Updates.

Ali
Glad you are taking care of the moles, sometimes we tend to let those things go - when we shouldn't. I agree with the living for today, as hard as that is to do sometimes!! But truly in the big picture, all the worrying that we tend to do about the future, we have no control over anyways, even though we would like to think that we do.
I always find this time of the year hard in some ways, it is tough to take down all the fun Christmas stuff that is so much fun to put up.
We need to look more at each day for the joy we receive in this very moment and enjoy the gifts and blessings we have been given.
Wishing you and your family all the very best in 2008 and lots of love and laughter!!
Nicky Anderson

Hope you are healthy, Ali!
I've got pink eye today, after the stomach flu over Xmas, and Step between T-day and Xmas.
Here's to our health!

Reading blogs has an interesting side to it. You have no idea who I am (reading your blog almost every day from Sweden), but since you share so much of your life, it feels a little like I know you. Strange, really. So when I read about what you are going through with your moles, I feel the same compassion I would if you were a friend of mine. I truly hope they can examine all your moles and have them properly removed. Like you said - a back with scars is NOTHING.
Being a fair skinned red head with plenty of moles (especially on my back), I need to start going on regular check ups myself.
Here in Sweden we have a day called 'Malignt Melanoma day', when they have expert teams visiting every big hospital, in order to help in finding abnormalities at an early stage. Is there something similar in the States?
Thinking of you.
Sincerely,
/Malin

Sending prayers your way. I would remove anything that had potential too.
I changed my word. I thought it was reflect. But once I looked up it's meaning, I realized what I really want to spend the year doing is introspection. Introspect does not sound right. So I am going to spend more time in introspection this year, deciding how things affect my life and how what I do affects my life. This is what I need to do.

Thanks for the reminder Ali - its an important message to get out to people! Finding these early is so important. I had a skin check in Sept and was so nervous going into the appt. Had one mole removed and it came back fine. I am so relieved to have gone through the process and will be making this an annual preventitive step.
Jennifer

Hi,Ali,New year greetings from Ireland.I am a new visitor to your site and really enjoy reading about you and your family. I have started the "a photo a day" project and am looking forward to seeing how the year is progressing through my photographs. Hope all goes well with the mole removals and results.

Living for today is a great thing indeed. Like Wonfgang von Goethe once said, "nothing is worth more than this day." Ali, sending prayers your way. I also had a couple of moles removed earlier this year...it is certainly a great thing to be mindful of regular doctor's appointments. And like you, I much rather live with a few extra scars than the alternative.

Happy New year to you and your family....
The word I chose for 2008 is RESTORE. After waiting for and thankfully receiving a heart transplant in 2007 I am all about restoring every area of my ife in 2008.
have a blessed 2008....

thank you for the reminder.
i actually called to make an appointment a couple weeks ago, but gave up while on hold for a while. I will call again.

Ali:
My prayers are with you. My fiancee had to have basel cells removed from his upper lip, left side of his eye, back and from his left ear. I can say this with all my heart, I would rather see the scars than not see him at all. I am grateful that I was able to be there for him and help him through this. It has made us stronger and grateful for one another.
Marta :)

My sister has had several malignant melanoma removed, and any that weren't malignant have been dysplastic. She has been very lucky to have caught them all by stage 3 or lower, but it has been by being vigilant and being checked every three months. The good thing about melanoma with moles is that you can be proactive and stay on top of it, so good for you for being consistent! She had asked her doctor if he could just take off every mole on her body, but he explained to her that the moles don't cause the cancer, but they are the warning signs to the doctor to tell them where to look for the cancer. Thinking of it that way makes the moles your friend instead of your enemy... they are the sign posts warning you of trouble before it gets out of hand. That mentally helped my sister, so hopefully it will be a help to you too. I will definitely keep you in my prayers that good health remains with you!

Ali, all year you share so much of yourself with us. I wanted to take a minute to say thanks!
I lite a candle for you today and have spent moments here and there envisioning you and your family...sending white light and loving thoughts your way. I am sure all will be fine, but it never hurts to have positive energy directed our way.
Blessings to you,
Holly Tibbles

Your post taps into the essence of my journey for 2008. Health is my goal for this year. I would like to cultivate a healthy body, mind, spirit, marriage etc.
SO I have chosen BLOOM as my word for 2008. I am taking 2008 to nurture and care for myself and those I love. My garden of life will BLOOM.
I can see you are also on the same path.
Ange

Check your kids too! When our teen was 6 years old he had a mole that we had asked our peditrician about and he thought it was fine. A year later, not fine. It had changed, children can get what is called a benign melanoma. We had a plastic surgeon remove the surrounding area (pretty big) and then got the all clear. Glad we continued to have it checked.

hi ali,
good luck with your moles. hoping the best for you.
where did you get those cute shoes?

good luck.
had my skin checked last month since a friend and my SIL had skin cancer problems. I'm clear. whew...

Sending good thoughts and prayers for a good outcome on the most recent moles.

Finally cleaned up most of the Christmas debris this evening (tree & ornaments). Leaving up the rest of the decorations for now. I have a book exchange/purge/swap on my blog. If you are interested, just claim the title(s) you want. :)

I read your blog often, but never comment. When I read about your moles, I knew I had to say something. My OBGYN found a suspicious mole when I became pregnant. He sent me to determaologist who took 4 off on on my first visit. They all came back severely abnormal. I continued to have problems all through my pregnancy. It seemed like everytime I went in, she would find at least 2 that she needed to remove. I've had them removed off my back, my arms,my stomach, and my legs. I'm covered in those lovely scars. It really makes me think twice about getting out in the sun. I really try to avoid it when possible. The problem with the moles seemed to subside once I had my baby. Then about 6 months later, the suspicious moles started coming back. She's had to remove several each time I go in. For the first time ever I got a letter in the mail saying all was "Okay." I was so excited! I still have to go back every 3 months for chek ups though. I hope you can eventually get to the point where you get a letter in the mail and not a phone call telling you to come back in. Good luck!

many thoughts & prayers for you!

Hi Ali, it's Stephanie from mambi. Just wanted to stop by to tell you that I was motivated by this post and reminded to make my appointment to get my moles checked. I haven't done it for years and I'm covered with these little "beauty marks"! Thank you for your amazing creativity and bringing attention to some very important issues! You've made a difference to so many people...I'm one!

Hi Ali,
I'll keep you in my prayers! I recently had three of my moles removed (October) and they too had come back w/the same diagnosis as yours, however after a long awaited six weeks, they came back benign! YAY! So, lets hope to keep the good news rolling your way! Thanks for always motivating me! By the way, I have a few items to share with you too! I'll download the photos this weekend and just check out my blog ;).
Hugs from Okinawa Japan,
Vida :)
P.S. What Autism society/charity is your son involved in? I want to be able to contribute to him as well when it comes to our CFC (Federal Campiagn) out here. I support the ASA right now for my friend's son AJ! :)

Ali,
Thanks for reminding people to have a skin check - it can save lives. Best of luck with your own. I'm off to slather on sunscreen!
deb

I love and read your blog all the time, your work is inspiring! I've never left a comment but I wanted to thank you for talking about having moles checked. My husband went in to have some moles removed in September. He had one on his neck that was a melanoma. He's only 32 and is faithful in applying sunscreen. It was removed and I'm so grateful that he went in!

Sending you positive thoughts! I got your latest book for Christmas and it is wonderful; you are such an inspiring person--certainly for scrapbooking, but for LIFE as well. My word for 2008 is "green:" I am trying to be more environmentally conscious in the way I live, but also see green as promoting a lifestyle that is healthy & positive overall.