What a Difference a Year Makes
Published February 5, 2010 Faith , Family , Lily , Me , Ricky , Riley Leave a CommentAs we are embarking on another trip to Houston, trip number 8 to be exact, I am flooded with memories of the past 18 months. Where we started, where we’ve been, and most importantly how far we’ve come on this journey!
In February of 2008…
Lily was 4 and Riley was 2. Lily was in Pre K and I was worried about her missing too much school when we were in Florida. Riley still wore diapers and had a shousha(aka pacifier). Ricky and I were celebrating our 29th…ahem…or maybe 33 birthdays. We were heading down to Florida for Spring Training. He was a professional baseball player pursuing his dream. I was a stay at home mom and couldn’t be happier! We spent February in the pool and at the beach. Not to mention catching a few spring training baseball games.
In February of 2009…
Lily was 5 and Riley was 3. Lily was in Kindergarten and a love of gymnastics had blossomed in her life. Riley was in preschool and reminded me how being 3 was way worse than being 2! We were headed to Houston for the third time to meet with Dr. Yung at MD Anderson.
Ricky was on his second round of chemo. He weighed 30 pounds less than he does now. He was sick and nauseas from the chemo. He had a funky hair loss from the radiation that was just starting to grow back in. He was keeping his head shaved until the patches of hair grew back in. He didn’t get out much except to go to the doctor and church. He was still going to speech three days a week. He had a lot of speech and memory issues. He got the keys to his Tahoe back on February 7. He drove across the street and back, but was thrilled to have some independence back.
I was still a stay at home mom and loved every minute of it. I had more bad days than good. The year had it’s toll on me. I realized how much more I needed the Lord in my life than ever before. I lost friends that couldn’t handle the situation…at least I guess that’s why. My friends that stuck with me helped get me through some really rough times. The Lord placed new people in our life that mean the world to us.
February of 2010…
Lily is 6 and Riley is 4. Lily is in first grade and loves school. She is an amazing student who loves reading! Her passion is gymnastics. She is intense in school and intense in gymnatics. She puts her everything into all that she does. She loves the Lord and His light shines through her! Her giggle and smile are contagious…she lights up the room. She lights up my heart! She is a Daddy’s girl through and through.
Riley is in preschool and loves the social aspect of school. He will finally write his name but chooses when he wants to put the letters in the correct order. He gives everything 110% and is all rough and tough boy. He is loving basketball right now but can’t wait for t ball in the spring. He loves singing praise and worship songs in the car and I smile every time. “Louder mommy”…he likes the music loud so he can sing louder! Not a bit on key but precious as can be. He also loves to make people laugh! He will definitely be the class clown. He has a ton of girls that chase him at school and he loves it…I’m not as in love with that as he is =) He is definitely a mama’s boy!
Ricky and I are about to celebrate our 29th birthday…OKAY!!!…35th!! Wow! We are getting old. Ricky stays at home and takes care of many of the household duties. He is still very fatigued and naps every day. He has put all the weight back on that he lost and looks so healthy. He still has speech and memory issues but has learned how to cope with them. He is no longer embarrassed to speak to others, he is who he is! He still keeps his head shaved but not because of the hair loss. He likes his scar. It is part of him. It is part of his testimony. He wants people to ask so he can share his love of Jesus. Oh my, and how he loves Jesus! He is consumed with the Word and all that it has to offer. His life is Jesus and his family. He has slowly began to share his testimony as the Lord has allowed.
I am teaching a pre K class at The Potters House. I have thirteen amazing students who make me laugh…and sometimes cry…three days a week =) They are really wonderful. The staff I work with is amazing and I am so thankful that the Lord has placed me there. There are supportive and so positive. It is a wonderful Christian environment to be in! I am going to school for my Masters in Educational Leadership. I cried through much of the first term but have found the first few weeks of this term much more bearable. I am actually enjoying my classes now! Staying busy is good for me…it keeps my mind focused on where I am and where I need to be. Too much time to think gets me in trouble…
We have amazing friends and family that help keep our family running smoothly during the craziness that is our life. The trips to Houston every two months wouldn’t be possible without my mom, Meemaw, holding down the fort while we are gone. Not to mention Becky taking Lily to gymnastics at 6 AM on Tuesday mornings and Amy bringing her home at night. The kids stay on their regular routine and that is priceless. The Potter’s House being understanding of my taking off so much for our trips and my professors allowing me to miss class is also a huge burden lifted. Have a mentioned the most important thing…a God that gives me enough grace every day to get through!
