Merry Christmas!!!

We just returned from a fabulous week in Cardiff, CA with my family. Eric was supposed to get chemo the day before we left for CA, but his white blood cells were too low so they couldn't give it to him. We were bummed at the time, but it turned out to be a blessing. Eric felt GREAT the whole trip and could enjoy all the holiday food and festivities. I almost forgot how sick my husband really is because he was so normal this week. It really was great. We had to return a couple days earlier than we had planned so he could get chemo today. Here are a few pictures from our trip. Enjoy!

Nana and Papa with the babies (and Morgan).

Our family - doesn't Eric look great bald?
Christmas morning with some of their loot. Santa brought some transformer cars that are practically impossible to transform - way to go Santa.
A glorious day at the beach.
The boys searching the tidepools for creatures. Logan stepped in every pool of water possible, scaring away any sign of life to be found. The biggest find was a dead lobster that Mason swore wasn't really dead. Pretty fun!

Eating cotton candy at Sea World while waiting for Shamu (the cotton candy was Nana's idea of course).

And saying hello to a vacationing Santa at Sea World. The kids were quite perplexed by Santa's different clothes, but he was the most authentic Santa we've seen.

Thanks to the Borgquist/Cummings clan for hanging with us last week. Thanks, Mom, for all the great food that helped Eric gain 6 pounds during the week at your house! We miss you all already!

Eric's Stats

Stats:
September - December 08 = 30 lb. weight LOSS
December 11th - December 29th = 21 lb. weight GAIN

Cause?
Doctor: Trunkal obesity due to steroid therapy
Eric: Sugar cookies, ice cream, brownies, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy etc.

Translation:
Eric's getting fat and we are so happy!

P.S. A recent CAT scan showed his tumors have shrunk by half!

Happiness is...

A weekend visit from Erika...
A smiley little girl in a Christmas dress...
Peanut butter blossoms and sugar cookies (thanks Erika for your help with these)...

The first snow of the year...

A husband who is well enough to shovel snow...

And new bedding for the kids room (an early Christmas present from Kirsten)!

Life is GOOD!!!

We LOVE Mayo!

We felt like our trip to Mayo was meant to be, especially after we got an appointment so quickly, and now we know why. Eric's tissues were reviewed by the pathologists at Mayo and the head of the lymphoma pathology department found that Eric had been misdiagnosed. He actually has Lymphocyte Predominant Hodgkins Lymphoma, which is commonly confused with the other non-Hodgkins lymphoma that he was first diagnosed with. The reason we feel so blessed is because our physician at Mayo (who is also a transplant specialist) said that he usually sees patients who have been misdiagnosed as Eric was after they have gone through months of chemo with no success and come to him for a transplant consult to save their lives. We are so grateful that we found this out now after just one round of incorrect chemo, instead of months. The chemo he did get before didn't harm him, it just wasn't the correct concoction to treat his particular kind of cancer. The upside to this diagnois is that he now has a 67% chance of going into remission with chemo (versus 50% before), and the downside is that this cancer is more likely to reoccur after remission.

We returned late last night from MN and Eric went in this morning at 8 am to start his new chemo regimen. Hopefully he gets through this round as easily as he did the last one. His hair hasn't fallen out yet, but he can pull out his whiskers with his fingers relatively easily, so it's on it's way out for sure.

On a side note, Mayo Clinic was amazing. We were so impressed with everyone we came in contact with and the efficiency of such a huge facility. If you ever have a serious medical concern, definitely consider going there, it is worth it! But it was COLD! We did get to check out the Mall of America on one of our less busy days, which was also amazing (in a different way of course). We got some Christmas shopping done and spent some quality time together, which was great. So overall, we had a good trip, especially because my mom was taking great care of our boys back in Grand Junction. Thank you, mom, we love you!

