2009 is coming to an end...

but, 2010 is going to be THE year for these two cancer WARRIORS!! In the picture below is Trevor Tredaway & Freda (my sister-in-law)

Trevor was 2 when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He is now 4! He's been battling this beast for half his life! Today the doctors at St Jude's told his mom what we've all been waiting and praying for!!!!!!! The beast has some battle scars!! The tumor that has been growing on every MRI he's had since the beginning has NOT GROWN since the last MRI. It took up less intravenous contrast which the doctors believe to mean that the beast is severly injured from the chemo and all of the prayers going out to this little man from all over the states! To meet Trevor, you would NEVER know he has cancer. He is a ball of fire and energy! Please remember him in your prayers and that the chemo continues to conquer the beast!
Freda was 31 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the beginning the cancer was only in her breast. They treated her with intravenous chemo and surgery. She did well and was cancer free. Then 4 yrs ago, it returned in her bones. She began oral chemo and injections to put her into menopause because her hormones were feeding the cancer. For awhile the chemo kept the cancer under control. This Spring her routine lab work showed an increase in her cancer markers and her Oncologist informed her she needed to start aggressive treatment NOW!! She is now being treated at MD Anderson for metastatic breast cancer that is in the base of her skull, her ribs, spine, pelvis and femurs. She is tolerating the oral chemo well. The Oncologist says they have had a lot of positive outcomes with this chemo. Freda is staying positive and knows the ultimate person in control is God. Joel and I alternate going to Houston with her to her appointments. We have a great time and cherish every minute of it! Please keep her in your prayers also!

In this picture are two cancer warriors, Freda & Trevor, and a cancer ass kicker, that's me! I know the other two will be cancer ass kickers too!! I was very fortunate to have found my cancer early, it had not spread, I had a wonderful team of doctors and a guardian angel and God watching over me. So instead of cancer being a number or statistic, this is what cancer looks like.

Here is Calen & Maegan playing their Nintendo DS

Makayla snagged Trevor's Cars Computer and has the s!#* eating grin!

My cake from my surprise birthday party Joel had for me! How thoughtful is he??

I just noticed Maegan is standing directly in front of the reindeer so his horns looks like hers! Which is not far from the truth!

My whole family!

**If you would like to follow Trevor's blog, the link is on my sidebar. **

It's been awhile...

Our Christmas Eve/morning snow. It came as a surprise to wake up to this. We don't see snow in West TX often.

Makayla's new fake smile. She does this when you tell her to say cheese.

Maegan at her Christmas party at school, praying before they eat.

Maegan and Averi before Maegan's Christmas program.

Maegan and Santa. No pictures with Makayla. She wasn't fond of the big guy.

Check out her perly whites!

Our 1st snow. The girls loved it for the 5 min they were out there.

The girls decorating the tree.

Maegan on her 1st night of dance. She loves going to dance and is catching on very quickly.

1st day at her big girl school!

PINK for Freda!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Joel's parent's house. I ordered us all breast cancer t-shirts to wear to show our support for Freda. (Joel's sister) She was 1st diagnosed with breast cancer at the young age of 31!! Several years after she entered remission, the breast cancer returned in her bones. She went on hormone therapy at that time. Now her cancer markers are up again and the only option is chemo.

She goes to MD Anderson in Houston on Tuesday for scans and and appointment with an Oncologist to determine the best protocol that will kick this cancer's *ss!! She is in good spirits and has so many people that love her and are praying for her!

A family picture is soo hard to get these days!

These pictures are backwards but this rollercoaster is gonna be the girls' "big" gift. Their faces are hilarious when they are coming down! It goes pretty fast. Once in the privacy of our backyard, I wanna try it!!

photo catch-up

Makayla eating ice cream after getting her ears pierced.

Man, I'm glad I didn't go! How sad is that face??!!

Saturday was date night for Joel and I so Nanny my girls and Averi had a slumber party!

Maegan with her trophy at the closing ceremony.

The kiddos that were at closing ceremony with the coaches.

Daddy and his shadow.

Makayla's 1st B-day pics (a bit belated!)

She had a good time climbing in the jumper and having the other kids bounce her.

clapping for herself, she does this a lot.

Sweet baby cheeks!

Lovin her Tinkerbell chair from Nan & PaPa

Opening gifts with the help of Averi

Maegan feeding Makayla some cake before she digs in on her own.

Maegan being silly

I told y'all she smiles! She loves this car from Nanny,Poppy and Wayland! She is VERY territorial with it!

Her yummy Little Petshop cake. She loves the animals with the big eyes, so that is why we chose Little Petshop. She had a blast at her party and being the center of the attention. I still cannot believe it's been a year! Last year today, Makayla and I were hanging out at the hotel in CA waiting for ICPC clearance to bring her home. Since it was just the two of us, we only got out a couple of times to go to the grocery store and to travel to Orange County, CA to meet the awesome staff at Adoption Network Law Center.

Heavy heart this morning..

Vincent & Sofi Villacci

After Sammie Hartsfield's passing yesterday(12yro girl that had bone cancer) I read a Jennifer Villacci's post on her son Vincent who was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma. Here it is...

This week has not been very good. As you know from earlier posts, Vincent had been throwing up and had been in a lot of pain. The throwing up stopped but the pain continued and when we came to the hospital on wednesday to get ready to start chemo, they decided they wanted to do scans to rule out things that could be causing the pain and nausea. In a million years, we were not prepared for what they told us. The cancer has spread to Vincent's brain. It is coating the meninges on his brain and he has all the symptoms of a person with meningitis. (meningitis would be a much better diagnosis). The pain in his legs is caused by the pressure on his brain (same with the nausea).This is extremely rare and very few Doctors have dealt with this type of progression of rhabdo to the brain when everything else is looking good. They admitted Vincent to ICU on wednesday because of the pressure on the brain. The pressure is like a time bomb that can cause major problems if not relieved. They began steroids wednesday to relieve the pressure. They began a new protocol of chemo last night that has shown promise in reaching brain tumors. He will take that for 5 days and then will begin radiation on his brain and spinal cord. The hope is that he can make it to the radiation to give him a fighting chance at getting the tumor. We are still in shock. At some level, we knew that this was something that could happen but we just felt like he was responding so well that we felt like he would ultimately be a survivor. The Doctors had previously said he had a 10-15% chance at survival. Now, they are saying he has a 0% chance but I found one patient who survived this type of mestasis and that is all I need to not give up hope. The Doctors told us that Vincent needs a miracle and a miracle doesn't come in the form of a drug. Only God can truly heal Vincent and we are praying with all of our might that he will be the miracle and will be feeling better soon and will ultimately be a survivor. Vincent is resting comfortably and the steroids that they gave him to relieve the pressure seem to be working because he is not having the pain he was having. We have not given up hope, our faith is strong and we are looking to God to carry Vincent and us through this journey. Please pray for a miracle, Sofi needs her big brother and we need our little boy.

Please pray for Vincent and his family. He needs a miracle from Heaven now.