Happy Easter...

Today is Easter Sunday, April 8th .... this is Ken checking in for Janelle....

I trust all of you have had a nice week and great weekend with family / friends.  I am still working on resigning as the blog updater, just not quite there yet.

We have had a good week for the most part.  This was treatment week and at this writing I can say that it has gone pretty well.  Not great, but we will take pretty well anytime.  The treatments (every two weeks since the beginning of November, 12 is the current number) are definitely hard on Janelle; a lot of fatigue and occasional sickness spells.  It is pretty easy to allow yourself to get down / disappointed when things are not going all that great however I am trying (ongoing effort) to stay very positive and focused and thankful for the good times we are having.  None of us are promised that tomorrow will not be without challenges.  We all just need to enjoy today and look forward to tomorrow.  I am sure 99% of you are like the Hayes family and do not have to look very far to realize how blessed you are.

We are finishing up our weekend, more on that below.  We are enjoying having Janelle's Mom with us; she will be here until this Thursday.  We are looking forward to kind of an uneventful week.  For your future calendar planning, we will have another MRI on April 17th, followed by our normally scheduled Dr/Treatment appointment on the 18th.  As we get closer to this it will increase the tension around here as these appointments for obvious reasons create a little anxiety.  That is still 10 days off so as I said at the beginning of this paragraph, we are looking forward to just having a nice week together.

So, we were so thankful that Britt & Kenneth could spend Easter weekend with us.  Ian works in a very nice restaurant and as such while the rest of us enjoy being entertained, he is working very hard (long hours) this weekend.  He does come by quite often, earlier this week he was by and visited for a few hours and I expect we will see him early this week.  Ian, if you are reading this, your Easter present is sitting on the counter.  This first picture below is of our weekend group (minus me), Saturday morning enjoying some breakfast / conversation together.

Saturday night was more of the same although they wanted me in this picture for some reason.  Britt baked me my favorite cake that I get once a year around this time and I guess she wanted to show it off.  Next week Janelle can start telling me I am Old again (but only for six months). 

We also wanted to make up some small Easter morning treats to give to our children.  Janelle decided that I should buy some type of large mugs or cups and just fill them with some various types of sweets.  I found these travel mugs, designed for hot or cold drinks, loaded them up with sweets.

Easter morning we again had a nice breakfast casserole and the plan was to sit down in the dining room (China and all) for Easter lunch.  Janelle's mom along with Britt shopped, prepared and even cleaned up.  We had ham and all of the normal sides, a favorite of Janelle's family when she was growing up.  I got the ladies to stop for a few minutes so I could click this picture. This was especially nice of them (handle everything) as my normal birthday request every year is that I can just kind of hang out, no expectations on me, watch the Masters which I am doing at this time.  Congrats Bubba!

and here we are, getting ready to eat.....

That is all I have to share with you this week.  It continues to be very humbling to Janelle and I that so many of you comment on this blog, send cards / emails.  We are so very thankful to have all of you in our lives.  Blessings to you and your families from our home.

Ken (& Janelle) Hayes

Comments

[Kim C.]

Happy Easter! Praying for a great week for the Hayes'.

[janis]

Happy Easter... and prayers for a quiet, restful and uneventful week for you all...love the pictures! and love you both. Happy Birthday, Ken! janis

[Lynn]

Happy Easter! Special prayers for the 17th and 18th...and it is so nice to see so many smiles on Janelle's face. Wishing your entire family a wonderful Easter.

[June K.]

Happy Birthday, Ken. It is so nice to see everyone with their warm smiles. Thanks for sharing your Easter holiday with us. I continue to think of you all very often.

[Kathy Zarybnicky]

Hi, Ken & Janelle. Happy Easter to all in your household. So, so happy to see such a nice smile on Janelle's face. What a difference since we saw her last. Love that smile & out of bed too!
Ken, I'll wish you a very happy birthday on Tuesday, just a little early. Enjoy the day with your honey, and just veg out!! :+ ) Love you both!

[Ginna G]

Happy Easter to you all.
Christ has risen today.
Gives us all eternal hope and reassurance.
Have a great week (and birthday Ken).

Will be praying for the 17th and 18th.
Prayer and thoughts your way.

[Rhonda H]

A blessed Easter to your family!! Happy Birthday Ken. Praying that you guys have an uneventful week of sweet time together. Safe travels for Janelle's Mom.

