Thursday

Thought I would post a picture of my latest project so that some of you do not think all I do is cook, bake and rest!!! The table,which matches the podium, was made for our People of Praise auditorium. The table is made with white quarter sawn oak.

Gail continues to feel really well. In our conversation this morning we talked about starting to get back to some kind of normal schedule and life. We continue to BELIEVE that we will have a long life together ahead of us. As I have said several times already we have not seen any healing but have not seen her health get any worse so that is really really positive. Someone mentioned a few days ago that she looked so well and so cute and of course I had to say that nothing has changed in the last 40+ years!!!

Have a great day and an even better weekend coming up.

Both of us are working at the fair grounds Saturday and Sunday from 9:00-1:00.

We are also excited as in about 10 days we get to see Aaron/Amy and Leo.

Travis has arranged for everyone to have Mother's Day brunch on the the St. Croix River. That should be fun. Don't be funny, we will be on a boat!!!

One of my favorite pictures. Gail and I spent the day camping in the upper peninsula in Michigan.

This week is shaping up to be one that is fairly normal. Gail is working census, she went to women's group this morning, I had men over for meditations at 6 AM, we have a meeting on youth tonight at our house, I will have men's group tomorrow at Ernie's and Jim Cahill will come for the first time, that should be fun. I have a meeting with the Boy scouts Thursday morning and maybe that is it for the week!!! For the second week in a row we will not have grandma/grandpa day on Thursday. We are sad about that but maybe we can start it up again next week. Gail may be finished with work by then.

I think I have finally recovered from 13 hr work days on Fri and Sat and 9 hr on Sunday. Now that we do not need to get up at 3:30 for the paper route I think I have turned into a wimp, one who is lazy and easily tired. Cynthia and Faustina just walked in so I will leave.

Summary

A couple of 4 generation pictures taken in Jan.

It has been some time since I started this blog so I am going to summarize. As you start to read it if you say to yourself I have heard all this just enjoy the pictures and ignore my summary!

1. In the fall of 2003 Gail was diagnosed with breast cancer. From Oct of 03-the spring of 05 she went the route of recommended medical treatment with surgery, chemo, radiation, and infusions. By the summer of 05 she felt fine and since then we had in our minds she was cancer free.

2. In December of 2008 we decided to get serious about exercise and weight loss. In mid Jan of this year we had both lost about 12-15 pounds and were feeling great. Then Gail detected a small lump on her sternum and she called her doctor.

3. On February 4 we received the news that the cancer was back. After Pet scans, Cat scans and 2 biopsies it was concluded that there were cancer spots in her neck, sternum and liver.

4. February 27 Gail started the only treatment available to her--hormone treatment which is an injection. At this point she was feeling very well.

5. Even though the treatment was described as having very little side effects Gail experienced severe back pain and even worse constipation.

6. By this time, March 8, we postponed her second treatment and very very seriously begin to look at ALL options.

7. Gail's situation looked like this: The doctor said if she continued the treatments she could expect to have 6-12 months of good quality of life--that was it. We thought that the quality of life after the first treatment was less then good. We then asked what we could expect if we did not follow though with the treatment. The doctor then said she would put Gail on a hospice program right away and in in a short time she would have very serious health issues!!!

8. Our decision on March 16 was to do no more medical treatments and to EXPECT God to heal Gail and get as many people as we could to pray for that. We also decided to do supplements recommended by a non-medical person. We also knew that because we do not know God's mind that Gail's time could be short but we both felt that it would be BEST to feel as good as possible for as long as possible.

9. Where are we now, April 25?? We are almost 3 months out from the doctor's statement of 4-6 months. Gail feels well, she has seen no advance of cancer but she has not experienced healing either at this point. Is the fact that she still feels well a sign of healing, we hope, pray and believe it is but really we do not know that.

10. I should also add that about 90% of the food we now eat is raw fruit and veggies and juicing. Very little meat, almost no sugar and almost no white flour.

I would like to add some thoughts I have had in the last week to 10 days. I have come to believe that healing from a serious and or life threatening illness is very much dependent on our belief and attitude. My challenge to you is to REALLY believe that Gail will be healed. Of course Gail and I find that we have doubts, down times, tears and many other emotions but we try to always pray with the expectation that Gail will be well. If you think about that concept and relate it to our medical diagnosis it is a BIG challenge to believe and live with the expectation Gail will have a long life ahead of her.

I leave you with this: We believe 24/7 that Gail will be healed, we live 24/7 with the reality of her still present health issues and we will let nothing separate us from the LOVE OF GOD.

Prayer request

No, no, no the prayer request is not for the bread! Doesn't that look delicious? That was what Cynthia brought over for Easter dinner.

