Funny of the Day

It's me again! Sorry for the lack of contact - in response to the question one of my friends always asks me when I go underground - no, I have not been abducted by aliens. I am still just trying to figure out how to do this recover from cancer with four kids thing... Just when I think I am starting to get some stuff figured out something rocks the Gressman boat and I feel like I have to start over. I am not complaining (or meaning to sound "complainy") it has just been a process.

Anywhoo... I do have a funny of the day for you that I could not resist sharing. It is actually from my 6 year old. He is my quiet one and most like his daddy. Thoughtful, sweet, and definitely a protector. Yep, sounds just like my hubs through and through. 

He wants to be a soldier when he grows up and he loves policemen, although when he sees them in public he gets really shy. We were in a nearby town a few months back eating at a Subway and a couple of them came in to eat as well. He stared at them for the longest time and finally my hubby took him over there to introduce him. They ended up letting him sit in both of their cars and run the lights and all. They did draw the line when he started asking about their shotgun that was installed in the front seat. He actually asked them if it was their rocket launcher. LOL. It was a cool experience for him nonetheless. 

He is amazing with his baby sister. I know I have shared the story of when she was born and he said, "I am her 'tector." He will stop in his tracks to help her in some way. The other day I heard him say to his little brother, "We don't let Kearyn (baby sister) cry. Whatever she wants - give it to her." Lord have mercy. 

Anyway, for this "funny of the day" I have to share my secret shame. I have a slight obsession with shows like Forensic Files, Cold Cases, etc. In fact, if God wouldn't have called me to be a wife and a mother that is probably what I would be doing but I like where He put me instead. 

So, I was watching an all new type of forensics show that I found on Netflix (yay me!). My 6 year old came in at the end and heard that the bad man was sentenced to 100 years in prison. My boy's eyes got wide and he said, "100 years, wow mom, that is a long time. Will he even live that long?" I explained the situation and said no, that he would just serve the remainder of his life in prison. He said, "Well, do they feed them or do they starve." I said no, they feed them. He said, "Do they feed them broccoli?" I couldn't help but to laugh at that one. In a 6 year old's mind there is not greater punishment than going to jail AND having to eat broccoli.

Happy Friday!

Andrea

Could it be any worse?

I actually try not to do that much research about my cancer which is very difficult for me because I am kind of a research junkie. I know, I know... weird. I love to learn about new things and I like to be informed as much as possible - especially when it comes to the health of my family. But with the cancer stuff it just gets to be depressing and the once vibrant ray of hope starts to fade as you read all these other stories of what people have had to go through - and when you are going through something like this you can't afford for that to happen.

Today, however, I could not resist and started reading some other "cancer blogs". It was then that I saw a lady who also has Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I think she was about my age and she had two children. But this is what broke my heart... she was 26 weeks pregnant with her 3rd child.... I felt like my heart stopped for a second when I read this.

Can you imagine that being your situation? This sweet mama being over half-way through her pregnancy and being diagnosed with cancer. She also stated that she was starting chemo that very next week and my heart stopped again. At that moment I praised God that he had spared me from having to make that decision because that very well could have been me.

When I was pregnant with my second son they found cancer cells and thought that I had cervical cancer. The one doctor told me that I would need to start treatment immediately. When I asked her what would happen to my baby - she said I would most likely lose him. This was just a thought I could not bare. I had lost four babies prior to finally getting pregnant with this baby and now they were expecting me to do this! I felt like they were asking me to choose between my two children - the one I had and the one that I was carrying inside me.

I quickly sought a second opinion and the second doctor said that they would just monitor me carefully throughout my pregnancy and as long as it didn't start spreading I would be fine - and I was. We now have our five year old son Ky and I can't imagine life without him. As tough as this situation was for me at the time - I cannot imagine what it would be like to be pregnant and diagnosed with something like Hodgkin's.

For those of you who are wondering what happened to the cervical cancer thing - well that was a God thing too. After I had Ky, they still found the cancer cells. In fact, for over a year every time I went in they found them. So what do I do.... I decided I wanted another baby. My fear was that if they did decide to treat me I wouldn't be able to have any more kids. So, I got pregnant with our third son and I fully expected to go through this whole thing all over again. But I went in and there were no cancer cells to be found. Perhaps that explains my shear belief this time around that God is going to heal me from this cancer too. He did it once - I know he can do it again.

I am sure I have shared this with you but I found my first symptom of Hodgkin's when my baby girl was just 2 weeks old. The next day I went into the doctor and they ran some tests and said that the lump (what we later found out was a tumor) in my neck was just a cyst. But the point is that my baby girl was only 2 weeks old. If we moved all of this up even a few months I would have been faced with this very similar situation.

My heart just ached for this mom. She only made one post and her last words were, "I am hoping and praying for the best possible outcome...." I don't know this lady's name, I don't know where she lives, but I am praying that same prayer for her as well. I am praying that same prayer for all of us who are facing cancer or anyone else who is facing tough a situation. And I am just grateful to God that this was not my own reality.

Funny of the Day....

I haven't posted a "funny of the day" from one of my kids in a while. This one I just couldn't resist.