[Maureen]

sounds like you had a wonderful and blessed Easter with family :) What more could you ask for? The food all looks so yummy! Happy Birthday, Ken and thanks so much for the updates! You are very good at them...now Janelle needs to teach you how to make cards!! LOL Please give that girl a big hug from me :)

[Goodly Creations (Volcano)]

Alleluia! So good to hear your week well. . .do keep you in my thoughts and prayers. . . check in looking to see if you have "retired" from blog work and Janelle has felt well enough to take over. . . Keep the good thoughts going! Happy b-day Ken and many more!
Take care and enjoy each day as it comes!
Goodly Creations

[Marybeth L.]

Happy Easter, and it's sounds like Happy birthday too! I had to laugh , because my husband is 6 months older than I as well! So I know the routine very well ....lol! Thanks for sharing and everyone looks wonderful ! Continued prayers ,but I have to say before reading this post I had already thanked God for all the blessings he has given all of us! No request today for some reason just.... Thanks! Take care,

[Lee]

Glad you had such great family time and shared a blessed Easter. Happy birthday to you Ken...have a super day. Love and hugs xxx

[Sherry in MI]

Hope you have had a happy and blessed Easter.
Looks like you ate well :) Keeping you and
Janelle in my prayers....so glad that this
week's infusion was less traumatic than the
last. Hoping to hear from Janelle, herself
soon. Until then, thanks for your posts, Ken.
God is good....all the time! Blessings.

[SueB]

Glad your week went pretty well. So glad your family has been with you at Easter. I will be praying about the upcoming MRI. Sending love and hugs.

[Kathy Mc]

Happy Easter and Happy Birthday, Ken! April is a great month for a birthday. Looks like you had some delicious food to eat and a yummy cake besides. How wonderful that Britt & Kenneth and Janelle's Mom could be there to help you celebrate both occasions. Have been saying lots of extra prayers this past week so hopefully, they will be answered with better days ahead. Thanks for updating us, Ken, and hang in there. Tell Janelle she looks great in the pics! God Bless.

[Vicky]

Thank you for updating Ken. It looks as if the Easter and birthday celebrations are going well in the Hayes household! So pleased you're enjoying your family time together and tell Janelle to keep fighting! Prayers continue from here and I'll especially be thinking of you all on the 17th/18th.

[Jaki]

Happy Easter Janelle and Ken, I am so glad you could celebrate the weekend with your family.
Ken I think you are a marvel for stepping in with these blog updates but especially with getting behind the camera and recording these memories for your family.
Have a very happy birthday this week, I am glad the girls spoilt you over the weekend...my husband was watching the Masters too (in the early hours of the morning here!), it was great to see Bubba win it!

[Susan Raihala]

Happy Easter to all! Thank you, Ken, for keeping us updated until Janelle can resume posting. And we watched the Masters too, pulling for Bubba the whole time. YAY, Bubba!!!!

[Diana V]

Hi Ken and Janelle - Happy Easter - Happy Family - happy TODAY - I am encouraged as I see the photos with smiles that show an inner "JOY" we can't control; we can only just possess. Love you all!

[Connie F.]

Happy Easter and Happy Birthday, Ken. Sounds like you have a very nice weekend. It is so nice to see Janelle's beautiful smile. I'm praying you have a good week and will continue to pray for devine healing for Janelle and strength and comfort for both of you. Sending lots of prayers and (((BIG HUGS))) your way.

[Joyce Mehrberg]

Happy Easter and happy birthday to you. Thanks for the update. You are getting to be quite the proficient blogger--I'm sure Janelle is proud of you. I'm looking forward, however, to the days when I can hear from the queen herself (no offense). Hugs from San Diego.

[Laurie W]

Thank you for the update Ken! Tell Janelle hi from me! Sending prayers your way!!

[lynne]

Yum!

[Armando Cortez]

Good to hear that you had a nice visit with the kids for Easter. That is always a blessing. Janelle, you look great, even if you don't feel that way. Tell your mom I said hi. Blessings on all of you!

[Mary Kamerer]

Happy birthday, Ken! We were thrilled to run into Ian while Nick was home. He is quite a personable, sweet guy...obviously yours and Janelle's. Thanks for the update...sending good energy for the next check ups.

[Courtney]

Janelle and Ken,
have a great, restful, worriless (is that even a word???) week. Love to you both!