ANOTHER BIRTHDAY COMING!

OnJune 29th , 1962, Mrs. Whittaker brought forth a ten pound baby boy; so my dad made a sign for the front yard which read, "It's a boy, 10 pounds - WOW!"   My mom slapped the doctor  and I peed on him for good measure , no pun intended. It was a tough room. In the ensuing 46 years I have been blessed with a caring mom and dad, a brother who, though we,ve had our rough times, I have always admired and with whom I now have the absolute ideal relationship, and a sister who made it through the" plain and dry" burger days and a lousy, but fruitful with offspring marriage  only to meet her Prince for the second act in her life.I was also lucky enough to meet Anne 20+ years ago who has changed and enhanced my life not only by giving me my two beautiful daughters, Caitlyn and Kelsey, but who makes me a better person when she's beside me.I know she wasn't planning on literally "In sickness and in health," to go to this extreme; but in sickness I could  wish for no more caring person wife and  I look forward to the "in health" clause to kick back in at some point soon. I was reflecting on my life the other day and decided that I have lead and been blessed with a great one with very few regrets and thats a good feeling to say the least.

another big day 6-22 Sunday

Anytime I can watch my daughters dance, it's a big day; but this year's recital, last weekend was especially nice as it was dedicated to our family, so needless to say I will always remember it as my favorite.  The girls, all of them, not just mine, did a great job.   Next day went in for Avastin/CPT-11 cocktail due to tumor growth recently so far with no side effects other than positive ones (increased strength, balance) no nausea to speak of at all - knock on wood.   I'm glad the temps in this area have cooled off, because that was no fun waking up for those few nights sweating my fool head off, on top of the fact that my own thermostat needs a reset.I'll be turning 46 this coming Sunday, so I'm looking forward to that and keep 'em coming, I say.  More events, benefits coming soon.

QUITE A DAY!

WOW; great  Father's Day yesterday!  We started the day off with 450 of our  friends at the Carpinteria woman's club for a benefit breakfast for my family and me -  good times, great people - very exhausting by the end, but I can't think of a better way to be worn out, right?  I know that a god time was had by all and nobody left hungry, that's for sure.  I'd like to thank all who organized end volunteered for the event.There was a detailed listing of volunteers on a tent card art each table, on the reverse side I wrote the following:

“Our lives are not determined by what happens to us,

 but how we react to what happens;

 not by what life brings to us,

 but by the attitude we bring to life. 

 A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes.

  It is a catalyst…a spark that creates extraordinary results.”

 

~Anonymous

On behalf of my family, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the community of Carpinteria and all of our extended family members within it for their  assistance, love and support in our cancer challenge. I hope that this will be the first of many annual Father's Day breakfasts to support families facing similar challenges until they are no longer needed.We feel so blessed to have the strong support of our friends/volunteers who worked on today's event;  I pledge to keep fighting and look forward to helping organize next year's breakfast, as well.If a man's wealth was measured in the depth of the friendships he earns in his lifetime, I would be a millionaire, and so I feel like one today. Thank you and God bless you for your help and caring.

HAPPY BELATED FATHER'S DAY, Ian, John, Brian, Jack and Randy, and to any Others I missed yesterday either locally or ocross many miles; we're a lucky bunch, aren't we?!I  Pics to follow.  

it's good to be out and home

 nt for way too long and I apologize; but I have a "good" excuse; I've been in the hospital again for IV  treatments for the head infection that returned and was not being stopped  by oral antiobiotics.  I went in  a week ago today and got out on Friday, so not much time for updates, you know? I am sorry, though, Because I got an earful from a couple regulars who have been worried from my lack of communication, so I'm sure there are more of you  who feel the same way. I appreciate your caring and will endeavor to do a better job in the future.  I also got back on Avastin and CPT11 because  the tumor is growing again, so it was a productive stay in that way.  I think we got off message due to the non-healing head wound and I feel like we're back on track now.  IN the time I was in hospital, some very good friends of mine put together an event. hopefully those of you who live locally will attend to allow me to meet,or get reacquainted with, you and thank you.