Month: July 2012

  • Happy Birthday, JanaLyn

    Thank you, so very much, for all of the kind words and especially for your prayers.

    I am overwhelmed with how sweet each of your are, especially when you have never met me.

     
                                                     Jaiden,          Adrienne,                 Rissy
                                 Annamarie,                                 Janalyn,                              Riley

    Tomorrow is my first dental appointment.,  She will fill some cavities (I only want her to fill one, but Jesse said to do them all . . . I don’t know about Jesse’s suggestion) and then take an impression of my teeth for the caps to be made.  I fear the dentist appointment as much as I fear having the radiation done in my neck and throat area!  How I wish my phobia (my ONLY fear) of dentists would go away!  It’s only become worse as I get older.

           

    ALSO, I was tested for low oxygen levels on Wednesday night.  The results came back saying my oxygen level was so low that I was killing  brain cells (the ones that help you remember stuff).  Sometime today, the company with the machines will be delivering an oxygen machine for me to use while I sleep.  The doctor said my levels were dangerously low.  I’m glad to know I don’t have dementia or  Altzheimers.  If the simple oxygen doesn’t work, they will give me a sleep apnea machine.  I’m looking forward to remembering things!!!  The doctor’s message on the answering machine said my memory loss was due to lack of oxygen and brain cells being killed, or the little girls sucking my brains out of me!!!  He has a great sense of humor!

                                   

    Yesterday was Janalyn’s birthday, as you can tell  from all of the pictures.  She is granddaughter #1 and Jaiden (the one visiting from Colorado) is #2 – about a   year and a few months apart in age.  Our youngest daughter had her first birthday and 10 days later Janalyn was born.  The following year and a few months later, the second granddaughter (Jaiden) was born.  Little stair steps!!!

                         

    Janalyn had gotten in trouble for something (huge) and she wasn’t given a birthday party, this year.  So, I made a homemade b-day cake (no fancy store bought cake).  Stephanie was babysitting a friend’s daughter; and, she was the only child who wasn’t family that came for cake and the two gifts Jesse & I and the 3 girls gave her.

                  
                 She got a microscope from us and was confused when she opened the box. 

    After we told her what she could do with it, she became excited and didn’t want to wait until she got home to open it.  But, Stephanie held her ground and said she HAD TO wait.  There were lots of little pieces that could be lost.  She was also getting a chemistry set from another grandparent.  As you can see, she loves science.

                              

    Her cake was supposed to look like a hat and it did (look like one) in person, but my pictures don’t show the flatness of the top and sides with the band of ribbon around it.

                  

    The adults ate a slice of cake for dinner and the last 3 pieces were eaten for breakfast, this morning.  Now I need to bake the same cake for our family, since it was gone in one afternoon!  No one got a second piece!

            

    Jaiden goes home this weekend.  I think Jesse is planning to leave Saturday night, get a motel room in Amarillo and then drive north to meet Nikki in Dumas, TX.  She’s coming down from Denver.  He said he’d take the girls.  Angie and Rich and their children will be here, but I won’t have to worry about children and should be able to rest Saturday – Sunday.

           

    Please continue to keep me in your prayers.  I have nothing much next week, although my children have vacation Bible school in the evenings.  I’m expecting to hear from the school soon, and they will set up a time to have Annamarie and Rissy tested academically for proper placement in school, this year.  Last week, the girls received the last of their immunization shots – chicken pox boosters -  and Rissy needed a hepatitis shots.

        

    Almost forgot!!!!!!!  Wednesday we went to the pound and came home with two cats.  One is 2 years old and the other is a kitten, about 2 – 3 months old.  I’ll save that story for my next post.

    PRAYER REQUEST:  Please pray for my friend’s son, David.  He is suffering terribly from Lyme disease and is seriously ill.  I know she would appreciate your prayers and you can send her a message and read about David at this link. 

              
                                  Janalyn with 9 blue candles and one green candle to grow on!    

    I hope everyone has a good weekend.

    Be Blessed   ~

  • How It Works Aroung Here

    Lots of people have asked me how in the world we can open our home to another family of five.  That’s four adults and six children (seven children, with our granddaughter here for the month of July) that live together in one house.

    First of all, my brother-in-law’s family is similar to our own family.  But, they’re also similar in that their children are used to chores.

                     
                                         Courtney has the foyer this week.

    If the children didn’t help clean (especially during the summer time, when everyone is home), it wouldn’t flow half as smoothly as it does each day.

    Everyone has a list of chores.  A set of rooms to pick up, dust, wipe down, and vacuum. 

    The chores are rotated each week, so no one has to do the dreaded “kitchen dump” more than once every 4 weeks.   

    The little children (Adrienne & Kathleen)  have a chore sheet they share.  It requires dusting hallway pictures, dusting baseboards, cleaning remote controls and telephones, etc.,  Little jobs, but necessary jobs.

