Sunday, December 29, 2013

Is It the End of DECEMBER....????


I'm sorry that I haven't really posted in over a month......wow, time goes by TOO fast!
It doesn't help that I've been sleep-walking through my life since hearing that Pat has cancer.  It's been so difficult to feel excited, happy, joyful about the holidays or anything in my life.  I am just frozen with fear, waiting for some good news.

But I have no good news to report......about anything.... :-(
I have some NON-news, which I'm actually happy about at this point, but it seems like anything I hear, even if it's slightly positive, is tainted with worse news.  It's just so disappointing and painful.  That's why I haven't been online very much and haven't blogged at all -- although that seems rather selfish of me, now that I think about it.  Sorry! :-(

It took Pat WEEKS to recover from her first chemo treatment.  She threw up so much for 72 straight hours that she gave herself a few concussions, and has very little memory of that whole time.  Who knew that was even possible??  She actually only just had her second treatment two weeks ago, and they only gave her one of the drugs so she did much better.  She still is very weak, is losing her hair and has no appetite at all, but I get to hear from her a couple of times a week, and she is at home now.  She will have her third treatment the first week of January, and they will be giving her both chemo drugs then.  But I'm not thinking about that for now, I'm just grateful she feels ok right now and had a nice Christmas.  Right now they are telling her that they will evaluate her results after her January treatment, and see what progress she's made (if any) before they decide how to continue. (which gives me icy fear in my heart)

My dear friend Cheryl did not get the best news after her post-treatment scan, but she is trying to put a positive spin on it (I just love her).....they found a small lesion on her liver.  She was so disappointed and "frustrated" (her word) about it, because of all she's done and they've done to her, and to get to the end of it and have no cancer where it all started, or in any lymph nodes, but STILL a tiny spot on her liver, just made her annoyed.  I felt devastated, I spent that whole day after talking to her weepy and prayerful -- it just doesn't seem FAIR!  I want Pat and Cheryl to get better.  I want things to go back to the happy times they were before. 

Cheryl has been referred to a different oncologist, now that her cancer has moved to a different area of her body, and her herbalist has stepped up her supplements and diet changes.  She is waiting to have her new oncology appointment scheduled -- they don't seem to be in any hurry.....maybe that's a good sign?  She is looking at it that way, and she's definitely got a fighting attitude.  And after hearing what Pat is going through with her reactions to the treatments, she said she actually feels pretty fortunate.
Please keep praying!

So Thanksgiving and Christmas have come and gone.....I cannot believe how fast the time has gone from Halloween to now.  It seems like a week, not TWO MONTHS.  I guess because I've been so distracted, more so than my normal hyper-distraction, time has snuck by.
Do you know that I did NOTHING that I planned to do for my Christmas decorations???  No garlands, none of my dried fruits that I worked on so much, no displays that I dreamed about, no primitive fun, NONE of it. :-P  I barely got a tree up two weeks before Christmas, and that's the only thing I did.  UGH!  And I'm looking over at one of my cabinets, and there is still a dried corn cob in the bowl!  I walked by that every day many times and didn't even notice -- could I have put some pine clippings and the pomegranates that I'm drying in there???  Is it too late to do that?  Are pomegranates and pines a winter thing, or just Christmas?  I'm SO disgusted at myself.

Speaking of pomegranates, I've been collecting them, because Aldi's has had them for 65cents a piece all month (!!!) -- how many can one have of something before it's considered "hoarding".....?  Brian and the kids keep mocking me about them ("MORE pomegranates??"), but they are SO easy -- they just dry.....right on the counter.....that's IT!  Oh, I guess I did make one thing, a pomegranate/bay leaf "wreath" that I saw on Pinterest......

Ok, well I was going to upload some pictures, but Blogger won't bring up the photo-thingy.  It just sat there for about 2 minutes, and I was scared that I was going to lose this whole post!  So I'll have to come back and post some pictures.  I suppose I should get off of here now anyway, I have a few family phone calls to make, and I have to get Brian's laundry done for work tomorrow.  He's been home ALL WEEK, and it's been wonderful!  I don't want him to go back to work!!  Not to the kids exactly -- he has a few more rules than their ditzy mom! Haha!! -- but we've had a close family time that has been so special.  I thank God for that. :-)

Now the New Year is almost here!  Yikes!!  I have tons of appointments and errands in the next two days, but I'm going to try to get back on here with some pictures.  I hope you guys can bear with me while I try to find my footing in all of this uncertainty and fear.  I have NOT turned into the kind of blogger I first started out to be.....I'm disappointed in myself for that as well..... *Sigh!*
I promise to try and find something to offer my blog readers -- just hang in there with me! ^-^

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

.....ALREADY???.....

I can't believe how fast time has gone!

And I am SO SORRY I haven't posted once, I have just not been on the computer, except maybe for Pinterest recipes and to pay bills.  I am only making this a short post, just for Christmas, but I promise a Real one by the weekend!  Let me just say that for right now, things are in limbo --- neither bad nor good, and I'm actually pleased and relieved by that (for Pat)!  Please just keep praying that God will intervene and heal her.  We won't get any update on how her treatments are working until mid-January, so as long as she can stay out of the hospital, all is well.  It's the little victories that make me grateful and give me HOPE. 

I want to say a special Thank You to my friends who have emailed me privately -- that has meant SO MUCH!!!!  I am sorry that I don't email back quickly, but I love the emails, and I feel so blessed to have such caring people in my life.....ALL of you!! :-)

And I wish and pray that you all have a wonderful, joyful Christmas tomorrow!!!!
From ME, with love! ^-^