Benson's Buzz

My Cancer Blog

2010-10-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

So, a few weeks ago I decided to start a blog writing down specific things having to do with my cancer. Well, a few days later I found out I would need to start chemotherapy. So it worked out well that I had already a place to document this journey. I know when I am concerned about a procedure I always GOOGLE it to see what to expect. I always appreciate when others have documented their experience with cancer.

Even though I originally started this blog with the idea of keeping it to myself for a while, I think the timing is actually perfect for me to share it. Not only will it be there if someone is diagnosed in the future and finds the info helpful, but it's a wonderful way to share with my friends and family exactly what is going on with me.

To read my blog click HERE.

Starting the summer off in UTAH!

2010-06-16T22:57:00.001-07:00

We had a chance to go to Utah for the week. It's something the kids look forward to as soon as school is out; they ♥ to see cousins, and they ♥ to stay at Grammie and Grandpa's house.

We always have so much fun in Utah....

And this trip was no exception!

Here is a little update of what has been going on around here......

Lauren tried out for Cheer and made it!

Josh and "his men" have been protecting our country!

(( at ease, men ))
Hope sleeping with Daddy in Utah
Josh & Jared fishing in Grammie's hot tub

( I think I saw a rainbow trout in there.....mighta just been a plastic fishy)
Hope spent hours fishing in the hot tub...she learned it from those boys!
Grammie with some grand kids on her "Mother's Day Swing"
Aunt Amy: you're such a good Aunt
Lauren, Josh & Jake got out of the pool to run through the baby sprinkler :)
Uncle Chris with Katelynn swimming
Hailee and Jared working on their tan (or trying to get warm)
Aunt Tashia with Katelynn & Hope. Another wonderful Aunt!

I think this summer is going to be ~~good~~ GREAT!!!

Ya'll Ready for this ?

2010-04-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

Wow! My last post was Christmastime. I guess I'm due for an update.

I'm in Utah right now for my cousin Shaylynn's wedding. Shay was the flower girl at my wedding almost 17 years ago. She was 4 years old at my wedding. As we all posed for a picture at her wedding I thought back to my wedding day. During the pictures, the photographer would set up the picture and then just before he took the picture a little voice (Shay's) would say.."cheese". I can hear it on my wedding video, and it is so cute. So last night as I posed for a family picture at Shay's wedding I couldn't help myself. Right before the photographer took the picture..I said "cheese" (real quiet).

As for the months of Jan - April, a lot has been going on. We've been busy as usual. When I get back home, I will download the pic's to go along with this post. Some things I'm planning on posting about are

* Spring break

* Josh's 9th birthday parties (yes, I said parties...plural)

* Easter

* Shay's wedding

The Winter blah's are just about over. I'm ready for a new season. Bring on the sunshine!
Bring on an updated blog! :)

Benson Family Christmas Letter

2009-12-23T13:15:00.000-08:00

This year I did not do a Christmas letter. But then I realized how much I like hearing about how everyone else's year has been, and I decided to take a few minutes and write one. So here goes:

Benson Family Christmas Letter

This year has gone by really fast

All our expectations have been well surpassed

Larry and Jen have been really quite busy

Hope has started the "2 year old tizzy"!

Lauren and Josh have been doing so well

They're growing up fast, I'm sure you can tell.

Lauren is 11 going on 20

Aeorpostale clothes...she has plenty!

Lauren loves to shop & shop & shop

And Josh is full of energy and goes non-stop.

He's eight this year and a wonderful boy,

He brings our family so much joy!

He was baptized this year by his Dad.

He played football..yes tackle might I add.

He loves to play with Lego's and loves to read.

His favorite is Captain Underpants if you can believe.

Hope..well Hope, she is two

You just never know what she's going to do.

She's absolutely adorable, cute as can be.

We just know in our family is where she was meant to be!

She's talking non-stop, we understand most.

She is really smart..I don't mean to boast.

She loves Strawberry Shortcake and Winnie-the Pooh

She loves to say her colors, her favorite is blue.

Jen has been healthy and feeling so good

Someone's looking out for me, I knew that they would.

This years CAT scans have been great; my doctor is amazed

That I continue year after year and seem unfazed.

