Casting Crumbs

On Saturday afternoon, James and Julie invited us for a hayride re-do. The week before we were rained out but this day proved to be absulutely beautiful!!

Spreading the hay on the wagon.

Jessica and Julie (sportin’ her freckles and pigtails).

Our little punkins in the hay!

Larry pulled the tractor and wagon around. We spread out the hay and covered it with quilts and blankets and piled in. We drove for quite a while around the country roads surrounding Larry and Nita’s home. The weather was a perfect 70 and the leaves on the trees were showing off their colors as we meandered the dirt roads.

We relaxed in the hay and let the sun warm us as the kids threw hay and watched the road swiftly go by the side of the wagon. It was a perfectly relaxing moment in time!!

Evely enjoying her first taste of hay!
It’s an acquired taste.

Thanks James and Julie, Larry and Nita for a memorable fall day. A true highlight of our fall fun this year!!

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I have to share this pic with you. It is my favorite!!!!!

Awwww. . . Isn’t she soo sweet!

I don’t want this site to become depressing or heavy for anyone reading. Some of you have shown an interest in knowing each step of the way and how to pray for Mom. Others may not. So please forgive the step-by-step updates, but I want to allow this site to give as much information on her as possible. (That is my disclaimer. )

Today is Day One after the chemo treatment. She was wiped out yesterday when she came home. Today she said she actually feels better than yesterday! Praise God. She has had no nausea at all and got out for a car ride with me.

The thing that is bothering her more than the chemo is this “bladder thing”. She is having real problems with it and it is causing her to worry. This is her BIG request right now. She dreads going to another Dr. and dealing with another problem. Please pray for a healing touch from the Lord in her life. In every area and especially today in this bladder infection.

One day at a time, one thing at a time!

Praise: Her hand is doing great! It is still a little numb, but does not bother her at night and she no longer has to take pain pills for it. Praise the Lord!!

Mom getting her first treatment

Today is the day. Mom was at the Oncology office at 8:30 this morning to start treatment and left about 2:00 pm this afternoon. So far so good.

I think it is so wonderful all the testimonies that all of you keep telling us of people in her same boat and even WORSE that are experiencing the awesome healing power of our God. It is very encouraging. Thanks!

As weird as this sounds. . .this morning as I prayed for Mom, I asked God if there was a verse or something that I should encourage Mom with before her treatment started. The reference Psalm 84:7 came to my mind. I didn’t know what it said, so I looked it up and was so encouraged.

“They go from STRENGTH to STRENGTH till each appears before God in Zion.”

I really pondered this because the whole thing of chemo therapy is strength to weakness or weak to weaker, NOT strength to strength! Such is the nature of an all-powerful God who is in control of Mom, her body and this cancer. He can give her added strength even in this situation. Praise His Name!

Here is the whole passage. It is so good and really applies to her situation.

Blessed are those whose STRENGTH is in you.
Who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

They go from STRENGTH to STRENGTH till each appears before God in Zion.

Selah.

I am praying this for Mom during this time. We would love for you to join with us. Thanks everyone so very much!

Hi Everybody! Thanks for all of you who are continually checking on Mom and standing in faith and praying for her.

Tomorrow is the big day – Chemo treatment begins. I can’t imagine the feeling of going in and having yourself hooked up to an IV for 4 to 5 hours and knowing this is going into your veins. It’s so good to know that God gives us the strength that we need for each moment of life.

Pray for her as she begins this, that she won’t experience too many side effects. Chemo seems to have come a long way and they have many drugs to go along with it to curb side effects. They can control the nausea pretty well. Mom said that the 2nd week is usually the worst because your blood count drops and you feel like you have the flu – very achy and tired. She could also develop sores in her mouth and so she has to rinse several times a day with this solution and watch stuff she eats that has lots of acid. There’s a lot to know about this that we usually don’t think about.

