What a Happy Couple

James & my beautiful daughter Rebecca.

I'm on the top of the World

Whoops, I know this post is a day late (sorry Mom) but yesterday I had a big day. For starters, I woke up late! I missed my walk with my dear friend and I didn't have time to blog. I do have to admit I felt really good all day because of the extra sleep.

I have lots of great stuff to write about and show you all today. So let me begin!

First, this is a picture of my special Birthday meal my husband made for me. It so happens to be my favorite meal. Homemade Chicken Parmigiana. My husband makes his own Spaghetti sauce, he uses angel hair spaghetti noodles, and he fried up the most yummy piece of chicken I have ever had. (he's a great cook, next year could be better) Plus, he made some homemade bread. I took a little bit before I remembered to take this picture.

Next, is my desert. I told you all before that I love a good carrot cake. My husband bought me this yummy carrot muffin from Whole foods.
Yum, yum, yummy!
My gifts; I received three pairs of ear rings, shower gel, a beautiful gold chain and a satellite radio for my truck. It has 170 channels. Wooohoooo! This is a picture of me and my three boy's. From left to right; Bo, John, Me and Jimmy.
This is me and my hubby.
I received this purse and tank tops from my Dad, Mom and little sisters. (Thank you) I do have to tell you all a little secret. I have never bought a purse for myself in my whole 45 years of life. Thank for keeping me in purses Dad, mom and little sisters.
I received these comfy PJ's and soaps from my son Bret his lovely wife Jessica and my three grand babies.
I've been having a lot of trouble with my feet. The Chemo is trying to get out and using my feet in the process. My friend and walking partner Maria bought me this Luxury Paraffin Bath. It is really working. (Thank you Maria)
These next items are from my blogging friends.

This first one is a CD of my favorite Hymns. Kathy'sKlavierThank you Kathy!
This is a package of Lillies I received from Greg C. GregsC Thank you Greg!
This is a new tree I bought for myself a few weeks back. The lillies will be planted around the tree.

Last but not least; I received these lovely items from my blogging friend Kristy. (Thank you so much) The Most Exciting Thing We've Ever Done

These pictures are for my daughter Rebecca. She wanted to see what we have been up to this summer.

We have been storing clothes on top of our dresser because we didn't have enough drawer space. My mother-in-law gave us this beautiful dresser. (Thank you Betty)
She also gave us these.
I wrote the other day about staining our deck. Here is the finished product. We are now going to finish off the porch by adding white rails.

This is a full view of the porch.
My white fence needed some much needed help this year. We went to Lowe's and they had a small piece of fence for 1 cent. We bought it and my husband fixed all of the broken pieces. This is the finished product.
This is the game room we are working on. I'll post another picture when we are finished.

My free Time

I can't wait to show you all what I have been up to the last few weeks. I'll take pictures today and post them tomorrow. I've stained our front porch, cleaned our house to get ready for our new dressers. My husband painted our game room and I cleaned all of the shelves so I can paint them. My husband is going to put in a sub floor and then put in new carpet before we get it organized for the boy's.

I am really enjoying my summer. More tomorrow......

I get a special Birthday meal today. My Birthday was last Tuesday but with the Chemo and all, I ask my husband if we could put it off a week. I'll have pictures tomorrow!

Oh, Oh, Oh, I forgot to write about my new plants. I can't wait until tomorrow. Wooohooo!

God is still able to use Me!

Do you have a servant’s heart? Has God blessed you with the insight to see the needs of others and reach out in compassion and understanding even when they, themselves, cannot reach out and ask for help?

Last night I was blessed to be able to work side by side with a group of ladies willing to give up their time to serve others. I watched these women and felt so much joy in my heart that I could work with them in order to help a dear family.

