Emotional Hangover!!

HELLO BLOG READERS!

I want to thank EVERYONE who came out yesterday to the fundraiser at Adams Academy! It was a great time! I am forever indebted to all of those who did so much to put it together -- especially Tara McMurdie, Cheryl Weathersby, and Janna Carlos. I know there are TONS of others I am missing... I am so grateful to all of you who donated items, created items, or sacrificed your time to be there and to serve. It is all so humbling and overwhelming... I have cried so many tears of gratitude and they continue to flow. :')

One of the highlights of the day for me was signing the Pink Heals firetruck. It was an honor (an emotional one) to add my name to that beautiful rolling edifice.

I am grateful to Mrs. Malone and Mrs. Olson at the school for being there for us! I am also thankful for the Girl Scouts (Debi's girls!) who made those beautiful headbands and flowers, and the Junior Honor Society at Adams for all of their work in helping with setting up, with food, etc. There were so many young smiling faces there! It was beautiful!!

Lastly, I want to thank all of those who came out and showed support, whether bidding on auction items, taking a class, teaching a class, cutting hair, painting nails, giving massages (mine was DIVINE!), or just eating good food (Abuelos' salsa and queso! Que bueno!) and spending time with us. I am touched by the outpouring of love!

May all of you have the opportunity, at some time in your lives, to be the recipient of such love and service is my prayer. And if so, I plan to be there to "pay it forward." Thank you again!! I am blessed!!!

Jenny

MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

There is no greater calling than to serve your fellow men. There is no greater contribution than to help the weak. There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well. 

Walter Reuther

       We have a great opportunity to come together and help out a wonderful woman fighting breast cancer.  Jenny Christensen is a mother of two, who is currently fighting breast cancer for the second time.  She is an amazing example of perseverance, courage, and strength.  As many of you know, the fight against breast cancer can be very expensive.  We have a chance to help ease some of the monetary stress for the Christensens.

On Saturday, November 20th, from 8am-4pm,

Adams Traditional Academy with the help of the National Junior Honor Society, will be hosting a fundraiser at the school to help earn funds to go directly to the payment of Jenny’s cancer treatments. 

There will be classes offered:

8am Yoga
9am Martialcise Aerobics/Self Defense
10am Pilates
11am Childrens Dance Class
Noon Zumba
1pm Teen/Adult Dance Class


                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                  We will also have massages, hair cuts, “Glitter Toes”, adorable hair clips, “Forever Is Better” shirt sales (owned by Jenny Chirstensen), breast cancer bracelets, and a SILENT AUCTION! 

                                                                                          

We’ve already had some amazing items donated to our silent auction, including horse rides, photography sessions, massage gift cards, restaurant gift cards, babysitting, one month of HCG, a vegan cleanse, hotel gift certificates, gift baskets, and much, much more!  The silent auction items will be available to bid on all day.  The auction ends at 3:45pm sharp.

There are so many families affected by cancer and in need of some extra help.  This is a great opportunity to come together and give service to one of those families.                                                                                                          

Please mark your calendar’s for this Saturday Nov, 20th, and plan on attending.  Tell your friends, family, and neighbors about this great event and help us to make this a success!    Adams Traditional Academy is located at 2323 W Parkside Lane (23rd Ave south of Pinnacle Peak) in Phoenix

If you would like to help with this event, or have any questions, please email Tara McMurdie at: misstarasdance@gmail.com

You can keep updated on this event and class times by checking the school website at: https://adamstraditionalacademy.org.  

Help make this a success!

COLD STONE CREAMERY FHE

Dave and Cyndi Eisner of Cold Stone Creamery have so generously offered to have a fundraiser at their store at 8215 W Bell Rd. on Monday, November 15th from 5pm to 9pm.

This can be a wonderful source that evening for Family Home Outing Evening treats! Cold Stone Creamery (this store only) will be offering 50% of the proceeds to Jenny!

Dave and Cyndi have done some wonderful fundraisers in the past for other friends with various health battles. They have some great ideas to streamline the process to avoid the long wait in line. They will be offering 3 creations (their most popular... of course) already mixed and ready to scoop in 2 sizes: small (which isn't really small at all) $5.50, and medium (which is more like a small mountain) for $6.00. They would prefer that we bring cash that night, but can accommodate if you need to purchase by credit card. There will, of course, be all your favorite flavors available that evening, but they will have premixed:

1. Oreo Overload
2. Chocolate Devotion
3. Birthday Cake Remix

Please join us for yummy Cold Stone Creamery treats and so many of our favorite people gathered in one place in support of Jenny on Monday, November 15 from 5-9pm!

