BIG TRIP

50 years!!!

We took a  WONDERFUL trip in January.

Soon...hopefully,

I will blog about it.

PROGRESS REPORT

Almost a week ago, Charlie Browne called to remind me that I have not blogged for 2 1/2 months, and what in the world was going on up here?  Well lots!  However the energy level does not always keep pace with the activities.  I am MUCH, MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better.  I do very well with the normal things, but extra things...not so well.  I have to concentrate on what I have accomplished, not on what I need or want to accomplish.  My finger nails are no longer discolored and they do not have a bump for each treatment.  My hair has grown in CURLY.  Yes, there are pictures, but I am not sure I can show them now. (The energy level, you know.)  My last chemo treatment was at the end of January.  I have had two infusions since, with four more to follow about every six months.  They are not bad, and don't take more than 1/2 hour once you get in and hooked up.  Last time it took three pokes before they got a vein.  That is why I am so thankful that I had a PICC line during chemo.  They just screwed into it each time. I really don't know if the infusions are bothering me.  The chemo can stay in your body for up to a year.  Obviously I am still having side effects from them.

I am once again in charge of the kitchen.  My caregiver really went out of his comfort zone to care for me.  I am EXTREMELY thankful.  One good, continuing result is that he is more aware of what goes into kitchen work, and he is much more helpful in that area than he was before this episode.  The house...I'm not real concerned about a little mess right now.  Also keeping up two houses is a bit daunting under normal circumstances.  The french doors at the farm keep asking to be cleaned.  So far I have not answered the call.  If you pop in, just be forewarned.

We have a few events coming up which I will not attend.  Later this month Paul is speaking at a Pastors and Wives meeting two hours away from here.  I am not going.  Traveling to and fro, having a meal, going to meetings and visiting is more than I can manage.  I need to be able to stop doing whatever I am doing, when it is necessary.  I will also miss the Prince Edward Island Bible Conference for the same reason.  Most likely I will be curled up with a book on those days.  Most days I am happy if I accomplish one thing plus the regular meals, etc.

Another good thing that may, or may not, be associated with the treatments, is normally my heels are dry and even crack.  Now they are nice and soft.  Not that I would go through chemo just for that result!  I am THANKFUL, THANKFUL for God's goodness to me!  O GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD!

New Church Entrance & Other Stuff

 Doesn't it look beautiful?

We are waiting for new doors also.

We are very excited about the new look and the protection from the weather.

Things are green and growing.  The gardens have been weeded...

problem is that the one I started on is in need of weeding now.

It has felt good to get into the gardens.  The oncologist, who I saw last Monday,

said that physical activity is what will help me with the fatigue and muscle aches.

He also said he would see me in a year, unless something comes up.  Effects of the chemo

can last up to 6 or even 12 months, as it was an assault on the body.  I am soooooo thankful

for the way I feel now.  I am once again in charge of the kitchen.  I think we are both happy

about that.  I am very thankful for the replacement who took over when he was needed!  I am

tired now, but I have had some very busy days, AND it is late at night.

"O give thanks unto the LORD;

for He is good;..."

Psalm 136:1 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

A Bible Institute student painted this for me.

I am sure she painted it, and intend to have her sign it some time.

Very special.

Also a friend gave me some pretty jammies.

I should have a picture of them, but right now they are in the dirty clothes.

I really like them and am inspired to get some more. 

Not the same, different, but pretty.

 We have a special attachment to Queen Elizabeth tea roses.
When Paul was growing roses, he had 18 rose bushes at one time.
He brought  QE roses from our garden to the hospital when Sara was born.
That's  what I wanted and requested, if we had a girl.

These reminded Paul of QEs, so he brought them home for VD -

the second dozen roses in about 3 weeks.

Must be true love!!!

I have a Queen Elizabeth rose on the agenda for the garden this year.

Too Good to Pass Up

"It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.
The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him.
The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation for the LORD."  Lamentations 3:22-26

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

 My birthday is on Remembrance Day.  How can we forget?  We started the day with blueberry heart shaped pancakes with pure maple sugar.  Yum!  I made them for my sweetie and me!