This dear lady is having twins and is on bed rest for 10 more weeks. She had to have surgery on the twins a few weeks back. God is so good! The twins are doing fine now but Mama is down for a while. Isn't it funny how God works. I know I have cancer and am having Chemo but I think I can handle that better then being on bed rest for 10 more weeks. I think we will be done around the same time. Steph with the twins and me with my Chemo. We are each going through a difficult time but God will see us both through. This dear young lady used to watch my twins when they were babies so I could go to my oldest sons football games on Friday nights. Here it is all these years later and she is having twins and I am able to help her out just a little. We prepared over 30 meals for them last night. Now all they have to do is take them out of the freezer and put them in the oven that evening. God is still able to use me!

It doesn’t matter what you own, how much money you have in the bank, how talented or educated you are, or how many people you know. If God calls you to have a servant’s heart, He will make a way for you to accomplish what He has put on your heart to do.

A servant’s heart has more to do with your relationship with God than it has to do with your desire to be recognized for your good deeds. Having a servant’s heart is one the most beautiful expressions of love I know. It’s showing your love to another human being by simply being who God intended you to be. It’s about seeing a need and fulfilling it without any strings attached. It’s about making yourself uncomfortable so that someone else could be comfortable. It’s about showing Christ’s love through your actions and words. And finally, it’s about touching the lives of those around you with such a gentle kindness that your act will be remembered for years to come.

Taking the time to listen to what God wants you to do, humbling yourself to do what He has called you to do, and then faithfully following His orders regardless of how uncomfortable it makes you is truly what a servant’s heart is all about. It’s selfless love at its best and God couldn’t ask for a better gift or testimony of your relationship with Him. God blessed me last night by watching these women and their love for this dear family.

Sometimes when you think you are doing the ministering, you are really being ministered to. It really makes me what to keep serving!

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." - I Peter 4:10
"...to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up..." - Ephesians 4:12

New hair and More!

This is Jimmy & John my 14 year old twins. I think next year we are going to have to make two cakes or catch my hair on fire trying to light them and carry it to the table. I think Jimmy was happy with all he got.
Hey John, What did you get?
I've been a bit busy around the house this week getting ready for the twins Birthday party. Friday was my 3rd Chemo treatment. It did set me back a bit. My body didn't react to this one the way the others did. You can read that on my "Journey with Cancer blog".

Saturday wasn't so bad! After I got rid of my headache I was able to clean the house, make the cake, cheesy potatoes and go to my Janitors job.

Sunday after church my family all came over for Jimmy and John's Birthday party. I have stated so many times how much I love being with family. It was fun and we had a super time. Down below are some updated pictures of my lovely family.

Thanks Dad, Mom, Shi Shi, Malie, Grandma Householder, Bret, Jessica, Josh, Ethan and Jenna for making Jimmy and John's party so wonderful. I didn't get all the pictures that I normally do but I'll get some updated ones of my Dad and Mom soon. I guess I was a bit tired.


This is my oldest son Bret, Jessica his beautiful wife and my adorable granddaughter Jenna.

I had to get some pictures of Jenna posing for her Nana.

This picture of Boaz and I was taken last Friday evening July 4th. As you can see I still had my own hair. This picture of Aaron and I was taken July 6th, 2008. This is the day after all of my hair fell out. This is my new hair for a while.

This is a picture of my daughter Becca and her boyfriend James.

Happy 14th Birthday John & Jimmy

My twins turn 14 on Saturday. It seems like it was yesterday that they were just babies.

I can't believe my boy's are teenagers! Yikes, one3 more year and they could be driving. Daddy told them last night, only if their grades are up will they be driving.


John


Jimmy

Sunday right after church we are having family over to celebrate their birthday. (Mom & Dad can you make it? 12:30 for lunch) We always let the person that has the birthday, pick out the meal for the day. Something special we do around here.

Jimmy wanted Hamburgers, Shrimp, and a Confetti Cake with Confetti frosting.

John wanted Cheesy Potatoes and Green bean Casserole, and a Confetti Cake with Confetti Frosting.