Also, she has developed an infection in her bladder. She is on her 2nd round of antibiotics and they are hoping it clears up. If not they may need to send her to a Urologist.

Thanks, everyone, for holding us up. Thanks for encouraging us and praying with us!!

I shall not die, but live to declare the glories of the Lord! Psalm 118:17

This week at Julian’s school they are having a spirit week. Yesterday was Red day and today was cowboy day. As soon as Julian got home from school he started preparing his outfit for school. He picked out the jeans and jean shirt, a black turtleneck, the bandana. . .and then he was stuck. “Mom, I cannot go without a cowboy hat! What are we going to do?” We didn’t have one so he said “I have an idea, let’s call Boocoo! (his name for my Dad.)” So he called and we had to make a trip to Mom and Dad’s to get a cowboy hat.

Ready for breakfast!

This is the site I saw when I came in the kitchen after stumbling out of bed. Normally he is in his PJ’s till the last minute, but not this morning!

I’m a real cowboy!

I had to take these pictures, it was just too cute! He looked right in his element. I had to post them on here and share them with you all.

Side Shot of a “Ten Gallon Hat”!

After Evely came along, we suddenly felt the squeeze of our already tight little home. We had outgrown our 1100+ square foot home before she was born and now we had to do something! So after having our house on the market for a year and all the contracts falling through, we decided that God must be telling us just to stay put. I look back now and can see His hand in it all and I am so thankful that we have stayed put for now. However, we still need some room.

So it begins. . .the “Add On”!

We are building a 16X20 room on the back of our house and also redoing the kitchen. We’ll be adding some cabinets and a bar in the kitchen. The room will be a dining/family room combo and will be great when it is done!!

Our builder, Greg started last week and now it is really real.

You can see how tiny our house really is

The decking is coming down!

You can pray for Greg, he ran his hand through a table saw a few weeks before starting our job. He had to delay things awhile till the surgeon released him. His hand is really hurting him as he works, but he is anxious to get back to work. His lovely wife, Gail, has leukemia also. They are wonderful Christian people that God has brought along my path over the years. Pray for Greg and strength for his hands and for Gail’s health.

ONCOLOGY

Definition: (on-KOL-o-gee) Oncology is the branch of medicine that deals with tumors, including study of their development, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. This includes most cancers. An oncologist (on-KOL-o-jist) is a doctor who specializes in oncology.

If anyone is like me, I had to go home and look up this word because it is not in my everyday vocabulary . . .but I know it soon will be.

Today I went with Mom to see Dr. Osgood, her Oncologist. He is located in the K.C. Cancer Treatment Center. I was comforted to see that everyone in the office was very kind, helpful and compassionate. . .especially Dr. Osgood. We have experienced, bad news, bad news and more bad news; but I felt this appointment was very positive!

Dr. Osgood examined Mom and encouraged her in that she is in pretty healthy shape even though she has this cancer. He encouraged her to keep going with the alternative medical things she is doing as well as the chemo. The chemo will be one that they have had good success with. It also doesn’t have all the terrible side effects that some have. The nausea they are usually able to control pretty well. Most people become tired and a little feeling of “flu” (achy joints and such) and most people do lose all their hair.

They do not focus on “timeframes” or prognosis there, simply put by Dr. Osgood “Because we just don’t know!” I loved the way they matter-of-factly created a lot of hope in each of us. I know that Mom still has to go through all this a step at a time, but it was so good to hear HOPE. There was a beautiful cross-stitched picture on the wall of the exam room of a little boy sitting on a beach looking out at the ocean. It said “One Day at a Time”. That really is exactly what this is all about.

Next Thursday will be her first round of chemo. She will go every 21 days for treatment and they will monitor her closely. Her sessions will last about 4 or so hours and is given intravenously. They will be putting a catheter type thing in her chest so that they will give the chemo that way instead of in her arm veins every time.

