Cancer… its not a nice disease….

Hello Everyone,

My goodness its been forever! Things in my personal life are messed up. Cancer is not a nice disease as it already has taken people that I love.

My grandfather Wendall has cancer. At the end of November the doctors found 3 new places in his body where the cancer spread. Now, Christmas was great until on Christmas Eve my oldest of my younger brothers  John told me he has intestinal cancer. He has 5 kids 13 1/2, 11, 8, 6, 4. He lives in florida, so he is to pack up and move all his stuff up to my parents home and we can do a garage sale for him. His kids do not live with him, they live with their mom Kari in Perham, MN. please pray for him, his children, my parents, me, my brother Chris & sister Melissa.  My mom is a real mess as it is her dad that has the cancer and now her oldest son has it. She has serious medical problems, that can put her in the hospital if she gets too stressed or sick.

Have a Happy 2008 Year!

It seems like its been forever….

It seems like forever since I wrote in my blog. My goosh! I almost forgot what my login information was. That means its been way tooo long. 

First off, I’d like to say that I did get to see my grandparents from Arizona. Grandpa Wendall looks frail, he is using a walker, has my Grandma Marje help him in the bathtub and out and to get dressed. Seeing him like that, made me want to cry. This man who used to hunt, fish, swim, ride tractors and  snowmobiles to someone who has to use a walker and is frail. My Grandma Marje, is getting frail too, helping Grandpa get in and out of the bath tub and dressing him. I know their getting older, as I am getting older and I am the oldest grandchild.

In fact, my mom and I were able to take turns driving them from Park Rapids, Mn. to Stillwater, Mn. Not to mention the 2 hour drive to get to Park Rapids.On Thursday September 27th -My mom drove 3 hours to my house to pick me up and then I got my stuff in her van, I drove 2 hours to Park Rapids.  My mom and I spent the night in my uncle Dave’s 5th wheeler, out on his property outside of Park Rapids- I froze my butt off! Then on Friday September 28th-  at 8:30 a.m. we drove back into Park Rapids, had breakfast with my grandparents and my uncle Dave. At 9:45 a.m. I drove from ParkRapids to St. Cloud, my grandpa had it too hot in their van for me!!! I thought I might have to start peeling off clothes…. that isn’t a pretty picture let me tell you.  Then after some lunch, my mom drove from St. Cloud to Brooklyn Center as that is where our Hotel Room reservation was, it was much cooler in the van as we told grandpa we’d wrap him in a blanket if he got too cold. The Hotel room was at an AmericInn, it was very nice. Had a pool and whirlpool. Unfortunately, I only got to use it once, as my monthly friend of course showed up the next day unexpectantly. So that really bit the big ONE! We had time to rest and unpack our toiletries and decide where we were going to eat for supper(dinner). I was so tired after all the riding and driving. Sat. September 29- we met my former aunt Barb for breakfast at Denny’s near our hotel- I still consider her my aunt- as she is my cousins mom, she is so nice. I hadn’t seen Barb since my cousin Tami was like 13 or 14 years old and Tami is in her 30′s now. I’ve been married for almost 21 years now. Barb was able to see some pictures of my kids ages: 19 1/2 years old and 15 1/2 years old. My mom had pictures of all 11 of her grandchildren. I have 2 brothers and 1 sister. I have 2 kids, boy and girl, John- has 5 kids, 2 boys and 3 girls , Chris- 2 kids- 2 girls, Melissa-2 kids- 2 boys. We were there for a good 2 hours just visiting with Barb. Grandpa Wendall & Grandma Marje were so happy to see her. My mom and I were glad also. We came back to the hotel and my Grandparents wanted to rest. So my mom and I went to find a Super WalMart or a Mall. We are both into books, actually, that is an understatement for my mom, she has about 6,000 books total in her basement and about another 500 in her bedroom. I definitely don’t even come close to having hALF the amount my mom has I have one 5 shelf book case and another 2 shelves of books, cookbooks and christian books. I absolutely love murder mystery books! They are my all time favorite! Some books that I read I can get and leave, but others they are so intense and suck you into the book that you can’t put it down until the end of the book. Mom found a few books, as did I so we headed back to the hotel. We were gone 2 hours! The grand parents were ready for an early supper. We ate supper then got back to the hotel, grandma called my Aunt Mary- my mom’s sister to find out exactly where the baptism for Mary’s first granddaughter Erynn was. Lucky for us, I brought my laptop computer with, we mapped out our travel intenerary for Sunday- we had to go to Blaine and meet with Barb, her granddaughter Ashly and Ashly’s daughter Haylee. Haylee is my grandparents first great, great grandchild at a Perkins, eat breakfast, visit, take tons of pictures and leave the restaurant by 10:00a.m. to make it in time for great granddaughter Erynn’s baptism in Clear Lake, WS. at 12:30 p.m. Mom was the driver and I was the navigator. We made it there with 35 minutes to spare. SundaySeptember 30-  was such an awful day, weather wise. Down pouring rain, fog and very windy. The baptism was beautiful, Erynn is such a doll baby! So very cute! The luncheon was very good. After the baptism and luncheon,and tons of pictures taken. We drove behind my cousin Todd , his wife Cristina and baby Erynn, to Stillwater, MN.- as this was the first time that my mom and I were able to see Todd’s house and he has done alot of remodeling to it. Then at 6:30 p.m. we left their place and drove in downpouring rain back to the hotel. Nasty day weather wise. Monday morning we left Brooklyn Center at 9:30 a.m. got to Park Rapids by 1:30 p.m. left there at 3:30 p.m. got to my Parent’s house in Hallock,MN at 8:30 p.m. that was a very very long day of driving and being in a vehicle. I am so glad I was able to spend a few days with my Grandparents as I don’t know how Grandpa’s cancer will be: in remission or not! My grandpa and grandma were well enough to come back to Minnesota for a few weeks and see their new great granddaughter Erynn and their first new great, great, grandchild Haylee. My Mom was able to see how her dad was really doing. I think that helped her out alot.

