Update....

I have been "off air" for quite a while, I think a year and a half to be exact. I don't really have much to say that's why I don't bother but I hope that will change.

My name is Chelsea Northam, and I am addict to Pinterest! I see all these amazingly talented people that I get to try and copy, duplicate, pretend that I will someday to, or just plain ol' drool over. I am not creative, my blog is not a creative blog, maybe if I follow Pinterest enough I will magically become an amazing blogger (haa).

An update on the fam... Payton is 8, Tate is 5, Cohen and Tess are 3. I can't believe how big Coh and Tess are. It makes me sad especially if they are the last of the clan. I can't imagine having another baby but I it is hard to accept that this is all. Oh well, it's out of our hand and I have AMAZING children so it is hard to imagine it being even more amazing :o)

Chelsea update...I guess the biggest new is that I am completely involved with running. I completed my second marathon in June and have done 7 half marathons, some 5k and 10k's here and there, and have done two 200 mile relay races (teams of 12). I was introduced to an orginization that gets you sponsorship for your sport so, I applied for Volkswagen and I was accepted in September! I was totally shocked. They wanted an amateur and they definitely got one. All I have to do is run four races for them in 8 months and I get free gear. Awesome huh? Anyway, I need to make sure I put their name out as much as I can and post my races and fun stuff about their products. I promise that is NOT all it will be about but the only thing I do besides being with my family is running and starting to train for my first Triathlons this summer. I am really excited. I know, definitely not for everyone!

Jared's update...work, work, work. He works for Fisher Investments as an Investment counselor. His highlight for the year was probably winning a competition at work ($400 pot) to put towards his first concealed hand gun. Yes, my husband packs heat! He went goose hunting for the first time and hope to do more in the future. I secreatly hope he moves onto a different type goose is horrible, actually, I refused to try it but the kids didn't mind it.

Payton's update...He is doing awesome. Is MRI's have all been stable (no change or growth) for a long time. He has them every 6 months and is due for one mid February. He is doing great and in still an amazing kid! He is ubsessed with military stuff. Mostly guns. He loves LEGO's and playing with the neighbors. I hate to admit it but, he loves video games too. Luckily, he isn't hard to get off. He is really great about getting off when I ask.

Tate's update...he's my clown. I just watch him and laugh. He is very clumsy and spacy but the sweetest kid. He is always reminding me that he loves me and will NEVER leave without a hug and a kiss (even at the bus stop) we'll see how long that lasts. He loves to play with his friend, riding his bike, and teaching his friends crazy phrases (not always ones I am proud of).

Cohen's update...wild. Wild hair always. He has curly hair that needs constant attention and he refuses to let me help it. He runs and screams if he even thinks I'm going to get it wet. He is very animated and his favorite thing to do is copy people. He is really good at it too. He will copy speakers in church, songs, prayers, but most of all his brother's and sister no matter what the consequence and/or retaliation. I literally hear "MOM!!! COHEN IS COPYING ME!!!" Over a hundred times a day. He is always in shoes too big cuz shoes that fit are "baby shoes". He loves cleats, uniforms and being in his underwear.

Tessa's update...Girly, girly, girly. Changes her clothes 100 times a day, talks while twisting her hair, with one hip out, and a little giggle at the end of her sentences. Love clothes, shoes, and always dresses herself. Total opposite of me except the attitude :)

Blade is our new dog as of June. He is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and is a great dog. I NEVER thought I'd have a dog or liking a dog but he is a great one. The kids love him and he is great with them.

So, that is the Northam's update. Hopefully it won't be another 1.5 years until the next.

Lake Powell 2010/ Henrie Family Reunion

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July 4, 2010

Ridgefield parade. We went with great friends and had a wonderful time.

I was able to do the 10k before the parade and set a new PR.

Oaks Park 2010

Cute kid pics...

Seriously mangled butterfly Cohen found. Pretty sure it was like that before they got to it.

'cuz he's cool like that.

I cannot for the life of me get Tate to have a normal face in a picture.

Helvatia Half Marathon (June)

So, I did my fist half marathon in June. My wonderful friend trained and ran it with me. It was great to see my kidlets at the finish line and run with a great friend. I am excited for my next one in October.

Dozer Days 2010 (May)

This was our second year going to Dozer Day's with the Candlelighter's organizations. Payton, Tate, Grace (cousin), and Grant (cousin) were able to come too. They had a great time.

Humm...where do I begin?

Baseball season started for Payton, Tate started indoor soccer, Cohen and Tess are into anything and everything, I did my first 15 K (9.3 miles) as training for a half marathon in June, and Jared got his first Gun. Oh, and we had a great low key Easter with Jared's Bro's family, Aunt and Uncle. Other then that there really hasn't been anything going on here. Just waiting and waiting for the sun to finally show its face for an extended amount of time...sighhh.

