Thursday, May 28, 2009
Oncologist Today
Just thought I'd give you all the update that John met with the oncologist today! It was such a blessing to go ahead and get that out of the way, and to have a chance for him to meet with them to know what the plan is from here. The surgeon said that he may never get feeling back in his index finger and thumb because of the nerve that they had to move to remove the tumor. It's the nerve that many of us refer to as the "funny bone" and he said that even breathing on it could cause that kind of long-term damage. So, the fact that they had to pick it up and move it really caused him to lose feeling in those 2 fingers. Otherwise, his news was positive. He just has to go for some testing every 3 months locally. And then, he'll come back to Houston every 6 months for a checkup to make sure there is nothing else developing. I really have a peace about it that he will still be under their watch and care for at least the next couple of years, but that, for the most part, we can now put this whole thing behind us! He has 5 more radiation treatments, and as soon as he is finished with the one on Thursday, we are cleared to go home! Praise the Lord! I've already made arrangements to pick up the new car on Friday afternoon of next week! The kids are looking forward to that. I got a call yesterday confirming that we as a family get to be in the Lebanon 4th of July Parade in the Mary Kay car! The kids are so excited! I'm thrilled that they get to be a part of this because they have done so much to help and encourage me along the way! This car is just as important to John and the kids as it is to me! I guess that's it for now. We are headed to the Space Center in the morning, and we plan to go to a Houston Astros game on Monday night. Then, I guess we'll start packing and preparing to head home! Thanks for all of your love, prayers, and support!!!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
2 Weeks From Today!!!
The doctor told John at his appointment yesterday that we can go home 2 weeks from today right after his radiation appointment!!!! Yay! So, we'll be packed up and ready to head for home as soon as he is finished! I must say that it's gone by a lot faster than I thought it would. We'll be ready to go home in 2 weeks though and get back to life as "normal."
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Overcoming Fears
I had a thought cross my mind yesterday that this experience has really been a lot about overcoming fears...for all of us. Fear of a loved one getting cancer, fear of losing your spouse, fear of losing a unit we worked so hard to build, fear of leaving a new manufacturing plant with no manager for an extended period of time, fear of "going under" in the water, fear of jumping in the pool with no floaty, fear of identity theft, fear in invasion of privacy and property, fear of the ocean, fear of waves, fear of being knocked down by a wave, fear of scary people, fear of being lost in a big city with no map, no GPS...and no air conditioning in the car! ...the list goes on! I guess I've realized that we've overcome a lot of fears through this experience...because we had to...and because God has given us the peace and strength to get through it.
So...that brings me to our recent events...fear of the ocean!...and I grew up in the Orlando area going to the Atlantic Ocean for 3 1/2 years...I love the beach...but I still fear the ocean in some ways. We were sitting around yesterday afternoon with nothing to do and fussy, stir crazy, cabin feverish, tired kids. I mentioned to John that we needed to just go for a drive so they could get a nap. I didn't care where we went...I just wanted to put them in the car, let the hum of the engine put them to sleep (now with air conditioning), and enjoy the peace and quiet as we drove to wherever the Houston rodes would take us. John must've thought it was a good idea b/c he said, "Let's go to the beach!" So, within about 30 minutes, we packed everything and the kids and headed to Galveston Island for a couple of hours of beach time and some quiet nap time along the way...about 1 hour of driving time.
The kids LOVED it! They loved playing in the sand! They loved running on the beach! They loved being loud and not being hushed because of the neighbors. And most of all...they loved the ocean! Mommy was terrified that a big wave would come and sweep my babies away, but even Joy...who seems to be hesitant of many things, got right in there and let the waves knock her down and get her hair and face wet...with no floaty or anything. She won't even do that at the pool!
Galveston has done a lot to rebuild the beaches and the buildings since we were there in March! There is still a lot to be done, but I was impressed with the progress! We went to a family beach that you pay to enter, and they are using the money to help with the redevelopment. What a great idea! That same beach had construction trucks all over it last time we were there! There was a guy sitting right by us that was acting really strange, and as we were pulling out of the parking lot, the police were arresting him! Great?!? Everything is an adventure!
