Lost ... and Found!

I am both offended and indignant on Barley’s behalf that so many of you accused my sweet, precious, innocent baby of eating the fishing license. And insulted. And hurt. And resentful. And … and …

And … ok … if I’m being honest {sheepish}…………. It’s one of the first places we checked as well, the backyard. The license was made of that hard plastic, like a gift card, so we were pretty sure she couldn’t have actually EATEN it already (although you never know …..) but we thought we had a pretty good chance of finding it lying somewhere on the patio.

Alas, Barley had the last laugh when the fourth – yes, the FOURTH – dig through the trash finally surfaced the lost card. It had somehow gotten wedged in the corner of a white gift box that Kellen had ripped when opening, and the white envelope the card was in had been overlooked the previous three searches through the trash. Blaine didn’t mind the four digs through the two trash bags full of wrapping paper and tape and name tags and torn boxes …. It was the unfruitful search he made through the “real” trash, full of coffee grounds and remnants from that mornings hash brown and ham casserole that he didn’t enjoy. Having done my own time as an elementary school child, digging through the disgusting bins of garbage after lunch in the cafeteria, looking for my retainer, I told Blaine and his naturally-straight teeth that it was only fair.

Needless to say, it’s not the first year a gift has been lost. We’re just glad we found this one without the hassle of having to get it re-issued. And I’m pretty sure most of us have lost or thrown away a gift or two throughout the years that we don’t even realize …. The bounty that is Christmas morning chaos, when it looks like a mini-mall has thrown up in the living rooms of America, certainly lends itself to losing a gift and never even knowing. Or at least not until months and months later, when you find it in the cushions of the sofa, like several of you confessed.

And now we enter the next phase of the holidays, known as “Just how long will the new-toy-excitement last, and then what on earth are we going to do to keep these kids entertained for another week of vacation??”

Greatest Gift of the Season

Answer Is: “$225 lifetime fishing license direct from Santa!!”

Question Is: “What is the one gift we managed to lose in between opening stockings and cleaning up les than thirty minutes later, Alex?”

So, what was YOUR greatest gift of the season? Bonus points if you lost it before the morning was even over. And no, don’t suggest that we’ve thrown it away accidentally. We’ve dug through the trash THREE DAMN TIMES. I swear, the thing grew legs and walked away.

Christmas Miracle

I felt privileged last night to attend the “Carols and Candlelight” Christmas Eve service at our church.

I felt joyful during the singing of the carols.

I felt grace listening to the beautiful singing of others.

I felt blessed to live in a country where I can worship freely at the church of my choosing.

I felt cheerfulness listening to the performance of the hand bell choir.

I felt a sense of community, seeing so many friends and neighbors at the service.

I felt true happiness, attending this service with my mother, my husband, and my children by my side.

I felt a sense of awe, watching all two thousand candles being lit in the darkened sanctuary.

I felt humbled by the sacrifices made by Christ on my behalf.

I felt grateful. Period.

::moment of reverent silence::

I felt curiosity, wondering if I’m the only person there who has to remind myself each year not to say “shit” out loud if the candle burns down and drips wax on my finger.

And then, near the end of the powerful service, I felt touched by the real meaning of Christmas. I listened to my son sing along during the final carol and realized that despite his voice, he was allowed to participate in honors choir. That, my friends, is the true miracle of the season.

Annual Boring Christmas Letter

So, I was going back through my previous Christmas letters, trying to remember what tiresome, dull parts of our life I write about each year, when I realized by looking at the dates that this letter, our 2008 edition, would be the eleventh one written in a row … meaning I’ve already rambled on endlessly about our family for the previous ten years. In a nutshell:

1998 (First letter!) – Brayden’s adoption is finalized and Kellen is born. Life is great.
1999 – Kendrie is born. Life is great.
2000 – 2002 – Changed about a bazillion diapers; moved twice; life is still great.
20003 – 2007 – Cancer sucks.

And now, 2008, can you guess what the prevailing theme of our letter is once more? Can ya? Huh? Huh? Can ya? Yep, cancer still sucks.

If you already know, I won’t bore you to tears with the whole story … if you don’t already know, then why the heck don’t we keep in better touch, huh? Blaine’s cancer came back late this summer … six weeks of radiation …. Feels crappy ….. won’t know until next spring if treatment worked …. Chronic pain management …. Feels as if reconstruction will never be complete …. end of story.

So! Moving on!

The kids are all doing great and have settled in happily to our OKC lives, although believe it or not, they still talk about how much they miss Georgia. And their friends there. And how the playground at their old school was SO much better than the playground at their new school. You know, important things like that.

Brayden started middle school this year (6th grade, age 11) which pretty much left me a sobbing ball on the floor the first day. OK, not really, but I have to admit that NOT walking her into the school the first day was sort of painful. And weird for a control freak like me. She is enjoying life, played soccer (for probably the last time, seeing as how her age group no longer provides snacks) and sings in several honors choruses. She is obsessed with Webkinz (to the point of madness … mine, not hers) and can argue paint off walls, but since she’s the only child we have who gets herself out of bed and dressed in the morning without direct supervision, we’ll let those other parts slide. Overall, she brings us great joy (when she’s not driving us crazy with the begging to go buy more Webkinz.)

