Christmas Katie Strikes Again

Christmas Katie

Aloha!

Down Memory Lane

Derrick made another awesome slideshow of Marcus. Thank you Derrick and thank you Chris for helping me post it.

Thank you

It was nice to see so many friends and family members at the Memorial service. It felt good to know that Marcus touched so many lives and it was gratifying to see that everyone wanted to honour him. I wish I could have talked to everyone who came but unfortunately with around 300 people it wasn't possible to talk to everyone or to even talk to the people I did talk to for long enough. Thank you all for showing your support in so many different ways. They were all appreciated. Thank you to Craig and Barb for the fantastic speeches. I kept nodding and thinking how well each of you knew Marcus. Craig and family thank you for the amazing scrapbook for Katie. Carolynn and Chris thanks for many things including the gorgeous Memory box. There are so many other people to thank. Many of you contributed to Katie's RESP and that was greatly appreciated. Education was and is very important to Marcus and I and I know he would be pleased. Thank you very much.

Book Recommendation

"On Grief and Grieving" by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler has brought me comfort. I highly recommend the book to everyone. Later on I'll probably post some of my favourite quotes.

Until We Meet Again

After six months of fighting his battle with cancer Marcus passed away on Nov. 7. I was there along with my sister Catherine and his parents Irma and Fritz. I think Marcus was ready to go and he had already said his goodbyes to his family on Saturday, Nov. 3. Even when he was saying goodbye he was telling me that it was OK and that what ever happened it was OK. He felt that it all made sense to him now and that he saw the light. Shortly after that he went to the hospice and slipped into a coma.
It was very important to Marcus that he live his life with dignity and grace. I think he definitely accomplished that and I was always constantly amazed at how he did not complain and how he did not get angry. Marcus was always easy to be around and he always appreciated me and everyone around him. He made a science of always appreciating the little things in life. I can't quite believe that he is gone and I think it will take awhile to sink in. There are reminders all around me of him and I often hear his voice in my head when I go to to things.
I know many people are worried about upsetting me but I enjoy phone calls and emails. I feel lucky to have been with Marcus and I love talking about him. So don't worry about making me sad. I know he will be missed by everyone and I enjoy hearing stories about him. We are also going to have a memory box at his memorial service where people can put in memories so Katie can have them later on too.

Everyone is welcome at his memorial service at 1pm at Oakridge Lutheran Church (just in from Cambie on 41st Ave.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Here is Katie and Grandma on her 60th birthday. We enjoyed your visit Grandma. Let yourself enjoy visiting Auntie Ruth. You deserve it and try not to worry. We'll be OK.

Trick or Treat

Here is Katie-bug in her adorable Ladybug costume from Auntie Ruth and Julie. Thank you!


Katelyn went to the Hope household to Trick or Treat on Hallowe'en night.


Katelyn at Music class the day after Hallowe'en.


Katelyn and Grandma the week before Hallowe'en

Katie Bonds With The Dressel-Simons-Buddens

Zach, Suzy, Laura, Barb and Jay came to Vancouver for some visiting and some volleyball. Everyone one loved Katie and Suzy made us a Pumpkin and some Hallowe'en decorations.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a Stuart family get together. Bruce and Mum came over from Gibsons. Catherine came down from Fort St. John and Grandad and Uncle Pete came from Mission to celebrate the Thanksgiving weekend. Mum made a wonderful ham dinner and Bruce and I celebrated our birthdays together. I can't believe we're 31!

Marcus's Birthday

Marcus spent his birthday and Thanksgiving in the hospital switching pain medication but it was worth it because he's getting some much needed pain relief.

Irma's Birthday BBQ

Irma turned 70 and her brother hosted a big birthday BBQ for her.


The big surprise was that all her sisters came, even the ones from Germany and California.




As you can see it was quite the family event.

Soccer Fans

Katie and Dad came to North Van to watch me play soccer this weekend. Katie was giggling and laughing and had a great bonding time with her grandpa. It was an early start for grandpa as he had to come over on the 6:20 a.m. ferry to make the game. Thanks Grandpa we really appreciated it!

