A word from our sponsor...

Here is Eric's list of things he is Thankful for....

Things that I am thankful for. I dont even know where to start. This last couple months has been full of goods and bads, but mostly goods. Sorry mine are kinda late but they still work..

1st and foremost the love of my LIFE Lauren!! I dont know where I would be with out her she has kept track of appointments mediciations making sure I am getting out of bed for a few min a day even if I fight her to no end. She gives me my shots and does not hesitate to do anything that I ask include go to school full time and have a full time job (I dont ask the last 2 she just does them so we can one day better our lives.) and her family they have always been there for me and taken me in like one of there own..

2nd For family and friends they have all kept me going during the worst times and the good times.

3rd I am thankful for is technolgy and advancement in drugs with out it this road I am on would be ALOT harder..

4th That we can live in a country that has insurance and hospitals that take care of problems.

5th I would like to thank all of the people including my cousin Jason who are serving in other countrys so we can be free in ours.

6th everyone that reads this blog.. Its weird My mom said you will be amazed how many people actually care, I figured that there was going to be a few odds and ends people but never this many its like everytime I see some one they know whats going on and ask how I am and if there is anytihng they can do. I know all of you want to help and that means alot to me the best thing that you can do is just keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

7th My sisters they have all helped me though this and that alone I am sure has not been easy weather it be a phone call on how Brandi almost died at walmart the day after thanksgiving (if you talk to her ask about that) or a text message from the twins asking how I am feeling.. It may not seem like much but it is I promise.

8th My mom she has ALWAYS been there for me and always will she has been at every doctors appt. even if it was somthing stupid.. She has been at every treatment with out missing a beat. She has tryed to take me away to vegas but my Dr. wont allow it..

9th my neice and nephews for giving me Bacon he has been there for every treatment since Halloween and will continue to be at every last one..

10th The people at the Palace Station Bingo. They all the been the greatest to me and my family. Always nice to us when we are there and have called and sent cards to show they care. Thanks guys!!

11th To anyone that I have missed or over looked you know who you are and you know that everything you do means alot to me. Esp you Trish I would be SOL if you didnt back me up.. I just want everyone to know that I love all of you and thank you SOOOOO MUCH for everything that you have given me!!Pleas don't stop leaving comments on here I read this page everyday if not 2-3 times a days I like to read the storys and remember the good times. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING EACH ONE OF YOU HAVE DONE!!

Whoaaaaaaa we're half way there, whoa oh livin on a prayer

Sorry I had a Bon Jovi moment, in all the hustle bustle of Thanksgiving & day after Thanksgiving (& believe you me there was a lot of hustle), I forgot to mention that Eric is halfway done with Chemo!! (Insert screaming crowd noises here) Woohoo!!

Happy Thanksgiving

From all of our families to yours, have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!!

Chemo today, more Thankfulness (is that a word?)

Eric is on his way to chemo...I thought I would post the comments from the previous section, what people are thankful for...feel free to comment & I'll add yours too!!

Here's Hailey's
I am Thankful for...

1-My Husband (Corky)He is there for me no matter what the day might bring, he listens to me laugh and be a dork, he lets me cry and does not judge me, he calms my worries no matter how silly they are, when I am angry he forgives me even when he probablly shouldn't, he is the greatest dad to Hunter and teaches him so much, he is an excellent provider and hard worker and never complains when he has to work a little harder to get us by, he is my true love, my soul mate and my best friend all wrapped into one! I truly don't think I could live without him! I love you Corky with all my heart!

2- My Hunter--I love how excited he is about life,I love how sweet he is, always telling me how much he loves me and that I am the best mommy in the world, I love that he is trying so hard to be helpful around the house even though he forgets somtimes, I love how much he adores his dad, I even love his temper (that he gets from his dad), I love that he is so excited to be a (in hunters words) "a big brother and the boss", I just love everything about him!

3- My FamilyThis includes Parents, stepparents, grandparents, siblings, inlaws, aunts uncles cousins etc. They are so supportive, I love that we all come together and help out no matter what the cause! We are so blessed to have such an amazing family to lean on!

4- EricHe is so strong and I am so proud of him for all that he does, he is my strength. I love that when somthing makes him happy you can see the tears well up in his eyes and he tries to hold it back as if he is not emotional, guess he's got a little of me in him! I love how he loves his neices and nephews so much and is so sweet with them even when there being rowdy! I am so thankful to have you as my brother Eric I love you!

5- My friendsFor being there when I need them the most, and always listening to me no matter what. I love you all very much thank you for being such great friends!

