Life is Better than Good.: January 2015

Monday, January 26, 2015

"Cancer Won't Happen to Me".

You hear it in the news, you see it on your Facebook feed, you hear stories at work or school, you see people "running or donating for a cause".....what am I talking about? Cancer. Ever thought, "cancer won't happen to me?" Cancer is real. And we know, cancer can happen to anyone. It affects millions of people every day. It's sickening. It's horrible. It's disgusting. It's disheartening. It's terrible. BUT it's not all powerful...only one man can claim that title.

I'm writing this because cancer has affected our family. Jordan (my cousins husband) was diagnosed with an astrocytoma (a tumor of the brain) in August 2008. He was 24. Since then, he has had a million checkups, received numerous rounds of chemotherapy and had brain surgery in 2013. The surgery was successful as the doctors were able to remove 80% of the tumor but left Jordan with some challenges. After rounds of more chemo, the tumor appeared to be gone. As we all know, cancer is nasty and unpredictable. Months later the cancer came back.

Ever met a hero? If you haven't, let me introduce you to two: Jessica and Jordan. They have both dealt with more in 6 years than many of us will deal with in a lifetime. They've dealt with ups and downs, hope taken and hope given back, tears, uncertainties, challenges, and obstacles. I cannot begin to describe the amount of strength these two have. Since Jordan was diagnosed he has continued to work, provide for his family and take care of little Emma in the process. Ever met Jordan? You would never know what he is going through. He remains positive and would never take a hand out from anyone. He is stronger than anyone I know. He is brave. He is courageous. He is tough. He is a FIGHTER. As for Jessica....courageous is an understatement and I know Jordan would attest to that. She has been there for him EVERY step of the way. Through the ups and downs she continues to be the rock. She works everyday, keeps up with Emma, is there for Jordan every step of the way and still maintains her superwoman mentality. I don't know how she does it. Honestly. I feel like I would break. I would be overwhelmed and ready to give up. Funny how God doesn't put us through anything that we cannot handle. I have no doubt that God chose these two because he knows their strength. Their marriage....I've seen nothing like it. They remain so in love and their support for one another is beyond inspiring. God has an enormous plan for them, I know it.

Jordan currently has an MRI every few weeks to check the tumor. He will start chemo soon, which could potentially affect his work schedule and ability to take care of Emma. As you can imagine, the bills are OUTRAGEOUS. Between medication, MRI's and his recent surgery....its tough. Could you REALLY imagine?

Our family is in constant prayer that God will provide like he always does. We DO have HOPE and we DO know that we serve an AWESOME God. We ask that if you can, please help with Jordan and Jessica's expenses. If you can't, please pray. Pray that Jordan and Jessica continue to be warriors, that God will take care of their family, that the tumor will disappear and never return and most importantly, keep them (and us) faithful that God has a plan. Thank you for reading their story and thank you for your love and constant support.

If you would like to support Jessica and Jordan financially, please follow the steps below:

1. Log-in to your PayPal account (if you don't have one, it's super easy to set-up)
2. Click "send money to a friend" at the top of the page
3. Type in Jessica's email: jessica.salyersbanks@gmail.com
4. Type in the amount you would like to donate
5. Click "next"
6. Review and confirm the information on the screen and click "send"

PayPal will send Jessica an email to let her know that you sent a donation. You have NO idea how much they will appreciate your generosity.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

With love,

Our Family

Jess and Jordan

He's smitten with her for sure.

Emma and Daddy

Emma is 1!

He's gonna kill me for posting this one :) Love you Jordan!

Jess and I

Wait....which one of you ate that big ol' plate of food?!

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Dedication.

We could not be more honored to have Lyla dedicated to her Creator. She was dedicated on Sunday, December 28th at our church (Grace Covenant). Pastor Farrell dedicated her along with Gage when he was little and married Erik and I :) We love him and feel so blessed to call Grace Covenant our home. When my Pawpaw died in 2000 I started going with my Meemaw to keep her company. It wasn't long after going that I realized this was a place that I loved and felt this was where I was called to worship. Erik and I officially joined after we got married and have loved it since. Sorry, got off topic.

Anyways....Lyla looked like a little angel. We love her to pieces and can't wait to tell her all about what God has already done for her and our family. We are truly blessed to have two healthy babies to call our own.

Lyla Ray, you are loved by SO many....but most importantly, the man upstairs. God will never forsake you and he will always be there when you need him. THAT is why we chose to have you dedicated to him and we know that one day you will REALLY find out how truly amazing our God is.

A little cat nap on the way.

Meemaw and Lyla.

