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| I heard a preacher once say, that when reading your Bible, do something different and exchange the word "love" for "God" and "Jesus". It is really awesome to do, and can give you a whole new perspective of "God IS love". "In the beginning Love created the heavens and the earth"......... Now, two days of sunshine and 30 + degree weather in a row!! Yea!!! I'm loving it, and using it to charge up my spirit for the next cold blast.. About a month ago as I was hooking my frozen battery to the charger for the "umteenth" time, I saw a rabbit sliding around on the snow and ice in our yard in the subzero temperatures and I officially declared it to be spring at that moment. HA. Still waiting for that to manifest itself....... Bob update: New scans show that nothing has spread, and many of the cancers are shrinking and some are what they call "stable". It was very encouraging to hear that and we just praise God!! He will continue on chemotherapy for 3 more months and then scan again. We thank you all so much for your prayers and support and just ask that you keep on praying!! Random thoughts: - I don't know about anybody else, but don't you get the same sensation like you are playing a video game when you're driving on the roads dodging potholes. That is what it feels like to me - a real life video game.
- Bad gutters and wintry weather make some awesome icicles!
- Why is it that the dog likes to eat the cat's food and the cat likes to eat the dog's food?
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| Hello friends! Well, things have finally settled down to a somewhat normal pace - if there is such a thing - Ha. For instance, I was able, this week, to subject my brain to boggling once again at the hands of Romans_837 and his quizzing, and here I am blogging in my usual wee hours of the morning! There are still times when it seems like we are "on the outside, looking in", but God is just helping us keep it together as we press on. Thankfully, Bob has stayed out of the hospital for a month now and that is great news. He was even able to attend church on Christmas Eve and that was such a blessed time for us. He is still weak and has lost some weight. He is down to 120 lbs, but is holding steady there. He finished his radiation treatments and now goes to The Cancer Center once a week for chemotherapy. I have really been taken back by the amount of people I've seen there that are getting treated for cancer. Young and old and everything in between. In that one day a week that he goes there, we have run into 6 people that we know getting treatment there, also. It seems like every week, we run into another acquaintance. I've been enjoying the winter weather, and I'm glad there was snow for Christmas, but now I think I'm done with it. I believe I've scattered more Ice Melt so far this year than the last three years combined! Oh well, it will be over soon enough, I guess. Looking forward to New Year's Eve and 2008!!!!!!! | | |
| "For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow." Philippians 2:27 I have always loved "but God" scriptures!! Hello Xanga friends. I cannot thank you all enough for your prayers and support. Thank you Susie for putting out prayer requests for us! Here is some of what has been happening in our life: Around the middle of September, Bob went to the doctor and got diagnosed with pneumonia. A few days later they called and said that there was something on the x-ray and he needed a cat scan. I must tell you, that is not something that is good to hear. The scan came back showing possible cancer in the lungs, liver and lymph nodes. A few days and a few biopsies later confimed this. It was pretty upsetting, but when they said 6 months or less without treatment and 10 months or more with it, well, it was pretty surreal. That week I wondered if a person could become dehydrated from crying so many tears. I can't explain the strange feeling as Bob and I were sitting on our porch feeling like time had stopped. Totally stopped. And meanwhile, cars were driving by and people were just continuing on with normal everyday life. It was very strange. We did not have any medical insurance and weren't quite sure what we were going to do. We applied for medicaid and were approved in a day. The social worker from the hospital was in disbelief and said that is virtually unheard of. I say that is the FAVOR OF GOD!! Week #2 - More tests and more cancer. This time, in the bones and the brain. We handled this news much better. They said that we need to start radiation to the brain right away, so we were sent across the way to see the radiation oncologist. It was such a blessing to go there and see the nurse that is in charge of that area. She is a member of WOLC and it just made us feel better to be in her presence. Then we found out our doctor is also attending WOLC, and we were blessed and encouraged after talking with him. Later that same day, a guy from the pharmacy came to set us up with oxygen at the house. We got to talking and found out he is a PK and he was so glad to hear where we went to church. We had a very blessed time with him. After he left, there are not really words that I can use to describe how Bob and I felt, other than like "HIT" with the fact that in all of this mess, God was everywhere in the midst of it!! Like he was confirming - "hey guys, I'm right here with you". Week #3 - Bob starts radiation to the