ASHTYN P.

As many of you have seen on FB our sweet friend Ashtyn had been diagnosed with leukemia a few days ago.  They have been waiting for the final results of the definitive diagnosis and have run into some problems.  They first thought it was an ambiguous diagnosis of leukemia, not know if it was A.L.L. or A.M.L.  Today they believe that she may have cancer somewhere else in her body that has metastasized into her bone marrow.  The cells are unfamiliar and have been sent out worldwide to be studied.  This cancer cannot be fought until a definitive diagnosis has been made. I am asking all, no matter your faith, to pray and fast for our sweet friend this weekend that the doctors can find a diagnosis, that she can be healed and that her family will receive peace.  PLEASE PIN AND REPIN THIS PRAYERS FOR ASHTYN  PICTURE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN  

OUR FAMILY BLOG HAS NOW MOVED BACK TO WWW.CUTEGOOCHES.BLOGSPOT.COM AND MY "THOUGHT PROVOKING" BLOG IS WWW.RAWIMPERFECTIONS.BLOGSPOT.COM

Christmas Project Year #2

Okay people, my computer has been struggling and I have not been able to post pictures. I am trying to get the kinks worked out. I really want you all to share the wonderful moments we had as a family wrapping this Cancer story all up, at Disneyworld. This post, however, is not about me or my family. It is now the season for another service project and I have the perfect one this year. We have been so blessed throughout our trial and it is now time to PAY IT FORWARD. We have talked before about our dear sweet Lizzie Lu. She has been so sick, had long hospital stays, test after test, trying to find out what is wrong with her frail little body. To check out her story go to WWW.GRATEFULME-ALLY.BLOGSPOT.COM. Elizabeth Noel is one of the most beautiful, witty, fashionista-istic, people I know. She has a smile that can light up a room. She is an identical twin and has been pretty sick since she was born. Her sister Katie is no less wonderful than she is. She is an amazing, beautiful, scientist. She misses the time away from her sister during hospital stays and she is so loyal and takes great care of their spunky, hockey loving brother Jacks. SO...with incredibly high medical bills, and little sleep things can be stressful. Our family knows this quite well. We would love for the Noel family to be able to enjoy their Christmas. I would love to get some monetary donations along with some other fun items. Liz loves France, and fashion, she loves zebra print, and accessories. Katie loves peace signs, and science. Jacksy loves hockey and baseball, and cars. The family loves Disneyland. Ally, their mom, is like Supermom. She gives to so many people. Donates her time and her love to children in the hospital and needs some pampering. She loves accessories and feeling beautiful. It is hard for me to watch other moms going through what I did. It is so hard to give all of yourself to everyone and watch your child suffer for so long. This family deserves some love and some true Christmas spirit and love. Please go to the Paypal button for the Elizabeth Noel Fund on the sidebar and donate what you can. If you would like to send gifts, cards, treats, etc contact me at GOOCHYMOMMA@GMAIL.COM for address. I appreciate all of your love and support.

Preface to Orlando

HELLO!

weird to see me blogging isn't it!?! I am trying to get all of our pictures of Orlando together and my laptop is just too slow so i will have to do it on our home computer. I will post our first and second day of Orlando tomorrow. We had such a fabulous time. We were well taken care of and had such a great time with our whole Gooch family. Life is crazy for us right now (what's new!). We are hoping to be moving soon, we may have some career changes, and i start nursing school in January! And this is all on top of the holidays fast approaching. Spencer recently had his six month scans.

There were no spots anywhere! Scar tissue is even to small to pick up on CT. I am trying to embrace winter this year and today was the first test! I enjoyed watching the snow as i stayed warm and comfortable in my home. The end of the year is always a little scary because benefits are done for the year. Although we do not have the same expenses as we have the last two years we will still continue to have pricey scans and tests done, including physical therapy for the next 4 years! Yikes!

See you tomorrow!

