Back in Colorado!!

We had a very fun day on Thursday at the Denver International Airport picking up Sis K!  It was exciting to think that she would be back in our family after such a long time away.  We're so glad she was so faithful and diligent serving the people of Wisconsin.

Derek and Jessica drove over from Utah on Tuesday so were at the airport with us.  Jenna was traveling with Elder Ipson, also from her mission and also a Colorado resident.  We met his family and chatted and waited together for our missionaries to come up the escalator.  Turns out, the trains were pretty crowded so those two walked across the bridge to the waiting area and snuck up on us from behind - very tactical move on their part, but made those first few pictures a little challenging...

Here are some pictures from our fun day.  We've taken it pretty easy since then.  We've done a few errands and mostly just sat around and talked to catch up.  She is slowly adjusting to life back home and with her family.

She has been accepted back into BYU, so we'll head over to Provo on about the 6th of January to get her set up for school.  It's great to have her home!

Last Email!!!

Well holy cow... I can't believe this is my last time emailing! I'll just give you a quick wrap-up of the week before closing out!

We've been busy as could be! I got to go to Fond du Lac on an exchange, and it was SUPER AWESOME because we got to do service at a members' farm! I didn't do anything super farm-y, haha, but I LOVED the atmosphere and those stalwart saints we served with! I feel so much love in my heart for beautiful Wisconsin and the people here. My goodness, I can't even express it. I LOVE WISCONSIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've been getting a TON of snow lately... this weekend was the first big snowstorm, and they cancelled church in a lot of wards. Luckily we still got to have Sacrament meeting, but all the investigators we had lined up and ready to come to church bailed :( But Nicole, who we were so sad couldn't make it, sent us a text saying that even though she wasn't able to come to church, she has been reading the Book of Mormon every morning and every night, and feels the power of the Lord so much more in her life!!!! She feels that joining the church is the right step for her to be taking right now. Our hearts were so happy when we read that! I'm so excited for her!

We also stopped by Amanda and Karina and Charlotte's house - we haven't been able to see them in a while and were getting nervous. But we had a GREAT lesson with them and were able to reset Amanda's baptism date for January. She is so excited, she just needs to overcome some personal things before being baptized. The changes she's made ALREADY in her life to accept the gospel are truly miraculous - I can't wait to hear about the rest of her journey!

Alright so... I feel like I need to say something super profound or miraculous to package this nice little mission thing up. But I honestly can't fit into words how much it's meant to me, or all the things I've learned. Serving a mission has been a lot different than I expected, but it's been a joyful adventure, and I'm so excited to apply it to the rest of my life!

I've learned that sacrifice TRULY does bring forth the blessings of Heaven! And sacrifices in behalf of the Lord's work turn out to not even be sacrifices at all!

I've learned that the Book of Mormon is the INSPIRED WORD OF GOD!!!!!!!!!!! I've said that before in my life, many times, but now I know more about what that means!!! The Book of Mormon brings us closer to God than any other book - it teaches us the Doctrine of Christ and how to apply it into our lives personally! I've learned SO MUCH about being a missionary from that book, just as much as from Preach My Gospel! And I can't wait to allow the Book of Mormon to teach me about bringing the Lord into my student life and eventually family life of my own! 

Speaking of which, I've learned that "eternal life is family life"! Heaven is all about relationships... if we think we can be happy living for OURSELVES, we're wrong!!!

I know that Joseph Smith truly is the Prophet of this dispensation! I know the Gospel NEEDED to be restored... I know it went missing! I have come to love nothing more than standing in the doorway of a strangers home with a smile on my face, bearing my testimony of Joseph Smith's first vision of God the Father and the Son! I know that event truly did happen!!!

