Oh my! It’s December!

It’s late – again. I’ve been muddling through my homeschool tracker and trying to put it all together again after my computer crashed in early November. No, I had not backed anything up. Long story and all I can say is that it really is Glenn’s fault.

The school year has blown past us and although we had a great start and really sunk our teeth into the new school year we seemed to lose hold after our trip to SLC in August and Glenn’s pneumonia and hospitalization for a week in early September. He’s doing well now but any illness really seems to set him back and it did give us a scare. He just doesn’t bounce back like he use too. The kids have been doing wonderfully and loving the fact that mom is exhausted and behind in everything…they seem to get less school work scheduled and more free time (the weather has been nice) to play and read when I’m not on top of everything.

So here I am, listening to KLOVE Christmas radio on-line at 1: 15am in the morning and I was looking back at my blog and missing the updates myself, so here I go again…a blast from our past several months…

July: Glenn and I celebrated 15 years of marriage on July 29th. Glenn surprised me with a trip to Galveston and a “Back in Time” themed weekend to the place where we first dated and spent time together falling in love and getting to know each other. The trip all was planned based on the fact that he was trying to get me the “keepsake” champagne glasses we didn’t receive at our wedding night hotel. Long story-short, he received the champagne glasses and a free 2-night stay at the Galvez in the Hollywood suite all comped plus the best meal I’ve ever had at the Galvez restaurant plus champagne and a glorious bottle of wine. Oh, did I mention the kids were at home with Grandma and Grandpa? It was a wonderful two days for Glenn and I to celebrate our life together.

August: School was smooth sailing. No sports, dance, scouts, homeschool groups or outside obligations. A perfect month of getting it all done and as planned. We headed to Salt Lake City for Glenn’s final 3-month check up and enjoyed the trip with a Bluegrass concert at an outdoor theatre nestled in the hills of SLC, hiking to Cecret Lake, and ice skating at the Olympic training rink. I just love it there. August and in the 70′s with sweatshirts at night.

On our way back we stopped in Durango, Colorado where Glenn and I honeymooned 15 years ago. Alot has changed but Durango is still just as beautiful and we went river rafting again! This time with children. Cold water but oh so fun!

September: Real world begins again. Scout meetings including the beginning of my Popcorn Kernal duties to raise over $18,000 in popcorn, Princess began ballet at San Antonio Ballet (love it!), Catholic Alliance activities in full swing each Wednesday with my boys as altar servers and lectors each Wednesday morning at daily mass and Fall Ball – baseball practices and games.

October: More school, more activities including a lovely visit to the McNay Art Museum. Wonderful museum to visit if you are ever in SanAntonio. They have a real Monet and a wonderful rotating collection. Such beauty.

Halloween was so easy this year. Princess was an Equestrian Rider(costume Glenn had picked up for her birthday last May), Lego dressed as a Jedi(again), Laser was our Nerd($1.35glasses and stuff we had here at home), and Bookworm dressed as a Sign Flipper, the guys on the corners with arrow sign ads that throw them up in the air? big here in SA.

November: Our homeschool group had a wonderful night at our U.S. Geography Fair. I coordinated this event and we had a wonderful turnout. Bookworm presented Utah, Laser and Lego researched Colorado and Princess presented Wyoming. All my kids dressed up in state-appropriate attire and everyone prepared a special food to share from their state. Great learning experience for everyone.

Lego and Laser tell them all about Colorado.

Wyoming: The Equality State

"I'm a pioneer women and I rode my horse all the way up from Texas."

Hitting the Slopes!

Utah: The Greatest Snow on Earth

Hikers in Colorado

Summer School

1st Day of School 2010

We just completed our first week of school for the 2010-2011 school year!  Princess -1st grade, Lego – 2nd grade, Laser – 5th grade and Bookworm – 6th grade.  I can’t believe my children are already past the “learning to read” and “cut and paste” stage!  Four curriculums to plan and implement. 

