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Dashing Through The Snow

Jan 18, 2019
2 min

Dashing Through The Snow

While we were in Colorado on our winter getaway, I made quite the menu of soups and warm meals to keep my family feeling cozy and healthy. We also had some of our best friends come up to visit us and I knew I wanted to make a few special things. We are surrounded by pine trees donning snow and mountain peaks…which meant is is c-o-l-d. Since we would be feeding four adults and four kids, I wanted to find some classic, no-nonsense meals that they would love. For lunch I wanted

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Blink Of An Eye

Blink Of An Eye

Dec 31, 2018
3 min

Blink Of An Eye

Who is ready for 2018 to go? Anyone wish it would linger a little longer? I have always found myself ready for a new year, ready for a new Monday... ready to start fresh. 2018 was quite the year for our family... the second half of my cancer journey took place in 2018... Don’t get me wrong 2018 had some pretty fantastic moments… my daughters growing and learning just brings me so much joy. It snowed in Texas as we rang in the New Year, which is pretty uncommon and awesome. We

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It’s November 4th And Yes I Still Have Cancer.

Nov 5, 2018
2 min

It’s November 4th And Yes I Still Have Cancer.

All the pink banners, balloons, ribbons and such have come down… and yet I and thousands of other women still have cancer. How nice it must be for those on Instagram or Facebook to be able to just scroll by a post about breast cancer and not give it another thought. For survivors, we don’t get to opt out of cancer after October ends. It is in our every waking hour. I talk to other women and they get emotional five years out, 10 years out… do you know why? Because cancer never

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Reclaiming My Stolen Summer Part 1

Aug 1, 2018
8 min

Reclaiming My Stolen Summer Part 1

Last year I had just gotten my port placed, I had cut off all my long locks and I was getting mentally prepared to start my first chemo infusion of the “Red Devil”… Last summer was brutal. I had to cancel all our plans, different vacations, family reunion… all of it. I was so so so so bummed. I remember walking into the oncologist’s office practically begging to go on my trips. As most of you know, travel is my heart’s longing… I love to get away and explore, especially when

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From Blasé to Bold

Jul 9, 2018
2 min

From Blasé to Bold

These days it is so easy to just kick your feet up and relax without feeling the pressure to exert yourself. Many have welcomed a blasé attitude toward working hard and exercise, brushing aside it’s rising importance. For survivors and warriors of any kind, we do not have this luxury… our bodies are being compromised, stretched, poked, prodded, pulled, pushed, and exhausted by medicines fighting diseases within. Which gives us all the more reason to focus on exercise. I want

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To Us.

Jul 1, 2018
4 min

To Us.

When you choose (God chooses) the person you will spend the rest of your life with, and you go through the smitten phase, the “I’m the Queen of America” stage (aka when he proposed...yes I said this out loud 🤣), to the googly eyed wedding planning phase, to OMG I am walking down the aisle...to the point where you say the vows you’ve poured over and worked on for months. When you are gazing into the eyes of the person you are vowing to spend the rest of your life with...as yo

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Hung the Moon

Jun 17, 2018
5 min

Hung the Moon

When I was little…My dad hung the moon. Our saying became, “I love you to the moon and back a million, trillion, bajillion times.” We always tried to outdo each other with how many “kazillion” type terms we could come up with. My dad created so many unique memories for me as a child, he always made my opinion important, even from a young age. He was a big wig exec at a music label and would put the giant headphones on my ears to give my opinion of the latest “hit” before radi

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If I Would Have Known

Dec 9, 2017
4 min

If I Would Have Known

As I watch these Christmas movies with inevitable happy ever after, it makes me think back on my life. The choices I made, the decisions that led to me to where I am today… and what I would do differently. I’ve always been a fairytale girl, and God gently reminds me that people are incapable of fulfilling that desire within me. But, I think we can come close. Christmas is bringing a lot of emotion my way, and I have had a hard time getting into the spirit. I feel like this ba

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Sometimes you just need to get lost.
Lost Pines, Texas

Dec 3, 2017
5 min

Sometimes you just need to get lost. Lost Pines, Texas

Once my 16 chemotherapy treatments were completed and with my imminent surgery which would leave me destabilized for a while, I knew I wanted time away with my family. Plus, our family decided experiences were vital from this point forward. I emailed a few hotels around the city to see what my options were. When I emailed with Jeanie, from Hyatt Lost Pines Resort and Spa, I was thrilled to put together a weekend stay. Her vision, above and beyond generosity, and individualize

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Silos + Homestead

Nov 20, 2017
3 min

Silos + Homestead

I had three weeks to fill my schedule with fun excursions, before it was time for my mastectomy. One thing on my fall to do list was to drive with my mom and girlies to Waco and visit Magnolia Market and the Silos. We set the date for early November and g ot on the road by 9:30. We arrived easily making the drive from Austin and parked on the street nearby. Our first stop was at their bakery, ordering coffee (I was a little disappointed in no real half n half like at coffee s