By the way, John noticed later that the lock on the driver's side of the car is completely smashed in, so I guess that's how they got in the car. It was completely dark that night at Sea World, and who actually uses their key to get in a car these days anyway, right? So, I don't know how we would've noticed it at the time, but you can tell it now. The dealership didn't even mention it when we got the air conditioner fixed. I guess it's just that common around here...who knows? A girl at the Mary Kay meeting said, "Uh yeah, your in the city now...you can't leave anything in your car." So, I replied that I used to live in Kansas City, and even though cars get broken into there, it's nothing like it is here in Texas. Her only response was, "Well, you're not in Kansas anymore!" I just had to laugh. I guess she's right.
All that to say, I can really see how this experience has grown all of us in positive ways!
So...that brings me to our recent events...fear of the ocean!...and I grew up in the Orlando area going to the Atlantic Ocean for 3 1/2 years...I love the beach...but I still fear the ocean in some ways. We were sitting around yesterday afternoon with nothing to do and fussy, stir crazy, cabin feverish, tired kids. I mentioned to John that we needed to just go for a drive so they could get a nap. I didn't care where we went...I just wanted to put them in the car, let the hum of the engine put them to sleep (now with air conditioning), and enjoy the peace and quiet as we drove to wherever the Houston rodes would take us. John must've thought it was a good idea b/c he said, "Let's go to the beach!" So, within about 30 minutes, we packed everything and the kids and headed to Galveston Island for a couple of hours of beach time and some quiet nap time along the way...about 1 hour of driving time.
The kids LOVED it! They loved playing in the sand! They loved running on the beach! They loved being loud and not being hushed because of the neighbors. And most of all...they loved the ocean! Mommy was terrified that a big wave would come and sweep my babies away, but even Joy...who seems to be hesitant of many things, got right in there and let the waves knock her down and get her hair and face wet...with no floaty or anything. She won't even do that at the pool!
Galveston has done a lot to rebuild the beaches and the buildings since we were there in March! There is still a lot to be done, but I was impressed with the progress! We went to a family beach that you pay to enter, and they are using the money to help with the redevelopment. What a great idea! That same beach had construction trucks all over it last time we were there! There was a guy sitting right by us that was acting really strange, and as we were pulling out of the parking lot, the police were arresting him! Great?!? Everything is an adventure!
By the way, John noticed later that the lock on the driver's side of the car is completely smashed in, so I guess that's how they got in the car. It was completely dark that night at Sea World, and who actually uses their key to get in a car these days anyway, right? So, I don't know how we would've noticed it at the time, but you can tell it now. The dealership didn't even mention it when we got the air conditioner fixed. I guess it's just that common around here...who knows? A girl at the Mary Kay meeting said, "Uh yeah, your in the city now...you can't leave anything in your car." So, I replied that I used to live in Kansas City, and even though cars get broken into there, it's nothing like it is here in Texas. Her only response was, "Well, you're not in Kansas anymore!" I just had to laugh. I guess she's right.
All that to say, I can really see how this experience has grown all of us in positive ways!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Adventures in San Antonio
This entry may not interest some of you, but we do have family that has been keeping up with the ins and outs of our personal experience here in Houston, and I thought our weekend might be of interest to them. So, here it goes...
As some of you may remember, my brother, Scott, lives in San Antonio, TX about 3 hours from us. So, my mom came down from Virginia for the weekend to celebrate Mother's Day with her 2 wonderful children! :) She arrived Friday at noon after a 2 hour delay at the Tri Cities airport due to weather conditions in Atlanta. Then, we took her swimming that afternoon so the kids could show her their new abilities. Jocelyn even put on the floaties (the kind that go on your arms) and jumped off the 2nd step into the pool by herself!!
