Dad’s 40th Birthday
Posted on Nov 20, 2008 under Uncategorized | No CommentGet the Flash Player to see this player.
The Most Dangerous Exercises
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We’re still here…
Posted on Sep 21, 2008 under Family Stuff | No CommentIt’s close to the end of September and a lot has happened in the last cople of months.
Ben’s last set of scans came back clean on June 26. This was the same day that dad was laid off from mapquest. Talk about mixed blessings!
While we were certainly worried about our future, we knew God was watching over us. Having that knowledge certainly made the last couple of months less stressful. Given that we decided to focus on finishing the basement, a project we had started in 2006. Pictures of the basement are available at our gallery, http://photos.benbrewer.org.
On top of that, dad did get a job offer last week from First Data! Not only is it a product manager position but it pays better than his previous job. Interestingly enough, the offer came the same week that the family first visited St. Catherines, a Greek Orthodox church.
Greek Orthodox is one of the five churches in the Christian Orthodox church, the same one started by the original twelve apostles! It’s full of mystery and tradition, which we plan to explore further.
We hope to have more updates soon. Until then, God bless.
The Brewers
Wii Fit and other happenings
Posted on Jul 11, 2008 under Family Stuff | No CommentWe recently received a Wii Fit as a gift from Grandma Brewer. Not only has it become a hit with Ben, but Sarah and I (dad) have been using it every day to exercise! While the aerobics aren’t exactly heart-pounding, they do sufficiently get your heart rate pumping. The yoga and strength training are pretty cool, too, and challenging, especially for those of us that haven’t used certain muscles in many years.
Please check out the photo gallery that we uploaded showing us ‘working out’ on the Wii Fit!
Ben and Madeline continue to do well and Sarah is off to Kansas City for the weekend. (She turned 40 this week, but don’t let her know I told you!)
God bless,
The Brewers
Updated Photo Galleries
Posted on Jun 24, 2008 under Uncategorized | No CommentWe recently upgraded to a new gallery program called Zen photo. This is a much simpler program to use for uploading and presenting our pictures. With that, we’ve also uploaded a bunch of new pictures.
To view the new gallery, go to http://photos.benbrewer.org.
Love,
The Brewers
June Ben Update
Posted on Jun 17, 2008 under Uncategorized | 1 CommentOK, so here’s the deal. Ben went to Camp Wapiyapi last week and had a BLAST. There are many details he hasn’t divulged (what happens at camp stays at camp, I guess!) but he says he can’t wait to go back next year. His companion, Chris, was about eight feet tall (OK, maybe closer to 6′5″) so I warned Ben that he might have a neck ache by the end of the week. Chris was waiting for us to arrive and Ben immediately took to him - see the first picture below. I got all choked up when my little guy grabbed Chris’ hand and walked away from me! Chris is a student at CU Boulder and into racing bicycles. He’s awesome! I’m sure we’ll be staying in touch with Chris. Ben also found out that his buddy, Jake, was one of his bunk mates. Jake went through treatment for Neuroblastoma as well and is currently doing wonderfully.
The first day without Ben, I cried. I called my mom and said (in between sobs) I — MISS — BEN! I wasn’t prepared for such emotions! I think I ended up calling many others and expressed the same sentiment. I caved in and called the camp to see how he was - NOT to talk with him - but to check in. They reported all was well. I think I was especially worked up because Monday was his three-year anniversary of being cancer-free, a huge milestone! I found out later that they presented him with a cake to celebrate! What a special place Wapiyapi is!! Tuesday, I waited until 11 AM to call. They reported that all was still A-OK. I didn’t call Wednesday or Thursday - and then of course we picked him up on Friday. When I drove into camp, he gave me a sort of perplexed look like “Oh, it’s you. Is camp over already?” I think he had a blast!
Ben did give out his phone number to one of the female counselors, and while I encouraged HIM to go after what he wanted, I let HER know that she was a wee bit too old for my fine young son and to back off! Actually, I think Ben won many hearts over the past week. That is certainly no surprise to me!
I’M SO GLAD TO HAVE HIM HOME!!!! YEA!!!! Madeline would NOT leave my side the entire time Ben was away. I think she was worried that we would leave her somewhere, too. 
But now that Ben’s home, we’re back in the swing of things (meaning yelling, screaming, general fighting…) I think they certainly missed those activities while they were apart!
But now that Ben’s home, we’re back in the swing of things (meaning yelling, screaming, general fighting…) I think they certainly missed those activities while they were apart!So, tomorrow is Ben’s outpatient surgery to biopsy that spot on his tongue. We haven’t told him details about this procedure yet, so please pray that we break this news as gently as possible to him. He understands so much now - it was a lot easier when he was little to just take him to these appointments without him wondering “what’s up”. His surgery is scheduled for 8:15 AM. He will be given general anesthetic, so I imagine we’ll be at the hospital a bit for his recovery.