Creide, my 3 year old, was taking his before bed bath. I hear him get out, which is unusual because he usually screams for me at this point. Then he comes running as fast as he can into the kitchen. He gets a chair and climbs up onto it to where we keep our fruit snacks.

In the meantime, he doesn't know that I am in the next room. I say, "Creide, you don't need another fruit snack today."

(Insert deer in headlights look here.)

"Mom," he says sweetly, "I was just going to put one in my pants pocket......"

"Creide...." I chuckle, "you're not wearing any pants."

(Insert Creide's cute little smile here. For those of you who know him know which one I am talking about.)

Ky....

Kylind, or Ky as we affectionately call him, arrived on October 30th nearly five years ago in Fairbanks, Alaska. Every since we found out we were going to have him he has been such a huge blessing to us.

There are so many things about our middle son that are hard to explain. He has the most amazing blue eyes that you can literally get lost in. Even though he has this rough and tough demeanor on the outside he is actually extremely thoughtful and caring (a lot like his dad.) Lately he has become a lot more sensitive and gets his feeling hurt far more then he once did. He loves babies, which was a huge surprise to me, and he is very sensitive to animals. If he thinks an animal doesn’t have a home he is the first one to want to adopt it. He absolutely adores his baby sister and says that he is her “tector” (as in protector) and I don’t doubt it for a minute. I pity anyone who tries to mess with Ky’s baby sister.

From the minute his sister was born he has had a comfort level with her that is just
so amazing to me. He will pick her up and put her on his shoulder and just pat
away without a worry even though I am a nervous wreck fearful that he is going to
drop her. He always gives me these funny looks as I am doing acrobatic moves to
ensure my hands are just in the right place just in case. Yet, he has never dropped her, never even bobbled her. He just has this confidence with her that is beyond his years. This always makes me smile because I think of what a wonderful daddy he will be someday.

One of my favorite things about Ky are his questions. He has the most thoughtful
questions and he will just rapid fire them at you whether you know the answers or
not. I also love his chubby little hands with his dimpled knuckles, especially
watching him fold them together with squinted eyes as he prays. He has become
so thoughtful in his prayers and his relationship with God and this has been so wonderful to watch. One day he looked at me with those deep
blue eyes and said, “You know mom, God is in charge.” All I could do was chuckle at him
and say, “Yes He is Ky....yes He is...."

Even though Ky just has this natural popularity about him and he just draws
people to him he is actually relatively shy. He gets embarrassed easily and does not like doing things in front of others if he isn’t absolutely 100% sure of himself. Again, all of this reminds me so much of his dad.

When I think of Ky, I think of the following scripture.... "Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior." Psalm 24:3-5 Ky just has this way about him that is so pure and innocent. His wonderful questions are such a reflection of this. He looks up at you with those big crystal blue eyes and you can't help but to see goodness. You can't help but to imagine what looking in the eyes of Jesus might be like. In my heart I can't imagine it being far off then lookin in the eyes of my dear sweet boy......

Cale....

I wanted to write a little something about each of our children. Being that Cale is our oldest and because we also celebrated his birthday this week I thought it would make sense to start with him. However, I have been attempting to write about him this entire week and it has been very difficult. For the life of me I couldn't figure out why, as words usually come easily to me especially when it comes to my family. Finally it hit me. There is just so much to say.... I could literally write a novel about this child and the circumstances of his life without skipping a beat and probably still wouldn't get everything in there. The crazy thing is that he is only 11 years old!

I could tell you about the miracle of his birth and how hard he had to fight to even be here with us today. I could tell you about his stay in the NICU, how he had to have a tracheotomy tube put in at 5 days old which he had for the first 14 months of his life or how he has had six surgeries so far. I could tell you the fancy names of his diagnosis'. I could go on and on about the many times he has proven different doctors and health care providers wrong but as I think of all of those things now they just don't seem to matter as much as they once did.

Sure, those things are all apart of his life and always will be. Sure, we are still dealing with some of the medical issues that he was born with and will continue to deal with those for the next several year. It just seems like such an injustice to let ourselves be consumed by all those things when those are not the things that represent Cale. Those are just things that have happened to Cale, that is not who Cale is.

My goal as a mom is that when you look at my son you see what a fine young man he is growing into. That you see how caring and polite that he is. When you talk to him you immediately realize how brilliant he is as he can definitely carry on an intelligent conversation with the best of them. Most of all, I hope that when you see Cale you also see Christ because at the very core of Cale you will find that his faith and his deep belief in God are what matter most to him. If you see that in our son then Jason and I have been successful parents. Most importantly we have honored God in how He has called us to raise him. There is nothing else we could ask for as parents or nothing else that could bring us greater joy.

When I think of Cale the following scripture comes to mind. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11. I know many of you are familiar with this scripture as it is a popular one, especially around graduation time. But as I think of Cale this scripture takes on a whole new meaning. The things that Cale has had to go through have been difficult to say the least but from the moment that child was born I knew that he was in God's hands. Now, eleven years later he is living that out. We cannot wait to see what the future holds for him or how God decides to use him and we just thank God for "prospering" him.