We recently took Evan to visit Santa at the mall. This trip was much more fun for everyone! Evan loved seeing Santa. He even gave us a great big smile while he sat on Santa's lap. This picture is much better!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Visit With Santa
As usual, we took our dogs to The Kentucky Humane Society fundraiser, Picture Your Pet With Santa. We decided to let Evan visit with Santa too! Unfortunately, while Evan was very interested in Santa, the chaos of the day made for a not so great picture. As you can see, NO ONE looks happy in this picture, not even Santa!
We recently took Evan to visit Santa at the mall. This trip was much more fun for everyone! Evan loved seeing Santa. He even gave us a great big smile while he sat on Santa's lap. This picture is much better!
We recently took Evan to visit Santa at the mall. This trip was much more fun for everyone! Evan loved seeing Santa. He even gave us a great big smile while he sat on Santa's lap. This picture is much better!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Survivor
I am now officially a one year cancer survivor! While one year ago today was one of the scariest days of my life, today is truly a day of celebration. I have successfully made it through surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. My mammogram and ultrasound this week showed NO SIGNS of cancer! Today I celebrate being a survivor. When I look back at the past year, I remember all of the wonderful people that helped care for me and encourage me. I could not have made it through this past year without all of the supportive and caring people in my life. I am grateful for you all! Thank you!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thanksgiving
We had a great Thanksgiving. Evan liked eating all of the "big boy food." He especially liked the sweet potato casserole. We got to spend a lot of the weekend with family and friends, which was nice. We also stated to get ready for Christmas! We put up the tree and we have decorated both the inside and the outside of the house. We also started Christmas shopping. Carl's parents also held a winter photo shoot for Evan, which went well. We now have pictures for our Christmas cards! What a great weekend!
Evan recently got very sick with a virus. Thankfully, he is well now. We could tell he was miserable, but he was still SO GOOD! He really is amazing! Evan has 5 teeth now. He crawls ALL OVER THE PLACE and he loves to climb the stairs. He really is a blessing!
Below are some recent pictures. There are pictures from Thanksgiving, as well as some other pictures of Evan doing things like feeding himself and just being silly. Also, I was able to get my hair colored and trimmed this week! You can see my new "do" in one of the Thanksgiving pictures!
Evan recently got very sick with a virus. Thankfully, he is well now. We could tell he was miserable, but he was still SO GOOD! He really is amazing! Evan has 5 teeth now. He crawls ALL OVER THE PLACE and he loves to climb the stairs. He really is a blessing!
Below are some recent pictures. There are pictures from Thanksgiving, as well as some other pictures of Evan doing things like feeding himself and just being silly. Also, I was able to get my hair colored and trimmed this week! You can see my new "do" in one of the Thanksgiving pictures!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Pictures
I had some trouble uploading some of my pictures when I posted last week. Here are some pictures. As you can see, Evan and the dogs love each other! Also, Evan loves to hold his own bottle now. The final picture is of Evan's baptism.
Pictures
I had some trouble uploading some of my pictures when I posted last week. Here are some pictures from Evan's fall photo shoot.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Update for October
Unfortunately, our computer was broken for several weeks, so I have not been able to post any updates. I am REALLY excited to finally be able to post an update today!
A lot has gone on over the past few weeks! One very exciting thing was The Race for the Cure. My team worked hard and was able to donate over $3000! Also, it turns out that my team won a first place trophy for participation in the "Family and Friends" category. (We left before the awards ceremony, so I didn't know we won until a couple of weeks after the race!) I had a great time at the race. I am so excited that so many of my friends and family were able to join me for the race. Thank you to everyone was that donated and/or participated in the race!
Evan, Carl and I went to Huber's Farm with my Young Survivor's group. We had a lot of fun! The most exciting thing was getting to pick our own pumpkins! Evan also enjoyed seeing the animals and going down a big slide with Carl.
As you all know by now, Evan's Grandpa LOVES to take his picture. He came over last weekend and took lots of pictures of Evan while he played outside. We have some great pictures from the photo shoot. Evan's favorite part of that day was trying to eat the leaves!
Evan was baptized this month. He was so funny during his baptism and he even played in the baptism water! He made everyone smile and laugh!
Evan can now crawl and he has three teeth. He is a very happy baby and is extremely laid back. He went for a check up yesterday and he is very healthy! He weighs 24 pounds (95 percentile) and he is 29 inches long (90th percentile).
