SUNDAY

Hi Friends!

I don't know where my Sunday has gone! Our church is now offering an 11 a.m. service, so we tried that this morning. It was a challenge for me to get up by 10 a.m., but I managed. I need to talk again with Dr. Cohen about my stamina. Last time he offered me Ritalin or a steroid to help counteract the effects of my chemo/lupus -- but I elected not to do it. During the summer, it's not a big deal if I sleep ALL the time. But since I'll be homeschooling again starting in September -- I will need to be able to stay awake!

Anyway, I went to church. Then we came home and had lunch. At 2 p.m., I went to my quilting class at Carrie's house. Molly is making a quilt, too, so she came along. We stopped at JoAnn's to buy some last-minute supplies. I felt like I was back in college cramming for a final -- because an hour before the class, I was attempting to iron my fabric and buying a cutting board and other needed supplies. Bill drove us over to Carrie's -- I'm still taking a lot of Vicodin for my headaches, so depending on when it's taken -- I don't always feel safe driving.

We stayed at Carrie's until almost 5 p.m., and with Molly's help (I don't have the strength for cutting), we managed to cut 50 quilt squares. At this rate -- my quilt may not be done until Dr. Cohen's baby is a toddler! But, Bill pointed out that what's important is that I'm having fun/fellowship with friends!

Bill picked up a bunch of boxes today from a fellow Freecycler! So, the price was right -- FREE! This week I will try to do some packing with the kids. I have one week before Round #9 of chemo. Chemo is on the 17th, and we need to be out of this house by the 24th -- it usually takes me 7 days to come back to life after chemo :-) So, good news is -- I'll be good in time for the move, but the bad news is -- I won't be much help for the whole week before the move. Poor Bill!

But, as always -- I am going to trust God to provide! And I'm sure it will all turn out in the end! I'll just try not to worry about the details! God knows the plan, it's just my job to follow it -- not to question/complain about it!

Much Love,
Michele

P.S. -- The story about the boys' trip to Gorman is that after Isaac puked late in the evening -- Nate and Isaac both concurred they were homesick and just wanted to come home. So, Bill obliged.

A NIGHT OUT WITH THE TEENAGERS!!!

Hi Friends!

I decided to make up for not posting yesterday by posting twice today. I told Bill to take the camera with him and the boys -- they left for camping/motorcycle riding this afternoon. But apparently, he forgot and so I decided to take it with me while I went out with the older kids tonight. Most of my blog readers tell me they value the pictures most of all -- so I'll try to oblige. It makes sense since we're so so far away from many family and friends!

The good news is that tonight I went to a movies -- and I'm proud to announce: For the first time in 2 years, I didn't fall asleep in the movie theater. I planned ahead and took a 2 hour nap before leaving. Then this evening, at about 6 p.m., Cam, Molly, and I went out for dinner at McDonald's. Afterwards we went to the $3 movie theater to see Night at the Museum 2, which we REALLY enjoyed. And then we headed back to McDonald's (Don't worry -- it's right by the Movies) to have an ice cream snack. All in all, we had a great time! It was nice to spend time alone with the two older kids and really get to talk with them. I think that I'm a much better Mom since I got sick as I tend to focus on what's really important ( e.g. - time with the kids). In the past (pre-lupus), I think I got bogged down with the details of life.

The kids are now happily playing games that they bought at GameStop earlier today with their allowance money. Nate was even thrilled on his way to go camping, because Bill hooked up his X-box (which he bought from John next door -- it's an older model!) to the DVD player in our SUV. So, he was able to play the new games he bought with his allowance on the trip to Gorman. I received a call from Bill. They were planning to go to Alamo Mountain, but it was closed. (Not sure of the details?) So, instead they were going to Gorman. Bill sounded happy and said they were going to have a great time. That was an improvement as Bill was stressed out when leaving!

Update: Bill and the boys just showed up! Isaac puked. They decided to come home after a day of riding. So, I'm going to get the boys in the bathtub and then to bed. I'll update you more tomorrow.

Much Love,

Michele

SATURDAY!!!

Hi Friends!

Do you like the pictures? Cameron is proudly wearing the shirt we brought back from Wisconsin for him. I've already had to wash it twice this week, but I'm just glad that he likes it so much. Also, thought I'd include photos of the sign the kids made/posted on my door, so that nobody bothers me when I'm resting. I feel very blessed to be taken care of so well by my family :0)

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday. I guess I overdid it with all my housework and Mt. Washmore since I got back from Wisconsin. So, yesterday I felt really exhausted. I spent a large part of the day in bed, and I seemed to finally get it together by around 2:30 p.m. It was Bill's day off of work (he works longer hours and as a result has every other Friday off), so he was home for the day, but busy working on all the closing paperwork for this house. The kids were content to hang out around the house for most of the day. We ended up with all of the neighborhood kids over -- at least it seemed like it, to me -- for biking and swimming.