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Ann Arbor

Nov 18, 2017
8 min

Ann Arbor

After my diagnosis with breast cancer, my husband and I decided that choosing experiences over stuff was vital. The first opportunity we had to getaway we took it. After 18 months of two children we finally had a chance to getaway, just us. We chose Ann Arbor. I wrote about much of it in my previous blog about Michigan football. But I’ve always wanted to write about the places I visit, so here we go. On Friday, we landed in Detroit, Michigan, we were greeted with crisp and co

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Farewell Letter to my Breasts

Nov 16, 2017
3 min

Farewell Letter to my Breasts

I know this seems odd…to write a letter to my chest. But for me, they have done so much, and not only for me but for my daughters. I had always been maternal, from the moment I could walk and carry around a baby doll. God had fully intended to make me a mother, it was part of my destiny. To love and care for another being, to put another before myself. When I gave birth to Halen we had zero issues breastfeeding, she latched immediately and our forever bond had been solidified

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A sweet friendship refreshes the soul. Proverbs 27:9

Oct 2, 2017
3 min

A sweet friendship refreshes the soul. Proverbs 27:9

Why are sleepovers only a thing for our youth? I think spending some quality time with women is incredibly important. Women need other women, in cultures and generations from our past women gathered together, worked together, cooked together, and in all that had fellowship together. Why did this stop? This past weekend I had three of my favorite women travel into town to spend time with me during my battle with breast cancer. They came in that weekend to support me walking Ra

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Stuck on the Runway

Aug 8, 2017
3 min

Stuck on the Runway

Have you ever had that feeling where you were sitting on a plane, on the runway, waiting for take-off? You keep yourself busy, by adjusting your seat, fixing the seat belt length, getting out your chosen book to read or magazine to browse through. Then suddenly the plane starts to move…your heart goes into your stomach in anticipation of lift off, but it seems to take longer than you thought… that’s where I am right now. Caught on the runway, in between take off. I have spent

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Dear daughters,

Jul 9, 2017
4 min

Dear daughters,

I love your beautiful blueberry eyes and how they shine when you smile. I love how happy you both are, especially when our family is altogether. You are both such darling girls and I am lucky to be your mom. I know things have been different lately, but I promise it is only temporary. You may not even remember this chapter years from now, but…mommy has cancer. It is an owie in my booboo, doctors are giving me medicine to make it go away. The medicine does icky things to mommy

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And all the people said, “Amen.”

Jul 7, 2017
3 min

And all the people said, “Amen.”

One of my biggest inspirations is music. Ever since I was a little kid, my life revolved around music. My dad was in the record business from Warner Bros to Virgin Records and receiving boxes of records and CDs, going to concerts, receiving backstage passes was all a normal part of my early childhood. My dad would put a set of huge head phones on my small ears and play a single, before it hit the radio, just to hear my thoughts. My parents were Michiganders living in Texas, s

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Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Jun 28, 2017
3 min

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

I am almost one week past my second infusion... yesterday was a really sleepy day. I took two solid naps and was completely out of it. Good for my body to fully rest I suppose. Since Friday I have been in a strange mental space, I have lost all my hair and it's a milestone no one can quite prepare you for. Yes it is "just hair" but my hair defined so much of who I was physically, my long, thick hair...it was one of the physical attributes I was known for wherever I would go.

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Eat Pie First: Unsolicited Advice from a Cancer Patient

Jun 23, 2017
7 min

Eat Pie First: Unsolicited Advice from a Cancer Patient

I truly never thought I would be in this position. I am still finding it pretty odd that this reality has become my life and soon my new “normal”. I am sure as my hair starts falling out soon, I will have to grip with this situation and know that it will not stop from becoming mine. When anyone is dealt a hand like this, you quickly start to think differently. Life will never be the same. Experts always talk about a fight or flight as an attitude when tough obstacles arise. A

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To My Husband,

Jun 18, 2017
5 min

To My Husband,

The girls are jumping on your belly smothering you with kisses, they have donned you with hat of some sort and placed a tea cup in your hand. Your smile is big as ever, and bright, showing this is exactly where you want to be. I sit on the couch and watch this all transpire, wishing I had the energy to join the wrestling match of snuggles. You amaze me. Our marriage, just like every other has not been a cake walk, but we’ve always been dedicated. We knew what we wanted and we

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Killing Giants

Jun 3, 2017
3 min

Killing Giants

Day 11- We went to church and I felt like everyone was staring at me. Some I am sure had no idea that I was walking around with cancer. Some knew and leaned in to give Evan a hug as we walked by. The gospel music made us (Evan, my mom and I) all cry. The sermon was the beginning of a new series called Killing Giants, pretty close to home. The start was about image and how the only image we should care about is the one that God sees. After church we were gifted a lake house in

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