Kellen is becoming less and less of a boy every day (5th grade, age 10) and more and more of a young man, which quite frankly I’m not real happy about. He’s almost as tall as I am, although weight-wise, should legally still be in a carseat. Does that tell you we haven’t quite reached the “eating you out of house and home” phase yet? He is on a year-round competitive soccer team and loves it, currently playing a version of indoor soccer called “futsal”, although for now he says that next year he’ll play football instead. He competed in his first triathlon this fall, he’s in the gifted program at school, and has also taken piano lessons for the past eleven months. To my pleasure (and surprise, if we’re being honest) he loves it and shows no sign of quitting anytime soon. Mainly, he loves playing outside, doing any kind of sports, getting dirty, and finding ways to avoid getting a haircut. He also can pout like nobody’s business, and is mastering the art of muttering under his breath, but since he’s the only one of our kids who actually keeps his bedroom clean, we’ll let those parts slide, too.

I still think of Kendrie as “my baby”, although at age 9 (3rd grade) she informs me every day that that’s NOT the case at all. At least until it storms and she wants to sleep in bed with us … then she’s perfectly happy to exploit the baby-angle all day long. She is also taking piano lessons with Kellen and enjoying it, although she’s much sneakier about not doing her piano homework. She continues to play soccer, joined chess club, and is still in the gifted program at school, but to hear her describe it, a perfect day would consist of never getting off the sofa, watching continuous episodes of “Suite Life” on the TV and having a bottomless box of Cheese Nips by her side. But since she’s cute, funny, and “my baby”, we let those things slide as well.

I notice that letter after letter after letter, my life stays pretty much the same. I love staying home with the kids (except for the days when their non-stop arguing and bickering takes over and I seriously contemplate running away and joining the circus.) I love their school(s) because there are plenty of opportunities for parents to get plugged in. I make copies for teachers, help with popcorn days, serve as PTO secretary, and organize the monthly skate night fundraiser …. Even better, I’ve met lots of great moms (and some dads, too!) and feel like slowly but surely I’m finding my niche here. I got to scrapbook with my girlfriends twice this year (TX and AR) but missed our “big” annual autumn get-together (did I mention the suckage that is cancer?) One of the highlights of my year was getting to go on an Alaskan cruise with my mom and an alumni group of her high-school friends. They were great about including me, and she and I had a wonderful time. Other than that, I’ve pretty much been on the taxi-driver-school-volunteer hamster wheel that comprises the life of a stay-at-home mom. But I’m not complaining … better this than a “real” job that I wouldn’t enjoy near as much!

We also added to our family this year with the purchase of “Barley”, a golden retriever who is now six months old and shows a real talent for sneaking chocolate chip cookies off the kitchen counter. She also has an annoying tendency to grab something (anything!) she’s not supposed to have, then running and hiding under our bed to eat whatever it might be (food, paper, used Kleenex out of the trashcan, she’s not real picky.) The good thing is I don’t think she’ll fit under there for too much longer …. Luckily she’s cute in the meantime.

And Blaine, in all honesty, is plugging along. (PS Cancer sucks.)

I hope you and yours have had a wonderful year. Thanks so much to our friends who took the time and made the effort to visit us here during this past year, or let us visit them. It’s strange – we’re “home”, yet we still miss our friends from other places, but many of them have moved on as well. It’s odd to feel homesick for friends who live in completely different places now. (Does that even make sense???) Regardless, just trust that if you’re getting this letter and you’re away, we miss you. If you’re getting this letter and you’re local, we’re so happy we’re friends, and we wish all of you a joyful holiday season! Merry Christmas!!

PS. Special thanks to my good friend Lisa of LD Images for designing our card this year! (and last year, now that I think about it ... hmmmm ... maybe I need to offer to pay her at some point!)

Christmas Letter, 2007

{Sorry, just a few days late with the annual Christmas letter. I'd blame the post office, but that wouldn't really work for the internet, and the truth of the matter is I've been too busy stuffing my face with pumpkin pie to post this.}

{That's a total lie. I don't even like pumpkin pie.}

{It was pecan.}

*************************************

Cards courtesy of Erin Leigh Photos and LD Images.

Escoe Family, Circa. 2007

Well, as you probably know if you’ve received our Christmas letter year after year, I normally pride myself on having them in the mail relatively early. My goal this year was to mail them obnoxiously early, to make sure all of you had our new address so you could send us YOUR Christmas cards and letters and pictures, as well (not that that’s a hint or anything -- ahem.) But considering it’s already the 16th of Dec and I am just now sitting down to start the letter, chances are this year I will be one of those people who doesn’t mail their cards until New Years. Or at the rate I’m going with the unpacking, they might become July 4th letters. **

Yes, that’s right, in case you weren’t aware, we finally, after five and a half years in Georgia, PCS’d. We are now the perfect example of “full circle”, moving right back to our hometown … in fact, only four blocks from where we lived when we first got married, and from where the Air Force came and packed us up the very first time we left home, back in 1988. Guess in our case, there is something to be said for returning to your roots.

