Saturday, November 24, 2007

Christmas Tree

We got our tree and it looks so pretty in our family room. I still have to put lights and ornaments on it but it smells good, it is relatively straight and everyone is happy! I went a little easier on Gary this year. Usually we spend about an hour making sure it is perfectly perfect but this time I let go of the control and it looks just fine!

I am more than exhausted right now. Have you ever been so tired you felt like you were going to throw up? That is where I am at now.

I did the annual Black Friday Shopping with girlfriends and had a great time. We met in front of Kohls at 3:20 AM and by
10:00 AM I had been home, we picked out our tree and we were on our way to La Quinta.

We left my Aunt & Uncle's beautiful home last night around 9:30 PM and rolled in at midnight this morning! I even drove about 3/4 of the way! I woke up this morning at 6 AM and got ready for Ryan's birthday party at Scooters Jungle at 9 AM.

The house is clean, home group is coming over tomorrow and the boys are having their party this Friday night at our house! They are sooooooo excited!!!! They are such great kids!

My eyes are involuntarily closing and I need to sleep before church! Gary did okay yesterday in the desert but today was down for a couple of hours. Tonight he managed to bring the tree in with Chuck (our great neighbor) and did countless loads of laundry and cleaned many dishes! He is such a great husband and father. We are so blessed and lucky!!!

Good Night!
Lisa :)

Monday, November 19, 2007

One For The Blog

Yet another Jax story...................
We are currently sitting at the dinner table - minus Nate - and all the boys are eating In-N-Out. Jax is lagging on his grilled cheese so I have made him a deal. 2 bits grilled cheese gets you 5 french fries. He would opt for the "fry option" only if I had not made this a mandatory part of the dinner experience.
I tell him after a few rounds that in the next round - because he snuck an extra couple fries during the last round - he will need to eat three bits to his five fries. Here he goes................
Jax: Can I have more fries?
Me: I just told you what needs to happen in order for you to have more fries.
Jax: I did not hear you.
Me: I think you did. You are sitting right here next to me.
Jax: I DIDN'T HEAR YOU.
Me: silence.......................more silence with the stare after I politely tell him not to raise his voice and be disrespectful.
Jax: After I have three bites do I get more fries?
Me: AHA! I KNEW YOU HEARD ME!
Jax: (looking at me with a mile wide grin) I had to try to manipulate you! LOL
Me: more silence because I understand that this is how my child operates!
WE ARE IN FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!
LOL
Have a great Monday night! Go BACHELOR BRAD!!!
Lisa

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Happy 5th Birthday JAX!

It is one of those nights.

I do not experience them that often but when I do it really sucks because I am tired and I really want to sleep! Believe it or not, this will be therapy and let me explain.

I sometimes experience sleepless nights because I have WAY TOO much on my mind. There are things I have wanted to do and need to do that I have yet to do because life consumes me at times and I continue to keep pushing the really important things aside to deal with the monotonous day to day things.

I have been meaning to update this blog for sooooooo long and I keep saying "tomorrow" and tomorrow comes and then the next day and the next and it still does not get done. So, I become increasingly overwhelmed with things that I should not be overwhelmed with. And so on and so forth.......................boring.

So, I will be able to cross this off of that To Do List that resinates in my head! YEAH for me! One less thing. I guess all I can do is a little each day to get caught up. My next task is a little more time consuming.............thank you letters.

When I tell you that Gary and I have hundreds of thank yous to write I am giving you a conserative estimate! Let's be real......I should not include Gary in the writing of these letters. We all know that I will write them (his writing is barely legible and he is a classic peck typist), read them to Gary and then I will seal them, address them, stamp them and mail them! I get flustered just thinking about it. I think he could put the stamps on them! :)

On the other hand, I can barely stand the thought of having to have forged through this alone with no one to thank. We are so incredibly blessed and fortunate! I do not think any of you know how blessed we feel.
If you were at church this morning you got to witness a "very rare" event. Gary got up in front of our church to thank everyone and pour out some incredible emotions! He has come SUCH A LONG WAY! Never in a million years would I have thought he would get up in front of hundreds of people ON A MICROPHONE and share his most private thoughts and feelings! He did such a great job and we love him, admire him and respect him so very much! He told everyone that he was actually thankful for having had the opportunity to experience cancer! He feels like his life has been changed and touched in so many ways. He owes everything to the Glory of God and I think he is truly amazing!
So, back to me.