We will add some other goodies to the menu.

I have no idea how it works out that Jimmy seems to always pick the main dish and John picks out the sides. It works!


The boy's will be spending the night tonight with their best friends Paul and Matt Miller. They will be vacationing with them at the end of the month. What a treat for my boy's.


I love to have parties! Life is short, we might as well enjoy it while we can, don't you think!

"Wives respect your Husband" Ephesians 5:33-It's Marriage Monday

It's Marriage Monday; C h r y s a l i s is the host of Marriage Monday. Hop over and read all about her daughter's wedding. I loved it, I think you will too!

Want this button?

I think one of the top problems in a marriage is the wife showing respect to her husband. Over and over I hear how woman talk to there husband's and disrepect them. Even belittle them to others! I believe if we want a healthy marriage, we need to set aside selfishness and live for the other person. Do I always feel like sacrificing for my husband? No, I would love to be selfish at times and only think about myself. That is not really even what I want to write about today. I want to write about the way I hear woman talk to their husband's or disrespect their husband's.

These are a few things I have picked up from from the Scriptures today.
Characteristics of love listed in I Corinthians 13.

Not provoked--not responding in irritation but self-control realizing God will not give more then we can bear

Not taking into account a wrong suffered--not bringing up past failings but instead forgiving and forgetting as Christ has forgiven us 1

Not rejoicing in unrighteousness but rejoicing in truth --not enticing her husband to sin but "stimulating to love and good deeds"

Bearing all things -- sacrificing self and committing to your husband

Believing all things -- believing the best and holding to God's promise "that all things work together for good..."

Hoping all things -- having firm hope in God and trusting "all things" to the hand of God including her husband and marriage and

Enduring all things -- seeing trials as opportunity to become more like the Lord Jesus Christ We saw that these things do not come naturally to us but instead we must diligently work at "putting on love" in our lives.

Let’s see what the wife is being called to.

1. The wife is responsible to take action. Some people subtly criticize the command to submission by wrongly interpreting it to mean ‘to lose motivation and sense of purpose.’ It is the other way around. She is to be full of attention and action. She is alert respecting her husband. At the end of the age every wife will be asked to whether she respected her husband. Responsibility means accountability. The husband will be responsible for how the home went because he is head. But she will be responsible for how she respected her husband.

2. The wife might seem surprised at her prime focus to fear or respect her husband. She might wonder how can a great marriage be built on a command to fear her husband. Part of the confusion is what fear means. Part of it is what the world nonstop keeps saying.

The Chinese have two words for fear. One is afraid and the other is ‘in awe of.’ I think the later sense is much more proper. The wife needs to realize no matter how foolish her husband is and how much he focuses on fulfilling his own lusts, he is still her head. Marriage defines the context in which men and women grow. If a women does well in this area, then she will do well in lots of areas. If she does poorly here, then she will have trouble with all things.

I pray this will touch your heart if you find that you are a woman who doesn't "respect your husband". I fear too many women would call themselves respectful but if their husbands were asked to honestly answer this questions, they would have to deny her reverence. Perhaps we are submissive but not reverent or respectful. Even a child can obey because he knows the consequences of disobedience but show by attitudes and actions that it was not from a heart of love. Do we submit begrudgingly or do we lovingly submit showing respect and honor for the position God has given our husbands as head of the home?

Have you ever made your husband feel foolish? I want to write down an example that I heard of how we can make our husband's feel foolish. There was a lady that told of a time when her husband was getting ready to go to church planning to wear a shirt and tie that didn't match. She sarcastically said, "You're not going to wear that tie are you?" He told her he was and wanted to know what was wrong with it. Upon reflection later she realized that her question had made him feel foolish because obviously, he had planned to wear that outfit.

