He Leadeth Me

All five of my mom's great grandsons will be in Colorado Springs next week to play in the newly created "grandchildren room". We had an unfinished room in our basement and were just in the middle of having it finished when Kelly, Adrian and David moved in while waiting for their house to close. Big David has just finished the painting getting it ready for the family reunion. This green background is the green magnetic chalkboard closet door. There are 2 of them. I'll post more pics when it is completely finished. Right now, we just had to rush and get things situated so that it is functional. I have a feeling lots of happy times are going to be had in that room.

NO this is not the wig that I will be wearing in a few weeks, but it is a picture of one that my sweet son sent me when he was in Seattle. If I remember correctly, he even offered to buy it for me if I wanted. After all, it is RED! As you can see, we are trying our best to laugh our way through cancer treatments. I thought my blog might be the best way to keep people updated on my progress rather than trying to e-mail, post on FB, etc. One week ago today, I had my first chemo. The process, itself, wasn't bad at all. I actually played games on my IPad and talked to David through the whole process without any problems at all. This past week has been one of ups and downs as I/we learn how to handle chemo. Mandy suggested that I keep a diary so that in future rounds I will know what to expect, and I think that has also helped me to see that, for the most part, every day has been pretty good. The biggest problem has been fatigue. I'm used to "blowing and going" so be...

Who is this movie star? ....this beautiful lady? ....this precious mama? ....this adorable sister and daughter? Kelly Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! Although with all that's going on in our world, this hasn't been the perfect first Colorado Birthday, next year, Lord willing, is going to be a HUGE CELEBRATION! We might just birthday party all year long.

T his is an amazing and a life changing book that God knew I needed to read right now. It is beautifully written but stick with it because it is not an easy read. A quote from the jacket cover says it best. "A beautifully practical guide to living a life of joy, One Thousand Gifts invites you to wake up to God's everyday blessings. As Voskamp discovered, in giving thanks for the life she already had, she found the life she'd always wanted." A friend challenged Ann Voskamp to write down 1,000 things she was thankful for in a year's time. She went far beyond 1,000 and thankfulness became a way of life. She discovered the truth of God asking us to be thankful in all things, and it changed her life. The book also changed my life. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Book cover courtesy of Follett.com

For some reason the song I learned in Brownies came to my mind after our surprise visit the other day. "Make new friends, but keep the old, One is silver and the other gold." Terry, Rhonda, Hannah and Zach Kirksey made an unexpected detour through Colorado Springs on their way to Yellowstone, so they came by for a quick visit. I have known Terry and Rhonda since they were little children and Terry and David worked together for many years with real estate and air conditioning. You've heard the expression that "It takes a village to raise a child." Terry and Rhonda were part of the village that raised our son Jeremy. Happy and Safe Travels, Friends!

Book Cover Courtesy of TitleWave I love to read and thought that while I was convalescing from surgery, that would be a great way to pass the time. You should see the stack of books that I have checked out of the library and that friends have loaned me. When it took me 2 and a half weeks to complete one of the newest books of one of my favorite authors, I knew I was in trouble. Reading was not doing the trick. (Of course that could have been because I was sleeping about 20 hours a day.) It was then that I decided that maybe there is a connection between "comfort food", that food we need to comfort us when we are hurting, and "comfort books." So I got out my torn and tattered copy of Christy by Catherine Marshall. I cannot count the number of times I have read this book but it fills my heart with joy and strengthens my faith each time I read it. Here is a portion of the quote from the back cover: "At nineteen, Christy Huddleston left home to teach school in he...