 Then he bought something for me - a plow.  When he came home with it, I said, "Happy Birthday, Gail!"  He has been wanting to find a plow for his 1955 Massey Harris tractor so he can plow up a veggie garden for me.  I was pleased.  I know it doesn't look so pretty, but it will do the job we've been assured.

 Here are some goodies I received from my sister, Cheryl.  The tea bag holder is from the Norskie Nook and we have been there.  Twice.  But don't order the Norwegian pancakes.  Come to my house and I will make you some good Swedish pancakes!  Anyway...I love, love, love the pretty dish cloths she makes and actually, Cheryl, I like these smaller ones better too.  There was a nice kitchen hand towel, at least that is what I use it for.  And her lovely greeting cards she makes.  There was one special one with a mountie, a maple leaf and it says "gratitude."  Right now it is on the bulletin board at the church.  It was too nice not to share and it is so Moncton right now with the three mounties who died in June protecting the rest of the city.  I plan to find out the address of the Christian mountie and send it to his wife.  His funeral was a wonderful testimony of his life and of his wonderful Saviour.                                                                                                                    

 

Then from my dear Sara, such a cute tea cup which she stitched herself.  I can tell her style!  The card, of course, is made by her.  The thank you notes would make anyone want to do something worthy of a thank you from me.  Not hinting, I've been overwhelmed with kindnesses.  And the adorable Spode Christmas Tree straws.  Sara will have to give me an idea for using them other than just drinking with them.  They are too cute for that.

This card is from Skye.  Whose daughter is she?  Such an artistic girl!

Wes worked hard on this one and he also wrote a blog comment to me.  These kids are real sweethearts.

This card is from Wil.  Do you see what that is?  A half of a heart (which was not part of the candle) but with a note "look at back" and on the back it said "me without you."  How sweet is that?

And we went out for supper.  A very nice day.  Paul thinks I have caught up with him.  I will never do that, he is a year + older.

Oh! I should have taken pictures today!!!

I am sure the pictures will come later.  Today I went to the Canadian Cancer Society to look for a wig.  Not just a wig...a FREE WIG...A BRAND NEW FREE WIG, like going shopping for a wig you like and not paying a cent for it!  That's one place where all the cancer contributions  go.  The lady who helped me was sooooo nice.  She let me try on the wigs.  First she had me put a little stocking on my head that looked like a panty hose.  That was so that the wigs would go on while I still have hair.  The first wig I tried was dark brown.  That was the one I chose...but not in brown.  The next one was kind of the color my mom used to wear when she had a wig.  I had a laugh over that and remembered how her wigs frizzled from the heat of the oven.  I did hunt at the farm for that wig.  It used to be with Andy's hats, but I couldn't find it.  I wouldn't really have worn it, but it would have been fun to try it on and model it.  And I will have Paul take things out of the oven for me OR take the wig off.

I have been thinking of the positives about this situation: 
#1.  Only 1/2 the mammograms!
#2.  I am always picking white hairs off my clothes, etc.  After the hair is gone, I won't have to do that.
#3. I will save a lot of time since I won't have to mess with my hair. The wig will be sort of shake and go. ;-)
#4.  I will also save on hair products until I have hair again.  *And hair cuts - forgot that one.  I usually have my hair cut about every 6 weeks.  My hairdresser said if I need my head shaved, she would even come to the house.
#5.  I am planning on long, curly eye lashes as a bonus when it all grows back. ;-)
#6.  I have decided to look at this as an adventure.  Time flies when you are having fun!
#7.  My best friend and sweetheart, Paul, is a super support.   
#8.  The hair will grow again!  The oncology doctor and nurses keep saying that.
#9.  A brand new oncology unit is opening at the hospital by the time I have my second treatment.
#10.  Some friends have done some wonderful and amazing things for me.  Some of the things that  have been a huge blessing would probably not be considered "big things."  However they meant a great deal to me.  Speaking of which, here is an example from my cancer 15 years ago.  I came home from the hospital after my surgery and listened to our phone messages. One was from a friend who said she was praying for me and that she loved me.  A few days later I called to thank her for her call.  She told me then that I may have noticed that her voice was shaking when she called.  That was because she was nervous/afraid and didn't know what to say. To me, her making that call was like David's mighty men bringing him water from the well of Bethlehem.  David felt that the sacrifice was so great that he poured the water out and wouldn't drink it.  For her going out of her comfort zone to minister to me was very precious. 
#11. God will not give me anything that I cannot handle with His help.  I Corinthians 10:13
"...but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted (tried) above that ye are able; but will with the temptation (trial) also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." It has been and will continue to be exciting to see how God answers prayer and works things out.  I am sure there will be more benefits, as in life, health.  I am praying for those who have worked with me in the health care system who I have been able to give a witness and a tract.

