Happy Halloween!

It's been a pretty quiet week...eerily quiet and it's starting to freak me out! Must be the Halloween season. Anyway, I don't really have too much to report but I wanted to pop on to say "Have a safe & happy Halloween!" This weekend is full of plans again - work party on Friday evening, bachelorette party for my old college roomie on Saturday evening (not sure what Cameron is going to do without me!) and a party lite candle party on Sunday. It's like this every weekend until Thanksgiving! I'm not really sure how it happens, all of a sudden our calendar is full! I know it's a common problem with everyone, so I really am not complaining - we cause our own madness.

Have a great day!

Halloween Fun!

This weekend we went to 2 Halloween parties! I know that Cameron & I are probably too old to be dressing up for Halloween, but I gotta admit - we LOVE it!! I think we will still dress up for Halloween when we're retired. This year we chose to go as "Rock of Love"...a bachelor type tv show with Bret Michaels (lead singer of 80's hair band "Poison") as the one trying to find love. I was Jess, the chosen girl & winner of the show (she has partially pink hair).

Bret Michaels normally wears a cowboy hat over the bandana:

Costume Extravaganza

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One Year Ago Today

One year ago today had to have been the worst day ever for our family...Andon was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. At that time we really weren't sure how much longer our little man would be around! Scary to think back to that time! What a difference a year makes! Andon continues to amaze us all with his tolerance of everything to do with this cancer - treatments, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, pokes & prods, check ups, MRIs...all of it! He just takes everything as it comes and laughs once it's over. The best news yet was earlier in the month when we found out that his tumor is responding so well to his current treatment that it's shrinking! Thank you for your continued prayers for Andon - we have complete faith that this little Superman is going to be around for a long time to come!

Notre Dame

We went to the Notre Dame game on Saturday with the O'Haras. We're fortunate enough to have a standing invitation from our friends in South Bend to go to a ND game annually...we get to see our friends and cheer on the fighting Irish all in one fun weekend! Too bad this year ND is terrible! Oh well - still a fun weekend in the Bend. Thank you Sean, Sarah & Caitlin for opening your home to us once again!

Fall 2007

Fall is my favorite season, always has been. It's so fun to drive back home to IN and see the farmers out combining with all of the colorful trees in the background! LOVE IT! Our trees have finally started turning this year (so late!) and I just had to take pictures of our backyard...

Lots to Laugh About!

We have so much to laugh about & celebrate right now...Andon continues to flourish, I think we're finally going to get some much needed answers for this infertility nightmare & Cameron won't be travelling anymore for work! Yahoo for him being home! He was promoted to General Manager of Chicago Sales, so no more St. Louis or Kansas City for him! WOO HOO!! Congratulations Cameron! He starts his new position on November 1st.
2008 is looking much more promising than 2007!!

Heather Update

Thank you for praying for my friend Heather...her biopsy results have come back and show that her mass is BENIGN, she does not have thyroid cancer!! How wonderful is that?!?!

Geoffrey Evans

I have been blessed with an amazing opportunity at church!! I have the distinct pleasure of working with Geoffrey Evans on the 2nd & 4th Sundays of every month during the 9am church service so his parents are able to attend church together without disruption. I've been working with him since July and loving every minute I have with him. Geoffrey is 3 years old and was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2. He's very high functioning and loving and SO MUCH FUN!! It is wonderful to see him making progress. He is currently non-verbal, but is learning to "speak" through some sign language and picture association. I finally took some pictures of him so I could share him with all of you...

Jude Xavier Kammerer

Congratulations to my cousin Kurt & his wife Priscilla on the new addition to their family! Priscilla gave birth this morning to their first baby, a son - Jude Xavier. I will not bust into the Beatles rendition of "Hey Jude" but be prepared...I'm sure he will get alot of that growing up! :) Congratulations and much love to the happy family!

Prayers Needed

One of my best friends from high school, Heather (the one that did the Buddy Walk for Down Syndrome) is currently awaiting test results for a large mass on her thyroid. Her Doctor feels pretty strongly that it is thyroid cancer. Please keep this family in your prayers for comfort and understanding during this time. As we all know, the original diagnosis is the scariest time and right now they are just waiting on the biopsy results and may not get them until next week. I will keep you posted on the situation as I get more information. Thank you for prayers for this family!

Chicago Marathon

For a moment when you are at the starting line
stop everything
listen to your heartbeat
listen really closely to it
in those beats you will also hear the voices
of everyone who loves you
and know one thing for sure
in their voices you will find the strength

Now is a good time to step back a minute
let it all sink in
you are about to become a member in a select group of people
not just those who ran a marathon
but those who had the heart and drive
to achieve what at one time they thought could not be achieved
that is your strength
that is your confidence
that is YOU!
– Anonymous

Congratulations to Cameron for finishing the Chicago marathon! I am so proud of you! 26 MILES!!! Cameron finished in a record setting year - record setting heat...I think it reached 91 degrees! Out of 35,000 runners, 10,000 dropped out, 312 were hospitilized and 1 unfortunately lost his life. Please keep these families in your prayers. Somehow through all that, Cameron managed to cross the finish line and get his medal! Cameron chose to run for the American Brain Tumor Association. Please click here to link to his webpage. Thank you to everyone who donated! Thank you to everyone who came out to support Cameron during the marathon, I know the cheers kept him moving!

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It SHRUNK / SHRANK / SHRINKED

Not sure what the correct term is for shrink in the past tense, but I don't really care...Andon's tumor has done it! Definite results are showing that the tumor shrank from 11mm to 8mm in the last 6 weeks!!! Thank you for the continued prayers for this little man! He continues to amaze us all with his resilience & fighting spirit! The shrinking has now begun...let's keep praying this thing into going away completely - wouldn't that be awesome???

Does this look like a sick kid?!?! I think not!

Cubbies Clinch!

We are so excited about the Cubbies going to the playoffs...even better, we'll be right in the thick of the excitement this weekend in Wrigleyville!! We're renting a house there with our families for the marathon...Cameron's probably not going to be very well rested for his big run, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't mind.

A coworker of mine is a BIG Brewers fan and I have had to listen to him mouth off about the Brewers going to the playoffs for over a week. Once the Cubbies clinched the playoffs and the Brewers were out, Cameron & I thought it was time to decorate his office: