Ride Katie, Ride!

Hi Everybody!

Alec's nurse Katie is training for the Pan Mass Challenge, which is a 200 mile bike race across Massachusettes that raises millions of dollars for cancer research, trying to find a cure.

I talk about Katie all the time, she is more than just a nurse to us, she is an amazing friend. She goes above and beyond and has been there for us in our darkest hour, talking us through the unknown and never allowing us to give up hope. When either Alec or I are trying to be strong for one another, it is Katie who sees us cry when we are alone and scared. Katie is the first to celebrate any positive news, she gets so excited about good scans or baby updates. She makes us laugh all the way through treatment and treats Alec like family, I swear they were meant to be. We are truly blessed to have her in our lives.

The Pan Mass Challenge is such an incredible organization that raises money to save lives. Cancer research depends on charities like this one and riders like Katie who train for months, riding hundreds and hundreds of miles while trying to raise $4200 each, all going straight to fight cancer.

We would love it if you could donate to this wonderful charity, in the name of Alec, Katie or anyone in your life who has battled cancer.

Here is a video link about PMC, http://vimeo.com/13892738

And here is Katie's page, http://www.pmc.org/profile/kd0131

Please check them out and donate to find a CURE! It is organizations like PMC and riders like Katie who give cancer fighters HOPE!!! We are both so inspired by her and really would like to ride along next to her in the future!

Thank you all for your continued LOVE, SUPPORT and PRAYERS!

Alec and Katie last year in Kennebunkport.

God Bless!

Heather, Alec, Bam, Millie

Nesting

We had a busy, busy weekend, lots of family time, chores and of course we made time for a little sun. Jill came up Friday night and we had an awesome day Saturday, what beautiful weather, it is finally starting to feel like Spring! She was able to pick up the crib and I was so excited to finally get the nursery started. Alec's sisters and Mom were also here and helped us get ready for the warm weather, swapping out all the storm windows for screens and dozens of other little chores. Thank you to our sistahs and Caryn!

There are so many Birthdays in April, we celebrated Charlotte's whose was on Friday then Lizzy's 30th on Saturday night, although going to the bar 35 weeks pregnant feels really weird, we still had fun and were glad to get out to see some friends.

I think both Alec and I are in the "nesting" mode. Either that or we are just trying to get lots of stuff done before May 19th! While he was busy working on the floors in the guest house, I was putting together the crib (yikes, I know). He came up to "inspect" my job and he put a little pressure on the inside of the crib and the springs collapsed. Oops. Totally forgot to add a couple screws! Not to worry, we both triple checked after that and things look good.

The nursery is pretty much finished, and I love it, it just makes things feel so much more real! I still feel like we are having a boy, and you may notice that from the rather "blue" color scheme in the photos below...If we have a girl, I plan on adding lots of pink, but if a boy we are good to go! I know I have fish on the wall, and a deer head (YES a deer head!) But even if it is a girl, we all know with a father like Alec, she is going to be fishing and hunting before she can walk.

Speaking of baby girls, we are so excited for Catherine and Jay who welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world on April 8th, named Mary Catherine! So happy for them, we cant wait to meet her.

Until Bam is here, Alec is practicing being a Daddy. Check out the maternity gift Jill bought him...he wore it all weekend, this baby even helped him put in the wood floors! Before pictures...A year ago, I posted pictures of the new guest room and the floors Alec had put in. It was used as an office and also a guest room. Since waiting to find out the sex can be challenging when deciding a wall color, we wanted to keep in neutral, but add something fun, so I matched the color of the original wall and went a few tones lighter and added the horizontal stripes (Alec measured and taped, I painted). Jill had done that in her guest room and I loved it so copied it!

I only had to buy a few new items for the room, just the crib, a changing table and a couple decorations. The rug, some wall art and lamps have all been there. The changing table my Mom and I found at Bobs that rainy day a couple months ago. It was $100 in the "Pit" and was actually a TV stand. We added the baskets and starfish hardware. Not bad for a 100 bucks! This is the chair Jill made us! I LOVE it so much! And, its so comfortable. She sanded and stained the wood and made the cushions. It was my great aunts chair that was going to be thrown away but Jill salvaged it a couple years ago and thought she may be able to restore it at some point. We are sure glad she did! Jill also gave us this deer head for Christmas, Alec thought it was creepy, until he saw it on the wall in the nursery. I mean, come on, we live in Maine, Alec hunts all Fall, we have to have some type of animal hanging on our walls! I couldn't help but buy these 2 pictures, the one below reminded me of Alec and Millie at the beach and the top one is of two children playing in the waves, I swear it was a God Wink! And this one was just too cute to pass up...

