Tami's Grandfather

Our daughter-in-law, Tami's granddad passed away tonight in Abilene. He had been struggling to breathe for a while and was in a nursing home there for about 2 weeks, so he could get the care he needed. They had to take him back to the hospital Monday.

What a joy he was to be around! He was always upbeat and always telling something funny. He leaves behind his wife, Bonita. They loved each other dearly and have been married for 64 years! Tami's mom, Marva, has been a tremendous help to them for many months now. Please remember Tami & Marva & Bonita and the whole family as they remember him this week at the services.

If My Body Were a Car----Joke

If my body were a car, this is the time I would be thinking about trading it in for a newer model.

I've got bumps and dents and scratches in my finish and my paint job is getting a little dull ...

But that's not the worst of it.My headlights are out of focus and it's especially hard to see things up close.

My traction is not as graceful as it once was. I slip and slide and skid and bump into things even in the best of weather.

My whitewalls are stained with varicose veins.

It takes me hours to reach my maximum speed.

My fuel rate burns inefficiently.

But here's the worst of it --Almost every time I sneeze, cough or sputter. ....either my radiator leaks or my exhaust backfires. (copied)

Herceptin #3 Down and 2 to Go

I had a Herceptin treatment today. Nothing else, no blood work, no visit with Dr. Brooks. He told me last visit that I was just boring now, so he wasn't going to see me this time. That was a good thing. It took the nurse about 45 minutes to get the bag of Herceptin pushed into me using my medaport. I took a nap and then when I was finished, went back to work. I have one in November and then one in December and I'll be through with cancer treatments!!!

Look Out Serena, Here I Come!

My left elbow has been hurting for some weeks now and is getting worse. Not being able to pick up a 3 lb tub of butter is a little bit much. So I went to see an orthopedic surgeon today on the advise of my oncologist. Dr. Duchamp asked me a few questions, pressed on my elbow and I yelped, pushed my hand down and I yelped.

He told me I was going to have to quit playing tennis so much. I looked at him real serious and told him that I don't play tennis. Then he laughed and said that I have tennis elbow and that you don't necessarily get it from playing tennis. Mine is most probably a "side effect" from the chemo. It's been a while since I've had one, so it was time. He gave me a cortisone shot in that elbow, so now it has a bruise on it. And he prescribed Mobic, an anti-inflammatory drug to help get the swelling and pain down. The thing is, that Mobic counteracts with my Cumadin blood thinner, so I can't take it very long. I've got some exercises to do for the tennis elbow. He took xrays just to make sure, but he said I have a normal elbow, so that is good.

One Year Anniversary!!!

One year ago, I was doing a breast self-exam and found the mass that would change our lives forever. We went that weekend to see the kids in San Antonio and Austin.

I started making a list of what all has happened since then.

It was too long to put on the blog. Wow. Just reading what we've been through brought back lots of memories, many of them painful, but many, many more were treasures.

Just the fact that I'm still here one year later and am doing great is a miracle. As Dr. Laidley told us on November 7, 2006, "I think we can save your life, but it's going to be a long, hard year." Thankfully, we didn't know ahead of time what was coming.

Pink, Pink, Pink

Everywhere you go this month, you see something pink---pins, ribbons, hats, t-shirts. You name it and you see it this month because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

There is a special lady named Barbra who works in the restaurant in our building. Barbra is walking because of the women she knows who have breast cancer. This year she is walking especially for Linda Pierce, Lillian Carmans and Janell Case. Barbra has gone to doctor appointments, chemo treatments. Not for herself, but as a buddy for a friend who needed someone to go with her. Thank you, Barbra!

Have you done a breast self-exam this month??? Had a mammogram this year if you're over 40 or if you have cancer in your family??? Please do it! The life you save could be your own.

Good Luck, Gabe!

Moving to Dallas WAS one of the most traumatic things I've done in my life. I left a job and boss I loved, for a job I didn't like because of a boss I could not stand. Once you have to tell a boss you don't want them to cuss you out, it's pretty much over. But hard-headed as I am, I hung on out of security and fear until April of 2006 when I left Bank of America after almost 15 years of service and came to work for Unitrin Specialty Insurance.