6- For my LifeNo matter what road it might take it is truly a blessing just to be here with the ones I love!

7- My MomShe is always there for me no matter what, I love her to no end I could not imagine my life with out her I don't tell her often enough how much she means to me and my family but we are so lucky to have her! I Love you Mom!

8- My Siblings- This includes half's steps and inlawsI too like Brandi do not tell you all often enough how much you mean to me, I am so thankful you are there to listen to me even if I just need to rant, thank you so much for helping me out with Hunter I know I ask way to much of all of you and I really appreciate everything you do for me and my family I love all of you very much!

9-I am thankful to all of you that read Eric's blog and keep him in your thoughts and prayers, it means so much to our family to know that we have so much support and love out there, and that there is always somone who is listening and praying for us and keeping a positive attitude even when it is hard for us to do the same. Your love and support does not go un-noticed Thank you!

10- Everything in generalThe fact that I live in a country that has such a wonderful military so that me, my children and family can remain protected and free. That I am able to work and so is my husband so that we can provide a nice place to live for our growing family. I am thankful that I have so many things to be thankful for!

11- I Had to do a # 11For lifes little miracles!for those of you who don't already know, after two years of trying to have another baby we finally gave up and now we are thankfully blessed to have one on the way! I am not sure which worked better giving up on trying or booking a non-refundable cruise in january (which we are still going on)Anyway I am now 10 weeks pregnant and went to the Dr last night for the second time, this time the ultra sound was much clearer the baby has arms, legs, hands and feet! We are so blessed!Hope all of you Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!Love-Hailey

Here's Heidi's (my neighbor)

Thanks brandi you are making me cry.I am thankful for LIFE. No matter what it sends my way.My kids and my husband and my parents.Everyone that sends me good wishes when I need them. My beautiful neighbors.I realized I can be bitter and thankful at the same time.:>

Here's my mum's

Here is my list of 10 things I am thankful for.
1.My wonderful family and all the support they give me and give to each other. We are all truly blessed.

2.My husband Terry who supports me (with a smile) no matter what mood I happen to be in. I am so grateful to have him in my life. I appreciate that he is so supportive and attentive to Eric's needs. On Eric's rough days Terry brings Eric his favorite flavored Sonic slushy and sometimes even mozzarella sticks. He visits with him for a bit which means a lot to Eric.

3. The doctors, the technology and research that is helping Eric fight this battle so he can live a full and productive life with Lauren.

4. Speaking of Lauren, I am thankful that she is part of our family. Lauren has already shown Eric the true meaning of being there for him in sickness and in health. We love you Lauren!

5. My mom for her love and support. There are so many in our family it is hard to count but mom has unconditional love for all of us.

6. My friends, thank you for your support, your love, and most of all, your thoughts and prayers. They mean so much to me and to my family.

7. My co-workers who are also my friends. You are with me more than my family. You are my work family. You cheer me up when I need a laugh and and you support me when I am having an emotional day. And you all rally together when there is a "WOOT OFF"! Thanks to Kevin for getting us all hooked on woot. :O)

8. Our men and women in the military. This one is especially for my nephew Jason who is on his 3rd tour in Iraq. May god watch over him and bring him home safe to his family.

9. This one is for all of you that read Eric's blog. I want you to know how uplifting it is to pull up the blog and see how many hits the site has gotten. It's amazing how our lives are so intertwined with each other. I went to a doctors appointment today and the new PA that I spoke with listened to my story about my son having cancer. She stopped me and asked what my sons name was and then she started laughing. She is friends with Kimber and she reads this blog all the time. How small world is that. Like I told Eric when he was diagnosed. He will be surprised how many lives he has touched and now look how many of them are there for him.

10. My kids sense of humor, I don't know what they are talking about as far as:"The fact that you might need food for 14 people and you can get it all without getting out of your car
(she knows folks believe me she knows)

"Thanks for reading my rambling. May god bless you all and have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Chemo...and Thanksgiving!

Eric has chemo this Wednesday, pretty yucky timing for Thanksgiving but he did get a Thanksgiving Dinner last Saturday.

