Christmas fun, Nolan's birthday, and Round 3, Day 1

Forever
by Chris Tomlin


Give thanks to the Lord
With a mighty hand
Forever God is faithful
From the rising to the setting sun

Our God and King
His love endures forever
For He is good, He is above all things
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise

and outstretched arm
His love endures forever
For the live that's been reborn
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise

Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever, forever

His love endures forever
By the grace of God
We will carry on
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise

This past Sunday, I was chatting with Pastor Jade and when he asked how I was feeling, doing, etc, my main answer was that I continued to be thankful. Overwhelmed with thankfulness in fact.

Chemo - not as bad as I was bracing myself for. Family and friends? Blessing beyond what I could possibly imagine. And my fun times with my two favourite boys? In my stronger days this cycle, we enjoyed some family fun with the unusual sunny, brisk air we've been enjoying in Vancouver lately. Usually it would be mild, rainy and dreary but we've had a long run of gorgeous sun lately.

Mom, me and the top of a little owl at the Christmas Market

My amazing hubby and me, Christmas Market again...

Enjoying some of the spaetzle at the Christmas market


Anticipating some cotton candy!

So worth the wait!

Enjoying a ride on the carousel

25 kids for Nolan's birthday party, plus parents. Our boy's a bit of a social butterfly.
We had to cap his invite list unfortunately :(

Beautiful cake thanks to Auntie Jane!
Auntie Jeannie made some AMAZING lego block and mini fig cookies that were a hit
Unfortunately it was a bit of a gong show and we neglected to take a picture of it :(

N & Daddy silliness

Ice cream cake the next day with the extended family

We've fit a lot in with the spurts of energy God grants me. By God's grace, we've been able to build lots of fun memories during this time.

My beloved brother and sister in law were able to fly in after Nolan's party. Like my mom before them, they've been so amazing in cooking lots of great food, helping us in the cleaning, and playing with N, doing homework with him, etc. They've been and will continue to be such a support during the toughest part of Round 3.

Today's IV poke with Nurse Rufina went as well as possible. No second pokes, just sounded like a crazy with my deep breathing but I got through it without any tears :) Currently side effects include some nerve damage that feels like a frostbite before it gets to the point where it's numb and your fingers and toes are in danger of falling off. So it's like a painful but bearable thing. I will start to get more tired and more heartburn as the days go on, but all in all, again the side effects are so much more bearable than I was bracing myself, so, much to be thankful for.

Day 2 tomorrow where we get to see Uncle Joe, just flown in from China, for brunch before my chemo for the day starts.

Thank you to all who went above and beyond to make this weekend and my little boy's 6th birthday such a great success. I know, left to our own devices, this could have been a screaming chaotic mess, but Jeannie, Jane, Carmen, Vince, Isabel, Katherine, and all the parents who pitched in here and there - thank you - I know it was a bit crazy with all those boys, but hopefully your kids had fun celebrating with my kid, delayed pizza delivery, wrestling mania and all. Thank you for demonstrating community in so many ways.