This meant learning a whole new language about insurance and learning a new job. And breaking in a new boss. Gabriel Nill offered me the position as Agent Financial Services Supervisor and I accepted and assumed that role on May 8, 2006. It was the best thing I've done in years.

Since then, I haven't been cussed out once by my boss OR by customers that I'm serving. That was daily at the bank, often multiple times a day by customers. I enjoyed the challenges or learning the job and seeing the growth in others that I work alongside, and seeing changes we've made together that have made Unitrin a better place to work.

And then on October 19, 2006, my life changed when I found the breast cancer.

Gabe has been a rock through the whole thing. I've been able to talk to him about every facet of the experience and he never once said, "TMI!" He's let me cry, let me laugh, let me have my cot room when my immune system was shot, let me take naps, let me take time for treatments, let me whine, teased me about my wigs, let me coast on work my nuked-brain just couldn't think about and has been a person I was never afraid to go to and say "I have to do this. . . . . " because he has been through this with a sister-in-law who is a double-mastectomy breast cancer survivor.

And tomorrow is Gabe's last day at Unitrin Specialty. He's accepted a job with a company in Los Colinas. I wish him the best in his new job. I firmly believe that God put me where I am, at Unitrin, with Gabe, for a reason. Thanks, Gabe for being there for me this past year!

David Invited to Sing in FBC Choir

Sunday morning as the worship service was over, the couple in front of us caught David and told him that they REALLY needed him in their choir this Thursday night (they are hosting the associational meeting there.) David told them that they didn't want him. They assured him that they did, because they heard the great tenor he was singing. . . .

He set them straight that it was me singing. My voice just keeps getting lower and lower. And the months of not using it hasn't helped that a lot! They just didn't want to believe it wasn't David.

Explaining Marriage--Joke

The child was a typical four-year-old girl -- cute, inquisitive, bright as a new penny.

When she expressed difficulty in grasping the concept of marriage, her father decided to pull out his wedding photo album, thinking visual images would help. One page after another, he pointed out the bride arriving at the church, the entrance, the wedding ceremony, the recessional, the reception, etc.

"Now do you understand?" he asked.

"I think so," she said, "is that when mommy came to work for us?"

Snope It Out First

I don't know about your email life, but almost every day I receive a worn-out, tired fw/fw/fw/fw/fw email from a fellow emailer. It purports to give facts about some event, some person, some cure, some urban legend, something that just sounds too good or too amazing to be true.

I was a victim of the need to pass these around until my DIL, Tami, educated me on Snopes.com. Snopes is a wonderful site to see if what you're reading or hear from an office conversation is really true. All you have to do is pull up the site and type in a few words dealing with the event in question in their search bar and boom! You have your answer.

Pretty cool site. At least now I research stuff before sending it out, so maybe I'm not keeping the yellow snow rolling along. . . . . . Here's a link below about the horrible news that the new dollar coin won't have "In God We Trust" on it. Lies, all lies. Enjoy!!!

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/dollarcoin.asp

A 17-year-old Named Kim

A young lady I work with is a teacher in the high school department at her church. Valerie stopped me today to tell me this story. She said the topic last night was "Stress." Most of the senior high kids talked about their mom as being the biggest stress in their lives and what all Mom is making them do. Clean their room, be respectful, do your homework, make good grades. That kind of stress. Kim was the last one to speak. She is 17. Kim said that her stress right now is that she's putting stress on her mom because she (Kim herself) has Stage 2 cervical cancer. Valerie said that her ears just couldn't grasp what Kim said and she asked her "What?" And then Kim said cervical cancer again. Valerie had the kids get in a circle and had Kim in the middle and they all prayed for her. Makes all their 'stress' seem inconsequential. It may mean a complete hysterectomy.

