2011 Year in Review

Whew!!  Here it goes.  2011.  Farewell. 


January- We rang in the new year at home in Weaver. We got to see lots of friends and family and it did our souls good to be home for a week.  We flew back to Houston around the 6th and Dave jumped right back into chemotherapy. Round 4.  We jumped back into school with the help of Dave.  It was nice having him teach History and Science.  My sister Lori came for a visit.  Carlton, Aimee, and Hope came to visit us.  John came for a visit also.  We had another trip to the ER and ct scans at the end of the month.  We met Stacey and Brad who were also being treated at MDA for a rare sarcoma.


February-  This was the coldest month.  It even iced over the roads one day in Houston.....but no snow!!  Dave's oldest friend Ricky and his wife Angie along with their little girl Emily came for a visit.  Dave was very weak from the chemo.  Mama flew out and spent the month with us.  We took the kids to the Rodeo parade and the zoo.  Daddy drove out a couple of weeks after mama got there.  We took  3 day trip to San Antonio.   Believe it or not, the kids went swimming! in the outside pool!!


March-  Dave's sister Brenda came to visit.  We went to the Houston rodeo.  We got to go home for a few days.  Dave began having neuropothy in his feet, legs and hands.  Dave also started passing out alot.  March was a difficult month.


April-   With April came beautiful bluebonnets to Texas and it also marked 6 months for us in Houston.  Dave began his 8th round of chemotherapy. We had yet another trip to the ER. Our friends Linda and Gary came for a visit.   We went home for Easter.


May- We were home at the first of May for Relay for Life.  Dave walked his survivor lap. Dave began radiation this month.  Abby had her 11th birthday. 


June-  This was an exciting month.  Dave finished radiation.  Erin had her 10th birthday. Dave and I celebrated our 13th anniversary. Our friends Holly, John, and Murren came for a visit.  We moved home on the 23rd.


July-  Home.  We tried to get back into our routine. I painted the kitchen.


August-  We worked hard trying to finish our bathroom remodel.  Dave started back to school at Donoho. We went back to MDA for Dave's surgery.  Surgery....Success!! Dave had his 38th birthday in the hospital.


September-  Dave spent most of the month recovering from surgery.  We started school. 6th, 5th, and 3rd grades.  Samuel started football.


October-  We were crazy busy with kids activities.  Life was easing back to normal.  The changing of seasons was beautiful.


November-  Samuel turned 9.  I turned 37...ouch.  We had a great Thanksgiving with family.  The kids and I started training for a 5K.  We decked the Swinney halls for Christmas!!


December-  Dave's first scan after surgery brought us great news of NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE.  (NED)   I ran my very first 5K.  We spent lots of time with friends and family.


Just as we were last year.....we are filled with hope for 2012. 

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8







  Happy New Year from the Swinney's!

So....my life....I love it

This week  Dave and I have the privilege to spend time with college students from all over the county at the Campus Outreach National Conference.  There are some amazing speakers here this week .  Matt Chandler and John Piper to name a couple.  This morning we had a women's rally with a speaker who use to be on staff with CO.  She spoke on contentment.  This is where I have been living lately.  Not content!!  Last year, I was probably more content than I have ever been in my life.  Why?  Because I was fulfilling my purpose.  I was not thinking about me and all my wants. One of my favorite quotes this morning was "When you are doing what you were created to do you will experience contentment."  Another was "Purpose fuels contentment."   So Lately I have not been very content.  This has been fueled by my lists of wants!  Not being satisfied with what I have.  Our speaker talked about pinterest this morning. If you haven't dicovered it yet, it is a virtual board where you can pin anything from recipes to hairstyles to cute crafts.  As we scroll through all the cute, neat, fun pages......we (I) begin to want, want, want.  Pinterest is not a bad thing in itself, but sometimes things like that fuel uncontentment in me.  The title of my post is also a quote from this morning.  She was quoting a friend who is overseas with her husband who is in the military.  Her life is not at all easy...but she said "so...my life...I love it."  I want this to be me.  Whether this coming year brings happiness and health or  hard times and sickness, I want to say of my life....I love it.   Why?  Because I can find my true contentment and joy in Jesus not in how much or how little stuff I have or how good or bad my circumstances are.

