Mae Turned 30!!!

So, I know we had a huge party for MaeLynn in January for her 30th birthday, but she ACTUALLY turned 30 last week! She made it!

She was able to stretch out celebrations from the Saturday before (with her mom and dad) to the following Friday (with a couple of Andrew's cousins taking her out to dinner). She actually spent most of the previous week at her mom and dad's house while Andy and the kids were in St. George.

It was just too stressful and hectic for her to enjoy spring break in St. George, so Andy sent her home with his brother on Tuesday. At her parents' house she was able to sleep pretty much all day every day. It's what her body really wants now. It is so hard to stay vertical throughout the day.

Then Thursday, Andy came to get her. The two of them got to go home to Logan ALONE Friday morning. They left the kids at the Kartchner's and got to spend almost 24 hours together sans kids! MaeLynn said it was really nice.

Her parents brought the kids home Saturday and had a little birthday party. Her mom brought some scrumptious homemade caramel popcorn for Mae, and Mae spent most of Saturday eating it. Unfortunately...by Sunday morning her "guts" were screaming and she was having a major panic attack because she felt terrible and they were supposed to be going to Salt Lake to celebrate her (and her biological mom's) birthdays that day. So she decided to take an Ativan (for anxiety)...which makes her extremely zombie-like. And then Andy had to call the biological in-laws and ask them to come to Logan instead of Andy and Mae going to Salt Lake because MaeLynn couldn't function.

Later, MaeLynn told me that it all turned out well. Her biological mom brought sandwiches and lunch stuff. They went to the elementary school and flew kites. They had a delicious vegetarian/vegan cake. MaeLynn didn't know things like that could taste so good! It ended up being a good day.

The only thing bad was that MaeLynn didn't get anything from Andrew, which was very disappointing. Luckily for him, he made up for it on Friday night. MaeLynn had gone out to eat with a couple of his cousins. She had found a babysitter for the kids so that he could have some "time off". But instead of going to a movie or rock climbing or whatever, he worked on cleaning up the house for her, putting away all the laundry, and wrote her a poem on the bathroom mirror.

I'll be a while...
Got too much to do
I'll be a while...
Not as fast a learner as you...
I'll be a while...
Have your children to raise
I'll be a while...
I'm still seeking your praise
I'll be a while...
Got my mountains to climb
I'll be a while...
Let me take my time
I'll be a while...
But always dreaming of you!"

She wrote on facebook, "Isn't it beautiful? Then...he stayed up with me till 12:30 just TALKING!!! We women can't get enough "talking". Love is a funny thing. Just when you think your cup is full, more love is poured in and it never runs over."

Andy is still being quite the trooper. Some days are better than others, but that's life, right? And he always throws in a responsible surprise...like yesterday when he sent the kids outside to play. He actually put sunscreen on them!! (I'M a mother and I'm not even that responsible!!)

As to the cancer....well, it's still there. And growing like a weed. As MaeLynn gets thinner and thinner, her stomach gets larger and larger. She said that her one gripe this week is that she just can't stop losing weight. She only weighs 115 pounds, and from the looks of her stomach, we guesstimate that about 10-15 of that is tumor. She hasn't been to the doctor in months, so we don't know for sure how much the tumor weighs...but she definitely looks like a bulimic pregnant lady. And she hates it. She hates that you can see every bone in her neck, shoulders, chest. Her arms are now thinner than her 7-year-old's. As are her thighs.

BUT she keeps on trucking! She's had a lot of good days. Yesterday was not so good, but the good days (so far) outnumber the bad. I have a couple of fun pictures I want to post, but my camera is not to be found. So.....Soon!