The wife is to "see to it that she respect her husband" (Ephesians 5:33). She should be a "helper suitable" (Genesis 2:20) offering helpful suggestions instead of "put-downs". Scripture gives numerous examples of wives showing disrepect to their husband. Job's wife told him to "curse God and die!" (Job 2:9) instead of supporting him in his time of trial. When she saw King David dancing for joy, his wife, Michal, made fun of David instead of rejoicing with him that the ark was being returned to Jerusalem.

But Scripture does also give us some postive examples of those who did show respect to their husbands. Bathsheba "bowed with her face to the ground, and prostrated herself before the king and said, May my lord king David live forever" (I Kings 1:31) Queen Esther approached King Ahasuerus with respect saying "...if it please the king...my petition and my request is if I have found favor in the King's sight..." (Esther 5:4). Sarah is commended in I Peter 3:6 for she "obeyed Abraham, calling him lord" . We are told in this same passage that we can be like the holy women of old by practicing this same attitude. Ephesians 5:33 says "....let the wife see to it that she respects her husband." It doesn't matter that this goes completely contrary to what is being taught by the world today. This is what God requires of us.

Here are five Biblical Principles for Respecting our Husbands.

They are:

1. The wife is to respect her husband. Ephesians 5:33

2. The wife is to respect his position. I Corinthians 11:3

3. The wife is to act in a respectful manner. Proverbs 31:23

4. The wife is to reprove her husband respectfully. Colossians 4:6

5. The wife who is disrespectful may experience severe consequences. Galatians 6:1

I challenge you to listen to the tone of voice you answer your husband in, listen to how you talk about your husband to others, listen to the words you use to respond to his questions, even evaluate your body language.

Are we showing true "reverence' for our husbands or deceiving ourselves?

How do others evaluate the relationship they see between us and our husbands?

Can we repair the damage done by our disrespectful attitudes in the past?

What are some practical things we can do to show our husbands respect?

I hope we will all honestly search our hearts and see if we are obeying God's command to respect our husbands.

Love in Christ,

Lori

My Sailor is coming Home

My Sailor will be coming home in less than 18 hours. I can't believe how much we have been able to see Aaron since he left. He has a four day week-end and decided to fly home. His plane comes in tonight at 6:15 p.m. He will return to VA Sunday at 9:15 p.m.

I am sooooo excited!!!! We have a lot of things planned to do. Movies, swimming, a barbecue on Sunday.

As you can see, I'll be a bit busy over the next few days so...

Happy Fourth to all of my dear blogging friends.

I'll be back on Monday.

Dad & Mom, We got home late last night. We went to D.J.'s game and then to Lowe's for a bit of shopping. Come on over anytime after 7:00 p.m. we should be back from the airport around then.

Proud Mom

Milan U-12 boys have big season

PUBLISHED: June 26, 2008

The Milan U-12 boys' travel soccer team finished their spring season with a strong 6-2-2 record.

After winning their final game, the team moved into first place, two points in front of Saline. The Saline team, however, had one game left to play, which they won last weekend in the league's final season game. That edged them past Milan in the standings by one point, though Milan finished a respectable second place in a division that also included teams from Northville, Riverview, Fenton and Howell.

Milan shooters scored a total of 23 goals in their 10-game season, led by Peter McCrae-Hokenson with nine goals, Kian Evans with six goals, Cameron Krol and Dominic Rubino with two goals each, and Alan Kulikowski, Oliver Smith, Jack Williams and Dayton Darling all with one goal apiece.

On the other end of the field, the Milan defense was held strong by the stellar goalkeeping efforts of Spencer Miller, Krol and Darling. A solid defensive line in front of them included consistently strong play from Jason Sell and Josh Jarema, who together built a brick wall in Milan's central defense.

Outside defensive support and transitional attacking came from Smith, Boaz Householder, Darling and Sell. Contributing further to the total team effort were the high-pressure attacking midfield plays of team captain Liam Broadhurst, Kulikowski, McCrae-Hokenson, Josh Sattarino, and Williams on the outside flanks, with Krol and Miller holding the center midfield positions. Evans (who led the team in assists) and Rubino provided consistent offensive pressure from the forward spots.