Reflecting

Today as I sit in Mama and Daddy's living room talking and laughing with the family, it's hard not to remember what we were doing on this day last year.  Our family had been out for the week and they all packed up and left early on the 24th.  We had a really good week with them, but it was sad to see them go.  We planned to make the most of our Christmas Eve in Texas.  We had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and went to see the movie Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  We attended the Christmas Eve service at Bethel Church and then went for coffee and hot chocolates at Starbucks.  The kids each had a gift card to Target that some sweet person sent them and they wanted to use it to buy me and Dave a Christmas present.  It turned out to be a really good day for us.  One of the things I remember is riding through Houston and the song Christmas Shoes came on and we all wanted to turn it real fast and Dave told us it was OK that we couldn't avoid all that was sad this year.  We cried and went on with our night. 

So this year it is good to be with family. It is good to be home.  It is good to know Dave has no evidence of cancer in his body.  It was good to celebrate the birth of our Savior with our family at Grace Fellowship last night.  So happy Christmas Eve to your family from our family!!

Gingerbread Houses.....A ChristmasTradition

Five years ago I started what has become one of my favorite Christmas traditions.  It started with Chloe, Abby, Emma, and Erin...."the big girls".  The next year we added Samuel and Andrew. Then the next year we added Ruthie and Brady. The next year we were in Texas.  We all spent Christmas together, but we didn't get to make gingerbread houses. This year we added Katie and our sweet friend Lillie. I love making gingerbread houses probably more than the kids do.  Next year we will add baby William to the mix. 

Giny and baby William with their gingerbread mansion:)

The gumball tree we made from branches......isn't it lovely:)

All the kiddo's before the fun began

Abby

Chloe

Erin

Brady

Samuel

Emma

Ruthie

Katie

Lillie

Andrew

Dashing Through the Springs...5k

I ran my very first 5K last weekend at Shocco Springs. It was brutal. I couldn't run the entire thing because it was so hilly. But I did run alot of it and I finished strong. The kids did the fun run. The kids and I have not finished the couch to 5K yet. We got out of our routine the week we went to Houston and this week has been an off schedule kinda week too. But we will complete it!! These are some pictures from the day.



Tracy, Jessica, Giny, Mama, Me, Lori
Ruthie, Emma, Erin, Samuel, and Abby
All our runners!!





Katerri and Carla



Old Christmas Coupons

Mama was looking through some old stuff a few weeks ago and came across these coupons I had given her and Daddy when I was in the 3rd grade.  I wonder why I didn't color them.  Oh well....I guess even in the 3rd grade I wanted to show people I loved them by doing stuff for them.  I promised to help Daddy do yard work.  I also told him I would be good in 1983 :)  Mama always liked a clean house, so I promised to help clean the house.  The next one makes me laugh.  It says "I will whack the baby's".  I think it should say watch the babies......but it says whack the baby's.  Sorry Lori, Giny, and Tracy....I guess I was planning to whack you  :)  I love that she found these.  Homemade gifts really are the best!

Our Trip to Houston, scan results, and such

We had a good visit with Dr. Ravi on Tuesday. Dave's long term prognosis looks good. There is only a 30-40% chance of recurrence after you have had chemotherapy and Dave's chances are even lower because they found the tumor so early, it was not in any other tissue, and it came out so easily. I could see the weight lift from Dave when Dr. Ravi told him this. We enjoyed some time in Houston Tuesday afternoon. We rode by the apartment and got ut and walked around. We have good memories from our time living there. He had his scan last night at 7pm then we had dinner with Sarah and Ron afterward. It was a light and happy time. It was the first time I have seen Dave really happy in a long time.  We are so blessed to have friends here to visit with and stay with on our trips to Houston. We got happy news from home last night too. Daddy sent me pictures of Samuel from his karate class. He got his yellow belt last night. He has been waiting on it for almost 2 months since he tested. He was so excited.

.

