Happy Birthday Andrew!

Andrew turned 14 yesterday. Wow! How time flies! I remember listening to him play with his toy cars, action figures, and space ships as they all battled good verses evil. He sat there making the sounds of the various vehicles and blasting noises as he entertained himself for hours on end. And that was just last week!

Andrew has always been his own person (some would say stubborn). Way back when he was attending preschool it was picture day and try as they might they could not get him to smile for the camera. He didn't even want to look up. By the time they finally took the shot it looked just like either a bad DMV shot or a mug shot. I loved it! It really captured Andrew's personality.

Over the years Andrew has learned to smile. He has forgone the long shaggy hair look for the more groomed style he wears now. This year for his birthday we bought him contacts. He has gone from the little boy who wouldn't look up, to the tall young man who is always right in the middle of the action.

Andrew has been known to be a challenge, but it is one that I have enjoyed. I love this young man with all my heart, and I'm glad that the Lord sent him to me. Happy Birthday Andrew!

WOW! Where does the time go?

This coming Sunday I'll be celebrating my 51st birthday. Okay, I actually won't be celebrating, but we will mark the day with cake I wager. I tend to get a bit somber around my birthdays. I get to thinking: This year I will have lived 3/4 of my life without my mother by my side. I've outlived her by 15 years! She died before her 37th birthday. My father made it to 53. He'd be 81 this year. I know that they are up in Heaven watching and waiting. I do look forward to that glorious reunion, but as the song goes, "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now." I love my family here on earth with every fiber in my body. As I watch my mother-in-law go through her trial with cancer up close and personal, I am reminded to treasure every day we have here on this earth with our loved ones.

I love you all very much!!!!

I Love the Oregon Coast!

We had a wonderful time at the beach last weekend. We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. The sun shined, the wind hardly blew, and Jennifer and I were able to walk on the beach early in the morning collecting agates on Sunday as we worshipped God in our own way. I think Ma had a good time celebrating her 71st birthday as well.

Update on Ma's Condition

Ed's mother had a CT scan on Tuesday, April 19th. We then met with the radiologist and oncologist on Thursday, the 21st. The news was not good. The cancer has spread into her lungs and liver. She has terminal cancer. While the doctors didn't want to give us a time frame at this meeting, the oncologist had said 6 weeks ago that people with her type of cancer live on average 6 months. Ma has decided to fight as long as she can and will start chemo therapy on Tuesday, May 3rd. After 6 weeks, she will get another CT scan to check the progress. If the chemo is helping then she will continue, if not, then we'll have to figure out what to do next.

Both of my parents died of cancer. Mom from ovarian cancer when I was only 11 going on 12. Dad of lung cancer when I was 24 years old. Both only lived a year from the initial diagnosis despite the chemo and radiation. Ed's mom has battled cancer twice before. Ovarian cancer before I ever knew her, and breast cancer 9 years ago. While I have had both parents and a grandparent die while I was around, I was never there when it actually happened. I remember Dad coming home from the hospital and telling us kids that Mom had died. I visited with my father in the hospital just an hour before his death, my sister called me to let me know of his passing. The same thing happened with my grandmother. I had visited her as she lay dieing and told her that she needed to go, people were waiting for her on the other side of the veil. That it was going to be a grand reunion. As I drove home from the hospital, the nurse called to let me know she had died. I have always been thankful that I wasn't there when the final time came. Somehow it helped me get through the heart ache. I don't think I'm going to be able to miss out on this event this time.

The one thing I hope is that Ed's siblings and my family don't do what I and my family did to my mom during her last year on this earth. We kept thinking she'd beat the cancer and that she'd always be there. I read in her diary years later about her last Mother's Day. She had been expecting us to do something special. We were never ones to really do cards or gifts (I'm still not), but the only thing she got that day was a gift I had made at school. She was hurt, thinking that we would try to make her last Mother's Day memorable, we didn't. To us it was just another day. If I had a time machine I would go back to that day and really let her know how much she meant to me/us. Since there is no magical time machine, I pray that we all take the time to tell our loved ones how much we love them.

The Lord's Been Good to Me(Us)

As you all know, Ed has been out of work since before Christmas 2009. He has been deligent in looking for work, and we even were willing to move in order to get a job. Fortunately we didn't have to. The Lord truely has been sustaining us through this past year. We did have to dip into retirement a bit, but then that just means not as many trips to Disney Land once we retire.

Well, as of April 18th he will be back in the work force where he actually gets paid for the work he does. (He has been hard at work around the house with the remodel, so I can't say he has not worked this whole time.)

Life Changes

Well, we have a new addition to our household. Ed's mother has come to live with us. It was decided back in January that after she retired from Craft Warehouse she would not be able to afford her own home and would come to live with us. We set about remodeling the downstairs to accomodate this. Ed installed a door between the kitchen and what was the dining room.

He also installed French doors between the dining room and living room flanked by glass blocks.

To complete her "apartment" he installed another set of French doors between the living room and the entry way.

Finally, he is in the process of installing a shower in the old laundry room between the family room and the garage.

Then on February 10th, our world was turned upside down. Ma's back had been aching for months. It was the main reason she decided to retire, she just couldn't cope anymore. Her primary doctor told her that she had degenerative disc diesease. After weeks of physical therapy and no relief, Ed finally took her to the emergency room to try to get a shortcut to see a neurologist. Instead, Ma was immediately admitted to the hospital for a broken neck vertebrae! Two major operations later, she has been diagnosed with a carcenoma of unknown origin. For a while we weren't sure she was going to make it out of the hospital. The prognosis is 6 months to a year and a half, hopefully longer. Right now she is having to wear a full neck/back brace when she is up and walking about, and just a soft collar at all other times. Tomorrow she'll finish her radiation treatment.

Ma was released from the hospital to our house yesterday. We were told not to leave her unattended due to the fact that she can't see her feet when she walks in the walker with the brace on, and she gets a little confused when she gets tired. Plus, the pain meds make her a little loopy. She needs to be checked on every four hours to see if she is in enough pain to warrent the meds. This means we will not be getting a full night's sleep anytime soon. (Now I know why God gives babies to young people.)

A Great Visit

We drove to Rexburg Idaho last Thursday to spend the 4-day weekend with Jennifer. When we arrived most of the snow she had been telling us about had melted and you could see the grass. We even walked around campus without coats on it was so warm. Then came Saturday night and along with it 5 inches of snow. I heard the snowplows running up and down the street outside her bedroom window at 5am.

While we were there she took us to Craigo's all you can eat pizza parlor. Edward really enjoyed himself. I must admit their Oreo pizza was good.

Saturday night after the boys dropped us off at the dorm and drove back to the hotel to have a swim, I dyed Jennifer's hair a dark auburn color. I also dyed her dorm mate Heidi's a light blonde. We had a great time just spending "girl time" together.

It was hard to say 'good-bye' once again, but she'll be coming home in just 42 more days. She'll then be home until September when we take her back and do it all again.