Each of the players showed incredible growth and improvement throughout the season and learned to work as a cohesive team. Simon Evans and Paul Smith coached the fifth- and sixth-grade mix. Both are proud of the accomplishments of the individual players and the team as a whole. Coaches and players alike are looking forward to another great season in the fall.

A wonderful Sunday Afternoon

I had a good day yesterday! My papers ran on time, YEAH! I was able to get home, take a shower and head off to church. Our Pastors are going through the book of Hebrews right now so we are learning some very important writings.

I am so humbled by my church body right now. All of their prayers and little gifts of love, cards, emails, calls. Then there is all of my blogging friends! It really brings me to my knees in thankfulness to the Lord for putting me where I am right now. My dear friend(Marion and her daughter's) and long time sister in Christ remembered me yesterday with a little gift. I was reminded of our Jr. Choir days together, years ago. I don't know how this dear sister put up with me being the director. I was so stressed all the time. Oh dear, I'm glad those days are behind me. I work much better under our new Jr. Choir director; the pressure is off.

After church I still felt really good so me and the hubby made pancakes, sausage and eggs for my families lunch. The boy's seemed to enjoy that. I then relaxed with my hubby until he had to head off to work.

Believe it or not I still felt really good so I headed off to a graduation party for a dear friends daughter. Bri was so little when Joe and Jen started attending our church. Joe and Jen's little ones are the boy's I spend a bit of time with. They call me Nana and think it is a treat to come to my house. I just love those babies so much. I got big hugs and kisses all day from them. I worked it out with their Mama to get them next week. I promised they could play at their Nana's park. It is really a little swing set and sand box out back of my house.

I had so much fun talking to people at the party last night, I didn't get home until 9:00 p.m. I did help clean up instead of just talking all night.

It was a wonderful ending to my day.

One last things, I am reading Knowing God by J.I. Packer. If you have never read this book, you are really missing out. I'll update a little of what I am learning each week. I just love it!

God continues to caring me through each day.

My little get Away

I wanted you all to know that I won't be posting anymore Cancer updates on "Living for the simple thing in life" blog. I want to leave this blog open to write about my Walk with the Lord, family, home, friends and loved ones. What I've been up to and just a fun relaxing time to get away from it all.

I did open up my Cancer blog this A.M. I will write in it daily for anyone who is wondering how I am doing. You can just click on my profile and hit "My Journey with Cancer".

See Ya

Family Update

I have had a bit of a busy week. I felt really good so I wanted to fit in as much as I could before my second Chemo treatment today. The last time I was down until about Thursday. I know now, that I will have a good week and a not so good week. I was able to weed all my flower beds and trim back all my rose bushes. All the new plants I planted in the early spring, are all starting to bloom now.

A special thank you goes out to my walking buddy Maria. Thank you so much for driving me to Chemo today. It was really a lot of fun!

Bo's soccer is now all over. We are sending him to a soccer camp for a week in July but that is right by our house. He had a great season; his travel team finished with a very close second. Only losing by one point. It was a great season plus his coach was wonderful. I could really tell he cared about this group of boy's.

The twins are doing well! They are relaxing this summer. Oh, they help me around the house. We all do Monday cleaning now instead of it just being me. They seem to like cleaning with mom. We all have a different job we do so it goes really fast. The boy's also take care of the yard work now.

Some good news

My Sailor is coming home to see us again. He flies in next Wednesday and will be here until Sunday. He deploys in September so this will be the last time I get to see him until next June. We talk everyday right now so it is going to be a bit of a shock to my system when he is gone. He has already warned me this week that he won't be able to email everyday. I might not hear from him for weeks at a time. Sometimes it is so hard to be a mom.