We are meeting with Dr. Pollock, the surgeon, today and getting scan results.  We are waiting on that now.  His appointment was supposed to be at 10:30, but they must be running behind.  Dave is not nervous about this meeting.  He was more stressed about what Dr. Ravi would say more than anything else. I scheduled our flight home for the last one of the day at 8:30 so we are gonna have a long afternoon.  While we are waiting to see the doctor I'll tell you a story.  I forgot to reserve a rental car.  I remembered at about 9pm Monday night. I got online and tried to rent one, but every single car company said they were sold out.  I thought there is no way this could be true and that we would get one when we got to Hobby Airport.  Oh no....they were completely sold out.  So we took a cab to the hospital and then we were able to rent a car near MD Anderson.  So it all worked out and it actually cost us less money than if we had rented it at the airport.

ok..We just saw Dr. Pollock.  We couldn't have asked for better results.  Clear scans!!!!!!  He said recurrence rate is probably 20%. He told Dave to go live.  We are THRILLED!!!!  Rejoice with us.  thanks for praying with us.  Now lets go and LIVE LIFE!!

Happy December Y'all

December came in with a bang at our house. Thursday the kids all rode on floats in the Jacksonville Christmas parade.  The girls rode on the float with my sisters children for the dentist office and Samuel rode on the Yoshukai float.  When his float came by, I actually heard him yell "Santa Claus is for Alabama."  Oh my goodness...that boy!

ok ....this was in November, but I had to add this picture of the girls and I with Christy at her baby shower. In a little over a month we get to hold her baby girl.

                                                   

Friday we had a Christmas party with Campus Outreach at JSU.  We played dirty Santa and had dessert.   It's always fun to hang out with the students.



poor Courtney...Dave is stealing her coffee mug!

                                     

Christy and I schemed and sadly ended up with these yucky shoes :)

Abby ended up with a Justin Bieber poster.  Can you tell how happy she was :)

 

Samuel got an Alabama cookie jar after a trade off with Richard.  thanks for making my boy so happy Richard.

Erin was at a spend the night party with her cousin Emma!


Saturday was a big work day at the lake.  We raked lots and lots of leaves.  ok....so we played a little too :)

                                    

  Today we had lunch with the Campus Outreach students.  The lunch was supposed to be at our house....BUT...when i woke up we had no power.  Our power never goes out. NEVER!!  so i thought it would be back on any minute so I proceeded to make my corn chowder and Chili in the crock pots.  An hour passed...still no power.  So I ended up taking all of my crock pots to Jason and Christy's at around 9am and just hoping the food would be hot when all the students go there to eat. It turned out to be a great day. It was a good time of fellowship with the students.  They take finals this week and then go home for Christmas break.  I know God was trying to teach me something this morning.  Probably several things.  I hope I learned the lessons. 

Tonight Dave is speaking at my parents church.  He will be giving his testimony of the past year. It has been a very difficult week for him as he thinks about next weeks scans and has had to prepare for this talk tonight about the past year.  If you read this before 6pm, please pray for him.  If you read this after that please pray for us as we travel to Houston for scans Tuesday.  I'll post Wednesday as soon as we get scan results. 

Today begins week 6 of our couch to 5k workout.  Last Wednesday I ran 21 minutes....without stopping.  The reason it was 21 minutes is because my sister Tracy pushed me to run more than my goal of 20 minutes. The girls conveniently spent the night with Giny to avoid this run.  I am excited to finish up this program and be able to run 3 miles.  I am going to run my very first 5k on Dec. 10th.  The kids are going to do the 1 mile fun run.  Not sure they are as excited as I am :)


We had a good Thanksgiving holiday. We got to see alot of family, do some shopping, and spend alot of time at home being lazy.  I celebrated my 37th birthday on Friday doing some Christmas shopping.  Saturday we spent the day at home watching football. 


Dave and I fly to Houston next Tuesday for his first scans since surgery.  He is already getting a little anxious about it.  I have to not think about it or I could get overwhelmed.  I feel like we are gonna get good results. Please pray for peace.  Stupid Cancer!!  It really changes things.  Even though surgery was a success.....there is always a reminder of cancer.  Whether it be knowing there are scans coming up, pains that make Dave wonder if there is something wrong, or just the memories of the treatment and how sick he was last year.  One positive thing about having to go to Houston every three months for scans is that we get to see Sarah and Ron.  Always have to find something positive in there :)

Samuel's first Alabama game

Samuel and Uncle Kenneth



Mamaw and Samuel



He had the best time.....cheering the whole game.