Bookworm and Laser are both at the ages of independent learning, meaning they do a lot of work on their own with a little guidance from me.  Lego and Princess require a little more of my time and attention.  At the end of the day, if I’ve stayed on top of everything we’ve all had a good day.

If you’re wondering why we began so early…Summer here in Texas is hot-too hot to play outside for most of the day.  The kids have had plenty of time to relax, watch alot of tv, play alot of Wii, play plenty of computer games, swim, and hang out.  Bookworm had a realization that stresses the best part of starting early…”Since we had a shorter summer, I haven’t forgotten as much!”  Getting back into our routine has been smooth and without the interuptions of activities and school year obligations we can hopefully get alot done.  We’ll take a break at the end of August for our next family trip to SLC and when the weather cools off, we’ll have time to spare and enjoy the great outdoors.

Time Flies…again.

I hadn’t realized it has been months and months since my last entry. The McLarens are doing well and Glenn is doing great.  Here’s a recap …

March: 

After returning from SLC we started up baseball season with Lego playing on the Padres.  He loved playing catcher and enjoyed the season.   Lego also celebrated his 8th birthday with a Sonic X birthday party.  It was tough to pull off but it was alot of fun! 

In March we also experienced a sad loss with the passing of my “birthday buddy” Aunt Berta.  She was a beautiful lady with love in her heart.  She died of mouth cancer on March 13th.  She never smoked a cigarette and had been in great health.  It was diagnosed a year before at a dental check-up and she just couldn’t beat it.  We will miss her dearly.

 

April: 

Easter Sunday was a wonderful day celebrated with my parents, my brother, David, and my Aunt Lucy.  We had an egg hunt for confetti eggs and goodies.

Easter Sunday 2010

  It was also Laser’s 10th birthday!  He celebrated his birthday later in the week with a party with his buddies playing football and hanging out.  The “Backyard Birthday Bowl” made sports history. 

I attended the Women’s ACTS Retreat in Boerne, TX for a 4-day retreat.  It was a beautiful experience and gave my faith a boost!  Spending four days focused on my relationship with God was a special opportunity.  Glenn held down the fort and even had the house clean and laundry taken care of when I arrived home.  

Bookworm went on a campout at Enchanted Rock near Fredricksburg, TX with his Troop (343).  Glenn went with him and climbed Enchanted Rock to the top.  These are the kind of memories I’m thankful Glenn is here to make with his boys.

Ziploc Omelettes...Bookworms specialty.

May:

Busy month for everyone!  Lego made his First Communion.  It’s so hard for me to see my little guy growing up.  He looked so handsome in his suit (that was a little small, but was passed down from Bookworm, to Laser and finally to Lego.)   What a blessed day!

Princess celebrated her 6th birthday.  She loves horses and wanted a horse themed party so we had a Rodeo Princess party with barrel races and roping. 

Rodeo Cowgirl!

June:

Princess had her first dance recital.  She performed with her ballet/tap class a lyrical dance to “The Power of One”.  My favorite part was getting her ready.  She was my very own little Barbie doll.  Hair, makeup and costume!  So much fun!!!!

Glenn got a JOB!  Glenn received two job offers the day before he and I flew to Salt Lake City for his 3-month check up.  Both jobs were good opportunities but he accepted a position at eSupply Systems in San Antonio as Operations Manager.  He’s enjoying the work andstill learning the ropes.  It has been an adjustment going back to work for him.  Working 8 to 5 while he is still receiving chemo treatments every other week and on meds has been hard but he is glad to be working again. His checkup was once again a success with complete remission still the status quo.  We’ll be heading to SLC again in August for his final 3-month check up and if all goes well, he’ll be able to stop chemo treatments and just maintain using meds. 

It snowed in SLC the week before we arrived!

Father's Day 2010

 Cub Scout Day Camp for Laser and Lego was blessed with cloudy skies and a rainout day.  I volunteered only one day and thank those who spend the week out there.  Corralling boys in the heat and humidity is a chore.  Laser and Lego had a blast crafting, playing games, getting wet and learning about nature.  Scouts is really a great experience for boys.

