(From Jeff)
It is April 28.
According to the phone calls and cards that I’ve received today, it’s my birthday. Now, before you rush out and buy me a Starbucks gift card or small pony, let me suggest instead that as a gift to me, you focus your energies on another date looming on the horizon. Wednesday, May 2. This is the day Amy goes in for the big MRI, the one that will show us what’s going on in her brain, the one that will reveal if six weeks of chemo and radiation have improved her situation. The picture will be snapped at 10 AM. At 11:15, we’ll be meeting with the neurosurgeon to discuss the results.
Specifically, here’s what we’d like you to pray for:
*the eradication of all cancer cells;
*the eradication of all cancer cells;
*strength for Amy and I to trust in God, regardless of the outcome of the MRI;
*and finally, the eradication of all cancer cells.
We’re a little nervous. There’s been some renewed wrestling with mortality. But put it this way: it hasn’t stopped us from laughing very hard at “The Office,” or gotten in my way of cooking up crazy “Lost” theories, or doing yard work as a family. Life goes on. Clearly, the issue of what life looks like for us could undergo some tweaking and modifying on Wednesday. But we’re content to table the deliberation and conversation until that time.
And so… I work. I’m back in the office, wrapping up a cover story that will come out next week. Amy and the kids have done well adjusting back to “the old way of doing things.” Ben is getting over another ear infection. Amy has finally beaten back a cold that included a horrible, hacking cough that last for two weeks. There was some speculation that the cough was a side effect of the chemo; nobody’s sure. But I do know that I have a cold right now. Happy Birthday to me! Ah, but the least of our worries, to be sure.
We celebrated the end of Amy’s chemo/radiation by taking the kids to the La Brea Tar Pits. I’m not sure how we’ll celebrate the good news we’re confident we’ll receive on Wednesday, but I’ll make sure you’re all part of it by immediately asking Mike to post something on the blog. And while we’re at it: thank you, brother, for giving me the space.
We love you and thank you for your prayers and support.
We’ll talk on Wednesday.Jeff and Amy
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Happy Birthday Jeff
Just a quick "shout out" to my brother Jeff on his Birthday. Happy Birthday Bro!
Play Ball!!
It's official, T-ball is in full swing. We had our 2nd game of the year today and the kids are doing great. Normally games end in a tie, with everyone batting and everyone scoring (no outs), but we won today for sure :-)...we had 10 players and they only at 7!
So far this year has been great. We have a lot of returners so we are not dealing with the typical T-ball issues of playing in the dirt, swarming the ball in the outfield, etc. In fact, today we started coach pitch and almost all 10 kids hit the coach pitch!
Kenzie is loving T-ball as well. Although she isnt playing, she is definately part of the team. As you can see below, she has picked up Maddie's jersey and hat from last year and is always asking to go to T-ball.
So far this year has been great. We have a lot of returners so we are not dealing with the typical T-ball issues of playing in the dirt, swarming the ball in the outfield, etc. In fact, today we started coach pitch and almost all 10 kids hit the coach pitch!
Kenzie is loving T-ball as well. Although she isnt playing, she is definately part of the team. As you can see below, she has picked up Maddie's jersey and hat from last year and is always asking to go to T-ball.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Golden Ticket Birthday
Today was Maddie's "friend" party day. We had 10 5-6 year old girls and 1 boy packed into two suburbans and we headed out for the Wonka-like birthday party. Earlier in the year we bought a group tour of the new Theo Chocolate Factory and thought it would be a great idea for Maddie's Party. All the kids got to our house between 3:30 and 4 and we got to the factory at 4:30. Here is the group pic:
And some more in our web album:
It was a very educational tour and every kid had plenty of samples of all their great chocolates. After the tour we packed all the kids back into the car and crossed the Fremont bridge to go to Zeeks pizza. When we walked in our large Cheese and large Peperoni pizza was almost coming out of the oven. The group gobbled down pizza and root beer, followed by mini Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream cups.
With parents due back to our house at 7pm and it being 6:30, we had to hustle to load the kids back into the cars and head home. We finally made it back at 7:10 and had a group of parents standing on the sidewalk in front of our house! Almost everyone stuck around for a quick opening of presents.
Maddie had a very fun and busy day! More to come tomorrow as the b-day weekend continues....
And some more in our web album:
 |
| Wonka Party |
It was a very educational tour and every kid had plenty of samples of all their great chocolates. After the tour we packed all the kids back into the car and crossed the Fremont bridge to go to Zeeks pizza. When we walked in our large Cheese and large Peperoni pizza was almost coming out of the oven. The group gobbled down pizza and root beer, followed by mini Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream cups.
With parents due back to our house at 7pm and it being 6:30, we had to hustle to load the kids back into the cars and head home. We finally made it back at 7:10 and had a group of parents standing on the sidewalk in front of our house! Almost everyone stuck around for a quick opening of presents.
Maddie had a very fun and busy day! More to come tomorrow as the b-day weekend continues....
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Maddie Turns 6!
April 19th, 2001...It seems like just yesterday when we drove into Seattle from our house in Renton for our scheduled induction. It was our first child birth experience and we had no idea what to expect. 10 hours later Madison Lynn Jensen joined us and we are blessed to have her in our lives.
Today started with singing Happy Birthday to Maddie and a candle in her birthday donut. Before heading to school, she had happy birthday calls from the Nanas and Papas. At school, it was her day. They do a a lot of fun activities for birthdays, which ends with treats. Steph did a a great job on some Cocoa Rice Krispy treats. They almost didnt make it to school. Here is a picture of her creative creation.
Today started with singing Happy Birthday to Maddie and a candle in her birthday donut. Before heading to school, she had happy birthday calls from the Nanas and Papas. At school, it was her day. They do a a lot of fun activities for birthdays, which ends with treats. Steph did a a great job on some Cocoa Rice Krispy treats. They almost didnt make it to school. Here is a picture of her creative creation.
