I know I do not spend a lot of time blogging anymore. I am not sure if anyone is still reading this or not. I think about blogging and then I get busy and tell myself I will do it later. Everyone is great. It is school break this week and we have the boys busy everyday on top of baseball every night. There is a lot of laughter, screaming boys and tired parents at night. I have been doing double duty with work and Greg is in school and working so schedules seem to be filled these days. There is little time to think about the 'what if's' for Nick, so we move forward. Nick had his first pediatrician visit since his diagnosis this week. (I called the clinic for the everything...just did not trust anyone else during his treatment) He is great overall, below the bar on height and weight, it could be just genes or from the chemo/radiation. We really will not know until later on and when he is older. Colby on the other hand is growing leaps and bounds. He grew 4 inches in 1.5 years and gained weight. It is hard to tell I have two 7 year olds until 4/25 (then colby turns 8) with such a height difference. One month and Nick will be off the Bactrum, which means, he is done with all meds. I still have his old medicine in the cabinet and have not cleaned it out yet. I look at the bottles and of course memories flash into my head, I just need to get rid of the stuff.

Tomorrow Fund Stroll 4/10

Hello All,
I know I left some information hanging from the last post. We have been very busy and trying to absorb/adjust to the schedule. We had a surprise Birthday party for Nana (Greg's mom) on Sunday. She was completely surprised and we had family come into town to celebrate with us. The day was great with all the cousins playing together. I feel like the house is alive when we are able to have friends and family over. It can be crazy but lots of fun. We have spent the past couple of years not allowing people in our house so it is nice to open our doors again. We hope it will stay that way.
The last blog I posted about a family member who was diagnosed with cancer. Papa Charlie (Greg's dad) was diaganosed with prostate cancer and he recieved the results on Friday. He is in the early stages of cancer and he does have options. We are all here to support him and he loves we love him very much. I think the overwhelming factor of it all is hearing the 'C' word again. As always, we will unite and fight!

On Sunday we be participating in the Tomorrow Fund Stroll for the 3rd year in a row. The kids look forward to the stroll, not knowing 100% the meaning of it. That is okay because we, as parents, are coming together to support a wonderful clinic. We are able to see the doctors and nurses outside of clinic with their families to. You really know they care about the children. We are hoping for great weather so the kids will get a few laps in and enjoy the time with old/new friends from clinic. If anyone is interested in donating to the Tomorrow fund, please go to www.tomorrowfund.org. Thank you.

Happy 7th Birthday Nicholas

Nicholas will be 7 tomorrow. We get to enjoy having two 7 yr olds in the house for the next 3 weeks and then Colby is 8. We have decided to not plan a party this year for either of the boys. We have a celebration after the Tomorrow Fund Walk for them and enjoy our family time together tomorrow. The kids have been asking us for a big present this year so we decided to go ahead and get them that instead of a birthday party. Nick will have his 'traditional' breakfast in bed tomorrow morning and enjoy the day, probably bossing us around.
Last weekend we took the boys to the Hole in Wall open house for summer campers. This year Nick is old enough to go for a week. He is really excited and both boys did not want to leave the place. Everytime we have pulled up to Hole in the Wall you have a feeling of peace. Just for Greg & I to be there w/the family for a few hours, completely releived our stress and just relaxed us. We both have been busy with work, me traveling and school for Greg so to find a way (and it's free)to just be us is always great. I signed Nick up to go to camp at the beginning of August and then siblings (Colby) will go the last week in August.
Nick has been feeling great and contiues to work hard in school. We have just learned today of another family member who has been diagnosed with Cancer. For the privacy of our family and the new diagnosis, I am leaving the name out. I am asking for extra prayers in our family while they find the best treatment plan and course of action to take. We love you........

