We Four Kings

Hi there! Remember me? I used to blog regularly-ish, and post pictures of my adorable little girls and say funny stuff? (Well, at least the first two.) Then life got busier, I got behind, then I thought about how much catching up I needed to do, then I thought "Just start where you are and work backwards", then I knew that my OCD-prone self couldn't handle that, so I went back to realizing how much catching up I had to do; then on top of that I heard that there were some changes with Blogger and was afraid that I'd just be annoyed with the changes and didn't want to put in the time to figure that out. So I didn't put any time into the blog. So here we are, many months later and no updates. I'm going to force myself to just start with "now" and update you all a little bit.

As most of you know, Dave was diagnosed with cancer at the end of 2009, making 2010 quite an interesting and exhausting year for all of us. After many intense chemotherapy treatments and painful surgeries/recoveries, he was declared cancer-free in June 2010. In some ways things got a little harder after that. Dave contacted his boss once he felt able to work a little more, and his boss didn't even have enough business for himself and was unable to hire him back. :( For some reason, Dave's disability claim had been turned down earlier in the year, so we were really struggling financially by this point.

Thankfully, he was able to find another job as a computer tech in August and started working part-time. We also felt like he needed to finish his Associate's Degree that fall, so he enrolled full-time in school and was able to complete all his coursework--with straight A's! We really learned the importance of following promptings from the Spirit, because it didn't really make sense for him to enroll in school when he was just barely recovering from cancer, but he was given the strength and endurance to do it and excelled! He walked at graduation in April of this year, and I was so proud!

Fall of 2010 I was also able to start substitute teaching again. It was very crazy coordinating schedules, as Dave was working from 9am-1pm Monday through Friday, the girls were with his mom from 8-3 while I subbed, and then he had night classes starting at 5pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays--and all this with only one car! It was crazy times, but we were definitely blessed and made it through. During the week of Christmas that year we went to Disneyland with both our families, and it was a fun, exhausting time for all. :)

Beginning in January of 2011, Dave's work schedule changed to Tuesday through Thursday from 8-5, making it a little easier to do subbing. I started subbing most Mondays and Fridays so that he could watch the girls, and then I was home with them in the middle of the week. I was also called as the Relief Society secretary, which added a little bit of busy-ness to life, but I've really enjoyed having that calling. I get to know all the women at church, but am mostly behind the scenes, where I like to be. :) During the summer, my mom came to visit for Gracie's birthday, and our time with her got extended quite a bit when my grandmother passed away (in Arizona). My mom and I rented a car and drove with the girls to Arizona for the funeral, and then she drove back with me and flew home a few days later. We were sad to lose my grandma, but she had been suffering for several years and it was a relief to know that her suffering was over.

In August Gracie started Kindergarten, and we still can't believe that she's old enough to go to school! She absolutely loves it, and her hardest days the past few months have been days when she's had to miss school (for illness or doctor's appointments). Weekends are hard for her too, because she has to go TWO WHOLE DAYS without school! ;) She is doing very well academically too, and tries to read anything and everything she comes across. Her writing/knowledge of phonics is especially good, and she will write long letters to people without us even knowing about it. Also, her teacher recently said that Gracie doesn't have a mean bone in her body, and she got very good grades in "Kindness" and "Respect" because she is always trying to help others. (On a side note, I've been lucky enough to volunteer in her class once a week, and it has been so fun. She looks forward to me coming every week, and I love getting to know her little friends and her teacher and seeing how they all interact. Good stuff.)

Dave's and my work schedules have stayed the same, with me working Mondays and Fridays and him working Tuesday through Thursday. (His mom is so sweet and watches the girls if I take a job in the middle of the week too, which has been so great.) Dave gets frustrated because he is still battling a lot of the after-effects of chemo (especially exhaustion), so he can't do as much as he'd like to, but I think he's doing pretty darn well. :) We've heard that it can take several years to completely return to "normal," so he's having to be patient with himself and his body. He works so hard for us and does all he can for us, and I'm incredibly grateful for him.

Well, there's the Reader's Digest version of what we've been doing the past year and a half! Right now we're enjoying the Christmas holidays and looking forward to lots of great family times soon. Dave's younger brother Mike is getting married in the Mesa Temple on December 20, which works out very nicely for us since it means we get to be with my family and Dave's family at Christmastime! Woohoo! Now that this blog feels somewhat updated, I'll try to at least post cute pictures when I have them (but no promises!). Have a great day!

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Okay, okay.....since you've been such loyal readers, I'll post one cute picture now. ;) Here are my sweet girls, enjoying the fall leaves outside our apartment. Aren't they adorable?!