Myrtle Beach Vacation

WELCOME TO MYRTLE BEACH!!!

Whether it be the sun, ocean, sand or just spending some relaxing time with my husband & kids, something has definitely rejuvinated my tired body...I'm finally back! After visiting the plastic surgeon last Thursday, we took off for one of our favorite vacation spots...Myrtle Beach.

The waves were rough...

but the girls found a way to fight them TOGETHER.

The nice thing about being at the beach is that you can walk every evening & never get hot!

Me & T

The lifeguards

The big joke at dinner each night has been about the corn. For some reason, I can NOT get the corn cooked perfectly. Thank goodness we had some yummy BBQ chicken as a back up at this dinner!

The girls favorite beach treat...root beer floats

Carp at Broadway at the Beach. They have to be the most disgusting fish I have EVER seen!!!

I've always wanted a tattoo, so I finally got one. It may be temporary (henna), but I got one & it didn't even hurt!!! Of course, the cute artist named Diego that was holding my foot like a princess might have taken some of the pain away ;)

Shirts made for Risa Rarson's friends!

Megan is known throughout our family for having a freakishly long tongue. She finally got to see why we call her "Gene" while we visited the KISS Coffee Cafe. In case you can't see it in the pic, her tongue is touching the bottom of her chin!

We got the whole world in our hands.

Even Meg couldn't finish this cone!

Fraternal Twins

There are many ways to refer to breasts. Ta Ta's, Boobs, Boobies, Mounds...the list goes on & on. I prefer "twins". Most women have naturally "fraternal" twins (breasts that aren't the same size). We're born that way. It gives us something to complain about...because as you know, we don't have enough complaints already. Well, after my most recent surgery, I'm going to have to accept that my smaller right twin is probably going to be the size that I'll end up with. Too much radiation has destroyed the tissue and left not a whole lot of good tissue to work with. So, this means that the gigantic (it really is HUGE) left twin will be reduced. I've had three surgeries in 7 weeks. And I asked for this!!! Dr. Lyle wants to wait until the right twin is completely healed before he goes in to reduce the left one, so he's giving me an ~2 month break. Wow, I'm so lucky. During that surgery, he'll make nipples...God willing, that will be the end.

Komen NC Triangle Race for the Cure

13th year...1.75 million contributed to finding a cure. Words cannot describe what it meant to walk this race with my family this year. Or the overwhelming feeling of walking through a sea of pink shirts...we are survivors, warriors, sisters and some of the strongest women God has created. I ran into my oncologist which I thought was odd. Of all the women in the Triangle that I've met since the beginning of my journey, I saw not one of them today...but there was Dr. Maha Elkordy. She reached out for a hug and said, "I cannot tell you how proud I am to see you here today." And all I could say as I choked back the tears was, "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, so thank YOU for getting me here today."

WE are the cure!!!

They gave out capes which turned Emily into a BC superhero!

My beuatiful Megan!

Emily, me & Meg walking to the finish!

Emily's 5th Grade Graduation

You did it, Emily! I'm so proud of you & what you've become. You're a terrific student, a friend to everyone you meet & an amazing daughter to me and your daddy. You're now an official middle-schooler. A new school, new friends, new adventures. I can't wait to see how you succeed at Apex Middle School!

The Graduate

The nails had to match the dress!

Steven Halko (retired Hurricane's player) is uncle of one of the graduates and gave a FANTASTIC speech to the 5th graders

Robin Wahl, Weatherstone's principal, presenting Emily with her diploma

Lauren & Emily

Jenan, Amena, Emily & Lauren

I'm on my way...

to the hospital for ANOTHER surgery. The dead tissue will be removed & be replaced with live, healthy tissue. I'm not looking forward to more needles, the OR & being put under again, but hopefully, this is it for a while!

Please keep me in your prayers.

Emily's 11th Birthday Party

Emily's birthday party was a blast! The pictures tell the story, but there was one conversation I heard during dinner that is worth mentioning. At the end of 5th grade, the school separated the boys from the girls so that they can give them the "talk". It had just taken place a few days ago, so it was still fresh in everyone's minds & they were more than open to discussing the "talk" during pizza. Apparently, it was a topic of discussion at the house of one of Emily's friends because the brother of her friend innocently asked his parents, "do boys get commas, too?" A slight mix up with punctuation caused me to spew my drink all over the couch! For the rest of the night, whenever we were talking about boys, we would refer to them as "commas".

