Juice

Our old juicer had to be thrown out a while back. So, we treated ourselves to a new one for Christmas and already, we have been juicing away. I'll be experimenting with recipes over the next few months. Later this evening, I'll be making vegetable juice with spinach, tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber, celery and carrots. My kids prefer mixing veggies with apples and oranges to make the juices a little sweeter.

Finally... back to fresh, healthy vitamins and minerals we can drink!

Side note... I did find some spirited juice recipes I'll try for parties and evenings with friends.

Christmas At Casa Crews

A few of us ready to open gifts. At Casa Crews we have a box of hats for all to wear!

As my favorite time of year comes to an end, I sit here on this cold December morning with my coffee feeling grateful. This year has been quite a strange one. We were dealt some difficult blows, but in the end, Bill's "cancerous" spots appear to be infections and the drugs seem to be working. Morgan graduated from high school with a very high GPA and a scholarship to college. Dylan finished high school swim season with a record breaking 100 backstroke after suffering from hearing loss and eardrum damage.

The hardships of the year knocked us down, but we all got back up. We laughed in the face of adversity and drew closer to each other. That's how family should be. We should always face our troubles together. As always, Jack & Linda continue to be our greatest supporters. They pray for us and hug us and fill us with wisdom to live in a broken world.

So, Christmas...

We hosted brunch again. It's so wonderful to have an easy, calm Christmas morning surrounded by people you love. My grandparents were here again. Each year, we wonder if it will be the last with them. They are so very tough and very smart. My parents are in the country and were with us. My sister and her precious family were here. Christmas with children is always much more fun! Of course, the dogs were all part of the celebration and they all loved their many treats.

Following Christmas brunch, we played a silly game with my parents and then decided to head to their ranch near Madisonville and ride 4 wheelers. We also got to watch their German Shepard play fetch in the pond for an hour and still not get tired.

At the end of the night, I was full from eating two bowls of my mom's chicken chili and I felt satisfied. I wasn't thinking about the horrible events of 2015. I was thinking about the family I have. Bill, Morgan and Dylan are my life. Our parents and siblings (including the ones who were unable to be with us this year) are a true blessing. We are looking forward to the adventures of 2016 and already planning our Christmas in Colorado.

Merry Christmas to everyone and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

On our way to Christmas Eve service at church.

Christmas morning, with my coffee and the silence of being alone for a while.

It was hot outside so we made our own snow and snowmen (and these were edible).
Also, we had a snowball fight (using the wadded up gift wrapping after we opened gifts).
Sometimes in life you gotta make your own snow!

Just us girls... me, Morgan, Mama Jo, Mom, Emma and Annie

Our dog Piper loves being at Grandpa & Grandma's ranch

Walking with Bill to the barn

Kids, Bill, Grandpa, Piper & Bear all headed to the pond to play fetch.

Piper riding in the back of one of the 4 wheelers

Dylan driving Uncle Drew's newest purchase. This one goes up to 60 mph.
Bear stands in the back the entire ride, never falling.

Selfie time! Everyone protecting their eyes from Dylan's dust (I had to deal with some dirt).

Bear is so fun. Loves the pond and can play for hours.

He swims like us!

Meanwhile Piper enjoys sunbathing.

I've never seen a dog this in love with the sun.

Great Weekend

Dylan winning gold for the 100 back

Morgan, class of 2015

Friday morning I got a very late start on what was supposed to be an 18 mile run. The cold weather we had been enjoying was gone. It was nearly 80 degrees out and very humid. I was not properly fueled and had no gels. Long story short... my 18 mile run turned into 17 miles and it was miserable. The entire way.

So waking up Saturday morning, I thought, "this weekend better improve" and then Bill called from his run telling me he was getting a migraine. I was not about to let the weekend suck. Bill did what he does and overcame his pain and went with me to volunteer at the high school district swim meet.

The best volunteer position for districts is timer. I was head timer which meant I was right by the awards podium. Dylan has been extremely sick with an ear infection that caused hearing loss and has left him with a damaged ear drum. But the doctor released him to swim as long as he continues his treatments. Having missed lots of practice and a couple of meets, it was unclear how he would swim.

In each of the three events he swam, he won first place! He even broke a JV 100 backstroke record! Of course, Dylan was happy with his times, but as always, he knows he has to improve greatly in order to be promoted to gold/national. At least I got a smile out of him. This great victory even seemed to help Bill feel better.

The next day, we celebrated our beautiful daughter's graduation from high school. Yay! My precious girl is a high school graduate.

