Round Two

Surprise, it's Jordan! I know, you were expecting Brack. Me too. It feels like his blog now  So many people have commented that he is such a great writer, and I agree. Good job, babe! Don't worry; he'll be back. Anyway, I wanted to update everyone on our doctor's visit yesterday and keep you posted about where we are now.

Yesterday at OHSU, we didn't really get good news. After one round of radiation and chemo the tumor did not shrink. But we didn't really get bad news either. From what they can tell, what looks like tumor growth is actually just inflammation from the radiation.

For round two, I will take chemo pills five days of each month and go in once a month for IV drugs to help alleviate symptoms. I will also have an MRI every two months from here on out to check progress.

Meanwhile, we've had awesome visits from family who have taken great care of me and spoiled our kids. My mother-in-law was here for the second time, my mom came again and now my dad is here. Thanks, family!

Happy hour with co-workers at Solera (and live music!)

My sweet mom

MIL, Cindi, and the crew

My penguins try their hands at show business

The best dad

JACKPOT!

Jordan and I rolled into the gorge for the first time in June 2016. We drove around trying to imagine that we weren't completely lost and attempting to wrap our heads around the fact that we were about to move 3,000 miles away from everything we had ever known. We met with the principal at one of the schools I would be teaching at and stuck around for a staff meeting so that he could introduce us. During that introduction, he mentioned that I had interviewed via Skype and had accepted the position without ever visiting the gorge. As he was saying this a teacher shouted out "You just hit the jackpot" and several people in the room seemed to wholeheartedly agree. At the time we didn't think too much of it. We wrapped up our trip, went home, picked up our kids, sold all our earthly possessions, packed up our van and hit the road.

Not long after moving here I was out exploring with my family and that phrase "You just hit the jackpot" came back to me. That phrase quickly became my personal mantra as I found myself thinking it on a regular basis.

The awesome thing is that I haven't stopped thinking "Jackpot" with everything that is going on. I find myself thinking it even more. Today we cashed out a little of our jackpot.

Two incredible friends of ours organized a brunch, bubbles, band, beer, treasure hunt (I ran out of b's) to celebrate Jordan completing her radiation treatment. Over the course of a few hours today the rain and clouds broke, we got sunshine (and a rainbow) and we got to soak up all the good things this community has poured out to us. It was a special day for us and we are so thankful that we got to share it with so many of our friends and family. JACKPOT!