Words from my Courageous Sis-in-law...

"My last "Spa" treatment at NEMC. I thought in January that June was forever away. I never thought that I would be able to hold up and endure 8 rounds of TOXIC chemotherapy. I hope that my story gives hope to those that are facing the same giant as I have faced. I also hope that I have inspired others to reflect and strengthen their faith in God.

Most people would believe that given the news that you have Stage 4 cancer is probably your death sentence. I was blessed to be surrounded and carried by the BEST of friends, my family, communities both in which I live, and those that had heard my story. On most weeks, I was unable to see the light at the end, so thanks everyone for taking a turn carrying me until the next person was there with open arms and strong shoulders.

Of most importance, I hope that now people are able to see that God still works miracles everyday. We think about the miracles that Jesus performed, in God's name, in the Bible, but friends... Open your eyes because he is still performing miracles everyday. My faith and trust in God has helped me to be at peace and given me strength to fight Cancer. My hope now is that people who know me will see God working through me as I try to be a testament to him. Reflect on these words as I have during my day-to-day struggle to be strong: When you trust God, you are never alone. Every minute of every day, He is by your side, helping you find your way, wanting good things for you. When you trust God, you're truly understood. He knows you better than you know yourself - your strengths and weaknesses, all your beautiful possibilities. When you trust God, you're loved with a love that can lift you above anything you face in life. It is a love unlike any other, you can hope without end when you completely trust God and have complete faith in him.

Thank you friends for your continuous support and unwavering love and concern. It has been quite a journey. My next road on the path to healing leads to radiation. This should start in about 4-5 weeks. As always, I will keep you posted. Continue to pray for strength and comfort as I smother these last remnants of dead cancer cells.

With deepest love and thanks, Tonia Icenhour and family"

Tonia, I'm so proud of you and am amazed at your strength. We love you.

Vote for Michael Dean!

Beautiful Category Entry

Fasionable Category Entry

We've entered our handsome Michael Dean into a local photo contest - well, it's also a fundraiser for the Levine Children's Hospital - and he needs your votes!

The American Performing Arts Network and Levine Children's Hospital have teamed up to find Charlotte's Most Photogenic Babies of 2010. We told them they need to look no further, that my son is the winner. But, they want us to vote - you know, give the other kids a chance - and raise some money in the process.

Here's the deal: "Voter's Choice" winners will be decided by collections, contributions and donations made to Levine Children's Hospital on behalf of Michael Dean. (Sorry, you CAN'T vote online.) One vote will be made for every $.50 donated. Between Nana and mommy, we've already started collecting donations (aka, votes) and we'd love for you to help. Donations will be collected on June 11 & 12 between 10am and 7pm at Concord Mills in the Food Court. Though, I have to provide all donations in person, so if you'd like to donate/vote please let me know. Either leave a comment below or email me at cbicenhour@hotmail.com.

If you stop by the Mills on these days you'll be able to view these 2 photos of Michael Dean (as well as other contestants) as they'll be on display. There will also be a "Judge's Choice" winner selected by a panel of judges from various talent agencies.

Each winner will compete against winners from 19 other US cities and those winner(s) - I'm not sure if there will be more than one - will receive a 1-year modeling contract. Seriously, it's a long-shot, but my kid could totally win a photo contest and why not raise some money for a great hospital in the process?! And, I did ask (about 12 times) if all monies donated would be going to the hospital and they assured me they would. (Well, I'm sure they'll need to throw the not-so-enthusiastic photographer a few dollars too...)

Thanks and let the voting begin!

Another New Experience: 1st Bubble Bath

Finally, Michael Dean figured out it's pretty cool to take a bubble bath. He's never liked them in the past, and to be honest, I've not tried one in a while. I've got a very cool jug of watermelon bubble bath just ready to be used. But, when MD dumped about 1/3 of his bottle of shampoo/body wash into his bath tub the other night, he was completely shocked and amazed. Bubbles! (I was too, actually.)

The kid does love him some bubbles. He just doesn't like touching anything weird. (Well, he did pick up a worm the other night. Go MD!) But, I guess since he made the bubbles appear all by himself, that made all the weirdness go away.

See, I have a love/hate relationship with bubbles. They make a HUGE mess, but are so dang fun. And, they really are fun in the bathtub. Much more fun than those sticky bubbles outside. At least these are soap and they save me time by having to wash my kid. Kidding!

(Thomas and his buddies had to get in on the action, too...)

New House, New Experiences

I'm learning that with a 2-year old "helping" it takes quite a while to unpack and get settled in a new house. Even though the inside is taking a while, we have quickly settled into the outside of our new home.

We've met lots of our new neighbors (of which most have kids and dogs!) We've christened our driveway with lots of chalk drawings. We've learned that opening and closing the garage door is a very exciting activity that gets us (MD) out the door. We successfully made it through our first garage sale (and got a new tree and some plants for our front yard because of it.) We are now proud owners of a John Deere. We've had lots of "patio" dinners (Spring is a great time to move into a new house, btw!) We've had Nana, Aunt Jonda and Uncle Joey walk to our house. Honestly, I could go on and on.

But, strangely, one of the coolest (no pun intended) things we've experienced so far is the ice cream truck. Man, I have such fond memories of those things growing up. Hearing that now-creepy music coming down the street meant that a sweet treat was coming my way. And I want MD to experience that exact same thing. So, even though it was dinner time (what in the world was that icream lady thinking?!) we had to indulge in an ice cream sandwich and a SpongeBob popsicle - complete with gumball eyes. What a great memory.

Mommy's Day 2010

This past Sunday (Mother's Day) was a whirlwind! Both Donnie and I are lucky enough to have our moms close by, so the day is always spent with both of them. And, since I'm a mom now too, I always try to squeeze in a little time for me as well. This year, for me, consisted of a 2-hour nap, leaving the kitchen completely a mess from the lunch I prepared for my mom. It was great :)

Side note: We've been just crazy busy trying to get settled in our new house and I can't wait to post our Before and After pics. I just haven't quite found the time to take After pics yet. Maybe one day soon. I hope. (I am close to finally getting my anxious car into the garage - which will be a first for my sweet, little Hunter.)