Evan had a lot of fun going to several Halloween parties, including the "World's Largest Halloween Party" at The Louisville Zoo. Evan was a giraffe for Halloween this year and he had several of his friends over for a party on Halloween.
In other news, "phase one" of the basement is VERY close to being finished. The drywall is up and has been mudded. The walls are painted and we have ordered the carpet. Once the carpet is installed, we can actually use the basement! We are all VERY excited about that!
Here are just a few pictures from last month!
Evan in the pumpkin patch.
Evan is a giraffe!
The Swann Family
The Koontz Family
Alpha Gam Girls
A lot has gone on over the past few weeks! One very exciting thing was The Race for the Cure. My team worked hard and was able to donate over $3000! Also, it turns out that my team won a first place trophy for participation in the "Family and Friends" category. (We left before the awards ceremony, so I didn't know we won until a couple of weeks after the race!) I had a great time at the race. I am so excited that so many of my friends and family were able to join me for the race. Thank you to everyone was that donated and/or participated in the race!
Evan, Carl and I went to Huber's Farm with my Young Survivor's group. We had a lot of fun! The most exciting thing was getting to pick our own pumpkins! Evan also enjoyed seeing the animals and going down a big slide with Carl.
As you all know by now, Evan's Grandpa LOVES to take his picture. He came over last weekend and took lots of pictures of Evan while he played outside. We have some great pictures from the photo shoot. Evan's favorite part of that day was trying to eat the leaves!
Evan was baptized this month. He was so funny during his baptism and he even played in the baptism water! He made everyone smile and laugh!
Evan can now crawl and he has three teeth. He is a very happy baby and is extremely laid back. He went for a check up yesterday and he is very healthy! He weighs 24 pounds (95 percentile) and he is 29 inches long (90th percentile).
Evan had a lot of fun going to several Halloween parties, including the "World's Largest Halloween Party" at The Louisville Zoo. Evan was a giraffe for Halloween this year and he had several of his friends over for a party on Halloween.
In other news, "phase one" of the basement is VERY close to being finished. The drywall is up and has been mudded. The walls are painted and we have ordered the carpet. Once the carpet is installed, we can actually use the basement! We are all VERY excited about that!
Here are just a few pictures from last month!
Evan in the pumpkin patch.
Evan is a giraffe!
The Swann Family
The Koontz Family
Alpha Gam Girls
Monday, September 29, 2008
News Update and Commercial
There is a new air date for the WHAS 11 story that I did about my battle with breast cancer. It will now air on Wednesday, October 1st at 6:00. If you live out of town or miss the news that night, you can view the segment on www.whas11.com after the story airs. Also, my commercial is currently running on WHAS 11. I have not seen it yet, but apparently lots of people have!
If you have not signed up for The Race for the Cure, you still have a few more days! Please check out the post below for instructions on donating or joining my team.
If you have not signed up for The Race for the Cure, you still have a few more days! Please check out the post below for instructions on donating or joining my team.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Race for the Cure Information
As some of you already know, I did a segment with the local news (WHAS 11) about using the Caring Bridge site and about my breast cancer story. I now know that the segment will air on Friday, October 3rd during the 6:00 news. If you miss it, or live out of town, you can see the segment on www.whas11.com after it airs. I also taped a short commercial for the Komen Louisville Race for the Cure. It will begin airing next week. If you watch any shows on WHAS, you just might see me!
I will be participating in the Race for the Cure this year. I am super excited about this! If you would like to join my team and walk with me, you can register online by following the directions posted below. You can also make a donation online, if you are unable to join me. 100% of the money raised goes to breast cancer research. I hope to raise a lot of money and help find a cure for breast cancer!
Donate online:
- Go to komenlouisville.org
- Click on Race at the top of the page
- Go to Register or Donate
- Under the heading “Donate Online”, click on find a participant or team to support
- You can either enter, Heather Nickel, to “search for participant”, or Rachael Koontz, to “search for team” (either way, both of our names will appear at the bottom of the screen), and you can select either
- Click on Make a Gift under “Dollars you have raised”
To join Team Rachael Koontz:
- Go to komenlouisville.org
- Click on Race at the top of the page
- Go to Register or Donate
- Click on Join an Existing Team (right hand margin)
- Type in Rachael Koontz under Team Name (Self-explanatory from here)
You may choose to do the 5K or timed run, though we will be participating in the 1 Mile Family Walk .
