SpruceHill

Wishing You A Happy Healthy New Year!

I have been piddling around all morning trying to think of profound words to start off the new year with. I did not come up with much. I am not a resolution maker, I never have been. I could come up with a list of things I would like to improve on in my life, things I would like to do or not to do. I think though I will not do that. My only goal this year is to remain healthy. To concentrate on continuing my recovery from breast cancer, try to get full rang of motion back in my arms and build my upper body strength. To embrace each day as a gift and not get caught up in the little unimportant things in our lives like so many of us do.

I would like to wish everyone a HAPPY and HEALTHY new Year!

May the blessing of light be on you - light without and light within. May the blessed sunlight shine on you like a great peat fire, so that stranger and friend may come and warm himself at it. And may light shine out of the two eyes of you, like a candle set in the window of a house, bidding the wanderer come in out of the storm. And may the blessing of the rain be on you, may it beat upon your Spirit and wash it fair and clean, and leave there a shining pool where the blue of Heaven shines, and sometimes a star. And may the blessing of the earth be on you, soft under your feet as you pass along the roads, soft under you as you lie out on it, tired at the end of day; and may it rest easy over you when, at last, you lie out under it. May it rest so lightly over you that your soul may be out from under it quickly; up and off and on its way to God. And now may the Lord bless you, and bless you kindly. Amen.
—Scottish Blessing

Getting Out

I finally got out of the house yesterday and had a little walk. Little E and I walked down to the creek. The sky was so clear and it was really warm.

 

The Creek was quiet and it was nice just to sit and listen.

 

Little E did some exploring.

 

 

I stood there a long time just taking in the fresh air and quiet. We have a HOUSE FULL of kids so I really was enjoying the quiet.

 

I got a couple of good shots with my trusty camera too.

  

We are off to the movies this afternoon with the whole crew to see Marley and Me. I hope the movie is as good as the book was. After that we will be feeding the masses again and will have another marathon sleepover tonight. I hope they go to bed before 1:00 am!

A Wonderful Holiday

 

We had a wonderful holiday here on Spruce Hill! We spent a very quiet morning on Christmas morning. Opening gifts and enjoying the day. Santa was very good to the girls this year, and they did not receive any coal at all! We ended our day with dinner at my parents house who live just a few miles away.

Yesterday our cousins arrived from North Carolina, we have not seen much of all five of the girls since they arrived. They do emerge for meals and snacks. The girls are perfecting their karaoke and flash light tag skills. It has been one big long buffet around here! We are enjoying all of my baking and have devoured most of the leftovers from our Christmas Eve dinner.

Thank you to all of my bloggy friends for all of your Christmas greetings. I have missed blogging these few days,but I have also enjoyed the break.

Merry Christmas From Spruce Hill

            

A Journey that is not planned can be the one that teaches you the most

I do not usually write a letter at Christmas time. Things sometimes change for reasons we can not control, so this year I decided to sit down and try to put this years journey into words. Last January I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was not something that I expected to face at the age of 41 or any time in my life for that matter. I had had two mammograms since I turned 40 and they were both “clear” both did not find my cancer. My diagnosis set our lives spinning. Before I knew it I was meeting with breast surgeons and talking about what my options were. On February 7^th I had a double mastectomy, after a long recovery from my surgery I started my chemo, Fourteen weeks of dose dense chemotherapy. I finished my chemo up on July 15^th.

I was so moved and over come with all of the love and support I received from my family and friends. Meals, laundry, dishes the list goes on. The people that I loved really stepped up and helped our family. I will forever be grateful for that. Thank you! I also made new friends along the way. I joined a support group for young breast cancer survivors, and I started a blog to help me navigate through all of the emotions that I was going through. I started to reach out to other breast cancer survivors online to find information and to find out how to deal with my diagnosis. I now write my own personal blog called Spruce Hill, and I write with 20 other cancer survivors on our blog called Mothers With Cancer. I have met woman all over the world, Bloggers who I have become friends with. I could have never imagined the support that I have received from these people that I have never met in person.  My blog has changed a bit since I have finished my treatment and I am branching out a bit and have added a blog just for my photography called, Spruce Hill Images from my everyday life. My cancer changed the way I look at the world and I have gained strength through my creativity.

I made it through my chemo, a lot easier than I expected. When my hair started to fall out I took control and shaved it myself. Taking back the control I lost from my diagnosis. Since my last treatment in July, my hair has begun to grow back. I have been told that it is very Euro chic. I am just glad to have it. It is amazing how cold you get when you don’t have hair!

Paul and the girls have done so well with all of this. The girls are thriving and doing so well in school as if nothing has happened. Keeping it real, keeping me laughing everyday, no matter what is going on in our lives. Making up songs about me being bald and rubbing my head and telling me how soft it is. Paul has been my rock, to say the least and the one person who has kept me focused on my goal. He has been incredible in everyway. He has cooked, cleaned, done laundry, driven the girls to parties, and did carpooling to school. Holding my hand during chemo, and making sure I was comfortable and never wavering, not once. Telling me all the time how much he loves me and that I am beautiful. How could I ask for anything more?

So Yes! I have learned a lot about myself this year, I have learned how strong I am and how I can do anything if I can kick cancer’s butt. I walked along with a team of family and friends in the Susan G. Komen Race for the cure on October 19^th. My team, Team Sarah raised over $2000 for the cure. I made it the whole 5k, something that I could have not done 5 months before. Our family is back to “normal” now. The girls are busy with school and life. I am delving into the world of survivorship, which is not as easy as it sounds. I am greatful for everyday that I wake up and put my feet on the floor. Thankful for everyday that I can kiss my husband and children, make them dinner and take care of them. I feel truly blessed to be standing on the other side of cancer and treatment, and proud to call myself a breast cancer survivor.

I wish everyone a blessed and joyous Christmas. May your family have the privilege of a happy and healthy year to come.

 

                    Merry Christmas,

                                               Sarah

 

PS- I am hoping to take a bit of a writing break for a couple days. I hope to return in a couple of days to share our wonderful Holiday.

A little ice storm

 

We had a little ice storm last night. I woke up at 5:00 am and could not go back to sleep. My brain was on overload.

 

I walked around for about an hour this morning taking pictures. I was very excited!

 

This is horse hair with ice on it. Isn't it pretty?

 

The ponies were not happy about the weather this morning

 

Tempest is not a happy pony most days, but she was even more sad because of the weather.

 

a pony brush discarded laying in the grass.

   

 

 

Happy Sunday!