Living a Blessed Life

Believe it or not we are halfway to Christmas!! What does that mean for our family? It means that our youngest, Makaiya, has turned 7! She loves that her birthday is at the halfway point because she gets gifts every 6 months. This birthday had a little more significance for me, as each day is a gift, more than before. Every day, event, or milestone takes up special residence in my memory in a way it hasn’t before. I feel caught in the place of wishing time would slow down, but simultaneously speed up so I can enjoy every minute, but also never miss a moment to come. My 4th round of chemo began on June 21st, and completed on the 23rd. This was a more challenging round for me again. I came home with a couple of new side effects this time, including a numb tongue and throat. It was a strange sensation when I would swallow. I could breath fine, and swallow fine, but it was quite uncomfortable. I called my nurse line and was instructed by my oncologist to take a Benadryl and see if that ...

The heat index today reached 105 degrees here in central Minnesota. That’s pretty toasty if you ask me! I do really love the heat, though. I will never complain when it is warm or even hot outside. One of my favorite things about hot, breezy days is that I get to hang my clothes on the clothesline to dry. Call me old fashioned but something about this brings me peace. Not to mention that it was so hot outside today that the clothes probably dried in 10 minutes. Win! Win! Earlier this morning I had my biweekly appointment with my oncologist. I have mentioned this previously, but she is absolutely fabulous. I honestly feel like she cares about my personal health and progress at every single visit. Today we discussed my current treatment plan, and she mentioned that after my July 6th infusion she would have my MRI and follow up with the surgeon scheduled. Praise the Lord! I am looking forward to this. It is at this point that we will know how the tumor is responding to the chemothera...

“Praise may not shift our circumstances, but it will definitely begin to change our hearts. We don’t always get to choose our situations, but we can choose how we live through them.” - Lysa TerKeurst This past weekend was another busy one with a baseball tournament for Toby, consisting of five games over the course of Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday. His team took first AGAIN, going undefeated through the weekend. It was a lot of fun watching the boys play ball, and they really came together as a team both on and off the field. It has been such a joy to watch them become friends and encourage each other to be the best. My mama heart swells with humble pride as this team wins in such a classy way. Additionally, I mentioned previously that Darek is coaching this team, and he is doing a fantastic job!! His patience (where did this come from?), encouragement, calm temperament with the umpires, and overall coaching ability are truly impressive. He seems to be in his element on the b...

This past weekend was full of baseball, family, and Makaiya’s first dance recital. We all had a wonderful time hopping around to the many events, and celebrating one another along the way. Uncle Mark was able to stay for the weekend, and Grandpa & Grandma Ford drove up from Iowa on Sunday to watch Toby’s last tournament game and Kaiya’s recital. What a sweet surprise for Toby when he heard Grandpa and Grandma cheering him on! It was a great weekend to help ease my anxiety for the upcoming infusion week. Monday, June 6 , was the start of round 3 for me. I was at the clinic bright and early (7:30AM) to begin my day with the desensitization protocol and a 6 hour infusion of Oxaliplatin. This time around my dose was decreased by 20% and that seems to have made a tremendous difference. I did not experience any of the neuropathy (tingling) sensations in my hands during the infusion, and have had very little of it after. The cramping in my jaw has significantly decreased, and only hap...

This post is a bit overdue, as I had an incredibly rough end of the week last week. My mental clarity and honest ability to do pretty much anything aside from lying on the couch was in jeopardy, and while I wanted to write an update I just couldn’t get it done. Here we are, nearing the end of my off week, and I am feeling pretty good again. Backing up, I will fill you in on the course of events from last week. I write this in an effort to give you a laugh and give you hope that no matter how bad things seem, you are not alone. :) On Monday , May 23rd, I had my second round of infusions, and if you recall I had the unique privilege of spending 8 hours in the clinic for this one. Everything went well, and thankfully I did not experience the reactions I had the first time, however, I ended up having a slew of side effects throughout the course of the week following. On that day Makaiya had a movie with her teacher after school that we purchased during a silent auction earlier in the y...