California Here We Come

It was a spur of the moment decision at the beginning of the week and now

we are packed up and headed for California!

What a good looking chauffeur we have for our Labor Day (Ford) Expedition!

We're crammed in like sardines..

ready for an adventure...

good thing we like being together!
Stacey woke up with a bad headache and dry heaves...

not a good way to start vacation.
Fortunately, she is feeling better now!!

Buckled up for safety and ready for some fun!

The boys are excited...including Jeff!

California, here we come!

Good Results

I had the ultrasound done yesterday and the radiologist looked at it while I was there. He said he didn't see anything abnormal, although it's a little more difficult with the expanders in there. I will see my doctor next week for a follow-up and she will determine if I need the MRI or not.

The ultrasound was done and I had to lay on the table for about 10 minutes while waiting for the tech to return with the results. It was somewhat of a deja vu experience for me. As I lay there, praying and asking God to have His hand upon me and trusting Him for the results, my eyes started to fill as I blinked back the tears, remembering the diagnosis day! Whew! Memories flooded my mind and for those ten minutes, I re-lived so many experiences of the past year...good and bad! I felt the peace of God sweep across my body, just as I have felt so many times before! I saw the faces of so many family and friends who have been my cheerleaders on this journey! Even now, I am overcome with emotions, just thinking about it all!

None of us know what lies in our future but I do know that God has numbered my days from the moment He gave me life and nothing will change His plan! I'm confident that He will see me through, as I trust Him for each new day!

Thanks for your prayers!

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. ~Psalm 139:13-14

Ultrasound

Today I will have an ultrasound done because of some soreness I've been having in my underarm on the same side as I had the BC. The likely source is from the expander but because of the location, we have to make sure that's all it is. I will see the doctor next week for the results.

Thanks for praying!!

Just wanted to let you know that the New Homeland Security Bill has passed. Things will be different now and Internet surfing as you know it will be tracked by what the FBI calls a 'non intrusive method.' The FBI says you will hardly notice anything different.

For a demonstration, click on the link below:

Homeland Security

Dad Took a Tumble

My dad had been doing remarkably well since we brought him home from the care center about 3 weeks ago. Yesterday, he took a tumble and was taken to the ER via ambulance...again! So far, it doesn't appear that anything is broken (praise God) but he got scrapped up and is really sore in his lower back. As usual, once he's in the hospital, they seem to find other concerns to evaluate while he's there. Due to his liver failure, his stomach bloats out and makes him look nine months pregnant and requires his stomach to be tapped. He just had that done last week but they want to do it again before they release him from the hospital. Also, they are evaluating if he is having some congestive heart failure again. Hopefully today they will drain his stomach, do his dialysis, and then release him.

I'm sure he's going to be sore for several days!

Two Thumbs Up

I've had lots of aches and pains in my joints over the past several weeks which lead to my doctor ordering nerve conduction tests. I've seen a hand specialist twice now and he determined that I have some nerve damage, arthritis, trigger joints, tendinitis, and carpal tunnel. Some of it could be side effects from chemo and my medication, Arimidex, (which I have to take for at least 5 years to reduce the risk of recurrence of the cancer), or at least those two things have caused these other underlying issues to rear their ugly heads with a vengeance!

Last week I had EMG's done on my hands and legs. My joints had progressively gotten worse and by the time I saw the hand specialist again on Monday, my right thumb wouldn't bend and my middle finger on the left hand wouldn't straighten out. He gave me four shots (OUCH!)...one in each wrist and one in the thumb and finger. Now, they are moving much better and I'm sleeping with wrist splints to help with the carpal tunnel. Surgery may be in the future but hopefully not anytime soon.

I've been a little down and discouraged lately because of these annoying and painful issues. I'm happy to be able to give two thumbs up (really) today and rejoicing in the relief from the shots.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever! ~Psalms 73:26

Traveling Pants...

Here is a great opportunity to send your used blue jeans on a traveling adventure of their own!