I am thinking about how I want to thank everyone. Many people have told me to write a general letter and send it out to everyone and then write a small "blip" at the bottom to each person. A "small blip"????? I ask! Are you kidding? Have you read this blog? There is absolutely nothing short-winded about my writing or my thoughts! I have to articulate things - my feelings, the way they come across and how they are taken! I am an over-thinking, analytical being who can't possibly be expected to write a "small or short blip"!

My point being is that I will begin to write this week. Please do not think we have forgotten about you. We think about you everyday. We think about how you have touched our lives in so many ways and continue to do so even now. We covet your prayers and think about how we hope to someday touch your life like you have touched ours!

I bet you want an update on Gary's general well-being???
He is coming along with his healing. If I were to take a stab at what percentage he was functioning at I guess I would say 70% at this point. He has more overall good hours in his day. He looks great even though he walks a little funny sometimes!
We are in the process of re-writing his resume right now and that is one more thing I HAVE TO CROSS OFF MY LIST TOO! Many people are waiting for it and I need to get it done! Thanks Tom for being so patient!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray that he gets a wonderful job offer. He is so deserving of that and he is getting prepped and ready for that perfect job!

We are looking forward to the Holidays and Gary's next check up is on December 13th. I have thought about changing it to the first of the year but I am unsure if we are going to do that. We will pray on it and make sure we make the right decision.

THE BOYS
What can I say about our boys?
All three of our boys are doing extremely well in school and have had rave reviews by their teachers! They just finished baseball tonight until the spring and we are now in the official "sport hiatus"! A break for a while will be nice. Nate's and Zach's coaches were awesome as always and we are so thankful for the time they took to invest in our boys! Yeah coaches!

JAX IS 5 TODAY!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR LITTLE MAN!
NATE WILL BE 7 on the 28th!
GARY JUST TURNED %2 on Nov.9th!
I will be 29 on Dec.11th!
Poor Zach - no birthday until February!

All three boys have taken their turns throwing up near me all week. Please let me assure you that I DO NOT DO VOMIT! EVER!!!
Jax puked and as he was crying I had him walk himself into the shower - fully clothed - to rinse the disgusting chunks of vomit off of himself and his clothes. I got him to the shower just in time. Gary was coming home from Bible study and he took over - HE'S DA MAN! I love my kids but I DO NOT DO VOMIT! Poor Jax.........and Nate...........and Zach..........and Gary. They had to fend for themselves for a few days while I was down for the count.
Thankfully, we are all on the mend and feeling much better.

Jax managed to use his wit and charm to get cashflow from several people tonight to play video games at Jake's birthday party. He is seriously resourceful and cute!

Nate managed to tell his brothers the other night this very thing.............."We all know that there is no such thing as the tooth fairy! It's Mom! Right, Mom?"
It absolutely is not me and has not been me. I can honestly say that.

Zach is growing into quite a young man. He is always ready to help me with whatever or accompany me on tedious errands and he even will pick up dog poop if I ask him! I am working on cleaning the toilet seat but we don't want to push growth in too many areas at once! :)

Okay.....I am still tired and need to get sleep. I am going to bed now. Thanks for listening and stay tuned for more.......

Love and Hugs and Smiles,
Lisa

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Hi. I am sitting here with the kids out of school because of not only the poor air quality but I am certain that so many teachers are out due to evacuations and such that the district would be hard pressed to find as many subs as they would need to effectively run all of our schools. So, here we are. A day of non-stop video games, television watching and let's not forget to mix in A LOT of sibling rivalry! I hope not the last one but we all know when 3 kids are cooped up together it is more than likely inevitable!

Gary is actually leaving right now to go and help a client that he worked with for a year or so with his old company. He is very fond of his old clients and he wanted to help them after they phoned him. He is so incredibly dedicated and loyal! I love that about him.

