Made it to the end of December!

Christmas 2022!!! Thank You, Lord that I made it to this day!!

Since my last infusion it’s been several beautiful days of friends and family Christmases with yummy food and fun! 

Starting with my dear beloved Cassinari’s, here Liz and Journey enjoy a cup of tea from the new teapot and regifted demitasse cups! 

Then Lynn-time was very special as I got to experience the gift of meeting her parents who all have been prayer warriors over me! 

I was so thankful to have my kids over on Friday despite the Arctic forces that almost kept me from snuggles with my granddaughter & laughter with my kids. My mama & grandma cup got filled up with so much love!  

My husband, John, aka Santa hosted a Christmas family skate at the ice rink Friday night where he offered a night of free skating for all his hockey players and families. Since I really can’t skate with new blisters on my feet and the risk of injury of my fragile ribs due to the potential of falling, I got to take the ice hockey sled out on her maiden voyage before John donates it to the ice rink for our disabled friends to play on the ice! 

Physically, I’m feeling great! The only minor side effects I’m noticing are occasional bouts of digestive upset from the meds causing me to use a bit of Imodium, but it’s no biggie. Then a couple weeks ago the joints in my hands started feeling achy and I’m not quite sure why. Perhaps it’s from the meds or possibly the start of arthritis?? Lastly there are some skin issues I am not sure if or when they’ll heal but the most noticeable is several blisters that just randomly showed up on my left foot. It’s my newest goal that they heal within the next 2 weeks because I’m planning a winter hiking/camping trip to Wisconsin mid-January. 

Then came Christmas Eve and beyond in Illinois where I was filled up with lots of love with so many family get togethers. I was thrilled to see all my nieces and nephew, sisters and brother in laws, cousins, parents and aunt plus a night out with more cousins, especially this 97 year old jewel, my first cousin once removed, Sally!! Lord let me live as long and as well as her!

And to top off my Christmas, I got to go to my favorite farm at my dearest Wendy’s and was showered with love, friendship, delicious food and liquid gold, aka, fresh goat milk!! And no one can darn my homespun wool socks better than the farmer that knit them!!

So here I am, relishing the fact that God deigned that I should live to see the year come to a close. For this I’m oozing with so much thankfulness. I experience my days with the keen and very real knowledge that each day is a gift. Yet I vacillate between forgetting I have a cancer diagnosis and wondering if I’ll be here next Christmas. I make plans for our WonderVan life where we dream of all the magnificent places we will travel and at the same time, I joke about when I’m cremated and will have little jars of my ashes for everyone to take home as my parting gift so they can have a piece of me! I enjoy reading a book like my spare time is as normal as anyone’s and then on the same day want to distribute a version of John Cross’ book I’d hope everyone I know and love would read. This would be my last chance at sharing the most important reason I believe I was even born…to share my faith in a clear way so everyone I know has an opportunity to at least understand what gives me such hope and purpose in life!

I’ll close this weeks blog with what I call my Life Verses: