And it's gone...

Hey,
Rachel here...

So tonight we had a "fun" little family activity
It was called,
Time to Shave Tara's Head Because Her Hair is Driving Her Crazy.

So... We had a family council before hand. We looked at all the pro's and cons, heard multiple opinions...
(us Schlappi's are very opinionated in case you weren't aware...)
and then Tara made the final decision.

Just shave it off.
Those were her words exactly I believe.

Anyway, so it wasn't an easy thing seeing as hair is pretty much a girls pride and joy if you think about it. But after mom shed a few tears we started.

It was quite the process.

This is the before.

Josh was great and cut the first piece.

this is after we got the majority of the hair off....

We just chopped it off piece by piece.

I think we did a great job. 

We should open up a new Schlappi Hair Cutting business.

Then mom brings out the shavers to even it all up!

This is the cut. All done!

She and brig are twins.

And here is the whole family that attended this memorable event.

We all cut off a chunk of hair to be part of this forever.

Yes, that is a picture of her brother Travis by my head. She wanted everyone to participate so I cut a piece for him and we held him in the picture.

Anyway... So she officially made the decision to get rid of her long, gorgeous brown hair.

But, she says it already feels soo much better.

So it is worth it!!

 Her hair is all gone

But it's okay!! She is so dang beautiful that it doesn't even affect her. Really, she is so GORGEOUS and flawless it's unreal.

I really just love her.

So much.

No one could get a better sister than this. I have the best sister and always will. I am so blessed to have such a strong, beautiful, and AMAZING sister. 

She has been the best example to me and will always be my hero.

I love you Tara.

You will always be my shrub :)

From Becky:

Rachel has done a remarkable job of this blog post; and I don't want to take away from her post - it was perfect; but I can't sleep and I'll just type a few thoughts until sleep overtakes me.  Rachel and Tara were both so brave tonight.  As I lie in bed, I keep reflecting on my amazing family and how blessed we are.  Rachel in all sincerity offered to shave her head just like Tara if Tara wanted her to.  I even believed she would do it when she offered.  Tara, of course, being the person she is, declined and said she really did not want Rachel to shave her head.  I held up better than I thought I would.  Only a few tears.  Josh was amazing and so was everyone else.  It was actually very therapeutic to kiss Tara's head after it was shaved.  I was also very excited to put some aloe gel on top and relieve some of that burning that was bugging her.  Kissing the top of her poor shaved head reminded me of the days when Tara was little and a mother's kiss meant the world and you could kiss their fears and tears away.  Now Josh is there to kiss Tara's beautiful head and remind her how beautiful she really is. The right side of Tara's head has some battle scars that are now noticeable. The radiation is taking its toll and I can see why her head was bugging her so much.  The hair was really thinning on that side.  She just couldn't stand to take any more clumps of hair out of her head.

Tara and Josh both spoke in our Sacrament Meeting today.  They leave our ward today and will attend their new ward (congregation) next week.  Their new place of residence (the Gulbrandsen home) is in a different geographical boundary of our church; so now the Estate Groves Ward will be the lucky ones who have Tara and Josh in their ward.  We will all miss them; but of course Tara is still in all of our ward family's prayers and thoughts.  Tara's talk was on adversity and trials, and Josh spoke on faith and hope.  I had a good cry during those talks.  A new friend told me today that it's okay to cry - go ahead and do it whenever I feel like it.  Just pull over on the side of the road, find a bathroom, or any other place and just let it out.  You can still be brave and cry.  You can still be positive and cry.  It's okay.  So, I am taking her at her word and I will cry whenever I feel like it.  Many times like today, the tears are tears of amazement at the strength of my daughter.  I told someone today that she is stronger than all the rest of us put together.

I was also a little surprised (only a little) at how much Tara still looks like Tara after all the hair is gone.  Like Rachel says, she's still beautiful.  She is still Tara and hair is just an outside covering that all of us women spend way too much time worrying about.  (although my rule with hair is 5 minutes or less for the hairstyle or it just won't work for me!  Ask any of my beautician friends and they will verify this is true).

We are having quite the family bonding moments - moments I would have never dreamed we would have; but have them we are doing nonetheless.  I wouldn't wish them on anyone; (moments like shaving Tara's head) but I am feeling the Lord's love for Tara and for us throughout all of this.  Every cloud has a silver lining.  Tara is happier now without her hair driving her crazy.  It was worth all of it if only Tara's head won't itch and bug her so badly.  Her head is so soft now...... almost childlike.  I sometimes remember the days when she was young - my how time flies.  Now my youngest is as tall as I am.  (Nate is pretty consistent about reminding me how much taller he is this year!)  I am so blessed to be the mother of such incredible children - every one of them.  AND incredible additions to our family, Stephanie, Brigham, and Josh.  AND, of course, the head of our family who cries with me and is always there to be my strength - my wonderful husband.

Thank you all every single one of you for all of your constant prayers.  We really do feel your love.  Hang in there all of you in all of your own personal struggles.  Tara said today in her talk that we all will have trials - they will come, we just have to be ready for them, and be positive while we're going through them.  I have learned through this experience that all of us have challenges.  Some are just a bit more obvious than others.  I have a stronger empathy for those who suffer through physical challenges and health issues. Throughout my life, I have often reflected on Scott's brother, Mike, whenever I feel like complaining or like life is too hard and just thinking about Mike and his positive attitude can pick me up again.  Mike is another story for those of you who don't know about him.  You can google Mike Schlappi and find his website.  Suffice it to say, he's been in a wheelchair for over 30 years now and has been in 4 Paralympics with the USA Wheelchair Basketball Team.  He always has a smile on his face and has been an example to our family for many, many years.

Okay, enough rambling, now maybe I can sleep. This will be a good journal entry for my day.  Good night all.