Tootless Tuesday - for me

As usual, I've been busy as a bee. Just normal summer stuff. Nothing exciting. Last week though, was able to take a quick trip up to Richmond to see a couple of my cousins. A wonderful visit! Here's Tia and I when we were little. She's a few years younger then me and I use to treat her like my little life size baby doll. I loved her so.And here we are last week at her house. She still means the world to me!!!

So, anyway, the other thing I thought I'd share is a post from last year. Exactly one year ago. August and September were some of the hardest months I have ever lived through. My Step-Dad's battle with cancer. He was diagnosed in July and he flew to Jesus in September. Here's a link to my September posts.

It's nice to have this blog and be able to go back in time....

Saturday, August 16th 2009
HOWEVER LONG

Wondering if I’ll be on my blog very often over the next
“however long.”

As I write this, I am sitting in a hospital room next to my Step-Dad, Tom. He has stage 4 lung cancer. He went for his first chemo treatment on Aug. 4th and on Aug. 9th was admitted into the hospital having had severe reactions. We weren’t prepared for this. We didn’t consider that within just a few weeks of learning of his cancer that he’d be here, as sick as I’ve ever seen anyone. Sure, I’ve had skin cancer. Just the pesky basal cell. Not life threatening. Not serious. This is stage 4, Incurable. We were told that he would never be healed. We were told that without treatment he would have just months to live. But there is no way that we could have grasped the reality of it all. I’ve never watched anyone die.

Tom is not dying today. He is “fragile” they say. He’s developed an infection. His kidneys are struggling. He is lethargic. He opens his eyes, but I wonder what he sees. His stare is completely blank. He wouldn’t take his medicine tonight. He clinched his teeth as I tried to feed him the crushed pills mixed with applesauce. The machine next to him signaled that his fluid bag was low. Tom reacted to the beeping. He was alarmed. He groaned, he opened his eyes! He reacted… He’s in there!!

Day by day we wait. The doctors can’t give any prognosis right now. He may recover from this “bad reaction.” He may not. We may get him back for a bit, but eventually we will lose him.

Less then 2 weeks ago I was sitting in paradise. I saw rainbows every day. I know God is watching over all of us. I understand that I'm not suppose to understand. I only know to acknowledge Him in all my ways and in return He will direct my path.

More Hawaii pictures... Aren't I blessed?! Hard times will come, but it makes the good times that much sweeter!

Here we are under the banyan tree in maui. It's one of the oldest banyans in the US and it takes up an entire city block. It's amazing!




You're welcome to still play along with Toot Your Horn Tuesday. Wouldn't want to keep you hanging again!! Believe it or not, I check out your blogs every week and dream about all the things I'd love to try. Remember to keep your "titles" short so that they will fit well within my borders! Kisses!
Toot Your Horn Tuesday Participants

1. DIY Giveaway 2. A Bushel Full of Laundry @Paisley Passions 3. Karen@LadybugCreek 4. Menu Board 5. Easy as Pie Pie 6. PB knockoff shelves for $3! 7. How I Organized my Junk Drawers 8. Folded Fabric Hair Flower 9. The Caffeinated Globe ~ I FOLLOW BACK! 10. How to make a bra 11. Rockin' Deals 12. Lucky Teacher Frame Gift 13. Carrot-Zucchini Bread 14. Magnet Game Board 15. 1 Year Blogiversary! Blogging for 1 year! 16. Krista 17. While He Was Napping 18. Folded Ribbon JCrew Inspired T-shirt 19. Scalloped Petals JCrew Inspired T-shirt 20. Sister Sister Linky Party 21. Western Round-Up 22. Kids Craft, Penguin 23. Top 5 Hits 24. No Sew Tee Rescue, Red Ted 25. Great Grill Rub 26. Patio Tour & a $100 GIVEAWAY 27. future fashion designers 28. An Old Milk Can 29. Three Sided Doily 30. Pretty Necklace Display! 31. My Favorite Things 32. Fluttering By 33. Dictionary Lamp Shade 34. DogsMom:Thrifting 35. Suite Little Guest Bedroom 36. Eco-Friendly Wrapping Paper 37. Purse GIVEAWAY! 38. Roaring 20s Party and cake!

39. Safe Raw Cookie Dough Recipe 40. Back 2 School Binder for Moms 41. Paint Sprayer Tips-Chairs 42. ginny 43. Anthro Inspired Cupcake Stand 44. French Bench 45. Earring Photo Clips 46. Ruffled Petal T 47. Bird Cross 48. CABLE AFGHAN IN BONE 49. it's come 2 this -Party Backdrop 50. Pretty Pantry Makeover 51. $50 Bathroom Makeover 52. Woven Washer Bracelet & Martha Stewart Visit 53. Kids Clifford Kazoo 54. School Pencil Cookies 55. S'More Dessert Buffet 56. Bathroom Makeover 57. FREEBIES: Back to School Printables!!!!! 58. Mod Podge Necklaces 59. Pesto with cauliflower n peas 60. hemming your jeans 61. Workout Shorts Pattern 62. Sea Shell Shadowboxes 63. Quick and Easy Layered Skirt 64. Rose Petal Dress Giveaway 65. Drawers to shelves redo 66. AWESOME PARTY TREATS 67. Grilled Avocado @ Domestic Dame 68. Easy Tomatoe & Goat Cheese Appetizer! 69. C.R.A.F.T. 70. Ladybug Party Crafts 71. FRENCH SOUP 72. PINA COLADA SHAKE RECIPE 73. Summer Reading Makes Me Feel Fine 74. Barbecue Stain Removal 75. Coupon Blog Directory 76. How To Clean Coffee Maker

