Guest Post - Lessons in Cancer

 Today I'm sharing a guest post from Heather Von St. James. When she contacted me to share her story, I was honored. But when I read her reason of  wanting to turn "pain into purpose", I understood and was even more excited to have her guest post. 

We all so often take for granted marriage, kids and a long life. I think this week, more so than most, we know that nothing is promised except the gift of today. 


 I really believe the saying that it takes a village to raise a baby. When my daughter was born, all of our loved ones surrounded us, excited to meet Lily for the first time. They all wanted to be there for baby Lily and for us. Life was really just good after that beautiful day in August 2005 when she was born.

 

Things didn’t seem as good after I returned to work. I was feeling sick. Tired, fatigued, exhausted, breathless, and very weak; most people assumed that this was all part of being a new mom, and so did I. But after a while, it got to the point where I knew it was something more. I went to my doctor and he diagnosed me with malignant pleural mesothelioma, which is a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, which I learned I was exposed to as a child.

My doctor told me I’d live around 15 months without treatment. Looking at my little family, I knew that I had to do more than that. I chose to do whatever was the best chance of saving my life and I went to Boston and had my left lung removed by the best mesothelioma doctor around in a surgery called an extrapleural pneumonectomy that you can read about on my blog I recovered in that Boston hospital for 18 days, then spent two more months recovering, and then underwent chemotherapy and radiation. While I was in Boston, my little girl was in South Dakota, living in my childhood home with my parents. They had their own village with them, helping them to raise my daughter. I’d made amazing friends in Boston, people who were going through the same things I was, and it was these people who all make it possible for me to get through every day.

My parents were also surrounded by love during this time. Their church friends, work friends, and other friends were there for them. Some of the girls I babysat many years ago were taking the time from their own families and lives to watch Lily during the day while my parents worked. They were truly given so much support and love that it makes me happy. It was hard, however, seeing so many of Lily’s firsts in grainy photographs my mom sent to my husband that he printed for me. I missed her so much when the nurses came into my room to look at her photos, and I tried not to cry.

I learned a lot from being diagnosed with cancer. What I learned is that life is precious. There is always good with the bad. Lily has an amazing bond with my parents now, and no amount of time or distance will change that. I am appreciative and thankful for every minute of every single day; that is what cancer taught me.  

 

Patriotic, Part IV

Back at the Museum of American History, we learned some more about victory gardens and canning, then headed into the modern era.

 Two steel beams from the World Trade Center.

 

 I loved the American Presidency exhibit.

"The presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was, and no matter how big, not big enough for its demands"

 Lincoln's top hat. It's incredible to me that we have this. On a related note, Ford's theater was one of my favorite stops. If you get a chance....go.

 

 They even had a shout out to one of my favorite movies. "I'm Andrew Shephard and I AM the president."

 Among the fun facts we learned - Lifetime actually contributed to something worthwhile, other than then turning my mind to total mush on Sunday afternoons. Good job, Lifetime.

 From there we headed to the newest monument, WWII.

 Freedom wall has 4,048 gold stars. Each one represents 100 American soldiers who died or remain MIA.

 Like I said, the views of the Washington monument from just about everywhere were so pretty.  

 

  In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.

 We strolled by the White House on the way home. I wish we had signed up in advance to do a tour. Maybe in another four years.

 The next morning we got up and ran around the other side of the mall so we could see the Capitol building.

 Also so we could drink some beverages here during the game.

   And eat some of the BEST CUPCAKES I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE at Baked and Wired in Georgetown.

 It was a more active vacation than some of our others. We are normally pretty low key vacationers -but we had such a great time learning some history and eating some refined sugar. If you get a chance, I recommend both.

Deck the Halls

Today I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner - Christmas Tour of Homes.

We've had fun getting the house ready for Christmas this year. We decorated our first two (?!) Christmas' at the apartment, but we were working in a small space, so it really stifled my creativity. Let's be honest. Pinterest wasn't around.

This is the stairway when you first walk in. This project was super easy, once I stole the idea from a friend and found the greenery I wanted. We have worn out Hobby Lobby since Thanksgiving.

 Close up. These are tied together with florist wire, which is covered with the wired lime green ribbon. I think you could add some twigs and lose the ornaments and keep these up through January, if your heart desired.

