It's Quiet Again

Today was a very quiet day. Mom and Dad went home yesterday and Carolyn and Janice left this morning. I was really glad when I knew that Carolyn and Janice were home safely because traveling was a little crazy today with snow in two of the four mountain passes. But they are both home in Billings now.

Liz is attending a week-long intensive class that started yesterday at Sacred Heart in Spokane. She was able to have dinner and spend the evening with us last night. She'll have to spend most of the rest of the week in Spokane. But she'll be able to get away and spend the evening with me Thursday so I still have some sister time to look forward to!

Yesterday I didn't have chemo, but my magnesium level was low so I had to have an I-V at the Cancer Center in the afternoon. Janice and Carolyn took turns visiting with me and I was so happy that I had a good chair. After the exciting time at the Cancer Center we went shopping at Border's and TJ Maxx. I have some nummy new books to read!

I am so thankful to have such a loving and caring family. It's hard to express how grateful I am for them. God has truly blessed me.

Thank you for your prayers. Love, Julie

Happy Birthday, Carolyn!

Janice and Carolyn surprised me by coming earlier than I expected! And then Mom and Dad came. We're celebrating Carolyn's birthday today. (She wants an all day celebration for her last birthday in her 40's.) hee hee. Mom and Janice made a special breakfast: blue popcorn meal pancakes, eggs, bacon...mmmmm This afternoon we're planning to go to P.F. Changs in Spokane.

It will be great when Liz and her kids get here tomorrow! I love having a house full of people!

Hope you are having a good day. Thank you for your prayers. Love, Julie

Busy last few days...

We had a wonderful weekend in Seattle. One of the hightlights for me was having the chance to bond with Julian. He's such a sweet 18 month old who loves to play with trains and trucks, carries Spiderman around, and he loves books. I had the chance to spend time with Julian when Betsy had to go to work and Greg and Cameron and Sebastain went to see some cool places in Seatte. Julian and I played, read books, and I got to rock him to sleep. mmmmm. Grandma Heaven.

Sebastian is a very creative fun little guy. He loves to pretend he's a super hero. Right now his favorite character is "Cat Man" and he assigns side-kick roles to Julian.

We were thrilled with the positive results of the cat scan. All the tumors were at least 50% smaller, some as much as 80%. Dr. T said there were lessions that are no longer visible at all. And there is no new cancer. So we're making a gradual switch to a more maintenance schedule. Hurray! But Dr. Tezcan is still very concerned about the blood clot situation. He pointed out a blood clot on my left lung that they hadn't noticed before. His plan is for us to continue with the heparin and have another cat scan in four weeks to make a comparison. We know God is in control and He has the power to totally eliminate the blood clot. Thank you for your prayers.

I am looking forward to Janice and Carolyn coming this Thursday. And Liz plans to spend some time with us this weekend. I love my sisters and I'm excited to spend time visiting, drinking coffee, and going shopping! And my physically fit sisters will probably be able to pull me off the couch to go for a walk with them. Mom and Dad are trying to get away and visit with us for a few days. I love my family and I'm so grateful for all of them. I have four great brothers too! God is good.

We sure appreciate your love and prayers. We are so thankful to have so many loving people who care about us. Love, Julie

Back from Seattle

Julie asked me to update you about our trip to Seattle and to praise God for a good health report.

We had a great time with the Arneson's as we took in some of the fun sights of city - on top of the Space Needle, rock'n out in the Music Experience, explored the final frontier of the science fiction exhibit & walked with Dinosaurs and butterflies. It was so much fun hanging out the Julian & Sebastian (Oh ya, Cam & Bets too). Julian is making sounds that are really close to saying words and Sebastian can immediate anything we say, so we've always got to be careful (being the good role models that we are). We just can't seem to get enough of those guys, but we made the most of our short visit with them.

We got the results back from the CT scan and everything is shrinking - some tumors are half the size they use to be and others are hard to find. Can I hear an Amen? The doctor is cutting back Julie's chemo treatments to once every other week and is working toward a maintenance status to keep everything in remission. Can I hear a Hallelujah? Chemo is still pretty rough on her body, but as far as her soul is concerned - in the words of MC Hammer "Can't touch this." Way to go God!

Please continue to pray that the new blood clots in her lung fade and that the reduced size of the tumors will keep them from producing any more clots.

Thank you for your faithful & encouraging words! Greg

My Piano is in Tune!

I'm so excited because my poor old piano is finally in tune and the broken hammer is fixed so all the keys play! Wow! It's amazing how much more satisfying it is to play an instrument that works and is in tune. Thank you so much, Jerry!

