Happy New Year 2015

I hardly know where to begin, so why not wish everyone a Happy New Year! Right off the bat I'd like to set your minds at ease and say that Big EZ continues to be in complete remission with no detectable M-spike and all other numbers stable. When we haven't heard from fellow bloggers in quite a while, we worry that something is wrong, and often it is. For us, life is just full and busy, so for the most part, a quick Intagram post is about all I can muster! We are extremely grateful that five years post diagnosis, EZ has not relapsed and his numbers continue to look good. 

And now for a quick review of 2014 and four very exciting events in the life of our family: 

1. Our son, Nick, got engaged to the beautiful Anne Davis in March. When EZ was diagnosed in January of 2010, he wondered if he'd live long enough to meet the girl Nick would one day marry. Our prayers were surely answered and we love Anne so much!

 2. In celebration of my 60th birthday, EZ and I took an amazing trip to the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Zion National Park and Las Vegas in April.

 3. We welcomed a new grandson, Will, in May. Big sister, Emery, was beyond excited, and so were we!

Guenthers Christmas 2014

That makes six beautiful grandchildren for us!

 Dews Christmas 2014

4. Nick and Anne got married in Chapel Hill, NC on December 20, 2014!

 The wedding party with EZ serving as Nick's best man. It was such an honor for EZ to stand beside his son on this very special day!

Our five oldest grandchildren all participated in the wedding. Were they ever adorable!

Gigi looks beautiful surrounded by 5 of her great grandchildren!

Beautiful engagement and wedding photos by Robyn Van Dyke Photography

 All Bakers have now married in the month of December, with Nick and Anne marrying on our 39th anniversary! Here we all are at the wedding: Nick and Anne, day one, Leah and Kyle 8 years, Tara and Jamie 14 years, and Ernie and I, 39 years! What a cause for celebration!

 There was so much more to celebrate in 2014, but these are definitely some of the highlights. May you all have a healthy and happy 2015, and hopefully you will hear from us more often! We care very much for those of you who stop by our blog, and would love to hear from you! For now, let's all try to remember these wise words in the new year:

Woah, Long Time No Blogging!

I really can't believe it's been three months since I blogged. As our routine became more "normal" and issues related to Multiple Myeloma became more mundane (and that's a good thing!), the busyness of life just took over. So much has gone on these past three months it's hard to know where to begin!

We had a wonderful Easter celebration with the whole family able to join us at home. We even had a special guest...Nick's girlfriend, Anne. We were all smitten, and very thankful she could join us for church and Easter dinner. Anne has just completed her second year of dental school, and the two of them really compliment one another. We have enjoyed having her at many more gatherings since Easter and already feel like she is part of the family! (She was a brunette with straight hair when we met her, but has gone back to her natural color and curls. All of our curly haired granddaughters are thrilled!)

(Lovely dishdrain,..hostess fail!)

 EZ had his 6 month check-up at Duke (4-4-13) and all is great. No M-spike detected, continue on 10 mg. Revlimid daily, and come back in 6 months. We were thrilled! This August will be three years post transplant. We continue to have confidence in the oncologists that are determining EZ's plan of treatment, and pray that this complete response hangs around a long time. We also attended two seminar/dinners put on by the ABMT Clinic at Duke (in April and June), and were able to hear from them about all the latest research and clinical trials. It is always a blessing to re-connect with other survivors, new and old, and see them doing so well!

Our son Nick was presented with his "white coat" during a special ceremony at the UNC School of Dentistry (4-5-13). This signifies his official entry into patient care at the clinic, and it was quite impressive. We are so proud of all the hard work he has put in studying this first year in order to reach this point. He will be leaving on July 16th for a month in Nepal, to participate in a humanitarian project with four other students and a faculty member. They will hold dental camps providing much needed dental care such as extractions, fillings, cleanings, and sealants. They will then travel on foot in the Annapurna Ranges, providing oral hygience education and supplies to villages along the route. This is an amazing opportunity for Nick and we can't wait to see pictures and hear about his experience.

We celebrated EZ's Dad's 90th birthday (4-11-13) with a visit to the mountains. His father continues to amaze us with how active he is mentally and physically. He loves nothing more than riding tractors, four wheelers, and bulldozers in the woods. We just recently celebrated EZ's Mom's 89th birthday (6-18-13) and feel so blessed to have both of them in our lives, married 67 years!

 On 4-25 we headed for Jacksonville, FL for the wedding of a longtime friend's son. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, seeing friends from our years spent in south Florida. It was a beautiful rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception and we are thrilled for Daniel and Rebecca!

 

The biggest news for April involved all the preparations to list our house for sale. It is sold, and we are officially closing in a month, both on our current home and a new home...yikes! More on all that coming soon, but for now I've got to start packing!