brain. They told us that his hair follicles would be burnt and he would be bald forever. I'm glad that my husband is not vain about his appearance! So we had great fun discussing a "Bald Bob". Holly's suggestion was that he grow his beard real long and do a "beard comb-over" onto his head. I suggested a "hair tattoo". Bob decided that since Holly and Mia like to draw and write so much, that his head could be like a "write on wipe off" board for them. He would draw a line down the middle and Holly could draw on one side and Mia the other. Things started out fun and then became anything but.. Bob started having trouble breathing. They did a chest x-ray and said they don't see why he is having trouble and it must be nerves. The week progressed and the breathing became more difficult, and nausea and insomnia set in. We had a very scary trip to the ER. Again, they said that it must be anxiety and wrote a prescription and sent us home. I can't even describe to you the next few days other than very difficult and very scary. By Sunday morning, Bob was barely breathing, couldn't walk or stand. Finally, the final trip of the week to the ER gets the staff to start looking for something other than anxiety and Bob was admitted. As awful as the week was, it was also a week of close fellowship with the Lord for our family. Like never before. And it was awesome. So now, that brings us to the current week - Week #4. Monday starts out with us learning that Bob's kidneys might be failing, his liver is not functioning and then they found the major problem - fluid around the heart. They immediately set plans to drain it, but his blood would not clot so they gave him bag after bag after bag of fresh frozen platelets. Finally they drained a liter of fluid off his heart. The cardiologist was pretty shocked. He said a "great tragedy" had been avoided.. So last week, while everyone thought Bob was just having panic attatcks, his heart was literally going through the equivalent of running a week long marathon. No wonder he couldn't breathe. We were all amazed that he had made it. Cody pretty much said it all when he said, "Man, Dad is tough". The good news is that the liver is starting to function better and the kidneys are ok. The not so good news - the fluid around the heart is cancerous and is coming from the lung tumor which is right on top of it. So tonight, the cancer docs gave us a very grim prognosis. One thing I have noticed about these doctors is they have to give you the worst case scenerios. And no matter what they tell us, we still will have hope. Sometimes we are very sad and sometimes we cry alot, but that "peace" that surpasses all understanding is guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. And right now, the two most important things I know are: #1 - Bob is tough and #2 - "but God". I cannot tell you how humbling and encouraging it is to know that there are so many people praying for us. And we are so thankful for the help and the offers of help that we have been given. We truly love you. | | |
| It's quiet here.....almost too quiet! The kids have gone off to spend a few days with their grandparents and for the first time in 5 years, Bob and I are........ALONE! It's weird. No "MOM!", no electric guitar wailing, no keyboard playing, no stereo blasting, no fighting, no arguing, no neighborhood kids hanging out, no Nickelodeon, Disney Channel or Cartoon Network, no video games, no one to pick up after, no one to "get after", no little ones to snuggle with, no little ones to hug and kiss, and no one to tuck into bed : ( .....it's kind of boring! HA. So it took Bob and I a little time to get adjusted to our "empty nest". Not too long though! A leisurely afternoon and a nice time out together at 54th Street Grill. When we were talking to them before they left and saying how Bob and I won't know how to act and what will we do while they're gone, Mia said she was afraid that we wouldn't miss her, Holly was just excited to go and Cody got out his IPod and played us this.!! Funny kid. I miss them! | | |
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Thirty years ago today, I was in a car traveling with my family, leaving Memphis, TN. I had my awesome vacation souvenior, a black velvet pillow case painted with pictures of Memphis, Nashville, guitars and music symbols in bright colors and glitter. Add to that the yellow silky fringe border and I must say I had the most wonderful gaudy treasure ever! I remember riding in the car and hearing on the radio that Elvis had died. My dad was so glad that we were gone from there before the news broke because people flocked there in droves. Elvis was cool. Or I should say, the "young" Elvis was cool. I'm not too sure about him later in life. I watched many of his movies as a kid and I loved the "Jailhouse Rock" scene. They say he was the King of Rock-n-Roll. Do you think we would have had the "Fab 4", the Stones or many other artists if he hadn't been around to influence them? Do you think our music would be the same today if he hadn't existed? I don't know. Bono wrote an essay called "Elvis: American David". I have seen other articles that stated Elvis was the most influential musician since King David. The only Grammy he ever won was for a gospel recording. I found this article from the Chicago-Sun Times writen by their religion writer talking about Elvis and grace. Check it out: ELVIS | | |
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