I just try to do my best day after day

and as for the cancer...I continue to pray!

I am thankful and humbled by my family and friends

The love I have felt from you knows no end.

Larry is amazing, and this is no lie!

He has no limits...well, maybe the sky.

He's still with Sutherlands, going on 20 years

It may be 20 more, or so it appears.

He's the go-to guy for all our friends

His home improvement knowledge never ends.

He's out of the bishopric, time for a break

Now on the High Council, for goodness sake.

It's been a great year for us, we feel really blessed.

We're ready for a New Year, I must confess.

We hope your Christmas is Merry and Bright.

And your New Year is also "outta sight"!!

Three Black Shoes

2009-11-01T13:58:00.001-08:00

Today I looked down at my kitchen floor and saw 3 pairs of black shoes. All 3 had little black bows on the toes. One pair was on my feet and had high heels. Once pair was on Lauren's feet and were black ballet flats. The 3rd pair were on Hope. They were also little black ballet flats with a strap across the top. I never grew up with a sister. I always asked my mom for a sister, and she always said.."Go ask your dad". I think we got a dog instead. But this morning as I looked at all the little black shoes, I thought how lucky I am to have little girls growing up in my house. Both are my girls are so sweet, and adore each other. And I adore them. I never did have a sister, and that's OK. I'm loving every minute of raising sisters.

Our Scarrrrrrry porch.....

2009-09-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

OK, I guess it didn't end up that scary. Lauren and Josh wanted to make our porch scary for Halloween this year. Last night was our "family decorate the porch night". We went and bought some bales of straw, and then we went to Family Dollar and picked out some decor. Even though the kids picked out tombstones, they didn't look so scary :) And Lauren said..."Really, who's going to be buried on top of a bale of straw?"
But when we turned on the motion detected howling ghost, Hope ran inside as fast as she could. So I said, "There you go...someone was scared!" Mission accomplished.

Building Hope for a Cure

2009-08-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

On July 31st I had the privilege of participating in a American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Our team name was "Building Hope for a Cure". To start off our fundraising, Larry's work (Sutherland Lumber) made a very generous donation to our team. So we decided to base our team name around "building". Larry built a frame of a house that said the word "HOPE" inside to display at our camp.

We also had a lot of support from my mom's work (Swire Coca-Cola) in Salt Lake and Grand Junction. They donated water to our team. We even had a group drive up from Salt Lake to participate on our team.

We started the walk at 6pm. It started with a "Survivor's Walk" 9or as I call it...the purple shirts". I was honored to walk with a good friend, Tina Hart, who is a cancer survivor as well.

After that, all the teams started the 12 hour walk. I was amazed at how long some of the people actually stayed on the track. it meant so much to me to have their support, but to see them out there all hours of the night really touched my heart.

At around 9pm there was a Luminaria Ceremony where bags were purchased and designed to honor or in memory of those touched by cancer. Lauren was our official bag decorator. She made a very cute bag for me. She also made a bag for my Dad (Grandpa Kelly) and Larry's Grandma (GG). She also decorated a couple of bags for other friends. One of the bags was for my friend Michelle, who has a friend that lost her sweet little boy to cancer last year. It was so touching as the names were read and the bags were lit to light the track throughout the evening.

I could not have asked for a better group to participate with, not to mention all of the many, many donations made to my team by wonderful friends and family. It does go to a wonderful cause..the cure for cancer. Something I plan to see in my lifetime!

First Day of School

2009-08-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't believe it's finally here...My baby's last year of Elementary School. Her first day of Kindergarten is still fresh on my mind, and here she is the "big dog" of elementary school. And Josh is going into 3rd grade. Wow! Time flies too fast.

When I woke up at 7:30am, Lauren had already showered and was ready to head out the door to school (they leave at about 8:40am). I could tell she was excited to get back and see her friends. Josh was excited as well. I made my "traditional" 1st day of school breakfast. And then they headed out the door. I was sad to see them go, I love having them home for the summer. But my sadness did not compare to the sadness another little friend in the house was feeling. Hope was so sad to see her "guys" (as she calls them) leave for school. But we went out to wait for them when school was over, and she was thrilled to see them heading back home (and so was I)!

