Catching up on this year so far..

It is hard to believe it is mid February and this is my first post of the new year. In my last post I mentioned spending more time with my parents.. After battling bladder cancer for 4 years my Dad had surgery in April of last year to remove his bladder and a new one was created for him out of intestine (amazing what they can do!!) He came through surgery very well and we were quite thankful.. Well in October he began complaining of severe back pain.. ER drs prescribed antibiotics for a UTI.. only to find out a month or so later that the back pain was caused by a returning cancer.. this time a metastization on his spine. In early January he began radiation, hoping this would kill off that cancer and take away the pain he was experiencing.. well on day 3 of the radiation Dad fell at home.. we got the call from Mom and rushed over, arriving just before the squad. Dad had already moved to the couch by this time so I checked his blood glucose to see if it had gone low and caused him to be dizzy.. it was normal. The decision was made to transport him to the hospital and do a CT scan to check that area.. and we found out that he had fractured his spine where the cancer is! We are so grateful that there was no nerve involvement and Dad was moving his feet and legs just fine. Dad was admitted and we headed back to the hospital the next morning to be greeted by a surgeon.. He said he felt it was in Dads best interests to undergo surgery immediately to have an internal brace placed in his spine to steady it and allow him to walk without fear of further damage. We were thankful for this opportunity but at the same time I was sure that Dad just couldnt handle anymore surgery.. he had lost ALOT of weight after the bladder removal, which is normal.. Well he breezed through surgery and within 48 hours was back up on his feet and walking. After 2 weeks in a rehab hospital he is now home.. and driving us mad with his refusal to follow simple safety precautions *like wearing his back brace* But we are thankful he is alive and well!!
Needless to say he has kept us all quite busy so far this year!

We have begun practices for the Passion Play again. The children are all involved. This year Shawn continues his role as the Standard bearer, Chandra is helping with childrens ministries, Sierra has a small line this year and loves it,Colton is..well im not sure yet what he is doing!, Caitlyn is sharing the role of tomb angel and Cassidy is in the crowd along with Stephen and Seth. I have volunteered to help with the food that is served to cast members during the week..and I am looking forward to that.

Doug and I are planning our 25th anniversary! July 13th is the big day. We are not sure yet what we are going to do but a weekend getaway is a definite must, we have never done that in all these years. I am looking forward to it!
Just last week we were able to attend a marriage conference called "Men are like waffles and women are like spaghetti" It really opened our eyes a bit to our differences and what makes each other "tick" We also purchased several of their books and are enjoying those. I highly recommend this conference! We had a wonderful day.
Doug took me out to dinner on valentines day and we had such a sweet time together.. I crave time alone with my Man and am so happy when we have it!