My goal for this year's Lenten season is to increase my physical activity and blog about the blessings in my life.
Happy Lent!!!
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Happy Fat Tuesday!
Maybe this year will be a better blogging lent for me. For today, I will start with the following scripture that has occurred repeatedly in a book I read.."Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, joyful in prayer' Romans 12:12
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Update
I promised a more consistent update so here it is. On Friday we visited with the nurse practitioner at the office on mom's oncologist. They are prepared to start her in the chemotherapy drug Sutent. The last round of biopsy tissues are still being compared to her previous biopsy tissues so mom is scheduled to meet with them again on Jan 18 for a final consultation and we expect that all pathology reports will be in at that time.
My dad is headed to the hospital today and tomorrow for testing and monitoring so I will update you on that news later.
Our house has calmed down considerably now that basketball season is over. Chloe continues to run 3-5 miles each day after school and do dance. Shelby is busy continuing to apply for scholarships.
I have always known that I love my job, but with the current stressors in my life it is all the more obvious. I truly look forward to going to work each day.
Keep praying for my parents and for God to give me the ability to handle the challenge.
My dad is headed to the hospital today and tomorrow for testing and monitoring so I will update you on that news later.
Our house has calmed down considerably now that basketball season is over. Chloe continues to run 3-5 miles each day after school and do dance. Shelby is busy continuing to apply for scholarships.
I have always known that I love my job, but with the current stressors in my life it is all the more obvious. I truly look forward to going to work each day.
Keep praying for my parents and for God to give me the ability to handle the challenge.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
It has been a very busy few months; some major blessings and some major challenges.
On Sept. 26 my mom celebrated her 60th birthday in Las Vegas with her sisters; shortly after her trip she became ill with what was diagnosed as a kidney infection but the medicines didn't seem to help. On Oct. 12, she went to the hospital anticipating that she had kidney stones rather than an infection; but she was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer later that day. Since then her kidney, spleen, and adrenal gland have been removed at Barnes is St. Louis. A biopsy on her lung shows that the cancer has spread. We anticipate that she will begin chemo treatment in pill form next week (four weeks on two weeks off). My mom had me at 17 years old and has worked her tail off to provide for me since then; she has never smoked and doesn't drink alcohol so we are hopeful that her body responds well to treatment.
During this time, we were blessed to have an exchange student from Guatemala stay with us. She arrived on Oct. 19 and went home Dec. 9. Sofi and her family are wonderful people and I look forward to having some lifelong friends. Claudia (Sofi's mom) spent one weekend with us and it was great, I felt an instant connection to her. Sofi's visit provided a much needed distraction from all of the medical issues and we enjoyed taking her to Kansas City, Iowa, and St. Louis. Now we communicate via skype and email.
My dad's health continues to deteriorate; he is only 59 years old but his heart ejection fraction is just 15%. He is now under observation to see if he is a candidate for a defibrillator. His health history of liver failure, aortic aneurysm, and having his first heart attack at 40 years old always seems to amaze the doctors.
Our family has a big year ahead with Shelby graduating on May 11. We ask for your continued prayers with all of the challenges and celebrations this year will bring. My original purpose of this blog was a lenten journey, but from now on I will use it to update friends and serve as my own sort of "therapy". And of course, I will have to share some pictures.
On Sept. 26 my mom celebrated her 60th birthday in Las Vegas with her sisters; shortly after her trip she became ill with what was diagnosed as a kidney infection but the medicines didn't seem to help. On Oct. 12, she went to the hospital anticipating that she had kidney stones rather than an infection; but she was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer later that day. Since then her kidney, spleen, and adrenal gland have been removed at Barnes is St. Louis. A biopsy on her lung shows that the cancer has spread. We anticipate that she will begin chemo treatment in pill form next week (four weeks on two weeks off). My mom had me at 17 years old and has worked her tail off to provide for me since then; she has never smoked and doesn't drink alcohol so we are hopeful that her body responds well to treatment.
During this time, we were blessed to have an exchange student from Guatemala stay with us. She arrived on Oct. 19 and went home Dec. 9. Sofi and her family are wonderful people and I look forward to having some lifelong friends. Claudia (Sofi's mom) spent one weekend with us and it was great, I felt an instant connection to her. Sofi's visit provided a much needed distraction from all of the medical issues and we enjoyed taking her to Kansas City, Iowa, and St. Louis. Now we communicate via skype and email.