Eric update

Sorry I haven't posted anything about Eric lately, but to be honest the last week has been pretty uneventful. His first round of chemo went pretty smoothly. He did not vomit and only felt nauseated a couple times. There were a couple days where he felt pretty tired, but overall he was okay. The worst side effect yet hit him yesterday - mouth sores. He has one big one on his lip and little ones all over the inside of his mouth and down his throat, which makes it very difficult to eat. He has a couple medications that should help. The oncology nurses told him to expect his hair to fall out in 10-14 days from the start of chemo so we are anticipating that happening soon. Eric is stoked to see what his bald head looks like!

We are off to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN on Sunday for a second opinion. There are lots of great cancer centers near us, but our insurance doesn't cover any of them. We have a friend whose husband was a resident at Mayo and they encouraged us to go there, and amazingly our insurance will cover it! It usually takes 2 months to get an appt there, but we got in in 2 weeks. We are anxious for that trip and to see what other options there may be for us.

Thanks for your continued support. We'll try to post something more entertaining and upbeat soon!
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Be sure to count your blessings, there is much to be thankful for!

Treatment

Eric started chemo treatments today. We had to wait an extra day to get the final ruling on his diagnosis (it is what we thought it was), which was torture. We are so tired of waiting for results! Eric was pretty excited today to finally get the chemo pumped into his blood. He hasn't had any negative effects yet, the nurses told him it usually takes 3-5 days to start feeling crappy. He has 4 anti-nausea medications to take, so they say he shouldn't experience any vomiting. He had his blood drawn yesterday and his doctor told him today that his LDH (lactic acid dehydrogenase) levels are down (a very good thing) and his platelet counts are back to normal, after just the one dose of Rituxin! Eric says that his abdomen even feels slightly less tight now. These results were very encouraging to us and we know it is the work of the Lord. Thank you for your prayers, they are working!

Diagnosis?

We think we may have a diagnosis for Eric. Our doctor said they are almost certain that he has T Cell Rich Large B Cell Lymphoma. It is a rare subtype of Large B Cell Lymphoma, which is considered a non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Eric's lymph nodes were sent to one more pathologist to confirm the diagnosis and we should get those results on Monday. He is in Stage 4, which is the worst stage. The cancer is in his abdomen, several organs, and his bone marrow. His lungs and brain are both clear, thank goodness. Our oncologist told him he has a 50% chance of being cured through chemotherapy. If chemotherapy does not knock out the cancer in his bone marrow, he will need a transplant. He started on Rituxin today (it took 8 hours of infusion), which is part of the chemo that he will be beginning no matter what the diagnosis. He will start receiving the full-blown dose of chemo on Monday once his diagnosis is confirmed. Although this diagnosis was rather bleak, Eric is so relieved to finally be killing those cancer cells. We remain firm in our faith that he will beat this.

More Tests

We were going to wait until we had an exact diagnosis to post anything new, but test results keep coming up inconclusive. We do know that Eric has lymphoma (cancer of the lymph system). There are many classifications of lymphoma and we do not know which one he has or what stage he is in. He has had 2 biopsies and multiple tests that have not told us anything about how sick he really is. He goes in tomorrow morning for a surgical biopsy to take a portion of a lymph node out for testing, so hopefully the third time will be the charm. He is been so strong through all of these tests, even though they have all been awful. He will start chemo just as soon as we have a diagnosis, he even has a portacath inserted into his chest already for direct access to his veins. We are both anxious about all the unknowns, but we feel an inner peace that tells us that he will be able to fight this. I have been very calm this last week and I know it's because of all your prayers. Thank you and please continue them on our behalf. As much as I would like to talk to all of you, I would appreciate it if you would hold off calling for the time being. Much of our days are spent at the hospital and when we aren't there, we are trying to be as normal as possible for our kids and I don't want to be on the phone constantly. I also don't want Mason overhearing my conversations about Eric. Thank you so much. We love you all!

Still Waiting

I know so many of you are worried about Eric and I wish I had good news, but we are still waiting for a diagnosis for him. Test results are not coming back as quickly as we'd like. Thank you for all your encouraging comments and for your prayers. We definitely have felt strengthened. Hopefully we'll have an answer on Friday.

