One Day At A Time

Thank you, all of you, for the sweet comments.  I really like my new wig, too.  Am having to get used to it since it fits pretty snug.  (That's a good thing, huh?!)  After a while, my head feels a little sore.  So I am breaking it in a little at a time.  Probably won't wear it to chemo tomorrow, though.

Yep!  It's that time again.  These last 3 weeks went by quickly I think, and tomorrow will be the start of Round 3.  Please be praying for me!  From past experience, I should feel okay tomorrow and probably the next day, but then the third day is when I feel like a horrible flu-type illness is affecting every bone of my body, along with the nausea.  I know I will need God's help and comfort.

I am the type of person who likes to know exactly what's going to happen.  But this is so unpredictable.  Round 2 was better than Round 1.  What will Round 3 be like?  Trying not to dwell on it (too much), since there's not much I can do, right?  Just need to trust God with each Round, and with each Day of each Round.  One day at a time.  Oh, yeah, and Expect Great Things!  I thank you all for your love and prayers.  You hold a special place in my heart, and I thank the Lord for each of you!  <3

A New "Do"

Hey, guys!  Look what I picked up at the "Look Good, Feel Better" meeting Caley and I went to this morning.  I tried a couple of blonde wigs -- didn't look too bad, but this one seemed the best.  Also got a bag of free makeup!  Am wearing a little of the makeup in the picture.  So what do you think?

Little Monster Blessings

Well, here they are.  Our little monsters!  Last blog I said I had some more blessings

to mention, but had to wait.  That was because Naomi didn't know about hers yet and so I wanted to wait until she returned home from staying at a friend's house.  And then life got a little busy and we finally got a picture taken of the monsters, so now I'm finally posting.  :-)

My wonderful neighbor Carlene made these little monsters for us.  They are "cancer monsters" or "love monsters" to help comfort us through this cancer journey.  Isn't that the sweetest thing!  Cancer affects the whole family, so Carlene made each of us a monster.  She said we could punch them or squeeze them or love them or whatever we wanted.  We're deciding to call them "love monsters," but my monster is the green one with the long arms, and when I swing his arms around and around I think of him beating up those cancer cells!  Steve's monster is the one to the left of mine, with the triangle face.  Caley's is the heart-shaped one, and Naomi's is the one with stripes -- because Carlene and her family have often noted that Naomi is always wearing stripes!

Just had to share.  :-)   Thank you, Carlene, for your sweet thoughtfulness towards us!

Oh, another blessing is that I finally went out to Naomi's volleyball game the other evening.  My friend Diann came out to visit and then took Caley and I into town.   She knows I haven't been getting out of the house much.  It was fun -- so good to see Naomi and her teammates play.  They played the toughest team and did well, but lost.  I'm proud for how well they played!  I did okay being out, but it was a little hard being out later than usual.  I tend to go to bed a bit early since sometimes I wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. and can't fall back asleep.  Often around 7 or 8 p.m. I am very sleepy, and sometimes if I can I'm asleep by 8 or 9 p.m.  (Don't like being awake in the early morning when everyone else is asleep, so am hoping I can get past this little issue.  Wish I could take daytime naps, but have never been very good at that.)  Anyway, I had a little trouble unwinding after we got home from the game, so went to bed a little later than usual.  I'm so glad I went though; it was good to see a few friends I hadn't seen in a while.  Thanks, Diann, for encouraging me and helping me to go.

God is so good to me, and even though I have rough times, I know He is with me.  I hope all of you are feeling blessed also, and feeling God's love for you.  He does love you, and so do I!

Caroline

more to come later

I have more blessings to mention, but need to wait a little bit.  But be looking for more in a few days or so.   :)

Showers of Blessings -- He is SO Good!

Wow, it's been over a week since I posted anything.  Time to say something, don't you think?

God has been blessing me in many ways, and even though I feel a little physically irritable right now, I decided I needed to share -- and then by doing so, maybe I can take my mind off of how my body is feeling, at least for a bit.  :)

So if you count chemo day as day 0, today is Day 10 of Round 2 of chemo.  Going back to Day 10 of Round 1, what a difference I see!  I was feeling so much worse then.  I asked the doctor this time around to "tweak" the chemo meds since they affected me so awfully the first time around.  She did, and between that and God's blessings, I am truly feeling MUCH better.  Praise God!  I am taking very few pain meds compared to last time.