Saturday at noon we headed to San Antonio to go to Sea World and to see my brother. The first day we went to the water park within Sea World and finished our day off at the Shamu show, "Believe." The kids loved it all. Jackson loved the wave pool. Joy loved the lazy river. Jocelyn loved the whale show. It was all they talked about all night long. Gigi got them light up swords before leaving the park, so those were a hit in the hotel room Saturday night.
We did have a bit of a setback Saturday upon returning to the car. John couldn't find his wallet. When we got to the hotel, we searched high and low for it and couldn't find it. So, he got out his computer and checked online, and someone had stolen the wallet out of the car and spent most of the money in our checking account in just a short amount of time plus some on one of our credit cards too. Needless to say, I think the email that circulates about how someone can get the code to get into your car when you lock it with your key fob must be true. We know it was locked when we left, and there was no sign of forced entry. Just a word of caution to be extra careful with what you leave in your car in parking lots at amusement parks because we know someone else that this happened to at Disney just a few weeks ago.
I asked John if he was starting to feel like Job!
Sunday, for Mother's Day, we met my brother and his wife at Sea World and spent the day with them there. We went to all of the shows, fed the dolphins, pet an alligator, saw the penguins. It was a pretty cool experience. I think Jocelyn still enjoyed Shamu the most. She knows the signal for splash and loves to do it during the show to try to get the whales to splash, and anytime they would go under the water, she would say, "Whale? Go?". She'd also say, "Yeah, Get Wet!" It was too funny! Jackson laughed histerically at the sea lion show! He thought they were pretty clever. I'd say Joy enjoyed the penguins most, and Mommy loved feeding and touching the dolphins! Daddy just enjoyed watching the kids have so much fun!
We went by Scott's office to see the trucks and everything...He has started a Two Men and a Truck franchise if you know anyone in the San Antonio area that needs to move! I was amazed at my brother's newly developed skills and talents to be able to run a business like that!
We returned to Houston at about 11pm last night...but of course...not without drama! Praise the Lord we made it "home" safely, but we had stopped for something to eat a little less than 100 miles away from Houston and the car was smoking like crazy. Are you kidding me? He called his buddy that knows a lot about cars, and he said it was the compressor. He said, to turn the air conditioner off and if the belts were still moving, we could make it the rest of the way. If the belts had stopped, they were going to break and we'd be stranded out in the middle of nowhere, TX. The belts must've been moving because we made it! The air conditioner never has worked well in that car, and the guy at the dealership told me that I needed a new compressor 2 days before we left, but I didn't have time to fix it then. I guess after all of the travel and running the air conditioner full blast in this heat just to get some air circulating in the car just did it in.
John's going to take the car in tomorrow morning to get the air fixed, and the bank is doing everything they can to get the money put back in our account. The box to mail my computer in for service finally came today after two weeks of waiting. So, maybe in a few more days things will be up and running normally again. Who even knows what normal is at this point?
All in all though, we made some great memories and had a blast while we were in the park and at the pool!
As some of you may remember, my brother, Scott, lives in San Antonio, TX about 3 hours from us. So, my mom came down from Virginia for the weekend to celebrate Mother's Day with her 2 wonderful children! :) She arrived Friday at noon after a 2 hour delay at the Tri Cities airport due to weather conditions in Atlanta. Then, we took her swimming that afternoon so the kids could show her their new abilities. Jocelyn even put on the floaties (the kind that go on your arms) and jumped off the 2nd step into the pool by herself!!
Saturday at noon we headed to San Antonio to go to Sea World and to see my brother. The first day we went to the water park within Sea World and finished our day off at the Shamu show, "Believe." The kids loved it all. Jackson loved the wave pool. Joy loved the lazy river. Jocelyn loved the whale show. It was all they talked about all night long. Gigi got them light up swords before leaving the park, so those were a hit in the hotel room Saturday night.