I had long talks with Annie, Judi, and Shirlene yesterday -- who are all concerned about our move. But ultimately they support us and know that this is the right time for us to move. I am a little concerned about the fact that we will be homeless in about 2 weeks until we decide what to do permanently. But in my prayers today, God reminded me that He knows the plan and that it will be something good. So, I will trust in Him while Bill and I do our part! Ultimately, it will be a blessing for us as a family to be much closer to Bill's work. It's just a matter of settling on where we want to be both temporarily and permanently.

Today, Bill is taking Nate and Isaac on an overnight camping trip for motorcycle riding. The timing may not be the best (as we really should be packing), but they've been looking forward to it all summer -- so we decided to go forward with it anyway. They're packing up now, and they will come back tomorrow. That leaves me with Cam and Molly, so maybe we'll go out to see a movie and have dinner tonight. I also want to go to church as I haven't made it there for TOO long due to chemo/general sickness!

Brandon is here for the day. He and John (next-door neighbor) and Nate just got back from a bike ride to 7-11. I'm a bit jealous, but I didn't think they'd be able to carry a Big Gulp home for me.

I'll blog more tomorrow. I asked Bill to take a camera on the Boys' trip, so that they could bring pictures back.

Much Love,

Michele

WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!

Hi Friends!

This may be a surprise for some of you. Our house has been up for sale for the past month, and we have sold it. We will have the closing on August 24th, and we need to be out by then. So, we will be looking for a home closer to Bill's work. We may need to look for temporary housing in the meantime. Since the market is still somewhat soft, we wanted to sell before buying something else. Anyway, the timing is good -- because the kids will not have started school yet. It was scheduled to start in Simi on the 26th. Cameron will be the only one to switch schools. Molly has elected to homeschool again with the other boys since we'll be changing school districts. She would've had to start a new middle school and only be there for a year. So, she will homeschool for 8th grade, and then start high school in public school for 9th grade next year.

Other than the house negotiations being finalized today -- it's been business as usual around here. I slept in until around noon. When I woke up I had a houseful of kids. Brandon was here as well as all of Judi's kids (she had physical therapy) and John from next door. They all had a lot of fun just playing around -- being kids-- and swimming.

I did more laundry and housework, and then tonight we had our Heaven Bible study group. Will and Heather are spending the night tonight and the kids are all still up. Molly and Heather are camped out in the family room watching a Barbie movie. And Cameron is entertaining Will, Isaac, and Nate with JibJab on the computer.

I am off to bed... More tomorrow... I guess I'd better start packing. I only have a week to get some serious packing done before chemo on the 17th. Bill is going to take some time off of work, though, to help. And we have the kids to help, of course!!!

Much Love,
Michele

WEDNESDAY!

Hi Friends!

Today we got up early. My alarm went off at 8 a.m., which is unheard of for me. Thank goodness for Molly who is much more responsible than me! She immediately got up, came downstairs, switched and folded laundry, made her bed, got dressed, and got herself and Isaac fed and ready. I, on the other hand, kept hitting snooze on my alarm until the last possible minute, getting up at 8:30. I just had enough time to pack snacks/drinks for the movie, take my meds, and throw some clothes on before Will and Heather arrived at our house. The local movie theater offers free movies weekly during the summer, and today it was Space Chimps. The movie starts at 10 a.m., but since it's free -- you have to be there early in order to get a seat. So off we went, but my daughter really put me to shame. She'll definitely make someone a nice wife one day!

The movie was very funny. I thoroughly enjoyed it, at least the parts of it I saw. After the movie, Will said -- "You know, Michele -- You slept through 3/4 of the movie!" That was probably true. With my current meds, put me in a dark room or a moving car and I immediately fall asleep. And this morning, I skipped my Vicodin even though my head was killing me. I feel unsafe driving when I take it, and Annie bowed out this morning -- so I was alone with my precious cargo! Safety first!

After the movie, we received an urgent phone call from Cameron, Nate, and Brandon. They were out of milk! I had already been to Judi's house this morning to get a half gallon because we were completely out -- but apparently Cam and Brandon drank it all before Nate had a chance to get up and eat his cereal. So, we stopped at the grocery store on the way home and picked up milk and soda, as well as lunch fixings (chicken, potato logs, and mac and cheese from the deli) since it was almost noon.