Well, I did NOT go to the "Look Good, Feel Better" program at the Cancer Center last Tuesday.  Caley had a head cold that day and I had a sniffly nose also and felt overall "yucky."  I really wanted to get some scarves, wigs, makeup -- whatever I might find that could work for me.  But I knew I would feel worse if I went.  The clincher was that Caley felt progressively worse as the morning went on, and did not want to drive feeling that way.  So we decided to re-schedule for April 24 (it's every 2 weeks on Tuesdays).  Turns out we had a very nice day hanging out together at home.  And the next meeting will be 2 days BEFORE my next chemo treatment, so chances are I will be feeling much better at that time.

I don't remember which day it was that my friend brought me over a "buff" to wear.  It is a cool piece of seamless tube-shaped headwear that you might see bikers or athletes wearing around their necks, heads, etc., to keep away the sun and sweat while they are out in the elements.  She gave me the one she had bought for herself, and showed me a few ways I could wear it to cover up my hairless head. :)  Very sweet!

Today Steve bought me a few buffs at REI when he went into town to get a little work done.  Turns out we will return a couple of them (one has an insect repellant property which I don't need or want next to my exposed skin - plus it costs $8 more than the others; and the other color just doesn't work for me).  Will hopefully exchange the second one for another one they have there that seems pretty cool.  Hard to judge how it looks on you until you actually try it on.

So now I have a few hats to wear (my mom sent a couple more), plus the big scarf from Naomi (have to wrap it around a few times, but it works), plus a couple of buffs.  So I have some choices.  Can't wait to find some scarves that are specifically designed for cancer patients -- that is, easy to put on, etc.  And maybe a wig!  Think it'll be fun trying them on, and hope I find something that works.

Another cool blessing that happened several days ago (can't remember exactly when) is when a friend asked us for something specific to pray for at his church and God answered the prayer almost immediately I think.  His church prayed for my taste buds and my appetite.  And now my water tastes good!  It tasted nasty before.  Praise God!!  And my appetite has greatly improved.  (Eating more food causes a few problems with some increased personal digestion issues which I don't like), but our main goal here is to gain me some weight!  So we are on a better track now towards that goal.  If you'd like to pray for my digestion issues, which I don't want to discuss in public, I would love that.  Need a miracle or two in that area, and I would definitely let you all know when it happens, and give God all the Glory!

Another blessing that happened recently is I surprised my church friends by showing up during potluck after services.  Wasn't planning to go, but decided I would since I was feeling pretty well.  I had missed communion service (funny, the last church service I attended had been a communion service also!), so we had a small one for me back at my house.  Got to meet our new pastor.  He is so nice, and I believe God sent him to me with a special message I needed to hear.  Basically:  EXPECT GREAT THINGS -- from God, that is.  So that is what I want to do, and what I want you all to do.  Pray for me, and Expect Great Things!

Well, it worked!  Took my mind off my little physical problems.  Better go now though.  Thanks for coming by and visiting my blog.  Love it when you stop and say a few words too.  I love you all and hope you have a happy, blessed week.

Remember:  Expect Great Things!  God is Awesome!

Caroline  <3

Happy Sabbath! Learning to Rest..........

Sabbath is here and just wanted to write a quick note to say hello and wish everyone a wonderful, God blessed day.

As Steve wrote two days ago (chemo day), it was a pretty good day.  And the next day was too.  I felt so good in fact that I got a lot done!  Had a lot of church work to do, and I was determined to do it all and get some stuff in the mail before 5 p.m.  Did I ask God if this was what He wanted?  Well, not exactly.  So, I did it, and I over-did it.  Got it done but did I ever pay for it later!  Felt rotten yesterday evening.  Anxious, overwrought, stressed-out, negative outlook.....   Oh, no!!!!!!!!!  I knew I had messed up big time.

But did my wonderful God leave his "self-sufficient" child alone to suffer?  Did He say "that's your problem, you never asked me what to do, you did your own thing and now you need to deal with it."?  No!  Never!  As always, He was there for me.  He provided me with an awesome husband and daughter to help me through it -- rub my feet, legs, back, talk positive thoughts, help  me to relax, and eventually I was able to sleep.

This morning is much better.  Didn't get as much sleep as I would have liked, but oh, what an improvement, and I will definitely try to nap later.  This is Sabbath, and I will not forget to rest!  Not just sleep, but rest in Him.  Put aside all the worries, stresses, and thoughts about what needs to get done around here.  Spend time with family and friends today, as the opportunity comes.  (yes, am expecting some visitors!)

Today we are watching the Oklahoma Family Camp meetings being streamed online at restoration-international.org.  One of our daughters is there!  She was sneaky and didn't tell any of her friends she was going (well, it was kind of a last-minute decision also).  Wish I could have seen their expressions when she showed up!  So glad she could go.  Anyway, tune in and enjoy some wonderful family-oriented messages.

