A Night Out

Hi Everyone!  I know it's been a while since I posted on here.  Got a new picture, courtesy of my friend Diann, so thought I'd "borrow" it and post it up here.  :)  Thanks so much, Diann.  ;-)

Last night I made it to Naomi's school play!  Yay!  Wasn't sure I was going to be able to, due to digestive issues, but we prayed, and God blessed, and I made it, and I'm so glad I did!

The play was wonderful!  It was called "Count the Stars," and was about Abraham's struggle to follow God's leading.  The beautiful and talented Naomi played Abraham's wife, Sarah.  Naomi, you make a beautiful old lady, and with the baby powder in your hair, you smelled great too.  ha ha.  :D

I must say ALL the students did great!  It was so enjoyable and well-done.  Naomi's best friend since childhood, Olivia (Diann's daughter), played Hagar, Sarah's adversary.  Wonderful interaction between the two of you, Naomi and Olivia!  You are both so beautiful and talented.  Love you!

Diann took the family picture of us after the play.  Thanks again, so much, Diann, and thanks for putting it on Facebook so I could "borrow" it!  Love you, too, my friend!

I've been doing okay since the chemo.  A bit lower energy and lower appetite this go-round.  (Think I've lost a few more pounds, which I really can't afford!)  Praise God the pain level has been very, very low. :D Going through a lot of emotional stuff though, crying very easily.  Although it is not physical, it is pain nonetheless, and I appreciate your prayers.  I want to get stronger in my faith and in my emotional state.  I understand the chemo can make some people this way, not to mention the "instant menopausal state" I've been thrown into because of my surgery.  It really helps to have something productive to do during the day, and on those days I do much better.  Watching TV or NetFlix movies isn't really that helpful -- just kind of mind-numbing and a temporary distraction.  It's hard when your energy level is so low, but it seems to be getting better, so I should be able to find more productive ways to spend my time.  Getting out of the house helps a lot, but sometimes I am at the mercy of my digestive system.  Let me just say short outings are the best for now.  It was a true blessing to be able to go to the play last night, it being so far away from home.  :D

I thank God for all my blessings -- they are so numerous!  He is so good to me.   I especially thank him for all of you, and for all the prayers going up on my behalf.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, my friends.  Love, love, love you all!

Caroline  ♥

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.   :)