Good News... July 2009

Wow, it has been along time since I posted anything. Let me take this opportunity to update you on the Curley Clan. We have all been thriving.... enjoying everyday, working hard, having fun, growing and learning. Since my last post we have completed at least half of the trips that I mentioned. We are very much looking forward to our next two trips, (at least I am) a trip to Alaska and to Indiana for my class reunion. I will definitely post some pictures of that.

Recently, we had fun with friends at an action filled 4th of July party. We had lots of laughs. Today I met with my Oncologist. My chest scans show no evidence of disease. The news brings a perma grin to my face. Sometimes I just can't contain my joy... I guess that is okay.

I don't take my health for granted and continue to take a holistic approach to my well being. My intention is to nurture my mind, body and spirit. I have been feeling great. One of the things I have continued to do is meditation. I have included some pictures of some of the lovely places out my back door where I find peace and solitude.

Hope all is well on your journey through life. The trials of my life continue to open up a whole new beautiful way of living and I am enjoying every step.

Thanks for following along.

Peace, Denise

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February 7, 2009 - Fun Times in Mexico

We endured seven days of glorious weather, wonderful company, beautiful sites, and much appreciated rest and relaxation. We ended each day with the sound of the ocean and woke to it again each morning. It was a marvelous vacation. Once again the kind people of Puerta Vallarto

warmed our hearts. I have enclosed a few images from our trip, and yes I really photographed the breaching whale. I had told myself that I was not taking anymore pictures of fins, tails etc. We had never seen the whales so active. It was truly awesome.

Now we are back in Kansas City with a full schedule. My skin and lungs are missing the humid air. I do not know how February got so busy, it is usually a pretty quiet time of the year. I have been an exercising maniac these past weeks, and loving every minute of it. I can hardly wait to get off work so that I can go exercise, my energy level has been over the moon. I think my lifestyle changes are finally catching up with me and I am thrilled.

We are looking forward to Napper's 50th birthday celebration on the 25th of this month.

Peace to all,

Love, Denise

January 13, 2009

Hi All,

I visited with my oncologist for my bi-annual check up yesterday. All is well, my lab work looks great! I will have lab again in six months, along with my, now, yearly CT scan of my chest. It just occurred to me that I have my checkups during my kids birthday months. Well... all the more to celebrate.

Speaking of the January birthday... Brian turned 14 a few days ago. He is such a great kid! We are so proud of him. I just can't get over how much he has changed these past few months. We are blessed. What a great start for this new year.

Best wishes for 2009 and beyond.....

love, Denise

January 1, 2009

Happy New Year! Each year I have taken a special picture of Brian and Bonnie for Christmas. This is the image from this year. It amazes me how much they have changed and grown.... my babies no longer look like babies. We feel so blessed to have these two precious gifts in our lives.

2008 was an uneventful, uncomplicated yet very fulfilling year. We purposely keep our daily lives simple and as stress free as possible. Taking care of ourselves and one another remains a high priority in our family, and a way of life. We have had a ball with our new toy, Wii Fit. It has been a fun way to enjoy time together.

During the past couple months we have had the opportunity to get together with our family and friends. During the Thanksgiving holiday, my sister Dee, brother in-law Mike, and their children, Casey, Allie and Chris, as well as, my parents all joined us for a fun filled weekend.
The following weekend we were the co-host of progressive dinner with friends here in Platte City, and then the following weekend we took our annual trip to Minn. to visit the Curley Clan. We packed a lot in those few weeks, but it was awesome.

2009 holds many plans of fun and travel. Towards the end of January we are meeting my sister and family in Puerto Vallarto , Mexico. Yea!! We are also planning a big trip to Alaska this summer. This has been high on my list of things to do for some time and we fill fortunate to have it in the works. We also plan to travel to Minnesota for a family wedding this summer and will make our annual trek to Mishawaka. I think Napper intends to throw in a 4 day father/son ski trip in the spring, which gives Bonnie and I a good excuse to plan some kind of mother/daughter get away. Life is good!!!