 Thank you Mamaw for taking him.  Thanks Uncle Kenneth for the tickets!!  He had a great time!

What are we? What do we believe? a post from Aimee's blog

My friend Aimee did a blog post last we about what we believe as a church.  It was so good and I thought I would share it with you.  She did a great job explaining what we believe. So go to  Aimee's blog  and check it out.   Thanks Aimee for letting me share your post.   Enjoy the read!

We started week 4 of the couch to 5k today.  We ran a total of 16 minutes.  Woohoo.  I am loving this!!  The kids are still not liking it as much.  There is alot of complaining and yes...even some tears. I keep telling them how proud they are going to be of themselves when they can run 3 miles in a few weeks....and they keep telling me they don't want to run 3 miles.  Oh well....I guess since I'm the mama and the PE teacher we will be running :)  anyway, it's good for them.

Samuel had a great birthday.  He got a new #3 Alabama jersey and a dirt bike.  He has been one happy boy to say the least!!

Dave and I are fighting off colds and sinus problems mixed with some bronchitis and sore throats.  It is just holding on.  I have been to the doctor 3 times in a month. 

We put our Christmas stuff up this weekend.....don't judge.  I know it's early.  We usually wait until the weekend before Thanksgiving, but our weekends are packed for the next few weeks.  Anyway, we missed Christmas at home last year so we were anxious to get our trees up and enjoy looking at them.  We love decorating for Christmas.  We make an entire family day out of it.  We usually go have breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then pick up anything we need for the day...usually a trip to Hobby Lobby...then home for decorating. 

The next few weeks are jam packed with activities. Good, fun activities!!  I could get overwhelmed thinking about all we have to do, but I won't.  I won't because I am so thankful for what a difference a year can make.  I can't help to think back in every situation and almost everyday to what we were doing this time last year.  At the time I was just running on auto pilot...by God's grace...and just doing what had to be done.  It's crazy how looking back on it stresses me out so much, but I didn't feel stressed in the middle of it all.  I am really enjoying this Autumn.  I have taken time to stop and just watch the leaves falling and appreciate the beautiful outdoors.  I know I seem to repeat myself, but this is what is on my mind. 

So what do we have going on you may ask...ok well I'll tell you.  again....enjoying the busyness...not getting overwhelmed :)   This weekend is family fun day at our church.  It's from 12-3 and will be lots of fun.  Then Sunday  we are having a baby shower for our friends Christy and Jason.  We are so excited about their baby girl that will be here in January :)  Next week is filled with lots of Thanksgiving dinners.....Monday with Campus Outreach, Wednesday with my side of the family, and Thursday with Dave's side of the family.  Then...drum roll please...I will be 37 on Friday and get to shop Black Friday sales.  Saturday we will tailgate for the Iron Bowl.  Lots of fun stuff with people we love!!!

11-11-11 Samuel turns 9



Samo's new dirtbike!!

 Happy Birthday to my boy!  He is 9 years old today.  What can I say about Samuel?  He is a very energetic little boy. To say he loves football is an understatement. He is a very devoted Crimson Tide fan.  He also loves taking karate.  He loves playing  Lego's and  football with his friends.  He is such a sweet tenderhearted boy.  I am looking forward to seeing what kind of man he grows to be.  My prayer for Samuel is that he would love the Lord with all his soul, mind, and strength.   

Andrew's Turkey

My nephew had to complete a small project for school.  He was supposed to camouflage a turkey.  My sister wanted him to do it in LMS stuff.  We cut some of the plastic bracelets with Dave's name on them, used a picture from one of the prayer cards the school made, and on the face we cut out words that tell you about LMS.  I think it turned out pretty cool!!  I hope he wins, but even if he doesn't, this will bring more awareness to this rare and horrible cancer.

A Sweet Surprise

Look what came in the mail today!!  Toasted Cinnamon coffee beans from The Buffalo Grille in Houston!!  Thank you my friend Pat from the prayer ministry at Second Baptist Church.  They have been so sweet to check in on us from time to time and even came to the hospital when Dave had surgery.  I can't wait to brew a pot and have a cup of this delicious coffee.

We've Been Running!!

