Merry Christmas!

This past year has been quite the adventure. Hospital stays, ER visits, surgeries, chemo, cancer pain, prostate exam (oh boy!), ultrasounds, CT scans, MRIs, a PET Scan and so much more! While all of that has been interesting the amazing part of the past year has been all the love, generosity, and kindness our family has received. I don't think I can possibly list off everyone that has helped but I certainly want to try to express my gratefulness.

First I have to thank my wonderful wife who has been by my side through everything. I wouldn't be able to go through this alone and she makes everyday worth it. Also at times while I've been in the hospital or recovering from chemo she has essentially been a single parent and taken on a lot of the load of our daily lives. I also am thankful for my children. They have been understanding and brave through it all. They have taken on a larger role with household chores. They have never complained when life has been interrupted by my adventures.

I want to thank my immediate family. My mom and dad have been open to helping out with appointments. They have assisted with meals and with finances. They spent some extra time doing activities with the kids. My sister Joni has been absolutely amazing. As most of you know, she started a fundraiser (Running for Jason).  The fundraiser far surpassed it's goals and she has now set a new goal which includes her making some matching donations to the Colrectal Cancer Alliance. I also can't thank Joni without thanking her husband Matt. Both him and Joni have helped us with meals, finances, and have spent a lot of time with us. They ran 3 races with us this year and Joni has run many miles to help raise money for her fundraiser. In about a week Joni is running 100 miles in Arizona for the fundraiser. I also want to thanks my brother John and his family. All tough they live 1000s of miles away they have reached out with there support and love. John came out in October to hang out with me during a chemo treatment which I really appreciated since we see each other infrequently.

I have to thanks my 'other' immediate family; Carrie's parents, her brother Matt and his fiance Alaina. We moved into our new house back in January and had grand plans for landscaping but the whole cancer thing threw a wrinkle into those plans. The Jaspers family stepped up and did the vast majority of our backyard including sod, fence, and irrigation. They have helped with the kids so many times it's impossible to count. They have helped out financially and given us so many various gifts. It is also impossible to count the number of delicious meals Sherry has provided us. Matt and Alaina have also provided us many meals.  I also am grateful for Golda's (aka Great-Grandma) generous support.

Thank you to my not-so-immediate-but-love-just-as-much-family who have helped us is many ways. Our uncles and aunts have been so supportive. Thank you so much Lucy, Joan, Tom, Carol, Smitty, and Janice. Thank you so much to my cousins Allison, Bonnie and Wendy who have offered support, prayers and given some very generous gifts to assist us this year.

Thanks to my coworkers who raised a generous amount of money through a bake sale. Thanks to my boss and employer for being so flexible with my situation. Thanks to all the friends of family, friends of friends, and complete strangers who contributed to Joni's fundraiser and helped in other ways. It truly blows my mind that people I have never met have helped out in amazing ways.

Finally, I want to give an extra special thanks to some good friends who very recently provided us with quite an adventure. Last Sunday we were sent on a scavenger hunt across town. One of our friends had advised us to keep the day open but had not stated why. We were surprised to receive a text from a different friend at 2pm with a rhyming clue. The first stop was Odell Brewing where Carrie's brother works. Their we met up with him, received a very nice gift bag, took a picture, and then received another clue. The next stop required Carrie and I to pose American Gothic style in front of our old house. The next clue sent us to a car wash to was giving out free car washes. Then we were sent to a playground where we used to regularly meet up with friends when our kids were younger. Our kids had to pose on top of a wooly mammoth before we could get our next clue. We were then sent to the kids middle school. Each rhyming text came from a different friend.

After that we were sent to the Summit which is basically a massive bar/restaurant/arcade/bowling/laser tag place. There we discovered our friends waiting for us. We were treated to food, drinks, games and bowling. In addition we were given a literal sack full of gifts. The amounts of gifts we received was ridiculous but in a good way. We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends. I know I'll never forget that day and I'm pretty sure it will stick with the kids as well.

So to close this out, I know I can't repay the kindness that has been shown this year but I will certainly do my best to pay it forward. It is wonderful to have such a wide support system. Thank you everyone. Sorry if I missed anyone but there have been so many that have helped.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!