Laser hit a bulls-eye at archery!

Lego has some crazy fun with friends!

 The following week Glenn and Bookworm headed off to Bastrop to the Lost Pines Scout Reservation for a full week of tent camping and adventure.  Bookworm told me it was a good thing I didn’t go with all the daddylong-legs and scorpians in the shower areas.  So thankful Glenn was able to go!  Camping is not my thing and I can’t imagine spending a week in a tent.  Bookworm did have the opportunity to climb a 60 foot wall and repelled down.  He was the only one in his group to get all the way to the top.

Bookworm is half way up the wall.

He made it!!

Princess really wanted to go to Vacation Bible School at our church, Sts. Peter and Paul.  So I thought, well if Princess goes, then I’ll put Laser and Lego in VBS and Bookworm can be a junior high helper!  That will leave me with 5 mornings free of kids…for me, unheard of!  But it just didn’t happen.  I opened my mouth and asked if they had enough adults helping out and naturally I ended up volunteering to help out.  So I became “Parable Paulette” for one week leading the bible story for 1st and 2nd graders.  Princess came to my class each day and that seemed to make her proud.  In the end, I’m glad I helped out.   

Princess at the VBS morning skit.

So, there it is.  The McLarens have been busy but thankfully all has been well.  Our summer is ending early as we begin school in July but the fun never stops!

Myeloma Markers Makes Miles for the McLarens

 The Medical Miles 

 

Part of Glenn’s treatment plan is a checkup in Salt Lake City every three months for the first year following his 2nd transplant.  It was at his first checkup on November 18, 2009 that Glenn was officially in “remission”.  The following checkups are to check his ”myeloma markers” and ensure that the chemo treatments andmedications are keeping the myeloma cancer cells from having the opportunity to reproduce.  After an EKG, Bone Marrow Biopsy, Urine Analysis, and Blood Workup, Glenn is still cancer-free and on track for a great future.  He’ll continue his chemo treatments and maintain his med schedule.  

Glenn is in the process of finding a job and looking forward to  resuming the life he had before he was diagnosed.  The job market is tough and it will be a challenge but with God’s guidance he’ll land a job that will provide for his family and be something he enjoys.  Keep him in your prayers! 

The Speed Trip to SLC 

We decided that it would be just as expensive to fly Glenn and I out to SLC as it would be to drive the family across the country for a fun cold-weather trip.  Our time schedule was crunched with our Cub Scout pack’s Blue and Gold Banquet on Friday, Feb. 26th and us needing to be in SLC by Monday, Feb. 29th.  It meant we needed to be in SLC in just 2 and a half days traveling 1500 miles.  We talked with the kids about the long journey without fun stops along the way and they were up for it.  So we left Saturday morning at 8am and arrived in Amarillo around 5pm, attended mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, stopped for a pic at the Oklahoma border and continued onward to Lamar, Colorado where we stayed the night.  We drove 12 hours that first day and then drove 12 more hours the second day arriving in SLC earlier than anticipated.  

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The kids were awesome. We have been listening to the INKHEART trilogy.  We began INKDEATH, a 16 disk, book-on-tape and it was perfect for the journey.  Great story, lots of action, numerous curse words my children bleeped and great listening for driving and taking my mind off the long road ahead.  No in car video system or internet access, just a story read aloud.  I strongly recommend it!    

The Vacation 

Glenn’s medical tests and appointment with Dr. Tricot spanned 4 days but left us with two days in between.  Plenty of time for fun in the snow and on the ice.  When Glenn had been really sick and going through the transplants he had said he wanted to come back to Utah and ski.  So, ski he did.  Princess and Lego took ski lessons in the morning while Glenn, Bookworm and Laser hit the slopes.  I watched the fun and enjoyed the warm sun and incredible scenery.  No one got hurt, the kids skiing improved and I relaxed.  It was a great day.  

