A Hiking We Will Go.

 Luke and his Boy Scout troop left early this

morning for a ten-mile backpacking hike at

Kimball Scout Reservation.

 A true survivalist, Luke packed all of his

gear, including only a tarp for a tent.  The 

weather was perfect today for the hike,

in the mid fifties in the mountains.  The

night air may be a little nippy in the forties.

 Luke was more than excited to hit the

trail with his troop!!!

Off they go!!!

MIKE UPDATE:  From the very bottom of

our hearts, our family is truly grateful for

prayers that have been spoken on behalf of

our husband and Dad.  We are so thankful

for the support that we have received!!!

Mike entered hospice care in our home

today.  We are so grateful for them and

the care that they have already given him

Mike has rapidly declined over the past

two weeks.  There was a flurry of activity

in our home for many hours today in 

order to receive all that we needed to

care for our Dad right here in our cozy

home.  Thankfully, the oxygen and 

needed medications arrived and Mike

is now resting so much more comfortably

than he has for the past two weeks.  We

pray for God's will and safe travels for

our Tim as he travels home from Ft.

Lauderdale as soon as his ship docks in

port on Monday.

"If He leads you to it . . . He will lead

you through it!!!"

Monday, Monday!!

Days are MUCH different around our 

home now! Mike is EXTREMELY fatigued!

As in brushing his teeth is a HUGE

accomplishment . . . and that is THE

big accomplishment for the day.  The

effects of this chemo drug have been

devastating for him.  We are praying our

way through it and are grateful for 

modern medicine.  I do think that we 

were unprepared for the side effects

of the drug.  We are praying that it is

working . . . by working it would mean

that this drug would stop our cancer at the

point it is now and perhaps shrink some

of the tumors.  It is very difficult to watch

someone you love so very, very much

go through something like this.

So . . . as I began to say, days around

our home are "different"!!  The boys 

still come and go like with a flurry of

activity, but I spend most of my time

where I should be . . . home . . . with

Mike.  I am always busy with a plethora

of tasks and eagerly awaiting more

approval so that I can continue on with

the research portion of my dissertation.

I usually have a quilt going and have 

a ton of things to do to keep up with

our home and the boys.  It is awesome

to receive phone calls, texts, emails,

notes, and encouragement.  Without our

support team, we would not have made

it this far.

The pizza . . . Luke started dreaming about

homemade pizza last night and we 

were excited to make it for dinner tonight.

Zach was in class, so Sam and Luke

gobbled the entire pizza by themselves.

My boys are so sweet to include me!!!

We realize that we have so very many

blessings!!!  I am blessed to have been

able to stay at home all of these years,

even now as Mike has not been able

to work for the past 18 months.  We

love our brand new beautiful home and

are thankful that our boys have been

able to become plugged in at our new

church!!  We are so grateful for our 

SMART doctor, caring nurses, and their

knowledge and willingness to try

ANYTHING!!!

Black Friday Fun.

Sam, Luke, Grandy, and I made a run for

Black Friday!  We had so much fun tramping

through the crowds.  I was excited to 

be out and about after feasting yesterday.

The kids, on the other hand, managed to

munch down after having Thanksgiving

leftovers for breakfast, chocolate pie and

whipped cream for a snack, and a few

pieces of turkey on their way out the door!!

*I am thankful for my people who stick

with me, it is not easy!

*I am grateful that, even though we

are in difficult circumstances, we

still have a spirit of levity in the air!

*I am thankful for those who are

praying without ceasing.

*I am thankful that their are 

advanced medications . . . although

the side effects are tremendous!

*I am thankful that, even though

our life changes each and everyday,

we are able to work through 

anything TOGETHER!

*I am thankful for memories.

While it is difficult to remember my

old life, maybe that is the way that

God wants it.  I try really hard to 

remember when we all jumped in

the car on a whim.  Went on long

trips together and made decisions 

off the cuff.  It is difficult to remember

some of them thinking that they may

never happen ever ever again.

One thing I know for sure, "If He

brings you to it, He will bring you

through it".  I am counting on that!