See you then!!

What a Wonderful World

As I was getting ready to start this post, I was singing Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World and realized that's a great name for this post!

So many wonderful friends showed up for our movie night and bake sale. It was a huge success and everyone was so generous... and what a fun night! You all made a big difference and Jenny was so appreciative and touched. Amy Lee took some wonderful pictures and sent them to me.

Thank you to everyone that came and to everyone that supported but couldn't come!!

Getting Juiced Up!

Hi everyone!

Just checking in for a little update.... Long overdue, I know. I will try to do better!

I have been keeping busy with the whole WELLNESS world.... Exercising 5 days a week, studying, juicing, making green smoothies, going to my yoga/wellness group (which I LOVE!), taking supplements, meditating . . . along with other non-conventional therapies I have started. Honestly, it is a full-time job trying to be diligent with my wellness. It is all-consuming!

In addition, this week I started my Vitamin C treatments. I get approx. 50,000mg via I.V. twice a week for five weeks. Then I will take a break for a week or so, and repeat the routine for another five weeks. After that, it will be sporadic I.V. treatments. So far the side effects have not been too terrible-- mostly just fatigue, which they say is normal. Today I had the therapy on an empty stomach, and I left there feeling a little nauseus and tired. When I got home I sacked out for two hours!

One of the fringe benefits of this therapy is that, since it takes an hour and half, it forces me to have some down time! I am using this time to work on the book I am writing (No Pouting, No Doubting) about my experiences in coping with cancer. I love writing and wish I could just work on it all day long. I am learning so much and I feel so blessed to be given this road to navigate, uphill though it may often be!

I wanted to say how grateful I am for all the work the Weathersby family is doing to put together these fundraisers for me! It is very humbling for me to have them--and many of you-- come to our aid like this. Scott and I are grateful also to all of you for your love and support. I could never endure all of this without you! Thank you so much!

I hope to see many of you Saturday (10/23) at the Weathersby ranch for movie night! It should be a great time!!

Love & Health,
Jenny

November Fundraiser

Time	Saturday, November 20 · 8:00am - 4:00pm
Location	Adams Traditional Academy 23rd Ave and Pinnacle Peak Rd (just south of Pinnacle Peak)
Created By	Tara Weathersby McMurdie
More Info	Jenny Christensen is an amazing woman who is fighting cancer for the second time around. Her story is amazing and her faith and strong willed attitude inspires everyone she comes in contact with. She is a wife and mother of two beautiful children. She works full time, runs a t-shirt business on the side, and is working 24/7 on kickin some cancer butt! However, beating cancer is not cheap. We all feel so helpless and powerle...ss when watching a friend or loved one go through something like this, and this is a small way for us to help in the fight. On Saturday, Nov 20th, we are going to have a HUGE FUNDRAISER to help earn money to pay for Jenny's cancer treatments. Fundraiser events for the day will include: DANCE CLASSES YOGA PILATES ZUMBA MARTIAL ARTS AEROBICS HAIR CUTS GLITTER TOES MASSAGES T-SHIRTS FROM 'FOREVER IS BETTER' YUMMY FOOD A SILENT AUCTION (we need more donations for the silent auction, so if you'd like to donate something for this, please send a message to Tara McMurdie) AND MUCH MORE TO COME!!! Please mark this date on your calendar and invite all your friends and family to come help support this great woman in her fight against cancer! We can make a difference!

This post was on Tara´s facebook page. If you need to contact her but are not friends with her on facebook (why not?) you can leave your email on a comment for this post and she will get a hold of you. We love you all and are so grateful for the response from wonderful friends!

Don´t forget about the October fundraiser posted below this post!!

Thanks again! and adios, from Spain,
Cheryl

It's a date!

Let's plan on Saturday evening October 23rd for a drive-in movie night at my house! I know this probably doesn't work for everyone, but we gotta start somewhere... and Saturday won on the poll... we can't waste a good poll, can we?