My update is Out-of-Date

2009-08-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

So, this will be a long update, because I think I took the summer off. :) Our summer seemed very short for some reason, and school starts tomorrow for the kids, so I should be able to keep up a little better.

We went to Utah for a week this summer. We were able to go see Stadium of Fire at BYU. The Jonas Brothers (or as Lauren calls them..The JoBros's) were in concert. We had really good seats in the stadium , but I still snuck her down on the field, almost up to the front row so she could get a better look. She had a blast. Josh's favorite part was the military flyover at the very beginning. He thought that was awesome.

We also went to Lagoon. Hope was able to ride a lot of the little kiddies rides with her brother or her cousins. She loved it.

We also went to a new water park in Draper called KowaBunga Bay. It was another very fun day.

When I got back from Utah, I was feeling very run down. I talked to my Oncologist about it, and she moved my September CAT scan up to July. She said the cancer is stable, my lymph nodes have not grown any, so that was good to hear. She did think I might want to consider a round of Rituxin therapy. It is an immunotherapy, and is not as harsh on your system as chemotherapy. She said it would shrink all my lymph nodes down, and could help with some of the symptoms I've been having. The down side is, it would be a 2 year treatment. It is a 4 hour IV drip once a week for a month. And then 2 months off. I'm just not sure I'm ready to commit to that yet. The last month I've actually felt great. So I'm going to wait until my follow up appt in September to discuss that option. Not sure I'm mentally ready for any treatment. I'm liking this "watch & wait" because it allows to me to live a normal life. But I'm not opposed to the treatment if I start to feel like the symptoms are getting worse. I still take it one day at a time! And so far...the days have been pretty darn great!

Summer Splashin'

2009-06-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

Hope has been so excited to go swimming, but the pool just hasn't warmed up enough this year. We did get one really hot day and decided to let her try it out. She LOVED putting on her new swimsuit. She LOVED kicking her feet in the water. She LOVED getting in the pool...but only for a few minutes. It really isn't very warm yet. I think she'll really LOVE swimming, when the water gets up to 85 degrees. We're still waiting for those "hot" summer days...hopefully they'll be here soon. I feel like we're still waiting for summer to start. Either way...we're having FUN!!

No Longer my Friend....

2009-05-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

Here's WHO:

Here's WHAT:

And..Here's the CAUSE:

I guess doorknobs no longer stop her.

ps: You can tell Hope is a 3rd kid. If my first kid did something like this I would be disinfecting the entire area. Clorox-ing the shower and throwing away the shampoo bottle.

With the 3rd kid, I just put the shampoo bottle back, hoping it would get rinsed off well after the next person takes a shower, hoping it's not me. :)

2 Busy Days for 28 Relaxed Ones...Good trade off!

2009-05-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

So, here's how it started. I've done this crazy thing before. I've even gone to places that specialize in this kind of thing. I do it to make my life easier. But it's been a loooong time since I've had the motivation. But I was just one Taco Bell away from my limit. So I decided to muster up the motivation to do it again. The "thing" I'm referring to is MASS COOKING!!!

It takes a little planning, but in the end it's definitely worth it. I will post what I made, and you can comment if you would like a specific recipe. I make very simple meals. I just pre-make them and freeze them to cut down on cooking time every night. So here's what I did:

First I made a menu. I picked items we normally eat, and then some new recipes to try. I GOOGLED "Once a month cooking recipes" and searched for some that looked good. THIS is one of my favorite sites for recipes.

Next I took my shopping list to SAM'S & WAL-MART. At Sam's I bought a package of disposable pans (30 pack) and I also bought all of my meat. 3 big packs of ground beef, one big back of chicken breasts, a package of 2 roasts and a package of boneless ribs. It was $75.00 for all that. And then I bought the "other" ingred's at WAL-MART at spent about $45.00. So it's not that expensive considering the amount of food. I've gone to Supper Solutions before and made 12 very small dinners for about $150.00. So it's much more cost effective to do it on your own.

On the first day, I prepared all the beef dinners. I cut the roasts up into 4 small roasts. Then I browned the 2 packages of ground beef. And then I made the rest of the beef dinners.

