FREE AT LAST!

It's been a while since I've posted here. There's been a lot going on in our lives and some of it was difficult to report at first.
For the first time in 53 years I did not host our Thanksgiving celebration, so we put on our feathers and headed south ... south Arlington, that is.

Franklin and Beth graciously offered to have our Thanksgiving feast at their house this year since I was having a lot of challenges with my back. We all gathered together to celebrate and be thankful for all the blessings in our lives.

They "brined" the bird overnight before they baked it and it was, without a doubt, one of the best turkeys I've ever eaten.

The rest of the family brought other food items and they were all delicious, especially the pumpkin and pecan pies that my Granddaughter made. Everyone brought something to add to the feast and it was all great.

We all had a great time and of course, the "boys" all went to the Cowboy game afterwards while we girls stayed behind and continued to celebrate as we watched the game on TV and enjoyed a toddy.

Little did I know what was in store for all of us when I declined preparing the Thanksgiving feast.

Three weeks later I developed an infection and after several tests and visits to the doctor I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. I have kept a lot of you informed of what happened along this difficult journey. I had my first surgery in early December.

We had a blessed Christmas in spite of what was going on with me. Beth and Franklin once again offered their home and everyone had a great time.

Harry and I enjoyed eggnog while everyone else was preparing the meal as well as getting ready for the gift exchange.

Nicholas, our eldest grandson, was Santa this year. We take turns with this job and we most always let one of the boys be Santa.

After Christmas, I went back to the Urologist and she performed a cystoscopy and discovered the extent of the cancer. In case you don't know what cancer looks like, it's the "fluffy clouds" in the photograph. You are actually looking inside my bladder here. I'm amazed how cancer can look so lovely and be so destructive.

My first surgery was December 9th, so I had a legitimate excuse to not cook at Christmas! Due to the extent of the cancer which was much worse than they thought it would be at first, my doctor inadvertently nicked the wall of the bladder so she could not complete the procedure. I was scheduled to have a 2nd surgical procedure on the 20th of January. I was told to take it very easy between surgeries and I certainly always want to follow doctor's orders! I might add that Frank is not only a wonderful nurse, he is also learning how to cook , so I was well taken care of!

My friends that I used to paint with in Canvas by Canvas brought me this lovely poinsettia when I was in the hospital the first time. It not only cheered up the hospital room, it looked wonderful at the house. In fact, it was our Christmas tree for most of the season! They are such dear girls and I really appreciate both their talent as well as their friendship. Everyone was exceedingly kind to us during this time. I was under girded with prayers, cards, food (which Frank really appreciated) and visits. Support like this makes things so much easier when you are going through a rough patch.

I had a much easier time after the 2nd surgery and was told that I am now Cancer Free, or at least as much so as can be expected at this point. Those are magical words to my ears!

I am now in the process of treatments which will hopefully prevent the cancer from coming back and I'm half way through ... YEAH! I'll certainly be glad when this is all behind me.

In the meantime, my family has been very busy. We had a family day here last month and I cooked (brought in pizza from a local place ;-)

We played games, celebrated 3 birthdays and had a great time in general as we always do when we get together.

Here I am with 3 handsome young loves of my life.

And these are the birthday people ... Nicholas' wife, Dayna, Rachel and her son, Ethan. He was born on Rachel's birthday and turned sweet 16 this year. I still can't believe that I have a great grandson that old. How is it possible since I'm still so young???

Two of my other loves!

Our youngest grandson, Connor, is competing in a Math/Science program in Dallas and he comes home most Saturdays with medals. He's a really smart and special young man.

While everyone was off to competitions, our son Franklin was going to work in Dallas. He makes this trip every day but this was a very different day. On his way home from work he was in a car crash which totaled his car. By God's grace, he was not hurt. Praise the Lord for air bags! We feel so blessed that this was no worse than it was since this is the second big wreck that he's been involved in. The first one also totaled his car by a driver that was going 80+ mph. It was literally a hit and run as they never found the person that hit him.

Our other young grandson, Ian is quite the musician as well as being a good student. He plays guitar and is very good even if I do say so.

If you go to this You Tube link you'll see why we're so proud of him. You can hear what a young rock band sounds like. This clip was shot at a talent show at their school and they won!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJkJlASc_qQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Tonight is Shrove Tuesday and we'll be on our way to church in a few minutes to eat pancakes and listen to a jazz band.

In New Orleans they call it Fat Tuesday and I'm sure that the pancakes have something to do with it. In the United Kingdom and many other countries, the day is often known as Pancake Day. Making and eating such foods was considered a last feast with ingredients such as sugar, fat and eggs, whose consumption was traditionally restricted during the ritual fasting associated with Lent.
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. My wish for each of you is that this will be a time of prayer and reflection and that you will realize how blessed we all really are. Have a holy Lenten season. I'll get back to you soon.
XOXO, Pcasso