Congrats to my brother Dave and wife Tracy on their new home in Mishawaka. Also a shout out for prayers for my brother Dave as he is recovering from a nasty fall while working on his new house. He spent four hours in surgery this past week repairing his very badly broken arm. Fortunately, it was not his dominate arm.

I am very happy, hopeful and excited about the coming year. Many blessings to you and your family in 2009!!!!

Most Sincerely,

Denise

October 29, 2008

Hello,

First of all thank you to all who donated to the Touched by Cancer Foundation. Our family, combined with the Mendenhall family raised $3,500 towards the cause and placed in the top "5" in the Hot Legs Competition. The experience was very rewarding, and we look forward to our next fundraiser.

Since my last post, our lives have become more fast-pasted. Brian combined football and soccer this fall. Getting from one practice to the other took some serious organization on the part of Mom & Dad. Of course Bonnie also juggles her activities and that left us going in two different directions a good part of the time. It has been a blast though watching them both grow in their sports and in every other way. They both seem to love middle school this year and they are getting along, with each other, better than ever!

We had our neighborhood halloween party last weekend. Its a whole different ball game now that the kids are older. Not so much family groups, as tweens and teens running around. There was a bit of fright to the evening and alot of fun. We ended up bunking 10 crazy kids for the night. About 3:00am I had to be the wicked witch and put an end to their boundless energy! I knew we would all have a better day with some sleeeeeep.

During the first part of October, I met my sister in Tucson, Az for our third annual girl's weekend. We traveled on to Patagonia, Az and to the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center. It was awesome as always. We hiked, read, meditated, prayed and ate fabulous food. We had not seen each other since Thanksgiving, so it was a nice reunion.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we are hosting the now annual Curley Thanksgiving here in Platte City. I believe my parents are coming, as well as, my sister Dee and her family. My brother Dave and his wife Tracy will be absent, as they are moving into their newly built home in Mishawaka.

This year is a year of milestones in my family. My brother, brother-in-law and my husband will all turn 50 within the next few months. My dad turned 70 this fall and my mother -in law turned 80. Also Napper & I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary and my sister and her husband celebrated their 20th this fall.

On November 18th it will be 3 years since I finished my lung cancer treatments. I am still "livingstrong", counting my blessings each and every day and so happy to be here to celebrate the milestones of the people I love. Many blessing to you and yours and for the special milestones in your lives.

Peace be with you,

love, Denise

Touched by Cancer Foundation Fundraiser

Join the 2008 Hot Legs Of KC Fundraising Challenge

We are contestants in a 30 day fundraising challenge to see who can raise the most money for the Touched by Cancer Foundation's Wellness Center.

WE NEED YOUR VOTE TO WIN!!!!!!! VOTE NOW, VOTE OFTEN . FOLLOW THIS LINK TO THE VOTING SITE AND LOOK FOR THE CURLEY FAMILY. WE ARE SO EXCITED AND OF COURSE THIS BRINGS OUT OUR COMPETITIVE SPIRIT . http://HotLegsKC.org

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.

LOVE, THE CURLEY FAMILY

July 16th 2008

Hello,

Time flys. We have been busy this summer. We took two trips in June to visit family. I have included a few pictures from each trip. Our first stop was Mishawaka, Indiana.(my home town) We spent about five days there visiting family and friends. Incredibly, I was able to visit with people I had not seen in 20-30 years, and we still recognized each other. It is such a great feeling to talk to people who knew you when you were growing up. There is something so heartwarming about that for me. Maybe it is because I have lived away from my hometown for so long. There is also a group of friends that I get together with each time we visit and I would not miss that opportunity.

Our yearly visits to Mishawaka have become a tradition for Brian and Bonnie. They really look forward to it and enjoy it. They always want to go up to Lake Michigan and climb up the sand dunes, and other (now familiar spots) like Bonnie Doons, an ice cream/cafe that has been popular in the area for many generations. They also enjoy spending time with their Aunt Tracy and Uncle Dave, as well as Grandpa Case.

