And, all of God's people said...

Well, my girls are having alot of fun this morning with eating, coloring, drawing, playing dress up, giving speaches, and now they are playing dolls. Their attention span is fairly short, so after about 20 of playing one thing, it seems that they are ready for something else.

I eaves dropped on their playing a little while ago, and Faith was giving a speech, telling a story, or maybe she was preaching... she was doing quite well... but, she expected Charity to be involved. Charity was drawing (she said she was drawing a rocking chair and a guitar), and acted like she wsn't quite sure how to respond when Faith closed her "sermon" with "And all of God's people said... [Say it, Charity! Say it!] And all of God's people said, 'Amen'!" Too bad her audience wasn't cooperating, but I felt like falling over laughing!

One of the most beautiful sights in the whole world to me, is watching my children run and play in our yard... such innocence and so little worries... they have no worries about the future because they trust that it will all be well. What we can learn from our children! Just trust our Heavenly Father knows best, and will take good care of His children. What freedom!

Oh, I forgot to tell you...

I took Hope to the doctor the other day, because she had been having fevers... we have to keep sicknesses away, so I wanted to see what the cause was... nothing serious, probably just chewed on some germy toy outside of my home, and she is doing fine now. Anyway, when they weighed her, they left her outfit on, but guess how much my 8 month old weighs?! 20lbs 12oz! To me, that is very big, because I do not think that my other girls gained weight that quickly! I have seen much chubbier babies, but I am happy with my squishy one!

Also, I now have to be careful to put railing of her crib to the highest level when she is in it, because she pulls herself to standing. Then, when she is playing on my bed with me, I have to watch her every second, because she crawls full speed toward the edge of the bed like the bed just goes on forever. She has super amounts of energy, and lots of smiles! She is a wonderful baby!

Well, I must apogogize for not getting all of the pictures of camp and the zoo on my Picasa website yet... it takes sooo long for my computer to upload that it is not worth my time to spend all day trying to do it. Maybe high-speed would be a nice idea. Anyway, I did put two more pictures on... but, cannot get pictures on my blog, so you will need to go to my Picasa page, and click on "baby and family" album... There is a picture of Baby Hope and one of our family with the Manley family.
http://picasaweb.google.com/theroncookfamily

I am teachable...

or, at least I hope I am. Got some advice today that did not feel good to get... but, then again, the Bible does speak about being one who is wise enough to take counsel, huh?

Let me just throw in this thought... vinegar is a food item! Doesn't smell yummy, and doesn't taste yummy without being in a recipe... like pickles. It is great for getting spots off of dishes, and for cleaning some things. I also know people, including myself, who have used it to clean residue from hair occasionally. (I use gel and hairspray, because my hair is naturally curly, for some of my hairstyles... and, sometimes a bit of vinegar helps clean it out!) A friend told me that vinegar is considered a folk-lore medicine... not sure what for. Tasting it will NOT harm you... but, who wants to do that?! Just like advice, it can be hard to smell or take, but it does not harm you. Just thought I would leave you that thought.

I have not been teaching Faith much for the past couple of weeks, because of the stress. Rather, we have opted to have fun. The girls enjoyed their slip-n-slide and pool last week. I enjoyed some quick runs to the store. (I try not to take too long, so that Ron doesn't have to watch the girls for great periods of time.) I found some dresses and clothes for only $2 each at Meijer's. Charity and Hope wore some of those new dresses on Sunday, and Hope has on a new skirt today. I love those sells, because I love dressing up my children! When I came home from one of those trips (which was probably 1 1/2 hours total), my Faithy came to me and exclaimed, "Mommy, I missed you sooo much!" She seemed so excited to see me, I thought, "Maybe I should go out more often!" The girls were so happy about everything I bought. They gasped with joy over Charity's Dora pull-ups, the grapes (which was on a great sale!), bananas, Dora the Explorer yogurt, the 2 dollar outfits... they just make me laugh! It doesn't take a lot of money to make my children happy... just lots of kisses, hugs, Christian books or entertainment, praise, music, friends, and good food. Of course, there are some things they have to do that are not always fun... like cleaning up after themselves or eating broccoli, but it is good for them!

It was nice having my good friend, Electa, here today (my back-massaging friend from church)... enjoyed talking about creative ideas on cakes and desserts, decorating (Electa is HIGHLY talented in these areas!) and loved the conversation about pickling! Good to hear from my Grandma on the phone today... I love her so much! Good to have my mother-in-law here for a while today, too, even if I did accidently stab her with my hair stick (or whatever it is called)... SOOO sorry, Mom! She gave me a bubble kiss (her way of kissing her family), and I cringed because it tickled and when I turned my head, my hairstick stabbed her! It is quite sharp! What a terrible thing to do to her after she helped me clean up my house!

