Results

Today's results from the CT scan were not what we had hoped for. The tumor has actually grown a little. Dr. R was disappointed and so were we. The plan now is to change the chemo drugs. He is going to discuss Dave's case on Wednesday and he is due to start round 3 on Thursday. He is still planning to do radiation and surgery as scheduled. The surgery should be in April or so. One bit of good news today was that the pulmonary embolism was gone. Dave is doing OK. It seems we just get bad news at these visits. But we are still hopeful for good results with the next round. I am thankful today that we had such a good weekend with friends. Dave laughed alot and that was good for me to see! Continue to pray for us.

The last few days have been really good for Dave. He has been walking on the treadmill, trying to build up his strength. The kids left on Wednesday with Mama and Daddy. It was so hard! Everybody cried!! I cry every time anyone leaves. We got to skype with them once they got home and they were running around, laughing, hugging their cousins......so that made us feel better about them leaving. Dave and I are homesick. We know we are in the right place for him to get the best treatment, but we miss our friends and families terribly! Tomorrow is the big day. He will have his first scan since having chemotherapy. He has an appointment with Dr. Ravi on Monday and will begin round 3 of chemo that afternoon. So next week will be busy with going back and forth to the hospital for treatment. I am so thankful the kids will not have to be here. I hope they have a couple of weeks to not think about cancer. I sent their schoolwork with them. My Daddy is responsible for making sure they do their work each day :) They are right on track, and will be ready for 2nd semester after Christmas. Dave has been teaching the girls Latin for the past year and a half, but I'm thinking about maybe teaching them a little Spanish next semester. Houston is such a melting pot. We hear lots of different languages everywhere we go. So maybe we should start learning one. If anyone has any ideas for a good, inexpensive Spanish curriculum, please let me know.

I will let you know how the scan goes. Have a good weekend!

Today after church, we went to Bass Pro Shop. The kids got to get their picture taken with Santa and of course told him what they wanted for Christmas. Samuel loves that store. He could stay in there all day. Dave has been feeling good the last few days. His scan will be Friday and the we will start round 3 of chemotherapy. The kids are looking forward to getting to go spend some time with their cousins. They have missed them so much!! They will get to meet baby William for the first time. : ) They will also hopefully get to see some of their friends. Being out here is hard for them. They have to be quiet in the apartment, they can hardly go to any part of the hospital, and when Dave is going through treatment he feels so bad. I want them to have fun, play, and just be kids for a couple of weeks.

So this our tree this year. We made most of the ornaments on the tree. The only ones we didn't make were the ones mama brought from our house that I had bought after Christmas last year...they were on top of all the Christmas boxes in target bags and easy to get to!


I love this picture of us with our bracelets. Reminders to pray and also to bring awareness to this horrible! horrible! cancer!

Happy Thanksgiving and a very happy birthday

Look what Dave gave me for my birthday! A purple computer!! I love it. It's a mini Dell and will fit right in my purse. I have had a very nice birthday. I slept until 9:00, Mama cooked a big yummy Thanksgiving meal, we had birthday cake, skyped with Dave's family, and now relaxing with the kids. Dave is having a good day. yay! It is raining and the temperature is dropping. It's gonna be in the 50's tomorrow. woohoo!!! What a great birthday present that is...cold weather.



Another great present is my new Keurig coffee maker from mama and daddy. I love good coffee and this makes some good coffee. So I have had a great birthday. I hope all of you have a had a happy thanksgiving and taken some time today to think about all you truly have to be thankful for.

How thankful I am for.....

Everyday this month I have been keeping a list of things I am thankful for. It is not an exhaustive list by any means, but it has made me stop at the end of some pretty long hard days and remember to be thankful. So this is my list. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving ! !

MD Anderson
good nurses and doctors
sisters = lifelong friends

Dave feeling better :)

mama and daddy driving really fast to get to houston

abby, erin , and, samuel

sarah from houston

visits from friends

ice cream

my crock pot

home school....even on days like this

good friends

Wii

skype

cool weather

sleep, restful sleep

GPS in the Jeep

chocolate birthday cake

walking on the beach in November

girl time with Abby and Erin

sunshine

Alabama football

painting with the kids

library books

frozen yogurt

long walks in the park

1000 piece puzzles

good coffee

lazy mornings and school in our pjs

days when Dave feels good

an apartment in Houston

Grace Fellowship

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Colossians 3:16

Good News! Dave is getting to go home today. To the apartment home not our home. The doctors think he is doing well enough to get out of here. He has had lots of nausea and a headache that lasted a while. BUT.....he is feeling much better today. They gave him Compazine for nausea and it was great. It stopped the nausea and knocked him out. He has eaten pretty well today. He even got up and we went for a walk down the hall . He is very glad to be going home today. He will get his next Lovenox shot around 4pm .....courtesy of me :) ......I am going to be giving him these at home, so I need to show them I can do it before we leave the hospital. So we should be ready to go shortly after that. Looking forward to getting home and cooking some yummy food with my mama and my girls for Thanksgiving!!

Today has been an OK kinda day. Dave is taking nap now. He has a headache that we are trying to stop before it gets any worse. He will not be able to go home today. They want to keep him here and observe him a little more, make sure he is doing well on the lovenox. What we understand about the blood clots is that this is pretty normal for cancer patients. The kids are with my parents at the apartment. So thankful to have them here with the kids knowing they are in good hands so I can take care of Dave .