Lovin' From the Oven.

Nothin' says love more than homemade

cornbread . . . talk about comfort and yummy!

Scampering around the house today, I was

excited to bake this for my crew!!  They

love, love, love it . . . with honeybutter,

of course!!!

Gratitude and a heartfelt thank you to 

all who have been praying for our

Dad and our family during our battle

with adrenal gland cancer.  Wow!  I can 

sure feel the encouragement from

the prayers!!  We.would.not.make.it.

without.them!!!  He is EXTREMELY

fatigued!!!!!!  I mean, extremely!!!

He is here and we are grateful!!!

Onward.comrades.

Moments.

Moments. You bet.  I have about ten

bazillion of them every.single.day.

By God's grace, I quickly get a hold of

myself and remember memories.  Special

memories like those in my special jar

that I keep right in my office.

Yep.  That is what is it all about . . . 

memories. time. love. investing in

one another.

Thank the GOOD LORD that I have

had a trillion wonderful moments

that have turned into awesome

minutes, memorable years, 

tremendous memories and keepsakes

to last a lifetime.  You bet.  I am

one blessed girl.  In the eye of a

storm, yes.  Difficult to keep from

the feeling of drowning, you know it.

Prayer is a mighty powerful thing!!

My knees may need to be replaced,

but my faith is strengthened each

and every day!

God may let you bend, but He 

will not let you break!!!

BP Issues.

Unfortunately, we spent most of our entire

day and night here . . . at Southern Hills

Hospital.  Mike is still there tonight.  His

blood pressure continues to be 

dangerously high.  Love, love, loving

the prayers from every corner.  Please

keep them coming!!!

Romans 8:28

Another Hint.

Can you guess?!?  Here is another hint at

what is nagging at me over on my craft

table!!!  I can hardly wait to get to it and

whip everything together for a final

reveal . . . any clues?!?

This past week has been a total

whirlwind!  To begin, we were excited

to have a three day weekend with our

little Labor Day treat on Monday.

Tuesday we hung out at the doc's

office with our school supplies

practically the.entire.day. 

Wednesday my sweet student was

one.sick.dude, however, we

persevered and had a marvelous

school day.  Today was really our

first "normal" day of the week.

Personally, I have been typing almost

continuously since Tuesday.  I am

working diligently to submit

chapters 1-3 to my mentor in order

that they may obtain final approval

from my committee.  Upon their

approval, their is a whole new group

of hoops . . . I have typed 38 hours

in the past two days!!! Coupled with

typing, I have worried about my

sweet husband.  Worry is not really the

word that I would put on it, but it

truly is the strangest feeling that I

have ever had in my body.  It truly

hits me the moment that my eyes

open in the morning.  I have NEVER

experienced ANYTHING like.it.

before and pray that you NEVER

have to know what this is like.

That said, our family has so much

love and support . . . without that,

I fear to say just where I would be.

Anyhow, we do know how much the

good Lord loves us and count on

the fact, as He says in Joshua, "He

will NEVER leave us or forsake

us" . . . I am bettin' on that!!!

Onward.comrades. 

Special Deliveries.

How could I be so blessed?  I have such an 

awesome wonderful support team!  When I 

went to my mailbox, there was yet 

ANOTHER card from one of my besties.  

While we are certainly loving every 

moment of our weekend, 

in the back of my mind is the fact that 

Mike's test results are cooking at the 

oncologist's office.  Part of me wants 

the good news of those results this 

moment and the other part of me, the part 

that is fighting with Mike's high blood pressure, 

does not evenwant a little tiny peak.  

Anyhow, our family will be faced with reality 

on Tuesday when we receive the results 

determining our Dad's continued participation 

in the clinical trial.  In the meantime, I 

continue to skip over to the mailbox, 

think about the sweet prayers and thoughts

 of our family and friends, and bury myself 

in the busyness of the comings and goings 

of each day.  

Here's to mailboxes, cards, prayers, good

thoughts, hugs, kisses, sunshine, 

singing . . .