The second day I prepared the chicken dinners. I baked the chicken breasts, and then chopped them up in the food processor ( I'll post the items I actually made below). But then I also froze a lot of ground beef and ground chicken to make in future recipes. Cuts the prep time in half.

These are the recipes I made. Let me know if you decide to try it. It really frees up a lot of my time. Good luck! :)

MY MENU

Spaghetti sauce x 4

lasagna

cheeseburgers 'n' fries casserole x 2

meatloaf x 2

roast x 4

Poppy Seed chicken

Chicken & Rice burritos ( I made 15)

BBQ Chicken (just put some breasts in a baggie w/ BBQ sauce)

BBQ Ribs (same thing as the chicken)

Chicken Pot Pie x 2

Plus I have 5 or 6 packages of pre-cooked ground beef, and 2 of cooked chicken for quick dinners like tacos, etc.

Then, in the morning you just take out what you want to have for dinner and let it defrost in the fridge all day. Then throw in the oven that night. VOILA

It's the big ONE EIGHT

2009-05-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

....that's eighteen months old. I just can't believe how much change takes place in such a short amount of time! I'm trying to savor every moment, because I know before too long I'll wish we were back here.

One Year Makes a HUGE difference

2009-05-19T19:54:00.001-07:00

In May we have a festival called "Mike the Headless Chicken Festival". The festival is actually named after a true story. A farmer in Fruita in the 1940's cut off the head of a chicken to have for dinner. Well, the chicken did not die, he actually lived for months and months. If you're really interested, feel free to click HERE and read the story.

Anyway, Last May we went to the festival and the kids rode the little rides and we got our first sunburn of the summer, and also had our first icee of the summer.

Lauren & Josh on the train ride

Lauren & Josh loving the train ride

Hope and Daddy trying to stay out of the sun

Well, this year was a little different. Larry and Josh were out of town on their first Father/Son camping trip. So Lauren and I got up early and ran the "Run Like a Chicken with your Head cut off 5K". And then we came home and picked up Hope and went back to the festival. Hope went to the little petting zoo. When she saw the little goats she said "woof-woof". She thought they were dogs and was unimpressed. And then I sat her on a pony to ride thinking she would love it. Nope...she freaked out. She went to pose for a picture with a man in a chicken costume and totally freaked out (can't blame her though, that guy did look creepy). She's into the stranger danger phase. Finally we put her on the little train ride (with the help of big Sis), and she actually loved it. It's so fun to see how much they grow in just a year.

Even though they're not smiling...they did like the train ride
Hope petting the dogs..er I mean goats.

Would you want to know if you were dying??

2009-05-15T07:06:00.000-07:00

I know...we're ALL dying.
But I've been thinking about this lately. One of the teachers at the kids' school just lost her husband. He was not sick, had no obvious illness, just passed away very unexpectedly...leaving behind his wife and an 8 & 10 year old son. I just can't imagine having someone in your life here one day, and then POOF..gone. It would be so hard to pick up the pieces and keep moving forward, although I know people do it all the time.
But on the other hand, would you want the knowledge that your "time" is very soon?? I was following the story of a man named Randy Pausch who was a Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He too was a very healthy, young father. He was diagnosed with liver cancer and given 3 months to live. He gave a reprise of his "last lecture" on The Oprah Show. (if you have not seen it...click here and watch it. It's very neat! If you have seen it, you HAVE to watch it again!!) One of the things he mentions in his lecture is.. "I can't control the cards I'm dealt, just how I play the hand."
I've met lots of Blogger friends that have gone through so many hard times, they've been dealt some pretty tough hands. It's so inspirational to see how they've played those cards, when it might have been easier to just fold.
I don't know that I would think about this as much if I too was not a victim of cancer. I'm so fortunate to have not had a "so many months to live" come with my diagnosis, as so many people do. I do think of life as fragile. It's easy to get caught up in life, you forget to live your life. It's also easy to take life for granted, you forget life could end tomorrow for you or someone close to you. But life is so good. Just ask this man as he continues to wait month after month for a new heart, since his has not worked right from the time he was born. It's people like that that probably remember to say "thank you" after every breath.
So back to my original point...I think. Would you want to know if the "end" was near for you? Would you need that time to prepare? As I was thinking about that, I realized it doesn't matter. We should actually live every day like it's our last. Tell the people we love "I love you" and be the very best we can be.
(My thoughts and prayers go out to the Gisner family.)