No really...the kids and I have been running.  We are about to finish our 3rd week of the couch to 5k running program.  It is a nine week running program.  I have been so proud of the kids...and me.  We should be able to run 30 minutes (without any walking) by Christmas.  WOOOOHOOOO.  Needless to say the kids are not as excited about this as I am.  I'll keep you updated on our progress :) 

Dave is feeling good these days.  Well other than the sinus infections and colds we all have.  I had it bad last week and this week he is coming down with something.  We are hoping the kids will stay clear of all the sickness.  That's all the time I have for now.  Thanks for checking in on us :)

Trick or Treat

My bunny, transformer, and doctor!

Happy Reformation Day!

On this day in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to door of the castle church in Wittenburg, Germany.  This was the beginning of what would become the protestant reformation. As Luther studied the scripture, he discovered  that much was wrong with how the church was teaching the scripture to the people.  He wrote his 95 points and it did not turn out as he had hoped.  He discovered that the corruption was much deeper than he had expected.  He and other men began to teach the Word of God to the people and had Bibles printed in their own languages so they could read the Bible for themselves and not have to be told what it said by the church leaders who were perverting the scripture. Because of the work of the Reformers, many people learned to read.  You can go to Monergism to read more about Luther and Reformation Day.   

A Day With Family

Yesterday we spent the day with some of our extended family. We haven't seen them in quite a while. We had a really good time catching up with them and eating a yummy meal together.  The kids had so much fun playing together too. We missed Grandaddy not being there.  This was the first time we have all been together since he died several years ago. I think he would have been so happy to see us all enjoying our time together.  He would have loved watching all the great grands playing together. I still miss him so much. 

We had some photos made that turned out great!

My mother's side of the family....All 30 of us!!



My family....all 3 of my sisters, brothers, mama, daddy, nieces, nephews, and me, Dave, and our kiddos.

(please do not try to diagram the sentence above :)

Oh, and the weather was simply amazing!!





Over the past couple of weeks I have opened this page and started to blog.  It seems I either haven't had time or just couldn't get my thoughts together to write. Getting back to normal has been a little more difficult for me than I thought it would be. I have been having alot of anxiety. I don't know what brings it on, but it is definitely there.   Over the past year  people asked me all the time how I was doing.  My answer was always that I was doing fine.  And....I really was fine the entire time we were in Houston.  I was fine throughout all of the chemotherapy and radiation.  I was fine through all of the scary moments. So I expected to come home after Dave's surgery and jump back into life.  I'm kinda mad that that's not happening.  I feel frustrated that I am not "fine" right now.  I know I will be....it's just gonna takes some time.

 Dave is doing well.  It has been a little over two months since his surgery. He is back to all of his normal tasks.  He is even planning to mow the grass soon.  The kids have been super busy with their school work and other activities.  As good as all of the activities have been, I am so glad some are coming to an end for the semester.  Samuel played football which ended a couple of weeks ago.  All three kiddos took a tennis class which be over this coming week.  They have all really loved this class and they have learned alot.  Even though all these were good things, I feel like all have done for weeks is run children from place to place.  Samuel is still loving his karate classes.  He tested for his yellow belt last Saturday.  He was so cute!!  He was very nervous at first, but he did very well.  He will will know next week if he passed or not.

I have really been loving the cooler weather and the falling leaves.  We have our afternoon classes in the sun room.  It has been so nice watching the beautifully colored leaves falling from the trees while we read our History and do our Science.  It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling :)

For the past couple of years I have taken part in the Giving Thanks Challenge.  I'm going to do it again this year.  Go to South Breeze Farm and check it out, grab a button, add it to your blog, and start listing what you are thankful for.  My list will be on the sidebar of my blog if you want to check it out.  I am hopeful as we head into November.  I'm gonna work on being more thankful.  Listing something  I am thankful for each day really helps me to see how blessed I really am.   I will try not to take so long in between my posts.  I really do have alot to say...I've just got to take the time to write it down!

A New Season

One year ago today we were sitting in the waiting room at MD Anderson waiting to see Dr. Ravi for the first time.  We did not expect to hear what he told us that day.  What a year of ups and downs it has been.  Words cannot express how thankful I am for the lessons learned over the past 12 months.