On to the next phase

It has been a beautiful fall and the leaves are still hanging on.  Now they are at the muted, rusty looking time.  I have photos which I may or may not get to sometime.  I am feeling peppyer now but it has been a long time coming.  Friday I passed the 6th week after surgery mark.  That was the day we saw the oncologist and got another big surprise.  My surgeon told us I would probably just need a hormone blocker pill, but the oncologist has recommended chemo.  That was certainly not in our thinking, however we had long ago decided that we would go along with whatever the doctor recommended.  So within the next couple of weeks I will have some tests and start chemo.  The oncologist said it is a light course: 4 cycles with three weeks between.  Chemo has improved a lot over the years.  Some people do not have any side affects, BUT and it's a big BUT, I will lose my hair.  It kind of makes "bad hair days" seem pretty silly.  I was very pleased today to hear from two different people about getting free wigs.  One lady, who went through it herself, said she had several wigs and never bought one. 

I can say once again that God has given us peace and help throughout this time.  We don't doubt His wisdom in allowing this to come into our lives.  We truly GIVE THANKS IN EVERYTHING!  TO GOD BE THE GLORY, GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!  HE IS A WONDERFUL SAVIOUR TO ME!

A Week and More Later

I have had a good week, feeling better every day.

How could I help it with such wonderful help?

At every free moment, Sara was stitching special things for her family  

and she even found time to make something for me.

What a good reminder from #1 caregiver!  

And, of course, a brownie on a lettuce leaf...

with a raspberry on top!

 This bouquet was beautiful,

while I am looking like a patient at that point.

 This one is from my Sunday School kids and their sister.

The little boy picked the color!

This is from the church and I knew who picked it out by the color of the flowers. :)

 More cheery flowers!

 Sara is good at raiding the garden,

the poor neglected garden.  

Oh well, there's always next year.

I tend to lose my enthusiasm for it at this time of the year.

 

My excellent care givers

We took a little drive.

It was my idea, but I was pooped when we got home.

It is NEVER too late to be THANKFUL!

 

Last Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving.

On Sunday we had a lovely Thanksgiving meal with our church family

and then a service of thanksgiving afterward.

What a special time!

What a blessed life we live,

and then Wednesday night a lady accepted the Lord as her Saviour.

More blessings!



CHERYL'S PROGRESS

We had a nice chat last night, my sister and I.  It sounds to me like her living room is loaded down with flowers and Dwight is scurrying around in an apron with a list in one hand and a pile of laundry in the other.  Maybe he wouldn't like that description, but Cheryl made it clear that he is a huge help to her.  Her sisters would like to show up and ease the work load for him.

Cheryl is feeling much better than a week ago, for sure.  She did have a trip to the doctor to see about swollen legs, which are not too much better yet.  She is really struggling with that eye problem.  I can't imagine being down and not able to read much.  She is praying that God will heal her eye since that surgery is out of the question for quite a while.  We are thankful for the eye trouble which alerted the doctors to the greater problem with her heart valve.

Don't give up praying for her now.  We do thank God for many, many answers to our prayers.  Take it easy, dear Cheryl, and soak in all the TLC you can!

VISITORS!

