Long time, no update

Wow! I have completely neglected this blog. It is my goal to start updating MUCH more regularly!

My latest news is my decision to leave California. My last day of work at the church is March 30, and I will be moving to Cincinnati. At first I will be living with my brother and sister-in-law, then after I get settled I will be looking for a place of my own. There will probably be more news on this later, but I need to finalize some details before I post for the whole world to see.

Stay tuned for more updates!

One year later...

I can't believe that today is the one year anniversary of my dad's diagnosis with cancer. I guess the hardest part is knowing that he is still going through treatment. For some reason I honestly thought he would be finished with treatment and in remission by this point. It is hard to accept that his journey is longer.

My dad was always such a strong man! When I was growing up I believed he could do or beat anything! You never want that image to change. I still think he is the best dad, and the most smartest (get a picture of this - most smartest), and the strongest, but now there is weakness.

He is doing well with his treatment, and we hope he will be finished and pronounced healthy sometime in May. Just in time for his 56th Birthday! What a great present that would be!

Update on my Dad...

I'm sorry I haven't updated on my dad in a long while! I will try to do better from now on. Sometimes it gets hard to share what is going on, but I know it is good for me!

My dad is currently going through chemo. He started this round of chemo on November 18. He was supposed to have 8 rounds of chemo, every other week, and he would finish February 17. After the first treatment they realized his body would not be able to tolerate every 2 weeks, so they switched it to every 3 weeks. This is both good and bad. It gives my dad a little time to feel better before he has to be sick again, but now his chemo will last an additional 8 weeks.

Last week my dad called me and he told me he wasn't feeling well. I told him he needed to go to the doctor and not wait for his next chemo appointment. He went in the beginning of this week and they think he has contracted some virus. They will need to wait another week before they try chemo again. Another setback! This is hard on my dad, and it is hard on me. I just want my dad to be better. This journey has lasted 10 months so far, since his diagnosis, and he has been through so much. He has had chemo, radiation, surgery, and now chemo again. I know the doctors just want to make sure all the cancer is gone. I just need to accept that they know what is best.

I would really appreciate you keeping him in your prayers!

Thanks!

Holidays!

The holidays flew by this year! It was kind of crazy how fast November and December went.

For my birthday, a few of my friends planned a girls night to Benihana! It was fantastic. There were 9 of us girls who went, and we had a blast. That night a couple of us had a sleep over. It was so much fun acting like I was 12 again!

For Thanksgiving, we decided to take the Wednesday before and go to Disneyland! My brother, me, and two of our close friends, Nick & Karen went out for breakfast then drove to Disneyland for the day. It was a lot of fun. It was cool out, so there weren't a ton of people there. We also found out that Karen was pregnant! On Thanksgiving Day we went over to Josh and Lacy's house with about 20 other people, and we all just had a big friends/family Thanksgiving. It's hard being away from family at the holidays, but we have such amazing friends out here that we almost don't notice! They are honestly like our second family!

Christmas involved being at the church a lot. We didn't do a big Christmas production this year, but each week we had a different theme. On Christmas Eve our church has Candlelight communion. We had 3 services this year. My friend Jess also came into town from Ohio for a few days over Christmas break. We were able to hang out, which was so nice! It has been so long! We went over to Nick and Karen's along with some other friends for Christmas Eve chili and then on Christmas Day too! Jess left Christmas morning, but it was great seeing her again. A group of us went over to Nick and Karen's one more time for New Year's eve.

All in all, the holidays were amazing!!

Thank you to my friends and family for doing that for me!!

NYC!

This post is way overdue, but I wanted to let you all know about my wonderful trip to NYC in October. Our church choir went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir Conference this year, and it was AMAZING! I was excited for the conference, but I was most excited for the trip to NY with several great friends! I wasn't disappointed on either!

The first day of the conference, actually the first session of the conference, made the whole trip worth it. I have never been spoken to so directly! Pastor Jim Cymbala is a fantastic preacher! He is able to speak to thousands of people, yet make it feel as if he has written his message specifically for you! I would recommend you listen to him if you ever get a chance. He has also written several awesome books. You should check them out. My favorite is Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire. Being able to attend practice with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir was life-changing as well. Carol Cymbala is fantastic at what she does! The choir is amazing! Everything about it was fantastic. I wasn't able to sing on Sunday with the choir because I was sick, but I don't feel like I missed anything! All of my friends told me how amazing everything was.

The rest of the trip was a blast too! I was able to see 2 broadway shows for a total of $85!!! That is amazing! The shows were fantastic too! We went as a big group to see Mary Poppins which was a lot of fun. We all got dressed up and had such a good time. The show was fantastic, especially the special effects. That made the show so much more amazing than you can imagine! The next night 4 of us went and saw Chicago. The shows couldn't have been more different as far as set and props and special effects, but Chicago was amazing in it's own right. To be able to pull off a show with little to no set is fantastic. And that is what they did! I loved it!

We were able to just wander around NYC for a few days, eat some great food, and spend time with friends! That was one of the best trips I have ever been on!!

Long time, no blog

I realized today that I haven't blogged in a couple of months. That is not because nothing has been going on. Believe you me! The best thing that has happened is my trip to NYC. I will talk more about that later, and include pictures, but I just wanted to say that things are just "okay" right now. I will update more later.

A Long Couple of Weeks

Last week I flew out to the midwest to visit my family. It was my vacation, but in reality I came back more exhausted than when I left! I went to Marion, IN first to visit my mom. The day after I got there, my sister showed up and dropped both of her kids off and left. I had to watch my 2 year old nephew and 3 month old niece all day! No car, nowhere to go... I love them, and I will always be willing to watch them, but I did want to visit some people while I was there. Sorry to all of you I couldn't see!!

Friday my mom, nephew, and I drove down to Kentucky/Southern Indiana for my brother Jordan's wedding. Friday night was the rehearsal dinner and Saturday was the wedding. Again, I was watching my nephew! He is a handfull!! You can tell he is Jodi's son.

On Sunday Jared, my dad, and I went to my dad's church. It has a grand total of 16 people!! Sunday afternoon and evening we just hung out since my dad wasn't feeling well. Monday morning, we were up bright and early because my dad had his surgery! Everything went well. The doctor thinks she got all the cancer!! YAY!!!!! He is still in the hospital and will be until next week at least since he had some minor complications, but then he will move in with my brother and sister-in-law until he is well.

I got back to San Diego on Tuesday night, went to work at 8 am on Wednesday morning, and had my first class that night!! We have a test every week!! What have I gotten myself into?!?!?!

That is just a little update on my life the past week and a half!