All ready for the egg hunt (night before)

Tess loves to dress up. This is what the Easter Bunny brought her.

Love this one of Tate.

Payton was so excited for his dad to get a gun. We had to make sure he understood this was a REAL gun.

On ONE beautiful, sunny, warm day....

Tate does a great job in soccer. He is very fast and does a great job dribbling.

We are very happy that Payton is able to play this year. His energy is back and he is LOVING baseball. He asks the coach if he can run around the bases after practice.

Oh, Tess.

This was taken a little while ago but I still

LOVE it.

It is Messy-Tessy to the "T"! Enjoy.

Reserved for LIFE!

Payton has been officially adopted onto the Lewis & Clark College Baseball Team.
We were connected with this wonderful
team through Friends of Jaclyn Foundation.
FOJ is a non-profit,
charitable organization that improves the quality of life for children
with pediatric brain tumors and their families. They match a child with a college or high school sports team and once the team and child have been matched,
there is a ceremonial adoption. Payton's ceremony took place on the 14th.
It was a beautiful day and they went above and beyond to make sure Payton felt he was part of their team family.

This is the plaque they put on their bench and painted it in his honor.
He sat in this spot during the first game we watched. It was as
close to the players as you can possibly go. The
players make sure to give "5's" or knuckles before they go up to bat. They
have been leaving notes on his Caringbridge site and give him little gifts as well.
We are trying really hard to learn all their names so we
can be a their #1 fans. It has been a wonderful experience
to see Payton with these guys and see how the player's interact with him.

After the game they let Payton, Tate, Cohen and Tess on the
field for the "star" treatment. They get to try on equipment, play in the dirt, and
throw the ball around.

They posted the ceremony on their blog as well.

(Below are of his ceremony and of a cheer they did for him.)

Payton's last day of chemo.

Wednesday was Payton's last day of Chemo so
we took in a cake for the nurses and doctor's that have taken
such great care of Payton. Payton's ChemoPal, Mike, gave
him a gift card to the Lego store for Christmas so, he saved one to put together with Mike on his last treatment. They, well I guess I can only speak for Payton,
had a really fun time.
Payton was able to do all the "work" this time.
He put in the heparin, did his blood draw, and whatever else they put in his
port before he get his treatment.
He ended on a good, fun note. We will be going
back on the 10th for his MRI and
his last regular appointment.
After that it will be every 3 months for MRI's unless there is a change.
We can't thank Doernbecher Hospital and the
Hemotology/Oncology
team enough for
their kindness and care they
gave Payton this past year.
We will miss them but we hope
we will never see them again too.
A HUGE thank you to Mike and his sacrifice of time
and taking off of work
to come every other week to play
on the hospital floor with a boy he didn't even know.
What a difference he made in Payton's
chemo treatments. As Payton said,
"he made chemo fun".
That is the best thing a mom could ask for.
So, endless thank you's Mike.

It is hard to believe that is will be a year
on Saturday that he was diagnosed.
Thankfully, it has gone by
really fast.

We have been extremely blessed by so many
people and can't begin to thank you all, but please
know that you have made us better people.

THANK YOU!

May this next year be a year of health and healing for EVERYONE!

Honking his kazoo and shooting missiles at Mike's ship while getting his chemo.

Putting together his Toy Story green army men Lego.

Payton with his wonderful Nurse Practitioner, Kathy. She is AMAZING! He's looking a little scruffy...in need of a haircut but his hair has thinned and is really hard to cut and he doesn't want it buzzed (the way I like it).

The Christmas looking cake I ordered. I didn't really think about the color combo when I ordered it.

New Year's Card & Letter

If you haven't received a letter yet, it is because I haven't sent them yet...soon, soon! I thought I'd at least post it because I don't know when I will get to actually mailing them, I will, I just don't know when. So, here is a view if I don't have your address and a preview if I do. Happy New Year EVERYONE!
(below is the letter, above is the card)

2009 was a faith building year. It started off normal, besides being completely exhausted by our 5 month old twins, then things started to unravel. On February 6, 2009 Payton, (our 6 year old, 5 at the time) went in for an MRI for unexplained blindness and shaking in his left. We were notified immediately after the MRI that Payton had a tumor on his optic nerves. A craniotomy (an incision from his ear to the top of his head and a piece of skull removed so they can access under the brain, then reattached with screws) was set up for that following Monday. The surgery went well and the biopsy confirmed his diagnosis, Pilocytic Astrocytoma/chiasmatic glioma/hypothalamic lesion. It would not be able to be removed because it is entangled around too many vital parts of the brain. He was given a couple weeks to recover before going back to surgery to have a port put into his chest for his chemotherapy treatments he would be receiving over the next year. The goal was to stabilize it and to keep him from going totally blind.

