Okay... I have been cleaning up some old pictures and videos from my phone. I completely forgot about this one.
Where do they come up with this kind of stuff?
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving from the Harris Family...
Happy Thanksgiving to All,
We hope that you had a great day of family, friends and food. Ours was filled of all three.
Kari, James, Katie and I hosted dinner this year. More times than not, we have done this for both of our families since before Kari and I were married, with the few exceptions of Kari being sick. This wasn't one our biggest gatherings, but Kari out did herself with help help from everyone else.
We were all treated by Katie saying Grace before dinner. She has been practicing this for the past few days but had a little state fright. It didn't take much prodding to get her going. Here is the video.
She is very sweet.
Here are some highlights in pictures...
We hope that you had a great day of family, friends and food. Ours was filled of all three.
Kari, James, Katie and I hosted dinner this year. More times than not, we have done this for both of our families since before Kari and I were married, with the few exceptions of Kari being sick. This wasn't one our biggest gatherings, but Kari out did herself with help help from everyone else.
We were all treated by Katie saying Grace before dinner. She has been practicing this for the past few days but had a little state fright. It didn't take much prodding to get her going. Here is the video.
She is very sweet.
Here are some highlights in pictures...
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Thanksgiving
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am reminded of what a difference a year makes. Last Thanksgiving I was in the hospital, for 4 days, with the stomach flu. James was sick about a week before, and wouldn't you know it, the Monday of Thanksgiving week I woke up not feeling well. Got James to school, put on a movie for Katie, and went to bed to rest. As the morning wore on, I knew I was in trouble. Soon I was one sick woman. I called Jay home, but it took him quite a while to get home. I called my doctor, who of course told me to come in to the ER. James had a Thanksgiving play at school in the evening and Jay took him and Katie to that, I figured I'd get to the hospital at some point, but within a few minutes of leaving Jay came back home, James had gotten sick again in the car. So, now we needed a new plan. I called my friends, found one who was home, and she came to take me to the hospital. I thought I'd have a few hours of quality IV time. Instead, I ended up in the hospital for 4 days, had two blood transfusions, and many bags of various solutions that my body was lacking. Thank God my oncologist insisted I get a private room so I could be sick in peace (unlike the last time I was hospitalized with the flu when James was about 6 months old... but that's another story for another day).
Last Thanksgiving was a disaster. My kids were in one place, without me or Jay, Jay was trying to take care of me, work, and keep up with his family and the kids, my mom was trying to host dinner at her home and my grandmother kept getting transferred to the hospital. Last year, I would have been thankful for Thanksgiving to have been cancelled. This year, we are back to our usual routine, Thanksgiving at our home, everyone is healthy (knock on wood) and hopefully this year will be a much more enjoyable experience. This year I am thankful to be NED (no evidence of disease) to have my life return (somewhat) to normal, and have my family around me. I am thankful I still have a home for everyone to gather to celebrate, two children that are happy and healthy, a husband that is working so hard for his family, and the love and support of many friends, family and strangers who got me through the last year. I am sad that my grandmother is gone, that my brother and his family are now in Texas and not here celebrating with us, that I know of too many families that are missing their mom, daughter, aunt, sister or loved one who has passed from cancer much too young, families that have lost loved ones to various illnesses and accidents and families that have loved ones that logistically cannot be together and missing each other.
I stuggle at this time of year as I just feel so many emotions. I am happy to be here, I am sad to have gone through so much, I am fearful that I will not be here next year to celebrate these holidays, I am mad that some people don't realize what they have, mad that others are so materialistic and don't realize the true meaning of this season. I am sad that so many people are hurting at this time, missing their loved ones and have experienced so much pain. I wish I could fix everyone's pain, and correct the wrongs in this world (well, at least what I see is wrong.) I wish I could take away people's pain, bring happiness to their lives, joy to their faces. I wish I could protect my children, and everyone's children from the pain and sadness of the real world. I wish I could give people back their mothers, wives, husbands, children, that have all been lost too soon.
What I want to make sure I get across is how thankful I am to my friends, family, strangers, doctors and caregivers. To the people that pray for me, supported me, donated, watched my kids, made me a meal, and just did what they thought was appropriate to get me through my journey. I have been uplifted by people that I knew would lift me up, disappointed by people I thought would for sure be there that weren't, surprised by the support from some that I never would have thought would have been so involved in my journey. The kindness of strangers, the kindness of family, the generosity of friends, the support of my community, has all touched me in a way that I cannot express. I am so thankful for that this year.
So please, enjoy this season of Thanksgiving. Take the time to tell your family and friends what they mean to you, take a moment to do something kind for someone less fortunate than you, and thank God for your blessings. Mend some bridges, forgive some misgivings and try to remember that when it's all said and done, the only important things in your life is your relationships with others, memories of experiences and the differences you make in the lives of others. A simple act on your part, could mean the world to someone else.
Happy Thanksgiving from someone truly grateful!
James came home with this from school yesterday and we promptly hung it up.
Last Thanksgiving was a disaster. My kids were in one place, without me or Jay, Jay was trying to take care of me, work, and keep up with his family and the kids, my mom was trying to host dinner at her home and my grandmother kept getting transferred to the hospital. Last year, I would have been thankful for Thanksgiving to have been cancelled. This year, we are back to our usual routine, Thanksgiving at our home, everyone is healthy (knock on wood) and hopefully this year will be a much more enjoyable experience. This year I am thankful to be NED (no evidence of disease) to have my life return (somewhat) to normal, and have my family around me. I am thankful I still have a home for everyone to gather to celebrate, two children that are happy and healthy, a husband that is working so hard for his family, and the love and support of many friends, family and strangers who got me through the last year. I am sad that my grandmother is gone, that my brother and his family are now in Texas and not here celebrating with us, that I know of too many families that are missing their mom, daughter, aunt, sister or loved one who has passed from cancer much too young, families that have lost loved ones to various illnesses and accidents and families that have loved ones that logistically cannot be together and missing each other.
I stuggle at this time of year as I just feel so many emotions. I am happy to be here, I am sad to have gone through so much, I am fearful that I will not be here next year to celebrate these holidays, I am mad that some people don't realize what they have, mad that others are so materialistic and don't realize the true meaning of this season. I am sad that so many people are hurting at this time, missing their loved ones and have experienced so much pain. I wish I could fix everyone's pain, and correct the wrongs in this world (well, at least what I see is wrong.) I wish I could take away people's pain, bring happiness to their lives, joy to their faces. I wish I could protect my children, and everyone's children from the pain and sadness of the real world. I wish I could give people back their mothers, wives, husbands, children, that have all been lost too soon.
What I want to make sure I get across is how thankful I am to my friends, family, strangers, doctors and caregivers. To the people that pray for me, supported me, donated, watched my kids, made me a meal, and just did what they thought was appropriate to get me through my journey. I have been uplifted by people that I knew would lift me up, disappointed by people I thought would for sure be there that weren't, surprised by the support from some that I never would have thought would have been so involved in my journey. The kindness of strangers, the kindness of family, the generosity of friends, the support of my community, has all touched me in a way that I cannot express. I am so thankful for that this year.
So please, enjoy this season of Thanksgiving. Take the time to tell your family and friends what they mean to you, take a moment to do something kind for someone less fortunate than you, and thank God for your blessings. Mend some bridges, forgive some misgivings and try to remember that when it's all said and done, the only important things in your life is your relationships with others, memories of experiences and the differences you make in the lives of others. A simple act on your part, could mean the world to someone else.
Happy Thanksgiving from someone truly grateful!
James came home with this from school yesterday and we promptly hung it up.
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