On the Home Front...

I just talked with John this evening and today was the first day of The Yard Sale to end all yard sales! I'm a little relieved not to have been there to see the remnants of my past life all over John's parent's front lawn. I'm so thankful for all of the work that John's mom and Ginger have done to sort through it all... it was a huge job. They sold a lot today, and hope to do just as well tomorrow - there are a few large items left and a bunch of little ones and toys, etc.

Ethan has been at Mom and Gary's over the past couple of days - that has been a huge blessing to have him away from all of the mayhem. Between a few days last week and some this week at Grandma and Papa's, Ethan has been having the time of his life. He's learning to swim and got to catch his very first fish! Mom sent me some pictures that I thought you'd enjoy.

Rain!

Thanks so much for praying for rain! We got a thunderstorm last night. This morning the air was so clean and cool. Ahhh. Loretta can breathe again, and all is right with the world!

I'm sorry for not writing much these days. This is not a permanent change. I think that I've finally begun to feel relaxed for the first time in almost a year. Even our month "off" in June wasn't really stress-free what with all of the life-changing decisions and such. This time has been different. I have been reveling in the slow pace of life and the fact that I have nothing to do except feed Ellie and dose her with remedies... and that's a responsibility that I share with Loretta. So I wish that I could tell you that I have a good excuse - been extremely busy - but I can't. I've been just relaxing. It feels so nice.

And now that being said, it's not that Ellie's new treatment plan is a walk in the park... it's just that compared with chemo, the pace is less intense. Both Loretta and I are are on "full alert" when it comes to watching for symptoms and the dosing schedule is time-intensive. Ellie gets a dose of her remedy every 15 minutes for 2.5 hours - every day! And by every day, I mean EVERY DAY for the next 2 years - at least. And we spend hours discussing the treatment and what it means for Ellie's life and how we can pay attention to all of the details...

Oh yes, I do still remember that I'm going to write and tell you all about Homeopathy. I'm just so relaxed (have I mentioned that yet?) that I can't seem to force myself to do anything about it. I kind of feel like a noodle. I tend to really enjoy TV, but sometimes I get a cup of tea or coffee and just sit and stare out the window - or even at the dark TV and do NOTHING! I'm almost giddy with the wonder of it all. Most mornings all of the muscles in my back and shoulders scream at me, but I think that every day one of them gives up. One of these days I'm sure I'll wake up pain free and not know what to do with myself! I'll probably gain 10 pounds what with all of the leisure, but somehow I just really don't care right now.

Ellie is making up for all of my inactivity by eating like a horse and promptly bouncing off the walls and burning off every last calorie! She's holding steady at 47-48 pounds and eating 500-600 calories at each meal. Yesterday morning she ate 2 pieces of toast, 2 hard boiled egg whites, 20 pieces of pineapple and a yogurt - and that was just breakfast! She has good color in her face and her hair is growing by the day. I'm sorry for the lack of pictures... I will try to get on that. Right now she's out in the pasture with Loretta and the horse and donkey. All of this (recently) fresh air and contact with animals is beyond therapeutic. Ellie is just blooming with life and health.

John and Ethan are doing well in Florida. I think if it wasn't for John's mom and sister, he would have taken a match to all of our belongings and walked away. They have been sorting and packing for over a week. It feels so good to know that we will not be burdened with so many things anymore. I feel like I can take a deep breath again. It's wonderful to have a fresh start. I just wish that it wasn't so long before we could be together again - it will probably be the beginning of October.

Thank you all for your patience with me. I still think of you all often and will do my best to keep you up on things.

Thanks...

Thanks for the sweet comments and prayers for Loretta! She is feeling some better today and did get a little more sleep last night than previous nights, but she's still not 100% and the smoke remains heavy in the air. Please keep praying for La and also for rain! Thanks so much.

Prayer Request...

Just wanted to get word out to you that Loretta has been having a very rough several days health-wise. She struggles with asthma, and had been already having difficulty before the fires started up all over the state. A few have come close enough to where we are to create a thick haze of smoke and the ground around the house is covered with black ash. Now Loretta is having great difficulty with her breathing. Please just pray that she would get some relief by any means possible. We would love a good hard rain storm to clear the air, but so far it looks like the chance of rain tomorrow is 20%. Thanks so much for your prayers! I'll let you know how it goes...