Golf Tournament Benefit

I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful our friends are. I have been blessed with many many quality friends. Nate too, has the same quality in his friends. One of his mission companions (from way back in the day, lol) lives in Idaho and has put a lot of work into organizing this fundraiser for our family. It is going to be in Eagle, Idaho right next to Boise and Meridian. If you live nearby or are heading up that way or would like to be a part of it we would love to see you there. Here is the info:

SUPER SPENCE CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT

Eagle Hills Golf Course
605 North Edgewood Lane
Eagle, Idaho 83616
SEPTEMBER 30, 2011 @ 2:00 P.M.

Shotgun start - 4 man best ball
$65 per person or $260 per team Includes 18 holes of golf, a cart and food provided after the tournament!
Mulligan tickets $5 each at registration - will double as raffle tickets. (Raffle will be at the conclusion of the tournament)
Prizes - Closest to the Pin and Longest Drive for both men and women


PAY VIA PAYPAL THROUGH THIS BLOG
OR CONTACT JARED JACOBS
jaredjacobs@live.com

Healing

Have you ever felt wonderfully grateful yet feel bits of sadness lingering near your soul? Last week a woman contacted me via email. She is the aunt of a beautiful 8 year old girl who was just recently diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma. She has tumors in her groin, under her knee, and on her foot. It seems to have metastasized to her lungs. This aunt has been asking me some questions about it all. It seems that the doctors have been vague in their explanations. They do not live in Utah and are not going to PCMC. I have grown an attachment to this sweet little girl that I have never seen or met. My heart has so much sorry for her mother, who is a cancer survivor herself, colon cancer, nonetheless. How terrifying to watch you child bare the pains that you know so well yourself. That to me is pure hell. Talking with this family I feel so grateful. So grateful for our experiences. So grateful for our miracles. So grateful for our hospital. So grateful to all of you and for all of the prayers we have received. This is the first time since our clean bill of health that I have been really able to stand face to face with our experience, without anguish and anxiety. Today is a beautiful overcast, rainy day. The kind of day that brings tranquility to my existence. I have a lot of happiness in my life. I am a changed woman. I will never be who I was before this and I am thankful for our trials and this journey. I feel that it is now my calling in life to be a nurse and to work again with these beautiful children and families. I have so much to offer them. Next to the soon gained skills, I have the compassion, the love and the optimism that these children and families need. It warms my heart to think that I can touch the lives of others in their fight, through life and through death. I love my life.

I Have Returned

I took a much needed emotional break from this blog but it is calling me back again. There are still so many things during this journey that I have not posted and I would love to share all of the great things in our lives currently. We have been searching for a home and have a couples of offers in and are hoping to be moving by the beginning of next year. I also got an email from SLCC saying that I had been chosen to start the nursing program Spring semester 2012 which starts Jan. 9th! I have played this event in my mind over and over. I have gone back and forth in the decision that would be best for me and my family. After Spencer was diagnosed and things got so emotional and I felt so guilty for neglecting Belle and Gavin I thought that there was no going back. How could I leave my kids again for 2 full years to go back to school? Well here I was faced with this major decision. It was now or never. I felt distressed all day. I prayed about it. I talked with Nate. I talked with friends who are nurses. I decided that evening that I was going to go back. The moment I made this decision I was at peace. I knew that this was the best thing for my family. Spence was not super thrilled at first but I told him that I was interested in working in pediatric oncology. That made him excited. So here we are in September. We leave for Disneyworld in about 3 weeks. If things go as planned with the home we want we will be moving shortly after we get back from our trip, the holiday will then be upon us and the start of school. Craziness in the Gooch home. I mentioned to a friend that the next 2 years will be crazy for us and she responded with "because the last 2 weren't enough for you". Well played Kerilyn. Well played. I have been packing up the things that we don't absolutely need now. I was going through a box and I found a letter from Nate one day short of 4 months that we had been dating. It made my day. I love my husband. I am so thankful that I get to spend eternity with some one like him. I thought I would share the letter with you. I am so lucky to have a sweet hunk-a-hunk of burning love! Click on the pictures to read the letter.