Raya’s First Pregnancy. She’s due June 19th, 2024, and was confirmed pregnant with more than one.
Our baby princess Raya is all grown, and currently expecting her first litter of puppies due June 19th. We’re so excited for her, and for the families who will take her puppies home!
It’s been ages since I’ve done much in the way of writing about my cancer journey here, but it’s time to start writing again.
A snapshot of my cancer and faith journeys, and the bridging of two worlds into one centered around God.
We were so upset that we got rained out going to our hometown Andrews Air Show this year, that we drove all the way to Dover, DE for the Thunder Over Dover air show, and had a great time. We saw a lot of planes that we hadn’t seen nor even heard of before, and got to see some military demonstrations that we hadn’t ever seen either. Overall the Dover AFB Show was awesome. We look forward to going again next year!
Just because you suffer from post-cancer neuropathy and chronic fatigue issues, doesn’t mean you can’t push yourself and get out there and kick some ass. You’re looking at a guy who just a few years ago struggled to run more than 2-3 blocks at a time because of terrible chronic fatigue issues, now coasting into the finish line in 30 minutes in a 5K race, and feeling great while doing it!
We went to Shenandoah National Park over Memorial Day weekend this year. Unlike in the past where we’d enter at Thornton Gap and just stick around the central district, this time we entered at the north end of the park in Front Royal, and made our way almost all the way down to the south end of the park at Mile 80. Our kids are all a bit older now at 10 and 12, so they’re capable of a lot more than they were even a few years ago, and our dog has proven to be quite the hiker as well, so our trip to SNP was a lot of new adventures for us in an old place.
William and I made our way all the way down to Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Alton, VA, a 4 hour drive from the DC area, for HyperFest 2019 and a boys only weekend. It was a blast to see all sorts of cool cars blasting around, and getting to camp out at the track.
I was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 33 and thought my life was over, but today I’m an 8 year survivor of the disease, and at the age of 41 I’m not even a young adult anymore. Times change, perspectives change, we all grow and evolve not just as cancer survivors but in life itself. At this point I just don’t give a (bleep) about cancer anymore. Here’s why.
My youngest turning 10 has been an unexpectedly big deal for me in my cancer survivor life, and it’s as though some massive box that I never knew about has suddenly been checked. My biggest fears about cancer were never dying or a life not lived, but rather not being around for my family and my children. They still have a lot of growing up to do, but with both now 10 or over, they’ll never be able to say that they never knew their father, and that’s a great moment for me.
William and I built our first ever Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby car together. We just wanted to build a cool looking car that we could be proud of and would hopefully be fast, but we had no idea that our “Coupe de Will” would be so competitive that it would be in serious contention to win the entire event! Here’s the story of how we built our totally rookie but fiercely competitive Coupe de Will Pinewood Derby car
Is it October 10th already? Yes it is! When we heard from Amy Lane at Fox Creek Farm that our puppy had been born on October 10th, we knew it was fate and that we were meant to have him, because October 10th (ten-ten) is also National Taiwan Day every year, and we’re a Taiwanese family.
After living in our crammed townhome for 10 years, we finally upgraded to a single family home with a nice sized yard last year, and got a dog to go along with it. It's been a pretty big transition for all of us to become "dog people" and we're still getting there, but Puffles has been awesome and the perfect dog for us. Puffles was born on October 10th, 2017, and we picked him up and brought him home on December 5th.
At 7 years out, I'm very lucky and blessed that I don't really have to think about cancer too much anymore. There's no reason that I have to, and I don't. Testicular Cancer is a cancer that you fight like hell and either beat completely within a few months or a year, or it very quickly takes you with it, and I’m still here. My cancer fight seems like ancient history at this point - a tiny spec in the rear view mirror, and life has moved on.
Who knew that one day I would get so pissed off at lawn freaking mower manufacturers, that I would feel the need to sound off about all of the shenanigans and totally deceptive and misleading marketing practices going on in the industry. Really? You can’t just walk into a store to look at lawn mowers without being fed a bunch of BS? Good grief!
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