Ayden standing alone!

Isn't he just darling!  1.3.13 he will be a year old.  Check out 

the cool cat!

We are half way through!

The second of four chemo's went well today!  He feels good!  His blood tests were great!  He weighs 206 lbs!   I am keeping him fed for sure!  All his vitals were great!  YAY!

Laurie came along and we visited our friend, Doc, who got a new knee and

is in the UK Med Center right next to VA!

Good day!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND HANUKKAH

Fed people, squirrels, and birds today!  :)  Fun fun!!

Sara, Anna, and Paul at Mex last night.  We had a fun Thanksgiving/Hanukkah 

eve dinner.

And  the rest of today and this evening we worked a puzzle!  ha ha ha

We also enjoyed the Macy's parade on TV.  I thought of my American

Red Cross brothers and sisters who are working disasters through the holiday

and we prayed for them.  I am grateful for their service.

Excited about tomorrow and Blake's second of four chemo's.  After this 

one he will be half way through!

Woke up to snow and beautiful morning.

Blake not feeling his best today.  Didn't sleep well last night.  Praying he rallies today.  Has a cough but don't we all with this weather!  Was a month and 3 days ago we were told he has 6 mos.  I was  just thinking last night how we have had a really good month and are proving the doctors wrong!  He has his second of four chemo's in 2 days.  We are picturing his T cells in his immune system attacking and killing his cancer cells.  We appreciate all prayers!

thought we lost a piece and then we found it!  ta da  :)

Surprise phone call

Blake got a surprise from friends from high school!  Thanx Scott and Donna!  He sure enjoyed talking to you AND the files you sent him to read! He also saw all your facebooks pictures!  What fun! Old friends are wonderful!  These guys live in Hawaii and are avid athletes!  YAY!

some good cat stuff!

A GOOD DAY!

From The Secret Daily Teachings

Remember to remember means remember to be aware. Remember to be aware in this moment right now. Being aware is seeing everything around you, hearing everything around you, feeling everything around you, and being completely focused on what you are doing right now.

Most people bring what they do not want because they are not aware that they are listening to the thoughts in their heads about the past and the future. They are not even aware that they are being hypnotized by those thoughts, and are therefore living their life unconsciously.

When you remember to be aware, you are aware immediately. You just have to remember to remember!

It snowed last night.  Can't see Blake cleaning window, too dark!

Always enjoy our little church

We sang songs we love including How Great Thou Art, I'll Fly Away, and Amazing Grace.

Abby and Javen came over today! :))

Had really nice time with them.  Did Huddle House then Javen and I went to the Amish grocery store and Javen picked out all Grampa's favorite snacks!  I got some yummy stuff for our soups.  Had a fun day.  They left to go to their school's basketball game, but said they might come back tomorrow.  I think with their whole family!  :)

Yesterday was 50th anniversary of John Kennedy's death.

It was 5 min till class started. The mean gruff strict chemistry teacher, Mr. Prez, hadn't come in yet. Biology was also held in this room, and there were some gallon jars with fetal pigs in them. I took one out and decided to stick it's butt up the chemistry faucet to watch it get big. We were all gathered round and boom! That pig blew up and pig guts and formaldehyde covered all of us and the floor and the walls and the windows! At that moment, Mr. Prez walked in. His mouth opened, he turned all red as we all shook in total fear, terror, and panic! Right at that moment the alert bell sounded followed by the announcement that President Kennedy had been shot and we were to go directly to our buses. We stampeded out of that room as fast as we could! By the time we were finally back in school, life went on and all was forgotten. Some things you never forget.

chilly rainy puzzle day

He has a little tummy ache and we both have runny noses.  Chemo lady said take tums.   It's not a a side effect.  He did and I made him chicken soup too. Overall He's doing very well.  He is now chosing to quit coffee and chocolate.  We are enjoying our puzzle.  :)  Going to do mexican with Perry  and Mary  Kay in  a little while.  He wants a shrimp salad.

Sara cleaning for us today!

What a wonderful granddaughter!  Yay!

I'll move to KY

Blake looked just like this in the end of Ausust, 1985, when after coming down every weekend all summer, (started with June when Lisa sent him a graduation invitation.  We had worked together in insurance in Kansas City, Mo, 76-79.  Then I moved to KY.)  In this chair, he declared he was going to quit his big ass job and move  in with me in St. Francis, Ky.  I was making whole wheat pancakes at the time and thought, "Oh, man!  What have I gotten myself into now!"  Ha Ha Ha!  The best thing that happened to me since my kids were born!  Our plans were to build and live in a cabin in the woods on my land which is by Eftspan, our meditation and wildlife sanctuary.

Then mom had a stroke.  That changed our lives drastically.  We bought Ann's Chateau on Proctor Knott and have lived in this 1886 historical building in downtown Lebanon since 8.88.