Last October when we left Alabama the leaves were just beginning to change.  We had no idea we wouldn't be coming back home.  The leaves never really changed in Houston.  I felt like we missed Fall.   I know how insignificant that seems, but it has made this year all the more beautiful to us. We took a little trip over the weekend and really got to enjoy the beauty of the changing in seasons.  We were able to spend some time outside just enjoying the beauty of God's creation.  Alot has changed for us over the past year.  Dave is slowly getting back to normal.  He is laughing a little more....we all are.  We plan to enjoy every minute of this beautiful Autumn in Alabama. 

I was reading this morning and came across this poem.  I loved it and wanted to share it. Enjoy and be blessed.

     The Life I Planned

Has someone seen the life I planned?

It seems it's been misplaced.

I've looked in every corner;

It's lost without a trace.

I've found one I don't recognize --

Things missing that were dear;

Promises I'd hoped to keep,

And dreams I'd dreamed aren't here.

Faces I had planned to see,

Hands I planned to hold;

Now absent in the pictures;

Not the way I told.

Has someone seen the life I planned?

Did it get thrown away?

God took my hand from searching;

Then I heard Him say --

"Child, your ears have never heard,

Your eyes have never seen,

Eternal plans I have for you

Are more than you could dream.

You long to walk by sight,

But I'm teaching eyes to see;

I know what I'm doing --

'Till then, you must believe.

He's done so much, I felt ashamed

To know He heard my moans.

To think I'd trade in all He's done

For plans made on my own.

I wept over His faithfulness

And how He'd proved Himself;

How He'd gone beyond my dreams

And said to Him myself,

"No, my ears have never heard,

My eyes have never seen,

Eternal plans You have for me

Are more than I could dream.

"Yes, I long to walk by sight

But You're teaching eyes to see;

You know what You're doing --

'Till then, I must believe.

I felt His great compassion --

Mercy unrestrained.

He let me mourn my losses

And showed to me my gains.

I offered Him my future

And released to Him my past.

I traded in my dreams

For a plan He said would last.

I get no glimpse ahead;

No certainties at all,

Except the presence of the One

Who will not let me fall.

Are you also searching

For a life you planned yourself?

Have you looked in every corner?

Have you checked on every shelf?

Child, your ears have never heard,

Your eyes have never seen,

Eternal plans He has for you

Are more than you could dream.

Perhaps you long to walk by sight,

But He's teaching eyes to see;

He knows what He is doing --

Child, step out and believe.

By Beth Moore

No eye has seen, no ear has heard,

no mind has conceived what God

has prepared for those who love Him.

{1 Corinthians 2:9}

National Coffee Day

This could very well be one of my favorite days of the year. I have a love affair with coffee.  My favorite coffee is the Cinnamon coffee from the Buffalo Grille......it just so happens to be in Houston, Texas. (Sarah, I wish we could have a cup together today).  So today I will settle for a cup from my Keurig. Since I'm heading to Birmingham, I'll probably take advantage of a free cup from Krispy Kreme later too :)   So whether you make your own or get out today, I hope you enjoy a good cup of coffee.


These are the only two places in our area that I know are offering free coffee today.


Krispy Kreme: Get a free 12 oz. cup of Krispy Kreme’s House Blend coffee. No purchase necessary. (available in the US & Canada)


McDonald’s: Select McD’s are offering a free 12-oz Premium Roast Coffee between 5am and midnight on September 29.

Medicated Ramblings :)

Well I should be asleep right now.  I have a sinus infection, went to the doctor and got two shots, took my medicine, and I'm wide awake....but very medicated!  :)  Dave had the same thing earlier, well I guess it was last week. He is doing better now.  All the coughing and sneezing was tough on his incision.  He still has some pain from the surgery. He has been back at work for almost two weeks.  We are still very busy.  I keep telling myself if I can make it 4 more weeks that some of our activities will be over.  Yesterday I took Abby on a field trip to the American Village.  It poured down rain so we got to see the program, just not as we would have if it would have been pretty outside.  The program was on The Constitution.  It was very good.  We got back to town just in time to get Samuel to football practice.  While we were driving to practice Samuel was asking a million questions as usual.  He wanted me to name all the football teams in the SEC.  So I started naming them and then he wanted to know where some of Alabama's star players from last year were playing this year in the NFL.  As I was naming all of the teams and telling him what teams all the guys were playing for I thought....why do I know all of this?  I guess since Samo is interested in it, I have become more interested than I realized.  So if you need to know what NFL team somebody is on...just ask me :)   So after football we hurriedly ran through a drive thru for a very unhealthy supper for me, Erin, and Samuel and then took Samuel to karate. We got home at 8:30.  Dave and Abby went to the Campus Outreach meeting at JSU and got home about the same time.  SOOOOO....... I have become what I never thought I would.  I spend all my time running kids to activities and get home late every night of the week.  How did I do this?  I think I was trying to make up for our year in Houston when the kids didn't get to do any of these activities. NO MORE!!  Next semester will be different.  I asked the kids the other day if they could drop something, what would it be?   Hands down they said SCHOOL.....so we won't be dropping anything right now. 


