SolandMonica.com

Even though I cut my hair and we’re not doing as many live shows anymore, I’ve continued to be creative and have been busy putting together the second Greenleaf Avenue CD!  It should be available from iTunes and CDBaby.com in a couple of days.  In th meantime, we’ve entered a radio station contest that is kind of like American Idol for southern California unsigned bands.  We had to upload a video and we’ve been approved for the contest.  Eventually the winner will be decided based on votes by the public and votes by a panel of judges, but for now the bands that get their video viewed most often rise to the top and are posted on the radio station’s front page.  I am posting the video here for viewing.  Please do us a huge favor and click to play the video.  Even if you don’t watch the whole thing, just clicking to watch it helps.  The video is directly hosted on the radio station site and simply embedded here, so all clicks here count as a viewing.  Thanks a bunch, and I hope you like it!

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Thanksgiving was a lot of fun.  My parents came down from Paradise, and we all went to my grandmother’s for a Thanksgiving buffet.  The food was delicious and the best part was that we didn’t have to cook or clean up.  Yea!  The bad part was that we don’t have any leftovers! ;(   Sol wants to go get a turkey just so we can have turkey sandwiches.

Kai was spoiled by Grammy and Grandpa during their time with us.  He went on long walks every morning, picking dandelions and watching buses go by.

On Black Friday, we didn’t do any shopping.  Instead we all went to Knott’s Berry Farm with the Mayfield clan (good friends from Fresno).  It was so fun.  Kai LOVED watching the rollercoasters zip by.  He would point and say a lot of stuff we don’t yet understand.  Then he would wait for the next time it came by.  It was so cute.  However, when it came time to go on a little ride himself, he didn’t like it very much.  Even the carrousel scared him.  It was so sad and hopefully won’t scar him for life.  He was just happy watching everything.  We went to Snoopy’s Cool Christmas on ice, and Kai danced his way through the whole performance.  The couple sitting next to us was watching him more than the show (so was I).  🙂  Too cute!  It was a really fun day.  The Mayfield’s daughter, Cienna, went on her first rollercoaster rides, which is always exciting!  I believe her favorite was the Panther.

On Saturday, some friends from college, a couple of whom I haven’t seen in three years, came by to visit.  They are from San Diego, Wisconsin and Washington State.  It was a lot of fun.  They got to meet Kai for the first time, and he stole the show as he always does.  It was a fun time of catching up and hanging out.

On Sunday, we hosted a game night at our house.  People from church came over and we played a lot of games.  It was really fun and uplifting!  I love games and our house loves company (it gets clean)!  🙂

That’s about it from here.  I just wanted to let you all know how things are going.  I have been feeling pretty well.  I am tired, have some sores in my mouth and have a lingering rash on my scalp, but really I’m doing pretty well.   Some prayer requests would be (1) that the sores in my mouth heal, (2) that my dry skin is soothed (darn those Santa Ana winds), and (3) that Kai sleeps through the night (back in his room).  It’s getting better, but he’s not in his crib.  He is on the livingroom floor, and Sol has been sleeping on the couch.  We figured out that he wakes himself up because he can’t roll over in his crib.  He is such a restless sleeper and gets mad that he can’t roll over.  

Well that’s about it for now.  Take care and God bless.

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In the last six weeks we have learned more than we ever wanted to know about a lot of different things.  Looking back already provides thought provoking list, and we’ve got the better part of a year yet to come.  This list is by no means comprehensive and it isn’t really accurate to call it a “top” anything list, but it just seemed to sound more interesting putting that “Top 10” in there.  🙂

• 10- Puffs with Lotion is the superior tissue!  I know the name Kleenex is used in the vernacular to mean tissue because the Kleenex brand has become ubiquitous in American culture, but if you’ve never used the Puffs brand tissue with Lotion, you need to treat your nose to the ultimate in tissue comfort.  After all the boxes of Puffs we’ve gone through in such a short time, we ought to consider buying stock in it!
• 9- Oncologists Have One of the Hardest Jobs  It must be so hard telling people what they are about to encounter.  Cancer is such a scary word, and to have to tell people it’s really bad must be so difficult.  Somehow even though I knew we were the ones with the bad news, I felt sorry for the oncologist because it seemed like he really cared and it was hard for him to tell us.
• 8- It’s Good to Hear From People You Haven’t Talk to in a Long Time  There have been so many people who have gotten in touch with us after many, sometimes 10, years.  People from past places in our lives have come out of the woodwork to encourage, support and pray for us.  The world wide web is a gift!  (Web 2.0 is helping save my wife!)
• 7- Toddlers Can Tell Something Is Wrong  Kai has changed over the past 6 weeks, and we believe that is in some part related to what we are going through.  Although he is taking everything in stride, he’ll kiss Monica’s leg when he sees her crying and gives the biggest hugs right when you really need it.  He has become more clingy and needs constant attention.  It might just be an age thing, but we think it’s a bit more. 
• 6- Rocky Road Isn’t a Good Healer  Although rocky road might seem to take away the problems for the moment, it isn’t a long-lasting fix.  We indulged in some comfort food, and ended up putting on a few pounds in the process.  Mentally it helped, but physically it did nothing good!
• 5- Don’t Assume It’s Good to Take Time Off Before You Get the Facts  When Monica found out she had cancer, she took 12 days off.  After doing some research, she realized that wasn’t the best move.  She was taking time off when she felt fine.  They say you have the most strength toward the beginning when fighting cancer.  Now she’s in danger of running out of days (and thus insurance) toward the end of the process.   This is when she’ll most likely feel the worst and need those days off the most.  Since realizing this, she has gone back to work and has only missed two days in the past month (both for chemo treatments).  Thank God she’s been feeling well enough to go to work.
• 4- There Are Miracles Happening Around the World We Don’t Normally Hear About  So many prayer warriors have seen God’s miracles first-hand and have shared with us God’s Mighty Hand at work in our world.  With these encouraging accounts, our spirits have been lifted and our faith strengthened.  We don’t always know what the Lord is doing today in peoples’ lives, and maybe it’s time we paid a bit more attention.
• 3- It Can Be Hard to Ask For Help With Some Things  Everybody has been really great about offering help, but when it comes down to actually asking for it, it can be a struggle for us.  One of the hardest things has been to ask for a baby sitter.  Kai has gotten pretty aggressive and fussy over the last several weeks (probably ’cause he’s still not sleeping), so it feels awkward to ask someone else to deal with that.  Other things can be awkward too.  This is an area where we are struggling and trying to grow; especially as Monica’s strength is projected to decline.  Please pray about this. 
• 2- If You’re Lagging About Getting Life Insurance, Go Do It Now!  We had been thinking about it for a while and actually had the papers in the mail being sent to us when we found out about the cancer.  Now it’s too late.  We’ve always been healthy and thought we had many more healthy years ahead.  Please don’t put it off.  It’s that important; facing your own mortality is hard and can really change your perspective on things. 
• 1- God Answers Prayer!  There have been unexplainable times of peace in the midst of this terrible season.  The fact that we can visibly confirm the decrease in size of the tumor after only one chemo cycle is a direct reflection of prayer in our eyes!  The Lord is good – all the time.  He has allowed this to happen but has not left us alone.  He has provided support, encouragement, meals, babysitting, family to be here, friends (old and new), the internet, good days, sleep, hats, a nicely shaped head, peace, love, joy, good doctors,  speedy authorizations, reunions, and an incredible growth in faith.

