Thursday, April 30, 2020

Flowers, Ice Cream and Friends






 Linking up with Knit By God's Hand. Click here to read more Thankful posts


This week I am thankful for:
 
Chuck is feeling better every day
Seeing the results of yard work
Azalea bushes in bloom
Mini Road Trips
An Oreo Sonic blast
Stopping by work and seeing a beloved co-worker!
Primroses blooming throughout the house
Crossing things off my To Do list

What are you thankful for today?

Monday, April 27, 2020

So What Would You Be Doing?

Like many of you I've been thinking about all the things we would normally be doing this time of year. It's hard not to just hop in the car and go somewhere, especially on days when the weather is nice.

Every April for many years our family has gone to Roozengaard. It's a large tulip field about an hour from our house so we make it an all day adventure. The tulips are absolutely gorgeous and there's always so many things to see. They have a huge windmill, a gift shop, gardens and rows and rows of tulips!

This is my mom and our girls around 1994. 
The little girl second from the right was a neighbor.











Sharaya was taking pictures of Diana and Allie at the same place every time... until Diana moved to Pennsylvania!









So what would you be doing?
Is there someplace you're missing this year?

Saturday, April 25, 2020

Saturday Snippets

Brought Chuck home on Monday and he's doing so much better today.  He's off the pain meds from the surgery, the incision is healing well and he's back to his ol' mischievous self.

I wish I'd thought to get a picture of them actually wheeling him out! I was just too excited!


 Beth helped me make mashed potatoes. I peeled and she cut. We haven't had them in such a long time but they were the perfect comfort food this week! They were so good!



I had to go to Home Depot for work yesterday and had to wait in line to get in. It went really fast though and I was able to grab the item I needed and I was out of there pretty fast. The less time I have to spend in public nowadays the better!


I also had to go to Safeway and I will tell you, I am a rule follower. If there is a large red sign on the floor showing 'One Way' I'm only going to go that way. It was so frustrating the amount of people who just Do. Not. Care. 

I got this picture off Google Images but this is what their signs look like. And people would just push by going the opposite direction. Sigh. But I will say Safeway was stocked! Every shelf except flour, they even had a big selection of toilet paper! It was so nice!


What is shopping like for you?
Are you finding stocked or empty shelves when you go out?

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Another Day To Be Thankful

Dinner brought to the house by good friends
Homemade banana bread
Family rides in the car
A husband feeling better every day
Waking up feeling energized
Hand-written letters
 Sitting on the back patio
The perfect cup of tea
A box full of old photographs

I hope and pray you're doing well today!

Click here for more things to smile about!

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

"When This Be Over?"

That's the question Beth has been asking every couple of days lately. We've talked about the virus and how it's making so many people sick. I've demonstrated how when we cough and don't cover our mouths our germs can land on people and things. And that's how people are getting sick. I'm trying to make it simple enough for her to understand without talking to her like she's six.


She misses her friends and asks when she can see them again. I've shown her pictures of them on-line and she'll read some of their posts. Her and Nick text a little but he is SO social, it's hard for her to keep up with him. She enjoys being by herself. 

It's the routine she misses the most.



She doesn't understand the whole streaming thing. We watch our church services on-line and I've pointed to the empty choir loft and told her that no one's there because they're at their own homes watching it on their TV's like we are. She sees it's empty but you can tell she just doesn't quite get it.

When our pastor mentions "...all of you watching from your dining room table or your couch..." she is truly shocked like, "How does he know where we are?"

For years I've written notes for her to do chores around the house: empty the dishwasher, take out the trash, vacuum, etc. and I'm still occasionally doing that but I will admit I've thrown my own routine right out the window and I'm sure that hasn't helped her.

And on Saturday Chuck went back to the hospital. He passed out at home and I called 911. He ended up having a blood transfusion, a CT scan, was seen by a GI specialist... he spent 2 days there and it was all caused by a blocked colon. Just one more thing to upset the routine of life.

 
"When this be over?"  

