And the fun never stops...

What an amazing week this has been! Starting with Darrel and Kathy, then Mom and Dad and my very cool Retirement Party at Lana's house, and now Betsy and Cam and Sebastian and Julian are here. The weather is beautiful and we're having a wonderful time.

Last night I felt like I was in Grandma Heaven as I watched all five of my grandchildren running and playing in our backyard. The cousins love each other and I love having them at my house.

I loved my Retirement Party. Tons of people from Fernan were there and lots of people I worked with in the past. There were even some parents and two boys who are now finishing 6th grade performed for me. Trey played the piano so well while Colby sang. It made me so proud! And I totally enjoyed the teacher's white-glove performance of a rewrite of one of my good old favorites, "Dancing on the Rooftop". It was almost overwhelming that so many people came. Their kindness and generosity was humbling.

I'm enjoying these last days before I have chemo again. I feel so good and I have so much energy. Then it will be back to the sleepy sicky days after chemo on Monday. But I'm so thankful that the treatment is causing the tumors to shrink. It's worth a few sicky days.

Thank you so much for your love and prayers. Love, Julie

Thank you friends & colleagues!

THANK YOU!

I want to thank you very much for being such a great friend and colleague to Julie over the years. Your cards, calls, meals & visits (as well as notes from the students) have been powerful medicine for her. I know she was deeply touched by you at her wonderful retirement party. I almost lost it when Colby & Trey performed “You had a Bad Day,” but I couldn’t stop grinning when the ensemble did their rendition of “Dancing on the Roof Top.” So, here is a short story that best conveys how I feel about you being there for Julie.

When Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ²So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. ³Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. ⁴Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. ⁵When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
⁶Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ⁷"Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
⁸Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? ⁹Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? ¹⁰But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, ¹¹"I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." ¹²He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!" Mark 2: 1-12

You have been like these four who brought their stricken friend to Jesus. Your prayers to the Lord totally lift Julie up and she is supported by your faith that God will see her through. This is evident because cancer has never been able to stop her from loving other’s well. She said that God’s love keeps her from being consumed by this illness or its treatment.

Again, thank you for your love & prayers!
Love, Greg

Eventful Weekend!

It was a fun and busy and eventful weekend! We had such a great time with Kathy and Darrel. We had a BBQ with the Russells, Darrel and Greg went to two movies, Kathy and I had lots of great visiting time and she patiently reviewed crocheting 101 with me. I'm making a scarf! Darrel and Kathy took us out to Red Lobster to celebrate my retirement. I got to go to church! And Kathy and I designed, and she made, a very cool bag for me. And somehow Darrel was able to sneak in some time to work on his doctoral disortation. He's amazing.

I'm very excited about my Retirement Party tomorrow afternoon. And I'm so glad that Mom and Dad are going to be able to be there.

This morning I was scheduled to have an I-V of magnesium and it was supposed to take about two hours. But things ended up taking such a long time today! I got home from my 8:30 appointment at 1:45. I was going to write about why it took so long. But it's really not that interesting.

I appreciate your prayers and concern for me and for Greg. Please know that we both feel so supported by our family and many friends. Love, Julie

Harry Potter

I'm just a little behind the times I guess...but the first Harry Potter book came out in 1997 and I'm reading it now. Fantasy books aren't usually my favorite, but I'm enjoying it. Historical fiction is my favorite.

You probably figured out that if the most exciting thing I had to write about was that I was reading Harry Potter, I'm having trouble figuring out what to write about today. My life hasn't been very exciting this week. Chemo on Monday, felt good on Tuesday, felt lousy on Wednesday, feel good today. That pretty much sums it up.

Here are some things I'm looking forward to: *Julie Powell is coming in a few minutes and we're going to have lunch. She's a great friend and fellow music teacher. She'll catch me up on all the music teacher news. *Tomorrow morning Emily is coming over and we're going to plant flowers! *Darrel and Kathy are coming tomorrow and I can hardly wait to see them. We'll share grandchildren stories and have a good time together. *Next weekend Betsy and Cam and the boys plan to come to visit. I am so anxious for that! *My friend, Lana, is planning and hosting a retirement party for me that will take place at her house next week. Mom and Dad will be able to be there and it will be wonderful to see people I've worked with. But a little bit sad too.

Thank you for praying for us. I'm so thankful for my family and friends. I feel so blessed. Love, Julie

Exciting news...