Blaine is still active duty, and started a new job at Tinker AFB last week. He does something …. With contracting …. {vague hand motions} … Or something. Not exactly sure, but he seems glad to be back on familiar territory, having worked in the same building fourteen years ago when we were last stationed here. He’s still on the road of reconstruction as far as his surgeries and procedures go, but so far he likes all his new doctors here. And as long as the cancer stays gone this time - FOR GOOD - then all is manageable.

I am thrilled to be back on my old stomping grounds, with my kids attending the same school I attended as a child. We’re back in my childhood church, and I see old classmates almost every day, as their children attend the same school. Depending on your outlook, it’s either very Norman Rockwell, or very lame and creepy. I *have* been surprised at how much I miss Georgia and our life and friends there. I didn’t realize it was possible to move “home” and then still feel “homesick” for the place you left behind.

The kids seem to be adjusting well and like their new school. We do hear from them on a regular basis about how much they miss Georgia …. But overall, the move has been a positive one. They LOVE being in the same school as their four cousins, being closer to my mom and Blaine’s dad, the Texas cousins, and they think it’s cool that we live close enough to walk to and from school (Although I’ll confess that I still drive them if it’s cold --- see? I’m lazy AND a wimp!)

Brayden gets first mention as the oldest -- she’s ten now and in the 5th grade. I am alternately shocked, proud, and tearful at the realization that she’ll begin middle school next year. Whatever happened to the sweet little angel who used to projectile vomit strained peas across the dining room? If I could stereo-type for a moment, she is our artsy-musical one, and loves all things crafts. She swings back and forth, with no predictability whatsoever, between being the sweetest, most helpful child on the planet and behaving like a complete over-the-top melodramatic. I would probably be online researching multiple personality disorder if my friends with older girls didn’t reassure me that this is normal “tween” behavior. So for now, we just enjoy the sweet moments and breathe deeply through the others.

Kellen is definitely the easy-going one who just rolls with the punches, Mr. Flexibility. He is nine, in 4th grade, and still considers recess and PE the best parts of his day. He played basketball and soccer this past year and recently said he wants to learn to play the piano, although he might change his mind when he finds out actual practice and lessons would be involved. This move has gone well for him; it probably helps he has a cousin he adores in the same grade, hence ready-made friends. He joined the chess club at school and transferred from one gifted program to the next --- both sound lofty until you realize his idea of a good time is running around the house in his underwear, telling fart jokes.

Kendrie, eight and in 2nd grade, well, she’s still my baby, although she reminds me every day that she would like us to have another baby so that for once, *she* could boss somebody else around! The move has been hardest on her, I think, because she had the tightest little group of school friends to leave behind. She also transferred into the new gifted program, and is excited to continue soccer in OK. In between that and school, she’ll hopefully settle in soon. She just hit the two-year “done with chemo” mark and every day we count our blessings. In her spare time, she sneaks chocolate chips out of the pantry and holds the world record for most amount of dirty clothes on a bedroom floor.

As a family, we got to do some neat things this year: Spring Break in the DC - Virginia - Pennsylvania area, visiting good friends and *trying* to expose the kids to a little bit of history. We got to spend a Lighthouse week at a Florida beach in June, always a highlight, and then Blaine and I went on our “Trip of a Lifetime”, a two-week cruise/visit to Alaska in July to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. (Thanks again for the babysitting, Mom!)

This fall was pretty much taken up with move preparation stuff, and shortly after we finished unpacking in OK, we had to put everything back up and drag out all the Christmas stuff. Needless to say, I’m almost eager for the holidays to be over so we can get in some semblance of a routine. Our only sad note this year was the loss earlier this month of our dog Lager, who graced us with his companionship for over fifteen years. So all told, and except for missing him, which we do, we had a pretty fulfilling, successful and blessed year.

I hope you and yours enjoyed the same.

Love,

Blaine, Kristie, Brayden, Kellen and Kendrie


**For the record, these letters were totally ready to go by the 17th. Then thanks to an ice storm we lost power in our house and I couldn’t print them. I realize that’s almost as lame of an excuse as “my dog ate my homework”, but it’s the truth, it’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

Please consider this letter my request for 2008. I realize I’m writing just a tad earlier than normal, but what I want for next year is a bit ambitious, and I think you and your hard-working elves might need the entire 364 days to come up with what I need. You see, I want something bigger than a doll or a football or even a pink pony. I want something bigger than a new camera or new computer or even a shiny new car. In fact, what I want is bigger even than the end of famine, the resurrection of the rain forest … bigger, even, than world peace.

I want v-chip technology so I can program my kids’ personalities next Christmas to NOT be total brats.

I want the ability to pre-determine the attitudes and behavior of my children on Christmas Day. Maybe even a few days before and a few days after … but if that’s too greedy, just Christmas Day would be enough.

I want children who stay in their bedrooms until 7am like I’ve asked them to. I want children who don’t argue over whose turn it is to play Santa and pass out the gifts. I want children who don’t argue over whose turn it is to go FIRST when I say we’ll take turns playing Santa.

I probably won’t change any part of the actual gift-exchanging-and-opening part of the morning. My kids, thankfully, are pretty gracious receivers, and have always been genuinely excited to share what they’ve picked out for others. So for about an hour yesterday morning, things were good. But Santa, it was all downhill from there.

