We're having a "hot" time!

Oh my goodness, are we lucky or what? Greg and I are enjoying a historic time here in Oregon. The hottest temperatures on record. But we are having a wonderful time sweating together. My Mom and Dad live in a house that was built in 1890 and of course has been built onto and remodeled over the years, but they don't have AC. So there is a constant hum of fans throughout the house. Yesterday it was 104. Today is supposed to be even warmer. Yipee. It reminds them of Africa.

I have been feeling great this week!!! Mom's cooking sure helps! Last night my brother, Robert, and his kids had dinner with us. They are growing up. Crazy. I really enjoyed seeing them.

I went with Mom to her mammogram appointment yesterday. It was so great to sit in a waiting room and be waiting for someone else. So many people have done that for me. Then we went out to a nummy Chinese lunch. Following that, we went to my favorite place, Costco! You guys must think I'm a little looney because I always talk about the highlight of my day being a trip to Costco. But it's true. But yesterday it was extra-special because I was at my favorite place with Mom!

This afternoon Greg and I plan to go to Dallas to visit his Mom and his brother. It will be good to see them. His Mom lives in a sort of foster home for older people. His brother, Randy, had cancer last year and is doing very well. We have a lot to talk about!

Jake is driving across the country from Nashville to CDA this week. He left yesterday. Would you pray for his safety? Thank you.

I have the feeling people are praying for me this week. God has given me so much strength and I've been able to do so much more than sit on a couch and watch the food channel. Thank you so much for thinking about us this week. I love you and I'm thankful for you. Love, Julie

Adventures

It's sad in my house without Janice, Abbie, and Zoë. But Emily and her kids are here today and Em is doing her magic on my house while the kids are playing.

I had some fun adventures with Janice and Abbie. I know Abbie wants me to tell you about my Target adventure. Okay, you must understand that I am getting so much better at driving around the little electric carts. I haven't bumped into anyone or anything in a long time. So we were at Target and I was excited because my eyelashes are long enough to wear mascara again. So Janice was telling me which isle to go to. There was a really cool display of a new kind of mascara on the end of the isle and I was looking at it while I was turning and you guessed it...I missed the isle and banged into the display. It seemed like things were flying everywhere and falling apart. I looked at Abbie and said "That wasn't a bump, it was a CRASH!" It wasn't as bad as we thought. Things went back together easily. But it sure was embarassing.

While Janice was here we also went to Costco where I didn't bump into anything.

Greg and I are planning to go to Oregon tomorrow and I can hardly wait! It will be so great to be at Mom and Dad's and enjoy their garden and beautiful flowers.

Hope you are having a good weekend. I am so grateful for your prayers. Love, Julie

Zoë and the Russells

Adam, Matthew and Hannah are getting acquainted with Zoë!

New Look...

How do you like the new look of my blog? Abbie, my little techie wizard niece, is here and she helped me change it. She also taught my how to put the little dots over the e in Zoë. I feel so smart now. It's been so wonderful to have Janice, Abbie, and the baby here. There is something amazingly sweet and relaxing about holding a tiny baby.

I was so happy to get my chemo fanny pack off yesterday! This kind of chemo has to enter my blood stream very slowly so I have to wear a fanny pack that contains the chemo drug and a little machine that controls it for four days. So I was wearing my little "friend, Fanny"from Friday till yesterday. I have three more radiation treatments and those are daily. So I've been feeling like a pretty regular customer at the Cancer Center this last two weeks. It's been so great to have Janice take me to all my appointments. She's been so patient.

And it's been wonderful to have really good dinners every evening with Janice as the chef and Abbie as her assistant. Food is tasting mighty good this week!

Yesterday afternoon we went to T.J. Maxx. I love going there because you never know exactly what you're going to find. All three of us managed to find some things we couldn't live without. I don't know what adventures we'll have today!

Every day I am thankful for so many things. I continue to be so thankful for all of you who faithfully pray for us. I am so blessed to have so much love and support from so many people.

"The joy of the Lord is my strength."

Love, Julie

Waiting anxiously...

I'm waiting anxiously for Janice and Abbie and little Zoe to arrive! They should be driving up any minute.

Yesterday I had tons of energy and did four loads of laundry, went out to lunch with Emily (after she did her cleaning magic in my house!), and last night Greg and I decided we'd go out to dinner to celebrate our 34th anniversary. Our anniversary is actually Monday, but I was feeling so good and we'll have company tomorrow--we decided to celebrate a couple of days early. It was great.

