Summer 2008

We kicked off the summer with a visit from my
parents, Nathan, Courtney & Hannah (already asleep!).

There she is!
Isn't she the most precious little girl in the world??

It's now our family tradition to drive over to
Daniel's Park and take pictures at sunset.
Neat, huh??

Oh my goodness, is Laz not the cutest thing in the
whole wide world???

A Texas Reunion

A walk down memory lane.....
Here is the house we built in Lufkin back in the 80's!

Chandler & I decided to make a quick trip to Texas recently....for several reasons. I have been contemplating opening a booth in a local antique mall and wanted to go raid my mom's garage for "goodies" (which we did!).....plus, we wanted to go to Lufkin and visit with Lavan and Wanda since her recent cancer diagnosis. As an added treat, we were able to stay a while at mom and dad's and visit with them too.....something that Chandler has been wanting to do for a while now.
Here are a few photos I took while at Wanda's. She was beginning to feel a little better since her radiation treatments...and should slowly regain her strength. The weather was wonderful....we got to "play" on the farm (Chandler rode the tractor and mowed two fields!), and I got to cook all kinds of goodies to freeze for them to eat later.....and we had a wonderful TEXAS Bar-B-Que dinner with their daughter Amy and her family!

We took Kellen with us and he was in 'heaven' driving all over the farm in the golf cart...with his new friend, Natalie (Amy's daughter). They were instant buddies and had a great time together.

sad news. . . .

On my recent trip to Texas we had

dinner at Red Lobster....(me), Dad, Mom, Wanda, Lavan

Sunday, April 6th, 2008.
it's been a really hard day.
my friend, Wanda...(from texas)....called today to tell me that she was diagnosed with cancer last night. She will undergo radiation for a couple of weeks and then they will decide what the next step should be.
Please pray for all of them: Husband, Lavan, 3 daughters: Anna, Amy, Aran; lots of grandkids.
Her mother is still alive and lives next door to them also.

Cuteness!

Laz - at 3 months!

He is Risen, Indeed!

The boys----celebrating Easter with a friend, Ryan!
(on the right)

For some reason we didn't get a family
photo around the table...
but we did get Tiff & Josiah!

Oh my goodness

Okay. So I've been in Texas for two weeks. And what does my husband do to fill the emptiness of his heart while his Bride is away????
He got a job rebuilding MUSCLE CARS!!!!!! It's just part-time...and with flexible hours he will be able to continue doing any inspection assignments he may get. In the meantime, I'm sure he is smiling all the way to work!

Mom's Second Treatment

Mom had her second treatment yesterday and did very well. Even though she had some of the same side-effects during the treatment, it took much less time and she was strong enough to go out to lunch afterwards! Her doctor talked with her before starting the IV, examined the small tumors on her scalp....and reported that they were beginning to clear-up and disappear! It's neat that we are beginning to see positive results already! She had a good night's sleep---which is a first all week---so that was great!

Today she had an elevated heart rate, some dizziness, and weakness...but spent the day just resting. Tonight she was able to go to dinner to celebrate my aunt Marilyn's birthday!
She is still a little dizzy....and fears the return of the strange "headache"---which starts on the back and side of her head and goes down her neck. It's more like 'pressure' than a typical headache. It scares her because she fears having a stroke.

Thank you for your prayers for her during this time. We praise the Lord for His grace and mercy on her behalf!