As we head to this next appointment I would be lying to say that I don’t get nervous. I try to keep it real here, and for real, I get nervous. I trust God completely. I gave up a long time ago trying to carry this on my own. However, my flesh takes over and doubt and fear do creep in. That is when I must remember that He has got it all under control. Then I remember this verse…
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
The peace of God takes over and there is a calmness. One that I cannot describe. You only know it when you’ve felt it.
Please be in prayer for us as we head to Houston. Some of Ricky’s blood counts were off a bit but nothing that seems too worrisome. I have the MRI in my hand but we won’t have it reviewed until Tuesday. I will try and update sometime on Tuesday with the wonderful news…you wouldn’t expect anything other than wonderful would you?!?
Love to you all!!
I wanted to share the following link with you. Joe Lemire, a writer for si.com, wrote an amazing story on our family! Click the link below to check it out!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/joe_lemire/01/25/stone.lidge/index.html
Hey everyone! It has been quite awhile since I posted. Life has been busy and unfortunately I haven’t had time to write. However, seeing as I am on a small trip to New York City, I have the time right now!
Let’s see, what has been going on…I will give a brief update on each of us.
Lily has been busy with what else but gymnastics!! She has had two competitions and done amazing! Here are a couple of pictures from her first meet.
She also decided at the spur of the moment to cut off 10 inches of her hair to donate to locks of love. We have been following the story of a little girl named Kate McRae who has brain cancer and is currently undergoing treatments. You can read her story here. Her story has touched Lily and she decided to cut her hair so she could help others who have lost their hair to cancer treatments.
Riley has been busy with basketball! He is loving it. There is nothing cuter than watching him grab a rebound and tuck the basketball under his arm and run straight to the basket. No dribbling for him…it slows him down =)
I am back in school again. This semester I have Principalship and Change and Supervision of Teaching. Classes started last week and I am slowly getting back into a groove. Teaching continues to go very well and I am enjoying every second of it!
Ricky is doing great and enjoying not having to put any poison, aka chemo, into his body. He is still suffering from fatigue, but we are praying that it will diminish as his body is healing from the year of chemo. His next appointment in Houston is February 9 and I can’t wait to share another amazing report with all of you!
Right now I am typing to you from the Marriot Marquis in New York. We were asked by the BAT association to come and speak at their annual fundraising dinner. You can read up on the organization here. They have helped us tremendously over the past year and a half. I just finished writing my speech and my palms are sweaty even thinking about getting up to deliver it tomorrow night. I know the Lord will get me through just as He has done so many times!
Thanks so much for checking in and hopefully I will find the time to update a little more often!
What a crazy day! We went to bed last night and there was not one flake of snow, but school was already on a two hour delay. We got the phone call this morning that school was cancelled, but still not one flake. Well, the predicted snow did come down throughout the day. We ended up with about 5 inches and the kids couldn’t wait to get out and play in it. We had a great time!
Snow angel time
Best Buds!
Snow tackle
My sweet boy…
My precious girl…
Time to eat the snow
Monkey see, monkey do.
What?!?
It started to snow again right before we went inside.
Hot cocoa time!
What a glorious day! It is a snow day here in freezing Ohio!! No school means pjs and movies all day, plus time to mess with my new camera. My usual subjects, aka Lily and Riley, were not in on the photo fun. They would much rather watch Star Wars with Daddy. Whatever!! Therefore, my subjects became Sarah and Maddy, aka cat and dog. They listened better than the kids usually do and they work cheap =)
Hope you enjoy my very amateur photos! If any of you have a Nikon D3000 and would like to give me any hints or tips, please shoot them my way!
Sarah enjoying a snooze on the chair.
Totally unintentional, but made me giggle =)
She is such a good girl.
Riley jumped in here. Sarah looks thrilled =)
It’s a tough day in the Stone house.
