Good News From Amy's Brain!

Amy had her quarterly MRI today, and the news is good. Amy's brain looks fine--and actually, better than the last MRI. The affected area that could either be cancer cells or simply scar tissue ("the misty cloud") has actually shrunk a little. So that's good. The other news: she'll be taken of the chemo in April. That'll improve Amy's quality of life considerably. That said, the reason for taking her off the chemo has to do with likelihood of diminishing returns: i.e., after two years on chemo, the negatives of being on chemo begin to outweigh positives. So, effective April, no more chemo--but we'll begin to see what happens when she's not on it. But that's the future, and future prayer requests. At the moment, we're very happy to see the old misty cloud start receding, and look forward to life without the chemo-induced fatigue and nausea each month. Thank you for your prayers!

Love, Jeff, Amy, Ben and Lauren

baby bubbles update!

Hello dear friends and family,
I am very excited to announce that I have launched my baby bubbles website! Please visit! The address is: baby-bubbles.com
There is an ad at the bottom that I get paid for if you click on it - hint, hint. The site is rather rudimentary right now but I will soon add a shopping cart so you can order items directly from the site. Currently, you have to e-mail me through the contact form and I do take credit card. I will also ship items using Priority Mail. Please think about me when you are doing your Christmas shopping for moms and babies!

much love to you all,
amy

Halloween 2008

Happy Halloween friends and family,
For those of you who know us, WE LOVE Halloween. I am rather misty today, tucking away my lovely little black cats, mice, crows and owls. The GREAT news is that it rained in Lakewood today! Yeah! I feel Fall could be in the air, finally! Please watch our video (it catalogs all of our "thrilling" Halloween adventures).

much love to you all,
amy, jeff, ben and lauren

We are the champions!

Hello from the Lakewood Jensens,
Warning, we will be doing some shameless bragging in this post.

So, here it goes:
Thank you to all those who donated money to Ben's school for the Gomper's Fun Run. He raised $157 that will be put to good use. Also, Ben ran a good race, finished in 2nd place for his grade and 4th place overall. Please watch our movie to see the highlights. Also, Lauren was chosen as the Star Student for her class for the month of September (again, watch the video to see it all happen). Besides his interest in running, Ben is also playing fall baseball and flag football. Lauren is enjoying kindergarten and spends her free time reading about Medieval women and the Civil War. We had a wonderful conversation yesterday about Flappers and the 1920s.

The movie ends with some photos of my mom's visit last week and a trip to a local tea parlor (the hats are provided by the shop, by the way).

much love to you all,
amy, jeff, ben and lauren

baby bubbles

Hey all!
Thank you for being patient. We really do need to post more updates. This update is to let you know that we are doing well and to promote my new business endeavor,

baby bubbles

As most of you know, I have been making burp cloths for myself and as gifts since Ben was a burping baby. In the past year I have expanded my offerings to include nursing covers. I never really considered making these items to sell but, with some encouragement from friends and family, I started my mom-based business, appropriately named, "baby bubbles." Check out the video of some of my offerings, all of which are made of 100% cotton and every stitch is made by me at home (yes, none of the items were shipped off to India to be manufactured in a sweatshop). All materials were locally purchased and the fabric is pre-shrunk. I am still working on getting a web-site set up to sell baby bubbles - I will let you know when that happens. Until then, feel free to contact me directly to place an order. I also take custom orders.

And for you local folk, please come to a Holiday Boutique Open House (featuring baby bubbles and many other mom-made creations) at my house on October 25th from 7-10pm. The other vendors are moms like me and they make amazing jewelry, clothing, bags and baby sweaters. Please come and bring your cash or checkbooks! It's a great place to do some early Christmas shopping.

much love,
amy, jeff, ben, and lauren

The Jensens on Vacation 2008

Hey all!
We recently returned from a wonderful visit to Portland and Seattle, with a short time at both Gearhart and Maggie Lake. Check out our movie from the trip. Love to you all!

Jeff, Amy, Ben and Lauren

What's Up?!

Hello everyone,
We have been very lame in posting an update on how we are doing. Since April 12, Jeff had a birthday - he is now 38! Also, I had another MRI and it was clean. It appears that the monthly chemo treatment will continue for a few more years. We were hopeful that I would be done but it is the opinion of my neuro-oncologist and the Cedars Sinai brain tumor specialists that I continue until some other treatment is invented. Also, Lauren had a birthday - she is now 5 years old! Check out the little movie we made about her party.

much love to you all!
amy, jeff, ben and lauren

Ben turns 7!

On March 24th, Ben turned seven years old! Where has all the time gone?! Due to an early Easter and subsequent early Spring Break, we had Ben's Star Wars birthday bash on Friday night, March 21st. The short movie highlights some of the highlights. Enjoy!

Much love to you all!
Amy, Jeff, Ben and Lauren

Amy update

Hey, folks. Amy and I soujourned up to Cedars today to hear the results of her latest MRI. The news is good: no change from her last MRI in December. Yeah, that bed of misty cancer cells is still visible, but it isn't growing any tumors. We'll take that. No decision was made today regarding taking Amy off the chemo for good. That decision could be made sometime this week, but definitely by the end of the month. We'll let you know when we know.