BRING:

1. Something to sit on (ie. blanket... front row, lawn chairs ooooorrrrr..... couch... back rows, see how this works?)
2. picnic dinner (if you'd like)
3. your family ;D
4. some goody to sell at the bake sale
5. something warm, as we'll be outside

This is by donation only so everyone is welcome and anything you can donate that night is wonderful and appreciated.

Hmmmmm..... what movie should we show?

Another poll?

Okay.

See right side bar... again.

Other suggestions? Leave it on the comments. Family friendly, please.

Details will follow when I get back from Spain.... just mark your calendars and hype up the fam!

PS- I kind of need an idea of how many to expect.... maybe let me know if you plan to attend and how many.

Love ya all,
Cheryl

If you're wondering

Someone wonderful... no, not me... opened a bank account for Jenny to assist in the overwhelming bills. If you feel so inclined to donate to her account, you can go to any M & I Bank branch (Click here for locations) and give them Jenny Christensen's name. They will know what to do. Thank you for any donations, large or small, everything helps!

Also, we have some great fundraisers planned. In October there will be a family drive-in movie night at my house. We want to have a bake sale that night as well. Dates are not set in stone yet. Lets do a survey... I love surveys. Check up on the top right side of the blog -> -> -> . Take the survey please.

Another FUN fundraiser is in the works for November. More details to come!

Also, since I don't know how to get this to sign my posts as 'Cheryl' instead of 'Kickin' it',  I'll just have to sign it myself....

Cheryl

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

My First Blog Post!! :D

I am speechless.
If you know me well, you probably think that’s unbelievable.
But the truth is I don’t even know how to begin submitting my comments for something such as this, which has both touched me profoundly, and overwhelmed me completely! I guess I will begin with the same reaction I had when I first (unknowingly!) clicked on the link for this blog.

“Wow . . .” (And a lump formed in my throat. Not the cancer kind of lump, mind you.)
Thank you, Cheryl, for starting this blog!!

I guess I should tell my story.... I am actually writing a book (No Pouting, No Doubting) about my experiences, hoping they will someday help someone else. But for you loyal blog readers, I will summarize the best I can....

Most of you know I was diagnosed last May (2009) with cancer of the left breast. I opted for a double mastectomy, being as proactive as I could be. I was thankful to learn that I had NO cancer in my lymph nodes, nor any place else in my body. There was some initial confusion, as one doctor diagnosed me as Stage 1 cancer, while another said Stage 3, and yet another Stage 2! My oncologist prescribed a treatment plan of radiation and chemotherapy, and I began to prepare physically, mentally and emotionally for those treatments. I had all the preliminary scans done, blood work, and picked out a wig. In the weeks leading up to my chemo start date, however, I could not shake the feeling that something was not right with my treatment plan. I could not pinpoint it . . . I thought perhaps radiation was not in my best interest. Then I dismissed it all as fear and pressed forward. Still the feeling remained. Something was not right. I went to the temple and prayed for guidance. I felt impressed that neither chemo nor radiation was right for me. But how could they not be? It’s what you do! It’s just what you do, right? My husband thought so, too.

On June 25, 2009 I had surgery to place a port in my chest for IV access, and the next day I was set to start chemo. That night I could not shake the feeling that this was wrong, and I knew it wasn’t fear. I had battled that fear and left it behind. I’d been to girls camp the previous week as a leader and felt energized and ready to fight and stand tall. But that morning I got down on my knees and prayed, and again I knew. This plan was all wrong. I encouraged Scott to pray, too. Then he gave me a blessing. A beautiful blessing! And we both knew. I had been receiving promptings of the Spirit that I needed to heed. We decided to postpone chemo, at least for that weekend, as we prayed more and visited the temple again. It didn’t take much for us to have our answer confirmed. Chemo was wrong for me, and so we sought out other options for care. My oncologist disagreed with my decision, but respected it and supported me. Through the help of some wellness doctors, I worked to build up my immune system. I changed my diet, exercised more, and took supplements. I began to take much better care of myself and felt great!

In November of 2009 I had a PET scan as a check up. My oncologist practically cartwheeled into the room to announce, “You must have a guardian angel!” My PET was perfect.