Please pray for her. That the Lord will encourage her, comfort her, heal her and give her peace. That she will feel those new mercies that are there every morning. Pray that the chemo side effects would be very minimal and if you are so bold. . .pray with me that she would be in that 1% that doesn’t lose their hair. (Somebody has to make up that 1%!)

I will leave you with the verse that she had stuck to her page of questions for the Dr. today. . .

Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

October 18th came quickly this year and rang in the big 36 for me! Yes, I am not too old yet to reveal my age. I always think every year “I have traded in another year of youth for another year of wisdom . . .I hope!”

What started out as a seemingly mundane birthday, ended up a wonderful day! I spent the day with my bestest friend Jules. We scrapbooked, laughed, giggled, ate and snickered some more. She gave me a tiara for my birthday! I have never in my life had a tiara and I adore it. I wore it ALL day.

Then in the afternoon I received this huge basket of flowers from my OLDER brother, Mike! Thank you soooo much, Mike. I love them. He actually sent two baskets but one is on my front porch and I am not going to go out in the dark and take a picture of them. They are gorgeous Mums.

Beautiful!

In the afternoon, I recieved a visit from my wonderful in-laws. Afterward we headed for our favorite pizza joint. . .Mazzios! I was very excited to have my Mom and Dad, Ross and Rita (in-laws), Kenny and Barb ( brother and sister-in-law) and my precious little family around me for my special day.

See my tiara?

We feasted on great pies of fattening stuff and their scrumptious cheesie bread.

Hey, Mike, doesn’t this look good!!

Then back to the homestead for cake and icecream and presents. It was a truly memorable day! Thank you everyone who helped make it so wonderful! I appreciate you guys and love you.

A special thanks to my awesome Hubby, Tom, who went to the trouble of trading for an early evening at work and for bailing on a teaching responsibility at church. Thanks, Hon, I love you very much!

Here’s a really great picture to leave you with. . .

Three generations! Notice my tiara?

Doesn’t Mom look great!!

Sunday afternoon we headed for Carolyn’s Country Cousins Pumpkin Patch. It was a gorgeous evening with perfect weather! There is so much fun stuff to do there: petting zoo, mountain trikes, pig races, jungle gyms, the HAY SLIDE!, and corn maze. Don’t forget the tractor and wagon ride out to the punkin’ patch to pick out that “perfect” pumpkin to take home.

I’m gonna beat ya!

Mine aren’t for sale!

The famous Hay Slide!

Then we hopped the wagon and road way out to the punkin’ patch for the biggest let down. . .no kidding! Every punkin’ we walked past was squashed, beaten up and left for dead.

My name is Humpty.

We walked farther and farther but couldn’t find one decent punkin’. So we just walked back and got on the wagon. We noticed on the ride back that there were other patches that had decent punkin’s in them. So we walked to the closest one and let the boys pick out their “perfect” punkins.

I dunno, which one do you want?

My three punkins!

This was the best pose we could get for three tired and hungry punkins. It was a really great evening for the family.

I feel like with this whole major event in Mom’s life, we are just praying her through one thing at a time. Isn’t that how life is! I know you all have been there, too. Where all you can do is focus on one step at a time and one foot in front of the other.

Mom has a “minor” thing that has become a “major” thing in her everyday life at this moment. Where her IV was in her hand has become very very sore. When she goes to bed at night she wakes up in pain from it. Two of her fingers are pretty numb and it is just really bugging her. She has tried sitting up to sleep and that seems to help her hand from hurting so bad, but she really isn’t getting the sleep she needs.

They have also told her that once she starts her chemo that the healing process in her body will stay where it is. She is praying that her hand will be well before the chemo starts and that she can get the sleep she needs, which helps her to heal up as much as possible before the treatments.

Please pray for her hand, fingers and sleep. Pray also that the healing from surgery won’t stop because she has started the chemo. God is so much bigger than all of this and we are asking Him to do above and beyond what we could ask or think or imagine. Above what the Dr.’s are saying and thinking, too.

Thanks everyone! We love you!