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My favorite pastime is ice skating.  We discovered the SLC Olympic training center practically across the street from the Huntsman.  I wish I had found it when we were here for 6 months. It was so inexpensive compared to ice time here in San Antonio and the kids loved it.  The facility is where Sara Hughes and Apollo Anton Ohno trained for the 2002 Olympics.  Really nice rink and we practically had the rink to ourselves.  Glenn and I both skated along with the kids and it was so fun. 

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While we were in SLC  I had heard of a place called The Wheeler Historic Farm right in the city.  It was a fun, country adventure.  The kids feed the ducks and milked a cow.  It was another beautiful day in SLC.  Princess loved the horses and I loved the view.  

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Our last tourist stop in the SLC area was the 20o2 Olympic Cauldron Park.  It was a cool way to see the history of the 2002 Olympics. 

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The Trip Home 

The journey home started with a stop for new brake pads and then a snow storm one hour outside SLC.  The snow was coming down heavily and I actually started inventoring what resources we had in the car in case we were stranded in the snow.  An 18-wheeler had jack-knifed and stopped traffic, trucks were pulling over to put on snow tires and chains and here we were in our minivan chugging up the mountain.  We made it through and stopped not as far as we hoped to go but we were safe and warm. 

We traveled on the next day to clear skies and arrived at the Gunnison National Forest and The Black Canyon.  Yes, another hole in the ground, but wow, what a hole!  It is deeper than the Grand Canyon and the view was amazing.  The snow was awesome and the kids had a great snow ball fight.  

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Next stop, San Luis, CO, a tiny town with a large as life Stations of the Cross Shrine.  We hiked the 1 mile trail up a hillside and visited the stations of the cross depicting Christ’s journey of carrying his cross for our sins.  It was really a beautiful way to experience his sacrifice for us and the bronze statues were amazing. 

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Santa Fe, NM was my required stop.  I have always wanted to visit the Shrine of Loretto and the mysterious stairs that were contructed for a chapel without nails, glue or a central support.  It was amazing and beautiful and I believe miraculous.  http://www.salvemariaregina.info/Martyrologies/Stairs%20of%20St.%20Joseph.html

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We also attended church at the The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi which was beautiful too.  The interior is light and bright, unlike many of the cathedrals I have seen, but still has the architecture of the early churches.  It was built in 1869. http://cbsfa.org/History.asp

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

Our final vacation destination, Colorado Springs, CO.  It was gorgeous and I’ve fallen in love with another mountain city.  It was absolutely gorgeous and clean and lovely.  We had an awesome hotel compliments of Priceline and visited an American castle, Castle Glen Eyre, and drove through the Garden of the Gods.  Another great place I hope to revisit.  Homeward we went with another night in Amarillo and then finally home after 10 days away.  Good to be home but I already miss the mountains. 

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Bookworm Becomes a Boy Scout

So, we are into Scouting.  Never imagine that Glenn and I would have matching shirts.  I mean, I’d do it, but Glenn, not so much.  We both wear scout shirts as leaders in Cub Scout Pack 343 and it is all our son’s faults.  They love it.  And it has been a great experience for them and us.  We’ve met and worked with some awesome people and the boys are meeting nice kids. 

Bookworm began scouting as a Bear and then a Webelos I, and then a Webelos II.  He worked really hard to earn belt loops and pins through academic and sports related achievements.  All the boys really enjoy the rewards of working toward something and Bookworm achieved the highest award he could earn as a Cub Scout.  He earned the Arrow of Light Award which required camping, completing at least 8 of the 20 Webelos achievements and completing requirements for the Boy Scout Badge.  In addition to this honor, he received the Super Achiever Award by completing all 20 achievements available as a Webelos.  He crossover into Boy Scouts at our annual Blue & Gold Banquet on February 26th.  We were very proud of his achievements.   He’ll be part of Troop 343 beginning in March.  He can’t wait.

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