I want children who can manage to make it five minutes past the gift-opening part of the morning without losing part of their new toys already. Children who listen to me when I say it’s not necessary to open up every single game and every single accessory first thing, before we’ve even had a chance to organize ourselves and throw away the trash. Children who don’t pitch a complete fit when they realize the plastic shark’s tooth from their “totally awesome shark activity book is missing, aaahhhhhhh!” because they didn’t listen to me and ripped the damn thing open even though I told them to wait.

Children who don’t fight over who gets to watch their new movie first. Children who are willing to pick up the new toys and games and actually carry them upstairs to their rooms. Children who are willing to hang up their new clothes, for Pete’s sake, is that asking too much???? Children who will FREAKING LISTEN TO ME when I tell them we don’t have all the things we need to run the stupid, stupid, “I will kill my sister for buying him this” Creepy Crawlers factory, and who open up all the bottles of dye even though I told them not to and then pour the dye into the molds without putting down newspapers first like I asked on my brand new dining room table because why on earth should you listen to mom and then spill the dye on my brand-freaking-new placemats and who then, then, THEN have the nerve to get mad at ME because I don’t have a 60-watt candelabra light bulb which you of course need to make the Creepy Crawler factory work and what does he suggest I do just PULL ONE OUT OF MY ASS??????

Children who don’t call each other “Idiot!” and then cry when they lose at Kerplunk. Children who don't get angry when they can't do their new Wii Dance Party Revolution perfectly the very first time so they stomp around and talk about what a stupid game it is and how it's probably defective, anyway. Children who don’t misplace their brand-new iPod the very first day and children who don’t get mad at one another when one of them leaves his new chess set sitting on the edge of the table and then yells at the kid who walks by and bumps it and knocks everything to the floor, scattering kings and queens and knights all over the place.

Most of all, dear Santa, I need v-chip technology so that next year, we go more than one day past Christmas without hearing those two most dreaded post-Christmas phrases ever known to man:

“I’m bored!”

and

“There’s nothing to DO!”

And Santa, if you can’t manage the v-chip, please let me change my request to an adult-only Christmas next year on a beach, just me, Blaine, some palm trees, and big ole’ pitcher of amaretto.

Yours truly,

And I swear I’ve been good,

Kristie

PS. I suppose the highlight to all this, Santa, is that we're not Jewish. Because Dear Lord, if I had to go through eight days of this Hell, I would cancel Christmas and Hannakuh and Valentines Day, too.

A little Christmas Cheer

Kellen was given an assignment in school this week involving Christmas stockings. His teacher gave each child a sheet of paper with a drawing of three Christmas stockings on it. Each student was to color their picture, drawing in whatever gifts they would like in the stockings, then create a story telling how the presents got in the stockings. Here is Kellen’s tale, in all its fictional glory:

************************

Christmas Stockings

By: Kellen Escoe

The presents got in the Christmas stockings by a robber that stole Santa’s toys. You see, he was trying to steal them but he accidentally dropped them and they landed in the stockings. So it turned out that Christmas was saved after all. So the children woke up happy as a clam. Before they die.

***********************

The teacher gave him an A++ for creativity. So I’m not sure which is more likely in his future: Literary acclaim, or a need for therapy?? What do YOU think?

THE DAY AFTER (AKA; THE MADNESS HAS ENDED)

Day 11 OT

Signs you have had a successful family Christmas celebration:



1. Your children happily and merrily pose for pictures in their new matching Christmas jammies. Smiling, loving, caring, affectionate. Children who feel the peace in their hear ---- Oh, who are we kidding? They were just delirious with joy that there was only twelve hours left until time to open presents.




2. In an attempt to pass the hours until bed-time, the children quietly and peaceably play several rounds of Go-Fish. You didn’t even know they knew HOW to play Go-Fish, but it bought you half an hour of peace and quiet, so it was great in your book.




3. You feel the delight in your heart that your children still believe in the magic of setting out Reindeer Food on Christmas Eve. Well, your youngest two, anyway. You lost the Miracle of Santa with the oldest this year, thanks to two cousins who shall remain nameless.




4. The children enjoy opening presents so much they are able to stop and approve of one another’s bounty with selfless admiration. For about an hour, then the jealousy and bickering starts in because “he got the blue one and that’s the book *I* wanted, etc, etc.”

You know you’ve failed miserably as a Christmas parent when:




1. You come downstairs Christmas morning and catch your oldest sneaking hits on the world’s biggest bong. Oh, no, wait. It’s a marshmallow gun. Cool, huh?


2. Your middle child doesn’t even make it to noon before asking, “Is Santa already watching us for next year, or is today a freebie?”


3. Not 24 hours after the beauty of the holiday has ended, you are already a screaming lunatic, threatening to take everything they got and throw it in the trash if they won’t pick up ONE DAMN THING RIGHT NOW!!!!