Fast forward six more months to May 2010. It was time for a follow-up PET scan again to make sure I still had a clean bill of health. Had to bust through some red tape: The insurance company denied the authorization, saying there was “no evidence of tumor recurrence.” It took two months of appeals and a new submission by my doctor’s office before they finally agreed to approve the scan. Suddenly there was trouble... Some lymph nodes lit up, as well as a few other possible problem areas in my skeletal system (But didn't I have spots in my skeletal system before? And they went away?!). After three failed lymph node biopsies, I was able to find a new specialist who performed a node biopsy with precision. True to his instinct, there was no cancer under my right arm. But under my left arm, the node biopsy came back positive, and my oncologist painted a bleak picture . . . six months of chemo, and a lifetime of an IV drug called Herceptin. I was devastated. I gave myself a nano-second to cry, then I squared my shoulders and got ready to fight again, and fight harder.

Once again, I have felt incredible promptings that I need to pursue the naturopathic route to wellness instead of the conventional treatment prescribed. I am not anti-chemotherapy by any means. I know there are valid uses for that treatment. But there has been way too much gray area regarding my diagnosis . . . And besides that, when you receive a direct answer, you just know it (title of a chapter in my book!). I have had some spiritual experiences that are too sacred, too precious to me to post on the world wide web . . . But suffice it to say, I am certain my decision to seek holistic care is correct. It is important to me that my friends and family understand that, as my husband puts it, “not doing chemotherapy should NOT be confused with doing nothing!” It is quite the contrary. I am engaged nearly every minute of everyday in battling this terrible disease. Diet, supplementation, alternative medication, exercise, meditation, and especially nutrition are a full-time job, and most of it does not come easily for me! I only wish insurance would cover naturopathic care, as it is effective and much less costly than chemotherapy. There are also some additional therapies that I wish to do when finances allow (such as Vitamin C IV infusions). Like many people in this economy, our financial situation is precarious. But, knowing we are doing His will, Scott faithfully decrees, “The Lord will provide.”

I have felt confident in my decisions. I have felt the hand of the Lord in my life and have no doubt that His Spirit has given me guidance. I am humbled by the love I have felt from Him, and the knowledge that He is mindful of little me. Nearly every morning there is temptation to fear, to be discouraged, but I choose not to listen to that voice. I am happier than I have ever been. And I know I will win this fight.

This recurrence of breast cancer has been surreal for me. I had a brief moment or two of grief, but otherwise have felt completely peaceful and calm. I know that cancer is my refining fire. It is my companion now, and I don’t have to be afraid of it. It brings me to my knees . . . and that is when I can stand tallest.

During this difficult time for our family, so many people have offered help, even financially. It has been a huge blessing. My dear friend, Lorene, is pounding the pavement to help promote my “No Pouting” tee shirts. Money for a juicer was graciously given by a family member. This fundraising blog was started! Without any solicitation on my part, my realtor and friend, Jennifer Moore, has sent out over 2000 letters to business associates promoting my shirts and asking for donations. She even established a bank account in my name. I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of help.

I am so grateful for all of you who are part of this Army of Angels, who have such giving and loving hearts. I am grateful for your frequent messages of encouragement, prayer, and support, which truly carry me. Thank you for loving me and my family. Words are inadequate to express what your sustaining love means to me, to us.

So.....How’d I do?? Kinda long. I’m new to this blogging thing! :D
More to come soon. . . .

With love and blessings,
Jenny

Do it now... ask later!

My friend, Jenny, has a battle with Breast Cancer. She's a strong woman, and I fully expect her to come away from this blowing the smoke off of her pearl-handled pistols. She's chosen to do something that some haven't got the courage to do, but she feels strong and impressed to handle it this way. I'm not going to write what she's doing, I'm hoping that she will choose to share her story with her army of friends. An army that's standing behind her, ready and waiting for her command to join forces with her. Although this is a battle that in some ways, only she can fight, we can assist in other ways. I'm talking about ways to help her fight with the chosen arsenal (which will NOT, for the most part, be covered by insurance). I'm putting together some fundraisers that will be.... SO. MUCH. FUN!! Stay tuned for that!

I titled this post Do it now... ask later, because.... Jenny is NOT aware of this blog as I am posting this.... but she'll know soon. Wish me luck!

The name of this blog I took from a Facebook post by Jenny. She said "Got some serious breast cancer butt kickin goin on over here!" I loved reading that and thought it was a good theme for a blog... so... I did it!

All my love and support,
Cheryl Weathersby