Starting Now

Yesterday Claire turned 1. We went to the park for a picnic, only to get rained out, but the party continued on at Grandpa & Grandma's house. Claire dove into her cake (pictures to come) like a pro. Never one to feed herself, the girl found a way to get that chocolate goodness into her mouth after all.

The photo above was taken at 5 am. While she sleeps through the night now, she rises early!


Have you ever met Lucy Goosie? Our Golden, hairy first born. I taught her to lick my feet! Don't judge me, Wayne wouldn't ever rub them.


We are still in Rapid City. Trying hard to make a 1,000 decisions based on "what ifs" and "but what happens when...?" and "yeah, but have we thought about THIS? That? The other?"

Here is where we are now:

I was offered the position I interviewed for here in Rapid. I'll be working in advertising sales for a wonderful company and am looking forward to the opportunity! To be challenged, to have my own "thing" outside the house is exciting. And, I want to take the burden off of Wayne (worrying about work) so he can focus on getting better.

But I am wondering how putting the kids in daycare, having Wayne going through treatment, trying to sell the house in Denver, and move to Rapid will all go while I am starting this new venture. I know it will all work out, but right now things are just insane around here. Or maybe things are calm and the insanity is just happening in my head. Either way, I have a headache.

Wayne cannot have his chemo here. The Rapid City Cancer Care facility is wonderful, but just not equipped to monitor Wayne's type of chemo. It is a surprise, and an unwelcome obstacle, but we will figure it out. Wayne does not want to return to Denver for treatment (the level of incompetence is staggering) and prefers to go to Houston for all treatment anyway, so it's just the way it is. We'll make it work.

I've been touring daycare and preschool facilities. I think I may have found one I like, but it's across town. The ratio of babies to caregiver is 5:1. Scary. Please tell me everything will be okay. Not staying home with the kids is a big deal to me. Trying to be brave, trying to believe that Claire will still prefer me even though I will only see her a few hours a day. :(

We have decided to go ahead and sell the house (and take a bath on it) to eliminate the burden of carrying a double mortgage and the hassle of having a property to worry about. So, that means sooner or later we can buy a house here. There is an area called "West Blvd" in Rapid that I just adore. It's a neighborhood of older homes with big trees in the yard, front porches, and charm. The problem is that I want to buy one that has already been updated with new electrical, plumbing, windows, etc. Probably not going to happen, BUT, if anyone out there in Rapid Land hears of a little gem like that, let me know!

I'm sure Dave and Donna would appreciate having their house back. I mean, we're loveable enough, but come on, they thought when we left the nest the first time they were off the hook.

The plan going forward:

Fly to Houston this weekend. Wayne starts treatment next week.
Stage and clean the house in Denver. Stick a "for sale" sign in the yard.
Pack up what we need to get by for the summer in Rapid.

Come back to Rapid and start working (me).
Come back to Rapid and recover (Wayne).
Come back to Rapid and go to a new school (Caeden).
Come back to Rapid and realize Mama isn't around much (Claire).
Come back to Rapid and start again.
Come back to Rapid and be okay.