One thing I’ve learned this past year: even when things seem at their worst, there is always hope.

Hope is the center of light that keeps you going when you are otherwise surrounded by darkness. Amazingly, it is that darkness itself that allows you to behold the beauty that is hope and love. Knowing this instills gratitude in my heart regardless of what each day unfolds.

To all of those radiant souls who have lit our path this past year with your love, your generosity, your faith and your hope, I send a heartfelt Thank You, from my heart to yours.

Renaissance Fun

Lily was so excited to go to the Renaissance Festival this year and we had a terrific time!! Of course we had to dress up, eat turkey legs, watch the joust and shop til we were ready to drop!

My favorite part was lounging here in the grass and watching the drum and bagpipe show called Tartanic:



Gotta love men in skirts playing musical instruments!!

Although Lily was tired by the end of the day, she is so much stronger than she was at this time last year and I am so very thankful for that. Each day is a blessing!

My Crafty Valentine

We had a fun Valentine's Day craft party this year.

Lily 'n Lacey making beauteous valentines

Lily made Lovey a valentine outfit out of one of my old sweaters

Lily and I made Homemade treats for our lucky valentines

Love rocks!! Yes, it does.

Lily's eccentric valentine gloves made from an old sweater :)

Lily and I have become super crafters!! Our new thing? Instead of donating old clothes, we have been recycling them into awesome new items. Cleaning out my closet yielded us lots of inspiration! A tunic top that I had for years because I loved the material, (but never wore because it didn't look right) became a stretchy headband with attached matching flowers and two different scarf head wraps. Another weird silk top that I bought for $ 3.00 because the fabric was amazing became the coolest matching pillows:

Instead of buying new things, we've been looking around the house for things that we can transform. One of our favorite ways to do this is by collage/ decoupage. I made this large sign for my kitchen from a piece of scrap wood, scrapbook paper and paint:

All you need is love and maybe a little imagination :)

 

We've Got Eggs!!

Our chickens have been laying for the last few weeks.

Lily loves eggs and it makes me glad to know that these ones are coming from happy, organic fed chickens.

During chemo, she craves certain foods and can only eat those foods. I'm glad that her most recent cravings have included all kinds of soups. One of her favorites is egg drop soup; how convenient that we've got plenty of eggs!

It's incredibly quick, easy and yummy:

Egg Drop Soup

4 cups chicken broth  (I use organic "Better Than Bouillon" to make my broth. I'm curious how it would taste with a vegetable broth?)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup of chopped carrot
1/4 cup of mushrooms
1/4 cup of corn
chopped green onion
2 eggs

The great thing about this soup is how fast it is to make. It only takes a fraction of the time most soups take to make. You can also use any veggies you particularly like or have on hand. I think water chestnuts and peas would be especially good too.

In a medium sauce pan, bring broth and veggies to a boil. In a small bowl, mix a small amount of the broth with  the cornstarch to dissolve, then stir into the pan. The broth should begin to thicken. If you like your soup thicker, add more cornstarch. If you don't care about thickness, leave the cornstarch out. It won't affect the taste.

In a separate bowl, scramble the eggs. Once your broth is how you like it and your veggies are cooked enough, stir in the scrambled eggs. The eggs quickly cook in the boiling broth. Top with green onions and viola! you're done-- 10 minutes tops.

Long Chemo Week Over!

Lily had chemo everyday this week. It was Vincristine and Irinotecan, which made her feel so sick in the beginning of her treatment. What a difference this week was!

Lily has been eating, gaining weight and feeling relatively good. Each day was a countdown to the end of her treatment, which is coming up soon. She is scheduled for chemo Monday (Vincristine), then she will have another PET scan. If everything still looks good, she will be officially finished with treatment and will only need to go in for evaluations every 3 months.

We are excited/ anxious to see the results of her scan and will obviously keep everyone updated!! Please keep Lily in your thoughts/prayers...she's gonna rock this thing!

In other news, she is planning to attend a ski camp in March. The camp is in Aspen, Colorado and is funded by Shining Stars Foundation. It's going to be an awesome experience and Lily will have one on one instruction to learn how to ski!

Lily will also take part in a fashion show in March to benefit the Children's Cancer Network. Click here to register if you are interested in attending.