My girls were VERY hyper today, but we survived! Poor Pat, Electa, and Dulcee got to see them on one of the most hyper moments of their lives! The girls were late for their afternoon naps, so maybe that played a part in their very wild behavior... or, maybe they were excited about the company... they absolutely LOVE Pat! They think he is really funny... Hope especially loves him! Or, maybe, there was something strange in that Domino's Pizza we ate!

Ron went to the doctor today. Shenna, his sister, is getting her blood tested to see if she is a match for him... in case he will need someone else's blood cells besides his own. Thank you, Shenna, for being willing to donate!

I am really happy to have healthy, happy, intelligent, spiritually-inclined, beautiful little girls. They are not perfect... they seem to have a passion for fighting with one another over little petty things... yet, they are best friends. I am happy that I have a husband who loves the Lord, me, our children, and souls. I am happy to have good food, friends, fellowship, fun, (hey, these words are all starting with F), and a faithful God who loves me. Counting my blessings! Naming them one by one... oh, yes, and then, there is COFFEE! That sounds yummy right now!

Gotta go! Got a baby diaper to change, and some coffee to make!

snows and woes

You know there is a cause for concern when you approach a certain room of the house (i.e. the children's room), and a VERY strong smell of baby powder reaches your nose before you even make it to the room. Yes, on the girls' hardwood bedroom floor was a nice big powdery mess! Upon my return to the room, I find that added to the powder, was water. Not very amuzing until my daughter said something to me for cleaning up her "SNOW"! I like creative children, but this was not what I had in mind... I told her that it was NOT snow, and not to ever do that again... I have cleaned up "snow," and cleaned up "snow," and the job is STILL not done, and it has been several days!

Overall, I am very impressed at how well Ron is doing! He is at work right now, believe it or not! He has figured out that it is not a good idea to eat too much right now while he is doing this intense chemo , and to pace himself with working, unless he wants to get sick. He looks pretty good, and even went to church last night. I think he is doing so well because you all are praying for him! Thank you!

Well, the woe part, is my mind swirling with thoughts like... "Our lease is almost up... what does God have planned next?" "Our refrigerator is going crazy... I can't figure out if it is dying or not!" "Baby Hope is running a fever... and, it is probably my fault because I had her playing in water outside yesterday, and maybe she got too cold." "I really need to get my house cleaned, but there are a few little people who would like to do the opposite... so maybe I could entertain them by_____ or _____ or______, and then give them a couple of chores, and we will be done!" "I still need to have devotions today...hmmm, wonder if I can wait until the girls' naptime." "Wow, am I behind on Faith's lessons!" "When will I get consistent on potty training Charity?" "I am sooo sure Ron is going to be really aching after they give him that shot today!" "How do I keep the baby away from Ron so that he doesn't catch what ever is causing her fever... or, maybe it is just a tooth coming in... can't catch that!"

How do I get my brain and emotions to calm done and just do the work?! Well, I am sure all of you have had such mornings when you just feel like curling back up in your bed and saying, "Maybe I will go back to sleep, and when I wake up, maybe it will all be better!" But, it doesn't get done without some hard work... so, off I go!

Biopsy results

Definitely cancer! Ron is to start chemo again Monday... a new chemo treatment and this will be more intense! He has chemo Monday- Wednesday, then a shot (?) on Thursday of some heavy duty WBC boosting medicine. Then, there will be two weeks off, then a repeat. After two or three rounds, it's off to Columbus!

Gotta have some fun news! On Wednesday. Hope pulled up to standing!

Please pray for us.

Here is the explanation...

Well, Ron is not here to give the okay, but some of you are going to receive emails concerning Ron, so I thought I would go ahead and let you know.

RON IS NOT IN REMISSION!

The PET scan results said that much more malignancy is seen compared to his April PET scan. PET scans read the sugar uptake values... more or less that there is activity going on. Much of the lesions are in the right mediastinum area. PET scan said a focal point was found on his right femur, but a follow-up x-ray did not show this. I don't have the papers on me right now, but, if my memory serves me right, spots were also see in the hilum (sp?) area, paratracheal-claviclear area (somewhere around there), and somewhere adjacent to the heart (not on the heart). I am giving you some of these details because it might clear up some confusing stories (you know how when things get passed down, it tends to be changed). His MRI on his brain was fine. He also had a CAT scan which confirmed the swelling of the lymph nodes in the chest, etc.