Ahhhhhhh. Only 364 days until we get to do it all again. :)

Hope yours was jolly, as well,

Kristie
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: In an attempt to expose my children to a little bit of cinematic culture, I bought Brayden a copy of “The Sound of Music” as a gift this year. She and I were watching it this morning while Kellen and Kendrie played in the other room. Suddenly, the gazebo scene with Lisle and Rolph comes on, and the actors are singing, “I am sixteen, going on seventeen……” and my younger two came running in the room, hollering, “The Pacifier, The Pacifier! Hey, that song is from The Pacifier!” Vin Diesel v. Julie Andrews???? Oh well, so much for culture.

Christmas Letters, 2005

Merry Christmas, 2005

Well, it’s that time of year again --- wrapping gifts, baking cookies, singing carols with our angelic-voiced children, sipping hot cocoa by a roaring fire while my family harmoniously watches “A Christmas Story” together, tucked under a warm flannel blanket --- and obviously, lying and fabricating things for our annual Christmas letter, so that we sound like a happy and functional family. :)

This has been a year of ups and downs for the Escoe family: Blaine and I finally traveled to Seattle in March for his major reconstructive surgery (two YEARS after he was originally diagnosed) UP; Blaine contracted a staph infection after the surgery and had to have six weeks of self-administered IV antibiotics, and two additional surgeries to clean up his leg, DOWN. The Seattle surgery wasn’t a complete success, DOWN; so he traveled to Augusta for corrective surgery this fall, UP. *That* surgery wasn’t successful, either, DOWN; but his doctors reassure us they can fix everything in the spring (Perhaps back out to Seattle we will go --- we’re still hoping for an UP ending to this whole saga!) Kendrie caught a virus that her whacked-out immune system just couldn’t handle and spent two weeks in the hospital this summer, DOWN; all her hair fell out again, DOWN, but we remembered just how cute she is bald, UP! :)

On a sad note, Blaine’s mother Shirley passed away while we were in Seattle … but helping to balance the sad news is the fabulous, excellent report that Kendrie finished her two years and two months of chemotherapy this December the 15th! I have no doubt that Shirley is cheering from above as we head toward that wonderful finish line.

Blaine started a new job this summer …. Doing something for the Air Force; I’m not sure what. Something to do with contracting, or program management, or something. Whatever. He loves it, likes his co-workers and his boss very much, and we put in for yet another extension here in Georgia, which was granted -- we’ll be here until summer of 2008. And with regard to his ongoing, never-ending reconstructive process, well, seriously, I figure it should culminate with the doctors finishing everything, and him finally getting a full set of teeth, about the age of 92, just in time for them to yank them out and give him dentures. I don’t even think he cares anymore, as long as he can work in some hunting and fishing in between surgeries. Funny how “getting rid of his cancer” wound up being the easiest, least-stressful part of this whole process.

I’m doing well; I began another surrogacy journey this year and am currently (depending on when you read this) about 18 weeks pregnant -- just one baby this time. I knew I wanted to do another surrogacy, but waited until Kendrie was close to the end of her treatment so I could give this pregnancy the time and commitment it deserves. I’m happy to say that all is well so far. I also traveled to NYC in August to visit both previous families and their kids, and helped the twins celebrate their 2nd birthday --- I’m so fortunate to be included! Closer to home, I serve on the PTO and volunteer at the kids’ school, but not as much as I did last year. I still haven’t grown a spine or learned to say NO, so now I just avoid making eye contact with as many teachers. Seems to be working for me, so far. I also got a few weekends away for scrapbooking with some of the best girlfriends in the world, so all is good in my neck of the woods.

The kids have been good this year; busy, wonderful, obnoxious, typical kids. Brayden is eight years old and is enjoying 3rd grade. She loves everything about school, except for the days I come to volunteer in her classroom because apparently I am the biggest embarrassment on the planet. She started gymnastics this fall, is in the Ecology Club at school, and loves arts & crafts, “That’s So Raven”, and blue fingernail polish. She is asking for her own phone for Christmas (don’t worry, she’s not getting it!) and I’m worried we are at the top of the very slippery slope of pre-teen-hood, and staring down a giant mountain of hormones and attitude. Good thing she’s so lovable 95 percent of the time, or I’d have to lock her in her room permanently.

Kellen, “Mr. I’m a Boy, All-Boy, unless it involves a spider or a bug within a 50-mile radius, in which case I squeal like a girl at a Jesse McCartney concert” has had a good year. He’s seven now and in the 2nd grade. He still loves recess and lunch best, although he does pretty well in the classroom, too. He played baseball, soccer, and basketball this year and tells us next year he wants to try football and track. The optimistic part of me hopes he will be a well-rounded sportsman; the pessimistic part of me just thinks of all those practices we’ll have to sit through. My only complaint about Kellen is that when he hugs me (thank goodness he’s still willing to hug me in public!) I can rest my chin on the top of his head. Just when did *that* happen, and how can I stop it?

Kendrie, well, where do I start? She is still gender-confused, and wants to legally change her name to either “Nicholas” or “Dash”. Of course, one of those might fit better with the camouflage and Spiderman clothes she insists on wearing every day. She is six, tearing through kindergarten, played t-ball for the first time this past spring, and most recently conquered the tasks of tying her shoes and learning to ride a two-wheeler without training wheels. Now, I realize she might or might not be a little late on those milestones, but considering she spent most of age four lying on the sofa, nauseated from chemo, we’re still pretty stinkin’ proud of her! Now, if we could just get her to knock off the incredibly annoying “baby-talk” that she does all the time, life would be a success.