77. FRECKLES AND FUDGE 78. Buffet into Dresser 79. 2 Shirt Refashions 80. Anthro Shirt 81. Butterfly Soap 82. School Supply Box 83. MY NEW/OLD COCKTAIL TABLE 84. Grow Your Own Sprouts 85. Odd Crafting Dilemma 86. Sicilian Style Pizza 87. Oreo Cookie Ladybugs 88. Easy Fruit Growing 89. Sidetacked Jewelry 90. Repurposed Cabinet Door 91. Slow Cooker Ham with Pineapple Sauce. 92. memory wire bracelets 93. Geometry in School Dress 94. Sassy Fresh & Easy Salad 95. Gold Clay Deer Antlers 96. Butterfly Garden Wall Art 97. super mario goodies 98. Cute Thank You Card 99. Trash to Treasure Lap Boards 100. On a Pink Cloud 101. oops - the real salad link! 102. Ear Flap Beanie 103. Grilled Pizza Dough 104. My Painted House! 105. My 1st Giveaway! 106. Brandy 107. DoodleBug Designs! Yippee! 108. black damsk table 109. Theresa 110. Cousin Carolyn's Courtyard 111. Gatto999 =^.^= 112. Inspiring You To Save! 113. Moon River Stained Glass Pendants

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No school today

I know, I've been missing in action this week and I even missed Toot Your Horn Tuesday. When you have a large family and someone gets sick, you can pretty much be sure that everyone will get sick. And for us, that meant over 3 weeks of BLEH!!
And now that we're feeling better, along comes a hurricane! Ida the hurricane fizzled out, but we are being hit pretty hard by this nor' easter. Schools were closed today. Luckily we still have electricity. I know some areas are out. And the flooding is unbelievable. We're sitting high and dry though. My husband had to go to work. :(
I thought I'd snap a few pictures around the house while we're stuck here.

Sleeping, Cuddling, Playing Music, & Wii

Life Altered

Dear Friends,

Our family has received bad news this week. My step-father, Tom, has been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Doctors have been trying to understand why my Dad's back pain was so severe and the last couple of tests have revealed the news. Now he must meet with an oncologist to discuss his treatment. Stage 4, is ultimately "end stage cancer." Our hearts are broken yet we must continue down the road with this dear man who means so much to so many. Tom married my Mother when I was just finishing high school. He treats me like a princess.

I always try to keep things light on my blog, but with this going on in our lives, there will obviously be some down times. I plan to post regular updates as we muddle through. Tom's attitude is amazing. He lives on faith and trusts in our Lord. We can all takes some cues from him. Maybe our story can be a blessing to you in some way. I've started a Discussion over at my BlogFrog community and I'm hoping that you'll join in if you have a similar story to share. I would love to have a community of support right here! Click here to add your thoughts or story.

I really need to post, but I can't post today, oh wait, that's what I'm doing...

Hi Everyone,
I feel terrible for not writing the last few days, but time has slipped away from me this week. I get on the computer every day and I've had time to check out some other blogs and my emails, but my brain has been too busy to write.
I just got home from the hospital where my Step-Dad had an angiogram this morning. That's the procedure where they stick a little camera up into your arteries and see if they are clear. And his of course, are not clear. He'll be looking to have a stint or regular surgery in the next week or so. We're talking carotid artery by the way. Lucky for us he has not had a stroke and this was caught in time. I'm so grateful to God for that.
Please pray for Tom! He is worried about his health, but even more so he has been struggling with some of life's hardest hits. He is in his early 70's and by the time you reach his age, you've seen a lot. Most recently, his son (my younger step-brother, Travis) passed away suddenly last December. It is still horribly painful for us all. He left behind a young daughter. And this is not the first child that Tom has lost. About 20 years ago, Tom's oldest son, Tony, passed away from ALS. Can you imagine the feeling of losing a child and then another?
I can't bear to even imagine it.
Anyway, that's it for my post. I suppose it's more of a prayer request and a reminder to go home and hug your children. Love your parents, kiss your husband and thank God for your life.
Hope you all have a blessed weekend.

Dad

I had a conversation with my father a bit ago on the phone. It has been on my mind for the last couple hours. I love my Dad. We don't have a perfect relationship and I wish I could share about it with everyone, but that's not a good idea. So Hey! I'll just write generally about Fathers...

Definition of Father - Male parent of an offspring.

Most people have just one Dad, maybe get married and have a Father-in-Law. Or maybe your parents divorced when you were little and remarried and you got a fancy Step-Dad. Wohoo. (Blogging doesn't allow for facial expressions, darn it)

Does this sound like a Seasame Street lesson? Sorry.

To me, a Dad should be your biggest fan and supporter. Someone you can look up to. An authority figure. A mentor and a good role model. That is a tall order to fill for any human. Luckily we have someone supernatural to fill those shoes every day.... He is our Eternal Father. He makes up for all the imperfect worldly fathers in our lives.

*If you have time, send me a quick email and tell me in a few words about your Dad/Step-Dad/Father-in-law. It'd be cool to post a few of your responses.*

Here's something about my Father-in-Law. He just spent 10 days w/ us. He's from the other side of the country. Bob---Fuuunnnyyy! A Big Teddy Bear. Devoted to his children and grandchildren. Easy to please, Easy going, Easy to love.