 
The tree. I love the bright colors. We have a lot of white and gray in our house, so it's nice to have some pops of color through the holidays.

Namath approves...we think. He's really fascinated with the Eiffel Tower ornament. He's European like that.

 

One of our Christmas platters on display. Our dining room table is set with our  Christmas dishes, which naturally, I didn't take a picture of. It's Mandy Bagwell Simply Christmas.

I don't know how people decorated pre-YouTube and Pinterest. Or spray paint. This post might as well be called, "How to Decorate with Spray Paint."

This little project was a labor of love to get it just right. I went through enough silver spray paint to stage a Lady GaGa concert. In the end, I was pleased with the result.

Since I had all that silver spray paint, back to Pinterest I went. Sadly, I was lacking empty wine bottles - which seems impossible. But, in the spirit of Christmas, I managed to come up with two more.

I was trying to recreate the bottle in the front that I had seen and loved. So, when I got it as a housewarming gift literally the day after completing this project, well, it just thrilled my soul.

The full mantle. My mom decorated these ornament balls with, you guessed it, spray paint. We've got a few variations of silver going on, but I'm telling my OCD self that variety is the spice of life, so as not to end up painting. Again.

Once all the decorations are up, it's time to head over to the bar.

 If you're lucky, you'll find some of Martha's eggnog. Just a little bit, because this is serious stuff.

We came away with this ornament at a dirty Santa swap two years ago. I love it, and had to find a place besides the tree to display it.

No matter how pitiful the face, or what that ornament says, you don't have to share.

Like most people, Christmas cards are one of my favorite part of Christmas. I used that same green ribbon from the stairway, secured it to the pantry door and voila, Christmas card display.

Is there anything better than sitting by the Christmas tree at night?

Thanks for stopping by, and Merry Christmas, from our house to yours!

Patriotic, Part III

I hope you're feeling patriotic, because this series continues. We covered a lot of ground in DC.

Speaking of grounds, on our third day, we took the Metro to Arlington. 
 

  One of my favorite things was JFK's grave site.

 Loved the view. Before JFK's death, he visited the spot and commented to a friend that he could, "stay here forever."
 

 The inscription on the grave of his inauguration speech was beautiful.

 LET THE WORD GO FORTH
FROM THIS TIME AND PLACE
TO FRIEND AND FOE ALIKE
THAT THE TORCH HAS BEEN PASSED
TO A NEW GENERATION OF AMERICANS

 LET EVERY NATION KNOW
WHETHER IT WISHES US WELL OR ILL
THAT WE SHALL PAY ANY PRICE - BEAR ANY BURDEN
MEET ANY HARDSHIP - SUPPORT ANY FRIEND
OPPOSE ANY FOE TO ASSURE THE SURVIVAL
AND THE SUCCESS OF LIBERTY

IN THE LONG HISTORY OF THE WORLD
ONLY A FEW GENERATIONS HAVE BEEN GRANTED
THE ROLE OF DEFENDING FREEDOM
IN ITS HOUR OF MAXIMUM DANGER
I DO NOT SHRINK FROM THIS RESPONSIBILITY
I WELCOME IT

 THE ENERGY - THE FAITH - THE DEVOTION
WHICH WE BRING TO THIS ENDEAVOR
WILL LIGHT OUR COUNTY
AND ALL WHO SERVE IT
AND THE GLOW FROM THAT FIRE
CAN TRULY LIGHT THE WORLD

 AND SO MY FELLOW AMERICANS
ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU
ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY
MY FELLOW CITIZENS OF THE WORLD - ASK NOT
WHAT AMERICA CAN DO FOR YOU - BUT WHAT TOGETHER
WE CAN DO FOR THE FREEDOM OF MAN

 WITH A GOOD CONSCIENCE OUR ONLY SURE REWARD
WITH HISTORY THE FINAL JUDGE OF OUR DEEDS
LET US GO FORTH TO LEAD THE LAND WE LOVE - ASKING HIS BLESSING
AND HIS HELP - BUT KNOWING THAT HERE ON EARTH
GOD'S WORK MUST TRULY BE OUR OWN
  

It truly set the tone for the walk through the rest of the cemetery. 

 We made our way over to the tomb of the unknown solider for the changing of the guard.

Beautiful day at Arlington, and so humbling to take in the visual reminders of the sacrifice of life as far as you could see in every direction.