I'm excited that Darrel and Kathy plan to come to visit Memorial Day Weekend! We always have so much fun with them and they might even bring their puppy, Charlie Brown. So Boris is excited too. But I'm afraid I'll be disappointing my very patient crocheting teacher, Kathy. I finished the pot holder I started when she was here. But I didn't even start another project and now I've forgotten how to crochet. I have to start all over again. Sorry Kathy.

Another exciting thing is that when we went shopping the other day, I bought hair care products for myself! I actually have some hair now. It's so weird because my eyelashes are falling out again, but I still have hair on my head.

I had to go to the Cancer Center yesterday to get an I-V of magnesium. I didn't get a good chair, but that was okay because I only had to be there about 2 hours. I've been there so frequently that the staff at the C.C. feel like my friends now. All of them are such caring people and I'm enjoying getting to know them.

Thank you for your prayers. Love, Julie

Pretty Good News

We met with Dr. Tezcan this afternoon at 5:30 and he showed us the cat scan I had yesterday and was able to compare it with the one I had a month ago. The great news is that my shortness of breath and cough is not a result of the blood clot growing. It's smaller than it was a month ago. And the tumors are the same or smaller. So he doesn't think the symptoms are a result of cancer either. The doctor pointed out an area in the lower part of my left lung that looks much different than it did a month ago. It is cloudy and gunky looking. He said it looks like pnemonia and he prescribed some medication and told me to try to breathe deeply so I can try to get it to break up. We are so relieved that what's causing my cough etc. is treatable! So I'm saying it's "pretty good news" because it's wonderful that it isn't the cancer or blood clots...but it seems so strange to be thankful that it's just pnemonia. I'm looking forward to getting well!

Thank you so much for your prayers. I appreciate your faithfulness and love.
Love, Julie

Happy Mother's Day

It was a great day! Greg and I went to the Russell's for a BBQ to celebrate Mother's Day. We had chicken, corn on the cob, watermelon...it was like a summer BBQ menu. And it was a beautiful warm sunny day. So nice.

And I'm feeling pretty good! I feel like I'm coughing less and not so out of breath. I hope that means the blod clot is smaller. That would be so cool. Thank you for your prayers!

I have a cat scan tomorrow and I meet with Dr. T on Tuesday afternoon to find out the results. I'll let you know about the results--we're expecting good news. I appreciate your love and prayers. Love, Julie

That's it, Liz!

Just another manic Monday...yes, that's it! I can't believe you figured it out, Liz. You are brilliant with that 80's music for sure. Just another chemo Monday...

I feel good today! After three days of feeling lousy and not having an appetite, it is great to have a little energy today. But my coughing and running out of breath is really making me mad this week. I'm pretty sure it's the stupid blood clot in my lung that is causing the annoying symptoms. I have a cat scan on Monday so Dr. T will be able to see what's going on. I would sure appreciate your prayers about this blood clot situation. Thanks. It's so good to know that no matter what, God is always in control.

I hope you all have a good weekend. Happy Mother's Day. Thanks for your prayers.
Love, Julie

Yesterday was chemo day

Just another chemo Monday...there's a tune running through my head as I think of that line...just another chemo Monday...but I can't think of what it is. Can you figure it out, Jerry?

It actually was a pretty good day, except I had to have an extra I-V of magnesium which made the time longer that I had to stay in the Cancer Center. But I'm beginning to feel like they are spoiling me! Yesterday I had a good chair again! So from 8:00-3:00 I sat in a reclining, heated, massage chair. I read my book, did my daily newspaper puzzle and read the paper, listened to my Pride and Prejudice CD, had a nummy lunch that Greg brought me from Schlotksy's, talked on the phone, and took several naps. Not too different from most of my days at home! Getting well is a lot of work!

It was great to have Steve, Luke and Mary Strutz spend the night Saturday. Steve and Luke had gone to Oregon to George Fox College to pick up Mary. She's now home for the summer in Billings. Our little Mary is finished with her freshman year. Wow. We had a very nice visit.

Bethany, Mary's sister, is also a student at George Fox and she is leaving today with a group from her school to study in Africa. They will go to Rwanda and Uganda. We are praying for her health and safety. I hope to see her and hear all about her trip before she heads back to Billings for the rest of the summer. It's so great to be a pit-stop for my Billings relatives when they travel between Montana and Oregon.

My tummy is upset today. I'm so thankful for anti-nausea medicine. Hopefully I'll be able to face food pretty soon.

Thank you for your faithful prayers. I feel so humbled by your love. Love, Julie