Back to normal.

We finally have recovered from Relay. It was really rough on all of us. A lot of work went into the whole thing. We are happy we did it, but also glad it is over. We are brainstorming ideas for next year. We want to do something that will raise money specifically for the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation rather than for all cancers. They really need our help if we are to ever find a cure.

This week has been pretty uneventful. Lauren is feeling much better. Her chest is not hurting near as bad. We will be heading to Michigan early Tuesday morning. She has a CT scan scheduled for 1:00. We need to be there an hour early. She has labs, doctor's appt., and chemo on Wed. Please pray that her scans come back with a positive outcome. Lauren and I went shopping on Thurs. to get Ryan his birthday presents. His birthday was on Thurs., but he had to work. We didn't get to celebrate his birthday until Sunday evening. Schedules just didn't work until then. He got lots of camping and survival stuff along with stuff for running and biking. Here are some pics of his birthday celebration.

Ryan and Stephanie celebrating his 21st Birthday!!

Ryan blowing out his candles. I made a yellow lemon jello poke cake with Cool Whip. Delicious!

Ryan and Stephanie met Gio and Lauren after bowling on Thurs. and went to Puckers. Ryan got his first drink at a bar. I can't believe my youngest child is old enough to drink!! I am proud that he waited until he was 21 to drink. He has only had sips of wine or margaritas when he was with us. He never engaged in under age drinking. What a good kid.

Lauren and Gio went to a rehearsal dinner for their friends, Michael and Courtney that were getting married on Sat. Here is a pic of Lauren before Gio came to pick her up. She is so pretty.

Gio was in the wedding on Sat., so Lauren's friend Emmed, came and picked her up for the wedding. They all had a great time. I don't have any pictures to show. Sorry.


I pulled off a huge feat this week. Kristen had called last week and said she and Bruce were going to help their friend, Asher move to Pittsburgh this weekend. He is starting a Fellowship there after being in a residency program at U of M. She said they would stop on their way back home and surprise everyone. So, I kept the secret all week. Before I get in to that, I have to tell you about Asher. He is such a nice guy. Kristen met him back when she started medical school, which was in 2005. In fact, Kristen, Asher, and two other friends, Paul and AJ, all lived together in a big house for two years when they were in medical school in Toledo. They were all such good friends that Kristen had all of them in her wedding as her bridesmen! When she and Bruce went to U of M for their residencies, so did Asher. He was in a different program though. He is so nice that he even came and visited Lauren when she was having chemo a few times. Kristen was really upset to see him move away, but I am sure they will be life long friends. Here is a pic of her sweet bridesmen on her and Bruce's wedding day.

Kristen's best buds. From left to right Paul, Asher, Kristen and AJ.

 So, on with the story. We had first planned that they would surprise everyone and then we would go out to breakfast. I knew something would go wrong and someone would get mad or something so I decided I would make a huge breakfast and I said it was for Ryan's birthday so no one would get suspicious. Turns out Ryan had to work and didn't even get to eat with us.I made a big pan of this egg dish that has eggs, milk, cheese, sausage, and bread in it. I also made hash browns and orange and caramel rolls. I had everything almost finished and Kristen walked in the front door. Mark was so shocked to see her. Bruce came in moments after. Lauren and Gio were shocked too. It was awesome to surprise them like that. We were all so excited to see them because it seems like we never see them enough. We had a great time eating breakfast and then we all went to see Gio's house. They hadn't seen the inside yet. They left from there and went and surprised Ryan at work before they headed home. So much fun!! Here is a pic of us eating breakfast.

Lauren, Gio, Mark, and I went swimming in the afternoon. That was about it for this week. I will update everyone with news about the CT scan later this week. Take care and thanks for your support.

Love, -Pam

Wo and Gio enjoying life.