The prayer request is for their baby who is due in August. The latest ultrasound showed something not normal in the kidney area. The doctor said they would monitor it monthly so prayers would be very much appreciated.

Chief cook

Thought you might enjoy seeing my new profession after 38 years in education I have a new challenge. As I fumble and bumble around in the kitchen I actually enjoy myself. We need a new kitchen but it still beats the ones I remember my mother worked in. For much of her life she cooked on a wood burning stove, didn't have a sink but needed to fill the dish pan with hot water to do dishes and then carry it outside when the water got dirty. Now that I am getting somewhat mature I have a greater appreciation for mother then I did way way back.

Gail and I enjoyed a delicious meal with Jerry/Susan Wind and family tonight. We eat together 2 or 3 times a month, it is always one of the highlights of the month. As I sit here blogging Gail is working feverishly on her PDA logging in 163 apt in one building. She took most of the day off her work as she meets every Tuesday with a group of women to talk, share and pray. I also had a great morning as 3 men come over here Tuesdays from 6-7 AM to do meditations. That is always fun and enlightening.

Bike into Spring

It looks like John and Henry make spring official. It's biking time!! Note, even dad has his helmet on, now that is wonderful. It is easy to see that Henry loves to spend time with dad.

A model!!!

Now isn't that about the most beautiful, hardworking wonderful employee that anyone could ever have!! You are looking at the best census employee in St. Paul. Most of the time in her work she is out and about in neighborhoods confirming information. She now knows all about CLD, CL, DQC, E-308, EEO and the list it seems is endless. I know nothing of course.

Gail is doing fine. Last night we talked to Chris, a lady who has been helping us with our approach to Gail's health. She said that from what she can tell Gail's body is recovering from the many many tests and treatments she has had and at this time she appears to be doing well. We ask that you BELIEVE that Gail will get well. Please pray for a long life and good health for her. We do believe but of course we are living in reality and that is challenging at times.

It is Monday morning and the week ahead looks busy and exciting. Gail will be putting in as close to 40 hours as possible for the census and then will leave Friday PM for a weekend retreat with about 250 women from People of Praise. I know at least one of the topics will be meditations and how to become better FRIENDS with Jesus. I was able to go to South Bend IN in March for a 3 day conference on the same subject and it was very very good. When one considers Jesus a friend and thinks and acts like he is a part of your life in the same way your best friend is it is life changing. As Gail is at her retreat I will be working the fair grounds Fri, Sat and Sun for the horse show. I get to open and close the gate for the employee's parking lot. How about that!

Have a great week.

Wake Up!!!!!

Good morning! It is Friday and time to get ready for the weekend. Hope you had a great week, we did. Gail worked Monday-Thursday and today her supervisor said that the computer system is down and she may not be able to work. Great news! You should see her with her little hand held computer putting in addresses and mapping out our 2010 census. I am sure she is the best ever employee the census bureau has hired.
Gail continues to do well. We are hoping that we will not have much to write about as time flies by, wouldn't that be nice. So, if all you see are pictures of little kids and news about family rest assured Gail is fine. The prayer support is unbelievable and we feel it all the time.
The above picture is of our little Leo, he is quite the character.
Carmen is excited as Mike's birthday bash is tonight. He turns 29 Monday!!

Tuesday

Happy Tuesday and don't forget Tax day tomorrow!! Also, our Leo turns 2 tomorrow.

Gail and I had a grand time last night as we went out with Cyn,Mike and Faustina to a restaurant that serves all organic, veggie, raw food. The food was very tasty but we did not care for the atmosphere, different from our norm. There was 1 positive, that you do not have to worry about your food getting cold before you eat. They had many healthy-organic-funky things to buy too. I considered getting a tattoo balm that is supposed to preserve tattoos but then I remembered that we would have no use for it!!!!!!

We continue to try to live life in our "normal" way. A couple of things. We had planned to leave Thursday for Madison and then on to Door County for a short time away but that has changed. Gail started her part time census work yesterday and to our surprise they really want and expect them to work through this Friday and then start on Monday again so we will put our trip off for a short time. Gail has been really tired so I had thought about not going but the real reason was she felt that if she did not work those days she would be lost as to what she was doing. We were so excited to see Aaron/Amy and Leo but will save that for a later time. We had a good laugh last night as we were talking about her working part time now(only for 6 weeks). I said that things sure change as we have been married almost 41 years and now for the first time she is the bread winner and I am the stay at home homemaker!!! Which reminds me I need to get those dishes done before she comes home this afternoon. Secondly, Gail felt this morning that her sternum area looked more swollen than in the past. We are hoping that is not true but will watch it and continue to pray against the evils of sickness. That is perhaps a good reason to stay close to home for a while.