After our trip to Indiana, we drove home, spent two days working, then off on our second adventure to Minnesota (Napper's home state), for another five days. Our first stop was a party celebrating nephew Leif's safe homecoming from Iraq. It was a fun outdoor party with lots of laughter amongst family and friends ..complete with games and an award ceremony for Leif.

From there we drove up to Ely, Minnesota (another 5 hours) near the boundary waters. Napper's sister Colleen and brother-in-law Paul have an awesome wooded cabin on the lake. We love being there, it is so peaceful and relaxing with fresh air, the sound of the loons calling as you drift off to sleep. We enjoyed pontooning, fishing, canoeing and just hangin out.

Now back to life in K.C. enjoying a fairly mild summer so far. (heat wise) Both kids are having fun with friends & have started practice for their fall activities. Bonnie with cheerleading and Brian with soccer. Bonnie has her 12th birthday coming up this Thursday and she is very excited about it. We are too!

Napper and I are also enjoying our time at home . Our organic gardening is going well and we have had fabulous lettuce and spinach crops. Our cucumbers and tomatoes will also be abundant and beautiful. I'm thinking we might expand next year, we are getting pretty good at this and I would like to learn more about composting.

My health has been great. I survived the pre-scan jitters and thankfully had good news yesterday with my oncologist. My CTscan of the chest is unchanged from my last exam which was 9 months ago. My blood work looks great. Labor day weekend will mark my three year cancerversary. It has been a journey of faith and hope, and love, and I continue to be in awe of the wonderful people I have in my life and the lovely new people who keep showing up. We all have a story to tell, thanks for caring about mine.

love, denise

April 14th, 2008

Hello,

It has been awhile since I posted. "No news is good news" holds true here. The past few months have been relatively uneventful. We all are ready for spring. The upcoming forecast looks like it might actually be upon us. Hopefully, the freeze last night did not destroy the bulb flowers.

We took a trip to Florida for spring break. We drove...20 hours in the car, there and back. It went really well. The kids had dvds and we had books on tape. I very much enjoyed the scenery through Georgia. We spent a night in a cabin in Warm Springs,Ga. and to get there we were off the freeway for quite a while. It took longer, but really beautiful. We spent a few days in Orlando (very crowded), and then a few days in St.Petersburg. We met up with my sister and her family there. We also were thrilled to get together with my dad and three of his siblings in St. Petersburg. We got to meet Frankie and Helena, grandchildren of my Uncle Bob, for the first time. We departed early Easter Morning after church and got home the following Monday afternoon.

Other than passing the flu bug around the house, we have all been healthy. I have been working four days a week. I will cut back abit when the kids are out for the summer. I have been feeling great, exercising nearly everyday and continuing to follow a raw, vegan diet. I also feel very blessed to have yoga and meditation as a part of my routine. Through the Internet, I have been able to network with other people dealing with cancer and other diseases who also follow the raw, vegan diet. This has been source of tremendous support and inspiration.

We are looking forward to visitors this summer! We also have a trip to Indiana planned in June, as well as, a trip to Minn. for Napper's parents 60th wedding ann.
The next several weeks we will enjoy Brian's soccer games and Bonnie's dance recitals and choir performances. For the most part we keep daily life simple and that suits us perfectly.

Sending lots of love your way. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Love, Denise

January 25, 2008

Hello,

Happy New Year. All has been wonderful at the Curley Household. We had a nice holiday season, abit quieter than usual due to weather cancellations. We took our annual trip to Minn. for the Curley party. It was a quick trip, but lots of fun. We celebrated New Year's Eve with friends at our house.

We recently enjoyed a visit from my brother Dave and sister-in law Tracy. It is always nice to get together and reconnect.

Now settling into a new year. I met with my oncologist this month to review lab work and everything looks good. I will have my next CTscan in July. I feel very good and I have set my sites for 2008 on a new level of health. It is very exciting! This is quite a journey and I am exceedingly happy and grateful to be walking in my shoes.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy new year. Take very very good care of yourselves.