Saturday, April 18, 2020

Saturday Snippets - One in Particular

Our Easter pictures






But our official Easter 2020 photo looks like this 😁


We put these together really fast. 
This will be an Easter we'll never forget!

 I caught Beth practicing her guitar earlier this week



 The cherry tree is blooming!


But the real snippet happened today


Chuck passed out this morning and I couldn't keep him conscious. He'd come to and then pass out again. When it happened the 3rd time I called 911. I couldn't see him when I got to the hospital and I was in the waiting room alone and Beth was at home alone so after a couple hours I decided it would be better if I came home. The nurse called and we talked about his cancer meds and dosages and she said he looks much better this evening then he did when he arrived! He's had a blood transfusion, a CT scan plus some other tests - white blood count is high... there's a few things they're still checking on so they're keeping him overnight. He's feeling better and we've been texting. I'm very relieved they're keeping him there. They have the medical expertise that I don't have! What a day!

Have you ever passed out?
Ever stayed overnight in the hospital?

Thursday, April 16, 2020

Sunshine, Chalk and Tulips

There are SO many things to be thankful for this week!

I was able to stay at the hospital with Chuck
They didn't find any cancer in his lymph nodes!
His nausea meds are working
Beautiful sunshine this week
Tulips are blooming
Communities are coming together to support one another
Restaurants are still operating to feed hospital staff
Drive by birthdays. Such a fun idea!
Sidewalk chalk messages
Businesses recalibrating their machines to make PPE
Cherry blossoms
Palm trees
Sleeping in
Friends and Family

How are you doing? 
Staying healthy? Staying sane?
What are some good things in your life?

Go to Knit By God's Hand to read more good things!


Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Surgery Update

We got to the hospital at 6:45 this morning and they checked him in. He got a call last night with some last minute instructions and they told him I'd have to leave when he went back to pre-op. Still, I was prepared to stay the whole day (books, snacks, etc.) when we left the house this morning.

As they were checking him in, the triage nurse looked at me and asked, "And you're staying?" Chuck and I looked at each other and smiled under our masks, "Yes!" Surgery would start around 9am and would take about 3 hours. They took him back at about 7:15 and I headed to the surgical waiting room.

I don't know if this is normal operating procedure but they now call you when they begin the surgery. They call again in the middle to update you, then again if there are situations that come up and even again when the surgery is over. It was amazing! There were 5 of us in this waiting room (keeping our distance) and they were getting calls left and right. You could hear parts of the conversations, some happy, others were scary as you heard, "You found more?!" 

For me 9:00 came and went. No call. 9:30 came and went. Then 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, I was trying not to panic. How come I wasn't getting any updates?! Not sure what to do I went back down to the check-in area (one floor below) and by then I couldn't hold back the tears. I felt foolish but I was so nervous! The charge nurse came out and said the mapping had taken longer then expected and he was now headed into surgery. She wrote down my name and number and assured me I would get some updates. 

At 12:20 my phone rang and a nurse told me they had started the surgery and she would let me know when it was over. I was so thankful! 

At 2:43 I got another call from the nurse telling me he was ready to go home and she wanted to go over all the discharge papers.

Wait, what?! The surgery is over?? And he's going home? For days they've been telling us he'll be spending the night, that after a surgery like this they want to observe them for 24 hours so come prepared to spend the night... and we did. And now he's going home? And the surgery is over?? I had so many questions for the surgeon so the discharge nurse had the surgeon call me. (No face-to-face due to Covid-19.) I grabbed my journal and started writing answers...

The mapping procedure took so long because they couldn't find any cancer in his lymph nodes! The surgeon had told us last week, "The cancer always drains to the lymph nodes. We do the mapping to find out which one." Thank you Lord for answered prayer! No cancer in those lymph nodes! They spent 90 minutes looking for some but didn't find any! 

We won't know until next week if they got all the cancer. They'll have to do some scans to find out. But we're very hopeful they did!

So I gathered all my stuff from the waiting room and headed to the pharmacy. An orderly (do they still call the person who wheels you out of the hospital an Orderly?) brought Chuck to the pharmacy and the 3 of us headed down to the car.