Thanks to everyone at the Randall family party, those of you that wore green, wore a green bow, made green bows, prayed out loud, prayed silently, wished Eric well, thought good thoughts from afar, said something thoughtful, didn't know what to say, gave him a hug, stayed away for fear of getting him sick, everything you did that night was noticed, don't think that because you didn't talk to him he doesn't know you love him, he does. I thought in the true spirit of Thanksgiving I would post 10 things I am Thankful for...
1. A family that can truly band together when times get tough
2. My home, children, and amazing husband
3. My brother's tough spirit, he is my hero.
4. Lauren, she is the best thing for Eric, I would like to also say I think that he is the best for her too!
5. My siblings, I know I don't tell you all often enough, but I love you!! (This is including steps, half's, and in-laws!)
6. Parents, mine, Rand's, and of course again steps
7. Modern medicine, it's been a rough year for me with kids sick, and Eric, modern medicine has saved my children's and my brother's lives.
8. Grandparents
9. friends, (yes my neighbors are some of my best friends), they have truly been there for me especially this year, and I thank them for that. Also you all reading this are my friends!
10. The fact that you might need food for 14 people and you can get it all without getting out of your car (This is an inside joke, ask Eric, or Hailey, or Lauren, or me or definitely, definitely ask my mom what this means).

Okay it's your turn what are you all Thankful for?

Bring It!

For those of you coming to the Randall family Thanksgiving dinner tonight, Eric will be there. I want to see you all in your lime green, if you've got it bring it!! Let's show Eric our support!

Much better

Eric is feeling much better, he came to visit last night at mom's and he's up and about today. He is planning on coming to the Randall family Thanksgiving party this weekend, so for all of you reading this, bring your lime green!! :0)

Crappy day

Eric's feeling worse today, he has two more days of shots, two more days of feeling like crap. Hopefully after Wednesday he will start to feel better.

Eric's doing okay

Eric's feeling okay, not great but okay...He ventured out for a little bit today, which is some real progress. Last chemo treatment he was horribly sick about now, let's hope it keeps getting better. He's planning on attending our family Thanksgiving party next weekend, he will probably be to sick to celebrate the "real" Thanksgiving, he has chemo the day before. So for all of you out there that haven't gotten their flu shots...get on it!! Remember if you get the flu mist you cannot be around Eric for 10 days as that vaccine contains the live virus.

Home...

Eric is home resting now, his blood work was good, he did his chemo treatment this afternoon. The first 4-5 days are the worst, he's hoping it will be better this time. If everything goes as planned he has 5 more treatments to go...

Let's try this again

So hopefully today Eric will have chemo, we should know by about 11:00 if his blood work is in the "safe zone". I'll let you know. He's been feeling well lately, getting engaged can do that to you :0)

Pardon the interruption

Today is Veteran's Day, we would like to thank the Veteran's that have served and are serving our country. We (Eric, Hailey, & I) have a cousin Jason who is serving his third term in Iraq, we want him & his family to know we think of him often, our prayers are always with him. We are forever indebted to you. Thank you for protecting us.

May I have your attention please...

This left hand belongs to my beautiful sister-in-law to be!! That's right folks Eric & Lauren are engaged!!! He had planned to ask her next weekend but when he couldn't do chemo last week he changed his plans & they went to Park City, he proposed on the balcony of Stein Eriksen Lodge at sunset. They have not set a date, she wants to finish school, but they are very excited!! So are we!! Congratulations Eric & Lauren!!!

Distraught

That is the only word I can think of to describe how Eric's feeling right now. Eric will not be receiving chemotherapy today, his white blood cell count isn't in the "safe zone". It has to be at a certain level before you can have the treatments. He is upset, I know he feels like he just wants to get these treatments done. He also has to do the Nupagin shots now for all of his treatments. He is not fearing the shots as much as before, he now knows the chemo was the culprit for most of those side effects that plagued him. Let's help him through this, we love you Eric!

Update

Eric continues to feel great, yesterday he went to help set up my mom's booth at our craft boutique (St. James Catholic Church email me if you want the details), he also went to a movie with a friend. Tomorrow though is chemo, his appointment with the clinic is around 9:00 and chemo starts around 11:00. Eric says he can barely feel the lymph node in his neck, woohoo!!

Great day!

I just wanted to let you all know Eric's feeling great hooray!! He is running some errands as I type, it's good to hear that he's out & about again!! Not to be Debbie downer, but chemo again on Thursday, so these next few days should be good ones.

I'm still here

Sorry there hasn't been an update, things around here (my house) are crazy! Eric's feeling okay, still not great though, this chemo treatment seems to have had more of an effect on him than the previous one. He has another treatment next Thursday a total of 6 more to go. His niece & nephews gave him a stuffed pig for his treatments, they appropriately named him bacon. So if you see Eric with a pink pig you'll know why. He's ventured out a little bit the past few days, but not far. We're hoping the days left before treatment will be good ones for him...