Here's another funny story from today. Preface -- yesterday I asked who wanted to go to the movie, and Brandon, Nate, and Cameron all said they wanted to stay home. "No big," as Molly would say! So, when it was time to leave, I woke up Cameron to remind him we were leaving. And he went back to sleep. Nate was still sleeping, too. And Brandon wasn't here yet, but he always just lets himself in and makes himself at home. He knows the code to our front door. Well, we he got here, and he was convinced nobody was home since the truck was gone. Apparently he forgot yesterday's conversation. So, he and Shirlene went searching the house. Cam and Nate both sleep buried under the covers and none of us (except Molly) had made our beds. Meaning -- all the beds looked lumpy. So, they were peeling back the covers on Cam's bed to see if anyone was there. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw Shirlene since he sleeps in his underwear!

This afternoon, Judi's kids went to spend some time with family. My kids and Brandon nicely let me nap from about 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Then I finished Mt. Washmore. Judi's kids came back to play and left again at dinnertime. I actually made dinner tonight and was quite proud of myself. It was home-cooked, even if it wasn't all that healthy for Bill. I made chili-cheese-cornbread casserole with nachos on the side and german-chocolate cake for dessert. It was well-received!

After dinner, the kids went swimming. Then Judi's kids came back and they all went biking in the front. I did some housework upstairs and helped the kids tidy up their rooms after their friends went home. They just finished their bath/showers and are now settling in for the night. Bill just returned from his Wednesday night Men's Group. I am going to lay down upstairs and snuggle with Isaac while watching TV. It seems to be our nightly tradition since I went back to chemo. After he falls asleep, Bill carries him off to his own bed for the night.

More tomorrow... I hope...

Much Love,
Michele

BACK AT HOME!!!

Hi Friends!

My pictures above are kind of random, so I feel the need to explain them. The first pictures were taken with Bill's parents, John and Linda Bland, at their home in Wisconsin. I took the other pictures today. The first was my laundry project -- as you can imagine, much laundry was generated in my absence. So, today I started on Mount Washmore. I am hoping to catch up soon. I also took a picture of my front flowerbed to show you how happy and cheerful the flowers look. It's my reward for planting them months back and having Nate water them daily! And then I took a picture of Itty Bitty and Molly looking cute. We had to remind ourselves how much we love Itty Bitty today as she came down with a bad case of diarrhea. She probably got it from eating all of the "people food" she finds on the floor. Our dog won't eat what falls on the floor, but she does. And it's not always the best for her! So today she was such a mess that Molly and I had to bathe her. She is very nice when we bathe her in the bathroom sink, but it's still not something we enjoy doing! So, it's a good thing she's so cute!

Today, I woke up around 9 a.m. after Bill had left for work. On my routine morning trip down for painkillers, I ran into Brandon sleeping on my couch. The other kids joined him shortly. I spent the morning resting and recovering my from my jetlag. I had taped two of my favorite shows from TV -- "The Next Food Network Star" and "Design Star" from HGTV. So, I lay around in bed this morning and watched them while the kids all did their own things.

I started being semi-functional around noon, and I made the kids macaroni and cheese for lunch. I did a bit of housework and took a shower before it was time to leave for my doctor's appointment. I saw Dr. Menco, my oncologist, today for bloodwork. Praise God! It came out well -- at least, for someone on chemo. I'm always a bit anemic and off on the white/red blood cell counts, but this time my platelets were better. That is good news, because it means my blood will clot and I may be able to start shaving my legs without having a bloodbath!

I got back from that appointment and Shirlene came to pick up Brandon. We thoroughly annoyed Brandon by talking for a long time, which kept him from getting back to Palmdale to meet up with his girlfriend, Margaret. Oh, to be 17 again! Cameron shortly after had to leave for Scouts with Bill. The other kids went swimming, and then they had baths and dinner.

I seemed to get a second wind this evening after my nighttime pain meds. So, I cleaned up the bathrooms and worked a bit more on Mount Washmore and returning a mountain of e-mail as well.

Now, I'm off to bed. We are going to see Space Chimps at the Free Movies tomorrow morning, and we need to leave at 9 a.m. I'm taking Heather, Molly, Will, and Isaac. And Annie is going to come with us. Nate, Brandon, Cameron, and Justin are staying home with Judi to supervise. They're too cool to go to the movies with us!

More tomorrow ...

Much Love,

Michele

GOODBYE TO DOC!!!

Hi Friends!

We just arrived back home from Wisconsin where we bid a final farewell to my Grandpa Twohig ("Doc"). We got into Wisconsin Thursday night, and we spent the night at the Hampton Inn in Milwaukee. Since we had arrived around midnight, we went ahead and slept in on Friday morning. We got up and ready, and caught the noon shuttle back to the airport to pick up our rental car. We then drove out to Spring Lake where Bill's parents live. We had a pleasant time catching up with Bill's Mom. Then at around 4 p.m., we got ready and drove into Kiel for my Grandpa's wake.

