Third Day!

We had a great time at the show last night. Jen and I got to run the merch table on the second floor. While the concert was going in, Jen was able to sneak away from the table and watch the show while I kept an eye on things. Afterwards, the band did a meet and greet with anyone who wanted something signed. We got some drum sticks signed for little D and a CD signed for Uncle Wesley. Hard to believe that Third Day has been performing for almost 20 years.

LBL-Saturday

After a restless night on my bunk bed, we were greeted with fresh snow, coffee, bacon, hash browns and more wonderful conversations with the cancer warriors. It's amazing how this terrible disease touches so many people in so many ways. I was blessed and encouraged by the strength and resolve of the warriors and their care givers. I also can't say enough about the volunteers and the way they took such good care of us. The rule was no cancer survivors in the kitchen!!

After breakfast, we packed up and more Sherpas arrived to take all the stuff back down the hill. It was lots easier heading downhill then up! We made it back to the cars in a little less then an hour. Amazing weekend. Amazing and brave survivors. Thoughtful and caring volunteers.

Live by Living

Back in February, my social worker/counsellor suggested I apply for an overnight snow shoe hike with a group from Breckenridge called Live by Living. They set up and lead outdoor hikes, snow shoe trips and overnight adventures for cancer survivors and their care givers. So I applied for the overnight hike and was accepted!

There were seven survivors, two care givers, and a widow who made the trip. There were also 5 overnight volunteers who did all the cooking and taking care of the survivors. We were also blessed with with 10 "Sherpas" who carried all our gear and food for the meals up to the cabin. All I had to carry was my Camelback and a few extra clothes.

The hike acceded 900 over 2 miles up to a little over 12,000 feet. Not much oxygen up there! After arriving at the cabin in a little under two hours, the leaders had snacks and warm drinks for us! Which was quite a challenge since we had to melt snow on the wood burning stove for water. Thankfully for a guy recovering from rectal cancer there were indoor toilets. We talked and got to know one another and our stories the rest of the evening. Dinner was an amazing Italian dish with all the fixings. There was more coffee and tea and wine then I could drink. It was quite a fun day and evening.

Cards

As I transition from sick cancer patient to full time employee for Frito-Lay, there are a few more posts I need to throw up that occurred during the last 7-12 months. This is one of them. All of my supporters that sent cards and letters earned a place on my Victory Wall in the library. Anytime over the last several months when I would be sick or discouraged or be struggling with one crazy symptom of the cancer or chemo or radiation, I'd take a look at all these cards and letters and be strengthened for the next battle ahead. So thanks to everyone who took time to write and send a card or letter. They would always arrive at the right time, and say things I needed to hear. Thanks!

Route 96435

I think that's my new route number back at Frito. I survived my first week back in the world of work. Thankfully I had help everyday while I knocked the rust off and got reacquainted with my new route. I have 15 stores covering 4 different cities along I-25 and Highway 34. It is quite a change from running Walmarts and King Scoopers. For my first week back I ran $9,035 and beat my stales plan by $55. I also have a nice Sprinter truck to drive that has a heater, air conditioning and a CD player!

Roadie!

Today I got to be a roadie for a day as I was asked to help with the merch table set up for the Third Day concert in Greeley tonight. It was fun to see all the behind the scenes stuff that goes on before the concert. Tonight Jennifer will help at the merch table and I will help at the World Vision table. Plus we get a free shirt and free entry into the concert!

181 days

Here I was 181 days ago. 6 months. Hard to believe how fast the time went and how much has happened in that time. Today I did something different. I went back to work at Frito Lay. Let me tell you, that alarm clock going off at 3:45 is a lot different then rolling out of bed at 7:15. I started a new route today too! The out going RSR retired on Friday. I bid on the route and was awarded it. No more Wal-Marts!! I am back to servicing the small grocery stores and several conscience stores. I will work Monday through Friday now as a lead RSR. I am my own man. I like what I see on the route so far. More importantly, I will have weekends off with the family and be able to attend church on a regular basis. While it will take a few weeks to knock the rust off, I feel my body is mostly healed from the trama I have put it through over the last six months. With only one chemo left on May 17, we are almost to the finish line. Thanks again for everyone's prayers, support and encouragement. This has been truly a team effort.

Gallery Hop

Friday night was filled with culture as we attended the middle school/high school yearly art show at Frontier. We were blown away once again by the amazing art that the kids produced this year. It really is stunning to see the amount and quality of the pieces on display. The family followed that up with a presentation of the school musical "Oz the Great and Powerful." It was also very well done. Finally, Ryan and Big Andrew attended the opening night at the Moxi Theatre. We watched many of the fine music instructors at UNC jam together until the early morning hours. Quite a night.

Hearts!

Today was the annual 4th grade dissecting of the cow hearts. If anyone remembers Nathanael last year at the eye ball dissecting, you know how much he was looking forward to the hearts this year. He wasn't disappointed. The kids used the sticks to trace various veins and arteries throughout the heart. So thankful for the many parents that showed up to help and the teachers for putting together such a neat unit. And no one threw up!

Breckenridge-Saturday

Saturday would end up being our last day in Breckenridge. Even though we had the condo through Sunday, everyone was beginning to get homesick after being on the road since last Friday. So we spent the morning cleaning, packing, doing some laundry and getting ready to head home. We also met with Duck, the founding director of Domus Pacis. We thanked her for the week, gave some feedback, and told her we would love to help other families in any way we could. Then it was time for our last adventure: the tubbing hill at Copper Mountain!!

Due to several factors, mostly the size of our family and the cost of getting everyone outfitted in winter sports gear, we don't do any winter activities. So it was a pretty big deal to go to our first ski area as a family. And you could tell it was our first visit: jeans, tennis shoes, hoodies, and mismatched gloves and hats. We were all a little nervous to as we approached the giant tubbing hill. But all that disappeared as we finished our first run and nearly sprinted to the lift to do it again. It was so neat to see the brothers laughing and planning their next run together. Sarabeth was pretty brave going down the fastest run all by herself. We only had an hour on the hill and we used every minute of it. On the way back to the car, the kids were saying how awesome it was and how they couldn't wait until next winter to do it again. Who knows, maybe we strap on a pair of skis or snowshoes next winter and enjoy all that Colorado has to offer.

Breckenridge-Friday

We didn't have much planned for Friday and Saturday because we were supposed to be joined by Jim and Janet for a few days and had planned to do some stuff with them. Janet hurt her back, so they stayed in Grand Junction. So, we were pretty open for the weekend. The group did make it back to Breckenridge for open ice skating from 1030-noon. Nathanael remarked after a few minutes on the ice, "I'm better then Noah at something!!" And he was. The kid is fearless. We returned to the condo for lunch and another game of dominos. Jen and I made a quick trip back into Breck so I could visit the Breckenridge Distillery and we could pick up a few things for the kids. Dinner was some Qdoba back at the condo. Another great day in the mountains!