Please keep my grandparents in your prayers. My mom also  has alot of medical problems that she needs prayer for.

This is a good day…

My grandparents from Arizona are coming back to Minnesota for a visit. This is so important because my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer in April. My mom has been a mess, she’s the baby of the family. My mom has been sick with worry. Unfortunately the women in our family are worry warts. I’ll be happy to see them again, its been a year. I’ll be even more happy when my mom can see for herself  how her dad is doing. We have had two precious people die from cancer in the last 5 years. My sister’s husband Craig died in 2002 of terminal bone cancer and my Aunt Sheryl died just last Thanksgiving Day. I had arm pit lymph node surgery on last November 3rd, I am cancer free! I know how scary it is, you really reflect on your life, your marriage, your children and your walk with God. Pray for all those who have cancer and their families, pray for those who have other serious afflictions and their families. Pray for our Troops and their families.

God Bless, Take Care, Have A Great Day & Week!

Elegant Words

This is about a happy and scary time in my life.

 Ladies Retreat & Biopsy Surgery: October 27-29,2006

This is was my first time at Big Sandy Camp. I love the setting on the Lake. There were geese flying over – head. I personally saw a Blue Heron by the Lake’s edge. Beautiful scenery. I also took pictures of some of the scenery and the newer buildings at Big Sandy Camp. The sunsets and sunrises over the lake is simply breath taking. We bunked with the Audubon Ladies. They were four really nice ladies. I had someone take a picture of the 6 of us.. We saw a lot of deer up and back!

The Retreat itself was awesome! The Speaker was Sonja Dixon… from Elk River, MN. “The Purse Driven Life” is actually a book written by Anita Renfroe. I have the book now. It makes you laugh, cry, and really think about our lives as women. Sonja first mentioned that she was given a list of all the women who were attending the retreat before hand. She prayed for each one of us individually. How great is that!

The First Session: In Bondage to what is in our Purses and in Ourselves: Sonja said her first fascination with purses was when she was little. Her grandmother had a purse that she brought every Sunday morning for church. Many of you will probably relate to this about your mother’s or grandmother’s purse: inside there was a few ½ a sticks of double mint gum, a few folded Kleenex, some loose change and a few dollar bills folded. A few whole sticks of Juicy Fruit gum. Sonja said that when she got squirrelly then her grandmother would give her one of the ½ sticks of double mint gum. If she needed a Kleenex, the Kleenex always smelled like the double mint and juicy fruit gum.

Purses: Cell phones, credit cards, money, pictures,

Looks of the purse.