The first couple treatments were scary for him, but we arranged for him to be part of a ChemoPal program with the Children’s Cancer Association. A volunteer would come in to play with Payton while he is having chemotherapy. Payton’s pal is Mike and he is a wonderful man that has helped our family more then he’ll ever know. His willingness to show up for 2 hours every other week to play LEGO’s or games on the dirty hospital floor with Payton has lifted a burden that was becoming overwhelming. ENDLESS THANK YOU’S to his great pal/chemo hero Mike!

He is doing amazingly well. He was able to keep his hair and keep a fairly normal lifestyle with very few complications. He has recently been put on a medication to help relieve some of the body pain and it seems to be working really well. He is starting to play, wrestle, run, and act 6 again. He is an amazing little boy that has done incredibly well. He will be completing his chemo treatments February 2010 and will continue to have MRI’s every 3 months to keep close watch on his tumor and will do so throughout his life.

As for the rest of us, we are all doing really well. We have been able to do some pretty wonderful things this year due to the kindness of strangers, family, and friends. We just got back from Disney World for Payton’s Make-A-Wish trip. It was phenomenal. Unfortunately, Cohen and Tessa missed out but we couldn’t imagine taking them either. We were also able to go to a wonderful place on the coast called the Caring Cabin through the Children’s Cancer Association this summer. We decided to make it a Henrie family reunion and had family from 4 states and a total of 28 people stayed in this beautiful, huge home.

Tate (3) started preschool this year and had his 1^st Christmas program in which he and his friend had a friendly slap-match throughout. I had him apologized to his teacher the next day. Luckily, she thought it was funny. He is our snuggler. He loves to snuggle with everyone but me. He is also our most accident prone one too. He already has 1 blackish tooth and possibly another as of Friday. He is a busy, busy guy that doesn’t think before he tries. I don’t think that will change anytime soon, so I am predicting he will be our first broken bone kid…HOPE NOT, but think it is inevitable.

Cohen (16 months) is a sweet boy. He pretty much goes about his own business and does his own thing. He loves books, pushing buttons he isn’t supposed to, and takes every opportunity he gets to bolt out the front door.

Tessa (16 months), aka Messy Tessy. Is just that, a mess…always. She is definitely girly but can hold her own. She loves to play with hair, jewelry, cell phones, and be held by anyone. She is also half monkey and can climb onto ANYTHING.

We are so blessed to be in the company of such wonderful friends and family. This year would have been near impossible without them and their willingness to help anytime or anywhere. Thank you all for everything, small or large, that you have done for our family. We hope and pray that you all have an amazing 2010.

Love,

Jared, Chelsea, Payton, Tate, Cohen, and Tessa Northam

Matthew 19:26 “…with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible”

Tate's Christmas Program

I have nothing to say but, PLEASE WATCH! Tate is hoodlum on the left.

http://www.box.net/shared/r88kv9fyav

Payton's TV Premier

Here is the link to Payton's big TV premier.

http://www.youtube.com/user/MakeAWishOregon

A Wish Granted!

Where do I begin? How do I begin to describe the most amazing trip of our lives? I guess I'll start from the beginning. Payton was given the opportunity to be involved with the Make-A-Wish foundation. It is a non-profit organization that grants wishes to children with life threatening illnesses. Payton decided that his wish would be to go to Disney World. MAW decided to grant Payton's wish by making him the guest of honor at their "Season of Wishes" celebration. He got to be on the news, light the Christmas tree with a magic wand, and be in the local news paper. All before leaving. They also showered him with all kinds of Disney gifts.

We stayed at an amazing place called Give Kids the World Village where most MAW kids stay when they are on their wish trips to Disney World. It had EVERYTHING a kid could ever want to do. We decided to leave Cohen and Tessa at home with my Mom so the big boys can have as much fun as they wanted without being tied down by naps. They won't remember it anyway, right? It was by far the best decision...sorry Cohen and Tess, someday we'll take you!!!

After 3 days at Disney parks, 1 day at Universal parks (where we lost our car keys but through some strong prayers they were found), 1 day at Sea World, feeding all kinds of animals at Sea World, amazing activities at the village, nightly trips to the ice cream shop at the village, some vomiting, trip to the Lego store; Jared and I were exhausted. I would have to say the highlights were seeing Payton on stage fighting Darth Vader in costume (was well worth the hour and a half wait) and the other would have to be the way the Characters interacted with Payton and Tate. They were so genuine and sweet, they didn't rush with them and gave them long, thoughtful hugs before they left. It was very sweet. Each park treated Make-A-Wish kids like royalty.

There were so many photo that I HAD to make a slide show. I hope you enjoy! It truly was magical.

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