Well it looks like the last time I blogged anything was 6 years ago. Holy cow! Time has flown by and life has been crazy! Where do I start?

 Well, obviously the kids have all grown. Jaycen and Callie are both in college now. Tyler is a senior in high school. We never thought we'd see these days come and now they are here and we can't imagine how it all happened so fast.
 
 Derek still works for EAC. He loves his job there and we are so fortunate that he is blessed with such an amazing job and the gift he has for computers and technology. Our kids are blessed to be able to go to school there and have a break in tuition also. Otherwise, we would surely be struggling to see two of them and soon to be three through college.

  I am still working at the long term care home as a registered nurse. I work in the dementia unit. It is a wonderful and rewarding job that I love, but it can be very stressful and mentally exhausting as well. I absolutely relish my time off and try to make the most of it.

 The last few years of our lives have been pretty crazy with kids graduating, finding their first jobs, and beginning their own ventures into adulthood. We have also struggled with health issues. Mostly me. In 2014, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately we caught it early and it was limited to the right breast and one lymph node on the right side. I underwent a full mastectomy on both sides, as I was told it may likely return if I were to only have a lumpectomy. It was a tough decision, but I decided to nip it in the bud and save myself the worry of it returning later on. After the mastectomy, I underwent several rounds of chemo for a few months. This entailed another surgical procedure to place a chemo port because my veins are like little, limp noodles and are not easy to get IV's into. After several rounds of chemo, I was given a clean bill of health. The chemo was very hard on my body. I was very sick after each round and spent weeks sleeping on our couch because I couldn't rest in bed comfortably after the surgeries. I have a lot of lasting effects from the chemo and I continue to take meds to prevent the cancer from returning elsewhere in my body. Those meds also come with some uncomfortable side effects as well, but overall, I'm doing well. About 5 months after finishing chemo, I attempted breast reconstruction with implants. Unfortunately, that did not go as well as we hoped for. I had a bad infection following the surgery and they had to be removed. I was very sick for an additional 2 months while recovering from the infection. I am a candidate to try another type of reconstructive surgery, but after all I have been through, I just can't quite decide if I'm willing to risk my regained health to do it all again.
  This year, I had to go in and get a complete hysterectomy as I was at risk for uterine cancer and I had been having some issues with pain in my side which was likely due to ovarian cysts. That was another 6 weeks off. I'm hoping that I'm running out of things to remove and that we   can get through a year or two with better health.
  I am fortunate to have gone through all this and survived and have regained my health. I am also very lucky to have had a very supportive family and friends. Derek was amazing in taking care of me everyday and still working to provide for our family. The kids handled it all very well. We had hoped to reassure them that all would be well and that they would continue to have as normal of a life as possible throughout all this and I think they did. If they were worried or scared, they didn't show it at all. They were very strong throughout the ordeal.
  I am back to work full time. Derek has never stopped. The kids all lead their own busy lives too. We all have very busy schedules, however, I think we all definitely have new found perspective on what is really important and taking time to relax and enjoy our time here in this crazy world.
  Sending all our love and wishing everyone a blessed life.