Roller Coaster

Up and down and down and up...the weather.  We've gone from below freezing to 70 degrees and back agin, since New Years.  We've had snow, ice, and everything else.  We've been to park twice this month and gone sledding in the yard.  T-shirts and jeans to fuzzy sweaters and snowsuits.  I could go on, but you get the picture.  The weather here has been crazy!!  We have been in the high 40s low 50s most of the month and I have yet to break out most of my nice sweaters.  The upside to all of this is that my heating bill for this month will be quite low.  Why the paragraph on this, well, it got me thinking about how much cold weather affects the whole rest of the year.  Thanks to the warm January, allergy season this spring will be hell.  The ground here hasn't really frozen, so the flowers and plants are already starting to come up.  Stay awake, I am going somewhere with this. 
Consistency.  There is a lack of weather consistency in this part of the county.  It seems so weird that something out of our control can cause so many issues.  Many people beg for consistency in their lives, personal and professional lives.  Do we become complacent in our need for consistency?  Do I want to walk through life like a zombie?  I say no!!  As much as I hate the inconsistency in the weather, I love the inconsistency in my life.  It keeps me awake, alert, and aware of God's presence in my life.  So, if it starts raining cats and dogs and you are wearing shorts and a Hawiian shirt January, just chalk it up to God makeing you pay attention and making sure your windshield wipers are new.

Heart Trouble

Please keep my father in your prayers.  He is having heart trouble again and goes in for a Nuclear Stress Test tomorrow, Friday, to see if he recently had another heart attack.

Pics

Pictures!!  Here are pics from this fall.  Click on the album for some goodies!!  

January 2012

No Chemo

No chemo for now!  Clean MRI, will go back at the end of March.  He still has lesions, but they have not developed into tumors...yet.

December Already?!?

Yep, December already. Three months has gone past and it is time again for Dad's MRI. To recap, the last MRI showed his main tumor was dead, but new tumors were forming. We find out tomorrow if he needs chemo again, or can wait. If he needs it, he will be in the hospital through Christmas Eve.

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It is hard to believe that we have been dealing with Dad's cancer a year the 27th?(or the 29, I don't hve my calendar in front of me). It is times like these that I wished they lived in a larger area, so there wasn't so much running back and forth. Each MRI/Chemo session is a week+, since my folks have to travel to STL and Dad has to stay here(he cannot come by himself). It makes me thankful that I don't have a paying job, since I can't leave Dad home alone for long stretches. No job would let me take a week off every month to three months. I am eternally grateful for my Hubby's family, who have been extremely understanding this Christmas season as to why we can't be there for Christmas/New Years this year. Also, there are no Christmas cards as of yet. I am thinking maybe in January, but don't hold your breath. There isn't a lot of Christmas spirit in my house, BUT I have my real tree, so it could it be worse.

--------------------------------Merry Christmas-----------------------------------------

Play Ball!!

Alex had won Cardinals tickets through the St. Louis County Library summer reading program. So, between Dad's MRI, Eric going to FL, and me packing for FL, Alex had his baseball game. Grandma Teresa was able to join us at the last minute. This was Alex's first ride on the commuter train and he was exstatic!

The game was on a rain delay, so we had a lot of sitting around.


This was both his and Grandma Teresa's first profesional game.

Access Hollywood's Billy Bush threw out the first pitch...no really he did.

Despite the delay and freezing temps, we had a great time, even though the Cards blew it in the 9th inning.

Florida

We had an unexpected mini trip last month. Eric had a busines trip to Fort Walton Beach, FL, and I joined him for part of it. He and I had not been able to take our usual summer get away this year, so this was just perfect. Teresa came here and stayed with Alex. We had four days together, just enjoying the beach and the sights, although Eric was stuck in a lab for two days. We took a dolphin cruise, played putt-putt golf, shopped, and hung out at the beach. We even had pancakes made with Reeses Pieces, courtesy of http://www.thepancakery.com/. Click on the photo for more snapshots.

Florida