I asked them to pose for a picture & this is what I got!

Pizza dinner...before the "talk" conversation

Baby Moon provided another DELICIOUS cake!

All but one of the girls are in chorus this year, so the Happy Birthday song was beautiful!

Make a wish!!!

Pomegrante clay face masks & mani/pedi's were a treat!

5th grade graduation is Tuesday night...I swear I'm going to get this pic in the slideshow

Emily's BFF, Lauren

This pic will be part of Emily's 1st date slideshow

Megan had no idea I took this picture of her...that's how relaxed she was!

Singing & dancing to Miley Cyrus

Finally, it was time for bed...

& Bailey was right in the middle of the sleeping divas.

I Do Declare!

I went to see my surgeon this morning & I was told my new right breast had "declared" itself. Excuse me? Since when did my breast have the ability to authoritatively declare anything? Confused? So was I. Apparently, the "dead" part that didn't survive the surgery has removed itself from the good tissue & is ready to be removed. I knew it was making some sort of statement by the look of it. You know I'm all about posting pictures, but trust me, if you prefer to keep you food in your stomach, you don't want to see the declaration. On Monday morning, I will have outpatient surgery to remove the dead tissue. Dr. Lyle will take some tissue he saved (on the right side near my armpit) & "push" it over to the "dead" area. I don't ask a lot of questions because I trust this man with my...well, with my breasts, so I apologize if I'm not providing the correct medical terms. Luckily, Dr. Lyle has much better things to do with his time than read my blog!

Tonight, Emily will finally be celebrating her 11th birthday with a Spa sleepover complete with facial treatments & mani/pedi's!

Even if it kills me...

The name from one of my favorite Motion City Soundtrack CD's & an appropriate statement when you're facing a brain MRI. "Even if it kills me"...I'm going to get through this!

Today was the day I've been dreading for a week. A ride in the tube from hell. Results that could tell me the cancer has spread to the brain. So, to face the scan & my fears, I brought my MCS CD & had them turn it all the way up. I'm afraid that any hearing I preserved after radiation has now been damaged beyond repair. I'd gladly give up hearing if it meant I wouldn't have to listen to the ridiculously loud noises that an MRI machine makes! Anyway, since I explained to Dr. Elkordy that my last brain MRI was something right out of a horror flick, she searched around for a new, larger & more open MRI tube. She found one. It's a portable & just happened to be at the new Apex hospital this morning. The whole scan was unbelievably calming. I never once felt claustrophobic & it was done before I knew it. The beautiful technician who sensed my nervousness, took me aside & said, "everything looked really good, but you'll still have to wait for your Dr. to call you to confirm this". I hugged her and would NOT let go. We're still waiting to hear from Elkordy, but we're going to purchase some champagne this afternoon. We promised our neighbors that my first drink would be with them...I think they'll know to stop by the front porch when they see the bottle of bubbly & candles tonight!

As a side note, before we walked in to the hospital this morning, T & I read something off of a bracelet that I wear every day. It says..."God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." Thank you God for giving me the serenity I so desperately needed this morning. You are so good.

Kidscan Graduation

There comes a time in your cancer journey when you're given the choice to graduate from the Kidscan group. It's normally a time when you're no longer in the battle & you've completed your treatment. Emily & Megan have decided that they're not at the end of the cancer journey. They didn't graduate tonight, but many others did. It's a beautiful day for those that graduated, but can also be a day to reflect & remember. For some, it means their cancer is gone & they're moving on again with normal life. For others, it means cancer has taken a loved one & they're learning to move on & try to create a normal life.

Kidscan is taking the summer off, but before everyone said their good-bye's, we had a blast bowling!!!

Fran & Paul

The REAL Housewife from New Jersey!

The Graduates

This is probably on my surgeon's list of things I'm NOT supposed to do, but the only damage done was to the pins I knocked down!!!

The crazy teen group

Dallas & Megan