Thank you for continuing to keep Amy and our family in your prayers.

Much love, The Jensens

Ben and Lauren's First Short (movie)

With all the Oscar fever around town, it was a natch that Ben and Lauren would want to break into their own version of Hollywood. This is the short movie they made, Jeff's directorial debut, as well.

Much love to you all!
amy, jeff, ben and lauren

my brother and my nephew

I know I shared a few months ago that it was recently discovered that my brother had an 8 year old son, Justin. He lives in Bend and has been visited several times now by my mom, Rhonda, and step-dad, Matt. He resembles my brother in many ways, besides his hair, like his love for adventure and a large collection of scars and scrapes. Please keep him in your prayers - he is still in foster-care and was even removed from his second to last situation two days before Christmas. He seems to enjoy the visits from my mom and Matt and we are hopeful that his next foster care situation could be with them or my dad and his fiancee, Karen.

On the health front, I had appointments yesterday with my oncologist and neurologist and all seems to be okay -- I am hopeful to be done with all my meds by the summer. The anti-seizure medicine, Keppra, makes me very sleepy and slothful so I have to take Ritalin just to fulfill my duties as a mom and wife. The neurologist, Dr. Chow wants me to stay on the Keppra for a full year since my last seizure (June 4, 2007). Also, it looks like I only have two more months of chemo. In March, I will have an MRI and I'm sure I will learn at that time if more months of chemo treatments will be recommended. We will keep you updated.

Much love and blessings to you all!
love, amy

Brain Tumor, R.I.P.

One year ago today, something really awesome happened. A group of surgeons sawed off the top of Amy’s skull and scooped out chunks of tumor from her brain and then told us that she had an aggressive form of cancer that may or may not end her life in 27 months. Now: why was this awesome? I mean, getting your head ripped open with a bonesaw isn’t anyone’s idea of fun, except for maybe the guy wielding the bonesaw. And for all of us who love Amy, or just kinda like her, it was a day from hell. Her mother and I spent an agonizing day in the waiting room… waiting. At home, my Mom took care of the kids… waiting. In Seattle, my brother was at the keyboard, ready to blog the latest update… waiting. Around Los Angeles—and around the world—our family and friends were praying... and waiting. It was the definition of suspense, but not the kind of suspense we buy movie tickets to experience. The kind of suspense that engenders actual, real-life fear and terror and anger. No, one year ago today was not a fun day. It was an awful day. And I never want to experience another day like it.

So why was the Amy Jensen Horror Show so awesome? Because out of that event, we got to experience a blast of love more powerful and electrifying than any head-carving appliance could ever muster. Because out of that event, we got a first-hand demonstration of how God works in the world. I hope you saw it, too, because He did it through you. Thank you. Thank you for your heart. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for laboring on our behalf. I know it wasn’t always easy. I know it wasn’t always something you wanted to do. We get that. The dirty little shameful secret of “helping our fellow man” is that sometimes, or even often times, it feels like work, and thankless, tedious, downright inconvenient work at that. But we are thankful. Even if we haven’t always shown it, we are grateful. I am reminded today that we (the Jensens of Lakewood) don’t always live out of gratefulness—which is why it is good to remember the days like the one we had last year, the one with the saw and the tumor chunks and the ambiguous news on the status of our mortality.

Amy has made a video of our cancer journey. The images tell an interesting story. You’ll see some horror, including the infamous pic of Amy’s brain that is not for the squeamish. You’ll see some terror, like the look on Amy’s lifesaver-covered face (those little round things are actually high-tech MRI thingies) moments before she went into the surgery. (It’s the one with that also features the goofy looking husband with the silly I’m-not-going-to-let-this-get-to-me smile on his face.) You’ll see some sadness, like Amy’s losing battle with hair loss from the chemo. But more than anything, you’ll see a reasonably happy family that experienced a lot of fun and a lot of happiness the past year—in other words, joy. Joy that your love and support purchased for us. Thank you for allowing us to be a happy, functioning little family that more often than not only has to struggle in all the normal, everyday ways. The song that Amy has chosen to accompany her selection of images is by the band Muse, known for dramatic soundscapes marked by epic narrative and catchy hooks. The song—from the album “Black Holes and Revelations” (which could also be the title of our past year)--starts eerie and builds in melody and culminates with a rock-pop flourish. But the refrain says it all: “Together, we’re invincible.”

With much love, The Jensens

Brain Tumor One Year Update

So, it's been one year since the brain tumor left me with a lap-full of vomit, an abrasion on my temple, and a ride up the street in one of the ambulances I see speeding by our house so often (it's not so neat to watch them now that I know someone else could be headed to the medical center to hear the same news that I got a year ago: "Yep, it's a brain tumor.")

The past year has been crazy, full of blessings from friends and family and a very real reminder that I am not in control. Praise be to God that He is! And I am grateful to have Him and those He has sent to help and encourage me.

The latest tumor news is that there is no new tumors and it is most likely that I will be done with my monthly chemotherapy treatment by May. Yahoo! Tomorrow, I begin my next five days of treatment.

Enjoy the video and check back for our bedroom makeover photos!

Much love to you all,
amy, jeff, ben and lauren