Six months--the amount of time since I last posted. Shame on me. It is my New Year's Resolution to post more this year. Once a month is what I'm shooting for. How about you? Have you got any goals for 2014? Lose weight? Get organized? Save money? All of the above? ___    ___ Check Yes or No Determination. That is the way to get it done. Just as I am determining to post more here. While Emma's cancer journey is over, life after cancer continues, and that stinking cancer has definitely left its effects on Emma. I have a few things to say about that, so stay tuned. And thank ..read more

When I was young I used to listen to my mom rant and rave about all the things she worried about. My brother. My sisters. Her brother. Her friends. Burglars. Car accidents. Nuclear disaster (okay, maybe not that last one). I swore to myself that I would never be a worry wart. Fate laughs in my face now that I'm an adult. My fears aren't quite the same as hers were, at least that's what I tell myself. I worry about every bruise on my children's bodies. I worry about every stray fever that has no other symptoms. My youngest has been tested for cancer three separate times now, just because ..read more

A few years ago we were at a beach retreat for families living through pediatric cancer. Every morning the parents met in a form of "group therapy", and one of the parental sets was a mom and dad whose child had already finished treatment. The mother talked about how hard it was to readjust to normal life. I remember thinking, at the time, that I didn't understand what she meant. I understand now. It's not so much adjusting to normal life as it is no longer having that carrot out in front of me. For so long we had one solid goal--get Emma through treatment. Now there is nothing, at least noth ..read more

I've heard it said that we live in a narcissistic society, and I am inclined to agree. No, I'm not saying everyone I know is self-absorbed. What I'm saying is that, through living in the world of pediatric cancer, I have become self-absorbed. For years there were many people who wanted to know all about Emma at all times. How is she? When does she finish? Has she been sick? It became second nature to just believe it was all about us. All the time. Do I want to be a narcissist? Well, no. Do I want to believe it's all about me? Of course not. So I am working on it. I'm conscientiously lowe ..read more

You can't judge a book by its cover--this is something we all know. But do we do it? Probably not, right? I was reminded of this mantra a few days ago. I was at a gas station when a very nice car pulled up. To my surprise, out climbed three women, all wearing pajamas! I chuckled and shook my head. My first thought was, "Why would anyone go out in public in their pajamas?" As soon as the thought formed, I remembered something. Nearly three years ago now I made a road trip to Memphis for the very first time, and yes, I was in my pajamas. It wasn't because I wanted to be comfortable for th ..read more

Everything we do in life changes us--either for the good or the bad. This post is hard to write, even though it's something I've been thinking about writing for a while. Emma's cancer journey has changed her. It stole her innocence and left her fearful of everything. When she and Ashlyn play outside, Ashlyn runs into the trees, laughing and chasing butterflies. Emma stands back, near the porch, watching Ashlyn have fun. While Ashlyn tries the monkey bars, Emma does the safe thing and only sits on the swing. While Ashlyn proudly tries to ride a bike, Emma sticks to her 3-wheeled scooter becaus ..read more

First, I want to announce the winner of last week's drawing for Alice Wisler's new book, Getting Out of Bed in the Morning. Cathy Seehuetter is our winner! Congrats, Cathy! We had Emma's No More Chemo party several weeks ago, and I thought some of you might like to see the pictures. I'm sharing them here now. I hope you enjoy them!      And here's the slideshow we played at her party. Enjoy ..read more

Today I'm very honored to have a guest with us. She is a fellow writer, one I met online. I found out about her son, Daniel, when I mentioned I had a child with cancer. Alice was quick to share her story and offer a shoulder to lean on if I should need it. She has written a book about dealing with grief, and let me tell you, this book is fantastic--whether your child has cancer or not!  Katie--Hi Alice, thanks for stopping by! Can you tell us a little about your son and his diagnosis? Thanks for having me as guest on your blog. Daniel was a mama’s boy, a lover of C ..read more

Have you ever had to make your child do something that broke your heart? You know, something that was hard for them, maybe made them cry, but you knew they had to go through it? Think: dealing with a fight with friends at school, getting a shot, or taking yucky medicine. It hurt you, too, right? Maybe you cried once you got alone. You wished you could take away your child's pain, but you knew you couldn't. It was something they needed to go through. I realized recently that this is probably how God feels. When we have trials and tribulations, I believe God sits in Heaven weeping for us, his ..read more

LOOK! The countdown ticker says the most glorious words--complete. Technically Emma's treatment is complete, and she will never get that poison we call chemotherapy again. However, things don't always go as planned. I had a few goals this week, and none of them will be completed. First of all, it was my goal to go to Memphis and celebrate Emma's end of treatment. Instead we ended up in the hospital for 5 days for an ear infection (yes, you read that right). "But her treatment is complete, right?" you ask. Uh, maybe. Maybe not. Technically she is done. However, her doctors may choose to give h ..read more