This year has been really tough. We've been through very difficult trials- all four of us. But thankfully, we are still here and still moving forward. Our kids are the best. And we are always grateful for the wonderful family and friends in our lives. Morgan's party was intimate and sweet, filled with grandparents she adores, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends who we think of as family. We are truly blessed.

Christmas At Casa Crews

All my life, this has been my favorite time of year. So much about this season that makes my heart happy. My birthday, my baby brother's birthday, my baby sister's birthday, the anniversary of Gone With the Wind, Christmas parties, decorations, food, egg nog, time off from school/work...

Well, I could go on and on. This year, in addition to the many parties we're attending, we are hosting our daughter's graduation party! She graduated over a month ago, but with our crazy schedule we couldn't celebrate til this month. Sunday we'll have friends and family over to congratulate her on her huge accomplishment!

Also this year, just like every year, we are busy with our many charities. More on that later. And each year, we have our amazing family over for Christmas brunch. Bill and I love planning the menu and cooking together. It's wonderful being married to a man who enjoys life with me.

Merry Christmas from Casa Crews!

Giving Tuesday

Each year following Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we come back to the true spirit of the season to celebrate Giving Tuesday. This year, Giving Tuesday is on December 1. Following are a few ideas from Casa Crews for giving to cancer patients and their families...

• Donate to cancer research! Choose an organization like MD Anderson Cancer Center or The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or Lymphoma Research Foundation.
• Make a meal for a family enduring cancer treatments.
• Give blood or platelets. If you're in the Houston area, please consider donating at MD Anderson Blood Bank as they use more blood products than anywhere else in Houston.
• Get your cheek swabbed and get on the National Bone Marrow Registry (for those ages 18-45).
• Give your hair to Pantene's free wig program for women who have cancer.
• Do you know a family enduring cancer treatments? Offer to decorate their home for the holidays!

It Was For A Purpose

On this day 12 years ago, Bill and I walked into the big doors of MD Anderson Cancer Center for the very first time. Two days before (October 14 is our family's "cancerversary") we heard those two little words that changed our lives forever: "it's cancer".

Only days into our family's war on lymphoma, we recognized our duty to comfort people who were fighting cancer. Truthfully, we recognized this many years before. Bill and I both know the feeling of being a child walking through a children's hospital and seeing little kids with leukemia fight for their lives. My baby brother fought for his life in 1977 at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. He is alive today and his life is very, very good.

Bill's sister Michelle did not survive leukemia. At the age of six, she became another casualty in the war against cancer. We have had too many friends and family members die of cancer for us not to know early on that this had to be part of God's plan for us- comforting those who feel the extreme pain of cancer.

At the time of Bill's diagnosis, we were so overwhelmed and busy trying to save him that we didn't think about that "calling" often, but deep inside, we knew it was all part of the plan to get us deeper into the cancer community to help people.

What a journey it's been these 12 years! The past year has been quite confusing. Bill has been going in every couple of months to MD Anderson to check for high cancer markers. But a week ago, we got the news that we had hoped for: NED (No Evidence of Disease). We love NED!

It's now a beautiful Friday morning. Kind of chilly out now, but expected to warm up and then be a perfect weekend. I'm starting to feel a change in our spiritual and emotional season too. Fresh and beautiful. Beauty for ashes! If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. This has been a very painful year. The cancer scare was nothing compared to the other part of this life journey. But for the first time in a very long time, I am feeling some peace come our way. The horror of our storm is something I would never wish to live again, but I know it was for a purpose.

Fall Morning

It's a beautiful fall Sunday morning at Casa Crews. As I sit out back with my coffee, I feel ever so grateful for peaceful moments. In this intense life we live, we don't get too many of those so when I have a few minutes of just sitting out back on a cool, crisp Autumn morning, I feel profound gratitude.

Plans changed for us slightly last night. We had thought we would head to bed early and get up for a run this morning. But we had a crisis to deal with. When your teenager hurts, you hurt with your teen. Even if on the surface you think it's no big deal, the truth is usually that the thing they are crying or screaming about is not what is really bothering them. So, you patiently sit with them, cry with them, hold them if they let you, stay calm if they yell at you and blame you. You have to dig deep, but if you can stay calm in the storm, the storm will finally calm.

It did last night and things ended at Casa Crews at almost 1:00 in the morning, but in a way that was worth the lack of sleep. When you have teenagers, you are thankful for any time they want to spend with you. So, with all four of us and the dog laying in the family room cuddled under blankets watching a movie, we got a little time of happy.

Because you never know what a day may bring, I will right now be grateful for the peaceful moment I'm in and for the happiness of being with my family last night. Later today, I'll head to the Greek Festival in Houston and celebrate that fun lively part of my heritage. May the day be blessed.