I still have no report on when scans will take place. I spoke with the scheduler today and she is working on dates. Many things are in limbo right now.
Relay for Life is this weekend in Parker… I’m pretty sure I’ve reached my personal goal of $1,000. Thanks to all who have generously donated to the cause! This weekend is a big deal. Ben’s last day of first grade, a little Wii party with his classmates, the Relay for Life, and then on the 22nd, BEN TURNS SEVEN!! I am just thrilled say this. I’ll say it again. BEN TURNS SEVEN!! For those of you who have been on our journey since the beginning, you may remember the whole birthday button meltdown I had when I saw a button that said “I’m THREE today!”. My heart broke into a million pieces when I saw that simple declaration because Ben was just beginning his treatment and we had no idea if he’d make it to three. But here he is getting ready to turn SEVEN! Hurray! My miracle! My hero!
In fact, I’m going to copy that post I wrote nearly three years ago about that button. All of the updates I wrote during his treatment are still posted on www.childrenofpromise.net so I can go back and revisit my ramblings at any given time.
I remember when Ben was first diagnosed and I had my first night away from the hospital. While on my outing, I decided to go to the Paper and Party Outlet because I could get cheap balloons there (as opposed to the four dollar balloons at the hospital). When I walked in to the store, I immediately saw a button that declared “I’m THREE today!”. I remember freezing in my tracks with the inability to tear my eyes away from that button. I couldn’t catch my breath, which caught the attention of the clerk working the counter (she probably thought I was going into labor - I was still a couple of weeks away from delivering Madeline). I forced myself to walk over to the counter to order Ben a Thomas the Tank Engine balloon. The clerk asked if I was OK and I said yes. But I really wanted to burst into tears and tell her that I was horrified that I wouldn’t see my son turn three. I wanted to let her know that I had a two and a half year old son lying in a bed at Children’s Hospital loaded with a horrible cancer. I wanted her to get rid of that button because it hurt me to see it. All of that over a silly button. It’s interesting what triggers emotions - and that a simple button pushed me over the edge that night.
So when it came time for Ben to turn three, I made him a shirt that declared “I’m THREE today!” He wore it to his clinic appointment. Looking back on those pictures from a year ago he sure did look sick. By that time he had lost nearly every strand of hair, his eyebrows, and his eyelashes. We couldn’t have a party for him because he was just too sick. But he made it - he made it to THREE! And I was never so excited.
Now a whole year has passed and there has been so much to celebrate. Ben is NED. Ben has all of his hair back - even the miniscule hair on his pale little legs! And Ben will get to wear a shirt that declares “I’m FOUR today!” this coming Wednesday. It’s a miracle. That chance of rain has turned out to be a beautiful sunshiny day, after all! Hurray!
Now, three whole years have passed, and while I might not be able to get Ben to wear a shirt that states “I’m SEVEN today”, we’re still going to celebrate BIG!
OK, I know this was a lengthy post. I just want to remind you all that we love you and are so grateful for your continued thoughts, support and prayers. Have a great week! Enjoy the photos!!!
Test post
Posted on May 15, 2008 under Uncategorized | 1 CommentThis is a test post to see what kind of content the Yahoo! Shortcuts dredges up for me…
Our family likes to geocache, which means lots of time outdoors. We also like to play the Wii!
New Gallery
Posted on Apr 17, 2008 under Family Stuff | No CommentWe’ve posted a new gallery of the family. These pictures were taken on our latest Geocaching adventure, this one in Highlands Ranch. Enjoy!
Spring is here?
Posted on Apr 14, 2008 under Uncategorized | No CommentOK, so there’s some crazy weather going on here in Colorado. One day it’s snowing and the next it’s 70 degrees! I’ve had a headache for the past month and I know it’s from the weather changes!
So, as always, there’s a lot going on in our world. Matt’s father passed away last week. He had gone into the hospital with pneumonia and just didn’t recover. Matt went back to Ohio for about 36 hours but since there was no service he didn’t stay for long.
Madeline had her 4th birthday recently. We were fortunate to win a gift certificate to the Aurora School of Gymnastics for a party, so that’s where we had it! Many of her preschool buddies and a handful of other friends came - they all had a great time. I’ll post pictures soon.
Sunday the weather was perfect. We went out geocaching in Highlands Ranch. We found three out of four treasures! It was so nice to get out and enjoy the wonderful weather. It really is a fun activity.
Otherwise, we’re good. Ben is doing great in school. Madeline is enjoying preschool. Our Gold Ribbon Group is really starting to take off and we’re awaiting our non-profit status to be in effect any time now. Life is good. Hope you all are, too.
Love,
Sarah