Please continue to pray for our family.  I think the pressure of the last year is catching up with me.  I know alot of people have told me they always feel the stress after the trial is over.  I think I'm feeling some of that.  I always wonder what effect it will have on the kids.  So far they seem good...but I'm watching carefully. Dave's next scan is Dec. 6th.  My goal for our family is for us to LIVE.  Enjoy life.  Try not to live from scan to scan.  Try not to think of cancer everyday.  I have developed some close relationships with other sarcoma wives.  I think of them often and pray for them often.  It is hard not to live in sarcoma world anymore.  That may not make any sense.  I guess there has to be a way to be connected to these people who I have grown to love without letting it depress me.  I want us to be an encouragement to others.  I want others to find hope.  Not just hope in the great doctors or the great Sarcoma Centers, but Hope in Jesus Christ.  Really that is our only hope in cancer. 

Tomorrow is my shop day at Kids Market.  I love this day.  I get to spend the day with friends....shopping is involved....and I get super duper great deals on clothes for my kids.  What could be better?  This is my 12th year to sell and shop Kids Market.  If you have little ones and live anywhere near Birmingham, you should check it out here.  So goodnight!!

I thought I would do a quick update while Abby has a piano lesson, Erin eats lunch, and Samuel is occupied in his room with lots of Lego's.  I'm pretty sure I have over scheduled everyone this semester.  I run from activity to activity trying to fit in time for all the things that have to be done daily.  Some of the activities will end at the end of October so I think we will make it.  Everyone is doing well in school.  We work hard everyday.  Dave went back to work Monday.  That is going well for him.  He is still moving slowly and is exhausted when he gets home.  It will take some time to build his strength back up.   So that's a very quick and not very detailed update of what is going on with us.  I am loving the cooler weather.  Looking forward to the first day of Fall Friday! 

It has been a whirlwind since we started back to school.  We are busy, busy, busy!!  I have started to sit down and blog a few times, but by the time I check my email, facebook, and couponing sites, I am too tired to think.  So this is my catch up blog post.  School is going really well.  The kids are involved in lots of activities this year....I guess we are making up for last year.   Dave had his first outing today.  He rode with me to take the kids to tutoring and tennis.  He is still moving slowly.  He has done really well, but the pain is still there and the recovery is slow.  He is still planning to try to get back to work next week.  This may be too soon....we will see.  I know he is ready to get back to normal.  The emotional turmoil has been as bad as the pain from the surgery.  He has (we have) spent the last year in the fight mode while  he was taking chemotherapy and radiation, and now when we should be relieved at the results of the surgery, there seems to be some sadness.  I say sadness for lack of a better word.  I think we have to continually remind ourselves what a miracle it was to even find the cancer as early as we did.  We need to be reminded what a miracle it was for the doctor to be able to get everything without taking anything else.  We need to constantly be thankful for all the miracles we have seen over the past year.  So that is where we are.  I'm sure there is so much more I need to write. I know that there is lots stuff that has happened this week that I need to write down so I can read it this time next year....but I am just too tired to write it tonight.  Maybe tomorrow.

Our first two days of school were great.  I am very pleased with our curriculum and the kids attitudes. 