Halloween

Happy Halloween! We were held up at gunpoint by a tough talkin' cowboy....
Had to relinquish all our gold and silver to a Jack Sparrow impersonator...
And were spooked by the cutest ghost in town!
Busted! This girl knew there was good stuff under those wrappers and would have gotten them open if I'd given her enough time. It was so fun to have a baby in the house for Halloween. Mason and Logan loved dressing her up and wanted to share all their candy with her. We hope you all had a happy Halloween too!

Please Pray

We are asking all our family and friends to pray for Eric. He is very sick. I can't say right now what is wrong because he is still undergoing tests and we won't have an exact diagnosis until next week, but it is very serious. I am sorry to worry all of you, but we need your prayers. Please fast if you can this Sunday for us. Please don't call, I am too emotional to talk. I will post more when we know more, but until then please just pray for strength for our family.

Highlights

Here are some highlights from the last week or so. Life in Grand Junction continues to treat us well!

We went to a pumpkin patch with Logan's preschool group and picked out some over priced pumpkins...

I hung some pictures that I had taken of the kids back in August. This picture does not do them justice, so trust me when I tell you that they are so cute. If you don't trust me and want to see more of the photos for yourself go here and enter "Barnhurst" as the password.
We went to a Dinosaur Museum in Fruita (just a few miles west of us), which was great. They had a dinosaur bone quarry, animated dinosaurs, and amazing fossils. Eric and I were shocked that such a small town museum had so many quality pieces and displays. If you come visit us, we'll definitely take you here.


Yesterday we went fishing at Mesa Lake and had an awesome day. The weather was perfect and we actually caught fish! The lake was so pretty - crystal clear. We could watch the fish swim up to our bait and take it, it was so clear. While the boys fished, Paige discovered the joy of dirt. Once those finger nails dug in, there was no going back - sigh.


We brought 3 fish home for dinner and the boys each ate one whole fish themselves! They were so proud to have caught our dinner. These really are mountain boys!

New Job

Yesterday I started my new job - group fitness instructor at Crossroads Fitness. I used to instruct classes when I was in college and now 10 years later I am getting back into it. I got so spoiled with my cheap YMCA membership with free babysitting in Philly that it was killing me to pay our gym membership and babysitting fees here. So, now as an employee, both are free! Mason was pretty upset when I told him I was starting to work at the gym. He told me, "You can't go to work every day like dad, who will stay with us?" It took a little explaining for him to realize that it would only be 1-4 hours a week. I will be teaching Kickboxing, Body Sculpting, Cardio Chisel, and Chisel (weight training classes). I taught Cardio Chisel yesterday and put more weight on my bar than I should have because I didn't want to look like a wussy instructor. I am paying for it today with sore muscles! Hopefully my body gets in the groove fast otherwise I won't be able to walk, let alone teach!

Idaho roots

Last week we took a trip to Idaho to celebrate my Grandpa Longhurst's 80th birthday. My mom grew up in Idaho with a cattle rancher/sheep broker as a dad and spent a lot of time on the farm. She traded farm life for California beaches, but the love for life on the farm somehow got passed down to my kiddos. Mason and Logan have both loved horses and cowboy stuff since they were tiny. I remember the summer before Mason turned 2 he would throw a fit everytime I put him in shorts because he wanted to wear "cowboy pants" and "boots" (jeans and his church shoes). Since then my mom has indulged them with proper cowboy attire and we still have arguments with both boys in the summer about whether or not it's too hot for boots and jeans. I was never much of a fan of the farm as a kid because I thought it was too stinky, but my boys think it is heaven.
Grandma and Grandpa Longhurst with the Borgquist girls
Cute kids in the hay
Last time we were in Idaho, Mason was 2 1/2 and he fell in love with Junior, the horse. He talked about Junior probably once a week for the last 2 1/2 years, so he was thrilled to go back and see his favorite horse. Thanks, Uncle Reed, for teaching my kids how to ride!

It was Logan's first time meeting Junior and he was so excited. While he was waiting for his turn to ride, he was looking at the cows in the pen and someone pointed out the one big bull. A couple minutes later he said (dead seriously), "I want to ride that big black bull." We all thought we were going to die laughing but he didn't get what was so funny!

