Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from snowy Iowa where the bare ground is now covered with a few inches of the white stuff.  Temperatures are mild for January, and that works for us!  We made it back home yesterday before the snow started, so the roads were easy to drive on.  It felt good to settle in to our own beds last night, and we are enjoying not only the winter view, but the Christmas tree that still graces the corner of our living room.  Neither one of us is ready to take it down so we will just keep enjoying it as long as we want to. 

Some of our family came last weekend for our family gathering.  We had such a good time!  We were blessed to have two of our daughters take over all the prepping and preparing of meals, and the guys did clean up.  Our oldest did the grocery shopping, our son Mark brought supplies, and our two girls brought more Christmas goodies than we could eat! It was nice not to worry about anything......  There wre games of cribbage and yahtzee, lots of visiting, laughter and hugs.  Such fun.  So blessed.

At this time, 9 treatments are over with 16 to go.  This week one of the CT staff noticed indentations on my face from the mask and she trimmed it just enough that the pressure/pain feelings went down 75%.  Yay!  My appointments next week all require us to be at the clinic by 6:45 am.  Can I just say, that is difficult for both of us spoiled people who like a 7 am wake up, not 5:30 am..   I am doing well with the treatments, with today being the first time I have felt "off" .  There are daily treatments, doctor appointments, weekly CT scans, and other appointments added in to the schedule that keep me/us pretty busy. 

We moved in to Hope Lodge on Dec. 27th.  We have met some nice people there, all with their own stories related to cancer, the one common denominator.  It is a nice place, with large rooms.  We have chuckled over the tall toilets ~ my feet don't touch the floor!  What is challenging for us are the sleep number beds that are uncomfortable for me and too hot for Joel.  And we confess, we miss having a TV with cable.  We can play DVDs though, and we can watch TV in designated TV rooms and the kitchen/dining areas.  There are several Hope Lodges around the country, and the volunteers do a great job making them a comfortable and good place to be. 

And they are.  A good place.  Adjustments are many with being out of your own home, community, and often state or country,  Living among strangers who become friends with one focus.  Adjustments to treatments that are affecting us, body, soul and spirit.  But, through it all, as I have said before, we see God at work.  Every where we turn we see God at work.  We are blessed.

Enjoy the weekend!