 Ourselves: hair, looks, weight, clothes, schooling, kids, jobs, automobiles.

We try and keep up with the Jones!

In Genesis: Satan deceived Eve. He used Half- truths, planted seeds of doubt and he NEVER TOLD Eve what the true consequences of disobeying God would be. Satan’s Masquerade: Money and credit cards- today’s society we are pressured to have lots of money & have a wallet full of credit cards to keep up with the neighbors. Media-deals with everything money, credit cards, clothes, weight, house, automobiles, jobs, schooling; Media plays a big role in how we see ourselves. Satan is the father of lies. When we listen to Satan, we can not make thoughtful decisions. How do we describe ourselves? Some ladies say: Anger, shame, and embarrassment.

Sometimes we have feelings: That I don’t believe God is enough. We need to Consider what we see, hear and feel. If it is not in the bible, its half –truths, seeds of doubt and does not tell us the consequences of our actions or words. We need to recognize our worth as God’s value. Lies lead to bondage. Proverbs 31:30, Super woman. I can do it all: work. kids, home, church, time for husband & me, and time for me. Sometimes we get so caught up in other things that are more Non- Christian like than Christian like, that volunteering or being involved with small groups or other church activities. We say: I don’t have enough time, when I really do! What has God called me to do? Availability.

If there is something we come across in our lives or in the bible. What does it say? What does it say to me? What does God want me to use it for or do with it? She recommended that we all should read a book entitled: “Mary Heart in a Martha World” Joanna Weaver. That is just a piece of what the speaker was talking about. I almost forgot to mention that Shireen and I went to a class for Worship Music through Sign Language, we learned sign language for 2 songs. We were to do the signing of the songs during the praise and worship time on Sunday morning. Morning class: volunteer signers there were 12 of us that signed. Afternoon class, volunteer signers were only three: Shireen, another lady and I were brave enough to do it. You really feel the songs deep in your heart and soul when you sign.

I really needed the retreat as it was a time for reflection and a time for asking myself how was my walk with God. I was nervous about the left arm pit lymph node biopsy surgery the following Friday. One of the ladies from the Audubon Church, Connie, had just gone through the biopsy surgery, breast surgery, chemo and radiation treatments and hair loss. She and I were one of the first ones up in the morning. I couldn’t sleep past 5:45 a.m., as my low back was so sore from the not very thick mattress and the bunk itself. Saturday morning, she asked me if there was something wrong. She said I just looked upset, worried, my eyes were welling with tears and fidgety. I told her that I was going to have biopsy surgery the following Friday. We talked for a couple hours, we cried, we hugged and we prayed together. With the unknown looming over my head, I reflected on my relationship with my kids and my husband Lee, my parents, my two brothers and my sister. Also taking a look at my walk with God. I loved walking down to the lake for some private time with God. I was having a difficult time with one of the songs “IN NEED” I’d just start weeping. When it was time for one on one prayer time with one of the Retreat committee members I went up and one of the ladies prayed with me. After the last session I went up and introduced myself to Sonja Dixon, asked her to pray for me also. I decided that weekend, that I would just take one day at a time and pray that if it is cancer that I would have the grace and dignity to fight and cope with the disease. If it’s not cancer, to have the grace and dignity to get my walk with God even closer.

By the way, my biopsy was on November 3^{rd, the surgeon removed a infected 50 cent piece size cyst and some suspicious tissue, from one of my left arm pit lymph nodes the following Wednesday was the day I got the report back, I DO NOT Have CANCER! Praise God for He is Good! Thank you to all of you who were praying for me.}

^{If you get the chance to go to the Ladies Retreat at Big Sandy Camp. I recommend you go! The Speakers are wonderful, praise & worship time was great! Food is very good! The fellowship with the other ladies is the greatest! I’ll go back next year! I have to bring my Dutch Blitz card game with me. We had a blast with that}

 

Hello & Welcome to Elegant Words & More Blog

This is such an awesome opportunity for me personally. As I love to write stories and creative writings about things that happen in my life, church and the world around me.  I also love to design creative print designs with desktop publishing and graphic design software. I started my own home-based business called White Roses Designs- www.freewebs.com/mnwrdesigns .Please check it out. The website still needs a little tweaking, but I’ll get it to where I want it someday real soon. 

God Bless, Take Care, Have A Great Day & Week!

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