He took over my "Need help, call  Mary  Ann" handy woman business and changed it to, "I'm Your Handyman!"  I was a little anxious about this, but had little choice as my full time job became my mom, Ann, and her rehab and care.  He loved it!  Growing up, he fixed things with his grampa who owned an apartment building, and returning to this made him wildly happy!  He was really good at it, too!

Now everywhere we go, he says, "I worked there!  I fixed something!"   Blake made many friends during this time and cherishes them all today!   Ryan, our dear departed brother-like friend, designed Blake's card, above.

I always said I took him from riches to rags, but he says this has been the happiest healthiest time of his life.  I sure am grateful to have him.  He's the worlds' greatest best friend and husband!  That's my thoughts for today.

If you are taking the time to read this, I know you are one of our loved and appreciated friends and family!  Thanx for being there for us!

What we did last night :)

Pa cleaned the gutters today

Took his time and got them all cleaned out.  Back house too!  I got my glasses rx and will have the new glasses by after next Thur.  I can legally drive without glasses, tho, as my checkup came out really good.  Cataract surgery is great!!

So thankful for this warm sunny day!

and....our visit from Charlie!

First 24 hours of no tears!

Acceptance of God's will starting to sink in.  Grateful.  Tears soaked my pillow after midnight when I thought of him going to Heaven without me.  But he is here today and I am grateful!  And the tears are healing.  Liquid sunshine.

Fun with Perry and Mary Kay last night at mex!!

We finished it and one piece missing!  Ba humbug!

Daisy loves visitors!  Bernd brought us apple cake and love and laughter!!

How much is that doggie in the window.

The one with the waggley tail.  

Yes Daisy.  Waiting for a squirrel or bird.

Good morning world!

Woke about 7. Still a little dark out. The day brightens and the blue jay comes to my feeder about 7:30. I've now done my post cataract eye surgery eye drops. Second to last day!  Thermometer says 40 degrees out. A sinking feeling overwhelms me as I remember my husband is sick with cancer. That's when I feel God holding my hand. And I remember we are blessed.  Blake feels good and has very little pain. He will sleep til 9.  I will get up now.  Coffee, vitamins, take Daisy out, shower, refresh the bird feeders and make a good breakfast for my honey. Here comes the sun.

Mellow day

Good soup, good puzzle, peaceful.
We are finally getting into our right minds.  We have been so in shock that we have not even been able to make sound decisions about anything.  He feels good and we are blessed and getting back to some kind of normal.  We are amazed at how out of it we were, looking back at last 2 weeks.  Today is good.  And no bad storms here.  Hope the night remains calm as some are on the horizon.

Storms and tornadoes hit Tazwell County Il, where I worked flood  with ARC this spring.  This is really sad.  I went to school in Normal, Bloomington, and Champagne, and I know it happens often in that flatland central Illinois.  So sad!

Storms today

We are staying in and warm and enjoying a quiet day.  Watching weather live on tv.  Very unstable out there.  We went to chapel church yesterday, and are playing hooky from B'ville church today, but I think God understands.

Last night was thinking about the day we got the metastasized stage IV melanoma news.  10.24.13.   We have really kinda been in a blur since then.
Had first of series of 4 chemos (3-4 weeks apart) Friday, 11.8.13  

We are becoming aware and realizing we are really blessed.  He feels good and is eating good.  We have a warm home, 2 cats, a dog, and lots of family and friends.  That''s about as good as it gets, huh?  yay!!!!!!  We are truly blessed.

this time last year

We had set up and shut down 2 shelters on Long Island.  No water or electric.  Super Storm Sandy had been the worst storm we ever had.  New York and New Jersey were paralyzed.  We Red Cross volunteers had been sleepless for four nights and had just opened the Nassau Community College gymnasium mega-shelter.  We housed 900 people.  We slept at the SUNY Old Westbury gymnasium which always took us at least an hour to drive to, as roads were closed, trees down, no electricity for stop signals, and being exhausted we kept getting lost!  These folks in our shelter became my family.  I still think of them often and pray for them daily.

Good chapel service today

Our Rev. Peggy carried the Olympic torch and was an Olympic chaplin!  We have a nice service in the hospital chapel every other Saturday.  Blake did the bible reading today.

Good health fair today

MY HONEY

afternoon visitors

Our good friend, Brown, visited this afternoon.  Here he is showing us he lives in my triathlete daughter, Lisa's long sleeved tshirts in the winter!  Then along came Charlie Pearl.  

Great day with great friends. 

 I loved seeing everyone at our Red Cross meeting, too, and got to bring some really good chow by Sonia Clark to Blake!

Call Blake and chat if you want

He loves short chats from old friends.  Home phone 270-692-3858.  Phone by his recliner chair where he usually nests.   He has an iphone now.  That's pretty amazing, huh?  Grandkids talked him into it and are teaching him.  He knows how to message now and enjoys it, so if u r so inclined, his cell is 270-699-1132.

my cell is 270-699-5651.