I realize that lots of people use these annual family update letters to brag and wax nostalgic about all the mah-velous things their fabulous children have done throughout the year. I’d love to go on and on about the brains, beauty and brawn of my three (all true, of course) but it would be remiss of me not to mention that they also seem to have some sort of alternate personality disorder, where all they are capable of doing for long periods of time is fighting, bickering, and arguing with one another. I spend my days half horrified, and half hopeful, that SuperNanny will show up on our doorstep. When I’m not loving them to death, I just want to pinch their little heads off. And that, my friends, is an Honest Christmas Letter. :)

In between the squabbling and skirmishing, we did have some family highlights this year: the Make-A-Wish organization sent us to Disney World for Kendrie’s wish trip, which we enjoyed greatly (when the kids weren’t fighting … do you see a pattern here?) We also spent a long weekend at the beach in Florida with The Lighthouse Family Retreat, and a weekend in Atlanta with Camp Sunshine. We drove to Ohio to visit our friends Kim and Kenny and their four boys this summer, and down to Florida to visit our friends Erin and Joe and their three boys, and take advantage of their easy-beach access. Although we gripe and moan about our kids’ obnoxious behavior, which is even worse when we travel, we sure don’t seem to learn our lesson very well, do we? I guess we’ll keep vacationing and trying until the kids get it right, or until Blaine and I throw our hands up in despair, whichever comes first.

I hope your family had highlights this year, also, in between the daily grind, chores, activities, work, school, and LIFE that seems to speed by so quickly. I give thanks not only for the blessings in our family, but for this time of year when I’m forced to sit back, relax, and ponder the good things. I mean, I HAVE to, if I want to keep pounding out this letter year after year!

Hope yours was fabulous, as well. Lots of love, the Escoes

Christmas Letters, 2004

Greetings and Happy Holidays to our friends and family! I’m happy to report that after last year’s Christmas letter, which resembled a Greek tragedy and most likely made those of you who read it want to hit yourselves in the head with a hard object, 2004 was a MUCH better year for our family! Thank goodness, because depressing Christmas letters two years in a row would have been too much for any of us to handle.

Busy; challenging; sometimes stressful but most often enjoyable --- the Escoe household is probably a lot like yours. Let’s just address the cancer thing head-on: It still really stinks, but there has been way more silver lining than we ever imagined. Kendrie has a year of treatment left and will hopefully remain leukemia free for the next hundred years or so. She handles the chemotherapy like a champ -- except for the steroids. And mood swings. And fatigue. And nausea. But hey, she’s got hair this year! We realize how great she’s doing, and how blessed we are, but don’t let anyone tell you this is a walk in the park because it isn’t. Most of all, she is our inspiration. In other news, she started public Pre-K this fall and loves, loves, loves school. She wants to play t-ball in the spring and still idolizes her brother (and sometimes her sister, too) more than anything. If you could permit me a brief moment of parental pride, let me tell you that she is the only Pre-K student in her entire school to earn a “dog-tag” necklace in the school’s accelerated reading (AR) program, which made her so proud of herself I thought she would burst. To be honest, we are pretty proud of her, too. You can continue to follow her progress at www.caringbridge.org/ga/kendrie. Thanks to all of you who continue to offer your support and encouragement to Kendrie and our family.

Cancer continues to throw challenges Blaine’s way also, with the ongoing reconstructive work. Red tape aside, we are hopeful his reconstructive surgery will take place this spring, although we’re not sure where or by whom … and would appreciate your good thoughts for him. This will be major surgery and given the scope of rehabilitation required, and the many months of work he will miss, he recently requested to stand down as the commander of the 78th Contracting Squadron, the very squadron he “stood up” as its first-ever commander this summer. A difficult decision, yes, given how strongly Blaine feels about the Air Force “mission” and how much he loves the job and his squadron. But a decision we support him in, nonetheless. In other news for him, he celebrated his 40th birthday in February by getting bifocals, having hernia surgery and starting on high blood pressure medication. Hmmm. Maybe not such a great year for him, ha! Thank goodness there’s always hunting and fishing to pull him back to the edge of sanity.

Brayden continues to delight and amaze us with her newfound independence and social skills, when she’s not making us crazy with her newfound independence and social skills. She also loves school (2nd grade) and stays busy with Girl Scouts and soccer, both of which are mainly about the snack. She has started “practicing” her fake giggle which can be quite annoying, and is usually either the Mediator between her brother and sister, or the Instigator, depending on her mood. About the time I think we’ll never survive the upcoming teen years, she turns on a dime and is the sweetest, most loving, most helpful little girl on the planet. She brings us joy, but we definitely see the hormones on the horizon!

