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.