Today I've been a little tired so I've been resting up for the arrival of my company. My friend Lana brought over some pizzas from Papa Murphy's so dinner is taken care of. She's so thoughtful. Hope you've had a great weekend. I am so grateful for your love and prayers.

Love, Julie

Grandchildren Heaven

Betsy and Cam and the boys got here Tuesday evening and we're enjoying a great visit. Cam had to come to Spokane for a work-related event so the whole family got to come! Last night Cam and Bets had a company dinner and concert to attend and they spent the night in Spokane so we got to have Sebastian and Julian overnight. Greg and I have been a good team and Hannah and Adam spent the night too and they've been very helpful. Both Hannah and Adam are patient with their little cousins and their cousins adore them. I love having the chance to really bond with Sebastian and Julian and I love watching them play with their cousins. Life is good.

Yesterday Betsy took me to radiation and she got to come in with me and watch them get me ready and set up. Now she's met the nice people who work in radiation and she knows what the machines and crazy equipment looks like.

Hope you're having a great summer week. Thanks for your prayers! Love, Julie

Wonderful Weekend

It has been just so great to have Carolyn here since Thursday afternoon and I will miss her when she has to go home to Billings tomorrow. I asked Rob if she could just stay here but he wants her back. Her kids miss her too. She's such a fun person and so full of energy--it's contagious. And she's a wonderful cook too. I think I've gained some weight this weekend as a result of Carolyn's cooking and feeling better. Maybe I'm feeling better because of Carolyn's good cooking! We didn't go shopping at all except for groceries--we've just spent lots of our time visiting and that's been good.

Liz and her kids got to spend the night last night. It was great to have her and Emma and Evan around. They came for Adam's party. It was great to share time with two of my sisters! Yipee! And Janice is coming the 19th with Abbie and Zoe. The sister fun will continue...

And Betsy and Cam and the boys will be here for a couple of days in the middle of the week. I can hardly wait to hug Sebastian and Julian. Little sweeties.

The secretary at Hayden Meadows sent me the name plate that had been on the wall by my classroom door all year and it made me so sad! "Julie Johnson" was their music teacher and I never even got to meet all those children. The reality hits me every once in awhile that I won't be teaching this fall. It's so hard to leave that part of my life behind.

Tomorrow I will have my first out of ten radiation treatments and I'm so excited about being able to breathe better! I had to be remeasured and get new tatoos and it's kind of a complicated process. It seemed like the lady who did those things to me on Friday just loved drawing on me. I had big and little circles and funny lines all over my chest.

Thank you so much for your love and prayers. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful and caring people. Love, Julie

So many changes in one day!

Okay, we are not going to Oregon this week. But we are not bummed because I got a call from the radiation doctor's office yesterday and they asked me to come this morning and get started on a round of radiation treatments. Dr. Tezcan met with Dr. Davenport after my appointment on Monday and they determined that I could have more radiation treatments to shrink that dumb old tumor again that keeps growing and blocking my airway. I am so excited to be able to breathe without coughing and wheezing and to do normal activities without feeling like I just ran a marathon. And I am looking forward to going to Oregon later this summer. Maybe the corn will be ripe then. Right, Mom?

I feel good today. Like I'm finally coming out of that foggy feeling I've had since last Thursday. And I've had lots more energy today. Yipee!

My good friend, Lana, came yesterday evening carrying a big box of ingredients and she made dinner for Greg and me! Mmmm. A delicious vegetable beef stir-fry. Her husband is out of town so she ate with us and we had such a great visit. She even brough homemade brownies and ice cream for dessert. I always feel better after visiting with Lana.

And more great news! Carolyn is going to come tomorrow and stay till Monday! I'm feeling so good--maybe I can talk her into doing some shopping with me. That would be so fun!

And now that we're not going to Oregon, we won't miss Adam's official birthday party. We already celebrated with him because we thought we were going to be gone--but we're going to be able to go on Saturday for the Batman Party. And Liz and her kids are coming for the party and then they'll spend the night here. So it will be a two-sister weekend. God is good. It's amazing how yesterday I felt so sad about not going to Oregon--but now our lives will be so full this weekend. God is so good.