Early registration for the Race for the Cure goes through Sept. 29. After that, I believe the price goes up $5.00. If you are going to walk with Team Rachael Koontz, you MUST register by Oct. 2 @ 5:00. My sister will be picking up race packets and shirts on Oct. 4, and will be distributing them the week before the race, or on race day if needed. Please remember that you must register online to join the team. I hope to see many of you at the race!
I will be participating in the Race for the Cure this year. I am super excited about this! If you would like to join my team and walk with me, you can register online by following the directions posted below. You can also make a donation online, if you are unable to join me. 100% of the money raised goes to breast cancer research. I hope to raise a lot of money and help find a cure for breast cancer!
Donate online:
- Go to komenlouisville.org
- Click on Race at the top of the page
- Go to Register or Donate
- Under the heading “Donate Online”, click on find a participant or team to support
- You can either enter, Heather Nickel, to “search for participant”, or Rachael Koontz, to “search for team” (either way, both of our names will appear at the bottom of the screen), and you can select either
- Click on Make a Gift under “Dollars you have raised”
To join Team Rachael Koontz:
- Go to komenlouisville.org
- Click on Race at the top of the page
- Go to Register or Donate
- Click on Join an Existing Team (right hand margin)
- Type in Rachael Koontz under Team Name (Self-explanatory from here)
You may choose to do the 5K or timed run, though we will be participating in the 1 Mile Family Walk .
Early registration for the Race for the Cure goes through Sept. 29. After that, I believe the price goes up $5.00. If you are going to walk with Team Rachael Koontz, you MUST register by Oct. 2 @ 5:00. My sister will be picking up race packets and shirts on Oct. 4, and will be distributing them the week before the race, or on race day if needed. Please remember that you must register online to join the team. I hope to see many of you at the race!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Evan
Evan is now 7 months old! He is one of the happiest babies I know and he is very laid back. He got his first two teeth a few weeks ago. He can now sit up on his own. He tries to crawl, but doesn't quite have the hang of it yet. He does roll over all over the place though! He loves to "talk" and he has said "mama" and "dada!"
Evan's grandpa enjoys taking Evan's picture. Here are some of the most recent pictures that he took.
Evan's grandpa enjoys taking Evan's picture. Here are some of the most recent pictures that he took.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Update (FINALLY!)
Wow! I just looked at the date from my last post and it's been awhile since I updated! Unfortunately, while work is going well, it takes up a lot of time. When I am not working, I want to spend time with Evan and Carl, which leaves little free time for me to do things such as update the blog. Hopefully after a couple more weeks, things at work will calm down and I will have more free time. Realistically, I think I will get to update the blog every two or three weeks.
As I just mentioned, I am back at work. It has been quite an adjustment for us all. I think we are starting to get into a routine now and things are not as crazy as they were when I first started back to work. I am still very tired, but I hope that my fatigue will go away in the next few weeks. While I am overwhelmed at times, it is nice to get back to our "normal" life once again.
I went for a check up with my radiation oncologist last week and everything is going well with my recovery. My skin is almost back to normal! He said that it might be a few more months until I got my strength back, but as I mentioned above, I hope it will be sooner!
Carl and I got to take a short trip last weekend. Since my treatments this summer prevented us from taking a vacation, we wanted to take a small trip now that I am feeling better. We went to St. Pete Beach, Florida. It was really nice to get away. We got to walk on the beach, swim, play in the ocean, and relax. It was really nice! We are very thankful that Evan had great care while we were away. Both sets of his grandparents watched him, so we know he had a great weekend too!
This past Tuesday Evan attended his first baseball game! My Young Survivors group had family night at a Louisville Bats game. It was really fun. Of course, Evan did not watch too much of the game. He was too busy being passed around and being told how adorable he was! He also ened up falling asleep WAY before the game was over! The news covered the event and Carl and Evan made it on the news that evening! Unfortunately, we missed seeing the news that night, but lots of our firends and family saw it, which was cool.
I am posting a few pictures below of our vacation and The Louisville Bats Game. I hope you like them!
Relaxing on the beach!
Enjoying the great weather!
Family picture at the game.
Evan was asleep before the 4th inning!
As I just mentioned, I am back at work. It has been quite an adjustment for us all. I think we are starting to get into a routine now and things are not as crazy as they were when I first started back to work. I am still very tired, but I hope that my fatigue will go away in the next few weeks. While I am overwhelmed at times, it is nice to get back to our "normal" life once again.