We've Been Adopted

Our neighbour, Irene has adopted us and we feel so thankful and lucky. She is so good to us and I can't tell you how much we appreciate it. The list is too long to explain all the things she does but I'll give you some examples. For starters, Irene takes Indy for an hour walk every morning when she takes her dog Molson for a walk. Both Marcus and I really appreciate this because Indy has a lot of energy and the walk transforms Indy into a happy well adjusted dog. Then Irene takes care of Katie while I go for a run with Indy to de-stress and enjoy the forest in Mundy Park. This transforms Indy into an even better dog and keeps me sane, setting us all up for a great day. When I go to get Katie we visit and talk about all sorts of things. It doesn't even stop there. Sometimes Irene, or her husband George, also takes Indy for walks in the evening and tires Indy out with the Chuck it. Today Indy got to go with them to Buntzen Lake.

Katie and Indy love their time with the Hope family and I do too.

Katelyn's Baptism

Katie was an angel that day and promptly fell asleep after the Baptism.


Isn't Katie lucky to have so many people who care about her? And we know there were many more family members here in thought.


A close up of Katie's gown. It was worn first by my sister Catherine for her christening, then by me for mine, and now Katie for her baptism.


It was a great day. We'd like to thank everyone for all your support, especially Katie's god parents- Jenn and Rob.

Play time in Surrey

Clara and Katie having a little blanket time together.


I think Katie likes Clara's Jumparoo.

We Must Be Related

Katie's all smiles these days and as you can see she loves to watch TV with her dad.

Ready to Watch Soccer?

Mum came over to watch Katelyn while I had my first soccer practice. Here you see Katelyn looking cute right before we left. Katie wasn't thrilled with the car ride but she was all smiles once she got to the field.

Katie Loves Her Auntie Catherine

Catherine came down for the weekend for a dog obedience camp and stayed with us. We had a great time making Katie laugh and I can't wait until she comes again.

Two Years And Counting...

This week has marked our 2nd year married so I thought I'd post a few photos commemorating some of the events of our amazing week at our wedding and honeymoon in Mexico. Of course, we're still as happy together as in 2005!

Health Update

As I spend greater and greater amounts of time in front of the television or in bed these days, it's less an less often I get a chance to write on the computer to you. However, this afternoon is a good afternoon so far, so I thought I'd take a moment to let you know things are coming along.

It's been about a week and a half since my third round of chemotherapy, and it seems to taken a bigger bite out of me than the first two. I'm more tired, and as a result, sleep throughout the morning. The pain and nausea are controllable with medication. No, they haven't been fun, but they are manageable. So long I can sleep through it, it's not too brutal. That in itself doesn't seem all that bad, but when you add up of the days after days of doing nothing but sleeping and watching television, you begin to miss the little things (like going outside or even checking your email) and the big things (like spending time with wife and daughter).

The weight-loss is difficult. I try to eat as much as I can, but it seems nothing really manages to convert itself into kilos. I continue to fluctuate, and when I think I'm doing well I weigh myself and see that I've lost another 5 pounds. Days later, I look in the mirror and am afraid to check but it turns out I'm holding steady. It's really a tough battle.

We still don't know what the future holds for us. I still have 3 more chemotherapy sessions booked. And a CT scan isn't scheduled until later this month, We don't yet know what the results or consequences of this scan will be -- good or bad, definitive or not.

I realize this isn't the cheeriest of updates I've ever written, but I know many of you are wondering what's been going on lately. I still love hearing from you, although it may not seem like it since I haven't' been responding as quickly as I used to.

Californication

We've been having a few southern visitors in our neck of the woods these days. Last week, Kristina's Auntie Ruth and her cousin Julie arrived from California. Julie stayed for a little while, but then left after a week -- only to be replaced by her brother Jeff, also from California and his girlfriend Allison.

Some time as been spent in Gibsons, some in Mission, and of course, some in homey Coquitlam as well.

And now, even Catherine, Jeff and the rest of the Fort St. John Five have driven down to spend some quality time with us. It's just a matter of time before we get some photos though. Gotta make sure no one is sick before they come to visit!


Bruce, Julie, and Kristina


Auntie Judie, Katelyn, and Kirby


Jeff & Allison