If you’ve gotten this far, thanks for reading this whole thing.  We love you and are very grateful for you all.

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Well, first of all, I want to thank you so much for your prayers. The past three days have gone so well. The blood test came back with great results. My white blood cell count was back to normal. One thing that many of you are aware of is that there are such things as Tumor Markers in the blood, but my blood tests don’t read abnormally in that area. He says that is sometimes the case, especially with Breast Cancer.

In just feeling the tumor, it is obvious that it is smaller! We are so pleased that God is moving to take care of me and eliminate this tumor. I know that he hears all of your prayers and that our mighty God, along with the mega-doses of chemo, are working!

As for today, chemo went so smoothly. My mother-in-law, Martha, went with me and prayed with me right before they started the IV. I had NO reactions to the meds this time. It was such a praise! There were so many people there. It seems that the chair across from us was the chatty seat. Both ladies that sat there while I was being treated, were loud, funny and super talkative! They were entertaining everyone with their stories! Both ladies had defeated their breast cancers and were in a maintenance phase of treatment. They were getting HR2 which goes with hormonal receptive cancers (mine is not). It made the time pass quickly, although not very restfully.

After the treatment, I was feeling fine, so we went over to the American Cancer Society to try on wigs. They give every person who walks in their doors a free wig. I have been thinking about getting one for those times when I want to go out in public and not have people staring at me, or time when I want to dress up and no hat matches the occasion. We took some pictures and will be posting those soon. You have to choose from the selection that they have on-hand, and they were expecting to get more in by Monday, so I put my name on one but will go back in and see what else they have!

So that is it for now. Tomorrow we’ll see how I feel. I might go to work, but for sure I’ll have the White Blood Cell Booster shot.

Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement. God is good – all the time!

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I just wanted to let you all know that I really appreciate all of the wonderful things you had to say about my bald head!  I’ll be posting some G.I. Jane type photos soon (maybe not)!  Seriously though, you don’t know how much I love reading your comments and how I treasure even more your prayers and encouragement.

I would really appreciate your prayers as I have a full schedule this week:

Tues – bloodwork

Wed – Doctor’s appointment

Thurs – Chemotherapy

Fri – White Blood Cell Booster shot

Please pray that all goes well and that the nervousness that I feel right now subsides so I can sleep.   Thank you so much for everything.  You have no idea how much you all mean to me and help get me through this process.

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Well, I did it!  Actually, Sol did it for me.  My head has been shaved.  This morning while taking a shower, more and more hair was falling out.  I decided that I didn’t want to take more showers like that, so when I got out, I asked Sol to shave it off.  He did!

Kai watched as Sol first cut the majority of my hair off, then Sol shaved it Marine Corp style.  Kai kept saying uh-oh as the hair kept falling to the ground.  (You’ll see a picture of him pointing at the falling hair with much concern.)  We kept saying, “Yea, it’s ok.”  He then wanted to help clean it all up (as you’ll see also).  What a sweetie!  He loves rubbing Mommy’s head.  It’s kind of fun right now.  He make me feel better about it. 

Anyway, check out the pictures…I’m so brave, I posted a bald picture!  Be gentle, I’m being vunerable!  😉

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Thanks to all my wonderful friends and family, I will never have to buy a hat again!  Today was a wonderfully encouraging day!  There were over 50 people at my hat/scarf party!  The food was awesome (thanks Mel), the fellowship was grand and the gifts were much appreciated.  Many people wore hats, and I finally have a cowboy hat to call my own!  (actually two 🙂 )  You don’t know how excited I am about that!  I didn’t end up shaving my head, but expect to be losing my hair this week.  When it starts falling out, then I am shaving it all off.   We had friends taking pictures, so look for those to come soon! 

With the combination of the people who were physically there and all of you who were there in spirit, I feel so blessed.  I can’t imagine going through this without you.  Thank you for sharing this day with me and making this journey a little brighter.  I actually am excited to wear all of the cute hats; it’s going to make being bald a bit more bearable.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Oh yeah, and thank you!

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