 A week ago today we were in the midst of one BUSY week.

Just within the two previous weeks, we found out that Dwight & Cheryl would be able to attend 

the 50th Anniversary of Fundamental Baptist Church in Saint John.

 (I had been praying about this for weeks!)

The day before the anniversary, we met them and took them to the farm.

Here they are on the ferry.

 I can't believe we didn't take any pics while they were at the farm.

We did, however, get this one of a coke bottle hanging on a tree when we took 

the truck up into the woods.

Neat, eh?

Wonder who did that...

maybe our resident deer hunter.

 

On Sunday we started meetings with Gary Gillmore.

On Monday Cheryl & Dwight came and provided music through Wednesday night.

Relaxing

 Here's Dwight trying to find out if their flights were on after Sandy blew through.

They made all their connections even though they flew through New York's LaGuardia.

Cheryl is sitting in my living room talking to Kari.

This is the packing process.

Since Cheryl's suitcase went to San Fransisco,

REALLY!

Cheryl had to do some shopping.

Consequently there were additional clothes and another suitcase going home.

They landed in Bangor on Thursday.

The suitcase caught up with them on Tuesday night

and they flew out on Thursday.

See the tag that says SFO? and RUSH?

Later on Thursday, after they left, the sun came out and the lake was beautiful!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!

It is happy!
Every day is a gift!
God is good and we thank Him for His goodness to us!

AMAZING!

Here are the photos which I could not load previously.

You will have to read about them under the third one.

I wanted to get back farther to show more of the setting, but Ben & Sherri needed to leave for their church picnic, so we were hurrying. I wanted to get in part of the nice tree to the right of the house. What a lovely setting! I can imagine it with pretty flower gardens. Sherri likes to garden. The weather here is much better for gardening than where they lived before. There they had lots of fog and dampness. Here it is warm and sunny just as it appears.

We have been praying that the Lord would give our friends, Ben & Sherri, who are living at our farm, a house of their own. Our prayer has been answered in an AMAZING WAY! God not only gave them a house but also a beautiful 20 acre property. We were there today. I have a few outside pics, but blogger is upset with me for lack of attention and will not take my pics right now.

Here are a few facts about the house:

It is old and cute.

The setting is lovely.

You can see the bay from an upstairs window.

It has several out-buildings.

It has several neat antiques which they can have.

It has two wood stoves.

They can do whatever they want with the house (and Ben is handy!) Great possibilities!

There is some farm equipment which they can use.

There is a pond and trails. (They have an ATV and motorcycles.)

AND IT IS RENT FREE!!!

Can you believe it? It seems to me like when the people prayed for Peter to be released from jail and then he showed up. (Acts 12)

We picked strawberries while we were in the country and dropped off some plants at the farm which I bought for 90% off! I paid $35.00 for $350.00 worth of plants! We hope to get them in the ground sometime at the end of the week.

MISSIONS TRIP

Paul is excitedly making plans to go to the Ukraine this summer to teach a Personal Evangelism course in a Bible Institute. An OLD college friend :), Evangelist Neil Cadwell, started the Slavic Baptist Institute about 15 years ago. He has made 79 trips to the Ukraine in this ministry. Paul has talked about and been interested in this opportunity for a long time. It looks like God is making it possible this summer.

SHE'S HOME!

Fourteen years ago when we left Saint John, we left our grand piano.

It has been used in the church ever since, until last December when

they bought a new piano for their new church auditorium.

We took some smaller parts in our van.

To Paul's delight, they gave our piano back to us!

When the new piano went in, ours was to be delivered to us at our new house at the farm.

Things didn't work out for the delivery of our piano at that time. Since our winter was so brutal and snowy, it was decided that we would wait until we could see the ground.

That day came and the piano is in her new home!

Have an extra pair of legs!

Getting her ready for the trip

Mike, the piano man with Paul

Coming in the side door at the farm

We were glad that Ben was there to help!

We always had a good place for the piano through out the years.

Our new living room is large, with a special piano corner.

Paul trying her out