And most importantly... I know Christ lives. I know He is who He says He is. I know that He cares about us, that He loves us, that He has done EVERYTHING in His power to bring us back to Him and our Father in Heaven, but it's up to US to accept His offering and His gift. I know the Atonement is REAL, that it lifts us, strengthens us, cleanses us from sin, and carries us, more than we will ever know or comprehend!!!! I love Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and my heart is bursting with gratitude for Them and all They have done for me in my life. This includes bringing all of you into my life and letting me feel Their love and support through you!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!! I promise to always be "valiant in the testimony of Jesus," in the name of Jesus Christ, amen!

With Love,

Sister Jenna Lynn Kirchhoefer

The Next Generation

So, we thought we might be able to wrap this blog up!  We'd like to make a final posting and close out this record of our cancer journey.  

It has been almost exactly 2 years since Wendi completed her final round of radiation and was declared cancer free!   She recently finished another series of CT scans and cancer marker blood work tests and is still gratefully in remission.  She continues to take Tamoxifen and struggle with the side effects of having her hormones suppressed all the time.  A few months ago she developed lymphedema in her left arm where they removed the 39 lymph nodes.  It was really amazing she held out that long before the pain and swelling started!  It is common for people to get lymphedema even if they have only had a couple of lymph nodes removed so we feel blessed!  She has been seeing a physical therapist regularly and now wears a compression sleeve and has a couple of exercise routines to help the drainage. Just add it on the “to-do” list!

Our family has been doing well, back in Colorado, had a great summer, and closing in on Christmas.  Kayli married Bronson Kunzler in the Logan temple back in May.  We had a FUN wedding getting together with family and friends and we love our new son-in-law Bronson and his family!

Summer was a typical whirlwind of Scout camps (Wendi was the camp cook!), hiking, biking, a summer job for Alex, and great Colorado weather.

Alex chose to attend Palmer Ridge High School and is liking it quite a bit.  He is doing well is some pretty challenging classes.  He has developed a love for reptiles-he owns 7 snakes and 3 geckos!  Kade likes Lewis-Palmer Middle School and has been playing a lot of basketball in a local league.  Mark spends much of his time at the United Airlines training center teaching the 767.  He's gone on some pretty fun trips this past year.

But our most exciting news is that Derek and Jessica gave us new titles to go by, namely Grandma and Grandpa!   Wendi broke down in tears--crying and talking in a really high embarrassing voice that she has never used before.  It was kind of a release I think because in the back of her mind, she wasn’t sure if she would ever live long enough to be a Grandma!  As of May next year, there will be a mini-me Derek wandering in the world.  We don't feel that old, but at this point, it's out of our hands.... We'll be excited to add yet another little person to our family.

As we close out our blog updates we want to again thank everyone for your love, support and encouragement.  We could not have made it through our trial without our friends and family.  Thanks you, thank you for being a part of our journey!

We are looking forward to this holiday season—Jenna gets home from her LDS mission in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 15!  We will have ALL of our family together for the first time since Derek left on his mission in May of 2011.  We are anticipating some precious family time together and sharing cherished memories!  Merry Christmas everyone!!

the Kirchhoefer's

Happy (?) Anniversary

It's odd having Wendi's cancer diagnosis anniversary on April Fool's Day.  It's kind of a joking, jovial day, but it was all too serious two years ago.

It was just a beautiful spring day in western Europe.  Wendi had felt something strange for a couple of weeks and scheduled a mammogram/ultrasound 'just in case.'  I really wanted to be there, 'just in case,' despite Wendi's assurances that it was nothing.

Once we heard the news, we remember we were so glad that Scot Campbell, a radiologist and member of our Ramstein 1st Ward was available that day to review the ultrasound and assist in giving Wendi a blessing.

It's just amazing how one day, one minute, everything can be 'normal,' then it all changes so suddenly and so completely.  It has happened to all of us in one way or another.  Those next few months were a crazy whirlwind of appointments, surgeries, uncertainty, chemo, visits from friends and neighbors, more appointments, radiation, etc.

Now that we're settled back in Colorado, we've settle into a normal routine, but we know it will never really be normal again.

