DONE!

Well, it's September 21st and I am officially DONE with radiation! Praise the Lord! I made it through 33 days of that stuff, and I am so glad it's over. This last Monday was my last day, and we celebrated that whole day.

I finished radiation and rang the bell at about 8:10 am. Then, I came home and got to spend the day with my sweet Henry. We went grocery shopping and took the girls McDonald's at school. (Side note: I am sure most people know this by now, but man, McDonald's is kinda gross. I must be getting old because even the fries were just kinda meh. Ha! The kids loved it, so whatever.) When Henry and I picked the girls up from school, we surprised them and went to Dave & Busters. My sisters and I grew up going there with our parents and it has always been such a fun place. My kids love it, and we just had the BEST time. Charlotte and Henry both won 500 tickets each on a couple games, so we even were able to get a few fun prizes without having to spend a fortune.

After Dave & Busters, we went to Pappadeaux to pick up dinner. For special occasions in this house, I usually cook someone's favorite meal. Well, when it was my turn, I couldn't think of my favorite meal. When I was talking to my sister, Christie, earlier in the day, she said that any mom's favorite -meal is take out. Hello! I love seafood and can't make it very well, so I grabbed some shrimp and brought it home. We also stopped at a bakery and got some sweet treats for dessert. It was a perfect day of just celebrating and being together. I am SO thankful that I don't have to drive down Walnut Hill every morning anymore.

The next phase of treatment will be on October 20th. I will have my ovaries and tubes removed. This will be to prevent any accidental babies, but also to get rid of as many of my hormones as we can. Without this surgery, I will have to go get a shot in my stomach for the next 10 years. That's not fun, and I have no idea how much that will cost with all the changes going on with insurance. I feel more comfortable just doing this surgery and being done with that for now. It's supposed to be a quick and easy surgery. I will have it on a Friday, and if I was working, she said I could go back on Monday. Yay!

I did meet with the plastic surgeon last week and he said my skin looked great. Everything is still on track for a reconstructive surgery in early December. David and I will go meet with him in November to go over everything and make sure we are all on the same page.

Basically, life is getting back to a new normal. My hair is getting longer, my eyelashes are back, and I've been trained on how to use my new pump thingy. It feels SO good to only have doctor appointments now as opposed to having some type of treatment weekly or daily. It feels good to be able to go to soccer practices and church functions again. I seriously cannot wait for the fair!! It will probably wear me out, but stupid cancer is not taking the fair away from me or my kids this year. We are going to play on the Midway until our hearts are content, and they are going to ride as many rides as they want. (I mean, let's be slightly serious that they can't ride all the rides or we'd have to get a second mortgage on our house!) But, we will play, ride, and EAT! I can't wait!

Please pray that the rest of this year goes by quickly and without any major complications. Everything is going well right now, and I am so thankful for that. Please pray for wisdom as we meet with my Oncologist in a couple weeks and the surgeons soon to follow. We want to ask the right questions and do the correct procedures. Thank you for loving us through this year. Your kind words and prayers have meant more to me than I can say.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter: 3-10

Y'all...this is how I feel...the joy I have is "inexpressible and glorious." I have never been more aware of the things that are truly important in life. I have never longed for others to know Jesus as I do now. This year has been absolutely awful, but my Jesus has been so very good. Without him, I can't imagine waking up everyday without hope. That hope is available to anyone. I would be happy to tell you more about it if you're interested. I'm praying for anyone out there that doesn't know Jesus or who has lost their way. He is SO much more than we could ever give him credit for. He's more than just a God to get us through this life. He IS life. The only things that are important in life are loving God and loving others. Not promotions. Not parties. Or how popular you are. Not the clothes you wear. Not the house or neighborhood you live in. None of that matters. We have to deal with those things, sure, but the only thing that matters is Jesus. I hope I can read this blog in ten years (heck, even 1 year) and feel the same way. Life is about Jesus. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Here are come pictures from the last few weeks...

This is what the top half of my chest looked like this month. Sorry if that's TMI. Feel free to keep scrolling. I just want to remember. I had that weird little half sticker on my neck for 6 weeks, and those big blue lines for the same amount of time. That spot up a little higher is from a small scratch I got during radiation. It doesn't hurt at all, but man, it got red. The other slight redness is itchy and annoying, but getting better everyday.

And here's the pump...

It is crazy attractive. Hehe

Wilson!

Have you ever watched Cast Away with Tom Hanks? I remember going to see it when it came out. (That probably makes me super old. Oh well!) Anyway, do you remember how Tom Hanks only had one friend on the island with him? A volleyball that he named Wilson. Well, this hat has become my Wilson.