Greg and I are going through the book, Experiencing God, and the emphasis in the lesson the other day was on how God leads us--but He doesn't give us any details about the journey ahead of time. What a great reminder to all of us to live one day at a time and not worry about tomorrow. He gives us what we need each day. Thank you for your prayers. Love, Julie

Mystery solved!

The mystery of why I've been feeling so tired and lousy is solved. The doctor told me it was from the new chemo I started last month. I was used to feeling lousy for a couple of days right after chemo, and then snapping back. But Dr. T explained that this chemo is different and the side affects hit much later. And they are not fun. We're hoping that with one more day of rest, I'll feel like traveling to Oregon. So we're not planning to leave till Wednesday.

We had a great time visiting with my Uncle Wayne and Aunt Winona today. They are traveling from Minnesota to Oregon and stopping to visit relatives and friends along the way. They are so interested in our lives and our children's lives. When I was three years old I was one of the flower girls at their wedding.

I am so thankful for my family and friends and thankful for all your calls lately. Thank you, most of all, for your prayers. Love, Julie

Hoping to go to Oregon

We will take Jake to the airport Tuesday morning and instead of coming home to a quiet house, we plan to drive on to Oregon to my Mom and Dad's for a few days. I just have to feel better! I have continued to feel a little better every day...but I still don't feel up to going on a trip. I need to pray.

It's been so great to have Jake around. He's considering moving back to CDA at the end of the month and that would make me so happy! He might finish his degree then. Good plan.

Thank you for your prayers. I'm so grateful for your support. Love, Julie

Good days--Bad days

BAD DAY:
Yesterday was a bad day. I had trouble breathing and had a fever and that was concerning to me. But I called the Cancer Center and talked to one of my favorite nurses and she said I needed to give myself permission to have a bad day once in awhile. She said I need to be concerned when I have a week of bad days. That was reassuring. But they also prescribed some powerful antibiotics I can take if Tylenol doesn't control my fever. But today has been better. Still don't feel great, but no fever. Okay the health report is over!

GOOD DAY:
Today is Adam's 8th birthday. Greg and I got him a guitar and he loves it! Actually Jake shopped for it yesterday and I think Jake is as excited as Adam. He taught him three chords already this afternoon. Adam is a very musical person and I think he'll really enjoy playing the guitar.

Jake went to a 10th CDA HS Reunion gathering this evening with his friend, Julie. They were bummed because both of them really made an effort to come to the reunion but none of their best friends from high school are going. At least they have each other to hang out with.

We don't have any big plans for the 4th. Emily's family is going camping at the Russell Reunion at Spirit Lake this weekend. We may go to a BBQ tomorrow afternoon.

Happy 4th of July! I appreciate your prayers. Love, Julie

Happy Birthday Jake and sorry I forgot you, Jerry!

It's Jake's 28th birthday today and I'm so glad he's here in Coeur d' Alene to celebrate with us. (But I feel just awful that I forgot your birthday, Jerry. I thought of it as I was going to sleep last night at 11:00 and I thought about sending you a message but it would have been late anyway because you're an hour ahead of us.) We are real party animals around here--we'll probably go out to dinner then have cake and ice cream at the Russell's. Jake is shopping for his own present right now as I'm typing this. Pretty lame.

Yesterday was full of fun and excitement. I went with Emily and her kids and Jake to Micky D's for lunch--Matthew's favorite--then we went to Target and finally to Costco. I had fun riding the little scooters at Target and Costco and I'm getting pretty good at not running over people. I only knocked over a couple of items and pushed a big display of t-shirts out of place.

My friend, Roxy, has been the librarian at Fernan forever and she is retiring from the school district so I went with my friend, Sherma, to a party. It was great to see so many Fernan friends and to enjoy Polli's beautiful yard. I didn't cough very much at all at the party!

Susan, Dr. T's assistant, was so encouraging and great to talk to on Monday. I didn't ask her anything concerning my treatment because I could tell right away that her job was to explain the results of the morning's blood tests. And they were great! They were expecting that I might have to have a blood transfusion or an I-V of magnesium, but my test results were good! When I see Dr. Tezcan on July 6 I can ask him questions about my treatment.

I am enjoying the beautiful sun and breeze today and I made myself a delicious salad for lunch with lettuce and radishes from my friend, Carol's, garden. Life is good.

Thank you for continuing to pray for me and for my family. This is not an easy time and I'm so thankful for having such a loving family and caring friends. I appreciate you all and thank God for your faithfulness. Love, Julie