My dad's health continues to deteriorate; he is only 59 years old but his heart ejection fraction is just 15%. He is now under observation to see if he is a candidate for a defibrillator. His health history of liver failure, aortic aneurysm, and having his first heart attack at 40 years old always seems to amaze the doctors.
Our family has a big year ahead with Shelby graduating on May 11. We ask for your continued prayers with all of the challenges and celebrations this year will bring. My original purpose of this blog was a lenten journey, but from now on I will use it to update friends and serve as my own sort of "therapy". And of course, I will have to share some pictures.
My mom in the purple with her sisters and mom.
With Sofi at the farm.
Shelby's senior picture
With Sofi at the Plaza in KC
Friday, July 6, 2012
Time to play catch-up!
It has been several months since my last blog...I started it for lent and then stopped, but I miss it. So I am at it again. The last three months have been BUSY. I received my Masters in Education, our town remembered the one year anniversary of the tornado, and we have watched many softball games. An added bonus of softball is that we are able to keep in touch with people; my cousin Monica and I have not kept in touch very well and it has been literally years since spending time together; luckily she has a softball player so we have been able to see each other and catch up. When things like that happen, I always ask myself WHY did we lose touch and WHY didn't I take time to see her! Chloe became a teenager. Our family visited Big Cedar Lodge for a week in June; next to the beach it is our favorite place to vacation. While on that trip, we discovered geocaching and have been doing it as a family hobby. Last week we took a "one day vaca", as we call it, to Tulsa and visited the aquarium. College is on our mind a lot these days and Rick has developed a spreadsheet for Shelby to weigh her options. Rockhurst University is her number one pick at this point. We have visits scheduled for Fontbonne, Lindenwood, Washburn, and Newman University.
I am keeping this blog short and adding some pictures; just a catch-up and a promise for more frequent blogs.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Rejoice and Remember
Easter is a time to rejoice and remember. I have done a lot of that over the last few weeks.
Easter weekend I rejoiced for many reasons. My daughter got a new car, she found a prom dress, and we spent lots of time with my mom, dad, grandmas, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We watched Granny Harvill hunt Easter eggs as if she were five years old. Alzheimer's is a strange disease, but sometimes forgetting that you are old is not so bad.
Remembering where you come from! There was a time in my life when I didn't necessarily think it was important to think about my past. Maybe when you are over 40 that changes. This week brought back many flashbacks.....Thursday night we left the ballpark in Carthage at 9:45; I was craving a Nacho Bell Grande. I normally don't eat Taco Bell, and I didn't that night either, but there is a story. When I was a teenager, my mom and I worked at a softball complex. We reported every night at 5:15 and worked until about 10:00. I started working there when I was 14 years old; we worked concession or kept score, and every night when we left there we went to Taco Bell. Today, as I write this, we have been "rained out" for our weekend tournament. When I was young, I longed for "rain outs". They were unexpected nights that I got to spend with my mom; we usually went shopping or out to eat.
Rejoice and Remember.....
Easter weekend I rejoiced for many reasons. My daughter got a new car, she found a prom dress, and we spent lots of time with my mom, dad, grandmas, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We watched Granny Harvill hunt Easter eggs as if she were five years old. Alzheimer's is a strange disease, but sometimes forgetting that you are old is not so bad.
Remembering where you come from! There was a time in my life when I didn't necessarily think it was important to think about my past. Maybe when you are over 40 that changes. This week brought back many flashbacks.....Thursday night we left the ballpark in Carthage at 9:45; I was craving a Nacho Bell Grande. I normally don't eat Taco Bell, and I didn't that night either, but there is a story. When I was a teenager, my mom and I worked at a softball complex. We reported every night at 5:15 and worked until about 10:00. I started working there when I was 14 years old; we worked concession or kept score, and every night when we left there we went to Taco Bell. Today, as I write this, we have been "rained out" for our weekend tournament. When I was young, I longed for "rain outs". They were unexpected nights that I got to spend with my mom; we usually went shopping or out to eat.
Rejoice and Remember.....
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Sometimes life is a roller coaster!
This life does have days, weeks, and months that seem like an ongoing roller coaster. Thankfully when we get off the roller coaster and look back at what we have done, it is usually a good feeling. And, more often than not, we would do it again!
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