WhirlWind Weekend

2009-05-05T06:38:00.001-07:00

We had a great weekend. It was very busy. Our family came up from Salt Lake on Friday night. We had a Sunshine Generation performance at the school. The kids were able to perform in an assembly. They were so excited, and did a great job.

Then Saturday morning, Lauren and I ran in the Girls on the Run 5K race. We had a lot of fun. I am running another 5K in 2 weeks. I have been doing the "couch to 5K" running program. It's a great way for anyone to get into running.

Right after the race, we went to watch Josh's football game......in the pouring rain. He did a great job.

Then we had just enough time to get home and ready to go to Josh's baptism. I gave a talk on the 3 "Bears" of Baptism. And then Lauren and my friend Mindy Dare sung a duet. It was beautiful. Josh was so excited to get baptized. He's such an awesome kid!

It was a very busy weekend...but we had lots of fun!

The Office

2009-05-05T06:26:00.000-07:00

Every night Larry will go in his office to do some work. Somehow Hope knows when Daddy is in his office and she has other plans for him. She loves to go in and sit on his lap and watch him work on the computer. I figured out why she loves it so much....he's not actually doing work when she comes in. He puts BARNEY on for her! Now I get it! :)

the best EASTER intentions

2009-04-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

I had an idea for Easter morning.
I thought it was a good idea.
Larry did not have early morning meetings so I would have his help.
We would get everyone ready, and then before we left for church, I would take the kids pictures in their Easter clothes.

Unfortunately, my morning was a little more hectic. I barely had time to get me and the girls ready, let alone take any cute "before church" pictures. Luckily I did take a couple of pics of the girls in their matching dresses (thanks Grammie) even though it was before their hair was even done.

Bad news: I have no pic's of Josh on Easter, or all 3 kids together :(
Good News: I made it to church on time FINALLY! (thanks Lar for your help)!

True Italian Spaghetti Sauce

2009-04-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

I just posted this recipe to my FB page. So I thought I would add it here as well. It's been a long time since I've posted a recipe. But this is one of my favorites. Enjoy!!

Also known as "Chicken's Chicken Spaghetti" Made with NO chicken:)

I'm just going to walk through how I make it. That's the true Italian way :)
1. brown 1 lb hambuger. drain and add 1 chopped onion and 1 garlic clove (or 1 tsp chopped garlic)

2. (put in a large sauce pot) 3 large cans tomato sauce, 3 small cans stewed tomatoes (I use 2 quart jars canned tomatoes), 1 small tomato paste. start simmering on low. (add the meat from step 1)

3. brown 1 lb. Italian sausage. Drain. add pepperoni (I use the stick instead of the slices) cut it up into bite size chunks. Drain grease again. add to the sauce pot.

4. Now for the seasonings. Don't be afraid the adjust to your liking.
I start with 1 TB of each of the following:
oregano
parsely
basil
rosemary
marjoram
thyme
then I add a couple spinkles of red pepper flakes (add more or less for how spicy you like it)and then add 2 bay leafs (don't forget to take them out before you serve the sauce:)

Let it simmer all day. It makes enough to have for dinner, and then freeze 2 huge bags for future dinners. Or it's good for a very large group. Remember, don't be afraid to play around with your seasonings. It's the best spaghetti sauce you will ever eat.

ps: The recipe also calls for a small jar of mushrooms. But omit them, since I don't like them AT ALL !

Is it a mouse in the house??? Squeak once for yes!

2009-04-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

When we moved into this house we bought a new living room set. Larry was able to get us an awesome deal on it through his work. One of things we bought was a 3 piece table set. The tables were wood with a small trim of leather on each end to match the leather furniture.

So, tonight we noticed some of the leather on the end of our coffee table had been nibbled off, and the remnant bit off pieces were laying on the floor. We were pretty sure we had a mouse in the house that had nibbled away on the end of the table. Later that night we found that...yes, it was definitely a mouse. A "teething" mouse.