Peace and blessings,
Denise

Thanksgiving fun

December 10, images

December 10, images

December 10, 2007

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   Hello all,
   
   First of all, I would like to thank all of you who made donations to the Bonnie Addario "A Breath Away From a Cure Foundation" I am very grateful. We had a wonderful time at the Lung Cancer Gala. The whole night was very inspiring. It is encouraging to know that there are many people working hard for lung cancer,... but we all know we have a long way to go. Though, I must say, Bonnie Addario and the foundation have made great strides. I had the pleasure of meeting Bonnie at the Gala and I have included a picture of her, with Napper and I. The whole night was lovely, including a beautiful tribute to Dana Reeves, as her father, and sister both spoke. Also there was a tribute to lung cancer survivors... and as we stood, we were given a beautiful silver bracelet engraved with "a breath away". It was very moving. I was also the lucky recipient of a lovely diamond bracelet. Napper had purchased two martini glasses, each with a chosen #. We picked the lucky # 42 and it won!!! I will treasure both of these beautiful bracelets.
   
   The rest of our trip was also fabulous, as Bruce and Jeanne, Napper's business partners, had several action packed days. We took a bus tour of the city, which concluded in Sausalito, where we had lunch and took a ferry back to San Francisco. We spent a couple days in Napa and concluded our trip back in San Francico with Beach Blanket Babylon, a long standing musical. The kids and I also had the opportunity to get to the beach, at Half Moon Bay, during a meeting day for Napper. I have included a picture of that as well.
   
   Our Thanksgiving holiday was awesome, as we had the O'Connells (my sister and family) and my dad here for the celebration. It was a nice relaxing, fun time. Now we are enjoying a visit with my mom. The weather has been a bit of a nuisance with freezing rain, but we still managed to get out for a little shopping and our annual viewing of The Nutcracker. As always, it was a special time, and I feel very blessed to be here to participate.
   
   I have been busy getting xmas portraits processed and decorating our house for the holiday, it has all been a joy!!! I would not trade one minute of one day. Brian has been busy with his friends and indoor soccer. Bonnie has been to many rehearsals recently for her xmas choir performance, as well as, dance and ballet. Napper keeps it all running smoothly!!
   
   Best wishes for a wonderful holiday.
   
   Blessings to all, Denise

Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Trick or Treat? What a great holiday. I had the pleasure, last night, of walking around with my kids and their friends trick or treating. What was particularly interesting was one of the girls was from China. Her mom and grandfather walked with me. Her mother explained that she was trying to explain to her father what halloween was about. As I watched his enjoyment of the exchange between trick or treaters and generous donors, I too looked on with fresh appreciation of the kind and caring interactions that took place. It is truly a one of the many nice traditions we have in this country.

As some of you may know, November, not only holds the lovely tradition of Thanksgiving, but it is also Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Lung cancer is the most deadly cancer, yet also the most underfunded. As a lung cancer survivor, I would like to help change, not only that statistic, but also the stigma that goes along with lung cancer. As I mentioned before I am attending a lung cancer benefit in SanFrancisco next week. The sponsor of the benefit is The Bonnie J. Addario A BREATH AWAY FROM THE CURE FOUNDATION. If you would like to help me in this cause please go to www.lungcancermatterstoo.org. There is a wealth of information on the web page and at the top right corner there is an opportunity to donate.

Thank you so much for all your support.

Peace, Denise

October 11, 2007

It's autumn and I love it. We have a high of 61 degrees in KC today. Last night it got down to 37 degrees. Last time I wrote I mentioned that my sister Dee and I were going on a retreat to Arizona. Well we had a great time. The focus was on spiritual growth. It was very inspiring. We enjoyed wonderfully prepared raw, vegan food each meal. We spent time hiking, reading, and learning. We had the opportunity to attend daily yoga classes and nightly prayer and meditation sessions.
We hope to be able to incorporte what we learned into our daily lives. Sometimes that is difficult in this fast, convenients oriented society in which we live.

All is well in the Curley household. We have been enjoying the Friday night high school football games & watching the kids activities. Bonnie with dance and cheerleading and Brian with soccer. Napper and I will celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary this month. We plan to take an afternoon off and go to the plaza, have lunch, do a little shopping, and just hang out. There is a wonderful vegan rest. there that we both love.