My son Bret, Jess and my little grandbabies are in Kentucky right now. Bret is opening two more Auto Port plants there. They will be gone for a bit. I miss them already!

Becca is back in Texas now and is doing well. I sure loved seeing her after my surgery. She came and helped her Mama get back on my feet and ran my routes when her dad got sick. I miss her too!

Prayer

My step-dad hasn't been doing very well. His red blood count is really low. Please pray for him, my mom and my little sister's.

I'll try to blog again soon! I just wanted to thank you all for your continued prayers. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't know I was going to start losing my hair in about 5 days. They told me 18 days from my first Chemo my hair would start falling out. I feel like I'm on some kind of a count down. Yikes!! Oh, I'll live through all of this (prayerfully) but I sure am feeling a little anxious about it all this morning.


I pray you'll have a great weekend!

A New Look

I woke up this morning thinking it is about time for a change. I've gotten rid of some weighty things this morning so I was thinking. Self, it is time to brighten up your blog. Make it fit me a little better. I don't have much time this morning for a long post. I just finished my hour work-out and I now have just enough time to take out the trash and run down to the local Barber to get my boy's hair cuts beforehead I head off to work.

Now be honest, if you don't like it, just let me know and I will try another look.

I am one step closer to my last Chemo Treatment

Little update:

I'm doing really well today. The port being put in was like a really bad dentist appointment. {I've blogged about how much I love going to the dentist} I had that put in at 7:00 a.m. and my first Chemo at 9:00 a.m. They first put in all the Anti nausea and vomiting medication. I then had to chew on ice to help my mouth from the sores that would form. It is funny they actually have to make up the Chemo after they check your blog (My blood not my blog, ROFL, thanks gregc for pointing my typo out) and get you check in. I'm sure the Chemo is costly. The AC {Really hard Chemo} took 20 minutes going in. The nurse has to put that through the IV because it could burn the skin. The last Chemo took about 1 1/2 hours to go through my IV. We were at the hospital until 2:00 p.m. It took a bit of time for my first section.

It all really did seem to go smoothly. Besides sores in my mouth and of course my chest is sore where they put the port. I was a little nauseated and I did wake up with a really bad headache and stomach ache this morning. I took my meds like a good girl and after I laid back down for a few hours, I was good to go. I'm doing pretty good now. The meds make me more hyper than I already am. I couldn't get to sleep until midnight the night of my chemo. I thought if I worked the night before I would be calmer and could fall asleep when I got home. I only got two hours of sleep that night so I should have been tired.

Keep praying for me, I know your prayers are working. BTW-Thank you for being such faithful prayer partners and some mighty good blogging friends.


Lori

Happy Birthday Mom

I want to introduce you to my mom, her name is Diane.












Happy Birthday Mom! You don't look a day over 29. Thank you for all of your love and support these last few months. Thank you for being at the hospital for Jim during both my surgeries, for watching me on Friday evening after my second surgery so Jim could work and not worry and last but not least, Thank you for the Butter pecan ice cream. It was so yummy! Please don't worry I'll be o.k. We will be out around 7:00 p.m. I didn't get a good list so I'll have to think of something good to get you all by myself. Hmmmmm, this happens every year. LOL!



With God's help I pray I will be able to fulfill this all by your next Birthday.

This is the list I received from my Mom.

For my Daughter to Be Healthy
For My Daughter to not get sick
For my Daughter to be Carried through all these days coming up!
For My Daughter to BE BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE!
This is my list precious Daugter nothing can compare but to see God carry you through these next weeks.
You ask and this is my desire for a Happy Birthay!
Love MaMa

With God's help Mom! I pray I will be able to fulfill all of these requests. I pray by your next Birthday I will be all better. I should even have a cute little hair cut by then.

A little about my Mom; she is now 62 years old, she has been married to my step-dad since 1977, she has 4 children, 27 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren, she adopted two little girls, one is 11 (From China) and the other is 6 (from Cambodia), she home schools both girls, she works at home as a secretary for my brother's carpet cleaning business.

