Cancer

I HATE CANCER!!!!!!!

Why do those we love have to be affected by this terrible disease. It's so hard not to let this demon rule your life. Then if matters aren't bad enough we have to throw in the treatment. Chemo - ugh. Dad is starting to experience side effects again from the chemo. I'm trying hard to be positive to help him get through this, but some days its just really hard to focus on the good. Thank goodness for all my supportive friends that have listened to me over the past year.....I honestly don't know how I would get through it if I didn't have someone to tell! I HATE CANCER - I HATE CHEMO.

Baby Tripp

We have a new baby! Tripp Elliott Davis was born Saturday morning at 8:45 am 6 lbs 10 oz and 19 3/4 long. He such a sweet little baby. He spent the first two days in the NICU with a slight little lung problem but yesterday he got moved to the regular nursery. I visited yesterday afternoon and got to hold him for about an hour. It was so awesome. He just makes your heart melt he's so cute. He may be grandbaby #8, but everyone it still just a special and precious as the first one. They all hold a special place in Nana's heart.....It's so funny because I can remember when I first became a Nana - I didn't really think I was old enough to be a grandma and I didn't really think I was ready for it either. But from the first minute that I held Dakota, our first grandchild, everything changed. Now I can't imagine not being Nana. Its such a great feeling! I can't wait to see how many more I end up with - I still have 3 girls that haven't even started having babies yet!

Catch up

Well obviously I haven't posted in A WHILE!!!! No way to catch up now other than to just jump in.
Here's the latest -

1. We're having grandbaby #8 this Saturday! Tripp Elliott Davis will be born via c-section this Saturday morning. I'm so excited for Jed and Petra and really all of us......Send all your thoughts and prayers our way please.

2. We got a new puppy this past weekend for Lyn's birthday. She's an 8 week old boxer, fawn with white and black markings. Her name is Maggie May. She's so cute and sweet. We are still working on adjusting to new puppy life and Layla is still wondering what the heck happened to her little world of being "in charge" and having all the attention. She's beginning to adjust to us and I think things are going to be just fine.

3. This coming Friday Lyn and I will be attending the Jeff Dunham show. So excited about that - if you've never seen him, he is hilarious! My favorites are Achmed the dead terriorist and Walter of course. Should be a fun nite.

4. Mom's day coming up this weekend too.....I'm looking forward to spending time with my kiddos (last year they planned a really fun day for me) so we'll see if this year lives up to that. :)
I will also be reflecting on time that I had with my Mom while she was on this earth. I still miss her terribly and think of her every day.

4. Next weekend is a big weekend. On Friday our team "Night Owls" will be walking in the Annual Relay for Life hosted by the American Cancer Society. This walk not only represents the struggle my family has gone through the past 3 years starting with my Mom's diagnosis of Lung Cancer in 2005 to my Dad's current fight against the disease, but it also is a celebration of sorts in the fact that there are survivors out there - my Dad being one of them - this year marks the 12th year of his survival over colon cancer. It's truly a special night. I'm collecting donations for our team if anyone would like to donate.

5. Then on saturday - Kristen and Sebastian are getting married! yeah for them - even though I've been married for 15 years, they are truly an inspiration for me. I love the way that I see them communicate about each other and to each other.

6. Next Sunday - wow - don't think I have anything planned yet. hmmmmmmmmmmm

anyway - that's a quick catch up - hope everyone is doing fine - we'll talk again soon. take care....D

Viva Las Vegas

I am so tired - but it was so worth it. Last week my brother and I took Dad to Las Vegas for his very first time. The excitement started on Monday of last week when Dad announced that he was already packed and ready to go - keep in mind we weren't leaving until Wednesday afternoon! So after several trips to the store to make sure we had everything we needed before we traveled, Wednesday finally arrived and we were ready to leave. We arrived at the airport 2 hours prior to our flight just to make sure we had plenty of time to get through security without rushing. Dad has not traveled since all of the security stuff has been put in place, so everything was new to him. We were prepared though - velcro shoes for easy off and on, plastic baggie stuffed with all of our 3 oz bottles and one carry on bag. What we didn't prepare for or even know about was that he was not supposed to go through the metal detector with his medi-port that he has, so of course, the lights flashed red and the buzzer went off. After a small sidestep and pat down, everything was cool and we were on our way......only to find out that our flight was delayed for an hour. Nevertheless, we had a great flight, Dad had a window seat and was able to see the lights of Vegas when we flew into the airport.

Thursday morning - up bright and early - quick breakfast without our coupons that we got for signing up for the players club - oh yea - and we were ready for a full day of sight seeing and gambling of course. We were only into our first full day and Dad was already tired from the walkng. I was worried about how we could possibly see the strip with him trying to walk the whole way. Much to my surprise though - we were able to rent a wheelchair for the entire trip for only $30. This was the best $30 we lost the whole time we were there! We walked the strip up and down - I was so exhausted by the end of the day. We saw "everything" and he loved every minute even the moment he decided to have his picture taken hugging the "crazy girls" statues at the Riviera......for those of you that don't know, this statue is of girls naked butts with a sign saying "No ifs, ands or XXXXX". He was so cute.

Friday - more sights to see and more gambling - big time this time - He won $180 bucks playing roulette. His new favorite game. Friday night he was completely worn out, went to bed early which left me and my brother some time to play some craps - we won a little money before we switched over to the slots where I managed to hit the mystery bonus jackpot and pulled $184 from a penny machine! Not bad!

Saturday was time to go home - it seemed like it all went so fast - we were very tired though and ready to get home - we truly had the time of our life with Dad. It was so fun to see the excitement on his face and to see him laugh and "Play". He hasn't done that in a while!

Next week brings another new phase in our lives. Dad starts his chemo again and we are hoping and praying for the best. I'm just so glad that we had the chance while he was feeling well enough to take the trip. Even though at times it was a whipping, it was a trip that I wouldn't have traded for the world and definitely one that I will never forget.

Weekend Update

Lyn picked the kids up Friday afternoon on his way home to stay the night with us– we decided to go to our favorite and their favorite place…Asahi Teppenyaki – Fire Food as Deegan likes to call it…..We love this place. We had our favorite chef Hamburg and even did a special “fire” show for Deegan! But I gotta tell ya – I think we might have to frequent a little less often……the prices have gone up and the portions have gone down…..$232 later……it was still a great time and the kids enjoyed it as usual.

Saturday afternoon – Lyn and Colin headed off to the Stars game (tickets compliments of Carrie and Daniel!). They had a fantastic time getting in some much needed grandpa/grandson bonding time and doing “boy” things. Back at home – Ashley and I decided to take Cheyenne, Deegan and Shelby to the movie. If you haven’t seen “Hotel for Dogs”…..GO! It was a mixture of emotions, a few tears, lots of laughs and just a really good time!

Saturday night – we met Michael and Sandi at Hook Line and Sinker to chow down on the best catfish in the city and to return the kids.

Sunday – Lyn and I were exhausted! We’re just not used to having little kids around and it just wears us out! We did go to Dakota’s early volleyball tournament, but after that we laid around all afternoon and I think we even both took a nap!

MLK Day – what a great day – Lyn had to work, which left me time alone to do what I wanted which was to CLEAN my house! I really hadn’t had a chance to get caught up since the holidays were over, so it was so nice to be able to mop my floors, vacuum, dust, everything! Got it all done with some free time to spare. All in all it was a fantastic weekend!