It has been my friend over the last 8 months. I wore it everyday for months on end. My sister, Natalie, was my secret Santa this year for Christmas. She got me this adorable hat, but no one could have known how much I would wear it this year. My hair is slowly coming back in. I do not like having such short hair, but it feels SO good to not feel like I have to wear a hat all the time. It's been great to walk around without it for a few weeks now. I can't wait for my hair to get longer!!

I wore a wig for a few months, and I wore scarves a lot as well. But, in March, during spring break, I found my groove with this hat. It was SO easy to wear, much cooler, and just more me. I've worn it to church, I've sang on stage with it, I've worn it to school to pick my girls up, I've just worn it everywhere we've gone this year. My doctors have all seen it. I will love this hat forever. I can't wait to wear it again with a long braid down my back. Just to keep the sun off my face. Not to hide or cover anything up. That will be such a great day!

Six

Six more days of radiation! Praise the Lord!

I thought I'd give a quick update on what's going on with us. I have one more day (tomorrow) of regular radiation. Then, they start a 5 day "boost" on my scar and the spot where the cancer was. So, that will mean that the rest of my chest will get to start recovering after tomorrow morning. Hallelujah! The first 4 weeks of radiation were really not that bad at all. It was annoying to have to be somewhere everyday at 8 am, but otherwise, it was fine. The last week or so has been a bit more difficult. My skin is sore, and so are my muscles. I'm also starting to get really tired again. I'm thankful that this part is almost over. I meet with my plastic surgeon on Tuesday to discuss how my skin has reacted and also to plan out the reconstructive surgery in December. So, my last day of radiation will be September 18th. Yay! I'll have a small surgery in late October and then reconstruction December 8th. We are in the home stretch, and hoping for everything to continue to go as smoothly as possible.

I don't think I updated on here that I've been going to physical therapy. Now that I had 12 lymph nodes removed, I officially have lymphedema. (One more thing to deal with...good times!) Anyway, my left hand has been swelling off and on for about a month. I can't wear my watch or wedding rings at the moment, so that has been frustrating. I've been going to physical therapy at the hospital 2-3 times per week and seeing a wonderful lady. She has been such a joy to be around and has truly helped me feel better. I've got some exercises to work on to help with the swelling, and I will hopefully be receiving a crazy large pump to use every night for a while. I'll work my way down to two nights a week on the pump, but I'm excited to see how much that helps.

On a super great note, the kids have all started school and done so well these past few weeks! The girls are in 1st and 3rd grade, and we are so thankful for the sweet teachers they got this year. They are loving everything about school, and we are so grateful for that. Henry started at a new school last week, and that was a total God thing. I actually quit my job in Plano, and Henry started at a school that is like 2 minutes from our house. His teachers both go to our church, and one has been his Sunday school teacher for years. He adores them both and has loved going to school. That has been such an answer to prayer. We could not be more thankful for how all that worked out. I still can't believe I'm not working this year. It's such a weird feeling, but I know it is what the Lord wants for us right now. This week, I will be watching Netflix and catching up on shows while I rest and get through the last part of radiation. After that, it will be so lovely to get a few things done and have some time to myself.

Here are a few ways you can pray for us right now:
-Please pray for my energy this week and for me to be able to do the things I need to. Please pray for the pain I'm experiencing to lessen. My chest just hurts. It's hard to sleep sometimes because no matter which side I lay on, it's just uncomfortable. I also have a spot that just radiates pain every so often. That's not super fun either. I'll see my radiologist on Tuesday to discuss all this, but so far, it's all been normal.
-Awana and choir start this Wednesday night at our church. David leads Awana, and I will be able to lead choir again this semester. Pray for energy for both of us, and for all the kids that we will be ministering to. We are really excited!
-This is random, but please pray for a plumbing situation in our house. There is actually a plumber on our roof right now trying to fix a clog we had in a pipe. One of our toilets started spewing raw sewage during the Cowboy game tonight. It wasn't super fun, and it's just one more thing for us to deal with. Hopefully they will be sending a crew out to clean tomorrow as well. We did get everything cleaned up, but you know, a thorough cleaning after that is usually warranted. Pray that we don't get overwhelmed with all the things going on in life right now.

Thank you SO much for praying for us. This has been such a difficult year, but we have been so blessed to know so many people love and care for us. I'll keep y'all posted as radiation ends and as we plan for my last two surgeries. I can't wait to celebrate once December 8th is over!!