We hope the risen Christ is in your home, in your mind and in your heart.

Update

All is well on the home front and we are waiting for tomorrow morning, glory to our risen Lord. Gail continues to have difficulty sleeping and it seems like it is a pulled muscle in her back. We are going with back rubs and using the vibrator on it. Continue to pray for a healing. Without much sleep at night she has been quite tired during the day. We did go for a 3 1/2 mile walk this morning with Wallace (our dog!) and that was good. We are looking forward to family gathering tomorrow and sitting down to enjoy a ham, Great-grandma Lee's cream potatoes and other food. The weather is sunny and 60 so spring has sprung.

Quote of the day

Grandma was with Liam on Thursday. He had something in his mouth and she said he should not have that in his mouth because he could swallow it and he could go to the hospital. He even could die from it grandma said. Liam replied, "It's OK grandma, I'll just rise up again"! Could we have a saint on our hands?? Actually Liam is a really really good boy but has shown no signs of sainthood yet!
May all of us reflect on the death of our Lord today and prepare for the glorious Resurrection on Sunday. Have a blessed Easter.

Update

Gail continues to do well. She has lost another 2 pounds so I would say "no more". Two nights ago she could not sleep and was restless but that has happened in the past as well so really we have no concern. Please continue to pray for a complete healing, "Lord come in power and might and heal Gail in any way you desire but please heal". The last 2 weeks as people pray on the Tu-Wed pray chain Gail has found it difficult to sleep at night--interesting.

Get your ears on!!

Henry and grandpa have a new saying that we often use in the woodshop. Every time some tool or machine is going to be used one of us will say, "Get your ears on". As you can see Henry does a great job of being safe.

Leo's domain

Leo loves the idea that he can get in and out of bed all by himself. When you visit just ask him to show you his bed!!

Picture of the day

Here is Liam, our 4 year old as of Tuesday. He is always busy doing something. Here he is fixing Grandma's broken down structure in the back. I would say he looks pretty handi with that real hammer!

All is well

Grandpa can't resist those 2, Faustina on the left and Audrey on the right. I have come to believe they are perfect.

We had a wonderful weekend. Gail, Cynthia and Travis went to a seminar all day Saturday and learned much. Carmen got some work done around home. Sunday many of us gathered at John and Mary's for brunch after church. The food was great and the company was even better.

We had a bit of snow Saturday but all is gone now and they say by Easter Sunday it could be 60!

Gail and Carmen signed up to work at the state fair grounds again. God willing it will be a few weekends this summer and then 13 nights during the fair. It really is fun, that is if you like our kind of fun!!! Gail is also signed up to work a bit for the US census this spring. She has to go to 4 full days of training so I am thinking you have to be really smart to work there.

We are excited to leave next week on Thursday for Aaron/Amy and Leo's and then on to Door County for 3 nights of fun and romance--can't wait.

Gail continues to feel well. We may start to grow wheat grass and drink the juice, have you ever tasted it?!?! The word out is the taste is less then good but the benefits are super. We will see. Have a blessed Holy Week and a great Easter Sunday.

Liam's birthday

It was a grand day. Henry, Liam and Faustina were here all day with Audrey joining us when the adults came over to celebrate Liam's birthday. We missed Leo but we are planning to have him part of the THURSDAY Grandma/Grandpa day in May. It was one of those days when you would like to be able to bottle it and open it again at a later date. Hard to believe the grandkids are growing so fast. Grandma once again pulled the day off in grand fashion.
We hope everyone has a great weekend.

Much excitement ahead

April is already looking like a winning deal. Tomorrow we celebrate Liam's 4Th birthday with a party and good eats. Gail, Cynthia and I think Travis plan to go to an all day session on eating "well" this Saturday. Then of course Holy week is next week and with it brings gatherings, prayer and anticipation of Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday we are looking forward to family gathering here to celebrate God's great love for us. Of course the food will be delicious too! After that Leo turns 2---wow. We are planning to visit Aaron/Amy/Leo the weekend of April 17,18,19 and then Gail and I plan to spend 3 nights in Door County compliments of an anniversary gift from family and friends last summer. Also, can't forget Mike's birthday party in there too.
Gail continues to feel well. At times she wonders if things are not going so well but we put those doubts aside as we have seen no signs of advances with the cancer. We have seen no signs of healing either but we continue to hope and pray with expectant faith. Many people have signed up for the Tu-Wed prayer watch for her and for that we are most thankful. Keep praying and hoping with us is what we ask.