       
                                           Kathleen making the bed in her room.

    After waking up and having breakfast, they start their chores.

    Except today.  Chores have been done and now they are surprising us adults with muffins for breakfast.  Ahhhhh, I feel like royalty!

    Jaiden (granddaughter visiting from Colorado) helps and other granddaughter, Janalyn, is here today while her mom works.  They’ll get the jobs of putting clean kitchen wash cloth and towel up in the kitchen and putting up a clean bathroom hand towel. 

    Kitchen person is supposed to empty the dishwasher first thing and all children are “supposed” to put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher all day.  Any pot someone uses to make lunch is supposed to be cleaned and put away by that person who cooked.

      
                                        Thomas on kitchen duty this week.

    My 3 girls also have chore lists to keep their bedroom dusted and the dresser drawers straight.  They are to straighten their closet and bring empty hangers to the laundry room and, once a week, clean out their purses, and their bulletin boards.

       
              Adrienne always wakes up early, does her chores, then lies down until breakfast. 
                                       She’s in charge of making the bed this week and,
                                                      as soon as she is done resting,
                                                               it will be made!

    The other news . . .

    I had to give Daniel away.  His jumping and biting was becoming excessive, leaving band aid covered wounds, and Jaiden and Kathleen were afraid to walk near him.  Each time they passed him, he jumped on their ankles and bit, drawing blood.  My arms look horrible (like shards of glass cut me) and I’m embarrassed to wear short sleeves.  I hated to do it, but the constant biting and chewing made it hard for me to bond with him. 

     

    I’ve NEVER had a cat like that in my entire life (which has been pretty long!!) and I found there are some animals that are simply animals and can’t be domesticated.  I have many questions for God about WHY I felt like he was the right cat, and I admit to not knowing the lesson I’m to learn from this.  (maybe letting go?)  At any rate, I’m looking for another cat (not a newborn kitten, but an older kitten) that’s been spayed already.  And, I hope to find him soon (in the next couple of weeks) because I will need his company.

    Why?

      
                   Rissy has the kitchen table, dining room table, & laundry room areas this week.

    Because I will have to undergo radiation treatment to my hip and hip joint, starting on August 20th.  And the bad news (at least to me), the part of my neck that hurts so bad has a small (very small) bit of cancer and that’s why they think my neck constantly hurts so bad.  It’s not just from arthritis.  I’m NOT looking forward to radiation in my neck.  I’ve already been told I’ll have a raspy voice and a sore throat.  (I’m thinking “yeah, how BAD of a sore throat?) and she continued on to tell me I will probably be on a soft or liquid diet.     So, it will be THAT bad of a sore throat.

    You know when a doctor tells you you’ll have a sore throat and be on a soft/liquid diet that they are being honest about the fact it will hurt REALLY bad.  And I also know that the radiation continues to burn after the 3 weeks of treatments, so I’ll be sore 2-4 weeks after they stop the treatments.  That’s a long time to be on a liquid/soft diet and a  six week sore throat???????  I don’t want to think about it.

      
                  Annamarie had to be called back in to pick up OTHER PEOPLE’S blanket mess.
                   She doesn’t think it’s fair for her to have to pick up other people’s  stuff.
                         I explained I’ve done it for 10 years and I don’t like it either.
                                                  But, sometimes, I have to do it.

      
    This picture is NOT meant to show you how beautiful my nails look, since I make my children do all the work around here (which they don’t  LOL !!!!); but, it’s to show you I’ve treated myself to a French manicure these past few months (and will continue to do so) because it  makes me feel good about myself.  Being one year away from 60 makes me want to grab anything I can get my hands on (for cheap) that boosts my self esteem a little!!!!  LOL

                                   ***********************************************

    I’m getting my caps put back on my front teeth, so I will be smiling big in pictures, again.  And my old friends, here on Xanga, know of my dental phobia.  I will take some tranquilizers, but they usually have no affect until I get home.  THEN, I relax and sleep.  So  pray for me this coming Saturday.  I’ll be at the dentist’s office having 2 minor fillings filled and the impression taken for my new caps.

                              ****************************************************** 

    Also, I’m enormously scared about the radiation to my neck.  I knew the radiation to my hips/sacrum would make me very tired and I’d be in bed recovering from the treatments, but I wasn’t prepared for the treatment to my neck and all the complications that follow. 

    I did the stupid thing and read on the Internet all the problems that come from neck radiation.  Mouth sores, dry mouth then cavities (oh yay! I get to see the dentist even more??!!!), horrible sore throat, swollen glands, dry mouth, and no taste buds.  Stupid of me to look that up,.  Stupid!  Stupid!  Stupid!!!!

    Please pray for me, those of you who think of me throughout your day.  Dentist is July 28th and August 18th.  The radiation will start August 20th for 15 weekday sessions.   Despite my dental phobia, the radiation part is really scaring me. 