Valerie made the comment to me that she wanted to be strong and positive for Kim so she didn't want to cry in front of her. I told Valerie, through my tears as she told me about Kim, that that's exactly what Kim probably needs, is someone to cry with. Her mom is a single parent so she's being strong for Kim, who's being strong for mom. . . . I encouraged Valerie to talk to Kim and to cry with her. It's OK. It's what you need and almost crave when you have cancer. You cry, you get it over for a while and you can go on. Then you cry again and then you laugh. And you get through it. And you go on to the next thing.

If you are given the opportunity to be that kleenex in someone's life, please stick around and get a little wet. That's what we're all here for. Your tears mean you care. Please add Kim to your prayer list.

Happy Birthday, Mama!

This redheaded all-star basketball player married my daddy in 1951. She is a graduate of Dickens High School class of 1950. She's the best cook I've EVER met. She's always working doing something. She takes good care of my daddy. She is a breast cancer survivor. She is the mother of a daughter and a son. She has 16 grandchildren (and another on the way.) She cans food every summer. She always has pies of various assortments ready whenever company comes. She is a member of Dickens Baptist Church and works hard there at whatever needs to be done. She works at the courthouse during elections. If you ask me why I do something the way I do it in the house, apt as not the answer will be "Because that's how my mama does it." Love you!!!

The San Antonio Smiths

We all met together last weekend in Austin. We went to Nikita's soccer game Saturday morning and then had a picnic in McKinney Falls State Park. We had a great time---at the end of the hot trail we took, we found a nice cool pond and took off socks and shoes and enjoyed the water for a while.

Here are Kelly & Tami and their 5 girls, Kora, Aubrey, Brynna, Hailey and Lauryn. While we were picnicing, Lauryn was sitting beside Granddad eating chips and ham. There was a sound that came from somebody's little body. Granddad and I both looked at Lauryn. She looked at us, raised both little hands palm up and said, "It wasn't me!" Too cute.

Kelly & Tami are expecting their 6th child in April. That will be grandchild #8 for us. You can't have too many grandkids!

The Austin Smiths

Tony, Elena, Nikita and Anastasiya all had a big time at our picnic at McKinney Falls State Park. We had originally planned to attend the Texas Parks & Wildlife Expo, but the traffic and long lines persuaded us to change to plan B. And boy, were we thrilled we did. Tony knew that McKinney Falls was just a little piece down the road from the Expo----and there was practically no one there but us!!! We had a great picnic, the kids got to swing and run and carry sticks around and throw rocks.

Then we hiked a short way to the McKinney Falls and got to play in the water. It was great. We all had a blast and it was nice to have all the grandkids together.

That night at the house, I told Ana that I needed to go brush my teeth. She asked if I brushed my teeth quiet or loud. I asked her what she meant. She said that she brushed her teeth quiet, but that her mom and dad brushed their teeth LOUD. Tony & Elena have an electric toothbrush. Ana and me use the old-fashioned QUIET ones.

Happy Birthday, Elena!

Here's Elena with her catfish and the butterfly net that she caught it with! This picture was taken on April 29, 2007 at the Exotic Zoo outside of Johnson City. Elena is a fisherman deluxe, even makes fish soup.

Her birthday is October 7! We're so glad she is part of our family. She came half way around the world from Kiev, Ukraine to be with Tony and we're so happy.

Happy birthday, Elena.

The Boys Are Back!

Bless those Dallas Cowboys! They actually look like a real football team this year. Everyone in DFW is excited about the first 4 games. And it's so nice to see a coach smiling and getting enthused about the game. I particularly like the spunk and daring of Jason Garrett, the offensive coach, because he believes in taking a chance and making the game fun again. Like going for it on 4th down. Drives David nuts, but I love it.

You know what? There are actually days I forget that I had breast cancer now. My mind isn't all consumed with it. And I find myself thinking about the future again. At first it was hard to think about the future, for fear of thinking that you might not have one. Oh, I still have the twinges in the radiated skin. It's not 100% yet, still pretty tender, but it's not as pink as it was. But I don't have hair in that armpit yet. . . that's a good thing. That radiation kind of kills those hair follicles. One thing about it, you get a lot more intimate with your own body workings.

I guess the thing I notice the most is that I laugh more, really loud, really fun laugh. Like I'm relieved that this is normal again.