Sorry Mom about the age and year you were married. LOL!

Mom

I love you very much!

My Love Letter

Months ago, I said I would post this love letter from my dear husband, as soon as I found it. I finally found it tonight, while unpacking more boxes from our move four years ago. I received it in this pretty frame so I had it hanging on the wall in our old home. Every time I would feel insecure, I would stand and read this. This man has stood by my side through many things in our lives and he is still standing. As I type this letter into the computer, tears are streaming down my face, just as if it were the first time I read it years ago. I don't know what I did to deserve such a wonderful man but I know, I have been blessed.

The Love Letter from my Husband of 22 years

For my lovely wife, the jewel amongst all cut glass;

You are so beautiful my love! You are so beautiful. Your eyes draw me in and captivate my being. When I look into your gaze, my thoughts become fuzzy. They are clearer than the bluest water. You are as a lily among thorns when with other women!
Your voice is a tinkling stream on a hot dry, day. Its sweet melody brings peace and calm to my spirit. I long to hear you speak to me when I am away from you. Your lips are full and desirable! They beckon to me when I am near you. I love to go to the mountains of sweet perfume, to the hill of fragrance. Your tenderest places awaken the lion that sleeps within me. You stroke up a flame of desire within my bosom. To hold you is all that I want. To feel your tender caresses eases my soul. Turn your eyes from me because they overwhelm me. You are perfect, without blemish. There is no imperfection in your beauty. You are a true lady of God. Your spirit grows everyday. The Lord is your master and king and for this I am eternally grateful. You have come so far with Jesus, I am excited to see where you will be in years to come. You challenge my soul. Truly, God gave you to me as the one who makes me complete.

My love, I know that sometimes you wonder about my love for you. I regret that so very much. I have always loved you with all my heart and my love for you grows as the years pass. You can be as confident that I will always be there for you, as God rules, as you are that I am your brother in Christ! You are so precious to me. There is nothing I have that shines as even a distant light in comparison to you. I pray that our love grows, even as your beauty and spirit have already grown.

Your Beloved Forever

I had A most enjoyable Day

I sure enjoyed my day! It was a bit warm but I enjoy the warm weather.

I love my welcome sign my mom and my step-dad bought me for Mother's Day a few years ago. I want everyone that visits my blog to feel as welcome as if you were visiting my home..Welcome to my home.

I started out this morning by going to my Chemo class. You know, it wasn't so bad. God is doing a work in my heart. As I sat and looked around the room at the other women that will be taking Chemo. I can truly say, I fell a piece about the whole thing. My arm that was affected by the lymph node removal is almost 100 percent back to normal. My Chemo is on the opposite week that I lead Worship. There are just to many blessing to count.

I was blessed to be able to head off to work after my Chemo class. One doesn't realize what they have until they can't do it anymore. I'm blessed to be able to serve God, take care of my family, work, clean, work in my flower beds and sing on the Worship team. I get to do so many things that I have taken for granted over the years. Isn't God good!

This picture was taken Thursday June 5th, 2008.I just took this tonight Sunday June 8th, 2008. My rose bushes came alive.

I have to confess, I did take a little rest on my front porch swing this evening. This swing was given to us by an old friend of ours. Let me tell you, it is very comfortable! I love to grab my Bible and sit on this comfortable swing and read.

It was a beautiful evening here in MI. I enjoyed walking around our home watering my flowers and enjoying working in my flower beds. I planted two peony bushes a few years ago. One finally bloomed.

My husband and I have been busy the last month pulling, planting and pruning our flower garden My rose bushes came live! I just love all the pretty colors.

More of God's beauty.

More of our flower beds.
And more....

And more....


Yea! We got the garden planted.

Last but not least. I am now sitting at my computer, downloading my post for today. I am just really enjoying my life. This picture is old but I think you understand what I'm doing.

