas was good, New Years was uneventfull, and Sam's birthday was fun. My dad made Sam the BEST log cabin. As soon as I find my battery charger I'll post a pic. Riley's birthday is Saturday, we are having a few girls spend the night.
We leave on Monday for Mayo for John Radiation treatments. It takes a lot of planning to get everything organized. John has been having really bad days lately. Sick most days and just plain doesn't feel like getting out of bed. It takes so much out of him to be without his Thyroid medicine. Hopefully soon though he will start to feel better.

Update

We are now at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota to try to find help for John- you can check it out here www.caringbridge.org and type in JohnKoch to find his update page.

Overheard at the table

Riley: Sam you need to finish your eggs.
Sam: Me don't want to.
Riley: But Sam there are starving children who would love to eat those eat, like in Haiti,
El Salvador .......Michigan.

Here we go again...

John's cancer is back.
He will spend the next month completely off of his medicine- which will make him get more and more tired. The week before Christmas we will have to go to Columbia for 4 days where he will be tested, poked and scaned- followed by swallowing a radioactive iodine pill which will burn any thyroid tissue in his body. His throat will feel like it has a sever sunburn. This pill is so potent that he will have to spend the following 4 days in isolation, so as to not harm me or the kids. There is a possibility that he will have to have another surgery. There is the possibility that it has already spread to his soft tissue- like his lungs or brain.

I want to tell you that everything is going to be fine and that we are all holding up great- but the reality is we are sick of this crap. My husband has felt bad everyday for the last 2 1/2 years. If we are going to do something in the evening- he will need a nap in the afternoon. And that is how he feels when he IS being medicated. But now for the next month he can't have any of his medicine. Which will not only make him tired, but also impatient, grumpy, forgetful, scared and sometimes just downright mean.

I feel like there is a 2 year old inside me wanting to get out and throw a fit on the floor and scream that "I don't want to do this". I don't want our holidays to be like this. I don't want to worry again. I don't want to have to take up more of the slack. I don't want to see him be so wore out. I don't want to see him forget mid-sentence what he was talking about. I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS!

But for some reason this is what God is asking of me now. I wonder if there was a lesson in this the last time around, and I didn't learn it well enough. Is God using John's sickness to show me something. To break me of something, or to build me up for something. Or is this just a concequence of a sinful world. Yesterday I woke up feeling excited about the holidays, and the fun stuff I have planned for the kids. And tonight I go to bed feeling so weighted down. This just doesn't feel like my life- like I shouldn't have a husband with cancer, or I shouldn't have to think about radioactive pills, or daily pukings or I shouldn't have to plan no-salt meals for my crazily picky husband.

And through all of this I will think of the Casting Crows song- Praise you in this Storm- because I do serve a powerful Lord who sees my tears and hears my prayers. And I have to keep telling myself that "all things work together for the good of those who love Him".

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
Though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights…”
-Habakkuk 3:17

Swap Goodness!

I was partened with Clare for Melissa's gratitude wrap swap. Not only is Clare a total sweetheart, she and I have lots in common and she sent me a beautiful colorful gratitude wrap. I love her fabric choices! Her wrap is based on the one that SouleMama makes. Here's a couple pics of my great package.


















A peek at the package I'm sending Clare (note "sending" as in waiting till the very last minute).







We have done so much fun stuff lately

hopefully I can squeeze out some time for a better update.

Thanks so much Clare- I love my package!

Hello Again...

I am just going to pretend that I didn't take an unintentional break from this blog- and just jump right into a new post okie dokie.

We have had a crazy full summer- Here's a taste of our own brand of chaos....John coached the church team of co-ed softball. We played every Friday night and had such a good time. We weren't the best team (more like the worst team) but we had the most fun!

4th of July was pretty laid back for us, we stayed home, then went to town for fireworks. Next year I hope to do a big shindig here.

Riley took swim lessons and learned to jump off the board.

We got to see two of our good friends be baptized in the lake. It was awesome to see Jim and Felicety along with so many others. There was even a surprise renewal of wedding vows for a couple that go to our church- so cool.

Riley played coach pitch softball- she loved it. She learned alot this year and had great coaches.

Riley did a sewing kit swap with a little girl in South Carolina and a girl in the United Kingdom. Such a neat idea. Riley has been embroidering like nobody's business lately. She is getting pretty good.

Riley also got new glasses- they look very grown up- until she opens her mouth!

We also got to help with Food4Kids which is a great program that takes free lunches to the park for children. We help every Wednesday- it has been a good time getting to know lots of little kids.

We also went to children's camp for a week, have done lots of house stuff, and farm stuff, John had his tonsils taken out and his nasal passages scrapped- yeah it was gross, and even though the surgery was 2 weeks ago- he is still hurting.