Food, Family, Friends & Epoxy

Healthy and delicious food brings me great joy more than ever! Scrumptious stone ground, organic, whole wheat, sesame bread topped with fresh fixings, a side of walnuts and strawberries with frothed soy milk atop homemade chai is heavenly! These have become just one of the many joys in my days! 

And while Mother’s Day happened several weekends ago… and, yes, I got a sweet card from Sarah and a text from Alex…several days later my son, Jonathan, finally was in town when I was and he stopped over and offered to serve me however I needed most. The grass was getting out of control and my weekend was about to get busy with family visitors so I asked and he agreed to cut the grass!! Thank you, JP!! 

Memorial Day weekend was one for the books! I had the privilege of having my first ever sleepover with my granddaughter by herself at my house, so I asked my mama and sister to come hang with me and squeeze in some great grandma time!! When Saileigh’s mom and dad came to pick her up they graced me with exclusive time and asked to see my bench for the first time that is at Patricia Allyn Park. 

Health-wise for me, other than getting over a head cold which always ends in laryngitis, it’s the same. A few skin issues that struggle to heal, neuropathy causing numbness on one toe in particular and tingly finger tips and digestive upsets causing me to pop an Imodium almost daily, I feel perfect! 

I had yet another infusion last Friday and was blessed when I asked my nurse , Diane if she was aware of the Gratitude Bell hanging in the hallway. She said she was, and she was so thankful it was there because it is always difficult when her stage four patients hear others ringing the other bell…The victory bell and she knows that they never will. She asked me a little bit about how long I had been getting treatment at The James and what my story was. I got to share it with her and the miracle of how God healed me and how much the Brandon Lake Gratitude song has meant on my journey. I also shared with her how the creation of my Gratitude Bell came about. She stood and listened with tears in her eyes at the wonder and the miraculous of all God's doing! It is still my hope and desire that every cancer treatment center in the world would have one of these bells available for others who want to share in celebrating gratitude… Whatever that means for them in that moment. I also told her that anybody can buy one of these bells and have it personally available in their own home like I do. John and I ring it almost daily and share something were grateful for. This week I was especially grateful for my nurse, Diane and the wonderful compassionate care and listening ear as I was infused with $50,000 worth of anti-cancer drugs!

Last weekend, I had another opportunity to spend with our Amish friends in northern Ohio. The serenity and sheer beauty of the landscape and people there provided me with the gift of friendship, beauty, and a little bit of excitement! Although I wanted to take a horse and buggy ride with Amy, she informed me that she wasn’t equipped to be a buggy driver, but she was happy to take me on a ride with their e-bikes. I think the e-bike was more dangerous as I fell off 3 times because it literally was like an out of control bucking bronco at times because I didn’t understand how to work it!! We had some good laughs anyway! Mostly I love how our love for Jesus draws us close even though we live very different lives. I’m an extreme extrovert, while Amy is an extreme introvert. Yet we both love Jesus. I dress in shorts and T-shirts while she’s donning her homemade dress. But we both love God’s Word. I drive a car while she’s always a passenger. But we both enjoy worshiping Jesus. So being gifted with a friend like her is one of my great joys because we can learn about each other without judgement and we can celebrate our mutual gift of being called the daughters of God!

Lastly, I got to fist bump John yesterday afternoon as I completed picking out my very last bit of epoxy in the Wondervan floor that needed to be redone because the epoxy did not set up properly. It took me four full weeks of picking to get it done, but I’m happy to say it is finally completed and ready for John to repour it. I did have a little help from some neighbors for a few minutes!!