Anna made these for us and we just love them! Haven’t put them outside yet though…
You are so right sweet girl!
**I had to add a couple of these…I took them the other day at the gym. I really need to figure this camera out before her first meet which is next weekend!!
Here is Lily busting a move in our kitchen! She got the CD for Christmas. Be on the lookout for Riley trying to steal her spotlight =)
I have never been to The Nutcracker but have always wanted to go. This year we finally got to go with a group of friends from gymnastics. What a wonderful time the girls and the moms had. We started out with lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. The girls loved acting like ladies since they were dressed fancy! It was too cute. Then it was on to the show. They were mesmerized! This will definitely be a tradition that we will enjoy every year. Enjoy the pictures!
That’s my girl lovin her some whipped cream on that cheesecake!! Just like her momma =)
Lily was so excited for her first Level 4 meet. It was just a mock meet to get the girls ready for the real thing in January. They were able to wear their leos and warm ups and also get their hair done. Rachael was sweet enough to come over and fix Lily’s hair for her. She braided it and then put her pony in sponge rollers. It turned out adorable.
She did well and had a lot of fun. Enjoy the following videos of her beam and floor routine. I have the bar routine but I can’t get it download. I will have to work on that later. Somehow I missed vault…oops!
So we made our annual trek to find the perfect Christmas tree. We always go the day after Thanksgiving. Last year we decided to go to a place where you cut your own. That was nice, but we heard about a place called Big Tree Plantation from our friends the Gortners. This place has live reindeer, Santa, a gift shop, free hot chocolate, and a horse drawn carriage ride to the Christmas tree field. Click here to check it out yourself!
When we got there we were so pleased. We were all bundled up because it is freezing here today! We even had our first snow flurries while we were on the carriage ride. How cool is that? Here we are ready to start our adventure.
We went to see Santa first. Santa was in this little wooden house and was so awesome. The kids were awestruck and Riley wouldn’t even look at him. He kept his eyes squeezed shut the entire time. He cracked me up. Lily had no problems talking to him. He asked her to leave Donner some carrots because they were his favorite! So cute!
Could Riley look any more ornery?
I let Lily have some one on one time with Santa since Riley wasn’t cooperating.
They had a neat gift shop that had a snack room. There was an awesome gingerbread house.
Not to mention free hot chocolate.
They had two live reindeer. Lily thought it was so neat to see them in person. Riley was concerned about the poop. Why is there reindeer poop all over? Why does it look like beans? His gag reflex started to kick in…always a good time with Riley!
We even saw Mary and Joseph headed to Bethlehem!
Finishing up the hot chocolate before heading out to find the perfect tree.
Riding in the tree sled…
My mind has been changed since our outing last year. Yes, I still hate sweeping up pine needles for a month, but it is so worth it.
However, we still had the annual cutting down the Christmas tree Riley meltdown. I couldn’t get it as detailed as last year because we were in the middle of the field and Lily had to go potty. I had one hiding in the trees and then laying down in the field because he was cold. The other one was jumping up and down because she had to pee. Maybe my mind hasn’t changed as much now that I think about it =)
So here is Riley hiding from me with his grumpy face. I wish you could see the crusted glaze from the apple fritter and hot chocolate splashed on his cheek.
Here is Lily when she found the perfect tree! So you see the look on her face!?! She had to pee soooo bad, but she was a trooper and helped us find the tree first.
Ricky cutting down the tree. No, I didn’t help. Someone had to document with pictures and video. One of the nice workers came to help out though. I’m sure he thought I was crazy!!! I had one crying, one stomping to go pee, one trying to cut down a tree, and I was taking pictures and video! Don’t judge me people =)
Then we headed back to the barn to get it shaken and wrapped. After this picture I had to scoop up Riley who completely lost it and run with him and Lily to the port o let. Good times friends…good times. We won’t even discuss the camera that was dropped in the process that I had to go back and search for in the field. I won’t even go there!
However, these two smiling faces make it all worth it! We love our new tree and it is perfect. Almost as perfect as the nap Riley is taking right now =)
The lights are up and decorations will go up later tonight or tomorrow. I’ll post more pics when it is fully decorated and we have all recovered from our outing!!