The wake was from 4-7 p.m. on Friday night, and all of my aunts and uncles (except 1 of the 8) were there. There were also numerous cousins there with their children, and it was very nice to catch up with everyone. There was an open-casket, and my Grandpa looked very good and very peaceful. I looked at him and envisioned him walking on the streets of gold in heaven and being reunited with my Grandma and other loved ones who passed on before him.

After the wake, we went out to RiverView (a classic Kiel-style diner) for supper with my parents. Then we dropped them off at their house as they were tired, and we drove over to Grandpa Twohig's house to bond with the extended family. In Grandpa's honor, we drank Irish whiskey and told stories about him. We stayed until about midnight, and everyone was so glad that we had come! We felt very welcome and that our decision to come back to Wisconsin for the funeral was the right one!

The following morning (after not much sleep due to all the Twohig partying!), we got up quite early and picked up my parents for the funeral, which was in Eden. There was visitation at the church from 9:30-10:30 and Mass at 10:30. It was a touching tribute to my Grandpa, and I bawled my eyes out, with Bill passing tissue after tissue to me. I tried to compose myself in order to bring up the gifts (the bread/wine for communion) with Bill. We were honored to be asked to do so. The oldest male cousin of each family was a pallbearer, which was also special to watch.

After Mass, we drove to Armstrong where my Grandpa was buried alongside my Grandma (who had died in 1988) and their infant son, Michael, who would have been their 9th child. There was a bagpiper accompanying the coffin. And my father was presented with the flag for my Grandpa's time in service. (By the way, he had received a purple heart during his time in World War II.) I took the time to lay my hand on the coffin before it was lowered and say my final goodbyes. Saying goodbye to my Grandpa was like closing a chapter on my childhood! I think that's why his funeral was so hard for me to get through, but also why I felt it was necessary to be there. My aunts and uncles kept saying that they couldn't believe I came, and I told them,"I had to --- Grandpa and Grandma were a huge part of my childhood!"

We then drove back to Eden where the Christian Mothers served a luncheon for all the people who had come to the funeral. Wisconsin food is so good! I'm not setting foot on a scale for at least a week! The desserts, especially, were unbelievable!

The pictures that I posted above were taken at Dundee, where we went next. This was "Uncle Joe's" -- my Grandpa's uncle and godfather's land. It was left to Grandpa Twohig who really treasured it! He had a camper out there that he would often stay in. So, most of us met there as a family and drank a toast or two (or 3, in my case) of Irish whiskey to the Doc! There was Irish music playing in the background. It was really nice. He would have liked it -- as it was a fitting tribute to a farmer/doctor.

We then went back to my parents house where I promptly fell asleep. I'm not sure if it was the early wake-up, the 3 shots of whiskey, my meds, or a combination of all of the above. But I woke up on the sofa at around 6 p.m. to hear Bill and my parents discussing dinner plans. We decided to go Mexican, and I continued the celebratory mood with a margarita! After dinner, we went back to my parent's house until midnight!

Sunday morning we slept in (finally!), and then spent a relaxing day just hanging out with Bill's parents. We hadn't seen his Dad at all until Sunday. It was really nice to catch up with them. We had a fire in their fire pit, and we really enjoyed the beauty of their land -- which is on Spring Lake. They have their own pond and much wildlife there! However, we are really looking forward to their move to Arizona (which will happen after they sell this house), because we will be able to see them more often. They are very excited about having a more active role in our kids' lives!

This morning we got up at 6 a.m. (WI time) -- yes, that's 4 a.m. our time, and drove to the Milwaukee airport. We got there early enough to buy some Wisconsin souvenirs for the kids before boarding our flight. Today we flew Northwest with a layover in Minneapolis for an hour. The flights went well although I had some interesting seatmates on the second flight. Bill and I weren't seated together on that one. Luckily, I had 2 more scotches at the layover, so the weirdos didn't bother me too much. And no, I am not usually a big drinker -- but this was a good Irish wake/funeral, and Bill said it needed to last all weekend!

When I got home all the kids and their babysitters were thrilled to see me! Imagine that :-) Annie had made a roast beef dinner, which was nice to come home to. The kids are now off in bed, and Bill and I will join them soon. My only plans for tomorrow are laundry and a doctor's appointment. I need to go into the oncologist's office tomorrow for a blood draw. Hopefully, my blood counts are good since I've been traipsing all over the country!

More tomorrow... I even have more pictures... But it's late ... And I'm tired!

Much Love,

Michele