Kellen, well, what can I say? What I love most is that he is still willing to hold my hand in public and wants to be tucked in at night. But, he also thinks it is hysterical to run around the house giving himself a wedgie and can belch on demand. He is showing *some* signs of maturity, as he has graduated beyond the sophomoric activity of making farting noises with his armpit and can now make farting noises behind both knees, but only if he uses his “lucky” right hand. Something tells me a refund is due from Bubba’s Charm School For Boys. He played t-ball and soccer this year and loves the 1st grade …. The best part is playing with friends at recess and gym. Speaking of school (another obnoxious parental pride moment) he and Brayden both are on the AR Wall of Fame at school, and I’m so happy we have three eager readers in the house.

As for me, I am like a hamster on the “School Volunteer Wheel of Life” but that’s ok. It sure beats getting up and putting on pantyhose and going to a real job everyday, right? I love being available for the kids this way and realize how fortunate I am. When I’m not at the school volunteering, or scrapbooking with friends (three weekend getaways this year!), I am busy trying to whip our family’s social life into shape. I figure the more time we spend away from home, the less time I have to spend cooking and cleaning. In that regard, we did as much traveling this year as we could in between chemotherapy appointments --- Easter in Washington DC, a spring and fall weekend at Family Cancer Camp in north Georgia, two weeks in OKC this summer (for my 20th high school reunion, yikes!) a late-summer week at the beach for a cancer retreat in Florida, a few fall weekends in Atlanta for cancer walks and activities, Thanksgiving in California (Los Angeles and San Diego) and Christmas back in OKC. Like I mentioned earlier, cancer has opened many windows for opportunities and relationships that have definitely enriched our lives. While I’m certainly not happy that this is the path we were forced to take, I can’t help but be grateful for the new friends and experiences.

And our dog Lager is still around; old, deaf and arthritic, but sweet irregardless.

As always at this time of year, we give thanks for the many blessings afforded our family and offer our warmest thoughts to those less fortunate. I hope 2004 was a year of happiness and hope for your family, also.

Kindest regards,

The Escoe Family

Kindness Strikes Again

Howdy, and Merry Belated Christmas to all of you! I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday, filled with good tidings, good cheer, love, happiness, joy, peace............ all those things I was unsuccessfully searching for on Christmas Eve, ha! Our Christmas morning was lots of fun; the kids slept in reasonably late (7am) then we had the hour of gift-opening frenzy, the hour of peace while all toys were opened and closely examined (the hour we parents enjoy best) the hour of losing all the parts to all the games, rendering them useless the first day, and then the hour of fighting over whose toys are whose and refusing to share.

My personal philosophy is that on Christmas Day, kids shouldn't have to share their new toys if they don't want. So I try to give them 24 hours of "ownership" before Kendrie's motto of "finders, sweepers, losers, leapers" takes over and the free for all kicks in.

The biggest hit this year appears to be the standing microphone (with actual working amplifier!) that came with Kellen's new guitar. Kendrie derived great pleasure from yelling into it, at least 3,000 times that day, "Hey! Who ordered the poo-poo platter?" and then collapsing on the floor in a heap of giggles. Running a close second for airplay was the Escoe children's trio-choir, performing (about 2,900 times) the popular holiday classic, "Diarrhea", which their father so tactfully taught them. In case you are sadly unfamiliar with this holiday favorite, here are the lyrics, so you can teach your own children:

"If you're sliding into first, and your shorts are about to burst, diarrhea, diarrhea.
If you're sliding into home, and your shorts are full of foam, diarrhea, diarrhea.
If you're sliding into third, and you lay a juicy turd, diarrhea, diarrhea."

There are even sound effects, in addition to the timeless lyrics, but we won't go into that.

So you can imagine about how my afternoon went, listening to that over and over and over. I had to put my foot down when I discovered them dragging the microphone outside to "give the neighbors a concert." If ever a family were to be evicted by the homeowners association, I'm sure the Diarrhea Classic would be a good enough reason.

I want to say thanks to all the people who signed Kendrie's guestbook after reading about my pathetic Christmas Eve and shared their own humorous sagas with me. I guess it's good to know that those Hallmark moments are just as elusive for others, and it probably makes us more normal! I love when people, despite being faced with a life situation like this, can still laugh at themselves. Check out the websites of some of our new friends, and wish them Happy Holidays as well:

Katie's Page Be sure to read her mom's journal entry dated Dec 15th --- another great edition of the Crap Sandwich Chronicles!

Elijah's Page Wonderful family!

Emma's Page Another wonderful family!

Kody's Story An amazing site, and an amazing kid! (love the tattoo, Kody!)

I mentioned in a previous journal entry about the two special gifts we received this Christmas, the notices from Caring Bridge and the American Red Cross that donations to these two wonderful organizations had been made in Kendrie's name. Another reminder--- that sometimes the most wonderful gift is a gift of yourself--- came today in the mail ---- a notice from Locks of Love that a donation had been made in Kendrie's honor by our friend Katherine B. in San Pedro, California (LA Air Base.)

Locks of Love is a charitable organization that takes donated human hair and provides hair prosthetics for children with long term medical hair loss, free of charge or on a sliding scale. It takes four months, and a dozen donations, to make a single wig. The organization only accepts donations that are 10 inches or more in length, so this was no little thing that Katherine did! If you would like more information about Locks of Love, their web site is www.locksoflove.org. And thank you Katherine, for such a selfless, generous donation!!! See? Kindness strikes again!!!
much love, Kristie
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KENDRIE'S PERSPECTIVE:

WORST THING ABOUT HAVING CANCER TODAY: I can't even step outside the house for one second without my mom yelling at me to put a stocking hat on my bald head!