He had a biopsy done yesterday. It was a CT guided needle biopsy in the chest area... Ron was actually awake for this. We should find out the results tomorrow. The oncologist is confident that what is seen on these scans is the Hodgkin's.

The oncologist believes it best for Ron to go for the high-dose chemo with a stem-cell transplant in Columbus regardless of the biopsy results. First, they will have to start a new chemo here for maybe 6 weeks to get the cancer as small as possible before sending him for the big deal.

They will take stem-cells from Ron and freeze them before they wipe out his white blood count, then they will give him back his cells and watch him for a couple of weeks. He should be in the hospital for about 3 weeks.

The doctors are saying that it would not be wise to wait.

Ron was experiencing pain for a while on his right side. (It looks like it was the cancer, because the location of his pain is where they are finding these swellings.)

God is helping us through this. Ron is brave. We press on!

Psalm 23

The Lord is my Shepherd

I shall not want

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures

He leadeth me beside the still waters

He restoreth my soul

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

I will fear no evil

For Thou art with Me

Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies

Thou anointest my head with oil

My cup runneth over

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

What a beautiful chapter in God's Word! You want to hear something ironic?! This was the Scripture we opened our calander to when we turned it over to August. It was also the Scripture that I had chosen for Faith's first month of pre-school... and, the rest of the story you will have to wait for... at least until I get the "go-ahead" to share it with you. Some of you already know... or, at least have heard it through the grape-vine (which often is not very reliable), but don't worry, I don't plan to leave you in the dark forever!

Well, for anyone who is interested, Hope is cutting her two top teeth and says "mamama," Faith told me that I am a good Mom, and Charity still looks like a goose when she runs (sooo cute!) and asks me to "hold her tight" often (its a bear hug!). I know that this sounds like pointless info, but not to this mamama!

The teens did awesome Sunday night singing! Thank you, Jessica Smith!

My nose has been bothering me for probably over a week! No, I don't mean that I am overly curious about someone else's business, I mean I really have this horrible pressure behind (?) my nose, and it is really getting to me! It doesn't feel stuffed, and I have no symptoms of a cold... just this annoying pressure that comes and goes! If I sound like I am protesting... I am protesting! What is wrong with my nose?! Any doctors out there? One can get very weary of going to doctor's offices. (Our family has had its fill!)

Perhaps, I need to go to bed. I think I am starting to ramble! Goodnight!

One more thing!

Hope is crawling! LOOK OUT! SHE CAN GET AROUND! She also serves as a human vacuum cleaner! I am constantly plucking items out of her mouth! If it's on the floor, she will probably find it! (My straying hairpins are her delicacies.) Just thought you might like to hear about "Baby Chubs."

I have got the blogger blues...

Can't get to the library.

My computer is too slow.

Have many lurkers.

Leaving comments... no!

Okay, I am not really mourning blogging that badly. I have much more important things on my mind, which I will share with you in the near future.

Yes, I am a true Proverbs 31 woman this morning as I got up at wee hours of the morning, threw laundry in the washer, folded some, turned on dishwasher, made coffee and frozen Pillsbury biscuits (I love those things!), took out the trash, read from my new-to-me Study Bible, and my little Hope is already up. Dear Ones, it is a fine thing to get up a little after five AM, because by the time my other children get up, I can have so much already done. I think I might like to make it a habit... I even got to see my hubby off to work (yes, he started back to work this week).

So glad I am being a good wife this morning, because I wasn't last evening... my irritation at our little people was annoying hubby. I threatened my children that I would throw away toys if they didn't pick them up very quickly. (It was time for bed, and their room was NOT in a good state!) I actually DID throw away one junky little toy to prove to my children I was very serious... Faith suddenly LOVED that toy and cried greatly... I melted and told her if she hurried up that she could have it back. I usually allow one basket of toys out at a time, but things got a little out of hand yesterday, and they had quite the mess. Let's just say, the room looked MUCH better when they went to bed... I explained to them that I wasn't throwing away their toys because I didn't love them, but because I wanted them to learn that we must clean up after ourselves... so I felt a little mean, but it worked.

I started pre-school with Faith last Friday, and she is doing great! I love hearing her say "Capital I, Little i, says iii, as in Indian" all by herself, and then her I verse, "If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it. John 14:14" I am using Abeka Book K4, and even Charity likes being involved.

Well, there's a little update. Gotta go!