Dave is doing very well.  He has been up moving around alot today.  wow....I am sleepy....I will ramble more about school sometime later.   

night :) 

I started to title this post, First Day of School and A Trip to the ER.....but that was such a long title.  Well today will be our first day of school and Dave and I took a little trip to the ER during the night.  I woke up at 2:15 with him standing beside the bed.  He was having pain in his chest.  I called 911 and they came and checked him out.  His blood pressure was really high so they wanted to take him to the hospital and check him out.  When they asked me which hospital, I said MDA....they said which local hospital?.....I knew that...I just really wished we were near the MDA ER right then.  But we went to RMC and they checked him out thoroughly and even called and talked with the surgical team at MDA.  Everything looked fine.  So the big question is why was he having chest pain.  We are relieved that there was nothing wrong.  We will talk to the surgeon's office later today.  He is still having a lot of pain but we assume this is normal.  So that is how we spent our night.  I was thankful to be able to call Kim to run over and stay with the kids.  Now I am going to cook a yummy breakfast  for our first day of school.  Just when I think everything is back to normal....I am reminded how cancer really does change things.

home

We have been home for a little over 24 hours now.  Yesterday brought alot of emotions for me.  I had almost a sad feeling as our plane taxied to the runway.  There was a sense of relief that the surgery was over but still a sadness to be leaving Houston.  When we got home my mama helped me get all the clothes out of the suit cases put away and all the suit cases put in the closet.....way back in the closet.  I feel like we have been living in limbo since last September.  Last year we spent the first week of September on pins and needles waiting on biopsy results.  Then we spent the rest of September and first of October waiting on an appointment at MD Anderson.  The rest of the story is history.  As I was putting away clothes yesterday and getting everything in order, there was definitely  sense of closure.  We will still have to travel to Houston for scans but for the most part we are done.  This makes me sad in some ways.  Even though some of the hardest days of my life were spent there during this past year, it was a special time, a time probably never to be repeated. Don't get me wrong,  I hope the cancer part never is repeated.  But the time we spent as a family and the friendships we formed and the way we saw God work in our lives was so special.  

OK...this is something that makes me laugh.  I've told you how Dave laughs outloud watching tv.  We were watching The Office tonight and he laughed and it made him hurt.  So it ends up being a laugh/cry sound.  He has done this several times.  Don't think I'm being mean....he thinks it's funny too.  It's just good to hear him laugh.  He is doing really well although he is still very sore.  Our kiddos were very glad to see us.  We enjoyed spending the day with  them.  It's finally back to school time for us on Tuesday.  I think we are all ready.  Abby is going to be in the play Little Women in December.  She will be playing the part of Amy.  I can't wait to see her performance.  Erin and Abby are taking piano this fall and Erin is continuing with violin lessons.  Samo has aspirations to play the drums, but until then he will be playing football and taking karate.  We are also participating in a co-op this fall.  Abby is taking a Civics class and a Composition class.  Erin and Samuel are taking a Nature class and a Composition class.  I am excited and ready to begin this school year. 

Time to head home

Tomorrow  is the day we are heading home.  We are actually getting to go home a few days ahead of schedule.  Dave has had a good day.  He is moving slowly...but he is moving.  He has taken several walks down the hall today.  Sarah and Ron brought dinner to us tonight.  We had some sweet time with them tonight.  They wouldn't want me to say this....but this is my blog, so I can say what I would like :)  They have been wonderful!! Such good friends to us.  We are going to miss them.

Dave is already dreading the travel time tomorrow.  Riding on bumpy roads is no fun after surgery.....and Houston sure has some bumpy roads.  Hopefully everything will go smoothly.  Alrighty then.  Time for me to hit the sack.  Can't wait to see Abby, Erin, and Samo tomorrow. 

Dave is getting out the hospital today. We are going to spend the next two nights at a hotel, and if all goes well, go home Wednesday. He is sore. That is probably an understatement. He is having some pain. He can always tell when it's time for pain meds.....sometimes he can tell way before it's time. But he is really doing so well. He looks good, his hair is coming in (although it is very fine, thin hair). I got him a new hat the other day. He has this navy blue Houston Texans hat that he has worn everyday since treatment began. I think of that hat as the cancer hat, so I thought we should retire that hat and start life after surgery with a new hat. We will put that hat up and remember this time in our life when we run across it in the future. Maybe I'll find it when I'm cleaning out a closet in a few years, when all of this is a distant memory.