BEST THING ABOUT HAVING CANCER TODAY: My cool new Kim-Possible stocking hat! BooYa-!

"LEUKEMIA IS THE GRINCH THAT STOLE MY CHRISTMAS SPIRIT (or at the very least, spit in my eggnog.)"

CHRISTMAS EVE, 2003

We are back, safe and sound, from an uneventful clinic visit and fun family get-away to Atlanta. Since the older two are out of school for the break, and our trip home for the holidays was cancelled (no desire to put an immuno-suppressed child on an airplane, aka flying petri dish, to our home state (OK) which has reached epidemic flu status) we traveled as a family to Atlanta for Kendrie's appointment, and took time to do a few fun things in addition.

First, BIG thanks to the Dallas branch of our family who let us use their home as a bed & breakfast and took time to have dinner with us, and guide us to the drive-through light display at Lake Lanier. We also spent time both afternoons playing at local parks which the kids enjoyed greatly. Our home town here in GA is sadly lacking in the public parks department -- the few we have are still sporting death-trap playground equipment from the 1970's. So parks with new equipment, duck ponds, walking trails, and public restrooms that are not only clean, but unlocked (!) were quite a treat.

We got back late last night and spent today relaxing and preparing for the BIG DAY tomorrow. I'm not quite sure what went wrong, nothing went outstandingly wrong, but this Christmas Eve was just not the special time I had envisioned. When Kendrie was first diagnosed, I made big promises to myself that once she came home from the hospital and things settled down to normal, I would appreciate the small things, hug her and Brayden and Kellen a little tighter, live for the moment, etc. You know, "not sweat the small stuff". Well, much like a new bride promising to keep a clean house and prepare a hot meal for her husband every night, my promise went right down the toilet in a matter of weeks.

This vision I had of the perfect Christmas, of our entire family standing around the beautifully decorated tree with hands held, singing joyfully, loving one another with pure happiness in our hearts and voices ............. yeah, right, like THAT was going to happen???

Tonight started out well enough --- the kids were freshly bathed and dressed in their new Hanna Andersson PJ's, ready for the photo shoot I had planned. We sprinkled reindeer food outside, arranged cookies for the Big Guy, took some photos..... oops! Had our first episode of chemo-induced nausea and Kendrie threw up on her new PJ's... that's ok, cleaned her up, she felt better, took some more photos, maybe that's where I went wrong and stretched their patience a little far. Next thing I know, I'm getting images of rolling eyes, frowns, kids refusing to look at the camera. (as a scrapbooker, nothing makes me madder than uncooperative photo subjects, and then I find myself threatening along the lines of "if you want to find a single present under that tree tomorrow with your name on it ...............")

Admitting defeat with the photos, but not wanting to give up on my picture-perfect evening, I went into the kitchen to make hot cocoa while Blaine prepared to read them A Christmas Story. This is pretty much how things went:

Blaine: "God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary."
Kellen: "She's touching me!"
Brayden: "I can't see the book"
Kendrie: "Hey, he got more marshmellows than me!"
Blaine: "You will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus."
Brayden: "Make him scoot over!"
Kellen: "I don't like this cocoa. Can I just have milk?"
Kendrie: "I want his marshmellows if he's not going to eat them"
Kellen: "I don't like the cocoa but you cannot have my marshmellows"
Brayden: "would you two hush so I can hear Dad??? Go ahead, Dad"
Blaine (voice is getting strident): "Joseph went to Bethlehem with Mary"
Kellen: "Aaah! She spilled my drink!"
Kendrie: "Move over so I can see, too!"
Blaine (starting to get upset): "and so they stayed in a manger because there was no room at the inn"
Brayden: "they did not stay in a manger. They stayed in a stable. My Sunday School teacher told me that."
Kellen: "She is still touching me but with her foot this time!"
Kendrie: "Kellen, did you know that I threw up earlier?"
Blaine (practically yelling now): "She gave birth to baby boy and wrapped him in strips of cloth!!! Strips of cloth, I'm telling you!!!!!!! Would you guys hush and listen to the story?!?!?!"
Kendrie: "this is boring. I'm going to play" (gets up and leaves the room)
Kellen: "well I don't want to stay here, either" (also gets up and leaves)
Blaine: "Brayden, would you like to hear some more?"
Brayden, "um, no. Thanks anyway. Can I have more cocoa?"

And I'm sitting on the sofa wondering what just happened to my vision of the perfect Christmas Eve?

I keep reading about these people who appreciate things so much more after their child is diagnosed with a potentially fatal illness. Wouldn't you think Christmas is the one time of year I shoulda/coulda/woulda feel that same appreciation? How did Christmas become a list of to-do chores, all made more difficult because of Kendrie's condition? Where the heck is my Christmas spirit???

If anyone finds it before morning, please tuck it into my stocking.

Thanks so much, and happy &@@&*@&&@#!@#$ holidays,
Kristie
ps. I am only kidding, in case any of you are rushing to look up the phone number to a local mental health professional.