Just chewing some straw. I really do have hick kids, don't I?
How could you go to a farm without playing on a tractor? This was right before we were leaving to drive back to CO and we had to use serious force to remove the children. They would have happily stayed there without us!
The best part for me was seeing my sisters and my cousins (who I didn't take any pictures with - ahhhh!!!). Thank goodness for great family!

Happy Birthday Mason!

We started off Mason's birthday bash by making these fun swirly cookies (click for recipe) that I saw on my friend Tracy's blog, who stole the idea from our friend Tifani (thanks to you both!) to take to preschool. The kids loved helping with these, but it took twice as long with their help :)
On his birthday we went to a park with some of our new friends and shared some cupcakes. Mason took along his new scooter to practice and had a blast.
Later we went to gymnastics (sorry the pictures is so dark, he is swinging from the high bar), which is his favorite new activity. Then we took him to Bananas (a mini-golf place) to golf, ride bumper boats, play laser tag, and jump on huge inflatables. Unfortunately our camera battery died when I went to take the first picture, but I can assure you we had a great time!
I was worried Mason's birthday was going to be a bust because I had to practice some tough love by not letting him have the hulk birthday party we'd planned after he threw a fit in Target. He was the one who said he didn't want a "stupid party" so I had to hold him to it. He was really sad for a few days before his birthday when he realized I wasn't giving in, but he ended up having a good birthday regardless. Being a mom is so hard sometimes, even after 5 years of practice! We love our Mason - happy birthday buddy!

Five months old

Baby Paige is 5 months old today and it kills me! How is it that she has been with us for almost half a year? It really seems like yesterday that I brought her home from the hospital. I wish I could freeze time and keep her this age forever. I love how she watches me wherever I go, whimpers when I walk out of her sight, and then gets so excited when I look at her. Does she really have to grow up and learn that I am really not so wonderful? It is so cruel!
Here is Eric helping her to say "Hooray, I'm 5 months old!" But I say, "Boo-hoo!"

When the dad's away, the mom and kids will play!

While Eric went to Philly to finish up some work at Temple, the kids and I spent some time in the Denver area visiting Eric's brother Adam and some old friends. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures with everyone, but here are some pictures with Shauna's family. Shauna was kind enough to let us crash at her house for three days and it was a blast the whole time. Her little boy, Jaden is 3 months younger than Logan, and her little girl, Bradli, is 1 month younger than Paige. Such cute kids! Thanks Shauna and Doug for great food, great accommodations, and great company!

After coming home to an empty house in Grand Junction, and realizing that Eric was going to be hunting through Labor Day weekend, I was feeling the need to get away again. My super generous brother-in-law Chris came to my rescue by flying me (and my kids) home to San Diego with his frequent flier miles. I was able to visit with my high school friends, Elizabeth and Krissi, who both had babies this spring too. It was so great to see them and their cute babies!
We also spent the majority of our time at the beach, soaking in the last days of summer. The water was warm, the weather was beautiful, and I was in heaven! Mason became quite the boogie boarder this trip, and even got brave enough to wade out up to his waist and dive under waves with his cousin Morgan!


Erika came out from Virginia too because it was my mom's birthday on the 28th. It was the first time my whole family had been together for any birthday since I was in high school!
My Dad took the kids out on his boat for a fishing/dolphin/sea lion watching adventure. We saw sea lions, but no dolphins or fish. The kids had a blast riding in the boat, though, so it was well worth taking the boat out!

The kids wanted to "swim with the sharks" so we all jumped overboard. Isn't that water beautiful?
Paige was not quite the happy girl she usually is because she was cutting her first 2 teeth during these trips, but here's a smile nonetheless. Guess she loves the beach as much as her mom!
The whole crew on our last beach day. We finished up the day with some greasy mexican food and ice cream. A perfect day in my book! We had a great time and miss you all! Thanks Chris and Kirsten for making it happen!
Now we are back in CO and Eric just left for his first day of work - yippee! Mason starts school Wednesday and Logan starts school next week. We've had a blast the last 2 weeks, but now we are ready to get into a routine and settle into life here. Good-bye summer - we'll miss you!