(the coffee table)
( a closer look at the damage)

( the mouse we caught)

Josh owns the month of April

2009-03-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

My little Josh.

I remember going to the doctor to schedule an induction with my 2nd baby (you know how I love the schedule all things). He said he could induce me on Sunday because he was on-call that day and would be at the hospital anyway. He also said the date was April 1st, and wondered if the date would bother me. I guess he just didn't want my baby to go through life hearing..

"It's your birthday....April Fools!"

Anyway, when he asked if the date bothered me..I asked him what the next day was (meaning his schedule)..and he said "April 2nd". And I thought...duh!

And really why would April 1st bother me? If it was a day to schedule delivering a baby..then I LOVED the day. Who wouldn't? And I love the day even more now. Josh was born on April 1st, 2001 at 12:35pm. I was induced at 10:00am, and he was born 2 1/2 hours later.

April is Josh's month. And this year he has been very busy.

He started playing little league football and his first game was this last Saturday. They have an excellent team, their first game ended 30-0. Josh & his dad are both enjoying the experience (although, I'm not sure who is enjoying it more) :). They take little league football very seriously out here. When I pulled up to the parking lot, I saw people tailgating and BBQing at little league. hmmmm

And then Saturday night we invited some friends and families over for a bday BBQ. I borrowed my friend Mark's projector and hooked up the Wii to it in our garage. Josh was in heaven. It was big screen MarioKart. It just doesn't get any better.

This month Josh is getting baptized. He is so excited because turning 8 means he gets to go to scouts. He has been looking so forward to starting scouts. He's an awesome kid. I'm so lucky to have Josh as my little boy.

(very proud daddy!)

(one of Josh's biggest fans cheering him on)

(Josh playing "big screen Wii") we did adjust it so his head was off the screen :)

(ok...so with the candles. I forgot to buy a #8 candle..so I did a math puzzle for Josh. I told him his candles were 9-1= 8 years old) desperate times.... :)

What were YOU doing 16 years ago today???

2009-03-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

{Flash Back Alert....}

16 years ago today (March 20th 1993) I was in my apartment getting ready to go on a date with Larry. He invited me to go to Mulboon's on the 13th Floor in downtown Salt Lake City. I was ironing my clothes and getting ready. I had a feeling it was going to be a special night. Back then Larry and I used to go out a lot to nice restaurants, so it wasn't that. I just had a feeling it was going to be more:)

After dinner, we went to our favorite spot. It's the view from behind the Capitol Building. Anyone from Salt Lake knows where I'm talking about. We used to drive up there all the time and just look out. It was so cool to see the entire valley; from downtown Salt Lake all the way to Sandy. And you could follow State Street all the way because it was lit up so bright.

Only this night, there was more than just a view to see...there was also an.........

Engagement Ring!!

Anyway..that's what I was doing 16 years ago today!

(ironing my clothes for our date)

(right before Larry picked me up...gotta love the poofy 1990's hair)

(leaving my apartment for the first time as an engaged girl!)

(Showing off my ring on my apartment balcony)

Down...Set...Hike

2009-03-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

Josh just started playing little league football. Yesterday was their first practice with pads. They did some tackling drills. I think Josh is going to really enjoy football. And he looks so cute in his uniform...(don't tell him I said that though. You know how football guys need to be "Tough"!) :)

Spring Break...with LOTS of pics!

2009-03-20T12:15:00.001-07:00

So, we had last week off for spring break. Larry is really busy in March getting ready for inventory at his store, so we made a tradition that I drive the kids down to Salt Lake for the week. We had tons of fun. We went to Classic Skating & Bounce House. Hope was alsways on the move, and loved to climb on things. And then she ran around & danced on the skating rink. It helped that there were only a few other people there.

(Grammie & Hope)

(Jared & Josh)

(Lauren & Jake helping Hope)

(Hope always on the move)

We also went to Hogle Zoo. The first thing Hope did was walk up to a fence and look right at a goose. The goose was looking right at her. And then Hope said "Wack-Wack" (quack, quack). Which is the only animal sound she knows. It was cooler weather, but it turned out to be a perfect day.