Getting Ready for April Birthday Month

Hello,
Everyone is real busy at the Shannon Household. We are getting ready for baseball and flag football for the boys. Nick continues to feel great. I am still amazed we made it through winter with no sickness for Nick. Last year we were in/out of the hospital so many times, I thought it would not end. This year we are having fun at home and working really hard with Nick at school. He had his eye exam and apparently he was not too happy to receive the drops in eyes that his eye dilate. The good news is that everything turned out to be okay. The doctor said he was a little far sighted but felt he would out grow it and hope to be have complete normal vision. In 2 months we go for Nick's neuropsych. exam to see how he is developing mentally. We know he still is struggling in some aspects of school and not 100% up to his grade level. We continue to work with at home and practice reading a lot as well.
April is always a busy and exciting month for us. Nick's birthday is on the 2nd and Colby's is on the 25th. My sister's kids are all in April as well, so we have lots to celebrate. And our Nana (Greg's mom) will turn 70 on the 10th. That makes 6 birthdays this month. Since Greg and I enjoy having family/friends at our house, we will kick off the month with a party after the Tomorrow Fund Walk on the 10th. I am sure there will be more and for us, it's all about the kids.
We have signed Nick up for a week of camp at Hole in the Wall. He is very excited to go this summer and we hope to get away for a weekend at Camp Sunshine. We are also planning a trip to NC to visit my sister and family. I am not used to planning so far in advance, we always planned last minute because we never knew how Nick would feel. It's definitely hard to keep up with the schedule. I am traveling a lot for work right now and hopefully it will slow over the next month or so. Greg is working and going to school, so we are on the go most of the time. Tommy is growing by leaps and bounds. He is so smart and a really great boy. It is hard to believe he will be 3 this year. I try not to feel guilty about how much we missed of first year of his life, between Nick in the hospital, work schedules and maintaining on a daily basis. Tom was always in good hands with our family who helped us out, but I wish I could have been there more for him. As I always say, we are enjoying our time together tremendously as a family.
Please continue to pray for the children and families who are not as lucky as us. We just found out a girl in our clinic has relapsed with Wilm's tumor and they are trying to find the right treatment plan for her. She is 9 and to young to have to go through the treatment again.
I will keep everyone updated throughout the month as we celebrate birthdays. Karen

All is Quiet Here

It has been a while since I last posted but that is good news. I used to post in the past when Nick was sick or being admitted to the hospital, a number of things. Now I find it hard to write. We are all happy and just enjoying getting back to normalcy. Greg & I had a great time in Vegas but really missed the kids. We enjoyed being able to sleep in and take long walks down the strip but to here their voices everytime we called to say goodnight reminded us of everything we have been through. We both realized how our time together as a family is so precious and you want to enjoy every minute. We were excited to make it home safe and hug the kids first thing in the morning. The boys really missed us and I know Tommy did not understand why I called him on the phone every night. We are looking forward to some family vacations this summer. We do not have plans yet but they are in the works. All I know is that it will travel as a family together with lots of laughs.
Nick will have clinic next Monday, so I will post his counts then.
Karen

Where is Nick?

The boys have had a great school vacation week. I think this has been one of their favorite weeks in a while. Monday started off with me taking Colby & Nick tubing with the Cub Scouts, in the morning. Then I met Papa Boston and he took them to his place where they went sledding, ice skating, sledding again and jacuzzi tub in the evening. This happened all in one day. Tuesday they went to the JFK Library for a kids show and then came home. Wed. they had a sleepover at Aunti Michele's house and to the movies for a show. Thursday Nick went with Grammy for a sleepover at Aunt Amy's house. Colby has a playdate over today and they are having a blast playing Wii. Nick has a lot of energy now and does not tire easily. We expect Nick to nap everyday but he has not and just keeps going. I am still amazed when I look at him now and how much he has changed.... back to the nick we know. His face shows it all. We have definitely let our guard down quite a bit and just trying to let the boys be boys. The spring is coming and they will start up sports again and continue to keep them active.
Next week Greg & I are traveling to Vegas. I am going for work and decided to make it into an extended stay through Sunday. I am used to being away from the kids for a night at a time but not this long. It has been over 3 years since I left the kids for this period of time. I am excited to go and have some quality time with Greg but will also miss the kids. I am sure next week I will be a stress ball before leaving but hope to take advantage of some R&R while I am out there. We are so fortunate to have family here to help make this possible for Greg & I.

The Tomorrow Fund Walk is being held on April 10th at 10am. If you would like to come out and support us, you are welcome to join us. Click on the link to the right of the blog - 'tomorrow fund' logo for more information. The boys are I are putting together some donation stuff. One of my goals this year was to give back, not from me but teaching the boys different ways to give back to the people who need it. Hopefully this is just the start of it.

Karen

Hello,
We are all together tonight and hanging out as a family. Nicholas and Colby would like to say a few words... so here we go:

Nick: I am feeling all better now. Me and my family are doing ok. I hope there will be peace. I pray for my friends. I have made a lot of friends. I am much more stronger and try to raise money to cure kids.

Colby: I am glad that my brother is okay. I was really worried when my brother was sick. I really wish to sign up for football and baseball this year. I wish I could do something for everyone out there and at school we are trying to raise money to help cure the kids today.

SAVE THE DATE: APRIL 10TH... TOMORROW FUND WALK
We will give more details on the next update. School vacation and lots of activity for the kids this week. Karen