My parents arrived today. Isn't it interesting that Mom and Dad are still so comforting, even at my age? I wonder if that ever changes. I hope not.

First Treatment for Cancer

I had my first treatment for Cancer today. Overall, it went well. The only post events are severe sore throat and fatigue. Nothing too awful though. I'm hoping to have a bit more energy tomorrow. I'll tell you all about it then.

Thanks for all of your prayers, kind words, and sweet acts of service!

I should be cleaning ... or unpacking ... or packing ... or reading to the children ... or decorating the tree ... or writing thank you cards. Instead I thought I'd give you an update.

I wish I could recount to you the many, many sweet acts of service that have blessed our lives.

I've decided that God has an awesome relocation program. I think he relocated some of his best angels to be here in San Antonio with me. { BIG GRIN } My relocated from California Angel brought over a TON of paper plates, cups, towels and plastic ware. Plus, some of my favorite salad, a beautiful poinsettia, and a ribbon candy candle. (I don't think she knows this but ribbon candy has really special meaning to me and Poinsettias were the one thing that I wanted to buy on Black Friday and didn't get to buy cause of the hospital stay.) And, my relocated from the Carolinas Angel brought over the most beautiful ever, real Christmas Tree! And, get this ... it was in a tree stand with white lights perfectly placed on the tree. (Did she know that white lights are my personal favorite? They remind me of the real reason we celebrate Christmas.)

But, the great things don't stop there... Ryan's Vision Therapist, Melinda, came over for therapy yesterday. She brought another beautiful Poinsettia. Now it's starting to look like Christmas! And, even better, she came back later that day and we visited for about an hour. It was a lively, fun conversation. I think we discussed everything from Baptists to Mormons and global warming to dinosaurs. It was just what I needed!

On Saturday, about 2 dozen great guys showed up at the old house. We only had the truck for a few hours due to a mess up with our reservation. We anticipated only getting the furniture moved. However, with so many hands helping, we were able to move all the furniture and everything that was packed or even semi-packed. So, we are now living at the new place. It's a beautiful home. It's a little smaller than our last house, but it feels good. Now, I just need to figure out where to put everything. We also still need to finish packing up the last bits of stuff at the other house.

If you've ever moved, you probably relate to what I'm feeling now -- a deep desire to throw everything away. I'm really feeling that way now. :)

Ryan has been doing well post-surgery. However, yesterday afternoon I noticed Ryan was unusually cranky and I also noticed a sticky puss draining from under the feeding tube disc. I called the surgeon's office and he said it is within normal range of healing. Just to be safe though we're going to take him back in to see the surgeon on Thursday. Hopefully, it's nothing to worry about.

As for me, I met with the Radiologist yesterday. She sharpied black marks around the areas they are going to radiate and then made "templates" the treatments. They have decided to do 3 weeks of radiation, every day Monday through Friday.

Additionally, I go tomorrow for the first of 8 drug treatments. I'll be hooked up to an IV for 4 hours. Hopefully, I responded well to the drugs. Worst case scenario for this particular cocktail is extreme shaking and flu like feelings for the 3 days following treatment each week. ... Actually, I suppose the real worst case scenario is that it doesn't work at all and then we're back to the stem cell transplant and full on traditional chemo. So, pray it works.

Oh, I'm sure I have pictures to upload and I know there's so much more I could tell you ... I could tell you how fabulous Jessica is doing in school -- almost all high A's. I could tell you about Jacob's trip to the ER for a smashed finger. I could tell you about David stepping up and helping so much. I could tell you about Johnathon's sparkling eyes as he talks of Christmas. I could tell you the funny little things that Deborah has said this week. .... And, I will. Just let me catch my breath with the other things first. More to come soon...

We've started our move. This is what the children did this evening. They were quite pleased with their tower of boxes.

If Ryan could talk...

"Really, Mom? Pictures?"

"I'm not in the mood!"

"Okay, if I smile, will you quit?"