Here are a few picture from here day at school.
After school, Steph, Maddie and Kenzie picked me up from work and we headed to Maddie's favorite restaurant....The Old Spaghetti Factory. She might be a picky eater, but when it comes to the OSF, she will gobble up Mac N'Cheese, bread, and of course the Spumoni Ice cream. They sang Happy Birthday to her and she loved it.
I think she had a exciting day. Her extended birthday continues tomorrow with a Kids party, then another party on Saturday (after T-ball)...i think by Sunday we will be partied out :-)
Happy Birthday Maddie...We love you!
Bus woes
After two days of hellish bus rides, I can say for sure that I am ready for the water taxi. Don't get me wrong the convienence of the bus given where I work is awesome, but it can get to you. Yesterday I had "the opportunity" to sit next to a wonderfully smelling person, then today traffic was backed all the way up into the junction. To pile it on, the bus in front of us broke down so we we're packed like sardines. So my 15-20 min ride turned into 40.
Oh well it could be worse....I could be sitting in my car burning the 3.15 gallon of gas. Anyway, the water taxi starts a week from Monday and will be a nice change for the spring and summer months. Have a good day.
P.S. - today is little maddie's big 6th birthday!!! We will post a blog later on her day.
--------------------
Sent via blackberry
Oh well it could be worse....I could be sitting in my car burning the 3.15 gallon of gas. Anyway, the water taxi starts a week from Monday and will be a nice change for the spring and summer months. Have a good day.
P.S. - today is little maddie's big 6th birthday!!! We will post a blog later on her day.
--------------------
Sent via blackberry
Monday, April 16, 2007
Spring Break
Sorry for the posting drought. We had a busy couple weeks and are finally settling into a "routine" again. A couple weeks ago Makenzie came down with a little bug and it took her a few days to shake it off. We were gearing up for our spring break trip so we were a bit worried that she wouldn't be herself. However by the time we took off, she was near 100%. We left Friday after Maddie was out of school and made the trek to Gearhart, OR. Steph and family have been going for nearly 30 years. We have been going with our family for a number of year now too. The only gap was when Maddie was born and we were due right around Easter.
This year we had about 14 friends and family for Friday night, including my parents for the first time. Saturday a few had to leave, but we still had around 12 for Easter morning. The weather is always a crap shoot, but we really got lucky. We thought we were going to get really lucky as on our way down it was over 80 degrees. However, it cooled down to around 60 at the beach, but it was still sunny. There were period of rain at night, but during the day the wind seemed to blow out all the bad stuff.
After all the family left, we decided to stick around for a few extra days and enjoy some time away. Sunday night and most of Monday it was just us. We drove down to Cannon beach, visited Seaside, and just had a good time. The best part was probably just enjoying a movie and some quiet time.
Here are some photos:
Come Monday afternoon, the Doerr family joined us and we had a great time! We hustled down to the beach that night after they arrived following an awesome sunset. The kids were running into the water, Josie was tearing up Grant's football and I was snapping pictures. On Tuesday, Cary and I met up with Dave and his brother in-law Gary for a round of golf at the Highlands. It is a cool little course just north of Gearhart that is always in great shape and can be played in less than 2 hours. Dan is the guy in the pro shop and always make me laugh. They have a massive amount of golf equipment and this year I finally noted the web address so check it out http://www.discountdansgolf.com/
When we returned from gold the ladies ventured out to "the greatest" scrap booking store (according to Steph). The weather was great, so the Doerr kids and Maddie went to the beach with Cary while I stayed at the beach house with Kenzie while she napped. That night we stayed up until the wee hours of the morning playing Dominos...yes Dominos. Gavin taught me during the trip :-)
The week ended up for us with a great day in Seaside on Wednesday before we headed home in the afternoon. Cary and Julia stayed an extra couple days. We all had a great time..From the time with all the family, to just our family, to time with our great friends.
This year we had about 14 friends and family for Friday night, including my parents for the first time. Saturday a few had to leave, but we still had around 12 for Easter morning. The weather is always a crap shoot, but we really got lucky. We thought we were going to get really lucky as on our way down it was over 80 degrees. However, it cooled down to around 60 at the beach, but it was still sunny. There were period of rain at night, but during the day the wind seemed to blow out all the bad stuff.
After all the family left, we decided to stick around for a few extra days and enjoy some time away. Sunday night and most of Monday it was just us. We drove down to Cannon beach, visited Seaside, and just had a good time. The best part was probably just enjoying a movie and some quiet time.
Here are some photos:
 |
| Beach Trip - 2007 |
Come Monday afternoon, the Doerr family joined us and we had a great time! We hustled down to the beach that night after they arrived following an awesome sunset. The kids were running into the water, Josie was tearing up Grant's football and I was snapping pictures. On Tuesday, Cary and I met up with Dave and his brother in-law Gary for a round of golf at the Highlands. It is a cool little course just north of Gearhart that is always in great shape and can be played in less than 2 hours. Dan is the guy in the pro shop and always make me laugh. They have a massive amount of golf equipment and this year I finally noted the web address so check it out http://www.discountdansgolf.com/
When we returned from gold the ladies ventured out to "the greatest" scrap booking store (according to Steph). The weather was great, so the Doerr kids and Maddie went to the beach with Cary while I stayed at the beach house with Kenzie while she napped. That night we stayed up until the wee hours of the morning playing Dominos...yes Dominos. Gavin taught me during the trip :-)
The week ended up for us with a great day in Seaside on Wednesday before we headed home in the afternoon. Cary and Julia stayed an extra couple days. We all had a great time..From the time with all the family, to just our family, to time with our great friends.
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