Just Feels Right

We did it.
We took our firstborn to college today.
I expected her to cry,
I expected her to worry,
I expected to cry myself,
but none of that happened.
Everything about today just feels right.
She is far enough away to appreciate the distance,
but close enough for us to get to her quickly, if need be.
Maybe because of all she has gone through
to get to this point makes me elated and not sad.
There were times during her illness
when I let those dark thoughts in
and thought that maybe this day will never come.
I think I have a different appreciation
than the normal parent who dropped their child
off to college on their own for the first time.
Or maybe tonight when I go to check on her
and she isn't in her bed I will sob for her.
But as of this moment,
it just feels right.
This is truly a new chapter in her life
and I just know she will soar!



"The return makes one love the farewell” -Alfred De Musset

Ry, I know you will continue to make us so very proud.

I love you,
Mom

Keep Calm & ...

The other night , we had a group of Ryan's friends
here for what I called "The Last Supper" before they reunite
over Thanksgiving as college students.
It has been an honor knowing these great kids,
I will miss them all so much!
Until we see each other again...peace out!



For Ryan and Bobby, it was very sad
because they have been together for 4 1/2 years.
Through 2 bouts of cancer, through all of high school.
We shall see what the future brings
for these two incredible kids who have matured so much
earlier than other kids their age because of Ry's illness.



And finally and most importantly,
we received the word that Ryan's 6 month scans came out clean!
We are beyond estatic and this picture says it all:



That was a graduation gift from friends of hers.
I thought it was so appropriate ;)
As always, thank you for your good thoughts and prayers,
they are sometimes all that sustains me
when in reality I just need to keep calm...

Have a great day!
-Jody

You're Invited...

...and here is your invitation
to Ryan's 18th Birthday/Graduation Party:



It was a partly cloudy day (great for pictures)
when I woke up Saturday morning at the crack of dawn.
I had been furiously cleaning the house,
making party food and decorations for the past 48 hours straight.
I was inspired by this photo on marthastewart.com site:



I loved how the black & white photos were in the shape of a number,
I could do this...riiiight?
What I didn't realize was how long the process would take.
I have 20 photo albums with at least 600 photos in each.
Plus add the 3000+ photos still not printed out from my computer.
600 X 20 + 3000 = 15,000 photos to sort through.
Then editing, resizing and formatting to black & white
of my favorite 100 photos and then
uploaded to my local CVS store for one hour printing.
(If you have never printed out photos from there before,
I am here to tell you that they came out GREAT!)
I then added a white cardstock border to each photo
so it stood out a little more.
Anyway, I was very happy with the end result.
The party was outdoors so I taped all the photos
to the garage door in the shape of an 18.
Here is the 1:



And the 8:



And the finished product with the birthday girl:



I wanted to do a photobooth, so on the other garage door
I purchased some gray houndstooth material as a backdrop.
I also bought a whiteboard and two chalkboards
for guests to write a message to Ryan
and I would make a collage for her to hang in her dorm room.
I got some great shots of everyone!
They ranged from sweet to sad to funny to heart-warming.
Here is just a sampling:























At the party, there were cute little boys



and there were cute big boys



as well as cute girls with their cute boys



There was a double-dutch jump rope contest



and games like Ladderball and Kan Jam (before my #3 climbed into it)



The food was delicious, to look at as well as eat,
like this beautiful watermelon basket carved by my sister Karin:



And look at this lovely cake we had ordered:



and the fixin's for the ice cream sundaes



I made simple vases for the tables



and I even made sure to get one semi-decent family photo



and thankfully the rain stayed away until nightime
just as the party was coming to an end



so hopefully all this girl's wishes will come true!



I know I have all your good thoughts and wishes
for a healthy and happy year ahead for my Ryan.
Thank you for coming to her party!
Did you have a good time? ;)
-Jody

Ocean City

Hello, let's get right into where I have been the last week:



Ocean City, Maryland!
It was a much-needed 4 day vacation for us,
The first 2 days were beautiful and sunny,
but the next 2 days were...not.
No sun = No fun
And if you put 4 hormonally-charged females together
in close quarters, I believe the law of statistics say that
you will get approximately one meltdown per hour.
It was not pretty, so we drove home early. LOL
What was pretty were some photos I took.
Here is just a snippet of my favorites
of the original 500 photos I took.
Get your scroll finger ready:
























The End.
;)