Truely Inspiring

First off, Congrats Amy!!!! You'll be great!
For 2 weeks Mike and I were house/dog sitting for his parents while they were on a mission trip to India. We def missed our own house, but we enjoyed the time with Max : ) The in-laws got home just fine and had a good time.
I've been choreographing the musical at a local jr high and have been having a blast. I got to teach the kids the Thriller dance and now we are doing some Grease and Jersey Boys. Middle school kids are quite the bunch lol.
I have a 4th grade boyfriend at my school. He's obsessed with talking about "Mr. Nolan." I performed in my school's variety show in the teacher act lol. Danced to some 80's music and wore some leg warmers...and yes, Mike took a video.
I know this is getting long, but bear with me, I have to share an unbelievable story. Tonight Mike's college bud Gustavo came over for dinner. He is the one who has Hodgkins lymphoma (sp?) and was spoken about at their graduation. After 5 yrs of batteling cancer, Gus was ready for a stem cell transplant and they found more cancer. He went in to have a small mass removed from his stomach with a 2 inch incision and woke up with a 7inch incision due to more and more cancerous masses found. He said afte that his sense of humor was a blessing and a curse cuz it hurt so much to laugh. He has masses in his stomach, chest, and neck. You can actually see the tumor in his neck when he moves. He has been going through chemo treatment, but is about to endure an even more intensive treatment. He is basically back where he started, hoping to become stable enough to qualify for a stem cell transplant, but has not found a good match yet. Many of us who know Gus have applied to become donors, in the small hope of being a match. Yet through all this, Gus says he wakes up everyday and doesn't even think about the cancer. He says he has come to grips with it emotionally and spiritually. He just kept saying, "It is what it is. You just gotta keep living." he described chemo as 5 days feeling like crap while it's in his system, but living it up the days in between his next treatment. He said when ppl invite to things in advance, he can never say yes or no, in fear that it might not be "a good day." Today was a good day for him. He's lost 30lbs in the last few months, has horrible pain in his back due to the tumors sitting on his nerves, and doesn't have any hair anymore, but his spirits are as high as ever. He quit drinking so when he is having a good day and goes out with his friends, he can remember the moments he has and won't be blurred or forgotten with alcohol. Having him over tonight just blew me away. What a strong person and so much to deal with at such a young age. He'll show you his scars and the visible tubes in his arms that are delivering chemo straight to his heart. He even joked about how he was glad the economy sucks so ppl don't assume he's a slacker when he tells them upon meeting that he graduated school and doesn't have a job. I know this is a bit of a downer, but I just wanted to share to remind all of us how we "just gotta keep living." Please keep Gustavo in your thoughts and prayers.
Love to all!