    A piece of educational information:  After radiation treatments, you still “cook” for a couple of months. 

    I know.  Not a comforting thought, is it?

    Be Blessed  ~

  • July – The Halfway Point

    Yay!!!

    Xanga is letting me upload a few pictures, today!

    I have lots of news and wanted to wait until I could post pictures at the same time.

    We have reached the halfway mark between homeschool ending and public school beginning.  Within the next 2 weeks, the staff will return to public school and we should be hearing from them.  They need to give academic tests to Annamarie (who will be in special ed classes) and Rissy, so the girls can be placed in the right classes and receive the help they need.

    I still need to teach Rissy how to convert fractions to percents and decimal numbers.  I know she won’t be strong in that area, but at least, when the math part is taught in class, she will have heard about it and recall some of what she was taught.

    Our granddaughter, Jaiden (the youngest), is visiting us for a month.  She lives in Denver and the weather has been a huge adjustment for her.  She has my 3 girls and Angie’s one little girl to play with, and they go round and round playing together and forming different little groups.  Sometimes those become points of arguments, but Angie and I have tried to stay on top of it all. 

    Too many chiefs and not enough Indians!

      

    After reviewing all of my neck to tailbone MRIs, bone scan, CT scan,  and brain MRI a few things will change for me.  My blood work has shown an increase in an area that tells when there are rapidly changing cells (like cancer).  Mine has started to go  up each month – out of the range of normal.  So, they are changing my medicine around AND have seen an area of cancer (very small) in my  sacrum and left hip.  It’s where I have always had pain and the hip area was questioned in 2009 – when they first diagnosed my cancer.  

    However, all of the other areas, that previously had cancer, have shown improvement each time the MRIs are taken and, this time, have shown improvement, once again.  My oncologist thinks it’s possible the hip and sacrum are old cancer that has been reduced by chemo.  I’ve never had a picture of the sacrum taken, so, there is nothing that can be used as a comparison. 

    What does all that mean?  I will have to undergo radiation therapy to my hip and sacrum.   I visit the radiology oncologist next Thursday.

    I’d like to wait until August to begin, because I want to be alert during the girls’ IEP meetings at public school.  I know how fatigued the radiation will make me feel and I will be “out of it” for a couple of months, while I recover.  The girls being properly placed is of huge importance to me.

          

    Also, I STILL haven’t had my front tooth replaced and want that done before I start radiation.  The oncologist seemed to think that was a wise plan.   She and I don’t think putting radiation off a few weeks will make any huge difference.  BUT . . . The sooner I start the treatments, the sooner my low back and  hip pain will be eased.

    The cat, Daniel, continues to grow like a wildfire.  He has also caused me much grief.  He’s a biter and used to claw, too.  The clawing has stopped completely, but he still bites and draws blood.  My arms look like glass shattered and cut me.  

    Several times, I’ve been tempted to get rid of him and each time he behaves better the very next day and doesn’t go backwards in his training.  In his quiet moments, he’s just the sweetest thing. 

    From what I gather (by reading and talking with my vet), he was taken from the litter too soon and wasn’t ready to stop suckling.  He sucks on my knuckle and kneads and sucks the plush bathroom throw rug. 

    Another clue is that he didn’t play with his siblings and wasn’t disciplined by them and the mother cat – so he doesn’t realize how hard he is playing with me.   The disciplining has become my job.  Yeah, well . . .   Anyway, I’m trying to be “patient” with him and he is definitely moving in a positive direction. 

    I’ve never had a kitten as rough as him, and I have found I don’t know as much about cats as I thought!

      
                 Annamarie                     Rissy                           Adrienne                Jaiden

    I think that’s most of the important stuff.  I’ve had lots of appointments for the girls and me and I’ve been slowly collecting school clothes, backpacks, and school supplies.   To date, I’ve had a busy summer. 

    Angie and I have had the chance to spend some time together visiting, and I treasure that time with all my heart.

    Jesse continues to work hard, keeping early up & gone and late return to home hours each day, except Sundays.  Angie has also been such a nice pair of extra hands.  We share cooking, but I think she takes more days than me and I’m enjoying someone else’s cooking.  She’s a good cook, but different from me.  And, she makes a killer breakfast menu!!! 

    She also cleans my bathroom floor and spa tub while the girls and I are gone on Tuesdays.  I’m unable to reach (AT ALL, anymore) and my upper back has worsened in that I have Charlie horse spasms between my shoulders when I reach or stretch too far.  That’s not just cancer damage, some is degenerative damage. 

    I’ll try to update here, as my teeth are fixed and my radiation treatments begin.

    If any of you are inclined to pray, I will wholeheartedly accept each of your prayers!

    Be Blessed  ~

  • Uploading Photos

    Has anyone else had trouble uploading photos?  I’ve tried for two days – unsuccessfully.