Make the little things the big things every day!!!

I would like to start off this blog by saying how wonderful this week has been!

I have been able to take my Dogs out to the park almost everyday! This is our favorite place to go it is a park in the neighborhood I grew up in. 

   We have been going there to play ball and lounge around in the shade of the big trees for many years it is the place I feel most at peace I love it there. Sometimes on a nice day when I am sitting in the shade of the big tree by the horse pasture, and I can hear the sound of the gentle wind through the rustling of the leaves, smell the fresh cut grass, and see how happy my dogs are to be out playing ball and enjoying the day I think this must be what heaven is like only all my family would be there to.

On weeks where I am able to go several times with my girls is an amazing week! Having gone there consistently for the last few years and growing up in the neighborhood we know most the people and their dogs.
On Thursday we had 6 dogs playing together there was my two, then there was a little poodle called kip and a black lab mix named Zoe, my moms old Chocolate lab Sheila, and lastly is this sweet old puggle that always comes to see us and let's me love on it a bit (I wish I had gotten a picture of all the dogs together next time I will remember to take one for you guys). 

Another thing that gives me great joy about this park is far at the other end are horses we often bring carrots as a surprise treat for them. There are three horses but one in particular that lifts my hart every time I see her she is a dark brown with a black mane and tail, she always can tell when we get there before we even start heading her way that it is us and she walks to the fence and waits for us to come see her I don't know if she can smell us or just remembers what our car looks like but she is always there waiting and it feels my heart with joy!  

 
I wish a simple picture and some descriptive words would allow me to share the special joyful, peaceful feeling i get being there, really though there are not words to express how I feel about this park other then when I am there I am happy and at peace. 
Thursday was also very special because the girls (my dogs) got to meet their new sweet little cousin Jayden. We went for a nice little walk with Stacie, Matt, Jayden, and our Chocolate love Sheila.





















For my birthday Stacie, Matt, and Jayden got me this beautiful engraved Glob that plays "Amazing Grace" it is absolutely beautiful! The engraving reads "For you Sis" and a card with a dog and a cat. It meant so much to me!

Thursday my dad got his new Tent Trailer and man that thing is SO NICE I told my hubby Mike that some day I would love to have one of those so we could just pack up on weekends with the dogs and go.

Thursday night our dear friends Lindsay and Scott came over for dinner and we were able to catch up and even played on the photo booth app on my iPad! :)

Tonight me and Mike splurged and went out to dinner at Santa Monica Pizza& Pasta Co.
There we saw my best friends (AND MY friend) sister Kandis and her cute family! 

Kandis is an amazing photographer (she is on FaceBook as wish photography) and has offered to do family photos for Me and Mike with our two dogs as a birthday present!!!!!!!! I am beyond excited!!!!! We do not have any formal photos other then our wedding and I seriously can't wait! If you are in the market for a photographer look up her stuff on Facebook she is extremely talented and is such a kind caring person I seriously can not say enough good things about her work I posted a few pictures she has done which was so hard only picking a few just because they are all so so good! Go check it out for your self! This first one is of the beautiful  Kandis.

This is my beautiful best-ist friend Shyleen when she was pregnant with her little boy Sterling.

 

                     

Back to the pizza place if you have never been to Santa Monica GO!!! It is SO good!!! Get the garlic cheesy bread for sure! Mike got the Pepperoni sausage Pizza, and I got one with Alfredo sauce, feta cheese, roasted garlic and sin dried tomatoes with spinach and artichokes, it was amazing!!!! The drinks were HUGE!!!!!! Biggest cups I have ever seen in a restaurant!!!!

I know many of you are following my blog to keep up on my health and I am happy to tell you all that other then a little swelling in my right leg from the lymphedema that causes some pain I have been doing really well. I feel very blessed.
For those of you who are not familiar with lymphedema, Lymphatic obstruction is a blockage of the lymph vessels that drain fluid from tissues throughout the body and allow immune cells to travel where they are needed. Lymphatic obstruction may cause lymphedema, which means swelling due to a blockage of the lymph passages.

They are still in the process of trying to get me approved through insurance for the chemo pill it is called Votrient it is a pill I will take 4 times a day. The nice thing about this round of chemo is that this chemo pill attacks the enzymes so what does this mean?... For me this means almost no side effects! No lost hair, no nausea, or dizziness, no vomiting, no anemia. The only side effects it has been shown to cause occasionally is diarrhea and some mouth sores compared to the previous symptoms this is a walk in the park.
I will use this pill to control the growth of the tumors in my lungs and (although very unlikely) shrink them. I will use this till the Sarcoma no longer responds to it and starts growing again, in which case we will have a few options we can try, or until new treatment is discovered that addresses aggressive Sarcomas and helps slow or possibly even kill the cancer.
It is frustrating waiting for insurance to get started. I like to joke and say I am going to die before they approve it, a morbid joke I know please don't take offense but I don't see my situation as grim and I like to kid around and make light heavy things by adding my happy joking personality. It is irritating though that its been over a month and they are still trying to get it approved despite my constant calls to follow up.

Thank You for all of you that follow this blog! Keep me in your prayers and believe in miracles! I know I am going to be okay without a shadow of a doubt because of Philippians 4:6, 7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus". and also Jeremiah 29:11"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".

For those of you reading this I want you to know how happy and blessed my life is because of all of you! I don't view my life as a struggle of hardships but as an amazing learning lesion! Yes it can be overwhelming to have a Dr who deals with and sees how this cancer works to give you a timeline for your life, but really the way I see it is I am just living life with a little more information then some get in life, you could get in a car tomorrow and your time may come so I want you all to know how important and wonderful are life's can be!

Make the little things the big things Every day!!!!

Happiness for me is......