Happy Sabbath!  Rest in Him!

Caroline :-)

A great day!

Caroline had a great day for several reasons:

1) Limited pain

2) No pain meds throughout the entire day, except 8 AM (for preventive maintenance)

3) Nausea was non-existent

4) Had lots of good food - maybe more than me

5) Energy level was very good

6) Good visit with the doctors

7) Everybody we met today was very positive

8) Chemo went well

9) Caroline got a haircut by a special friend

And Steve had a great day for several reasons too:

1) Caroline had a great day

2) Naomi had a great day

3) Caley had a great day

4) My stress level dropped by about 80%

God bless,

Steve

ROUND 2

Hi everyone.

Second round of chemotherapy has begun today.  Hello from the 4th Floor!  I have approximately 2 1/2 hours left here in the Infusion Suite.  Feeling okay -- just drowsy and very warm.  ☹   The heat on this end of the suite is a bit high, so it's not just me.  ッ

Had an appt with the doc before coming here and she adjusted my meds a bit.  Am hoping for less harsh effects on my system this go-around -- we will see!  Please, please pray!

Have an appt next Tuesday to go to the "Look Good, Feel Better" session, where I can play around with makeup, wigs, and scarves, and maybe get some of that stuff for my own for free.  I have 2 knit/crocheted hats to wear over my just-about-absolutely bald head right now.  One hat was made my neighbor, and one by by mom.  But they may be a bit warm soon.  They are definitely nice at night, keep my head warm and my pillow less hairy.  Picked up some wig/scarf brochures here at the Center -- there are some real cute ones!  Scarves are definitely cheaper than wigs.  Hoping I can get one or two soon. ☺

Benadryl has worn off again I think -- am experiencing that "antsy" feeling in my legs again.  Am going to sign off for now.  More later!  Thanks ever so much for your loving prayers.  I love you all!  ♥  ✞Caroline

Friends!

After not writing for a few weeks, Caroline and I wanted to share some news with you. Some of the best news we have to share are our friends, and yes that includes family too :). Friends are blessings and each friend has their own gift, and that gift is a blessing to others. To name a few, those blessings come in the form of taking care of Naomi, picking up Naomi, taking care of Marcus and Risa, getting a car, getting a distiller, phone calls, cards, massage, visits, music, food, emails, driving help, thoughtful advice, and PRAYERS - all with the common theme of LOVE! And not to leave out Jesus, our best friend. Jesus is like all of our wonderful friends wrapped into one, but His friendship is unsurpassable and of course He is without spots or blemishes - unlike the rest of us. :) What better friend can we have? The really amazing consideration is that He is there whenever we reach out to Him. HE is ALWAYS by our side and He is always there with an answer to prayer, which sometimes comes in the form of friends just like you! On the surface a visit from friend may not seem like a miracle or answer to prayer but why not?

Ok, I know you didn't read the blog to get Steve's perspective on friendship so to fill you in on Caroline's health, in short I can say that the chemo has started out a bit rough. Her energy level is pretty low most all the time and if she has good energy she spends it on a well focused project. She gets localized pains for no apparent reason and they don't want to go away without medical help. Yesterday was rough but today is a great day. The pain is under control which often means that the frustration and the heavy duty anxiety evils are down. Yesterday with the help of a friend, via answers to prayers, Caroline was able to calm and get some much needed rest. Human weakness united with God's power is pretty awesome to observe! We have seen this more than once on this journey so far. Psalm 18:28 tells us that God will enlighten our darkness! That statement can mean different things at different times but when Caroline is sliding down into the pit of despair (largely due to unquenchable pain) that light can be pretty powerful. Last night God gave the wisdom to help get back up and it was amazing to watch. Last night was one of those times when there was light on our pathway. Caroline thinks that some of our friends actually have wings tucked under their clothes. :)

Well, Caroline's hair has started to give itself up to the chemo. She has been a good sport about it and is recognizing that it's just a fact and one of the hurdles we need to jump over. She is looking for scarves and one of our neighbor friends has already crocheted a fancy cap for her. It's quite cute!

This Thursday is the 2nd of six rounds of chemo. We ask that you all will pray for Caroline. And actually the day of chemo isn't that bad. It takes, 7-14 days to reach the Nadir, or low point. But that's a relative term. Again, please lift up Caroline to the Throne of Grace in your prayers.

So on that note we leave you with Proverbs 3:6: In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. That's ALL your paths, no matter where you are now or where you are going. Pretty neat isn't it, and tying that with 18:28 (above) he will shine the light on the path and direct us!

God bless!