We did have a bit of a setback Saturday upon returning to the car. John couldn't find his wallet. When we got to the hotel, we searched high and low for it and couldn't find it. So, he got out his computer and checked online, and someone had stolen the wallet out of the car and spent most of the money in our checking account in just a short amount of time plus some on one of our credit cards too. Needless to say, I think the email that circulates about how someone can get the code to get into your car when you lock it with your key fob must be true. We know it was locked when we left, and there was no sign of forced entry. Just a word of caution to be extra careful with what you leave in your car in parking lots at amusement parks because we know someone else that this happened to at Disney just a few weeks ago.
I asked John if he was starting to feel like Job!
Sunday, for Mother's Day, we met my brother and his wife at Sea World and spent the day with them there. We went to all of the shows, fed the dolphins, pet an alligator, saw the penguins. It was a pretty cool experience. I think Jocelyn still enjoyed Shamu the most. She knows the signal for splash and loves to do it during the show to try to get the whales to splash, and anytime they would go under the water, she would say, "Whale? Go?". She'd also say, "Yeah, Get Wet!" It was too funny! Jackson laughed histerically at the sea lion show! He thought they were pretty clever. I'd say Joy enjoyed the penguins most, and Mommy loved feeding and touching the dolphins! Daddy just enjoyed watching the kids have so much fun!
We went by Scott's office to see the trucks and everything...He has started a Two Men and a Truck franchise if you know anyone in the San Antonio area that needs to move! I was amazed at my brother's newly developed skills and talents to be able to run a business like that!
We returned to Houston at about 11pm last night...but of course...not without drama! Praise the Lord we made it "home" safely, but we had stopped for something to eat a little less than 100 miles away from Houston and the car was smoking like crazy. Are you kidding me? He called his buddy that knows a lot about cars, and he said it was the compressor. He said, to turn the air conditioner off and if the belts were still moving, we could make it the rest of the way. If the belts had stopped, they were going to break and we'd be stranded out in the middle of nowhere, TX. The belts must've been moving because we made it! The air conditioner never has worked well in that car, and the guy at the dealership told me that I needed a new compressor 2 days before we left, but I didn't have time to fix it then. I guess after all of the travel and running the air conditioner full blast in this heat just to get some air circulating in the car just did it in.
John's going to take the car in tomorrow morning to get the air fixed, and the bank is doing everything they can to get the money put back in our account. The box to mail my computer in for service finally came today after two weeks of waiting. So, maybe in a few more days things will be up and running normally again. Who even knows what normal is at this point?
All in all though, we made some great memories and had a blast while we were in the park and at the pool!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Our Little Fish
Well, yesterday was a milestone day for us! Jackson learned how to swim!!! He'd never even put his face in the water before yesterday! I suggested to him that he put on his diving mask and try looking at Mommy's toes in the water. He agreed, and thought it was pretty cool that he could see everything. So, he just kept getting more and more brave. Next thing we knew, he was putting his whole head under the water and staying down there for several seconds before coming back up. Then, we went inside for a break (even though he didn't want to) and promised them we would come back last night. We kept our promise and went back not long before dark last night. It probably only took him 20 minutes and he was asking if he could swim to me from the steps. I agreed, and off he went! He spent the rest of the time swimming parallel to the side of the pool, and he'd just come up and grab the side when he needed a breath. Today, he would swim a little ways out from the stairs turn around and swim back without any help! WOW!!! That is major progress from last summer. I'm am so excited and totally amazed! What a blessing! Joy cruises around the pool on her own too with her little inflatable ring. She's pretty independent too! Now Jocelyn, she doesn't realize that she's smaller than the other two, so she uses the same ring that Joy does. Today, she would stand on the 2nd step, count "one, two, three" and then just jump holding onto her ring with no help at all from us! Could someone please tell her she's not even 2 yet?!? I think she thinks she'll be swimming by the end of summer! Crazy! Joy's not into "going under" just yet. She tells us she's not big yet...so we'll see. Jackson is determined to teach her how! We are just hanging out the rest of the day today and getting ready for our visitors tomorrow! John still seems fine at this point! Thanks for checking up on us!
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