Just an update

Yucky cancer news:
We found out through his last PET scan than the tumors have quit shrinking. They are however starting to calcify, whatever that means. The bone lesions didn't show up on that scan, so we were hopeful that they have gone away, until yesterday. He had a more focused BONE scan that showed that they are still there. Let's just say, we weren't in the celebratory mood we thought we were going to be in. It was a littel shocking to be honest. It feels like 1 step forward, 2 steps back. This whole thing sucks!!! He is starting to drum again, and it helps to take out his frustrations. One side effect of that, if you've ever seen him play, is broken drum sticks. Lots of splinters all over our living room floor. So much for going bare foot in the house. So I'm thinking about setting up a drum stick fund (hahaha). I can't work enough to keep up with his habit.

That's all the news for now. He's continuing on with the endless rounds of chemo. Starting to get a tan on that bald head of his... And we are really enjoying the time that we get to spend together. OOOOOHHHH! if you are reading this and live in Redding, we are, well Amy Endecott has set up a prayer meeting at the Caldwell park this Saturday at 1pm. You can find us at the first parking lot as you turn in. Please come join us. I have a feeling that God is going to use His people to heal Randy, not chemo.

my quote for the week

In Philippians 3, Paul tells us how he chose to live his life: “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (vv.13-14). It’s a perspective that speaks of moving on—of embracing what’s next. It is where we too must focus as we seek to be shaped into the image of the Savior while we look forward to eternity with Him. — Bill Crowder

read it and dwell on it. not your past mistakes, or even whats too far down the line to worry over. just think about what's next. stay focused on what you have.

Habenero's

YEEHAWW!!!!

the last thing i planted, the most important plant to me, is sprouting!

my tomatos are going crazy, even after they were dropped and half broken on Easter. the jalepeno's are thriving, and everything else is kicking butt, and now, finally, i can breath, my habanero's are here. i couldn't find a seed packet for them so i bought a good looking pepper and harvested my own seeds and threw them in the dirt, and it worked. go figure, nature doing what nature does... i think next year, i will do the same with the veggies that taste the best, harvest the seeds from them instead of wasting money on seeds.

Surgery is complete and succesful

no follow up is required other than being on birth control for the rest of my childbearing years...

no more surgeries, or pain once i heal! it was pretty funny with both Randy an i being hooked up to iv's at the same time. here's a pic:

now i hope to heal fast and move the heck on with our lives.

Permission?

this may sound silly, but i wanted to know if i could use people's names in a book that i am writing. some of it consists of the blog, but parts of it is just from people that have helped us, loved us, and been there for us throughout all of this horrible time. i promise not to write anything that doesn't honor anyone, but i would like to be able to write freely about the people in our lives without having to change annie's name to "sandy" or the cable's names to "the smith's". i'm sure that anyone who reads it would know who i was talking about anyways, but i just need to know who's opposed and who's not. shoot me a quick o.k. or no thanks and let me know. if you don't, i will assume i can! hehehehe

and i am going to stand up right now and say i don't care about the nay sayers in my life who say i'm not gud enuf to writ a book. i'm not out to write the next best novel, this is just something God has asked me to do... take it up with Him.

wow, what a week

Randy's family's here from L.A.....
It's been really nice to see his sister and others. We have had a family BBQ every night since they got here. I have smelled like a bonfire every night too, so showers have been my escape. I hate to smell like smoke, which is probably why I never picked up the habit.

Anyways, on top of all that, WE STARTED OUR GARDEN!!! I am super excited to finally have sprouts growing. We are going to have so many tomato plants this year, plus jalapenos, habaneros, sweet onions, chives, cantaloupe, sunflowers, lettuce, carrots, basil and cilantro. We cleaned out the planter box that was already here and added a drip system, plus added 2 more boxes on the other side of the house. The yard is Easter ready as Randy has pruned everything in the back and planted 2 palms (on sale @ Home Depot for $8.96) and some ivy. We have really enjoyed this time together listening to music and working together. Cancer or not, he kicked butt. He felt really defeated yesterday though. He has been working really hard for someone going through chemo, but he is still hard on himself. He's not quite able to do as much at once as he used to. To quote Jeremy, "Randy having chemo, makes him equal to everyone else now". (meaning, he used to work circles around everyone before he got sick, now he just works at the same pace as them...) That undoubtedly isn't good enough for him, and of course he pushed himself pretty hard, but the job got done, and now he can take a break.

He goes back in for round 7 of chemo on Friday. This is another week long cycle, and then I go in for my procedure on Monday. I do have a big favor to ask, but I will save that for another blog session. Thanks for all of your support and love. It means more than we can say.

Randy update...

as per a friends request, an update is in order. He's doing REALLY well. his blood counts are going up, his sniffles are still there but not as bad. he even mowed the lawn today. woohoo! the prayers are working. thank you.