(Hope looking at the geese)

(Lauren, Jake, Josh & Jared)

On the last day we went to see Disney on Ice at the Energy Solutions Center. The kids love to go to the suite because they get to eat pizza & snacks while they watch the show. This was Hope's first time going, so I didn't know if she would sit still through the whole show. As you can see in the pic's, she LOVED the show. She sat right up front with Grammie most of the time. And then she came up and had pizza and treats. She had so much fun! Thanks so much Grammie for taking us!

(Jared & Josh)

(Grammie & Grandpa)

(Lauren, Hailee & Hope)

(Josh & Jake)

pleasantly prescribed

2009-03-04T12:56:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday I had my 6 month CAT scan. I'm always a little nervous, because I'm just not sure how long my "free ride" will last (meaning no treatment). Well, today was my oncology appointment to talk about the results from the scan. My doctor came in and asked how I was feeling. I told her I feel really good, with occasional pains and fatigue. She said my scan looked great! She also said that my labs looked good as well. My LDH levels (that would show the cancer progressing) were in a very normal range, and that my lymph nodes have gone down a lot since my last scan in September. She said she wanted to prescribe..Acai Berry & prayer, because that seems to be working really well for me! It was so good to hear that if I have to have any cancer at all, the cancer I have is at least behaving well and not causing me any problems. As my doctor said...I am not in remission, but me and my cancer are co-existing just fine. She also said I look like I'm 18 years old. She's now my best friend! :)

I just love this smile.....

2009-02-20T12:14:00.000-08:00

Nuff said!

A wonderful CAUSE

2009-02-17T10:13:00.000-08:00

I found out today, a friend of my mom's has asked to add me as one of her honorees as she runs in the "Leukemia & Lymphoma" marathon in Boise, Idaho.

Her name is Jodie Quercia and she is running the half marathon. She is trying to raise $1800.00. Anyone interested in donating anything at all can click HERE.

Thanks so much!! Jen

Service WITH a Smile

2009-02-16T17:28:00.001-08:00

Lauren had a wonderful idea. She wanted her & Josh to make a dinner for Larry and I and serve it to us as a Valentine's gift. We had a pretty busy weekend, so we decided to do it tonight. She wanted to have a "romantic Italian restaurant" theme. They set the table themselves and got dressed up. They picked the menu. They wanted dad's favorite spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and pie for dessert. So they helped me cook the dinner and got some romantic music going on the satellite radio and really set the mood.
When dad got home, he and I (and Hope) were seated at their best table. And from that point on I must say, the service could not have been better. If I even mentioned I needed ice in my drink, a waiter was there in an instant. And the food could not have been better, had I made it myself! :)

The Menu
The setting

The wonderful wait staff

Their best table

When I think of LOVE

2009-02-15T09:47:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun Valentine's Day. When I think of LOVE, I think first of my husband and how lucky I am to have him in my life. It's true what they say about marrying your best friend. It makes for a very happy, loving life. The second thing I think of is my beautiful kids. They are each so special. I am proud of each one of them. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family.
Love also makes me think of my parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces & nephews. I absolutely love the closeness I have with my family. They are always there for me. I can't imagine my life without them.
Love also makes me think of the wonderful friends near and far. I feel like I have extended my "extended" family over the past few years. I have met people who have touched my life in a way, that I now consider them a part of my family. They celebrate the good times with me, and pull me up during the hard times. And I LOVE them.

what the WHAT??

2009-02-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

So Hope has 2 favorite shows. She watches them over & over. One is Barney (ever heard of it? LOL) The other is called Hi-5. It is on Discovery Kids Channel. It has 2 men and 3 women that sing and dance. She LOVES Hi-5.

Well.......last night as we were watching American Idol we realized one of the girls trying out for the show was a girl from Hi-5 named Jen. She had to sing for survival with the girl with long blonde hair and bright pink highlights. Anyway, she ended up not making the cut and I was so sad. I love to root for people I know..and I consider "knowing" her since she's in my family room several times a day. Anyway, just a little co-inckydink!