Gary is making progress every day. His bladder is beginning to work better. I sent him to a Hematologist last week to see why he is bruising and bleeding so easily on his arms. The doctor at UCI is not concerned as Gary's system was septic for so long it will just take a while for his body to return to normal. We do not go back to the surgeons until Dec. 13th - thank God.

He has more good days than bad and he actually walked 2 1/2 miles with Hobie and I the other day. He was a bit sore the following day but after months of not doing much of anything I guess that is to be expected. He has been at more of the boys baseball games and has been helping me pick Jax up from school so that I can be at my office a little more. I love going to my office because I can get more things done without being interrupted.

My Mom is traveling all over Great Britian for a month with friends and I think she is in Scotland right now. I hope she is enjoying her time. She has an amazing love affair with Great Britian! I am truly happy for her.

Hobie has had quite an infection and is in the process of healing. I am praying he heals completely by Halloween because he is going in for the BIG OPERATION! Hopefully he will quit humping anything and everything that comes near him! It is so annoying.

A special mention to our friends, The Briwick's. They had to say goodbye to their beautiful 5 year-old dog Zoe yesterday. She was diagnosed with lymphoma just a couple weeks ago and the cancer was so fast moving and she hung on for as long as she could. We are all so sad for their family and will keep them in our prayers. Hobie loved walking with Zoe around the Lake! She will be missed by so many!

I have to get rid of my migraine! I have had it for 4 days now. I know I am prone to getting them with this air quality but enough is enough!

Christmas is coming and it is my absolute most favorite time of the year! I can't wait to get all my stuff down and decorate. I love the way everything looks and smells! I love having a fire in the fireplace and I love the music. Gary better recover completely by then because he has lots of bins to get down out of the rafters! :)

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR GARY'S RECOVERY. HE NEEDS TO GET STRONGER AND THE PAIN NEEDS TO DIMINISH EVEN MORE FOR HIM TO BE ABLE TO GET BACK TO WORK. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PRAY FOR A JOB OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT ITSELF TO GARY. ONE THAT WILL BE SATISFYING AND BETTER THAN HIS LAST OPPORTUNITY. HE HAS GROWN AND CHANGED IN THE PAST MONTHS - He actually has gone to mens events and socialized and has had many visitors witout me being home that he has hung out with and gone to breakfast with and so on. God does do good things through trials with his children.

Stay inside if you live in our area and stay happy! A positive attitude is EVERYTHING sometimes! Once again, we are so grateful for the involvment that everyone has had in our lives! We constantly think about how blessed we are amidst our struggles and we thank you for all of it!