A few weeks ago, Wendi had some pain in her back - the exact location and intensity that her oncologist said to watch out for.  We had a nervous couple of weeks of scheduling more appointments, doing an MRI, and waiting for the results.  Turns out it is some degenerative areas in her spine.  Funny what our reaction is to that news, given the medical history.  Yay, Wendi's getting old!!

Wendi has stayed active throughout the ordeal and walked many a kilometer with her good friends back in Germany.  Lately, here in Monument she is involved in a Livestrong Cancer group at our YMCA.

We're excited for Kayli's wedding next month and busy making plans.  It will be great to have Wendi there feeling MUCH better than during our last wedding!

As we've said so many times in the past, we are SO grateful to our friends and family who have been such a mountain of support as we've weathered this trial.  Thank you so much for your love, your concern, your prayers, and your friendship.  We love you all for that - thank you.

Spring Break, March '16, Lincoln Memorial

Washington Monument

Long time no blog

It has been so long since we've written in this space.

We chose to leave Germany and return to our Colorado life over the summer.  We had been renting out our house, so the easy answer was to return to our home in Monument and jump back into our former life, as much as that is possible.

The boys are back in Lewis-Palmer schools, each a few grades higher than when we left.  Alex is at the high school and Kade at the middle school.  I have finished my re-qual training on the 757/767 and start the instructor upgrade next month.  We've spent some effort to get Wendi all dialed in with new doctors and specialists at the Academy or downtown.  She has met with her oncologist and he is very nice.  She hopes that they can have a helpful, productive, long-lasting relationship over the coming years.

Wendi's last CT scan was in October and it was clean - no changes from past scans, so that is a good sign.  She is still taking Tamoxifen, which isn't the easiest drug to be on, but supposedly has a good effect on preventing future reoccurrence of cancer growth.  She has been an absolute trooper through it all.  Despite feeling so cruddy, she is all about being the best Mom she can be (that's pretty dang good, take it from me), serves faithfully in her church calling with the 12-13 year old young women, and is the best wife a man could ask for.

We love her for her dedication and sacrifice!  Thanks again to everyone for your prayers and support during this massive family trial.  We could not have done it without you!

Merry Christmas to all!!

the Kirchhoefer's

Longest Day of the Year

It really wasn't the longest day of the year, but it was three days before that.  Wendi survived yet another surgery last Thursday.  It was the long-awaited reconstruction surgery.  They recommend to wait at least 6-months after radiation to let the skin have a better chance of recovery.  She also had her chemo port removed, which she's been anxious to have out of there.

She did really well on Thursday and Friday, but it will be a while until she's back on track.  She's been taking it easy for a few days trying to get some rest, but it's not easy when we're in the middle of a move!

We had our temporary furniture delivered this morning and our packers come on Wednesday.  Military moves are nice in that it's all taken care of, but we are surrounded by an organized mess as we sort everything out.  We'll stay here until early August before we head out to Colorado.  I'll stay another month in Germany simply to wrap up the NATO defense of eastern Europe and then I'll join the family.

A family note:  Jenna left the MTC last week, so we're anxiously waiting to hear from her in Wisconsin!

Happy Summer--

the Kirchhoefer's

Happy Anniversary!

No April Fool's joke, we had our one-year anniversary of cancer diagnosis on Wednesday, 1 April.  Hard to look back on what a whirlwind, crazy year we endured as a family.  And, of course, what Wendi had to put up with on that long, hard road navigating the biopsy, surgery, chemo, radiation, and the sickness, frustration and depression that accompanies the journey.  We are looking forward to a better 2015!

So, we celebrated our anniversary in a city we've wanted to visit for a long time - Edinburgh, Scotland. Our good friends and neighbors, the Adams' suffered through two days of head-on Alex and Kade (not a job for the faint-hearted) and we snuck away for a few days.  Weather was a wee bit chilly, as expected, but overall, a beautiful couple of days and we had a great time.

It's now spring break for the kids and we're enjoying the time off.

Thanks, everybody!

Mark & Wendi