Definitely Defining

2009-02-04T19:21:00.000-08:00

(Jen Anderson Benson, Brandi White Gordon, Rick Olivares & Michelle Tresner Lyman 1989)

I haven't posted for a little while because I've been busy taking care of the usual things; home, family, bills, dinners, cleaning, laundry..etc. I haven't had time to post cute pictures of what the kids are doing, or random things going on.
Then yesterday, my best friend from high school posted a bunch of pictures from way back when. It was so fun to look at them and reminisce. But then I realized...life was so good back then. I mean, life is good now but, back then it was just different, really a defining time in my life. I look at myself in the pictures and think about all the things I didn't care about then. Things I didn't have to care about like..
How will the current economy affect my life and my family's?
What kind of world will my children grow up in?
How will our current president help or hinder our country?

And then there are the daily mom things like...
Did the kids get their lunches in their backpacks?
Are all the bills sent and paid?
What am I making for dinner tonight? etc, etc

I loved this specific picture because this is what my high school years were all about. My 2 best friends in the whole world (plus Rick, lucky enough to pose with us:). If you thought Jen Anderson...then you immediately thought Brandi White and Michelle Tresner as well. We were inseparable. We had most of our classes together, we spent every weekend together. We double-dated, we even worked fast food together (shout out to Arctic Circle). We cheered together, went to school dances together. We sluffed together (sorry for that mom!) We really grew up together. I have been so lucky to reconnect with a lot of my friends from high school via Facebook the past few months. And it has been so much fun catching up and seeing how they're all doing. And even seeing some of them with their own kids now in high school. Crazy!!
It was such a fun time in my life, I wanted to post about it, so in the future I can look back and remember how it feels to live carefree. To have your only worries be about ..are we riding the bus with the football players to the game, or driving ourselves? Big concerns. And I didn't worry about what was for dinner..because I already knew...we were going to McDonalds after the game. And I would get the quarter pounder combo with a Coke and I would always eat my fries first. And, no, I didn't have to worry if they were going straight to my hips. Not back then! :)

Feelin' a little BLUE

2009-01-21T08:47:00.000-08:00

So, I found blueberries on sale for $1.00/carton at my local grocery store, and of course I thought what anyone else would have thought....homemade blueberry syrup. So I bought 20 cartons and came right home and got my canning stuff out of storage. In an attempt to teach my kids how FUN and easy it is to make your own healthy food, I incorporated their help. They helped wash the berries, and then they were done. :)

It was a very easy process. It took about 1 hour to make 5 1/2 pints of blueberry syrup. I could have made more, but I decided to freeze half of the berries for another day.

When we were done, I made pancakes for the kids for bed snack and let them taste the blueberry syrup. They loved it, and were so excited that they "helped" make it!

Goodbye BOB

2009-01-21T08:36:00.000-08:00

Hope had a best friend. She endearingly named him "Bob". I think he was her best friend.

He was there at night to comfort her, filled her hand when she needed something to carry, and most importantly..filled her tummy. Yep.."Bob" is the many bottles we have around here.

At my house, at age 12 months, the bottle just goes away and all is forgotten. But of course..all of you moms out there with your last baby will know what I mean...the last is the hardest. Am I ready for her to grow up? Am I ready to give up the snuggling while she drinks her beloved milk? The answer of course was..NO! But...now that we're into the 14 month, I thought..."Do I want this little girl to be so attached to "Bob" she will never want to let go? And it will be days and nights of crying and detox? And again the answer... (resounding) NO!

So, last week I introduced a new friend. His name is "Sippy Cup". And lo and behold...she loves him!

Good bye BOB!

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome

2009-01-20T13:11:00.000-08:00

So, as you can see...there's been some changes. A new year, brings a new blog. Although I still have hope (and I still have Hope :) my original blog started out as an update for lots of friends and family to check in during my pregnancy and stay updated through my inital cancer diagnosis.

As time has gone by, I've realized how much I enjoy blogging about a lot of other things as well. Hobbies, family and sometimes nonsense. But it's my nonsense still the same.

So this will be my new start to a new year. This will be a place for me to continue updating on lots of aspects of my life, and share them with all of you.