Love and Happiness,
Lisa

Thursday, October 11, 2007

WE ARE STILL HERE

FRIENDS & FAMILY
How on Earth do people keep up on this blog thing on a daily or even weekly basis? Most of my time is spent being crazy and the fact that I am actually awake right now is astounding considering I am usually passed out COLD by 8:30 every night!
I wish I could keep everyone updated more regularily and I am vowing to do just that right now. I will update weekly so that I can keep you up to speed.
So, a few weeks ago we hit some seriously shakey ground with Gary and he began to slide into a depression filled with self doubt, low self worth and just plain miserable. I was very concerned with his outlook. I know you are all probably asking yourself why in the world would he feel this way when his cancer is gone and he is 5 weeks post op and he should be on the upswing. Well................
Gary has been through a lot. He has been sick since the beginning of the year and now is recovering from a ginormous procedure. He still does not have complete control of his bladder, when he eats he feels miserable afterward (from the intestinal resection) and he is out of work. They have removed his prostate and this has caused some temporary pain for him as well. His new bladder is working he just does not know how to work it completely yet.
He is struggling with being out of work. Gary is a man who enjoys leaving everyday as much as he enjoys coming home. Much of his identity and self worth (like most men) is wrapped up in what he does for a living and the kind of provider he is.
Back to the depression - I got a hold of him, slapped him across his face and told him to stop whining like a little sissy girl and get off his butt and do something about the way he feels dangit! He is such a baby!
OMG - I am totally kidding. I did however tell him something like that but I did not say those things exactly to him!
Basically, we explored getting him some help or I told him that I would work with him to help him get through it. I explained that it would take complete honesty and that working through some of what he is going through was going to be rough but I am in it with him for the long haul. So, he agreed and we have made progress (lots of progress) over the past 2 weeks.
Friends from church came over last Friday night to play Texas Hold Em with Gary. He had a great time. Dave and Zach have the killer poker tables! The Elders from our church have been visiting Gary and calling him and checking on him which has been HUGE! Ren meets with Gary once a week and Gary got to go to Mollies for breakfast this morning!
Todd has been great about getting updates from us and our friends, family and church family (ALL OF YOU) have been super supportive.
I am working on getting thank you cards out to everyone who have been a part of our journey. It is so hard to do everything! My heart goes out to the single parent! God Bless you!
Gary has been getting out a little more each week. I wish his discomfort would go away for him so that he could make it through a day without feeling cruddy. I know his will happen in time.
The boys are really well. Zach and Nate will be Mad Scientists for Halloween and Jax is going to be a Whoopie Cushion complete with a real life fart machine! That is so fitting for Jax!
I am actually going out to dinner this weekend with Stacy and Julie for the first time in months. I am really excited to have a night out!
Okay, Grey's is on and I am ready to call it a night. I promise to keep everyone in the know!
Love and Smiles,
L

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

FYI

I just wanted to report to all of you that Gary is having a much better day than the past 2 days! He had a fever last night and of course I was afraid that we would have to make another trek to UCI but his fever broke, the color came back into his face and he looks great today!

He smiled on several occasions today! I am just so happy to see that! I know to most of you it does not seems to be that big of a deal but it is to me and I actually saw a glimmer of the old Gary today! YEAH!!!!

I am off to get kids, do homework, to a staff meeting and baseball practice!

Love,
L

Monday, September 24, 2007

Another First From The Sallee House

So, Jax has given me the bird and tried to shave his legs. These are definite "firsts" in our house. Tonight Gary had his own "first"! So exciting and awesome. Gary actually sat at the dinner table with us and ate his entire dinner! That is HUGE for our house! Normally, the kids and I sit in the kitchen and eat and Gary lays on the couch in a 1/2 recline to eat his meals. I would love to eat in the family room with Gary but that would mean that I would have to allow the kids to eat in there as well and THAT is a NO NO! My children (not all of them but 1 in particular) is incredibly absent-minded while eating!

Tonight, the Marvel's cooked an amazing dinner for us and we all sat at the dining room table - candles were lit and football was on in the background! It was a great night! The boys played Pokemon on their DS's (what a shocker) and we had great conversation while Gary and Don bar b qued some great chicken. Thanks Marvel's!

I wanted to give you some information about Gary and his ongoing recovery. After going to the doctor and then talking with several people including Ren about recovery and how seemingly long is has been I realize it has not been that long after all. Gary had surgery less than a month ago.

I think when people call me and ask me in a hopefully optomistic tone how Gary is I hate saying that he really is still not good. In my mind I am thinking the cancer is gone, the surgery is over, he is home and now it can only get better - and fast. Boy, I am wrong. It has been hard for me to watch him struggle day after day and I keep hoping for that one day that he will tell me how much better he is feeling.

Don't get me wrong. He is healing and he will get better. It just won't happen as fast as some of us think it will. So, my new approach and response is exactly what the doctors told me and exactly what I have been denying the past couple of weeks. Gary will not start to really feel much better for about 3 months post-op! The estimated recovery time stinks it is a fact and my job is to be super supportive and positive and patient! So that is exactly what I will be!

So, I need to go to bed now before I pass out on the couch. I will continue to keep you posted!

Love, L

Random info - The new bachelor is hot, I can't stand Spencer and Heidi, the Cheetah girls is a great dancer, South Park is a nasty show, Jax is going to be a Whoopie Cushion for halloween and thank God Hobie is getting fixed at the end of October! Hobie is quite dangerous around ANY female dog right now!