God is working in my life! I have been praying that God would help me deal with things I can't change and accept and learn from what has been given to me. Like how I see my husband and my children; I want to enjoying each and every moment with them. I am going to take all the changes that I have had to make lately and count them as blessings from the Lord.

May God bless all of you, as He has blessed me.

We're moving on UP! No we're not the Jefferson's

Oh were to start! We've been a bit busy with soccer and the end of the school year events. Bo has a game Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and a game Sunday at 2:00 p.m. those will be his last games of the season. He has tryouts on Monday for the fall season and then, we will have a little break.
It rained pretty hard on Bo at last Saturday's game.
Bo in action!

Our twins are moving up to 9Th grade next year. Last night we sat with about 1000 other people while there children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews moved up.

In a letter sent home from school, it stated that this was not like a graduation. The students were not to dress formally. Well, I dressed my boy's in causal clothes. Dress pants and a collared shirt. My boy's were way under dressed. I can't believe I forgot my camera at home. School will soon be out for the summer!

Oh, I've also been busy in all of my flower beds. I'll have to run around and take pictures. We also have lots of graduation parties to attend the next few weeks and then it will be time to kick back and relax for a while. LOL! Well, we will see about that.

My schedule for the next Year

This blog is not for the purpose of bringing everyone down when they come to visit me. I just wanted to let my family, friends and blogging friends know dates to pray for me. If you know anyone that has taken these Chemo drugs, I would love to know how they did on them. Please leave me a comment or email me at lorihouseholder@gmail.com.

I need prayer for my vanity! I'm a tough woman and I'm not really afraid of getting sick or being tired. The unknown is a bit scary. Losing all my hair is freaking me out. I laugh and joke about it but I really don't want to lose my hair. Please pray also that I will be able to keep working and singing on our Worship team. I'm just afraid I won't want to leave the house if I don't have somewhere to be.

I called Thursday to get my port rescheduled and my echo cardiogram. It will be sometime in the next two weeks, before Chemo anyway.

I had to rescheduled everything to do with my chemo because my husband got sick and had to have surgery. He had to have a gallstone surgically removed and he had to have his gallbladder out. Like I said, it has been crazy around my house. I still have to write about our (not just mine anymore) wonderful surgeon. I promise it is an unbelievable story. You will be able to see how God's hand was directing us to find a Godly Surgeon, through blogging mind you. I'll tell you all the story soon but I want you to meet this dear woman right now. She is one of our dear blogging friends. You can visit SJ here

I have a Chemo teaching class June 5th

I Met with Dr. Chottiner get blood work June 10th

Update as of the mail today, June 2nd.

I will have my echo cardiogram at 2:30 p.m. on June 10th.

I get my port put in at 7:00 a.m. on Friday June 13th and my first Chemo will the same morning at 9:00 a.m.

Chemo June 13th-Friday the 13 how appropriate LOL
Chemo June 27
Chemo July 11
Chemo July 25th

This is the Chemo I will be taking: Adriamycin & Cytoxan I will be having this together IV once every 2 weeks for four times.

I then will have Neupogen shots to raise my white blood count back up.

After that Taxol Weekly for 12 weeks

Radiation will start after Chemo is finished for 38 visits Monday thru Friday

I then will be on Tamoxifen for the rest of my life.

PROSPERITY AND PROVISION

PROSPERITY AND PROVISION
Sunrise-Psalm 84:11

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.


Heavenly Father, thank you for the glorious sunrise this morning, and with it another opportunity to see your hand painting the sky. How dark the world would be without the sun, (without Your Son) for there would be no life, no warmth, no beauty. How dreadful it would be if you were not there, if your love did not shine forth, for then I would be in utter darkness, and for ever searching but never able to find peace. I was so at peace with my life this morning. I know that everything that happens and will happen is in your control. Thank you again for the beautiful sunrise this morning.