This Friday and Saturday Mervyns will give you $5 off denim for him & her or $3 off kids' denim when you bring in your gently used, clean jeans. Declare that you're gonna put your blues to good use. Discount excludes Levi's®. All donated jeans will go to The Salvation Army, so use your blues for a great cause.

Contact a Mervyns near you for details. Some restrictions apply.

My Brother Hits The Big 50!!

My brother, Steve, celebrated his 50th birthday this month!

He has played such an important role in my life

and I value my relationship with him.

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer

he was one of the first people to call me.

He knows the gut wrenching feeling

of receiving a devastating diagnosis,

as he was diagnosed with Parkinson's about 3 1/2 years ago.

He has the ability of making you laugh in the midst of tears.

The day he called me, he said, "I just have one question...

where was the lifeguard at our gene pool?"

We laughed and cried together that day

and he and my sister-in-law, Cindy,

have been a huge support for me during the past year!

Steve and Cindy with their four beautiful daughters,

Danah, Jennifer, Stephanie & Leslie.

Danah came in from WI to celebrate her dad's big day!

Steve and "kids" from his youth group...back in the day!

They planned and executed a surprise

Luau 50th Birthday Celebration!

They did an incredible job of honoring Steve and showing their

heart-felt appreciation for his sacrifice during their teen years.

He was emotional and speechless!

They're all 30+ now and have families of their own.

Some of them were a "real challenge" during their youth.

It was so awesome to be together with them again

and learn about their families, careers,

and most of all, their spiritual growth!

My sister Karen, her husband John, Art and I were all

involved with Steve during his ministry as Youth Pastor.

Art and I served and taught some of these kids

during their Jr. High years.

One, of them is Jeff, who is now our son-in-law!!

My mom and dad started it all...in many ways!
Dad was the Pastor of the church for 30+ years!
Dad had just come home from the care center a week earlier

and we were thrilled to have him there with us.

He's 7 Years Old

Happy 7th Birthday Buddy!

He's very special to this grandma!! We live in the same neighborhood, attend the same church and he wants to spend the night every weekend! He calls me on the phone to share silly stories or ask questions that he thinks his parents don't have the right answer to. He loves to help me bake brownies or cookies and plans to be a baker one day and own his own shop. If you ask him, he will give you the details and design of his bakery. I love for him to share his big dreams with me!!



Proud parents of this special young man!


He's doing a pretty good job of raising them and teaching them what they need to know about parenting!

Best friends!!

They've been best friends since they were just preschoolers. They went to Kindergarten and 1st grade together but the 2nd graders will attend separate schools this year. They'll be lost without each other!

Can you believe she's about 6 months older than him?









What kid doesn't love to go to Peter Piper Pizza? He's no different. He loves to spend $10 in tokens to earn tickets to buy $2 worth of toys! It's the challenge, I guess!












Here he is with his new guitar and amplifier! He thinks he's a rock star now! He's actually pretty good on it! More than anything...he looks VERY COOL!


I know God has big plans for this young man. He has a tender heart and loves Jesus!

Be My Support, Be My Strength, Be My Bra

I received an email with the following information and I checked it out on snopes.com Although I'm not sure how effective the petition may be, it's worth the effort to try and protect women who are facing breast cancer!

From a nurse...

I'll never forget the look in my patients eyes when I had to tell them they had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breast. I remember begging the Doctors to keep these women in the hospital longer, only to hear that they would, but their hands were tied by the insurance companies. So there I sat with my patients, giving them the instructions they needed to take care of themselves, knowing full well they didn't grasp half of what I was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet 'Thank You' they muttered.

A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a Mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery. It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important. Please take the time and do it!

If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times. There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the 'drive-through' Mastectomy where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached. Lifetime Television has put this bill on their Web page with a petition drive to show support. Last year over half the House signed on.

PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give more than your name, state, and zip code.

Be My Support, Be My Strength, Be My Bra!