So tonight he's home, a little groggy and in a lot of pain (some of the meds are making him nauseous) but he's home. I want to thank you all for your prayers and concern. He's not out of the woods yet but tonight I'm so thankful he's home.

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Saturday Snippets

Beth and I made cookies today.
I learned recently that if you put one or two small pieces of bread in the cookie jar it will keep your cookies soft and chewy. And It really works!




We took another walk, this time down to a park about 1/4 mile from our house. We walked to the park, did two laps around it and then back home again!









We sat out by the fire ring one evening and I remembered to take a picture when we were done. 😁 I'm so thankful we're having nice weather right now!



 We streamed our Good Friday service and I've been very aware of the Lord's presence this weekend. He died to set us all free from fear and guilt and to bring us into relationship with the Father. I pray He touches your hearts as we celebrate all He's done for us. 

I wish you and your family a blessed and joyful Easter!

Thursday, April 9, 2020

These Toes Were Made For Walking


It's Thursday! Click here to read more happiness!

This week I'm thankful for:

The results of Chuck's PET scan. The cancer hasn't spread to other parts of his body!
 
 There was no pain or swelling after smashing my baby toe into the leg of the couch. It hurt at first but was good after icing it!
Chuck, Beth and I walked almost 2 miles on one of our walks this week. Chuck wouldn't have been able to do that last year.
 
Our weather has been stunning the last few days. Warm with cloudless blue skies.

The smell of the ocean. We live about a mile from Puget Sound and when the wind direction is right, aaahh, it's like heaven!

Fresh cut grass. It was so tall Chuck had to mow it twice this week, first on a tall setting, then short.

Fires in the fire ring on the back patio. 

I hope and pray you've had a week full of thankfulness!

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

PET Scan Results

Chuck heard from the doctor and the cancer hasn't spread!

It's just on his scalp and surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday the 14th. Thank you all for your prayers!

We have lunch with Sharaya and Allie every Sunday but now that we're quarantined, we were desperate to get out and see them! So we decided to get take-out and we met them at a park. Then we sat in our cars and ate lunch.

"Together." 😊


Saturday, April 4, 2020

Saturday Snippets

How is everyone doing?
Staying at home?
Staying healthy?

 We're doing well here. Staying in except to go grocery shopping.
Beth sent me this text and photo the other night:

i am out of food in my fridge already so I need more for in my fridge


 I had planned to go shopping by myself but how could I after that plea for help! So we both went to the store, stocked up and now her fridge is filled again. Am I the only one buying things I've never tried before? There are so many things in our cupboard right now that we don't normally buy!

We're still going on our walks. We've been getting at least a little bit of sunshine every day.




Look at all those cars in the driveway!
People in this neighborhood really are staying home!


We cleaned out all of our games and I came across Password. This was my moms and it still has the score sheets from about 50 years ago! I was too young when they would play this but I remember watching them. I forgot I kept it!




The PET scan went well. They told us we'd be there about 4 hours but turned out it was only about 2 1/2. When they called Chuck back Sharaya and I found a bistro there in the hospital and we sat and talked almost the whole time. I was so glad she was there! No results yet. We've been getting so many texts and phone calls from friends and family, they've truly humbled us and made us feel so loved.

I pray you're all doing well and are finding moments of joy in this unprecedented time we're living in.

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Thinking of the Future






It's Thursday again!
 It's funny how you lose track of the days when your routine is interrupted. We could all use some good news right now so hop on over to Knit By God's Hand and read more joyful posts!


This week I am thankful for:

Sharaya coming with me to Chuck's appointment
Tulips on my front porch
Teddy Bear hunts
Whinnie-the-Pooh in my window
Long walks with my husband
Daydreaming about remodeling our house
The sun breaking through the clouds
Phone calls from dear friends
New address labels
Packages at the door


Another day marked off the calendar in this quarantine. I'm not sure when it's going to end but I believe with all my heart that it will end. We will go out again, have picnics at the park, play at the beach, go camping, meet with family and friends.

What a great time that will be!! 😊💗