I am enjoying my chemo-free week. Last night I had dinner with my friends, Jennifer and Lana, at Lana's house. She's an amazing cook and she whipped up a delicious stir fry dinner while we chatted. It was a really fun evening of visiting. I am so thankful for my wonderful friends.

I have a cat scan this Thursday so we'll find out how much the tumors have shrunk. I'm expecting good news because I feel so good and my breathing has improved so much. I will find out the results of the test on Monday when I meet with my doctor.

Greg and I are looking forward to our trip to Seattle this weekend. I'm counting the days till I get to see Sebastian and Julian and their parents of course!

Hope you're having a great week. Thank you for your prayers. Love, Julie

Happy Week

It's been a great week. I am so happy that the icky "pre-blood clot"feeling I had in my leg is completely gone. Thank you for your prayers!

We watched Hannah play her very first volleyball game last night and she did so well. The other girls on her team tower over her but she is not afraid of the ball and I could tell she was having a good time. She was pleased to have an enthusiastic cheering section including five grandparents and her whole family. Go Hannah!

Next weekend Greg and I plan to fly to Seattle to visit Betsy and Cam and the boys. My goodness, I can't believe I haven't seen Sebastian and Julian since Christmas. They grow and change so much when they're little and it drives me crazy not to be able to see them more often. I love hearing their little voices on the phone.

I pray that you all have a wonderful Easter. Thank you for your continued love and prayers. Love, Julie

Smooth-Sailing Sunny Day

It was chemo day today and I can celebrate that things went smoothly with no surprises at my favorite place, the Cancer Center. Actually it was amazing! I got my favorite nurse again, my favorite chair (with heat and massage), and there were no surprises with heparin.

I have next week off from chemo and will have a cat scan Thursday, April 16. I'm excited to find out how much the cancer is shrinking. I have confidence that God is healing my body! It will be great to really see that in the cat scan results.

I am so grateful that you want to pray for me. I have a specific request today. I have a tight feeling in the back of my left leg and in the past, this feeling has turned out to be a blood clot. Please pray that if this is a blood clot, it will dissolve. That God will smoosh it. Thank you in advance for your prayers!

I've been thinking that I've been on the receiving end of such overwhelming support and prayer. And I would like to pray for you. My email is musicgrama52@yahoo.com if you'd like to share something for me to pray about. Thanks for the privilege.

Love, Julie

Spring making an apprearance!

Oh my goodness! It's a gorgeous day today! I almost forgot what it was like to see blue sky and enjoy sunshine! We still have some piles of ugly snow that just won't seem to go away...but now we know Spring is going to come eventually.

Liz and her kids left this afternoon and she was planning to go for a run when she got home. She's so motivated! My marathon-running sister. Emma and Evan love to play with Emily's kids and Hannah and Adam spent the night here too last night. They all had eggos for breakfast and got to play outside without their winter coats on! It was a very nice but very short visit.

News flash! I'm planning to get a haircut tomorrow afternoon! Kathy Bates is going to trim the crazy hairs that are longer than the rest of my butch looking hair. Very soon I'll walk out of the house without a hat! It's weird because the chemo dries out my skin, splits my finger tips, makes my fingernails weak, makes me tired and more nauseated than before...but my hair is growing longer and thicker!

I'm bummed because we couldn't put your song on my blog, Jerry. I really wanted to share it with everyone.

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday! Your prayers and support continue to be so encouraging to us. We love you. Love, Julie

SNOWY DAY

I'm not kidding. We woke up this morning to a full-blown snow storm with 3 or 4 inches already on the ground. Hello! It's April 2. Time for tulips and daffodils and sunny weather! But I'm feeling good today so the weather doesn't really matter.

My friend, Angela, who teaches 3rd grade at Fernan brought a little booklet that another 3rd grade teacher had put together of sweet messages from kids in his class. It's so weird because I have been thinking so much about teaching lately. I really miss the kids and great staff I worked with at Fernan. I've even been having "teacher dreams" lately. It makes me feel so good that at this time in the school year the kids still remember me! I just have to share a couple of things with you and you'll understand why my heart was so touched by their thoughts.
"I wish you still teached here. I hope you get better soon and your over with cancer."
"You are very nice to me. I hope you will come back."
And this, from a student who was a challenge..."I wish you were here again, I miss you like crazy! But if I never see you again I want you to know you were a special person in my life. I hope you get better."

Yesterday I felt lousy so I sure appreciate feeling better today! Thank you so much for your love and prayers. I feel so blessed to have so much support. Love, Julie