Thank you to our family for your support of Lyla and our family! We didn't get a picture with everyone but you know who you are :) We love you!!

Christmas 2014.

We had a great Christmas and I think Lyla enjoyed her FIRST Christmas :) Erik and I were talking about how much fun it is to see your kids light up when they open presents. Way more fun than receiving presents yourself....at least for us.

So anyways, we went to Erik's family in Burlington on Christmas Eve. We got to celebrate at Grandmaw's nursing home because she is hard to remove from the home so we went to her! We had a great time and played dirty santa with the family. We came back home that night so Gage could wake up Christmas morning to see what Santa brought him. He didn't wake up until 9:00 :) Wahoo.

To prep for Santa we made him cookies (Gage asked if he could leave two so see if Santa would share, haha) and milk. Gage got carried away with the sprinkles....as usual (see below).

This is the first time Gage really "got it". In the past we really just had one small toy for him to open but Erik HAD to get him more this year. All he asked for was a squishy snake. So he definitely got that and who would have thought that a $14 toy would be his favorite! His "big" gift was a new tool bench. He liked the shop vac that came with it and thought it was pretty cool that it had a light to help him see. He got "big boy underwear" and Santa wrote him a note. Santa told him he wanted him to be using the potty and sleeping in a big boy bed by the time he comes back next year. Ha, we can only HOPE. He has no desire to not wear diapers, argh.

After spending some time at our house Christmas morning, we went to my mom and dads to eat lunch and open gifts there. That night we went to Mimi's and had Christmas with my moms side of the family.

As always, we are beyond grateful to have both of our families and get the opportunity to share Christmas with them.

YaYa and all her babies!

Evelyn and Gage waiting to see Santa :)

We tried.....

Poor Santa....he had to have had a stomach ache.

Christmas Jammies!

Jenna and Lyla

Reese and Lyla

La La, Bella, and Lyla

Exhausted.

7 & 8 months.

Seriously, we have been sick in this household since October....not kidding. I have never been sick so often in my LIFE and I'm a teacher; I have a good immune system. Gage and Lyla have been sick almost as much as I have, poor babies. Lyla is just now getting over a double ear infection. Erik too...and you know how whiny men are when they are sick.....love ya babe!

So the whole point of that intro was to let you know I have a good excuse for not updating the blog....I have lots of those :) Need one? Just ask.

Anyways, I feel like a lot has happened since Lyla was 6 months old. She is now sleeping consistently, yeppppp! Finally. So apparently when I was breastfeeding she wasn't getting enough. She finally wouldn't refuse formula anymore (around 7 months old) and now has (4) 8 ounce bottles a day versus (4) 4 ounce bottles a day...poor thang. Needless to say we are all formula here. She will only drink Enfamil A.R. (added rice). Whatever. If she drank $80 formula I'd still buy it, I need sleep :) Erik has been a HUGE help now that he can help feed her. Speaking of Erik......

Lyla is a daddy's girl. Why is that?! Why are boys into their moms and girls into their dads? Weird. Seriously though, she loves him. He gets her to sleep like no other. He tried to teach me the trick but I'm not quite as good. She will say "da-da" sometimes. Turd. What about "momma"?

She is smiling ALL.THE.TIME. That big ol' head and one little dimple always makes for a cute smile, ha! To think the doctors thought her head was proportionally small (in the womb), hilarious. She loves to be talked to and LOVES her brother. There is nothing sweeter than Gage entertaining, singing, and loving on Lyla. He loves her to pieces....never saw that coming. He calls her "Lyla Boo", "pretty girl", and "punkin". Sweet thang. He might be crazy but he is protective over his sister.

She loves her jumperoo, Erik and I love watching her jump in it. She still likes the paci; should be interesting when its time to get rid of it. Gage just didn't want his anymore one day....we could only be so lucky with Lyla.

She is sitting up but if she reaches for something to the left or right, down she goes. She LOVES to roll on the floor; she will roll around for an hour and be completely happy. She is extremely difficult to feed. She has ADD. She is so into everyone else or every little sound that she hears so she is constantly looking around. So as you put the food to her mouth, she turns the other way and it gets everywhere. She loves fruit and to get her to eat veggies, I have to mix her food when I make it. Did I mention she is high maintenance?

I see Gage in her as in, the not staying still part. She is always reaching for something or pulling my hair out and ya'll know I need my hair (EVERY strand). I still love her though.

She enjoyed her first Christmas, she actually ripped open her gifts, ha! She was dedicated to our church days later and we couldn't be more blessed. I have some more updating to do but until then, here is our little angel :)