2010 Season's Greatings!

I am so excited to share our Christmas Card this year, it is truly unique & I love it. I can't stop smiling every time I look at the front picture with Zack holding the Train. It makes me think of Gulliver's Travels, well a Zack attack version that is! Tomorrow I go in for the 10th Bone Marrow Biopsy. This is the"1 year" aspiration post chemo so keep your fingers crossed for less than 5% blast cells. I will post the results once I get them around the New year. In the mean time from my family to yours, Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas. I hope you enjoy the card as much as we did making it!





Trent Beaver, Photographer "Simply the Best" London Imagery delivered way more than we expected. Trent Beaver is really gifted and you can't beat the prices for the time & quality he puts into each session. I didn't think anyone could get our whole family, Vest party of 6, to relax in front of the lens, but he succeeded. Trent's personality/demeanor/down-to-earth vibe was a HUGE factor in our repeat business i.e family portraits, senior pictures, the most unique & best Christmas photo card that I & many of my family, friends & colleagues have ever seen ever. I just wanted to say what a pleasure it has been & thank you so much! I can't wait to see what you come up with next!

Social Media Revolution

Truth is nothing is private aymore.

Thank our veterans and those serving today

There are two distinct types of people in our country: people who are fighting for their lives and people who are fighting with their lives. Many of us go through life seeking our own purpose, not thinking very much about the country we live in or how we achieved or maintain our freedom. We often take for granted all that we have, focusing on our personal needs, such as seeking better jobs, taking care of our families, enjoying the fruits of our labors. In a sense, we fight for all of the fine things this free country affords us. This group, of which most Americans are members, is basically "fighting" every day for their own lives.

And then there is the other group. They are the few, the ones who have taken a different road. It's a path paved with the price of freedom, traveled by those who embrace the toll it may take to achieve it, chosen by those who know only they stand in the way of freedom's destruction. It's a path that places their lives in the hands of others and often ends with a knock on the door.

Who is this group of people? What makes them willing to lay down enjoying their own personal wants in order to preserve our national freedoms? These are our young, healthy, educated seemingly invincible military men and women, who are often in their early twenties, young people who are perfectly able to achieve success in a civilian world. But something else motivates them: serving. They willingly and lovingly decide that if cutting their lives short will advance the cause of freedom, then the price is not too great.

You may have heard the saying, "There have only been two defining forces in the world willing to die for you: Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. Jesus died for your soul and the American Soldier died for your freedom."

The men and women currently serving in our military and our veterans deserve our highest respect for fighting with their lives to protect the rest of us as we fight for our lives. That's what Honor and Remember is all about.

IOMC Halloween 2010

Wow, what a great Halloween Party. Gobbler (Marc) & I had an awesome evening with our IOMC family!A good time was had by all!

Good cause to honor breast cancer victims, survivors and supporters

NAPA AUTO PARTS and NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Martin Truex, Jr., are teaming up with Susan G. Komen for the Cure to honor breast cancer victims, survivors and supporters via a special, one-of-a-kind fan-generated paint scheme featuring the names of individuals affected by breast cancer.

From now to Oct. 11, consumers can submit the names of loved ones affected by breast cancer to appear on the No. 56 NAPA Toyota by making a minimum donation of $5.60 via the NAPA Know How Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/napaknowhow). The NAPA Signature Car application allows you to enter a name and select the area of the car where you would like the dedication to appear. Your dedication will then be featured on the #56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota for the November 7th NASCAR Sprint Cup Race at Texas Motor Speedway.

With the help of fan donations, NAPA is hoping to raise at least $250,000 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to recognize more than 56,000 individuals affected by breast cancer with the custom paint scheme.

June 13, 2010

My last update was in December I think. Gee's has it been that long? Marcus reminded me not everyone is on Facebook & I should be more mindful of that. So here goes. I had my 9th biopsy last week & I met with my Dr. this week for the results. Less than 5% blast cells meaning I am still in remission. I rode all the way to Washing to D.C & back memorial day weekend about 1300 miles round trip, I have been working fulltime & still doing my reserve thing in the military my Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) is not slated until September so keep your fingers crossed. I am a little heavier than I would like to be & my physical strength is crap. The Dr.s keep telling me I am minimizing everything that I have been through & that I am very de-conditioned it is going to take a lot of time. The important thing is I am still alive & kicking & life is good especially considering I should not be here.
My Grandmother Passed Memorial Day weekend & it deeply affected me. I had not thought a lot about death in awhile & her passing was not unexpected. The funeral was very nice & my Uncle performed her Eulogy & it was beautiful. I kept visioning her dancing around her kitchen humming an old tune with a big grin on her face. That always used to make me laugh, that is how I choose to remember her.
During my last visit I asked my Dr. about the 50-60% 5 year survivability she put on my prognosis & she didn't want to talk about it much. She danced around it a bit & just kept saying I should enjoy every day. I have been thinking about that a lot here lately. The first year after chemo treatment everyone is so paranoid about you. You can't always live your life in a bubble so I am not. I hope to go out when it's my time & not a minute sooner so I am not sweating the small stuff or at least that is my story & I am sticking to it.
Brandon graduated last weekend, WOOHOO! 1 down 3 more to go. Man that boy had me sweating it. I had to look at the diploma twice. I am very proud of him for sticking it out.
This is not a news flash for those of you who know me, my guilty pleasure is riding my motorcycle as much as I can. I just love the freedom of it. I am trying to ride as much as possible to make up for the tim that I couldn't when I was sick. No interruptions its very calming. I rode about 270 miles on my motorcycle yesterday with the IOMC up to Willard & back. It was raining when we started out but it didn't last long. We all had a great time hanging out with the Willard Chapter. Their hospitality was awesome! It was hot & humid as hell when we headed back to our clubhouse for the UFC fight. We hit a little rain in Columbus, put the hammer down & out ran the worst of it. I left early to get home for the kids. I heard I didn't miss much since Chuck got laid out in the first round, what a letdown! I hit one hell of severe thunderstorm with torrential down pours 1/4 on the way home. Thank God Hope was in the car behind me, I had to wave her around so I could follow her tail lights home, I couldn't see squat. I was freaking soaked from the neck up, I looked like a drowned rat except for my smile from ear to ear. The frog togs did their job, I got a little wet around the ankles from where the zippers are but considering but I really can't complain.
Poor Marc wants an Street Glide so bad he can't stand it. I know it is killing his back on his Sportster but he is toughing it out until he gets his car paid off. A few more years & he should be able to get one. I am very impressed with his restaint. I keep thinking I am going to come home one day & there will be one in the drive way but he is being very responsible & for that I am proud of him!
I am in the office for a couple of days & the base for the next 2 weeks. I am also going to the VA for contamination testing so that should be interesting. I am going to try to update my blog with newer photo slide shows & stuff. No promises for when the next posting will be. So until I write again...