So there it is! I do want to add a mobile over the crib, but I want it to be homemade and have a few ideas. Now we are just waiting for the baby! 5 weeks and counting!!!

Alec has been working so hard on the floors and they are almost finished. Its going to look so awesome over there! Alec by the end of the weekend...he worked too hard and carrying that baby around with him wasn't easy...and we think a side effect of chemo may be rapid hair growth....

Alec will probably finish the guest house this week and I cant wait, it really is going to look nice over there. He is already talking about building a shed next...the "to do" list is never ending!

We are still so grateful with our recent good news. I am thanking God every day and praying that things continue to go well. We are just enjoying the nicer weather and really appreciating each day. Thank you all for the continued support, love and prayers. We are feeling very blessed and lucky lately.

God Bless,

Heather, Alec, Bam and Millie

April Showers Bring HOPE!

After last weeks positive news, we have been feeling pretty good. It is nice to have that worry lifted and to just be able to focus on the future and becoming parents. After we got the news on Thursday, we went out to celebrate at The Ramp (which is below Pier 77 where we were married). It was so much fun, just the two of us, Alec even had a beer! His first beer since last August, and he let me have a few sips, damn it tasted good!



Alec had chemo today and we now think "bring it on!". Everyone was so happy for us, Dr. Allen walked in and we both gave her a big hug. It is amazing what a little good news will do to people. It fills us up with HOPE again, and that is all we ask for. Alec will stay on this chemo regimen for a while, and have more scans in a few months and then there may be some breaks in the summer. We just have to continue praying and believing, and who knows, anything is possible!

I wish I could say we had a relaxing, fun weekend, but Alec is on a new mission and if we weren't sleeping, we were painting. My Mom came to visit for the day on Saturday and although we snuck out for a walk on the beach and a few hours of shopping, he even had her painting. If Finnegan and Millie had thumbs, I am pretty sure they would have been painting too. So, what were we painting? The guest house, before Alec puts wood flooring in this week. It looks awesome, and I love the colors, (thanks to Katie Mogul who picked them out). 6 gallons, 4-14 foot walls, 8 doors, 8 windows and a ceiling later, we were done! Oh, and I cant forget the molding on the floor which I did and paid for the next day. Alec was a man on a mission and mission accomplished. Now, he is on to installing the flooring. The guest house is going to look amazing, he keeps trying to talk me into moving our bedroom out there, but I am a little hesitant, especially since we are just finishing up Bams cute little nursery. I cant wait to post some pictures when everything is complete!

So far I have gained a whopping 40 lbs. Which, I suppose is pretty normal and while I do eat more, I still walk 3 miles a day. But, is it normal for me to gain 2 pounds in 2 weeks and my husband to have gained 13? Its true, Alec weighs more now than ever, he told his nurse today that he plans on losing it once he starts breast feeding. I think he just doesn't want me to have to eat ice cream alone every night...he is just being a supportive husband-soon-to-be-father. Alec thinks that I am trying to "chub him up" since he was heavier at our wedding, and months later I told him I thought it was great because it made me look smaller...he thinks I am doing the same for Jill's wedding in August. I swear I am not, I mean, just because I am a member of the Blizzard Fan Club and receive buy one get one free coupons every week doesn't mean he has to join me! We both agree that once Bam is here we are going to be putting lots and lots of miles on the BOB stroller (although I think he will be putting more miles on the boat instead).

Either way, it has kind of become the running joke at MGH, seriously, who goes on chemo for 3 months and gains 20 lbs!? Dr. Allen said there are certainly worse things, and she would rather see him gain than lose and we totally agree :) He had her ask Dr. Ferrone if he could get some lipo next time.

Things are certainly looking up around here and we are really thankful for the good news we received. We had to go to church on Sunday and thank GOD for not only getting us through the last few weeks, but for listening to the prayers and for giving us HOPE again.

Thank you all, we are so blessed! So much to look forward to these next few months!

Love,

Heather, Alec, Bam and Millie