As for me, I am terrific. I continue to feel great. I had a CT scan of my chest yesterday with good results. I do have scar tissue in both my upper right and upper left lungs but that is to be expected. I also have a morning cough, but once I clear the fluid collection to the scarred areas, I am pretty much cough free the rest of the day. I am working 3-4 days per week and just loving life. I continue to feel extremely blessed and thankful.

We are looking forward to our trip in November to San Francisco. Napper's business partner and his family have many exciting things planned for us. The kids are also excited. They HAVE been to California, but they were too little to remember. So it will be a new adventure for them.

Love and many blessing to you all,

Denise

September 5, 2007

Hello,

Labor day weekend holds a different significance since my cancer diagnosis. This weekend marked two years. Last year we celebrated this anniversary by planting a tree in our back yard. We plan to do the same this year. I am hoping in 20 years we will have a forest!! Thank you for your prayers.

Love, Denise

August 22, 2007

Hello,

Man is it hot... and humid. We are getting a new roof today and thankfully there is a nice breeze to keep the roofers somewhat cool. It sounds like the heat is here to stay for awhile.

We are doing great. We have all had a good summer. The kids started back to school last week and they were both happy to go. Brian is in 7th grade this year and Bonnie is in 5th. The weekend before school we went to Branson with friends and the kids had a great time running around Silver Dollar City (Amusement Park), and tubing on Table Rock Lake.

Napper & I put alot of energy this summer preparing for our church ice cream social. This is a yearly fund raiser for our church. The actual event was August 5th and thankfully was very successful.

In July we had a wonderful trip to Minnesota. We enjoyed visiting with the Curley Clan. We were thrilled to see two of our nephews, Scott and Nic, safely home from Iraq. Napper & I went to the Michael Buble Concert while there and loved it.

My health has been fabulous. My energy level is excellent. I continue without treatment. I have been wanting to do something to help raise money for lung cancer, but until recently had not found an organization that truly inspired me. Through "Care Pages" I have found, The Bonnie Addario Lung Cancer Foundation. They "truly" inspire me. In November Napper and I are going to San Francisco to attend a benefit dinner to raise money for lung cancer. Dana Reeve's sister,and son will speak at the event. I hope to come back educated and prepared to raise money for this largely underfunded disease.

In a couple weeks my sister and I are going to Azizona. We will go to a center to learn more about the nutrition plan we both follow. We have both been studying and practicing this way of eating. Basically we follow a raw, organic, vegan diet. We are very committed to this and I truly believe that it is the best way to keep my immune system strong. I am really looking forward to our trip and the time together.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We are very blessed.

Blessing to you,

Denise

July 5th, 2007

Happy 4th of July..2007. We had a wonderful evening with friends grilling, swimming and watching the fireworks. Our summer has been very nice. We started the kids break from school with a trip to Mishawaka, Indiana. There we met up with my sister and her family, who came in from Colorado, my brother and his family, and my dad, who live in Mishawaka. I also had the opportunity to visit with extended family and long time friends. It was great to see everyone and reconnect.

This summer I am working less, just Monday and Tuesdays, so I can spend time with Brian and Bonnie while they are on break. They are growing up so fast. I think this is the first summer where they sleep in......I forgot about that stage. Realistically, I could probably work half the day and they would not miss me a bit. At least I don't have to worry about making breakfast for them.

I am doing well health wise. I had lab work done a couple weeks ago and met with my Oncologist. All is well. In October I will have a CT scan of the chest and meet with my Radiation Oncologist. I continue to do all I can to keep my immune system strong through healthy eating, exercise, low stress and positive thinking and lots of love and prayers. I am grateful for each day. I appreciate your interest and concern.

Much love,

Denise

May 2, 2007

Hello, all is well here. My PET Scans showed no sign of recurrent cancer. Needless to say we were happy and relieved. The time between my scans will be increased from 3 months to 6 months. I will have lab work in July. It has been 18 months since my last treatment.

We are looking forward to a trip to Indiana the end of May and a relaxing summer.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

Love, Denise