I went for a check up with my radiation oncologist last week and everything is going well with my recovery. My skin is almost back to normal! He said that it might be a few more months until I got my strength back, but as I mentioned above, I hope it will be sooner!
Carl and I got to take a short trip last weekend. Since my treatments this summer prevented us from taking a vacation, we wanted to take a small trip now that I am feeling better. We went to St. Pete Beach, Florida. It was really nice to get away. We got to walk on the beach, swim, play in the ocean, and relax. It was really nice! We are very thankful that Evan had great care while we were away. Both sets of his grandparents watched him, so we know he had a great weekend too!
This past Tuesday Evan attended his first baseball game! My Young Survivors group had family night at a Louisville Bats game. It was really fun. Of course, Evan did not watch too much of the game. He was too busy being passed around and being told how adorable he was! He also ened up falling asleep WAY before the game was over! The news covered the event and Carl and Evan made it on the news that evening! Unfortunately, we missed seeing the news that night, but lots of our firends and family saw it, which was cool.
I am posting a few pictures below of our vacation and The Louisville Bats Game. I hope you like them!
Relaxing on the beach!
Enjoying the great weather!
Family picture at the game.
Evan was asleep before the 4th inning!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Surprise!
Last Saturday my friends and family surprised me with the most fabulous party ever! It was held at my friend Terri's house and I was CERTAINLY surprised! I walked in and found some of my closest friends and family waiting to celebrate the end of my treatment with me! Everyone was wearing pink and my family had shirts that said things like, "My sister is a survivor!" They even made a shirt for Evan that said, "My mommy is a survivor!" There were wonderful decorations including a banner, balloons, and flowers. Some people even brought gifts! There was also a ton of great food! I had the best time celebrating the end of my treatment! I really enjoyed seeing so many of my friends and family. I have said it before, but I will say it again, I have the best friends and family in the world!
I want to thank everyone that was able to make it to the party! I want to say an extra big thank you to Terri and Stacey for planning the party, my sister and my parents for helping, and my husband for helping with the guest list and for getting me there without me having a clue that the party was for me! I love you all!
I have included some pictures from the party below. If anyone was at the party and has more pictures, please e-mail them to me.
I want to thank everyone that was able to make it to the party! I want to say an extra big thank you to Terri and Stacey for planning the party, my sister and my parents for helping, and my husband for helping with the guest list and for getting me there without me having a clue that the party was for me! I love you all!
I have included some pictures from the party below. If anyone was at the party and has more pictures, please e-mail them to me.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Back to Work
I am now unofficially back at work. That is, I am not getting paid, but I am working very hard on preparing the room and the lessons for the first week of school. (My first official day is Friday, although I have a meeting on Wednesday and kindergarten orientation all day on Thursday.) I am excited about the upcoming school year and about meeting my students and their parents!
My sister is watching Evan for us while Carl and I are at work. I am THRILLED about this! She takes such good care of Evan and I honestly think she loves Evan just about as much as Carl and I do! I know she takes great care of him, so I don't have to worry about him while I am at work.
Evan is teething and he is REALLY CLOSE to getting his bottom two teeth! I can see the teeth just under the skin and I bet they will pop through sometime this weekend.
I am still quite tired from radiation, but I am getting less tired as the days go by. Also, my skin is looking really good too.
I am going to try to post a recent picture of Evan. I am still learning how to use the site, so hopefully I can post the picture without any problems!
My sister is watching Evan for us while Carl and I are at work. I am THRILLED about this! She takes such good care of Evan and I honestly think she loves Evan just about as much as Carl and I do! I know she takes great care of him, so I don't have to worry about him while I am at work.
Evan is teething and he is REALLY CLOSE to getting his bottom two teeth! I can see the teeth just under the skin and I bet they will pop through sometime this weekend.
I am still quite tired from radiation, but I am getting less tired as the days go by. Also, my skin is looking really good too.
I am going to try to post a recent picture of Evan. I am still learning how to use the site, so hopefully I can post the picture without any problems!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
New Blog Site
Hello Everyone! If you made it to this page, you know that I have created a new blog for our family. I no longer need the Caring Bridge site, since both Evan and I are well. (Hurray!) However, I still wanted to keep a blog about our family. I will use this site to post about family events, my heath, etc. I hope to post frequently, so please check our blog often.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)